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A 
 
 COMPLETE 
 
 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 FROM 
 
 1673 TO 1873; 
 
 EMBRAOma 
 
 THE PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE COUNTEY; ITS 
 
 EARLY EXPLOEATIONS; ABORIGINAL INHABITANTS; 
 
 FRENCH AND BRITISH OCCUPATION ; CONQUEST 
 
 BY VIRGINIA; TERRITORIAL CONDITION AND 
 
 THE SUBSEQUENT CIVIL, MILITARY AND 
 
 POLITICAL EVENTS OF THE STATE. 
 
 BY 
 ALEXANDER DAVIDSON AND BERNARD STUVE. 
 
 SPRINGFIELD : i 
 ILLINOIS JOURNAL COMPANY, 
 1874 
 
 7, V 
 
Entered according to act of Congress, in the year 1873, by 
 
 ALEXANDER DAVIDSON AND BERNARD STUVE, 
 
 In tlie ofQce of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 
 
 Step.eotyped uy the 
 Illinois State Journal Company. 
 
TABLE OF OOI^TEE"TS. 
 
 CHAPTER. PAGE. 
 
 I. GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS 1 
 
 II. TOPOGRAPHY, RIVERS, SOIL AND CLIMATOLOGY. 
 
 Origin of the Prairies; Table of Temperature and Rainfall 14 
 
 III. ILLINOIS ANTIQUITIES; THE MOUND BUILDERS 23 
 
 IV. THE INDIANS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Algonquins and Iroquois; Illinois Confederacy; Sacs and Foxes; Kickapoos; 
 Mascoutins; Plankishaws: Pottowatamies; Art of Hunting; General Coun- 
 cils; Constitution of the Indian Family; Methods of Sepulture; Belief 
 in a Future State; Why the Red Race should give way to the White — 30 
 
 V . OPERATIONS OF THE MISSIONARIES-EXTENT OF THEIR OPERATIONS 
 
 UP TO 1673— The French on the St. Lawrence; LaSalle Discovers the Ohio 53 
 
 VI. EXPLORATIONS BY JOLIET AND MARQUETTE— 1673-1675 59 
 
 Vn. EXPLORATIONS BY LA SALLE. 
 
 The Griffin; Fort Creve Coeur 67 
 
 VIII. TONTFS ENCOUNTER WITH THE IROQUOIS... 79 
 
 IX. FURTHER EXPLORATIONS BY LA SALLE. 
 
 His Indian Colony on the Illinois; Discovers the Mouth of the Mississippi and 
 takes possession of all the Country in the name of the King of France; 
 Builds Fort St. Loui.s on Starved Rock; His Colony in Texas 91 
 
 X. 1700-17I9-TLLINO1S A DEPENCY OF CANADA AND PART OF LOUISIANA. 
 
 The Government a Theocracj-; Operations of Crozat 108 
 
 XI. 1717-1633-ILLINOIS AND LOUISIANA UNDER THE COMPANY OF THE WEST. 
 
 John Law— His Banking Operations; The Mississippi Scheme; Founding of 
 New Orleans; Mining for the Precious Metals in Illinois; The Spaniards via 
 Santa Fe seek the Conquest of Illinois; They are met and overwhelmed by 
 the Missouris; Fort Chartres built; Extermination of the Natchez; Opera- 
 tions of the Company of the West in Illinois 115 
 
 XII. 1732-17.59-TLLINOIS AND LOUISIANA UNDER THE ROYAL GOVERNORS. 
 War with the Chickasaws; Death of Gov. D'Artaguettc; Commerce of Illi- 
 nois; Manners and customs of the French; Common Field; Common; Inter- 
 course with the Indians; Avocation and Costume of the People; Mode of 
 Administering the Law ; Operations of the Ohio Company ; Fort DuQucsne; 
 M. DeVilliers of Fort Chartres defeats the Virginians at the Great Meadows; 
 War between the French and English Colonists 12t 
 
rV TAELE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 XIII. 1759-1763-THE CONSPIRACY OF PONTIAC; ATTACK UPON DETROIT. 
 
 Destruction of the British Posts and Settlements 137 
 
 XIV. SIEGE OF DETROIT; PONTIAC RALLIES THE WESTERN TRIBES. 
 
 His Submission and Death 150 
 
 XV. ILLINOIS AS A BRITISH PROVINCE. 
 
 Partial exodus of the French ; Their dislike of English Law, and the restoration 
 of their own by the Quebec Bill: Land Grants by British Commandants; 
 Curious Indian Deeds; Condition of the Settlements in 1765, by Capt. Pitman; 
 Brady's and Meillets's Expeditions to the St. Joseph in 1777-1778 162 
 
 XVI. CONQUEST OF ILLINOIS BY GEORGE ROGERS CLARK 173 
 
 XVII. CLARK OBTAINS POSSESSION OF VINCENNES. 
 
 Treaties with the Indians; Vincennes falls into the hands of the English and 
 is recaptured by Clark 184 
 
 XVIII. 1778-1787-ILLINOIS UNDER VIRGINIA. 
 
 The French take the Oath of Allegiance; Illniois County; American Immi- 
 grants: LaBalme's Expedition; The Cession of the Country and Delays 
 Incident thereto; No Regular Courts of Law; Curious Laud Speculation. 203 
 
 XIX. ILLINOIS UNDER THE GOVERNMENT OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY. 
 Ordinance of 1787; Organization of St. Clair County; Bar of Illinois in 1790; Im- 
 poverished condition of the French; Indian Hostilities, 1783 to 1795; Randolph 
 County; American Immigration; Sickness; Territorial Assembly at Cincin- 
 nati ; Notable Women of Olden Time ; Witchcraft in Illinois 210 
 
 XX. 1800-1809-ILLINOIS AS PART OF THE INDIANA TERRITORY. 
 
 Its Organization; Extinguishment of Indian Titles to Lands; Gov- Harrison's 
 Facility in this; Land Speculations and Frauds on Improvement Rights and 
 Headrights; Meeting of the Legislature at Vincennes in 1805; Statutes of 
 1807 232 
 
 XXI. 1809-ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 
 
 Opposition to division; Jesse B. Thomas; Gov. Edwards; Nathaniel Pope; Ter- 
 ritorial Federal Judges; The Governor avoids the meshes of the Separa- 
 tioqists and Anti-Seperationists; Condition and Population of the Territory. 241 
 
 XXII. INDIAN TROUBLES IN ILLINOIS PRECEDING THE WAR OF 1813. 
 The Country put in a State of Defence by the organization of Ranging Com- 
 panies and the building of Block Houses and Stockade Forts; Gov. Edwards 
 sends an envoy to Gomo's Village; Battle of Tippecanoe; Indian Council at 
 Cohokia 247 
 
 XXIIL THE MASSACRE AT CHICAGO; EARLY HISTORY OF THE PLACE 260 
 
 XXIV. ILLINOIS IN THE WAR OF 1812. 
 
 Gov. Edwards's Military Campaign to Peoria Lake; Gen. Hopkins with 2,000 
 Mounted Kentucky Riflemen marches over the prairies of Illinois; His force 
 Mutinies and marches back; Capt. Craig burns Peoria and takes all its inhabi- 
 tants >fisoners; Second Expedition to Peoria Lake; Indian Murders; Illinois 
 and Missouri send two expeditions up the Missouri in 1814: Their Battles and 
 Disasters , 268 
 
 XXV. CIVIL AFFAIRS OF THE ILLINOIS TERRITORY FROM 1812 TO 1818. 
 Meeting of the Legi.slaturo; The Members; Laws: Conflicts between thcLegis- 
 
 lature and Judiciary; Curious Acts; Territorial Banks; Commerce; First 
 Steamboats; Pursuits of the People 283 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. V. 
 
 XXVI. ORGANIZATION Of THE STATE GOVERNMENT. 
 
 Administration of Gov- Bond; Our Northern Boundary*. First Constitutional 
 Conventionandsomethingoftlie instrument framed; Gov. Bond; Lieut. -Gov. 
 Menard; Meeting of tlie Legislature and election of State Officers; First 
 Supreme Court ; Hard Times and First State Bank; Organization of Courts. 295 
 
 XXVII ADMINISTRATION OF GOV COLES. 
 
 A resume of Slavery in Illinois from its earliest date; Indentured Slaves 
 Black Laws; Life and Cliaracter of Gov. Coles; The effort to make Illinois a 
 Slave State in 1834 309 
 
 XXVIII. MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 
 
 Legislative— Reorganization of the Judiciary ; Chief Justice Wilson; Hubbard 
 as Governor ad interim; Population of 1820; Visit of Layfayette 328 
 
 XXJX. ADMINISTRATION OF GOV, EDWARDS. 
 
 Campaign of 1826; The Gubernatorial Candidates; Contest between Daniel P. 
 Cook and Joseph Duncan for Congress; Character of Edwards' speeches; His 
 charges against the State Bank Officers and result of the inquiry into their 
 conduct; Repeal of the Circuit Court System; Gov. Edwards claims for the 
 State title to all public lands within her limits 335 
 
 XXX. 1830— A RETROSPECT. 
 
 Advance of the settlements; Note; Galena, its early history; Origin of the 
 term "Sucker;" Douglas' humorous account of it; Trials and troubles of 
 Pioneers in new counties; European Colonist; Financial condition of the 
 State ; Trade and Commerce ; Early Mail Routes; Newspapers and Literati; 
 Politics of the People; Militia System 346 
 
 XXXI. ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. REYNOLDS. 
 
 The Gubernatorial Candidates; Their Lives and Characters; The Campaign; 
 The Wiggins' Loan; Impeachment of Supreme Judge Smith; W. L. D. Ewing 
 Governor for 15 days 363 
 
 XXXn. BLACK HAWK WAR. 
 
 Winnebago Hostilities; Indians unable to resist the encroachments of the 
 Minors; Coalition with the Sioux; Attack on a steamboat; Compelled to sue 
 for Peace. 
 
 2. Sacs and Foxes; Blackhawk; Keokuk; Sac Villages; Invasion of the State; 
 Militia and Regulars brought into requisition ; March to the scene of danger; 
 Black Hawk compelled to enter into a treaty of peace . . 370 
 
 XXXIIT. 1832— SECOND CAMPAIGN OF THE WAR. 
 
 Blackhawk induced by White Cloud to recross the Mississippi; Refuses to obey 
 the order of Gen. Atkinson to return ; State forces reorganized ; March to 
 Rock River and unite with the Regiilars; Army proceeds up the river in 
 pursuit of the enemy; Battle of Stillman's Run; Call for frfesh troops; The 
 old forces disbanded 381 
 
 XXXIV. 1833-THIRD CAMPAIGN OF THE WAR. 
 
 Requisition for additional troops ; Attack on Apple Creek Fort; Capt.Stephens' 
 Encounter with the Indians; Organization of the New Levies; Battle of 
 Kellogg's Grove; Battle of the Wisconsin 390 
 
 XXXV— 1833— CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 Pursuit of the Indians; Battle of Bad Axe ; Arrival of Gen. Scott; Treat- 
 ies with the Indians ; Eastern tour of the Prisoners; Death of Black Hawk. 401 
 
VI. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 XXXVl-1834-1838- ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. DUNCAN. 
 
 The Campaign; Life and Character of Duncan ; More State Banks and what 
 became of them ; Slavery Agitation by Lovejoy; his death 416 
 
 XXXVII-STATE INTERNAL IMPROVEMENT SYSTEM 433 
 
 XXXIII— 1838-1842— ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. CARLIN. 
 
 Continuance of the subject of Internal Improvement; Collapse of the grand 
 system; Hard Times; Reorganization of the judiciary in 1841 441 
 
 XXXIX— 1842-1846- ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. FORD. 
 
 The Campaign; Life and character of Gov. Ford; Lt. Gov. Moor; Means 
 of Relief from Financial embarrassments; The State at the turning point; 
 Restoration of her credit 462 
 
 XL-THE ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 
 
 Trials and troubles incident to its construction 474 
 
 XLI-1840-4-MORMONS OR LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 Joe Smith : Prophetic mission : Followers i-emove to Missouri ; Expulsion 
 from the State: Settlement in Illinois: Obnoxious Nauvoo charter and or- 
 dinances; Arrest and acquittal of Smith ; His assassination 4S9 
 
 XLII— 1844-6— MORMON WAR. 
 
 Manner of Smith's death : Character of the Mormons ; Apostles assume the 
 government of the Church ; Trial and and acquittal of the assassins : Saints 
 driven from the vicinity of Lima and Green Plains ; Leading Mormons re- 
 tire across the Mississippi; Battle at Nauvoo; Expulsion of the inhabitants.. 508 
 
 XLin-ILLINOIS IN THE MEXICAN WAR 523 
 
 XLTV-CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTION OF 1847, AND SOMETHING OF THE 
 
 ORGANIC LAW FRAMED BY IT 543 
 
 XLV-1846-1853~ ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. FRENCH. 
 
 Lives and character of the Gubernatorial candidates ; Funding of the State 
 debt; Refusal of the people togivethe Legislature control of the 2 mill tax; 
 Township organization ; Homestead Exemption ; The Bloody Island Dike 
 and a speck of War ; State policy regarding railroads 551 
 
 XLVI— THE ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 
 
 Congressional grant of land ; Holdbrook Charter ; Bondholder's scheme ; The 
 7 per cent, of its gross earnings; Passage of its Charter; Benefits the Com- 
 pany, the State, and individuals; Note; Jealousy of politicians on accountof 
 its glory; Correspondcnc of Messrs. Breese and Douglas 571 
 
 XLVII— OUR FREE OR STOCK BANKS. 
 
 How a bank might be started; The small note act; Panic of 1854; Revulsion 
 of 1857; Winding up 585 
 
 XLVIII— 1853-1857— ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. MATTESON. 
 
 Democratic and Whig Conventions; Sketches of the Gubernatorial candi- 
 dates; Financial condition and physical development of the State; Legisla- 
 tion 1853-5; Maine Law and riot at Chicago; Our common Schools and trials 
 in the establishment of the Free School system 599 
 
 XLIX-DUELS IN ILLINOIS AND ATTEMPTS AT DUELS. 
 
 Affairs of honor and personal diUlculties, 618 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS. VH. 
 
 L-1853-1856~ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 
 
 The Illinois "Wilmot Proviso; Dissolution of the Whig party; Repeal of the 
 Mo. Compromise; Intense political feeling; Douglas denied free speech in 
 Chicago: Knownothingism: Democratic and Republican Conventions of 
 1856; Result of the campaign; Lincoln's plea for harmony at the ChicaEfo 
 banquet ^35 
 
 LI— 1857-1861-ADMINISTRATION|)F GOV. BISSEL. 
 
 Life and character of the Governor, Gross attack upon him in the Legisla- 
 ture on account of his dueling affair, Turbulence of party strife and want 
 of ofiBcial courtesy, Disgraceful action in organizing the house, Apportion- 
 ment bills of 1857-9, Canal scrip fraud, The Macalister and Stebbins 
 bonds , 656 
 
 LII~OUR SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 
 
 Their lives and characters ; Senatorial contest between Lincoln and Douglas 
 in 1858 679 
 
 LIII~186l-1865-- ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. YATES. 
 
 Party conventions of 1850; The two great labor systems of the country in di- 
 rect antagonism ; Life and character of Gov. Yates; Lieut. Gov. Hoffman; 
 Condition of the State and comparative growth since 1850. 716 
 
 LIV-ILLINOIS IN THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 Slavery; Sectional antagonism ; Secession; Inauguration of Lincoln; Call for 
 volunteers; Proclamation of Gov. Yates; Uprising of the people 723 
 
 LV~1861-1864--ILLINOIS IN THE REBELLION. 
 
 Unprecedented success in furnishing men; Patriotic efforts of women; Mil- 
 itary operations within the State 733 
 
 LVI-1861-2--ILLINOIS IN MISSOURI. 
 
 Battles of Lexington, Monroe, Charleston, Fredericktown, Belmont and Pea 
 Ridge 746 
 
 LVII~1861-3--ILLINOIS ON THE CUMBERLAND, TENNESSEE AKD MISSISSIPPI. 
 Battles of Forts Henry and Donelson ; Capture of Columbus, New Madrid 
 and Island No. 10 737 
 
 LV1II--1863— ILLINOIS IN NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND ALABAMA. 
 
 Battle of Pittsburg Landing ; Mitchell's campaign; Siege of Corinth 709 
 
 LIX~1863--ILLINOIS IN KENTUCKY, NORTHERN MISSISSIPPI AND MIDDLE 
 TENNESSEE. 
 Battles of Perry ville, Bolivar, Britton's Lane, luka, Corinth and Stone River. 785 
 
 LX-18G3-3--ILLINOIS IN THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGNS. 
 
 Movements on the Mississippi, Battles of Coffeeville, Holly Springs, Par- 
 ker's Cross Roads, Chickasaw Bayou and Arkansas Post 799 
 
 LXI-1863--ILLINOIS IN THE VICKSBURG CAMPAIGNS. 
 
 Battles of Port Gibson, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills and Black River : 
 Grierson's Raid , Siege and capture of Vicksburg 811 
 
 LXII-ILLINOIS IN THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Battles of Chicamauga, Wauhatchie, Lookout Mountain and Mission Ridge , 
 Relief of Knoxville 835 
 
Vni TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
 
 LXin-1864--ILLINOIS IN THE ATLANTA AND NASHVILLE CAMPAIGNS. 
 
 Battles of Kocky Face Mountain, Resaca, New Hope Church, Peach Tree 
 Creek, Atlanta, Jonesboro, Alatoona, Spring Hill, Franklin and Nashville. . . 836 
 
 LxrV~1864-5~ILLINOIS IN THE MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN. 
 
 RED RIVER EXPEDITION, REDUCTION OF MOBILE; SHERMAN'S MARCH 
 TO THE SEA; REDUCTION OF WILMINGTON; MARCH THROUGH THE 
 CAROLINAS; CLOSE OF THE WAR j 851 
 
 LXV~POLITICAL AND PARTY AFFAIRS DURING THE REBELLION. 
 
 Sentiments of the Illinois Democracy in the winter of 1860-1; Patriotic feeling 
 on the breaking out of hostilities irrespective of party as inspired by 
 Douglas; Revival of partisan feeling; Constitutional Convention of 
 1863; Its high pretensions , Conflict with the Governor, Some features of 
 the instrument framed, it becomes a party measure, The vote upon it; 
 Party Conventions of 1863 ; The last Democratic Legislature ; Frauds in pass- 
 ing bills ; Reaction among the people against the Peace movement; Military 
 arrests; Suppressing the Chicago Times; Secret Politico-Military Societies; 
 Democratic mass Convention of June 17th, 1863, Republican mass Conven- 
 tion, Sept., 1863; Peace meetings of 1864. Note— Chicago Conspiracy 866 
 
 LXVI-ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. OGLESBY. 
 
 Republican and Democratic State Conventions of 1864; Lives and character of 
 Oglesby and Bross; Prosperity and condition of the State during the Rebel- 
 lion; Legislation, political and special, in 1865-7; Board of Equalization 
 established; Location of the Agricultural College; Illinois Capitals and 
 their removal; History of the Penitentiary 907 
 
 LXVII~1809-'73-- ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. PALMER. 
 
 Republican and Democratic State Conventions, Life and character of Gov. 
 Palmer, Legislation, the tax grabbing law, Lake Front bill, &c. The Con- 
 stitution of 1870 , The great Chicago fire 929 
 
 Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, C, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 1-3, 14, IG, 17, 32, 33, 
 34, 35, 41, 42, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64; the Death of 
 Lovejoy in 36, and "Note, Conspiracy of Chicago," in 65, have 
 been written by Mr. Davidson. 
 
 Chapters 15, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 
 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 05, 66 and 
 67, have been written by Mr. Stuve'. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 Altliougli Illinois, whose grassy plains have been styled the 
 Eden of the new world, contains the oldest permanent settlements 
 in the Valley of the Mississippi, and in her strides to empire is 
 destined to become the first State of the Union, her history has been 
 strangely neglected. Fragments have been written at different 
 times but only of detached periods and embracing but a small 
 part of the two centuries, which have elapsed since the first ex- 
 plorations. To supply this deficiency and furnish a history com- 
 mensurate with her present advancement in power and civiliza- 
 tion is the object of the present work; whether it has been accom- 
 plished remains to be seen. 
 
 Not having taken any -part in the shifting and instructive drama 
 enacted by those who have directed the affairs of State, no rank- 
 ling jealousies have been engendered to distort conclusions ; no 
 undue predelections to warp the judgement. Measures have been 
 estimated by their results ; men by their j^ublic acts. While no 
 disposition has existed to assail any one, it must be remembered 
 that none are faultless, and to speak well of all is the worst of 
 detraction, for it places the good and the bad on a common level. 
 
 A principal aim has been to render the the work complete. A 
 large amount of matter has been inserted never before published 
 in connection with the history of the State; yet important facts, 
 though familiar, have always been preferred to new ones of minor 
 significance. The main consideration, however, has been to ren- 
 der it truthful. In the wide field which has been gleaned, every 
 available source of information has been carefully consulted, and 
 
X. PREFACE. 
 
 it is believed a degree of accuracy lias been secured, which will 
 compare favorably with that of other similar efforts. Still there 
 will always be room for improvement, and any corrections which 
 may be offered by i^arties who have witnessed, or been connected 
 with events described, will be thankfully received and inserted in 
 future editions of the work, the object being to make it a complete 
 repository of reliable facts for the general reader, the politician, 
 the lawyer, and all who may wish to become acquainted with the 
 history of our noble State. 
 
 To the many in different parts of the State, who have furnished 
 information, or aided us by valuable suggestions, we return 
 our thanks, especially to Messrs. Eummel and Harlow, Secretaries 
 of State, for the use of public documents, and to the proprietors 
 of the State Journal and State Register^ for access to their valua- 
 ble files. 
 
 Springfield, Dec. 19th, 1873. 
 
Chapter I. 
 GEOLOGY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 On the geological structure of a country depend the pursuits of 
 its inhabitants and the genius of its ci\ilization. Agriculture is the 
 outgTo^Yth of a fertile soil; mining- results from mineral resources; 
 and from navigable waters spring navies and commerce. Every 
 gTeat branch of industry requires, for its successful development, 
 the cultivation of kindred arts and sciences. Phases of life and 
 modes of thought are thus induced, which give to diftereut com- 
 munities and states characters as various as the diverse rocks 
 that underlie them. In like manner it may be shown that their 
 moral and intellectual qualities depend on material conditions. 
 AMiere the soil and subjacent rocks are profuse in the bestowal of 
 wealth, man is indolent and efifeminate ; where effort is required to 
 live, he becomes enlightened and virtuous; and where, on the sands 
 of the desert, labor is unable to procure the necessaries and com- 
 forts of life, he lives a savage. The civilization of states and 
 nations is, then, to a great extent, l)ut the reflection of physical 
 conditions, and hence the propriety of introducing their civil, polit- 
 ical and military history Anth a sketch of the geological substruc- 
 ture from which they originate. 
 
 Geology traces the history' of the earth back through successi^'e 
 stages of development to its rudimental condition in a state of 
 fusion. Speculative astronomy extends it beyond this to a gaseous 
 state, ill which it and the other bodies of the solar system consti- 
 tuted a nebulous mass, without form and motion. \Mieii, m the 
 process of development, motion was communicated to the chaotic 
 matter, huge fragments were detached from its circumference, 
 which formed the primary i)lanets. These retaining the rotary 
 motion of the sun, or central mass, in tuni threw off other and 
 smaller fragments, thus forming the secondary planets, as in the 
 case of the moon which attends the earth. All these bodies are 
 similar in form, have a similar motion on their axes, move substan- 
 tially in a common plain and in the same direction, the result of 
 the projectile force which detached them from the parent mass. 
 These facts are strong CAidence tliat the sun, and the planetary 
 system that revolves around it, were originally a common mass, 
 and liecame sejiarated in a gaseous state, as the want of cohesion 
 among the particles would then favor the dissevering force. From 
 the loss of heat they next passed into a fluid or plastic state, the 
 point in the history of the earth where it comes within the range 
 of geological investigation. 
 
 \Miile in this condition it became flattened at the poles, a form 
 due to its dim-nal rotation and the mobility of its particles. At a 
 
3 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 further reduction of temperature its melted disk was trausformed 
 into a crust of igneous rock. A great many facts render it aluiost 
 certain tlrat the vast nucleus within this envelopuig crust is still 
 an incandescent mass. Compared with its enormous bulk, the 
 external covering is of only filmy thickness, the ratio of the two 
 being as the pulp and peel of an orange. In this world-cru<'il)le 
 are held in solution the 01 elementary substances, which, ^■al•iously 
 combiniug, produce the great variety of forms, energies aud modes 
 of being, which diversify and eidiven terrestrial nature. From the 
 same source the precious metals have been forced into the fissures 
 of the superincumbent rocks, whither the miner descends and 
 brings them to the surface. Volcanoes are outlets for the treuien- 
 dous forces generated in these deep-seated fires. As an evidence 
 of their eruptive power, Vesuvius sometimes throws jets of lava, 
 resembhng columns of tiame, 10,000 feet in hight. The amount of 
 lava ejected at a single eruption from one of the volcanoes of 
 Iceland, has been estimated at 40,000,000,000 tons, a quantity suffi- 
 cient to cover a large city with a. mouutain as high as the tallest 
 Alps. By the process of congehitiou, which has never ceased, 
 the rocky crust which rests on this internal sea of fire, is now 
 sui)pose<l to l)e from thirty to forty miles in thickness. The outer 
 or ui)per portion of it was the most universal geological fonnation, 
 and constituted the floors of the primitive oceans. The rocks coui- 
 posing it are designated unstratified, because they occur in irregidar 
 masses, and igneous from having originally been melted by intense 
 heat. The vast cycle of time extending through their forniation 
 and reaching doAvn to the introduction of life on the globe, cousti- 
 tutes the Azoic age. The earth's siu'fac^e, consisting of arid wastes 
 and boiling waters, and its atmospheie reeking with poisonous 
 gases, were wholly incompatible Avith the existence of plants and 
 animals. By the continued radiation of heat the nucleus within 
 the hardened crust contracted, aud the latter, to adapt itself to tlie 
 diminished bulk, folded iuto huge corrugations, formhig the j)rim- 
 itive mountain chains and the first land that appeared above the 
 face of the waters. The upheaval of these vast plications was 
 atten<led with depressions in other parts of the surface constituting 
 the valleys and basins of the original rivers and oceans. Through 
 the agency of water the uplifted masses were disintegrated and the 
 resulting sediment swept into the extended depressions. Here it 
 settled in parallel layers and constitutes the stratified rocks. In 
 some ktcalities tlu'se are entirely wanting, in others many miles in 
 dei)tli, while their average thickness is supposed to be from six to 
 eight miles. 
 
 The plain, separating the stratified from the unstratified rocks, 
 runs parallel Avith the oldest part of the earth's crust. When 
 .solidihcation commenced it was the surface, ami as induration 
 ad\anced toward the centre the crust thickened by increments on 
 the inside, and, therefore, the most recently formed igneous rocks 
 are the farthest beloAV the surface. Stratification commenced at 
 the same plain aud extended in an upward direction, and hence 
 The most recent deposits are nearest the surface, Avhen not displaced 
 by disturbing causes. 
 
 In the sihMit depths of the stratified rocks are the former creations 
 of plants tmd animals, which lived and died during the slow, 
 dragging centuries of their ibrnmtion. These fossil remains are 
 
GEOLOGrT. 
 
 fragnieiits of liistory, which enable the geologist to extend liis 
 reseaicliesl'ar back into the reahns of tlie past, and not only deter- 
 mine tlieir former niofles of life, but study the contemporaneous 
 history of tlieir rocky beds, and group them into 8yst(:'^ms. The 
 fossiliferous rocks are not only of great thickness but frequently 
 their entii-e structure is an aggregation of cemente<l shells, so 
 numerous that millions of them occur in a single cubic foot. Such 
 has l)een the profusion of life that the great limestone formations 
 of the globe consist mostly of animal remains, cemented by the 
 infusion of mineral matter! A large part of the soil spread oyer 
 the earth's siutace has been elaborated in animal organisms. First, 
 as noui'ishment, it enters the structure of plants and forms yeget- 
 able tissue. Passing thence as food into the animal, it becomes 
 endowed with life, and when death occurs it returns to the soil and 
 imi>a rts to it additional elements of fertility. The different systems 
 of stratified roclcs, as determined l)y their organic remains, are 
 usually (lenomhiated Ages or Systems. 
 
 The Lanreniuui System or A<je is the lowest, and tlierefore 
 the oldest, of the stratified series. From the effects of great 
 heat it has assumed, to some extent, the character of the igneous 
 rocks l)elow, but still retains its original lines of stratification. A 
 })rincipal effect of the great hear to m hich its rocks were exposed 
 is crystalization. Crystals are frequently formed by art, but the 
 most beautiful specimens are the products of nature's laboratories, 
 deep-seated in the crust of the earth. The Laurentian system 
 was formerly sujiposed to be destitute of orgaiuc remains, but 
 recent investigations have lead to the discovery of animals so low 
 in the scale of organization as to be regarded as the first appear- 
 ance of sentient existence. This discovery, as it extends the origin 
 of life bae-lcward tlirough 30,(H)0 feet of strata, ]nay be regarded 
 as one of the most important advances made in American geology. 
 Its sup])osed beginuLiig, in a considerable degree of advancement 
 in the Silurian system, was regarded ]>y geologists as too abru])t 
 to correspoiulwith the gradual develoi>ment of types in subsequent 
 strata. The discovery, however, of these incipient forms in the 
 Laurentian beds, renders the descending scale of life comjilete, 
 and \-erifies the conjectures of physicists that in its earliest dawn 
 it should couuuence ^\\i\\ the nu)St simple organisms. 
 
 Tlw Murojiiau tSi/stem., like the one that precedes it, and on 
 which it rests, is highly crystalline. Although fossils have not 
 been fomid in it, yet from its position the inference is they once 
 existed, and if they do not now^, the great transforming power of 
 heat has caused their obliteration. This, and the subjacent system, 
 extend from Labrador southwesterly to the great lakes, and 
 thence north^vesterly tow ard the Arctic Ocean. They derive their 
 names from the St. Lawrence and Lake Huron, on the banks of 
 which are found their principal outcrops. Their emergence from 
 the ocean was the birth of the North American continent. One 
 face of theuphft looked toward the Atlantic, and the otlier toward 
 the Pacific, thus prefiguring the future shores of this great <livision 
 of tlife globe, of which they are the germ. Eruptive forces have 
 not oijferated with sufficient power to bring them to the surface in 
 Illinois, and therefore the vast stores of mineral wealth, which they 
 contain in other places, if they exist here, are too deep below the 
 siu^face to be made available. 
 
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The Silurian Age, compared with the more stable formations of 
 subsequent times, was one of commotion, in which fire and water 
 played a conspicuous part. Earthquakes and volcanoes furrowed 
 the yielding crust with ridges, and threw up islands whose craggj^ 
 summits, here and there, stood hke sentinels above the murky 
 deep which dashed against their shores. The present diversities 
 of climate did not exist, as the temperature was mostly due to the 
 escape of internal heat, which was the same over every part of the 
 surface. As the radiation of heat in fiitm^e ages declined, the sun 
 became the controlling power, and zones of climate appeared as 
 the result of solar domination. Uniform thermal conditions impar- 
 ted a corresponding character to vegetable and animal life, and 
 one universal fauna and flora extended from the equator to the 
 poles. These hardy marme types consisted of Eadiates, Mollusks 
 and Articulates, three of the foiu- sub-kingdoms of animal life. 
 Seaweed, which served as food for the animals, was the only plant 
 of which any traces remain. During the Silurian age North 
 America, like its inhabitants, was mostly submarine, as proved by 
 wave-lines on the emerging lands. There lay along the eastern 
 border of the continent an extended ridge, which served as a break- 
 water to the waves of the Atlantic. The region of the Alleghauies 
 was subject to great elevations and depressions, and the latter 
 largely preponderating, caused the deposit of some twelve thousand 
 feet of strata. Although mostly imder water, there was added to 
 the original nucleus of the continent formations now found in New 
 York, Michigan, Illinois, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Niagara hme- 
 stoue, a Silurian formation, is found over a large extent of country 
 in northern Illinois, beyond the limits of the coal-fields. It is a com- 
 pact grayish stone, susceptible of a high polisli, and at Athens 
 and etoUet is extensiV'Cly quarried for building purposes, and 
 shipped to different parts of the State. The new Capitol is being 
 erected of this material. The Galena limestone, another Silurian 
 deposit, is interesting, from the fact that it contains the lead and 
 zinc ores of the State. St. Peters sandstone belongs also to the 
 same system. Besides outcropping in a number of other localities, 
 it appears in the bluffs of the Illinois, Avhere it forms the island- 
 like plateau known as Starved Eock. In some locahties, being- 
 composed almost entirely of silica and nearly free from coloring- 
 matter, it is the best material m the West for the manufacture of 
 glass. 
 
 The Devonian Age is distinguished for the introduction of Verte- 
 brates, or the fourth sub-kingdom of animal life and the beginning 
 of terrestrial vegetation. The latter appeared in two classes, the 
 highest of the tlowerless and the lowest of the flowering plants. 
 The Lepidodendron, a noted instance of the former, was a nmjestic 
 upland forest ti-ee, wliich, dimng the coal period, grew to a hight 
 of 80 feet, and had a base of more than 3 feet in diameter. 
 Beautiful spiral flutings, coihng in opposite directions and crossing 
 eacli other at fixed angles, carved the trunks and branches into 
 rlioml)oi(hd eminences, each of which was scarred with the mark 
 of a falling leaf. At an altitude of 00 feet it sent off" arms, each 
 separating into branchlets covered with a needle-like fohage, des- 
 titute^- of flowers. It grew, not by internal or external accretions, 
 as plants of the present day, but Uke the building of a monument, 
 by additions to the top of its trunk. Mosses, rushes and other 
 
GEOLOGY. 
 
 diiuinutive flowerless i)laiit.s are now the only survivino; represeu- 
 tative of this crypto.i>aniic vej;etation, which so largely predomina- 
 ted in the early botany of the globe. Floral beauty and fragrance 
 were not characteristic of the old Devonian woods. No bird 
 existed to enliven their silent groves with song, no scr]»ent to hiss 
 in tln^ir fenny brakes, nor beast to piu'sue, with hideous yells, its 
 panting prey. 
 
 The vertebrates consisted of lishes, of which the Ganoids and 
 riacoids were the i)rincipal groups. The former were tlie fore- 
 runners of the re])tile, which in many resi)ects they closely resem- 
 bled. They end>race(l a large number of species, many of which 
 grew to a gigantic size; but Avith the exception of the gar and 
 stm-geon, they have no living representatives. The Placoids, 
 structm-ally formed for advancement, still remain among the 
 highest types of the present seas. The shark, a noted instance, 
 Judging from its fossil remains, must have attained 100 feet in 
 length. Both groups lived in the sea, and if any fresh water 
 animals existed their remains have either perished or not been 
 found. Ho numerous were the inhabitants of the ocean, that the 
 Devonian has been styled the age of fishes. In their anatomical 
 .structure was foreshadowed the organization of man; reptiles, 
 birds and mammals being the intermediate gradations. The con- 
 tiiiental sea of the preceding age still covered the larger })art of 
 aSTorth America, extending far northwest and o])ening south into 
 th(^ (rulf of Mexico. In its shallow basins M'ere (U^posited sand- 
 stones, shales and Hmcstones, which westerly attained a thickness 
 of r>0() feet, and in the I'cgion of the Alleghani<»s 1,500 feet. The 
 great thickness of t)ie latter deposits indicated oscillations, in 
 which tlie downward movement exceeded the u])ward. Shallow 
 waters, therefore, interspersed with reefs and islands, still occu- 
 pied the sites of the Alleghanies and Kocky IMountains, whicii 
 now look down from above the clouds on the finished continent. 
 The St. Lawrence and the Hudson may have existed in miniature, 
 but the area of land was too small for rivers and other bodies of 
 fresh water of considerable extent. In the disturbances closing 
 tlie Devonian age additions were made to the surface in Iowa, 
 AVisconsin and Illinois. The two resulting formations hi this State 
 are the Devonian limestone and the Oriskany sandstone. There 
 are oiitcroj)s of the forisun' in the blutfs of the i\iississi])j>i, Kock 
 and Illinois rivers. It contains a great variety of fossils, and is 
 used for bmlding material and the manufacture of (piicklime. The 
 latter appears in Union, Alexander and Jackson coiuities, and is 
 used to some extent in the manufacture of glass. 
 
 The Carboniferous A{/e opened Avith the deposition of widely 
 extended marine formations. Added to the strata i)revi(aisly 
 deposited^ the entire tluckness in the region of the Alleghanies, 
 now partially elevated, amounted to 7 miles. AVide areas of i)er- 
 manent elevation occurred between the 31th and 45th degrees of 
 latitude, embracing most of the territory between the eastern con- 
 tinenf al border and the States of Kansas and Nebraska. Farther 
 westward, and resulting from the gradual emergence of the Pacific 
 coast, was an interior sea Avhose shalloAV waters still tioAved OA^er 
 the site of the Kocky Moiuitains. The Avinter temixn-ature near 
 the poles Avas 00 degrees. A stagnant and stifiing atmosphere 
 rested uijon the area now constituting the United States and 13iitish 
 
6 HISTORY OF IIXINOIS. 
 
 America. The McKeiizie river, now filled with icebergs, then 
 flowed through verdant banks to a coral sea, having the same tem- 
 peratnre as the Gnlf of Mexico at the present day. Tlie most prom- 
 inent featnre of the age was the formation of coal. Being carbon- 
 ized vegetable tissue, the material furnished for this purpose was 
 the vast forest accunndations pecidiar to the peiiod. Vegetation, 
 commencing in the pre\ious age, had now attained an expansicm 
 ■which greatly exceeded the growth of prior or subsequent times. 
 Invigorated by a warm, moist and winterless climate, and an 
 atmosphere surciharged with carbonic acid gas, vast jmigles spread 
 over the marshy plains, and impenetrable forests covered the 
 upland slopes and hights. The gracefid lepidodendron, nowfidly 
 developed, was one of the jirincipal coal producing- i>lants ; sub- 
 serving the same purpose aiul associated with it was the gigantic 
 coulter, a member of the pine famdy. The ancient fern, aiu)ther 
 coal plant, grew to a hight of 80 feet. Its trunk, regularly fretted 
 with scars and destitute of branches, terminated in a crown of 
 foliage rivaling- that of the i)aliri in i)rofuseness and beauty. The 
 sigiUarid, however, as it contributed most largely to the produc- 
 tion of coal, Avas the chiiracteristic plant of the period. The 
 trunk, which rose froiu 40 to (K) feet high from its alternate flntings 
 and ribs, appeared like a clustered column. At an altitude of -!5 
 or 30 feet it separated into branches, covered with a grass-like 
 foliag'e intermingled with long catkins of obscure flowers or strings 
 of seed, arranged in whorls about a common stem. The structure 
 of the trunk was peculiar. One, o feet in diameter, was surrounded 
 with a bark 13 inches in thickness; within this was a cyMnder of 
 wood 12 inches in thickness, and at the center ii pith 10 inches in 
 diameter. Such a tree would be us(dess as timber, but the bark, of 
 which they largely consisted, was impervious to mineral solutions, 
 and valuable for the production of coal. The calamites, growing" 
 with the sigiUarids, covered with dense brakes the marsiiy flats. 
 Their hollow stems, marked vcitically with flutings and horizon- 
 tally with joints, grew in clumps to a hight of 20 t'aet. Some 
 species were brancliless, while from the joints of other sprang- 
 branches, subdividing into wliorls of branehlets. 
 
 The vast accumulation of vegetable matter from these and other 
 carboniferous plants, either imbedded in the miry soil in wiiich it 
 grew, or swept from adjacent elevations into shallow lakes, became 
 covered with sedinu^nt, and thus were transformed into coal. It 
 has been estimated that 8 perpenriii.'ular feet of wood were re- 
 <piu-ed to make 1 foot of bituminous coal, and 12 to make 1 of 
 anthracite. Some beds of the latter are 30 feet in thickness, and 
 hence 3(50 feet of timber must have been consunsed in their })ro- 
 duction. The i)rocess of its foruiation was exactly the same as 
 l)racticed in the manufacture of charcoal, by burning wood under 
 a covering of earth. A'^egetable tissue consists mostly of carbon 
 and oxygen, and decomposition must take place, either under 
 water or some other imi)ervi(ms covering, to prevent the elements 
 from fornung carbonic; acid gas, and thus escai)iiig- to the atmos- 
 l)here. Conforming to these reciuiremeuts, the immense vegetable 
 growths forming the (;oal-tiel<ls su])sided with the surface on wliick 
 they grew, and were buried beneath th(> succeeding- deposits. 
 !N()va Scotia has 70 diiferent beds, and Illinois 12 ; an<l conse- 
 quently, in these localities there were as numy different lields of 
 
GEOLOGY. 7 
 
 verdure overwhelmed in the dirt-beds of the sea. Tlius, h)iig' be- 
 fore the starry cycles had measTired half the history of the un- 
 folding' continent, and when lirst the exi)anding- stieani of life 
 but dimly reflected the coming age of mind, this vast Hui)ply of 
 fuel was stored away in the rocky frame-work of the globe. Here 
 it sliunbered till man nuide his appearance and dragged it from 
 its rocky lairs. At his biddiug' it renders the factory animate 
 with humming sxnndles, driving shuttles, Avhirling lathes, and chuik- 
 ing forges. IJnder his guidance tlie.iron-liorse, feeding u})on its 
 l)itchy fragments, bounds with tu'cless tread over its far reaching- 
 track, dragging after him the products of distant marts and climes. 
 By the skill of the one and the power of the other, the ocean 
 steamer plows the deep in o])positiou to Avinds and wa\es, mailing 
 its watery home a highway for the commerce of the world. 
 
 Prior to the formation of coal, so great was the volume of car- 
 bonic acid gas in the atmosphere that only slow breathing and 
 cold-blooded animals could exist. Consequent upon its conv(n-sion 
 into coal, all the preceding si)ecies of i)lants and animals perished, 
 and new forms came upon the stage of being A\'ith organizations 
 adapted to the improved conditions. In the new economy, as at 
 the present time, stability' is maintained in the atmos})here by the 
 reciprocal relations subsisting between it and the incoming typ.es. 
 The animal inspires oxygen and expires carl)onic acid gas ; the 
 vegetable inspires carbonic nv'ul gas and expires oxygen, thus pre- 
 serving- the equilibrium of this breathing medium. The coal-liehls 
 of Em"ope are estinmted at 1S,()0{) square miles, those of tlie United 
 Statt\s at 1 50,000. The Alleolumy coal-tield contains 00,000 s<iuare 
 miles, with an aggTCgate thickness of 120 feet. The Illinois and 
 INIissouri 00,000 s(|uare miles, and an aggregate thickness in some 
 localities of 70 feet, Otlier lields occur in different localitiex, of 
 various thicknesses. In Illinois, three-tV)urths of the surface are 
 underlaid by beds of coal, and the State consequently has a gn^ater 
 area than any other meml)cr of the Union. There are 12 different 
 beds, the two most imi)ortant of which are each from to 8 feet 
 in thickness. The entii'e carboniferous system, including the coal- 
 beds and the intervening strata, in southern Illinois is 27,000 feet 
 in thickness, and in the northern part only 500. 
 
 IS'ext to the immense deposits of coal, the Biu'lington, Keokuk 
 and St. Louis limestones are the most important formations. 
 They receive their a])])ellations from the cities whose names they 
 bear — where their lithological characters were lirst studied — and 
 in the vicinities of which they crop out in Illinois. The ijurling- 
 ton furnishes inexhaustible supplies of building stone and (jiiick- 
 lime, but is mostly interesting on account of the immense lunuber 
 of interesting fossils Avhich it contains. Along its northern out- 
 cro]> (\'inoids are found in a profusion unequalled by tlsat of any 
 locality of similar extent in the world. Though luitold ages have 
 elapsed since their incarceration in the rocks, so perfect has been 
 their preservation, their strnctiu'c can be determined with almost 
 as nnu^h precision as if they had perished but yesterday. The 
 Keokuk is extensively used for architectiu-al iiur])oses, and fur- 
 nished the material for the celebrated Mormon Temi)le at Nauvoo, 
 the new Post-office at Springfield, and the Custom Houses at 
 Galena and Dubuque. It contains some of the most interesting- 
 crystals found in the State. These consist of hollow s]3heres of 
 
HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 quartz aud clialcedonv of various sizes, and liued ou the luside 
 with crystalets of diftt^reut minerals. Tons of specimens have 
 been taken from Hancock county and distributed over the United 
 States and Europe, to ornament the cabinets of minerak),iiists. 
 The St. Louis is abnost pure carbonet of hme, and the best ma- 
 terial in the State for the manufactiu-e of quick-lime. It is largely 
 quarried at Alton. 
 
 The Age of BeptUcs is distinguished for changes m the conti- 
 nental borders, which generally ran within theii- present bmits. 
 The sub-marine outlines of the Bay of New York, and the course 
 of the Hudson, indicate that the adjacent shores during the early 
 part of this age were beyond their present limits. Southward the 
 sea line ran within the present shore, the distance increasing from 
 60 miles in Maryland to 1(>»> in Oeorgia, and 200 in Alabama. 
 The Texan gulf-ishore, and that of the peninsula and State of 
 California, were parallel, and mostly within their present positions. 
 These borders were fringed with deposits, while inland the trough 
 of the ohl continental sea was becoming more shallow. The alti- 
 tude of the Alleghanies had nearly reached their present hight. 
 The Eocky Moimtains, in the transition from the close of the 
 present to the beginning of the subsequent age, began slowly to 
 emerge from the Avaters under which they had hitherto slumbered. 
 The Gulf of Mexico formed a deep bay extending to the mouth of 
 the Ohio, and, protruding itself northwesterly, covered the region 
 of the Rocky Mountains. It may have connected with the Ari^tic 
 Ocean, but observations have been too limited to trace it with cer- 
 tainty beyond the head waters of the Missouri and Yellow St<»ne. 
 These are, therefore, among the more recently formed rivers, and 
 cannot be compared with the primeAal St. Lawrence and Hudson. 
 The ]\Iississii>}>i was a stream of not more than one-half its present 
 length and volume, falling into the gulf not far from the vsite of 
 Caii'O. The Ohio drained substantially the same region it does at 
 the present time. In the earlier part of the age the geographical 
 distribution of fossils indicates a common tenqierature, from Beh- 
 ring Strait in the Northern to that of Mageban in the Southern 
 Hemisphere. In the latter part, however, a difference is percep- 
 tible, indicating also a difference of tenqierature and the com- 
 mencement of climatic zones. This change, caused by the partial 
 upheaval of mountain chains north of the E«iuator, and the de- 
 cline of internal heat, marked a new era in the physical history 
 of the globe. As the result, currents commenced flowing in the 
 ocean; the constant monotony of previ(ms ages was broken by 
 the lileasant diversities of changing seasons ; life was imparted to 
 the atnH)spliere, and the breeze came forth laden with the bieatli 
 of siu'ing; the tem])est madly burst into being and began its A\ork 
 of destrnction, and the trade-winds commenced blowing, but it 
 was reserved i'or a future age to make them the common carriers 
 of the ocean's commerce. 
 
 The prin(U])al formations of the age, none of Avhich exist in 
 Illinois, were sandstones, chalks and limestones, interstratilled 
 with dejxKsits of salt and gy])snni. Their absence can be explained 
 either u]»on the sni)])osition tluit the snrfaceof the State was either 
 above the Avaters in Avhich they were deposited, or, having originally 
 been deposited, they Avere subse(juently swept away by denuding 
 agencies. The former Avas perhaps the case, as no aqueous action 
 
GEOLOGY. 9 
 
 coukl have operated Avitli sufficient iiower to remove all traces of 
 their former existence. The characteristic plants of the coal age, 
 now declining, were replaced by cycads and many new forms of 
 conifers and ferns. The cycacl was intermediate in character, 
 resembling the fern in the opening of its. foliage, and the i)alm in 
 its general habits. It was now in the full zenith of its expansion, 
 while the fern was dying out and the conifer was yet to be devel- 
 oped. More than 100 angiosperms made their appearance, one-half 
 of them closely allied to the trees of modern forests and the fruit 
 trees of temperate regions. In the latter part of the age the palm, 
 at present the most perfect type of the vegetable kingdom, was 
 also introduced. New animal species made their appearance, 
 attended by the extinction of all pre-existing forms. Eeptiles 
 now reached their culmination, the earth, sea and air, each having 
 its peculiar kind. Their fossil renuiins indicate a large iuind)er of 
 both lierbiverous and carniverous species, which in many instan- 
 ces attained a length of 00 feet. The ichthyosaurus, a prominent 
 exauii>le, united in its structure parts of several related animals, 
 having the head of a lizard, the snout of a pori)oise, the teeth of 
 a crocodile, the spine of a tish and the paddles of a whale. Its 
 eyes, enormously large, were arranged to act both like the telescoije 
 and the microscope, thus enabling it to see its prey both night and 
 day, and at all distances. It subsisted on tish and the young of 
 its own species, some of which must have been swallowed several 
 feet in length. Associated with it was the Pleiosaurus, an animal 
 resembhng it in its general structure. A remarkable difference, 
 however, was the great length of neck x^ossessed by the latter, 
 which contained 40 vc^rtebrte, the largest number that has ever 
 been found in animals living or fossil. These two reptiles for a 
 long time ruled tlie seas and kei)t the increase of other animals 
 within proper lunits. But the most gigantic of reptile monsters 
 was the Iguanodon. Some individuals were (>0 feet long, lo feet 
 round the largest part of the body, had feet 12 feet in length, and 
 thighs 7 feet in diameter. The most heteroclitic creature was the 
 Pterodactyl. It had the neck of a bird, the mouth of a reptile, 
 the M-ings of a bat, and tlie body and tail of a mammal. Its curi- 
 ous organization enabled it to walk on two feet, tly like a bat, and 
 creep, clind) or dive in jtursuitof its food. The age is also remark- 
 able as the era of the llrst mammels, the first birds, and the iii'st 
 common fishes. 
 
 The Mammalian Age witnessed the increase of the mass of the 
 eartli above the ocean's level three-fold. The world-constiucting 
 architect, the coral insect, built up Florida out of the sea, thus 
 comi)letiug the southern expanse of the continent. Its eastern 
 and western borders were substantially finished, and superficially 
 its gTeatplateaus, mountain chains and river systems, approximated 
 then- present geographical aspects. The Eocky Mountains were 
 elevated to a liight of 7,000 feet, the Wind Eiver chain 0,800, the Big 
 Horn i\Iountains 0,000, Pike's Peak 1,500. The upheaval of the 
 Eocky Mountain region greatly enlarged the Missouri, previously 
 an inconsiderable stream, adding to it the Yellowstone, I*latte, 
 Kansas and other tributaries. The Lower Mississippi was formed 
 and discharged its vast volume of accunnilated waters near the 
 present coast line of the Gidf. The elevation of mountain masses 
 to snowy altitudes cooled down the temj)erature and introduced 
 
10 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sul»staiitiall.y the present climates. In Europe tlie change was 
 gradual from tropical to subtropical and temperate; in North 
 America abrupt. As a consequence the botany of the latter 
 opened with the oak, poplar, dogwood, nmgnolia, fig, palm and 
 other plants closely resembling those ol^ the present day. 
 
 Of the animals^ the Manim<jth was remarkable. Unlike the 
 elephant of the present day, they were covered with a redish wool 
 intermingled vrith hah' and black bristles, tlie latter being more 
 than a foot in length. Vast herds of these huge creatures, nearly 
 three times as large as the present elephant, their living represen- 
 tative wandered over the northern part of both hemis])heres. 
 An individual in a perfect state of preservation was found in 171K), 
 encased in ice, at the mouth of the river Lena. It still retained 
 the wool on its hide, and otherwise was so free from decay, that 
 its flesh was eaten by dogs. Their remains are abundantly distrib- 
 uted over the m^rtheru part of the United States, imbedded usually 
 in marshes where the animals were perhaps mked while in search 
 of food or water. A large fossil specimen was recently exhumed 
 in Macon county, Illinois, 2 miles southeast of Uliopolis, in the 
 edge of Long Point Slough, by the side of an oozy spring. The 
 fos'sils ha^e been found in other localities of the State, and the 
 prairies may have been places of frequent resort. Contemporane- 
 ous with them were the Dinotheriuin and Megatherium, and other 
 creatures of the most gigantic proportions. The magnitude of the 
 Mammoth seems almost fabulous, but that of the Dinotherium 
 probably surpassed it. One of its most remarkable features was 
 its enormous tusks, projecting from the anterior exti'emity of the 
 lower jaw, which curved down like those of the walrus. Like the 
 rhinoceros, it lived in the water, and was well adapted to the lacus- 
 trine condition of the earth counnon at the time it flourished. The 
 Megatherium, belonging to the sloth family, was also of colossal 
 dimensions. Its body, in some instances 18 feet long, rested on 
 legs resembling columns of su]»port ratlier than organs of loconu)- 
 tion. Its spinal colunm contained a nerve a foot in diameter; its 
 femur was three times the size of the elephant's, while its feet 
 w^ere a yard in length and more than a foot in width. The tail 
 near the body was two feet in diauieter, and used with its hind 
 legs as a tripod on which the animal sat when it wielded its huge 
 arms and hands. 
 
 Toward the close of the age oscillations occurred in the northern 
 part of the continent, greatly modifying the comlition of its sur- 
 face. During the upward vibration vast glaciers spread over 
 British America and the contiguous ])ortiou of the United States. 
 These fields of ice, becoming filled with liard boulders, and mov- 
 ing southward by expansion, ground into fragments the underlying 
 rocks. Tlie sediment was gatliered up by the moving mass, and 
 when a latitude sufficiently warm to melt the ice was reached, it 
 was s})read OA'er the surface. Accunnilations of this kind consti- 
 tute the dritt which extends from New Ihigland Avestward beyond 
 the Mississippi, and from the .St>th i)arallel northward to an lui- 
 known limit. In Illinois, with the exceptioji of small areas in the 
 northwestern and southern i)arts of the State, it covers the entire 
 surface with a varying stratum of from 10 to 200 feet in thickness. 
 Here, and in other parts of the West, not only glaciers, but ice- 
 bergs, were connected with its distribution. The waters of the 
 
GEOLOGY. 11 
 
 Jakes tlieii extended .southward i)erliaps to the higldauds, crossing 
 the State from Grand Tower east toward the Oluo. This barrier 
 formed tlie soutiiern limits of this sea, and also of the drift which 
 was distributed over its bottom by tloating bodies of ice iilledM'ith 
 sediment previously detached from the glaciers farther north. The 
 upward movement of the glacitd epo<'h was tbllowed by a de|)res- 
 sion of the surface below its present level. The subsidence in 
 Connecticut was 50 feet; in Massachusetts, 170; in K^ew Hamp- 
 shire, I'OO; at ^Montreal, 4.")0; and several hundred in the region of 
 Illinois and the I'acirtc. Previously the adjacent Atlantic seaboard 
 extended into the sea beyond its present lindts ; now it receded, 
 and the St. LaAvrence and Lake <_'h;!m})lain became gulfs extend- 
 ing far inland. As the residt of the down-throw the temi)erature 
 Wiis eh'vated, causing the glaciers to melt, and a further dissemi- 
 nation of the drift. Eegular outlines, due to the dinannc forces, 
 ice and water, were thus imi)arted to the surface, which a subse- 
 •quent emergence l)rought to its present level. Order, beauty, and 
 utility sprang into being and harmony with man, the highest tyi>e 
 of terrestrial life, now in the dawn of his existence. 
 
 The Age of Man commenced with the i)reseut geological condi- 
 tions. The great mountain reliefs and diversities of (;limate at- 
 tending the present and the close of the pri^ceding age, largely 
 augmented the variety of physical conditions whicli modify vege- 
 table and animal life. Multiplying under these diverse intiuences, 
 t\w ]>resent Hora exceeds 100,000 species. The palm alone, cidmi- 
 nating in the i)resent era, and standing at the head of the vegeta- 
 ])le kingdom, end)races 1,000. ('onnnensurate with the variety of 
 ]i)lants is the extent of their distribution. Tliey are found univer- 
 sally, from Arctic snows to Trojtical sands, gro\\'ing in the air and 
 water, covering the land Avith A'crdure, and ministering to the 
 wants of their cousins, the different forms of animal life. In the 
 jungle the wild beast makes his lair; the bird builds her nest in 
 their sheltering leaA'es and branches, and subsists on their fruits; 
 and man converts them into innumerable forms of food, ornaments 
 and nuiterial for the construction of his (hvellings. In the oak 
 and towering cedar their forms are venerable and nuyestic ; grace- 
 ful and beautiful in the waving foliage and clinging vine, and pro- 
 founilly interesting in then- groAvth and structure ; crowned with 
 a tloral nuigniiicence greatly transcending their predecessors of 
 previous ages, they give enchantment to the landscape, sweetness 
 to the vernal breeze, and retinement and purity to all who come 
 within their intluence. As in the case of plants, a diAcrsity of 
 jdiysical conditions has impressed a nndtiplicity and A'ariety upon 
 the animals. The approximate number of species at the i)reseut 
 time is o.")0,000, each sub-kuigdom )uunl)ering as follows : Eadi- 
 ates, 10,000 ; :Mollusks, L'0,on(); Articulates, 300,000; Vertebrates, 
 21,000. Of the existing A^ertebrates, Fishes end)race 10,000 ; Kep- 
 tiles, l>,000; Birds, 7,000, and Mannnals, 2,000. With the appear- 
 ance of Man on the stage of being, in the latter part of the pre- 
 ceding age, many types of the lower animals, in which magnitude 
 and brute ferocity Avtu'e ]>rominent characteristics, became extinct. 
 Their successors, as if harmonizing Avith the higher life deA'eloping 
 in their midst, were generally reduced in size, less brutal in their 
 nature, and more active, beautiful and intelligent. 
 
 lieceut discoveries haA^e shoAvn that the appearance of man, iu- 
 
12 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Stead of being conflued to tlie geological age which bears his name, 
 must be extended back to an indefinite period. His remains and 
 the relics of his art show that he was a contemporary of the mam- 
 moth; that he witnessed the inundation that buried the northern 
 Ijlains of the Old and I^ew Worlds under the sea of ice ; and that 
 even before that time, when sub-tropical animals disported them- 
 selves in the forests of middle Europe, have traces of his existence 
 been discovered. Though the absolute time of his advent cannot 
 be determined, he doubtless was an iidiabitant of the earth several 
 hundred thousand years before he was sufllciently intelligent to 
 preserve the records of his own history. His appearance as the 
 head of the animal kingdom marks a new stage in the unfoldment 
 of terrestrial life. His claim to this preeminence is based on the 
 superiority of his mental, moral and si)iiitual endowments. Having 
 an understanding capable of endless progression in knowledge, he 
 is able to study the laws of nature and make them subser^^ent to 
 his will and wants; to institute systems of government for his 
 I)rotection, and to hold in subjection the lower animals, however 
 greatly they may exceed him in size or physical strength. He is 
 the first of teixestrial beings capable of comprehending the nature 
 of moral relations ; of distinguishing right from wrong, and of deri- 
 \'uig hap])ijiess from the practice of virtue and suffering in conse- 
 quence of vice. In his reverence for the Deity and aspirations for 
 immortality he is removed still fm-ther from the animal plain, and 
 stands as a connecting link between the latter and spirit exist- 
 ance. 
 
 The present age still retains, in a diminished degree of acti\ity, 
 the geological forces of previous periods. Extensive flats at many 
 points along the Atlantic coast, and the deltas and other alluvial 
 formations of rivers, are slowly extending the present surface. 
 The latter, in many places, is becoming modified by the produc- 
 tion of peat-beds ; in volcanic regions, by the ejection of lava, and 
 iu paroxysmal disturbances, extensive areas are still subject to 
 elevations and depressions, evidently a continuation of previous 
 oscillations. As observed by Moravian settlers, the western coast 
 of Greenland, for a distance of 000 miles, has been slowly sinking 
 during the last four centuries. The border of the continent, from 
 Labrador southward to New Jersey, is snpposed to be undergoing 
 changes of level, l)ut more accurate obsei'vations will be necessary 
 to determine the extent of the movement. 
 
 Like the uninterrupted course of human history there are no 
 strongly drawn lines between tlie ages and their corresponding "^ 
 system of rocks and organic remains. Culminent phases occiu", 
 giving distinctiveness to the center of each and distinguishing it 
 from others. The germ of each was long working forward in the 
 l^ast before it attained its full development and peculiar character, 
 and extended far hito the future for its decline and final extinction. 
 There is, hence, a blending of periods and their products, and, 
 while centrally well defined, their beginnings and endings are 
 without lines of demarkation. The ratios, representing the com- 
 parative length of eacli age as determined by the thickness of its 
 rocks and the rate of theu' formation, are as follows: Salnrian, 
 including the Laurentian and Hm-onian, 49; Devonian, 15; Car- 
 boniferous, 15; Keptilian, li.'i; Mammalian, 18. In consequence 
 of the constantly varying conditions attending the growth of rocks, 
 
GEOLOGY. 13 
 
 these results are only approximations to the trntli. They are, 
 however, sufficiently correct to <ii\e the propoitionate duratiou ot 
 these great geological eras, and will doubtless, by future research, 
 he rendered more accurate. Could delinite intervals of time he 
 suhstituted for these ratios, the most ample evidence exists to 
 prove that the results would he inconceivably great. Even vnth- 
 m the period of existing causes, the mind is startled at the tre- 
 mendous sweep of ages required to eft'ect couiparatively small 
 results. The waters of Lake Erie originally extended below the 
 present Falls of Niagara, and the cataract, in subsequently pass- 
 ing from the same point to its present position, excavated the 
 intervening channel of the river. Allowing the rate of movement 
 to be one inch per year, which is perhaps not too low an estimate, 
 it would require 380,000 years to pass over the six miles of retro- 
 cession. Judging from this estimate, what time would be required 
 to excavate the canon of the Colorado, which is oOO uiiles long, 
 and has been worn a large part of the distance through granite 
 from oOOO to 0000 feet in dei)th. Captain Hunt, avIio for many 
 years was stationed at Key West, and whose o])portunity for 
 observations was good, estiuiates that the coral insects, which 
 have built up the limestone formations of Florida, uiust have 
 required more than 5,000,000 years to comj)lete their labors. 
 
Chapter II, 
 THE TOPOGEAPHY, EIVEKS, SOIL ANT) CLIMATOLOGY. 
 
 The Riverfi and Topography of the State are based upon and cor- 
 respond AAith its geological formations. The surface, inclination 
 and tlie direction of the interior drainage faces the southwest. 
 Eock river, flowing southwesterly through one of the most beau- 
 tiful and fertile regions, enters the Mississippi just below the 
 Up]ter Iiapi<ls. The Desplaines, rising in Wisconshi west of Lake 
 jMichigan, and flowing southward, and the Kankakee, rising in 
 Indiana, south of the lake, and flowing Avestward, form the IlUnois. 
 The latter stream, the largest in the State, courses across it in a 
 southwesterly direction and falls into the ]Mississippi not far from 
 the city of Alton. The Kaskaskia rises near the eastern boundary 
 of the'Stateand the 40th parallel of latitude, floAvsin a southAvest 
 direction, and forms a junction Avith the Mississippi not far from 
 the toAvn Avhich bears its name. Tliese and other smaller streams 
 floAA" through A^alleys originally excaAated in solid limestone by 
 ancient rivers anterior to the formation of the drift. The latter 
 material Avas subsequently deposited in these primitiA'e Avater 
 courses from 10 to more than 200 feet in thickness, and iu)av forms 
 the channel of the existing streams. For the formation of these 
 ancient riA^er beds of such great Avidth and frequently exca\'ated 
 scA^eral hundred feet in hard carl)oniferous rocks, the diminished 
 Avaters now flowing Avithin their lining of drift are Avholly iiuule- 
 quate. Furthermore, the alluvial Aalleys Avhich the riAcrs noAV 
 occupy are far too broad to correspond Avith the i>resent A'olume 
 and SAviftness of the Avaters. The alluvial bottoms of the Illinois 
 are nearly equal to those of the ^Mississippi, though the latter has 
 a current tAvice as rapid and a quantity of Avater (! times as large 
 as the former sti-eam. The smaller streams of the State occupy 
 A'alleys filled with drift, through Avhich tlie Avaters luiA'e been unable 
 to cut their Avay to the ancient troughs beloAV. OAving to this, the 
 stratified rocks in many localities have never become exposed, and 
 it is diflicult for the geologist to detenuine the character of the 
 underlyin g formations. 
 
 Though the surface of the State is generally level or slightly 
 undulating, there are some portions of it considerably eleva- 
 ted. The highest summits are found along the northern border 
 between Freeport and Galena, known as the mounds. The culmi- 
 ]iant points of altitude are 200 feet aboA^e the surrounding country, 
 575 aboA^e the Avaters of Lake Michigan, i)00 aboA'e the junction 
 of the Ohio and Mississii)i)i, and 1,150 above the ocean. Tlie tops 
 of the mounds coincide Avitli the original ehnatiou of the surface, 
 and their present condition as isolated hills is due to denuding 
 
TOPOGllAPHY AND RIVERS. 15 
 
 forces wliicli have carried away the surroiiiidiTio- strata. Mounds 
 occur in other phices, some of them haviuc; a higlit of 50 feet, aud 
 frequently a crown of timber upon their summits, wliich jiivesthcm 
 the appearance of ishmds in siuroundin,ii' seas of i)rairie venhu-e. 
 Besides the mounds there are in the State 5 iu'incii)al axes of dis- 
 turbance and ek'vation. The most northerly of these enters it in 
 Stephenson county, crossini*" Eock river near Dixon, andtlie Illinois 
 not far from LaSalle. On the former river it brinijs to the siu'face 
 the St. Peters sandstone; on the latter, mag-nesian limestone, a 
 Silurian formation. At LaSalle the coal strata are ui)lifted to the 
 surface from a depth of -100 feet, which shoAvs that the distiu'bance 
 occurred after their foi'mation. On the IMississippi, in C'alhoun 
 county, there occurred an upheaval of the strata, attended witli a 
 down throw of more than 1,000 feet. On the south side of the 
 axis the Burlington limestone of the subcarboniferous series had 
 its strata tilted u.]) almost per])eiulicular to the horizon. On the 
 north side the St. Peters sandstone and magnesian limestone were 
 elcA'ated, and form the bluff known as Sandstone Cape. This 
 bhiff, at the time of its elevation, was doubtless a mountain mass 
 of 1,500 feet in hight, and has since been reduced to its present 
 altitude by the deinuliiig etfects of water. The same axes of dis- 
 turbance, trending in a southeastern direction, crosses the Illinois (» 
 miles above its mouth, and farther southward again strikes the 
 Mississijipi and disa])pears in its channel. Farther down the ri\'er 
 anotlier ui)1ift dislocates the strata near the southern lin.e of St. 
 C'lair county. This disturbance extends by way of Colund>ia, in 
 Monroe ('ounty, to the Mississip]>i, and brings to the surface the 
 same linu'stone and the St. Peters sandstone. Agani, faifher 
 southward, an uplifted mountain ridge extends from Grand Tower, 
 on the Mississii>pi, to Shawneetown, on the Ohio; on the west of 
 the3Iississii)i)i it brings the lower Silurian rocks to the surface; in 
 Jackson county, Illinois, it tilts up the Devonian limestone at an 
 angle of 25 degrees; and farther eastward the subcai-boniferous 
 limestone becomes the surface rock. The last im])ortant jioint of 
 disturbance occurs in Alexander county, constituting the Grand 
 Chain, a. dangerous reef of rocks, extending across the Mississi|)])i 
 and forming a bluff on the Illinois shore 70 feet higli. Passing 
 thence in a southeastern direction, it crosses the Ohio a few miles 
 above Caledonia, in Pulaslci county.* 
 
 The FoDiKttUm of the ISdU. is due to geological and other physi- 
 cal agencies. From long habit we are accustomed to look upon it 
 without considering its wonderful ])roperties and great importance 
 in the economy of animal life, ^^ot attractive itself, yet its ])ro- 
 ductions far transcend the most elaborate Avorks of art; and hav- 
 ing but little diversity of apixnirance, the endless variety which 
 ]iervades the vegetable and animal kingdoms si)rings from its pro- 
 lific abundance. Its mysterious elements, incorporated in the struc- 
 ture of plants, clothes the earth with verdure and pleasant land- 
 scapes. They bloom in the flower, load the breeze with fragrant 
 odors, blush in the clustering fruit, whiten the fields with harvests 
 for the su]>ply of food, furnish the tissues which, Avrought into 
 fabrics, decorate and protect the body, and yield the curative 
 agents for healing the diseases to which it is subject. From the 
 same source also proceed the elements which, entering the domain 
 
 *Geological Survey of Illiuois, by A. H. Wortlien. 
 
16 HISTORY OF ILLmoiS. 
 
 of animal life, piilsate in tlie blood, suffuse the cheek with the 
 glow of health, speak in the eye, in the nerve become the recipi- 
 ents of pleasure and pain, render the tongue vocal with nuisic and 
 eloquence, and fill the brain, the seat of reason and throne of the 
 inmiiination, with its glowing imagery and brilliant fancies. But 
 while the soil is the source of sucli munificent gifts, it is also the 
 insatiable bourne to which they must all return. The lofty tree, 
 spreading its vast canvass of leaves to the winds, and breasting; 
 the storms of a thousaml years, finally dies, and undergoing de- 
 composition, enriches the earth in which it grew. The king of 
 beasts, whose loud roar can be heard for miles, and whose im- 
 mense power enables him to prey upon the denizens of his natiA'e 
 jungles, caimot resist the late which at length consigns his sinewy 
 frame to the mold. Even the lord of the lower world, notwith- 
 standing his exalte<l position and grasp of intellect, must likewise 
 suffer physical death and mingle with the sod that forms his 
 grave. 
 
 The soil was originally formed by the decomposition of rocks. 
 These, by long exposure to the air, water and frost, became disin- 
 tegrated, and the comnunuted material acted upon by vegetation, 
 forms the fruitful mold of tlie surface. When of local origin, it 
 varies in composition with the changing material from which it is 
 derived. If sandstone prevails, it is too porous to retain fertiliz- 
 ing agents ; if limestone is in excess, it is too hot and dry ; and if 
 slate predominates, the resulting clay is too wet and cold. Hence 
 it is only a cond>ination of these and other ingredients that can 
 properly adapt the earth to the growth of vegetation. Happily 
 for Illinois the origin of its surface fornmtions precludes the pos- 
 sibility of sterile extremes arising from local causes. As we have 
 stated before, almost the entire surface of the State is a stratum 
 of drift, formed by the decomposition of every variety of rock, 
 and commingled in a homogeneous mass by the agents employed 
 in its distribution. This immense deposit, varying from 10 to 200 
 feet in thickness, required for its x^roduction physical conditions 
 which do not now exist. We must go far back in the history of 
 the jilanet, when the Polar world was a desolation of icy wastes. 
 From these dreary realms of enduring frosts vast glaciers, reaching 
 southward, dipped into the waters of an inland sea, extending- 
 over a large part of the upper Mississipi)i valley. These pqnder- 
 oiis masses, moving southward witli ii^resistible power, tore im- 
 mense boulders from their parent ledges and incorporated them 
 in then- structure. By means of these, in their furthei' progress, 
 they gTOoved and planed down the subjacent rocks, gathering up 
 and carrjdng with them part of the abraded material and strew- 
 ing their track for hundreds of miles ^vlth the remainder. On 
 reaching the shore of the interior sea huge icebergs were projected 
 from their extremities into the waters, which, melting as they 
 floated into warmer latitudes, distrilmted the detrital matter they 
 contained over tlie bottom. Thus, long before the plains of Illi- 
 nois clanked mtli the din of railroad trains, these ice-formed navies 
 plowed the seas in which they were submerged, and distributed 
 over them cargoes of soil-producing sediment. No mariner walked 
 their crystal decks to du-ect their course, and no pennon attached 
 to their glittering masts trailed in the winds that lU'ged them for- 
 ward 5 yet they might perhaps have sailed under the flags of a 
 
SOIL. 17 
 
 hundred succeeding- empires, each as ohl as tlie present nationali- 
 ties of the earth, during the performance of their hibors. This 
 splendid soil-forming deposit is destined to make Illinois the great 
 centre of American wealtli and population. Perhaps no other" 
 country of the same extent on the fa(;e of the globe can boast a 
 soil so ubiquitous in its distribution and so universally productive. 
 I'^uriched by all the minerals in the crust of the earth, it necessa- 
 rily contains a great variety of constituents. Since plants differ 
 so widely in the elements of which they are composed, this nudti- 
 plicitA^ of composition is the means of growhig a great diversity 
 of crops, and the amount produced is corres})ondingly large. So 
 great is the fertility, that years of continiu'd cultivation do jiot 
 materially diininish the yield, and should sterility l)e induced by 
 excessive working, the subsoil can be made available. This ex- 
 tends from 2 to 10 and even 20 and 30 feet in depth, and when 
 mixed with the mold of the surface, gives it a greater ]>roducing 
 cai»acity than it had at tirst. Other States have limited areas as 
 productive, l)ut nearly the entire surface of Illinois is arable land, 
 and when l)rought luider cultivation will become one conttiuTed 
 scene of verdure and agricultural profusion. With not half of its 
 area improved, the State has become the granary of the continent; 
 far excels any other meuiber of the Union in i)acking pcn-k; fat- 
 tens more than half of all the cattle shipped to the h^astern mar- 
 kets, and if prices were as remunerative, could furnish other 
 products to a corres])on(ling extent. Graded to a i)roi)er level, 
 and free froiu obstructions, the State has become the i>rinci]>al 
 theatre for the use and invention of agricultural imi)lenients. 
 Owing to the cheajmess attending the use of machinery, with a 
 given amount of capital, a greater extent of lands can be culti- 
 vated. The severity of the labor exi^ended is also proportionately 
 diminished, and those engaged in husbandry have time to become 
 accpiainted with the theoretical as well as the practical part of 
 their duties. The profound philosojdiy involved in the growth of 
 plants furnishes a tield for investigation aiul ex])eriment requiring 
 the highest order of talent and the most varied and extensive at- 
 tainments. Agriculture, aided by chemistry, vegetable physiology 
 and kindred branches" of knowledge, will greatly eidiance the pro- 
 <luctiveness of the land. Thus with the advantages of science, a 
 sui)ei"ior soil, and the use of macliinery, agri<'ulture will always 
 remain the most attractive, manly and protitable branch of indus- 
 try in which the people of Illinois can engage, contributing morv" 
 than any other pursuit to individual comfort, and proi)ortionally 
 adding to the i)rosperity of the State. The cultivation of the soil 
 in all ages has furnished employment for the largest and best por- 
 tion of mankind ; yet the honor to which they are entithMl has 
 never been fully acknowledged. Though their occupation is the 
 basis of national prosperity, and upon its progress more than any 
 other branch of industry depends the march of civilization, yet 
 its history remains to a great extent unwritten. Historians duly 
 chronicle the feats of the warrior who ravages the earth and beg- 
 gars its inhabitants, but leaves unnoticed the labors of hiiu who 
 causes the desolated country to bloom again, and heals with the 
 balm of plenty the miseries of war. When true worth is duly re- 
 cognized, instead of the mad ambition which subjugates nations 
 to acqiiire power, tlife heroism which subdues the soil and feeds 
 2 / 
 
18 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the world, will be the tlieme of tlie poet's song and the orator's 
 ekxiueiice. 
 
 The Origin of the Prairies has been a source of speculation. 
 One theory is that the soil resulted from the decomposition of 
 vegetable matter nnder water, and that the attending conditions 
 were incompatible with the grow^th of timber. According to this 
 view, prairies are at present in process of formation along the 
 shores of lakes and rivers. During river freshets the heaviest 
 particles settle nearest the channel, and here by repeated deposits 
 the l)anks first became elevated above the Hoods. These natural 
 levies becoming sufficiently high, are overgrown with timber and 
 inclose large areas of bottom lands back from the river, by whi(.'h 
 they are frequently inuiulated. The waters on these hats, when 
 the flood subsides, are cut off from the river and form sloughs, 
 frequently of gi-eat extent. Their shallow and stagnant waters 
 are first invaded by mosses and other aquatic ])lauts which grow 
 under the smface and contain in their tissues lime, alluiuina, and 
 silica, the constituents of clay. They also subsist immense imm- 
 bers of small mollusks and other diminutive creatures, and the 
 constant decomposition of both vegetables and animals forms a 
 stratum of clay corresponding with that which imderlies the fin- 
 ished prairies. As the marshy bottoms are by this means built 
 up to the siu'face of the water, the mosses are then intermixed 
 with coarse grasses, which become more and more abundant as the 
 dei>th diminishes. These reedy jdants, now rising above the STir- 
 lace, absorb and decoiupose the carbonic acid gas of the atmos- 
 })here, and convert it into woody matter, which at first forms a 
 clayey mold and afterwards the ])lack mold of the prairie. The 
 same agencies, now operating in the ponds skirting the banks of 
 rivers, originally formed all the prairies of the Mississippi Valley. 
 We have already seen that the surface of the land was submerged 
 during the dispersion of the drift, and in its slow emergence after- 
 v\ard, it was covered by vast sheets of shallow water, which first 
 formed SAvamjis and subsequently prairies. The present want of 
 liorizontality hi some of them is due to the erosive action of water. 
 The drainage, moving in the direction of the creeks and rivers, at 
 length furrowed the surface with tortuous meanders, resulting 
 finally in the ])resent undulathig prairies. The absence of trees, the 
 most remarkable feature, is attributable first to the formation of 
 idmic acid, which favors the growth of herbacious plants and retards 
 that of forests ; secondly, trees absorb by their roots large quantities 
 of air, which they cannot obtain when the surface is under water or 
 covered by a compact sod; and thirdly, they require solid points 
 of attachment which marshy flats are unable to furnish. When, 
 however, the lands become dry and the sod is broken by the plow 
 or otherwise destroyed, they produce all the varieties of arbores- 
 cent v^egetation common to their latitude. Indeed, since the settle- 
 ment of Illinois, the woodland area of many localities extends far 
 beyond its original limits. 
 
 The foregoing theory requires a large, unvarying quantity of 
 water, while another, perhaps equally plausible, is based on aque- 
 ous conditions almost the reverse. It is well known that the 
 different continental masses of the globe are in general surrounded 
 by zones of timber, and have within them belts of grasses, and 
 centrally large areas of inhosi)itable deserts. On the Atlantic side 
 
PRAIRIES 19 
 
 of ISTorth America there i>s a coutiuuoiis wooded region, extendiiig 
 from Hiidsoii Bay to the Gulf of Mexico, while on the Pacific a simi- 
 lar arborescent growth embraces some of the most gigantic speci- 
 mens of the vegetable kingdom. Within these bands of timber, 
 which approach each other in their northern and sonthern reaches, 
 are the great ])rairies extending transversely across tlie Mississippi 
 Valley, and having their greatest expansion in the valley of the 
 ]\Iissonri. Fai'ther westward, from increasing dryness, the grasses 
 entirely disa])]>ear, and the great American ])esert usurps their 
 place. Tliis alternation of forest, prairie, and desert, corres- 
 ponds with the ])recii»itation of moisture. The ocean is the great 
 source of moisture, and the clouds are the vehicles employed for 
 its distribution over the land. From actual measurement it has 
 been ascertained that they discharge most of their water on the 
 exterior rim of the continents ; that farther toA\ard the interior 
 the amount precii)itated is less, and tinally it is almost entirely 
 su])planted by the aridity of the desert. In a section extending 
 across the continent from New York to San Francisco, the amount 
 of rain-fall strikingly coincides with the alteriuitions of woodland, 
 ]>rairie, and desert. The region extending from New York, which 
 lias an annual rain-fall of 42 inches, to Aim Arbor, having 2*J 
 inches, is heavily covered with tind)er; thence to Galesburg, 111., 
 having 26 inches,* is mostly prairie interspersed with clumps of 
 forest ; thence to Fort Laramie, having 20 inches, it rapidly 
 changes to a contnuu)us ])rairie ; tlumce to Fort Yovuna, having 
 only 3 inches, it bec'imies an inhospita])le desert ; and thence to 
 San Francisco, having 22 inches, it changes to luxuriant forests. 
 Illinois is thus within the region of alteinate wood and prairie, 
 with the latter largely predominating. This wide belt, owing to a 
 difference of (iapacity for retaining moisture, has its eastern and 
 western borders thrown into irregular outlines, resembling deei>ly 
 indented bays and projecting lunidlands. As the residt of decreas- 
 ing moisture, only 90 arborescent species are found m the wooded 
 region which on the east extends a considerable distance into 
 Illinois, and all of these, except G, disappear farther westward. 
 The diminished precipitation in Illinois, and the great valley east 
 of the ]Mississippi, while it has an unfavorable ett'ect on the growth 
 of trees, seems rather to enhance the growth of crops. In further 
 confirmation of this theory, the same physicial laws which have 
 diversified Noith America, with forest, prairie, and desert, have 
 produced similar eifects upon other continents. Hence it is that 
 Soutli America, has its Atacania, Africa its great Sahara, Euro])e 
 its barren ste])pes, and Asia its rainless waste of sand and salt, 
 extending thi-ough more than 100 degrees of longitude. All these 
 desert places, when^ local causes do not interfere, are girt about 
 by grassy plains and belts of forest. 
 
 * The snlijoinetl table has been kindly furnished ns by Prof. Livingstone, of Lombard Uiii- 
 veisity. It will be .seen that the mean annual temperature of Gale.'*burn i.s 48 degrees, and its 
 mean annual prec^ijiitatioii of moi.sture 24 inches. The sonthern and western portions of the 
 State slightly exceed the above figiu'es : 
 
 Jan. 
 
 Feb. 
 
 Mar. Apr. 
 
 May. 1 June. 
 
 July. Aug. Sep. | Oct. Js'ov. Dec. 
 
 Ann'l 
 
 H 1 W 
 B [ 5' 
 
 1-9 W 
 
 i 1- 
 
 2 s^^ 01 
 
 s. 
 
 3 
 
 Kaiii. 
 
 Tem. 
 Eain. 
 
 2 2. 
 
 260,14 '240 14 
 
 30O 25' 490 
 
 28 60° 
 
 29 1 TOO 1 152 
 
 590 1 40 710; 43 C:J« 33 '500 25 '390 ill 2Go 18 
 
 4bo;26 
 
20 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Some emiueiit i)liysicists refer the treeless character of the great 
 grassy phiius to the" mechanical and chemical character of the soil. 
 Perhaps, in the constantly varying physical conditions of different 
 localities, the forces allnded to in these theories advanced, may all 
 co-operate to produce these great grassy expanses, which consti- 
 tute so large a part of the earth's surface. To Illinois they are 
 inexhanstible sources of wealth, and as intimately connected with 
 her destiny as the gi-eat coal fields Avhich underlie them. Both are 
 the expression of luitural law, both destined to furnish the State 
 with the elements of future greatness and power, and both i)ro- 
 phetic of labor, intelligence and the enjoyment of a noble num- 
 liood.* 
 
 The CHmatoIogy of the State, in common with other countries of 
 the same latitude, has four seasons. The melting snows of winter, 
 generally attended by rains, convert the rich soil of the prairie into 
 mud, and render early spring the m(»st unpleasant part of the year. 
 The heat of summer," although nujre intense than in the same lati- 
 tude on the Atlantic, is greatly relieved by the constant breezes 
 which fan the prairies. Autumn, with slowly diminishing heats, 
 terminates in the serene and beautiful season known as Indian 
 summer. Its mild and uniform temperature, soft and hazy atmos- 
 phere, and forests beautifully tinted with the hues of dying foliage, 
 all conspire to render it the pleasant part of the year. jSlext come 
 the boreal blasts of winter, with its social firesides, and tinkling 
 bells in the mystic light of the moon, as merry sleighs skim over 
 the level snow-clad prames. The ^Wnter has its sudden changes 
 of temperature, causing colds and other diseases arising from 
 extreme vicissitudes of weatlier. This is the most untavorable 
 feature of the climate, which in other respects is salubrious. The 
 general belief that Illinois is scourged by bilious diseases is sub- 
 stantially unfounded. It is well known that the pioneers of Ohio, 
 Indiana and Michigan suffered far worse from malarious diseases 
 than those who first subdued the soil of Illinois. The cause of 
 this is apparent. The malaria of marshes and unsubdued soils in 
 w^ooded districts, excluded from the light of the sun and a free 
 circulation of air, is far more malignant than that of the prairie 
 having the full T)enefit of these counteracting agents.t 
 
 The most distinguishing feature of the climate is its sub-tropical 
 summers and the arctic severities of its winters. The newly 
 arrived English immigrant is at first inclined to comx)lain of these 
 climatic extremes, but a short residence in the country soon con- 
 vinces him that many of the most kindly fiiiits and plants could 
 not be cultivated and matured without them. Owing to this tropical 
 element of the summer, the peach, grape, sweet potato, cotton, 
 corn and other plants readily mature in Illinois, though its uiean 
 annual teinp«'rature is less than that of England, where their cul- 
 tivation is impossible. These facts show that a high temperature 
 for a short season is more beneficial to some of the most valued 
 plants than a moderate temperature long continued. This is well 
 exemplified in the cultivation of our great staple, maize, or Indian 
 corn, which, wherever the conditions are favorable, yields a greater 
 amount of nutriment, with a given amount of labor, than any 
 
 *Seo Geographical Survej'S of the State, and Foster's Physical Geography of the Missis- 
 sippi Valley. 
 
 tFoster's Physical Geography. * 
 
CLIMATOLOGY. 21 
 
 kiio^\ni cereal. It was originally a tropical grass, and when culti- 
 vated in regions of a liigli and protracted tenpperature, exhibits a 
 strong tendency to revert to its original condition. In the Gulf States 
 it grows to a greater higlit than fart Iter northward, but its yield of 
 seed is corres])ondingly less. In the valleys opening s(^a ward along 
 the Pacilic slope, it attains a medium size, but fails to mature for 
 the want of sutticient heat. Hence the distiicts of its maxiiiunn 
 production nnist be far north of its native latitudes, and luive the 
 benelit of short but intense summer heats. In Illinois and adja- 
 cent pai-ts of the great valley its greatest yield is about the 4Ist 
 parallel, and though far less imposing in its api)earance than on 
 the Gulf, its productive capacity is said to be four-fold greater 
 than either there or on the Pacitic. It is wonderful that a plant 
 .sluudd undergo such a great transfornuition in structure and nat- 
 ural habits, and that its gTeatest producing capacity slunild be 
 near the northern limits of its possible cultivatioiL These facts 
 suggest (juestions of great scientitic value relative to the <levelop- 
 ment of other plants by removing them from their native localities. 
 
 One of the causes which assist in impartiug these extremes to 
 the climate may be thus explaiiu'd. The different continental 
 masses during the summer become rapidly heated under the intlu- 
 ence of the sun, while the surr<mnding oceans are less sensitive to 
 its eifects. As the result, tlic lands borderhig on the sea have a 
 <'omparatively mild temperature, while the interior is subject to 
 intense heat. During winter, for similar reasons, the interior 
 beconu^s severely cold, while the sea-gut shore still enjoys a nnich 
 milder tem))erature. l>ut a greater modif^y-ing inliuence ui)on the 
 climate are tlie wijuls to which it is subject. The soui-ce of these 
 is at the equator, where the air, becoming raritied from the effects 
 of heat, rises and fli>ws in vast masses toward the poles. On 
 reaching colder latitudes it descends to the earth, and as an under- 
 cnrreiit returns to the cipiator and sui)plies the tropical \'acuu]u 
 caused by its previous ascent. If the earth were at rest, the two 
 under and two upper currents would move at right angles to 
 the equator. But, owing to its daily re\ olution fi'om west to east, 
 the nnder-currejits, as they pass from the ])oles toward the cfjuator 
 where the rotation is greatest, fall behind the earth, and that in 
 the noithern hemisphere tlows from the northeast, and that in the 
 southei'u ti'om the southeast. In like manner the up])er-currents, 
 flo\\'ing from the greater velocity of the equator to^^'ard the less at 
 the poles, get in advance of the earth; and the one in the north 
 flows from the southwest, and the other in the south troni the 
 northwest. If the globe were a perfectly smooth sphere, the How 
 of the winds as above described would be luiiform, but the fonner 
 being crested with mountain chains, the latter are broken into a 
 great variety of local currents. In a belt of about 25 degrees on 
 each side of the equator, the uiuler- currents blow with the greatest 
 regularity, ami are called trade-winds, from their importance to nav- 
 igation and commerce. 
 
 In making an ai)plication of these great primary currents to the 
 valley of the Mississippi, and consequently to Illinois, it will be 
 seen that the southwest winds, descending from their e(pmto- 
 rial altitude, become the prevailing winds of the surface in our 
 latitude. Besides these, the northeast trade-winds, in their prcj- 
 gress toward the equator, in)i)inge against the lofty chain of the 
 
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Andes, and are deflected up the Mi.ssi.ssippi Valley and mingle 
 with tlie winds from the southwest. In their passage along the 
 Andes Mountauis, and across the Carril)l)ean Sea and the Mexican 
 Gulf, they become charged with tropical heat and moisture. On 
 entering the great central valley of the conthient, walled in on 
 both sides by imi)assable mountain barriers, they are directed far 
 northward, and, mingling with the southwest winds, disi)ense their 
 waters, warmth and fertility, w-hich are destined to make it the 
 greatest theatre of human actiWties on the face of the globe. 
 These winds, from local causes, frequently veer about to different 
 points of the compass ; and in Illinois and other prairies States, 
 where there are no forest belts to brt^ak their force, frequently 
 sweep over the country with the fury of tornadoes. Almost every 
 year has recorded instances of the loss of life and property from 
 this cause, and even in the great northeru forests are tracks nuide 
 by their passage, as well delined as the coiuse of the reax)er through 
 a field of t;rain. 
 
Chapter III. 
 ILLINOIS ANTIQUITIES— THE MOUND BUILDERS. 
 
 It is the opinion of antiquarians that three distinet races of 
 peo|)k' hved in North America j)rior to its occui)ation by the i)resent 
 popnhition. Of tliese the biiilih^rs of the niaiiiiilicent cities wliose 
 remains are found in a number of localities of Cential Aiacrica 
 were the nn)st civilized. Judjiing" from the ruins of brok<'n columns, 
 fallen arches and the crumbling; walls of temples, palaces and i)yr- 
 amids, which in some places for miles bestrew the j^round, these 
 cities must have been of .Great extent and veiy po]>ulous. Tli«' 
 mind is almost startled at the remoteness of their antiquity, when 
 we consider the vast sweep of time necessary to erect such colossal 
 •structures of solid masonry, and afterwards convert them into the 
 l)resent utter wreck. Comparin^u' their complete desolation with 
 the ruins of Balbec, Palmyra, The]lf>es and Mempliis, they must 
 have been old when the latter were bein*;- built. May not Anu^rica 
 tlien l)e called the old Avorld instea<l of the new; and may it not 
 liave contained, when these Central American cities were (n'<'cted, 
 <i civilization equal if not superior to that which cont<'m]iorane- 
 ously existed on the l)anks of the Nile, and made Eiiypt the cradle 
 of eastern arts and science? 
 
 The secinid race, as determined by the character of their civili- 
 zation, were the mound builders, the remains of whose Avorks con- 
 stitute the most interesting class of antiquities found within the 
 limits of the United States. Like the ruins of Central Ainerica, 
 they antedate the most ancient records; tradition can furnish no 
 account of them, and tlu'ir character can only be partially .i^leaned 
 from the internal evidences which they themselves afford. They 
 consist of the remabis of what was apparently villa ji'es, altars, 
 temples, idols, cemeteries, monunu^nts, camps, fortihcations, ])leas- 
 ure ji'rounds, etc. The farthest relic of this kind, disco\ered in a 
 northeastern direction, was near Black river on the south side of 
 Lake Ontario. Thence they extend in a southwestern direction 
 by way of the Ohio, the ]Mississip])i, iMexican Gulf, Texas, New 
 Mexico and Youcatan, into South America, Commencin,Ji' in Cata- 
 raugus coujity, New York, there was a chain of forts extending 
 more than oO miles southwesterly, not more than 4 or 5 miles 
 apart, and evidently built by a ])eo]de rude in tlie arts and few in 
 numbers. Further s<mthward they increase in numbei- and mag- 
 nitude. In West Virginia, near the junction of Crave creek and 
 the Ohio, is one of the most august monuments ol' I'emote aiiti(iuity 
 found in the whole country. According to measurement it has an 
 altitude of 90 feet, a diameter at the base of 100 feet, and at the 
 summit of 45 feet, while a partial examination discloses within it 
 
24 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlie existence of many tliousands of liuman skeletons. In Ohio, 
 where the mounds have been carefully examined, are found some 
 of the most extensive and interesting that occur in the United 
 States. At the mouth of the Muskinj^nm, anu)nj4' a number of 
 curious works, was a rectangular fort containing 40 acres, encircled 
 by a wall of earth 10 feet high, and perforated with openings 
 resembling gateways. In the mound near the fort Avere found tlie 
 remains of a sword, which appeared to have been buried with its 
 owner. Eesting on the forehead were found three large copper 
 bosses, plated with silver and attached to a^ leather buckler. ISear 
 the side of the liody was a i)late of silver, which had perhaps btou 
 the upper part of a copper scabbard, portions of which were tilled 
 with iron rust, doubtless the renmins of a sword. A fort of simihir 
 construction and dimensions was found on Licking river, near 
 Newark. Eight gateways pierced the walls, and were guarded by 
 mounds directly opposite each on the inside of the work. At Viv- 
 cleville, on the Scioto, there were two forts in juxtai)osition; the 
 one an exact circle 00 rods in diameter, and the other a ])erfect 
 square, 55 rods on each side. The circular fortitication was sur- 
 rouinled by two walls, with an intervening ditch 13() feet in depth. 
 On Paint creek, 15 miles west of Chillicothe, besides other exten- 
 sive works, was discovered the remains of a walled town. It Avas 
 built on the summit of a hill about 300 feet in altitude, and encom- 
 passed by a wall 10 feet in hight, made of stone in their natural 
 state. The area thus inclosed contained 130 acres. On the south 
 side of it there were found the remains of what apjieared originally 
 to have been a row of furnaces or smith-shops, about which cinders 
 were found several feet in depth. In the bed of the creek, which 
 washes the foot of the hill, were found wells which had been tait 
 through solid rock. They were more than 3 feet in diameter at the 
 top, neatly Walled A\'ith jointed stones, and, at the time of discovery, 
 covered over by circular stones. So numerous were works of this 
 kind in Ohio it would require a large volume to speak of them in 
 detail. 
 
 Along the Mississippi they reach their maximum size and contain 
 some of the most interCvSting relics. The number of mounds found 
 here at an early day w^ere estinuited at mon^ than 3,001), the smallest 
 of which were not less than 20 feet in hight, and 100 feet in diam- 
 eter at the base. A large number of them were I'ound in Illinois, 
 but, unfortunately, most of those who have examined them were 
 little qualitied to furiiish correct information resjjecting their real 
 character. It is greatly to be regretted that the State has uexer 
 ordered a survey of these w^orks by persons qualitied to do the 
 sid)ject Jnstice. Many of the most interesting have been ruthlessly 
 destroyed, but it is believed a sufficient number still renniin to 
 justify an examination. It may, howcA'^er, be safely assumed, from 
 Avhat is already known respecting them, that they were substantially 
 the same as those found in other parts of the United States. 
 
 One of the most singular earthworks in this State Avas found in 
 the lead region on the top of a ridge near the east bank of the 
 SinsinaAva creek. It resembled some huge aninuil, the head, 
 ears, nose, legs and tail and general outline of aa hich being as per- 
 fect as if made by men versed in modern art. The ridge on Avhich 
 it was situated stands on the prairie, 300 yards Avide, 100 feet in 
 hight, and rounded on the tox) by a deep deposit of clay. Oeu- 
 
A]>{TIQUITIES — MOUND BUILDEES. 25 
 
 trally, aloiip; tlie line of its suimiiit and thrown np iii tlie form of 
 an embankment tlirce feet high, extended the ontline of a quadru- 
 ped, measurinj;- 250 feet from the tip of the nose to the end of the 
 tail, and havinii' a Avidth of bodv at the center of 18 feet. The 
 head was 35 feet in length, the e;irs 10, legs GO, and tail 75. The 
 curvature in both the fore and hind legs was natural to an aiumal 
 lying on its side. The general outline of the tigure most nearly 
 resend)led the extinct animal known to geologists as the Megathe- 
 riuni. The (pu'stion naturally arises, by whom and for what pur- 
 l^ose was this earth tigure raised. Some ha^e conjectured that 
 numbers of this now extinct animal lived and roamed over the 
 prairies of Illinois when the mound builders tirst made their ap[)eiir- 
 ance in the ui)])«'r part of the Mississip])i Valley, and tliat their 
 wonder and admiration, excited by the colossal dimensions of these 
 huge creatures, found expression in the erection of this tigure. 
 The bones of some sinular gigantic aninuds were exhumed on this 
 stream al)out3 miles from the same ])lace.* 
 
 David Dale Owen, a celebrated western geologist, in his report 
 to the land office in l<So9, refers to a. nund>er of tigures, similar to 
 the one above described, as existing in Wisconsin. He thinks they 
 were connected with the totemic system of the Indians who fornu^rly 
 dwelt in this part of the country. When, for example a distin- 
 guished chief died, he infers that his clansmen raised over his body 
 a moun<l resend)ling the annual which had been used as a syndiol 
 to designate his family. 
 
 ]\Ir. Breckenridge, who examined the antiquities of the western 
 country in 1817, sp<'aking of the mounds in the American Bottom, 
 says: " The great number and the extremely large size of s<tme 
 of them may be regarded as furnishing, with other circumstances, 
 evidence of their antiquity. 1 have sometimes been indu(!ed to 
 think that at the ]>eriod when they were constru(;ted tlu'ie Mas a 
 population here as numerous as that which once animated the 
 borders of the ]!^ile or of the Euphrates or of JNIexico. The nu)st 
 numerous as well as considerable of these remains are found in 
 precisely those parts of the country where the traces of a numer- 
 ous i)opulation might be looked for, namely, from the mouth of 
 the Ohio, on the east side of the Mississippi, to the Illinois ri\er, 
 and on the west from the St. Francis to the JMissouri. I ani jter- 
 fectly satisfied that cities similar to those of ancient Mexico, of 
 several hundred thousand souls, have existed in this country." 
 
 Says Mv. 0. Atwater, the author of an al)le work on the anti<pii- 
 ties of Ohio: "Nearly o])p()site St. Louis there are traces of two 
 such cities, in the distance of 5 miles. They were situated on the 
 Cahokia, which crosses tlu' Am(aican Bottom opposite St. Louis. 
 One of the mounds is 800 vards in circumference at the base, and 
 100 feet in higjit." 
 
 The following descri])tion of this mcmnd, which is the largest in 
 the United States, is condensed from an article in the Belleville 
 Eagle: It is situated Oi miles northeast (»f St. Louis, and is com- 
 monly known as the Monk's mound, from the Monks of La Trappe 
 haAdng settled on and around it. It is an irregular oblong, ex- 
 tending north and south, and its shortest sides east and west. 
 The top contains about o^ '^ci'^'Sj iiii<l al)out half way do^^^l the 
 sides is a terrace, extending the whole width of the mound, and 
 
 *Galeua Jeftersouian, 1853. 
 
26 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sufficiently broad to afford sites for a number of spacious build- 
 ings. The present want of regularity is due to the action of the 
 rains, which, during a long interval of time, has so changed its 
 surface that the original design of its builders has been lost. A 
 Mr. Hill, who lived on it, in making an excavation for an ice-house 
 on the northwest part, found human bones and white pottery in 
 large quantities. The bones, which crumbled to dust on being- 
 exposed to the air, were larger than common, and the teeth were 
 double in front as well as behind. A well dug by j\Ir. Hill, whose 
 dwelling was on the summit, passed through several strata of 
 earth, and, it is said, the remains of weeds and grass were discov- 
 ered between the layers, the color of which was still visible and 
 briglit as when they were tirst inhumed. The writer thinks this 
 portion of the American Bottom might with propiiety be called 
 the city of mounds, for in less than a mile square there are 00 or 
 80 of every size and form, none of which are more than one-third 
 as large as the Moidc's mound. They extend in a westerly direc- 
 tion, live miles or more, along the Cahokia. 
 
 Notwithstanding the authorities referred to above, recent obser- 
 vations render it highly probable that these mounds are portions 
 of the original sliore of the Mississi])pi, which, like islands, were 
 not wholly washed away by its waters. Professor Worthen, our 
 State Geologist, and others, think that the material of which they 
 are composed, and its stratification, correspond exactly in these 
 IKirticulars with the opposite ])luffs. 
 
 The greatest evidence of art which they exhibit is their form. 
 The base of the large mound, before denudation changed it, had 
 the form of a parallelogram, whose well detined right-angles could 
 not have resulted from the action of water. Its terrace, and the 
 same features which distinguished the mounds on the west side 
 of the river at vSt. Louis, at Marietta, Portsmouth, Paint Creek 
 and Circleville, Ohio, and large numbers of them in Mexico, are 
 remarkable coincidences, if they are not works of art. It is well 
 kuo^m that the ancients, instead of throwing up mounds, in 
 some instances selected natural elevations and shaped them -with 
 terraces iov sites.^pf altars and temples, and this seems to have 
 been the character of the mounds in the American Bottom, Though 
 not originally iidtMided for graves, tliey were subsecjuently used as 
 such by the Indians, that their dead might be above the Hoods of 
 the Mississipi)i. 
 
 But whatever may have been the nature of these, there is no 
 doubt as to the artificial cliaracter of others in many localities. 
 Pioneer evidence states that at an early date copper, and a great 
 variety of other im])lements, exceeding in their workmanship the 
 skill of the present Indians, were taken fiom the mounds of South- 
 ern Illinois. The existence of this metal in these earthworks re- 
 fers them to the era of the mound builders, as the Indians are 
 ignorant of the ])rocess of working it, and never used it in the 
 manufactm-e of implements. The copper so frequently discovered 
 m moinids in the United States doubtless came from the region of 
 Lake Superior. Mines have been examined here extending over 
 large areas, the working of which antedates all existing records 
 or Indian traditions. Another of the many evidences of tribes, 
 who must have inhabited this country at a remf)te period, was 
 found a few jears since at the Illinois Salines. Fragments of pot- 
 
ANTIQUITIES — MOUND BUILDEES. 27 
 
 tery, from 4 to 5 feet iii diameter, were exbuiued some 30 feet be- 
 low tlie surface, and had evidently been used in the manufacture 
 of salt by the mound builders, or some other ancient peoi>le, dif- 
 ferent from the present Indians. The artiticial character of these 
 works not bein<i' a controverted point, the in<iuiry arises who were 
 tlieir builders ? The hypothesis that they were the ancestors of 
 the Alji'oiHiuin and other tribes found living' in their midst, when 
 first visited by Euroi)eans, but illy accords with the evidence fur- 
 nislied by an examimition of the facts. These curious relics are 
 fra.u'ments of a history which ])oint to a ])eople ditterent in physi- 
 cal structure from the red men, and .i;Teatly in advance of them in 
 art and civilization. The latter in ^iieneral are a tall, rather vslen- 
 der, strai<iht-li]nl}ed ])eople, while the former were short and thick 
 set, had k)w foreheads, hi^ih clu^ek bones, and were remarkable for 
 their hir^e eyes and broad chins. Their limbs were short and 
 stout, while their whole physiipie more closely resend>led that of 
 the (xerman than any existing race. The remains of their art also 
 indicated a people wholly distinct. From these tumuli have been 
 taken silver, iron and copper im[)lements, exhibiting- in their con- 
 struction a degree of skill greatly exceeding Indian ingenuity and 
 workmanshi}). The large number of medals, bracelets, i)ipes, a.nd 
 other instruments nu^de of copper, show that its use among them 
 was mucli more extensive than that of the other metals. They 
 may have possessed the lost art of hardening it, for cut stone is 
 occasionally found in some of their works. The manufacture of 
 earthenware was one of their most advanced arts; vessels made 
 from calcareous breccia have been taken from their tombs, e(]ual in 
 quality to any now made in Italy from the same nuiterial. A con- 
 siderable nund)er of these were urns, containing bones, which i\\>- 
 l)ear to have been burnt before they were deposited in them, 
 ^iirrors, made of isinglas, were of frecpienf occurrence in the 
 mounds. Many of tliem wei'e large and elegant, and must have 
 answered well the i)urp()se for which they were intended. ( Jould 
 they speak, they would doubtless tell us that the prinutive belles, 
 whose charms they retlected, had the same fondness for personal 
 decoration that distinguishes their sisters of the present day. 
 
 Their habitations must have been tents, structures of wood, or 
 some other perishable material ; otherwise their remains would 
 have been inimerous. The rennuns, however, of fire-places, 
 hearths and chimneys, imbedded in the alluvial l)anks of the Ohio 
 and ^Muskingum rivers, are freciuently brought to light by the ac- 
 tion of tlieir wat(^rs. The Indians of these localities never erected 
 such works ; while their great depth below the surface, and its 
 heavy growth of trees, is evidence that they were not made by Eu- 
 ropeans, hence must be referred to the mound builders. Evidence 
 of this kind might be multiplied indefinitely, but what has been 
 said is deemed sufiicient. 
 
 Not only had the mound luiilders made considerable progress in 
 the arts, but they were not wholly wanting in scientific attainments. 
 The lines of nearly all their works, where the situation would admit 
 of it, conform to the four cardinal points. Had their autluns no 
 knowledge of astronomy, they could never have d<?termined the 
 points of the comi)ass witli such exactness as their works indicate. 
 This noble science, which in modern times has given us such ex- 
 tended views of the universe, was among the first iu the earlier 
 
28 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ages to arrest the attention of mankind. The i)astoral life of primi- 
 tive times, when men dwelt in tents, or the open air, with the 
 heavenly bodies in fnll view, was very favorable to the stndy of 
 astronomy. 
 
 If the monnd bnilders were not the ancestors of onr Indians, 
 who were they I The oblivion which has closed over them is so 
 complete that oidy conjectnres can be given in answer to the qnes- 
 tion. Those who do not believe in the common parentage of man- 
 kind contend that they were an indigenous race of the western 
 hemisphere. Others, with more plansibility, think they came from 
 the east, and imagine that they can see coincidences in the religion 
 of the Hindoos and Sonthern Tartars and the snpposed theology of 
 the immnd bnilders. An idol was fonnd in a tomb near Xashville, 
 consisting of three bnsts, representing a man in a state of inidity. 
 On the liead of each were carved the sacred fillet and cake vvith 
 which, in ancient Greece, dnring sacrifices, the heads of the idol, 
 the victim, and priest were bonnd. The Greeks are snpposed to 
 have borrowed these sacred appliances from the Persians, with 
 whom they had freqnent wars and an intimate maritime inter- 
 course. Another idol, consisting of three heads united at the 
 back, was taken from a tomb on the headwaters of the Cund)er- 
 land river. Then' features, wliich were expressive, exhibited in a 
 striking" manner the lineaments of the Tartar countenance. It has 
 been further observed that wherever there was a group of mounds 
 three of them were uniformly larger and more favorably situated 
 than the rest. The triune character of these images and mounds 
 are supposed to represent the three principal gods of the Hindoos, 
 Brakmin, Vishnoo and Siva. This supi)ositiou has been farther 
 strengthened by the discovery in many mounds of murex shells, 
 which were sacred in the religion of the Hindoos, used as material 
 in tlie construction of their idols, and as the musical instruments 
 of their Tritons. In digging a well near ]Srashville, a clay vessel 
 was found 20 feet below the surface. It was of a globose form, 
 terminating at the top with a female head, the features of whi(5h 
 were strongly marked and Asiatic. The crown of the head was 
 covered Avith a cap of pyramidal form resemliling the Asiatic head- 
 dress. The vessel was found sitting on a rock from under A\hich 
 issued a stream of water, and nmy hav(^ been used at the fountain 
 in performing the ablutions enjoined by some of the oriental re- 
 ligiiuis. Indeed, for this purpose the temples and altars of the 
 Hindoos are always erected on the banks of some river, as the 
 Ganges and other saci'ed streams, and the same i)ractice was ob- 
 served by the authors of the American tumuli. 
 
 From evidence of this kind it is inferred that this people cajne 
 from Asia, and that their migrations, like those from Europe at 
 the present day, were made at different times and from different 
 countries. 
 
 They were no doubt idolators, and it has been conjectured that 
 the sun was an objiH't of adoration. The momids were generally 
 built in a situation affording a view of the rising sun. When in- 
 closed with walls tlieir gateways were toward the east. The caves 
 in Avhicli they were occasionally found buried always opened in the 
 same diii'ction. AVhenever a mound was partially inclosed l)y a 
 semicircul^ir pavenu',nt,it was on the east side. When bodies Avere 
 buried in graves, as was frequently' the case, they lay in an east- 
 
ANTIQUITIES — MOFND BUILDERS. 29 
 
 ern and western direction; and finally, medals have been found 
 representing the snn and his rays of light. 
 
 At what period they came to this country is likewise a matter 
 of speculation. From the comi)aratively rude state of the arts 
 among them, it has been inferred that the time was very remote. 
 Their axes were made of stone; their rahnent, judging from the 
 fragments which have been discovered, consisted of the barks of 
 trees interwoven with feathers; and their military works were such 
 as a people would erect who had just passed from the hunter to 
 the jyastoral state of society. The line efforts already referred to, 
 in Xew York, were built on the brow of the hill which was origi- 
 nally the southern shore of Lake Erie. Uy the recession of the 
 waters, they are now from 3 to o miles distant from their original 
 limits. The surface, which became exposed by the retirement of 
 the waters, is now covered with a vegetable mold from (j to 10 
 inches deep, and it may reasonably be su]>posed that a long inter- 
 val of time was required for the i)roduction of the forests by whose 
 decom])osition it was fonned. But a nuich longer interval would 
 be required for the Niagara to <leei»en its channel and thus cause 
 the subsidence of the waters in the lake. 
 
 Wliat finally becanu> of tliis ])eo]>le is another query which has 
 been extensively discussed. The fact that tlieir works extend into 
 Mexico and l*eru has induced the belief that it was their posterity 
 that dwelt in these countries when they were first visited by the 
 Spaniards. The ^Mexican and Peruvian works, with the excei)tion 
 of their greater magnitude, are similar. Relics common to all of 
 them have been occasionally found, and it is believed that the reli- 
 gious uses which they subserved were the same. One of the i.viin- 
 cipal deities of the South Americans was the god of the shining 
 mirror, so called because he was supposed to refiect, like a mirror, 
 his divine perfections. The same god was also a Mexican divinity ; 
 and while other deities were symbolized by images, this one was 
 represented by a mirror, and held in great veneration as the mi- 
 knowni god of the universe. Isinglas, common in the mounds iu 
 the United States, was the material generally enq)loyed for the 
 construction of mirrors in Mexico ; but in South Anunica, obsidan, 
 a volcanic product, which answered the same purpose, was more 
 frequently used. If, indeed, the Mexicans and l*eruvians were the 
 progeny of the more ancient mound builders, then S})anish rapacity 
 for gold was the cause of their overthrow and final extermination. 
 
 A thousand other interesting queries naturally arise respecting 
 these nations which now repose under the ground, but tlie nu>st 
 searching- investigation can only give us vague speculations for 
 answers. No historian has preserved the names of their mighty 
 chieftains nor given an account of their exploits, and even tradi- 
 tion is silent respecting them. If we knock at the tond>s, no spirit 
 comes back with a response, and only a sepulchral echo of forget 
 fulness and death renunds us how vain is the attempt to unlock 
 the mysterious past upon which oblivion has fixed its seal. How 
 forcibly their mouldering bones and iierishing relics remind us of 
 the transitory character of human existence. Generation after 
 generation lives, moves and is no more ; time has strewii the tracik 
 of its ruthless march with the fragments of mighty empires ; and 
 at length not even their names nor works have an existence in the 
 speculations of those who take their i^laces. 
 
Chapter IV. 
 THE l^^DIANS OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The tliird distinct race wli-icli, according' to ethnologists, has in- 
 hal)it<Ml North America, is tlie present Indians. Wlien visited by 
 early Em'0])ean pioneers they were Avithout cultivation, rettneiiient 
 or literature, an<l far behind tlieir precursors, the mound builders, 
 m a knowledge of the arts. The (piestion of their origin has long- 
 interested arclieologists, and is one of the most difticult they have 
 been called on to answer. One hypothesis is that they are an 
 original race indigeneous to the Western Hemisphere. Those who 
 entertain this view think their i)eculiarities of i)hysical structure 
 preclude the possibility of a <'ommon i)arentage with the rest of 
 mankind. I'rominent among these distinctive traits is the hair, 
 Avhich in the red man is round, in the white man oval, and in the 
 black man Jiat. In the ])ile of the European the colonng matter 
 is distributed by means of a central canal, but in that of the Indian 
 it is incor])orated in the fibrous structure. Brown, who has made 
 an exhaustive examination of these varieties of hair, concludes 
 that they are radically different, and belong to tluee distinct 
 branches of the human family, Avhich, instead of a common, have 
 had a trinary origin. Since, therefore, these and other i»eculiar 
 ethnological features are characteristic; only of the aboriginal in- 
 habitants of America, it is inferred that tliey are indigenous to this 
 part of the globe. 
 
 A more common supposition, however, is that they are a deriva- 
 tive race, and sprang from one or more of the ancient peoples 
 of Asia. In the absence of all authentic history, ami wheu even 
 tradition is Avanting, any attempt to point out the i)articular theater 
 of their origin must prove unsatisfactory. They are perhaps an 
 oifshoot of Slicmitic parentage, and some imagine, from their tribal 
 organization and some faint coincidences of language ami religion, 
 that they were the descendants of the ancient Hebrews. Others, 
 with as much ])roi>riety, contend that their i)rogenitors Avere the 
 ancient Hiiuloos, and that the Brahmin idea, Avhich uses the sun 
 to symbolize the Creator of the Univcn'se, has its counterpart in 
 the sun worship of the Indians. They also see in the Hindoo poly- 
 theisu), with its ;(0,()(K) divinities, a theology corresponding with 
 the innumerable minor Indian deities, of Avhich birds, quadrupeds, 
 reptiles, aud lishes are made the symbols. The Persians, and 
 other prinntivci oriental stocks, and even the nations of Europe, if 
 the testimony of different anti(iuarians could be acceijted, might 
 claim the honor of first peoi)ling America. 
 
 Though the exacit ])la,ce of origin may never be known, yet the 
 striking coincidences of physical organization between the oriental 
 
 30 
 
INDIANS. 31 
 
 types of mankind and the Indians, point nuniistakably to some 
 part of Asia as the place whence they emigrated. Instead of 
 1<S()() years, tlie time of their ro\ino' in the wilds of America, 
 as determined hy !S]>anisli interpretation of their pictoi^raphic 
 records, the interval has perhaps been thrice that period. Their 
 religions, snperstitions and ceremonies, if of foreign oiigin, evi- 
 dently belong to the crnde the<)logi<\s prevalent in the last cen- 
 tnries before the introdnction of aMaliomctanism or Christianity. 
 Scarcely oO(M) years would snfirtce to blot ont i»er]iaps almost every 
 trace of the langnage they brought with them from tlie Asiatic 
 cradle of the race, and introduce the i)resent diversity of abori- 
 ginal tongues. Like their oriental progenitors they Iuia'c lived for 
 centuries Avithout ])rogress, while the (Jaucassian variety of the 
 race, under the transforming power of- art, science, and improved 
 systems of civil i>olity, liave nuule the most rapid advancement. 
 At the time of tlu'ir departure eastAvard, a great ciUTcnt of emi- 
 gration tlowcd westward to Europe, making it a great arena of 
 human effort and improvement. Thence proceeding farther west- 
 ward' it met in America, the midway station in the circuit of the 
 globe, the opi)osing current direct from Asia. The shoclc of the tirst 
 contact was the beginning' of the great contlict which has since 
 been waged by the rival sons of yiiem and Jai)heth. The tirst 
 thought of the Indian, when hostilities commenced on tlie Atlantic 
 boidei", was to retire westward. It was from beyond the Allegha- 
 Jiies, according to the traditions of their fatluns, tliey had come, 
 and in the same undetined region they h)eated tluMr paradise or 
 hai)i)y hunting groinid. To employ an al)original allegory, "The 
 Indians had long discerned a dark cloud in the lieavens, coming" 
 from tlie east, which threatened them with disaster and death. 
 BloAvly rising- at lirst, it seemed shadow, but soon rhanged to sub- 
 stance. When it reached the sinnmit of the AUeghanies it as- 
 sumed a darker hue; deep murmurs, as of thunder, were heard ; 
 it was imi)elled westward by strong wind, and shot forth forked 
 tongues of lightning." 
 
 The movement of the sond)re cloud tyi)ified the advance of labor, 
 science and civilization. I'ontiac foresaw tlu? coming storm when 
 he beheld the French Hag and French su])remacy stricken down 
 on the i)lains of Abraham. To the Ihitish officer sent westward 
 to secure the fruits of victory, he said: "I stand in thy path." To 
 the assend)led chiefs of the nations in council, he nnfolded his 
 schemes of opposition, depicted the disasters wliich would attend 
 the corning rush of the Anglo-Saxon, and climaxed his invective 
 against the hated enemy with the exclamation, "Drive the dogs 
 wlio wear red clothing into the sea." Fifty years after the defeat 
 of Pontiac, Tecumseh, emulating his example, ])lotted the conspi- 
 racy of the AVabash. lie brought to his aid the powerful iutlu- 
 ence of the Indian priest-hood; for years the forest haunts of his 
 clansmen rang with his stirring ap[)eals, and the valleys of the 
 West ran with the blood of the white invaders. But Tecumseli fell 
 a martyr to his cause, and the second attempt to turnback the tide 
 of civilization was a failure. The Appalachian tribes, unchn- the 
 leadership of Tuscaloosa, next waged a continuous war of three 
 years against the southern frontiers. The conflict terminat(^<l by 
 the sublime act of its leader, who, after a reward had been olfered 
 for his head, voluntarily snrrendei'ed himself for the good of his 
 
32 HISTOHY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 countrymen. After this defeat, the sonthern tril)es abandoned 
 then' long cherished idea of re-estahhsliing Indian supremacy. A 
 hist and fruitless effort of this kind, by the iSacs and Foxes of Illi- 
 nois, placed the vast domain east of the Mississippi in the hands 
 of the ruthless conquerors.* 
 
 Alf/onquins and Iroquois. — Of the several great branches of 
 North American Indians, as determined by sameness of language 
 and mental and pliysical type, the oidy ones entitled to considera- 
 tion ill Illinois history, are the Algonquin, and incidentally the 
 Iroquois. Before the encroachments of Europeans caused tlie re- 
 tirement of the Algonquin tribes, they oc('vq)ied most of the United 
 States between the 3r)th and (iOth parallels of latitudes, and the 
 COth and lor)th meridians of longitude. They were Algonquins 
 whom Cartier found on the bardcs of the St. Lawrence, wlumi the 
 English discovered hunting and fishing on the Atlantic coast, from 
 IVIaine to the Carolinas. They Mere tril)es of this lineage whom 
 Jesuit missionaries taught to lepeat i)rayers and sing avis on the 
 banks of the Mississip})! and Illinois, and on the shores of the 
 great lakes and Hudson Bay. The same gieat family waged war 
 with the Puritans of jSTew England, entered into a covenant of 
 peace with Penn, and furnished a Po(!ahontas to intercede for the 
 life of the adventurous founder of Virginia. 
 
 The starting point in the w^anderings of the Algonquin tribes on 
 the continent, as determined by tradition and the cultivation of the 
 nmize, their favorite cereal, was in tln^ southwest. It is conjectured 
 as they passed u}) the western side (»f the Mississippi Valley, their 
 numbers were augumented by accessions from nomadic clans |)ass- 
 through the central and southern passes of tlu^ liocky Mountains. 
 Then, turning eastward across the Mississi])])i, the southern mar- 
 gin of the broad track pursued toward the Atlantic was about the 
 3r)th parallel, the limits reached in this direction by these tribes. 
 This would place in the central line of march, Illinois, and the ad- 
 jacent regions, where the first Eurojiean ex])lorers found corn 
 extensively cultivated and used as an arti(^le of food. On reaching 
 the Atlantic they moved northeasterly ahmg the seaboard to the 
 mouth of the St. Lawrence, introducing along their track the cul- 
 tivation of maize, without which many of the early British colo- 
 nists must have perished. Next, ascending the St. Lawrence and 
 the great lakes, they spread northward and Avestward to Hudson's 
 Bay, the basin of Lake Winnei)eg, and the valley of the Upper 
 Mississippi. In this wide dispersion the original stock was broken 
 into minor tribes ; each, in the course of time, deviating in .speech 
 from the parent language, and forming a dialect of its own. The 
 head of the nngratory column, circling rovuid the soiu-ce of the 
 Mississippi, recrossed it in a southeasterly direction above the falls 
 of St. Anthony, and passed by way of Green Bay and Lake Michi- 
 gan into the present limits of Illinois, Indiana and Ohio. Thus, 
 after revolving in an irregular elipse of some olKK) miles in diame- 
 ter, they fell into the original track eastward. 
 
 The territory of the Iroquois lay like an island in this vast area 
 of Algonquin population. They had three conflicting traditions 
 of their origin: that they came from the west, from the north, and 
 sprung from the soil on which they lived. Their confederacy at 
 first consisted of 5 tribes, the Mohawks, Oneidas, Onondagas, 
 
 ♦Schoolcraft's, Part 5 ; Spencer's History of the United States 
 
INDIANS. 33 
 
 Ca.vugas and Senecas, to which a Oth, the Tuscaroras was after- 
 wards added. Each tribe had a separate political organization in 
 which the sachems were the ruling spirits. "When foreign tribes 
 were to be consulted, or the general interests of the confederacy 
 re<iuired deliberation, the sachems of the several tribes met in 
 general council. Hasty writers, judging from their successes without 
 care-fully studying their character and history, have greatly over- 
 rated their virtues. There is no doubt as to their success in war, but 
 it was rather the result of circumstances than inherent worth. ^JvTot- 
 withstanding their nuich lauded eloquence, <liplomacy and courage, 
 there is little doubt that the Algonquin tribes of the same latitude 
 were in these respects fully their equals. As it regards cranial 
 indications, the lro<iuois had an excessive develoi)]iient at the 
 basillar region, and tlie Algoncpiins a larger intellectual lol)e, and 
 the conduct of the two races corresponds Avith their cerebral dif- 
 fereiices. It is well known that for the exhibition of brutish ferocity 
 in ])attle, and the iiendish butchery of prisoners, the former Avere 
 without rivals. Missionary evidence states that it was they who 
 first taught the Illinois the cruel practice of burning i)risoners at 
 the stake. But admitting their natural su])eriority they must have 
 lost it by amalgamation, for it was customary with them to repair 
 their constant losses in Avar by adopting into their families the 
 women and children ca])tured from their Algonquin enemies. 
 This infusion of blood, if in a fcAv generations it did not give the 
 foreign element the ascendancy, must have greatly modified the 
 original stock. Indeed some of the adopted Algonquins became 
 aft«'rwards their prominent chiefs. 
 
 Their success in war was in a great measure the result of local 
 and other ad\"antages. Possessing a territory included in the 
 present limits of ISTew York, it gave them ready access to the 
 initions living on the western lakes ; while the MohaAvk and the 
 Hudson furnished them a higliAvay to the tribes of the sea-coa^t. 
 Having by sav age barbarity converted all the surrounding nations 
 into enemies, necessity taught them the advantage of union, fixity 
 of habitation nmde them superior in agiicultuic, while a passion 
 for Avar gave them a preeminence in the arts best suited to gratify 
 their inoi'dinate lust for blood. DepiiAcd of tliese advantages it 
 is doul>tful whether they Avould liaA'c been long able to cope with 
 the tribes Avhicli they outraged by incessant attacks. 
 
 The Algonquin tribes were too widely dispersed to admit of a 
 general confederacy; the interi)osition of great lakes and rivers 
 preA'ented concert of action, and hence each commuidty had to 
 contend single-handed with the united enemy. Ea'cu in these une- 
 qual contests they were sometimes the conquerors, as instanced in 
 the triumph of the Illinois on the banks of the Iroquois, a stream 
 in our State whose name still commemorates the Aictory. 
 
 It is not, however, in the petty broils of tribal warfare, but the 
 fierce conflicts Avith the civilized intruders ujion their soil, that a 
 correct opinion is to be formed of these rival races. In these 
 bloody struggles, which decided the fate of the entire aboriginal 
 population, it was that the Algonquins evinced their great superi- 
 ority. Unlike the Iroquois, wlio, in their haughty independence, 
 disdained to go beyond their own narrow realms for assistance, 
 and AA'ho, in their great thirst for carnage, even <lestroyed kindred 
 nations, the Algonquins formed the most extensiA^e alliance to 
 3 
 
34 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 resiist tlie eiicroachineiits of their Eugiisli destroyers. Such was tlie 
 nature of King Philip's war, w^ho, with his Algouquiu braves, 
 spread terror aud desohitiou throughout New England. Panic- 
 stricken at ills audacity and success, the Puritans inuigined they 
 saw dire portents of calamities in the air and sky, and shadowy 
 troo^js of careering horsemen imprinted on the face of the sun and 
 moon. This compactly formed confederacy of tribes was over- 
 thrown ; but it cost the Cok)nists, with their superior numbers, 
 discipline and weapons, a bloody contest to accomplish it. tSucli, 
 too, was the character of the culminating struggle of the red race, 
 some 90 years later, for the dominion of the western wilderness. 
 Never before had the Indians exhibited such feats of courage, 
 such skill in dijilomacy and such strategy m war; and never before, 
 nor afterwards, were their efforts attended with such terrible con- 
 sequences. With an xVlgonquin chief and Algonquin warriors as 
 the controlling spirits, a contederacy of continental proportions 
 was the result, embracing in its alliance the tribes of every name 
 and lineage, from the northern lakes to the gulf on the south. 
 Pontiac, ha^'ing breathed into them his implacnble hate of the 
 English intruders, ordered the contlict to commence, and all the 
 British colonies trembled before the desolating fury of the onset. 
 
 Of the tribes of Algonquin lineage which formerly dwelt in 
 Illinois, those bearing the name of the State were the most numer- 
 ous. Judging from the graves which were thickly planted over the 
 prairies, they nuist at au early date have been a prominent theater 
 of aboriginal activities. Long before the intrusion of the white 
 man, the stat{4y warrior marshaled his swarthy clans to defend 
 the hunting grounds which embosomed the homes and graves of 
 his ancestors. Here, around the lodge tire, the young braves 
 listened to the exploits of their aged chiefs and marched forth to 
 perform the deeds which were to crown them with a chieftain's 
 honors. On the grass-cushioned lap of the i^raii'ie, when the 
 moon with mellow radiance Hooded the valleys and sih ered the 
 streams, the red swain went forth to woo his intended mate atul 
 win her love. Where the game abounded which furnished hiin 
 with food and clothing he built the wigwam in which his faithful 
 partner dispensed the hospitalities of his frugal board. Nature 
 disclosed to his untutored mind the simple duties of life. The 
 opening flower revealed the time for planting corn, the falling leaf 
 when to provide for the frosts of winter, and from the lower 
 animals he learned industry, prudence and affection. His own 
 wondrous organization dii-ected his thoughts to the Great Spirit, 
 and in the si)acious temple, lighted by the sun and cm-tained with 
 clouds, whei'e the tempest offers its loud anthem of praise, he 
 worshi[)])ed the God of Nature. 
 
 The lUinoh Confederacy were composed of five tribes: the Tara- 
 aroas, Wichigamies, Kaskaskias, (Jahokias, and Peorias. Albert 
 Gallatin, wlio has prepared the most elaborate work on the struct- 
 ure of the Indian languages, gives the detinition of Illinois as real 
 or su])erior men, and derives it from the Delaware word Leno, 
 Leiii or Illini, as it is varicmsly written by different autliors. The 
 termination of the word as it is now, and a|)])lied to the State and 
 its ])rincipal river, is of French origin. The Illinois, Miamis and 
 Delay, ares ar(^ of the same stock, and, acccu'ding to tradition, emi- 
 grated from tlu' far west, the first stopping in their eastern round 
 
THE ILLINOIS. 35 
 
 of iJiigratiou in tlic vicinity of Lal^e jNriclii.gan, tlie second in tlie 
 territory of Indiana, and the tliird tliat of Pennsylvania. 
 
 As early as lOTO the Jesuit, Father Marquette, mentions frequent 
 visits made by individuals of this confe<leracy to the missionary 
 station of St. Es])rit, near the western extremity of Lake Superior. 
 At that time they lived west of the Mississippi in eii^ht villages, 
 whither the Irocjuois had driven them from the shores of Lake Michi- 
 gan, which received its name from one of the tribes. Shortly after- 
 wards they commenced returning eastward, ancl^imallj- settled 
 mostly on the Illinois. Joliet and Marquette, in-Jlr^ descending 
 the Mississi]>pi below the mouth of the Wisconsin, on their famous 
 voyage of discovery, met with a band of them on the west bank 
 of the river. The priuci])al chief treated them with great hospi- 
 tality, gave them a calumet as a ])ass down the ri^xn-, and bid 
 them a friendly farewell. The same explorers, in their return voy- 
 age up tlie Illinois, discovered and st<)pj[)ed at the princijjal town 
 of tile confederacy, situated on the banks of the river 7 miles below 
 the presiMit town of Ottawa. It Avas then called Kaskaskia, and 
 according to JMarcpiette, contained 74 lodges, each of which domi- 
 <'iled several fannlies. ^larquette returned to the village in the 
 s])ring of 107'), aud established the IMission of the Immaculate 
 Conception, the oldest in Illinois, and subsequently transferred 
 to the nev,' towai of Kaslvaskia further southward. 
 
 When, in lf>79, La Salle visited the town it had greatlj' increased, 
 numbering, according to Hennepin, 400 lodges, and at the annual 
 assembling of the ditferent tribes ±rom 0,000 to 8,000 souls. The 
 lodges extended along the banks of the river a mile or more, ac- 
 cording to the number of its Huctuating population, which ex- 
 tensively cultivated the adjacent meadows and raised crops of 
 ]>um]>kins, beans, and Indian corn. At this time the confederacy 
 [vossessed the country from the present toAvn of Ottawa and the 
 h)wer rapids of the ]\lississi[)i)i to the mouth of the Ohio, and, ac- 
 cording to the missionary Father Kasles, besides the principal 
 town occupied some 10 or 12 other villagi^s. In the irruption of 
 the Iroquois, the following year, the ])rincii)al town was burned 
 ami the several tribes pui'sued down the river to the IVIississippi, 
 where the Tamaroas were attacked and 700 of their women and 
 children made j^risouers. These were burned and butchered till 
 the savage victors were sated with carnage, when the survivors 
 were lead into (captivity. With the w1thdr;^^^•al of the enemy the 
 tribes returned, rebuilt their town, and in 1082 furnished 1,200 
 of the 3,800 warriors embraced in La Salle's colony at Fort Saint 
 Louis on the Illinois. After this they were forced further south- 
 ward by northern nations, and Peoria, Caholvia and Kaskaskia 
 became the centres of the tribes indicated by their name:^. The 
 Tamaroas were iissociated with the Kaskaskias, and the Michi- 
 gamies were located near Fort Chartres on the Mississip)>i. "While 
 here they were the centre of Jesuit missionary operations, and 
 great etforts were made to (convert them to Christianity, but M'ith 
 only partial success. 
 
 In 1720 they were siiminoned by M. Perrier, Covernor-Geiieial 
 of Louisiana, to assist in the reduction of the Xatchez, who were 
 disturbing the jieaee of the proviiuH'. On the breaking out of the 
 Chickasaw war they were again called to the assistance of their 
 allies, the French, aud under one of Illinois' most gallant generals, 
 
36 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlie Chevalier B'Aitagnette, they successively stormed and carried 
 two of the enemy's strongholds, and would have taken a third but 
 for the fall of their heroic leader. 
 
 In common ^vith other western tribes they became involved in 
 the conspiracy of Pontiac, but from frequent defeats by surround- 
 ing- tribes, and long contact with civilization, they had lost to a 
 great extent the warlike energy, for which, according to tradi- 
 tion, they were anciently distinguished. When, therefore, the 
 great chief visited them in the autumn of 17G4, their zeal did not 
 meet his expectations, and he told them if they hesitated, he 
 would " consume their tribes as tire doth the dry grass on the 
 prairies." Finally, when Pontiac lost his life by the hand of an 
 Illinois, the nations which had followed him as a leader descended 
 from the north and the east to avenge his death, and almost an- 
 nihilated the tribes of this lineage. Tradition states that a band 
 of fugitives, to escape the general slaughter, took refuge on the 
 high rock which had been the site of Fort St. Louis. There they 
 were besieged by a sui^erior force of the Pottawatamies, whom the 
 great strength of this natural fortress enabled them easily to keep 
 at bay. Hunger and thirst, more formidable enemies, however, 
 soon accomplished what the foe was unable to effect. Their small 
 quantity of ]n()visions quickly failed, and their supply water was 
 stopped by the enemy severing the cords attached to the vCkSscIs 
 by which they elevated it from the river below. Thus environed 
 by relentless foes, they took a last lingering look at their beautiful 
 hunting grounds, si^read out like a panoiama on the gently rolling- 
 river, and, with true Indian foititude, laid down and expired with- 
 out a sigh or a tear. From their tragic fate the lofty citadel on 
 which they perished received the uupoetical name of " Starved 
 Eock," and years afterwards their bones were seen w^hitening on 
 its summit. The Tamaroas, although not entirely exterminated, 
 lost their identity as a tribe in a battle with the Shawnees, near 
 the eastern limits of Eandolph county. At the commencement of 
 the present century the contracting circle of hostile tribes had 
 forced the remnants of this once powerful confederacy into a small 
 compass around Kaskaskia. When the country was first visited 
 by Europeans they numbered 12,00(> souls; now they were reduced 
 to two tribes, the Kaskaskias and Peorias, and could only muster 
 150 warriors. Their chief at this time w^as a half-breed of consid- 
 erable talent, named I)u Quoin, who wore a medal presented to 
 him by Washington, whom he visited at Philadelphia. In the 
 early part of the i)resent century the two tribes under his guidance 
 emigrated to the Southwest, and in 1850 they were in the Indian 
 Territory, and numbered 84 persons. 
 
 The 8acs and Foxes^ yy\\o have figured extensively in the his- 
 tory of Illinois, dwelt in the northwest part of the State. The 
 word '' Sau-Kee," now written " Sac," is derived from the com- 
 pound word '^ A-sau-we-kee," of the Chippewa lang-uage, signifying 
 yellow earth, and " Mus-qua-kee," the original name of the Foxes, 
 means red earth. Though still retaining separate tribal names, 
 when living in Illinois they had, by hnig residence together and 
 intermarriage, become substantially one people. Both tribes origi- 
 nally lived on the St. Lawnuice, in the neighborhood of Quebec; 
 and ^[ontreal. The Foxes first removed to the West and estab- 
 lished tlien)selves on the river which bears their name, empty- 
 
SACS AND POXES. 37 
 
 iiig into the head of (xretMi I>ay. Here tliey .siitt'ered a wi^iial 
 defeat froiti the eoiubiiied forces of the French and their Indian 
 allies, which cansed them afterwards to imite ^dtli the Saes, to i)re- 
 vent extermuiation. 
 
 The Sacs became involved in a long and bloody war with the 
 Iroqnois, who drove them from their habitation on the St. Law- 
 rence toward the West, lletiring before these formidable enemies, 
 t'.iey next enconnter^^d the Wyandots, by whom they were driven 
 farther and farther along the shores of the great lakes till at length 
 thcA' fonnd a temporary re.sting place on Green Bay, in the neigh- 
 lioodof their relatives, the Foxes. For nuitual protection against 
 the .snrronnding nations a nnion was here institnted l)etween the 
 two tri])es, wh}<*]i has remained unbroken to the ja'csent time. The 
 tijue of theu' migration from the St. Lawrence to the region of 
 then])per lakes cannot Ite delinitely ascertained. Green Lay was 
 visited in l<>()l.M>y Father Allouez, a Jesnit, who estal)lislied aniis- 
 sionary station there, and in the winter of Uu2 extended his lalxrns 
 Ui the Foxes, wlio at tijst treate<l him with the greatest contempt. 
 Some of tlie tribe had recently been on a trading expedition to 
 Montreal, where they had been foully dealt with by the French, 
 and they now took occasion to show their resentment by deriding 
 the utterances of the missionary. By the exercise of great pa- 
 tie])ce, howe^'er, he at len.gth ol)tained a hearing, and succeeded so 
 well in impressing their minds with his religions instruction that 
 when he exhibiteil n cracitix they threw tol)acco on it as an olfering. 
 He mnm aftei'wards taught tJie whole village to make the sign of 
 the cross, ami painting it on their shields, in one of their -svar ex- 
 peditions, the,y oldained a. gj'eat victory o\er their enemies. Thus, 
 while they knew but little of its signihcance as a religions emblem, 
 in war they regarded it as a talisman of more than ordinary power. 
 
 From Green Bay they moved southward, and shoitly after the 
 Frcjjch )>ioneers visited the conntry they took ])ossession of the 
 fertile ])lains of Noi-tliwe.stern Illinois, cMving out the Sauteaux, 
 a brunch of tlie Chippewas. In their southern migration, accord- 
 ing to their trjiditiojjs, a severe battle oceurred between them and 
 the jNLtecontiiLs, opi>osite the mouth of the Iowa, in which the lat- 
 ter were defeated, and ojdy a few of them left to cairy the news 
 of tlieir disaster to friends at home. Subsequently' they formed 
 alliances with the Potawatamies and other nations, i'orced the dif- 
 ferent tril)es of the Illinois confederacy southwai'd, and after years 
 of strife almost extermimited them. In conjunction with the Me- 
 nomonees, Wumebagoes, and other tribes living in the region of 
 the lakes, they mad<' an atteia}jt, in 1770, to destroy the village of 
 8t. Louis, but were jnevented by the tinndy arri\ al of George 
 Rogers Clark with 500 men from Kaskaskia. Finally, in the Black 
 HaM k waj-, wjjgeil by th<'m against the ti'oops of Illinois and the 
 Unite<l States, they attracte(l the attention of the oitire nation, 
 and won a liistorieal rejaitation. 
 
 Much labor has been expeiuled to ascertain whether the cele- 
 brated Chief, Pontiac, was of Sac or Ottawa lineage. If a simili- 
 arjty ij) the traits of character, which distinguished him and the 
 Sac tribe, could decide the (pu\stion, the latt<'r might, d(mbt- 
 less, claim the lumor of his relationship. It is unnecessary to 
 speak of the courage and lighting qualities of Pontiac. That of 
 the Sacs and their relati\'es, the Foxes, is thus given h\ Drake, iu 
 
38 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 his " Life of Black Hawk :" " The Sacs and Foxes fought tiieir 
 way from the waters of tlie St. Lawrence to Green Bay, and after 
 reaching that place not only sustained themselves against the hos- 
 tile tribes, but were among the most active and courageous in the 
 subjugation, or lather extermination, of the numerous aiul i)ower- 
 ful Illinois confederacy. They had many wars, otfensive and defen- 
 sive, with the Sioiix, the Pawnees, the Osages and other tribes, 
 some of which are ranked among the most fierce and ferocious 
 warriors of the whole continent, and it does not ai)pear that in 
 these conflicts, running through a long period of years, they were 
 found wanting in this the greatest of all savage virtues. In the 
 hite war Avith Great Britain, a party of the Sacs an<l Foxes fought 
 under the British standanl as a matter of choice, and in the recent 
 contest between a fragment of these tiil)es and the United States, 
 although defeated and literally cut to pieces by iin overwhelming- 
 force, it is very questionable whether their rei)utation as braves 
 would suifer by a comparison with that of their victors. It is be- 
 lieved that a careful rcA'iew of their history, from the period when 
 they first established themselves on the waters of the Mississippi 
 down to the ijresent time, will lead the incjuirer to the conclusion 
 that the Sacs and Foxes are a truly courageous people, shrewd, 
 IJolitic, and enterprising, with not more of ferocity and treachery 
 of character than is common among the tribes by whom they were 
 surrounded." 
 
 These tribes, at the time of the Black Hawk war, were divided in- 
 to 20 families, 12 of which were Sacs and 8 Foxes. As marks of dis- 
 tinction, each family had its particular totemic sy)iibi)l, rejiresented 
 by some aninuil. There also existed a peculiar custinn among 
 them of marking each male chihl at birth Avith black and white 
 paint, each mother being careful to ap])ly the two colors altern- 
 ately, so that each fandlyand the entire nation might be divided into 
 two nearly equal classes, tlu; whites and the blacks. The object of 
 these distinctive nuirks, which were retained during life, was tc» 
 keep alive a sjfirit of emulation in the tribes. In. their games, 
 hunts, and public ceremonies, the blacks were tlie competitors of 
 the whites, and in war each party was aml>itious to take more 
 scalps than the other. 
 
 Lierdeuat Pike, in his travels to the source- of the Mississippi, 
 in ISlKj, visited these tribes and found them residing in four prin- 
 cipal villages. The first was at the head of the rapids of the river 
 DesMoines, the secoiul farther up on the east shore of the same 
 stream, the third on the Iowa, and the fourth on Ilock river near 
 its entrance into the Mississipi)i. Tlu' latter greatly exceeded the 
 others in political importance, and was among the largest and 
 most popidous Indian villages on the continent. The country 
 around it, diversified with groves an<l prairies, was one of the nu)st 
 beautiful regions in the valley of the Mississippi, and gave addi- 
 tional interest to this time-honored residence t>f the natiou. 
 According to Lieutenant IMke, the Sacs nund)ered 2,850 souls, 
 of whom 1400 were children, THO women, and 700 warriors. The 
 total number of Foxes were 1750, of whom 850 were children, 500 
 women, and 400 wari'iors. In 1825, the Secretary of War estimated 
 the entire number of Sacs and Foxes at 4,(iOO, showing in the in- 
 tervening period of 20 years a considerable increase of ])oi)ulation. 
 After the Black Hawk war, these tribes retired to their lauds in 
 
WINNEBAGOES — KICKAPOOS. 39 
 
 Iowa, wliciice they were finally traiisfevred to the Indian Territory, 
 and in 1850 nnuibered some KKM) sonLs. 
 
 Tlie early traditions of the M' innclxKjoes fixes their ancient seat 
 on tlie Avest shore of Lake Miehi,i;an, north of Green l>a-y. They 
 l)eli('\ed that their ancestors wer(^, created by the (ireat Si>irit, on 
 tlie laiKls constitntiiig" their ancient territory, and that their title 
 to it was a gift from their Creator. The Algonqniiis named 
 them after the hay on wliich they lived, Ween-ni-ba-gogs, which 
 snbsequently became anglicized in the form of Winnebagoes. 
 They were persons of good statnre, manly bearing, had the charc- 
 teristic black circular hair of their race, and were generally more 
 unco nth in their habits than the surrounding; tribes. Their lan- 
 guage was a deep gutteral, difiicult to learn, and shows that they 
 belonged to the great Dacotali stock of the West. Anciently, they 
 were divided into clans distinguished by the Itird, bear, fish, and 
 other family totems. 
 
 How long they resided at Green Bay is not known. Father Al- 
 Jouez states that there was a tra<lition in liis day, that they had 
 been jilmost destroyed in 1640, by the Illinois. They had also, in 
 this eonnection, a tradition that their ancestors built a. fort, Avhicli 
 Irwiu and Hamiitcni, missionaiies among them, think might 
 \icixi' been identical with the archeological remains of an anci<*nt 
 work found on Kock river. Coining down to the era of authentic 
 iiistory, Carver, in ITfHi, found them on the Fox river, evidently 
 wandering from their ancient plac<' of habitation, and ap}>roach- 
 ing southern Wisconsin and the northern part of Illinois and Iowa, 
 where portions of the tribe subse(iuently settled. The Illinois ])or- 
 tion occupied a section of country on Ilock river, in the county wliich 
 bears their name, and the country to the east of it. In I'ontiac's 
 war, tlur'y, with other lake tiibes, hovered about the beleaguered 
 fortress of Detroit, and nnide the surrounding forests disnuil with 
 snid]iight revelry and war-whoo])s. English agents, however, suc- 
 ceeded in molifying their resentnu'ut, and wlien the new American 
 power arose, in 1776, they were subsequently arrayed on th<^ side 
 of the British authorities in regard to questions of local jurisdic- 
 tion at Prairie du Chien, Green Bay and Mackinaw. In the war 
 of 1812, they still remained the allies of England, and assisted in 
 i\n^ defeat of Col, Croghan, at JVIackinaw; Col. Dudley, at the 
 rapids of the Mauinee ; and General Wincliester, at the river 
 llaisin. In tlu^ A\'innebago war of 1827, they defiantly })laced 
 themselves in antagonism to the authority of the g<'neral govern- 
 me])t, by assaulting a steamboat on the Mississippi, engaged in 
 fiu'uishing su[)pli<'sto the military post on the St. Peters. 
 
 The Kickapoo.s, in 17(»o, oc('U]>ie<l thi' conntry sonthwest of the 
 southern extremity of Lake Michigan. They subsecpiently moved 
 southward, and at a more recent date dwelt in portions of the ter- 
 ritory on the Mackinaw and Sangamon rivers, and had a village 
 on Kickapoo creek, and at Elkhart Grove. They were m{)r<' civi- 
 lized, iiulustrious, energetic and cleanly than the neigh boring- 
 tribes, and it may also be added more imjilacable in their hatred 
 of the Americans. They were among the first to commence bat- 
 tle, and the last to submit and enter into treaties. Una])])easeable 
 enmity led them into the field against Generals Ilarmar, St. Clair 
 and Wayne, and first in all the bloody charges at Tipjx'canoe, 
 They were prominent among the northern nations, which, for more 
 
40 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tliau a century, waged an exterminating war against tlie Illinois 
 confederacy. Their last hostile act of this kind was perpetrated 
 in 1805, against some poor Kaskaskia children, whom they found 
 gathering strawberries on tlie prairie above the town ^^ hich bears 
 the name of their tribe. Seizing a considerable numl)er of them, 
 they tied to their villages before the enraged Kaskaskias could 
 overtake them and rescue their offspring. During the years 1810 
 and 1811, in conjunction with the (Jhippewas, l*ota\vataniies and 
 Ottawas, they committed so many thefts and nuirdersbn the fron- 
 tier settlements, that Governor Edwards was compelled to employ 
 military force to suppress them. When removed from Illinois 
 they still retained their old animosities against the Americans, 
 and went to Texas, then a province of Mexico, to get beyond the 
 jurisdiction of the United States. They claimed relationship with 
 the Potawatanues, and perhaps the Sacs and Foxes, and Shaw- 
 nees. The following tradition resi>ecting the origin of this tribe 
 Avas related in 1812, at the Indian Superintendency at St. Louis, 
 by Louis Eodgers, a Shawnee : 
 
 ^' It is many years ago since the numl)er of the Shawnees was 
 very great. They Avere, on an imixutant occasion, encamped to- 
 gether on the prairie. At night one-half of them fell aslee|>, the 
 others remained awake. The latter abandoned the sleepers before 
 morning, and betook themselves to the course where the sun rises- 
 The others gradually pursued their route in the direction where 
 the sun sets. This was the origin of the two mitions, the first of 
 which was called the Shawnees, and the other the Kickapoos, 
 Prior to this separation these nations were considered one, and 
 were blessed with bounties above any blessings which are now 
 enjoyed by any portion of mankind ; and they ascribe their pres- 
 ent de])ressed condition, and the withdrawal of the favor of Provi- 
 dence, to the anger of the Great S})irit at their sei>aratit>n. 
 Among the many tokens of diA'ine iVivors \\iiich they fornu^rly en- 
 joyed was the art of walking on the surface of the ocean, by 
 which they crossed from the East to America without vessels. 
 Also the art of restoring life to the dead, by the use of medical 
 art, continued for the space of six houis. JSTecromancy and ])ro- 
 phecy were with them at their highest state, and were practiced 
 without feigning; and, in fine, such were the gifts of heaven to 
 them that nothing fell short of their inconceivable power to per- 
 form. And after tbe Shawnees have wandered to the lemotest 
 West, and returned East to the original i^lace of separation, the 
 world will have finished its career. It is believed by the Shawnees 
 that the consmiimation of this prophecy is not far distant, because 
 they have, in fulfillment of it, reached the extreme western x>oint, 
 and are now retrograding their ste])s." 
 
 A fragment of the Shawnee nation, in early times, dwelt in the 
 southeastern part of Illinois, in the vicinity of Shawneetow'ii, 
 which bears their name. The nation, bold, roving and adventur- 
 ous, originally inluibited the Atlantic seaboard, between the Alta- 
 maha and James rivers. Becoming embroiled in wars with the 
 Iroquois, to save themselves some took refuge in the Oarolinas 
 and Florida. True to their mitive instincts, in their new location 
 they soon came to blow s with the owners of the soil, and about the 
 year IToO removed to the Sciota, in the present State of Ohio. 
 About 1750, a discontented fraction broke oft' from the rest of the 
 
MASCOUTINS — PIANKISHAWS. 41 
 
 nation and went to East Tennessee, and thence to tlieir location on 
 the Ohio, at Shawneotown. Here, in connnon witli neighboring' 
 tribes, they regarded Ilbnois as sacred gronnd, and dnring Pon- 
 tiac's war assisted in rei)elling the attempts of their English ene- 
 mies to get i)ossession of the conntry in the })resent limits of the 
 State. Here, too, both themselves and their brethren on the Sciota, 
 obtained arms from the French, for whose sni>remacy they deluged 
 the frontiers of Pennsylvania and Virginia with blood. Such had 
 been the atrocity of their conduct, when the war A\as over they at 
 first supposed they were excluded from tlie general amnesty ex- 
 tended toother western tribes, and even ]>repared to unirder their 
 prisoners and resume hostilities. After having, a short time before 
 the conquest of Clark, destroyed the Tamaroas in battle, thej' re- 
 joined their kindred on the Sciota. 
 
 The MdHCont'nis were a tribe holding friendly relations with the 
 Illinois, and are supposed by some to have constituted a sixth tribe 
 of their confederacy. The name, ''Mascontin," is synonymous with 
 prairie, and was ai)plied t« this tribe from the circumstance of their 
 dwelling on the great grassy plains east of the Mississippi. The 
 first Em'ojx'an who nuMitions tlu'm is Father Allouez, who found 
 them, ill 100!>, on the Wisconsin river. Marquette saw them in 
 1(573, near the portage of the Fox and AViscousin rivers. ^larest 
 states that they had Ibrmed settlements in 1711! on the Wabash, 
 and in subsequent times they ranged over the prairies betwe<'n the 
 Wabash and the Ilbnois. They were also intimately associated 
 with the Foxes and Kickai)oos, whoiu they resembled in deceit and 
 treachery. Charlevoix states that the Mascoutins and the Kicka- 
 poos united with the Foxes in a plot of the latter against the 
 French, but were surprised by the Ottawas and I'otawatamies and 
 150 of them cut to piecCvS. After the cession of the French posses- 
 sions to the English, Col. Croghan was sent to conciliate the western 
 tribes. Having descended the Ohio to the site of Shawneetown, 
 they, with the Kickapoos, attacked and made him and his men 
 prisoners. Under the name of iMeadow Indians they are men- 
 tioned by Gen. Clark, whom, in 1778, they endeavored to cut off 
 by treachery. Subsequently they appear to have been absorbed 
 bj^tlie Kicka])oos and Foxes. 
 
 The riunldshairs occupied the lower Wabash country on both 
 sides of that stream, and west into the Illinois territory as far as 
 the dividing ridge between the sources of the streams tlowinginto 
 the Wabash and those falling into the Kaskaskia. They were one 
 member of the Miami CoKfhJeraci/. This nation, in early times, 
 resided on Fox river, Wisconsin, where they were visited, in 1070, 
 by Fathers Allouez and Dablon. The latter is lavish in his praise 
 of their chief, stating that he was honored by his subjects as a 
 king, and that his bearing among his guests had all the courtly 
 dignity of a civUized monarch. They were also visited the same 
 year by St. Susson, who was received "SNitli the honors of a sham 
 battle and entertained with a grand game of ball. He likewise 
 speaks in glowing terms of the authority of the chief, who was 
 attended night and day by a guard of warriors. The nation 
 shortly afterward removed to the banks of the St. J()sei)li, and 
 thence found their way to the Wabash and JMaumee. They were 
 more largely represented in La Salle's colony, at Fort St. Louis, 
 than any other tribe, and were active iJarticipants in the con- 
 
42 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 spiracy of Pontiae. The confederacy, like that of the Illinois, 
 was reduced to the last extieniity by repeated attacks from the Iro- 
 quois. But they till a considerable si)ace in western annals, and 
 gave birth to Little Turtle, who commanded the Indians at St. 
 Clair's defeat. The Piankishaws, after their removal from Illinois, 
 were transferred to the Indian Territory, an<l in 1850 were reduced 
 to 107 i)ersons. 
 
 The Potawatamies are represented on early Pi-ench maps as 
 inhabiting the country east of the southern extreniity of Lake 
 Michigan. At the mouth of the St. Josepli, falling into this part 
 of the lake, the Jesuits had a missionary station, which, according 
 to Marest, was in a flourishing condition as early as 1712. Here, 
 an innneasured distance from civilization, for more tluin half a 
 century the devoted missionaries labored for their spiritual wel- 
 fare. These years of toil and self-denial were, however, little ap- 
 preciated, for in Pontiac's war they pioved themselves to be 
 among the most vindictive; of his adhei'ents. Disguising their 
 object under the mask of friendship, they approached the small 
 military post located on the same river, and having obtained in- 
 gress, in a few minutes butchered the whole of the garrison, except 
 three men. 
 
 From this locality a portion of the tribe ] massed r(nindtlie south- 
 ern extremity of the lake, into northeastern Illinois. Time and a 
 change of residencie seems not to have modified their ferocious 
 character. Partly as the result of British intrigue, and partly to 
 gratify their thii'stfor blood, they perpetratcMl, in 1812, at Chiciigo, 
 the most atrocious ]nassacre in the annals of the northwest. After 
 their renujval from Illinois, they found their way to the Indian 
 Territory, and in 1850 nund)ered 1,500 souls. The following 
 legend of the tribe gives their theology and origin: ''They 
 believe in two great spirits, Kitchemonedo, the good or benev- 
 olent spirit, and Matchemonedo, the evil si)irit. Some have 
 doubts which is the most powerful, but the great i)art believe 
 that the first is; that he made the world and called all things 
 into being, and that the other ought to be despised. When 
 Ivitchemonedo first made the world he i)eopled it with a class of 
 beings who only looked like men, but they were perverse, ungrate- 
 ful, wicked dogs, \\\\o never raised their eyes from the grouiul to 
 thank him for anything. Seehig this the (Ireat Spirit plunged 
 them, with the world itselt^ into a great lake and dr(»wned them. 
 He then withdrew it from the water and nmde a single man, a 
 very handsome young man, who as he was lonesome, appeared 
 sad. Kitchemonedo took pity on him and sent him a sister to 
 cheer him in his loneliness. After many years the young man 
 had a dream which he told to his sister. Five young men, said he, 
 will come to" your lodge door to-night to visit you. The Great 
 Spirit forbids you to answer or even look up and smile at the first 
 four; but when the fifth comes, you may speak and laugh and 
 show that you are pleased. She acted accoi-dingly. The first of 
 the fixa strangers that called was ITsama, or tobacco, and having 
 been repulsed he fell down and died; the second, Wapako, or a 
 puiii])kin, shared the same fate; the third, Eshkossiinin, or melon, 
 and the fonrtli, Kokees, or the bean, met the same fate; but when 
 Tamil! or Montaniin, which is nuiize, in'esented himself, she opem^d 
 the skin tapestiy door of her lodge, laughed very heartily, and 
 gave him a frientUy reception. They were immediately married, 
 
POTAWATAIMIES. 43 
 
 aiul from tlii.s union tlie Indians .sprang. Taniin fortlnyitli bnried 
 tlic fonr nnsnccessfnl suitors, and from tlieir gra\'es tliei'C grew 
 tobacco, melons of all sorts, and beans; and in this manner tlie 
 Great Spirit provided that the race which he had made should 
 have something to olfer liim as a gift in their leasts an<l ceremo- 
 nies, and also s(miething to X)ut into their (ilechs or kettles, along 
 with their meat."* 
 
 Portions of the C'hippewa iuid Ottawa trilx's were associated 
 with the Potawatamies in the northeastern part of the present 
 limits of Illinois. They were among the most energetic and i)ov.er- 
 ful nations of the northwest, ami fought with great ferocity in 
 most of the wars caused by th(^ westA\ard advance of civilization. 
 In tlu^ conspii-acy of I'ontiac they were the immediate followers of 
 the great war cliief, and im])elle(l by his imperious will, at Detroit, 
 Mackinaw and other liritish j)osts, they were without rivals in the 
 work of carnage and death. The iSduteanx, a braiu'h of the Chip- 
 l)ewas, dwelt on tlie eastern bank of the Mississippi, and had 
 villages on the sites of Pcx'k Island, Quincy and other adjacent 
 l)lac<\s. They wPre driven west of the river by the Sacs and Foxeg, 
 after which their jnincipal town was Davenport. 
 
 All these tribes have now jjassed beyond the limits of the State, 
 Some long since were exterminated, Avhile the degenerate offspring 
 of otliers are found in the Indian Territory and other j)arts of the 
 west. Inflexible as if hewn from a rock, they were unable to adapt 
 themselves to the re(jnireim>nts of civilized life, and could but tlee 
 befoi'e it or ])erish. Their fast disappearing graves, and the relics 
 occasionally turned up by the plow, are now the only melancholy 
 vestiges of their fornu'r existence in Illinois. 
 
 hi common ^ith the whole Indian race, their most exalted c(m- 
 ception of glory was success iji war, and a knowledge of its arts 
 the most valuable attainment. The aged chief looked back to his 
 ex]>loits in battle as the crowning acts of his life, while the growing 
 youth looked forward to the time when he would be able to win 
 distinction by like feats of prowess. Civilization offers to tlu' 
 votaries of and)ition not only the sword but the pen, the forum, the 
 patlis of science, the painter's brush aiul the sculptor's chisel; the 
 savage has only the trium])hs of the war ])ath. The war ]>ar- 
 ties of the i)iaiiie tribes consistcMl of volunteers. The leader who 
 attempted to raise one nuist Iuiac i)reviously distinguished liimself 
 in order to be successful. He tirst ai)pealed to the patriotism and 
 courage of t]\e wariiois, and was careful to intimate that the 
 (zreat Spirit had nnide known to him in dreams the success of his 
 enteri)rise. Then, ])ahjted with vermilli(m to synd)olize blood, he 
 commenced the war dance. This i>erfornuince expressed in i>anto- 
 mime tiie varied incidents of a successful cami»aign. The braves 
 entering upon the war-path, the posting of sentiu.els to avoid sur- 
 prise, tlu' advance into the enemy's country, the formation of 
 ambuscades to strike the unwary foe, the strife and carnage of 
 battle, the writhing victim sinking under the blow of the war- 
 club, the retreat of the enemy, the sca]i)ing of the slain, the feast- 
 ing of vultures on the putrid l)odies, the trium})hant return of the 
 war party to their village and the torturing of prisoners, were all 
 portrayed with the ^'i\■idness and vehemence of actual warfare. 
 Warrior after warrior, wishing to volunteer for the expedition, rap- 
 
 *Sckoolcralt. 
 
44 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 idly fell into the dance ^vitli tlie leader. Each one, keeping time 
 with the beat of the drum, sped in nuizy circles around a common 
 centre, until with increased numbers the whole, in movement and 
 uproar, resembled the whirhvind. The several actors taxed their 
 n)uscular energies to the utmost endurance, stamping the ground 
 with great fury, throwing their bodies into the different attitudes 
 of combat, distorting theii- faces ^nth the frenzy of demons, and 
 uttering the war-cry with the frightful shriek of madmen. These 
 hideous orgies, waking up all the tire and energy of the Indian's 
 soul, w^ere a iitting prelude to the premeditated carnage. If a 
 young man i)articipated in the dance, it was tantamount to an en- 
 listment, and he could not afterAvards honorably withdraw. 
 
 The Art of Himting not only supplied the Indian with food, T>ut, 
 like that of war, was a means of gratifying his love of distinction. 
 The male children, as soon as they acquired sufficient age aiul 
 strength, were fuinished with a ho^x and arroAvs and taught to 
 shoot birds and other small game. Success in killing large quad- 
 rupeds required years of careful study and practice, and the art 
 was as sedulously inculcated on the minds of the rising generation 
 as are the elements of reading, writing and arithmetic in the com- 
 mon schools of civilized communities. The mazes of the forest 
 and the dense tall grass of the prairies were the best fields for the 
 exercise of the hunter's skill. No feet could be impressed in the 
 yiekling soil but they were objects of the most rigid scrutiny, and 
 revealed at a glance the animal that made them, the direction it 
 was piu-suing, and the time that had elapsed since it had passed. 
 Even if the surface was too hard to admit of indentations, such 
 were his wonderful i)owers of observation, he discovered on it 
 evidences of a trail from which, with scarcely less certainty, he 
 derived the same information. In a forest country he selected for 
 liis places of ambush valleys, becaiLse they are most frequently the 
 resort of game, and sallied forth at the tirst peep of day. h\ 
 ascending the valleys he was careful to take the side of the stream 
 which threw his shadow from it, thus leading his vicAv unobstruc- 
 ted in the opposite direction. The most easily taken, perha]>s, of 
 all the animals of the chase was the deer. It is endowed with a 
 curiosity Avhich i)ronq)ts it to stop in its flight and look back at the 
 approaching hunter who always avails himself of this opi)ortiniity to 
 let tly his fatal arrow. An ingenious method of taking this animal, 
 X)racticed by the Indians on the small tributaries of the jMississip]>i, 
 was the use of the torch. For this ])ur[)ose they constructed their 
 bark canoes with a place in front for the reception of a large flam- 
 beau, Avhose light was prevented from revealing the hunter by the 
 interposition of a screen. As he descended the narrow streams, 
 the deer, seeing oidy the light, was attracted by it to the banks 
 and easily shot. 
 
 But by far the noblest objects of the chase. which the Indian en- 
 countered on the prairies, was the buffalo. It is an animal c<mtined 
 to temperate latitudes, and was foun<l in large numbers by the tirst 
 explorers, roaming over the grassy plains of Illinois, Indiana, 
 Southern Michigan and Western Ohio. It has a remarkably large 
 chest, a heavy mane covering the whole of its neck and breast, horns 
 turued slightly upward and larg«^ at the base, eyes red and fiery, 
 and the whole aspect furious. In its native haunts it is a furious 
 and formidable animal, Avorthy of the Indian's i)rowess. Like the 
 
THEIR GENERAL COUNCILS. 45 
 
 moose and other animals of the same family, nature has besto^ved 
 on it the most exqnisite power of seent. Tlie inexperieneed hunter 
 of the present day, unaware that the tainted breeze has revealed 
 his presence to them, is often surprised to see them urging their 
 rapid tlight across the prairies, at a distance of two or three miles 
 in advance, without any api)arent cause of alarm. He is therefore 
 necessitated to dismount and ap})r()ach them on the leeward, inider 
 cover of the horse. When within ii i)r(tper distance he vaults into 
 the saddle and speeds forward in the direction of the prey, which 
 commences its retreat, getting over the ground ^Aith great rai)idity 
 for aninnds so unwieldy. Intuitively it directs its course over tlie 
 most broken and dihicult ground, causing both horse and rider to 
 freipiently imperil their lives by fading. When wounded tlsey 
 sonu'times turn with great fury upon their jmrsner, and if he hap- 
 pens to be dismounted, nothing but the greatest coolness and <lex- 
 terity can save his life. 
 
 Q'he bow and arrow, in the hands of the tribes which formerly 
 rauged the ])rairies, were said to be uiore formidable weajKnis in 
 hunting the huffalo, than the guns ,sTd)se(iuently introduced by I'>u- 
 ro]>eans. The arrows could be discharged with greater ra^tidity and 
 with scarcely less precision. Such, too, was the force with v* hich 
 it was propelled, that the greater part of it was generally iuibedded 
 in the body of the buffalo, and sonjctimes protruded from the oitpo- 
 site side. Deep grooves cut in the side of the missile iiernntted the 
 rapid effusion of blood, and animals, when inerced with it, survived 
 only a short time. 
 
 One of the modes of killing the buffalo, practiced by the Illinois 
 and other tribes of the West, was to drive theui headlong over the 
 l)recipitous banks of the rivers. Buffalo Itoclv, a large prouiontory 
 rising fifty or sixty feet high, on the north side of the Illinois, six 
 ndles below Ottawa, is said to have derived its name from this 
 practice. It was custonniry to select an active young num and <lis- 
 guise him in the skin of the buffalo, prepared for this i)urpos(^ by 
 preserviug the ears, head and horus. Thus disguised, he took a 
 position between a lierd and a cliff of the river, while his compan- 
 ions, on the the rear and each side, put the aninmls in motion, 
 following the decoy, who, on reaching the precipice, disa])peared 
 in a previously selected crevice, while the animals in front, pressed 
 by the moving mass behind, were precipitated over the brink and 
 crushed to death on the rocks below. The Indians also often cap- 
 tured large mimbers of these buffalo, when the rivers were frozen 
 over, by driving theni on the ice. If the great weight of the ani- 
 mals broke the ice, they were usually killed in the water, but if too 
 strong to break, its smoothness caused them to fall powerless on 
 the surface, when they were remorselessly slaughtered, long after 
 sui)plying the denumds for food, nn'rely to gratify a brutal lo\'e for 
 the destruction of life. 
 
 Their General Councils were composed of the chiefs and old men. 
 When in council they usually sat in concentric circles around the 
 speaker, and each hidividual, notwithstanding the fiery passions 
 that rankled witlnn, preserved an exterior as immovable as if cast 
 in bronze. Before commencing business, a i)erson appeared with 
 the sacred pipe and another with fire to kiiulle it. After being 
 lighted, it was presented first to the heavens, secondly to the earth, 
 thirdly to the presiding spirits, and lastly to the several councdors, 
 
46 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 eacli of whom took a whiff. These formalities were observed with 
 as much sfrui»uk)us exactness as state etiquette in ci^dlized courts. 
 After the speaker eommenced and became animated in the discus- 
 sion of his subject, his statue-hke aiulitors signified tlieir assent to 
 what he said by d<^ep guttural ejaculations. These gatherings, in 
 dignity, gravity and decorum, were scarcely equalled by the deli- 
 berative bodies of the most eidightened centres. It is said that 
 the Indians were Avont to express the greatest surprise on witness- 
 ing tiie levity exhibited by French officials, in their public assem- 
 blies at Fort Chartres. 
 
 The Indian couiu-il had no authority to give force and validity to 
 its enactments. If it decided to engage in war, it had no power 
 to enforce its enlistments, and therefore volunteers had to tight 
 the battles. If its decrees of peace were observed, it was not the 
 result of conq)ulsi<)n, but due to the confidence which tlui nati(m 
 placed in its Avisdom and integrity. Where councils were c()nv<'ned 
 for negotiating treaties, or terms of peace, the presentation of gifts 
 was ofteii a part of the proceedings. It was custonniry on these 
 occasions for the orator of the interceding party to rise and pre- 
 sent them to those of the assenddage who Avere to be conciliated. 
 A particular object was assigned to each gift, Avhich the speaker 
 exitlanu^l as he proceeded in his discourse. Corresponding with 
 the various objects to be accom])lislK'd by negotiation, there Avere 
 gifts to proi)itiate the Great Spiiit and cause him to look Avitli favor 
 upon the council; to open tlie ears and minds of the contracting 
 parties, that they might hear Avhat Avas said and undersiand their 
 duty; to inter the bones of the dead, and heal the Avounds of their 
 living friends; to bury the tomahaAvk, that it might not again be 
 used in shed<ling blood, and to so brighten the chain of friendsliij) 
 that tlie disatiected tribes might CA'cr afterwards be as one people. 
 
 The tliouglits uttered in these councils, and on other pid)lic occa- 
 sions, Avere frequently of a higli ordei'. Deeply imbued with the 
 lo\e of freedom and independence, their ideas on these sul)jects 
 AA^ere generally of a lofty, unselfish and heroic character, l^atriot- 
 ism, their most cherished virtue, furnished their orators Avith 
 themes for the most stirring apjx'als. Barrenness of language 
 necessitated the frequent employment of metaphors, many of Aviiicli 
 Avere surprisingly beautiful, simi>le and a]q>]<>i)riate. The frequent 
 use of imagery made it difticult for the interpreter to folloAv them 
 in tJu'ir figuratiA^e vein of thought and do the orator justice. But 
 Avhiie this Avas true it Avas much more frequeidly the case that the 
 tianshitor greatly impro a ed the oiiginal. It may also be added that 
 some of the most sparkling gems of Avhat i)uri)orts to be Indian 
 eloquence are nothingbut the fanciful creations of Avriters. Pontiac's 
 speeches are frequently referred to as among the best specimens 
 of aboriginal eloquence. The folloAnng retort Avas made by Keokuk, 
 in ansAvei' to charges i)referred against his people by the Siouxs at 
 a couAocation of chiefs in 1837, at the national capital : 
 
 " They say they Avould as soon make peace Avith a^ child as Avith 
 us. They know better, for Avlien they made war on us they foimd 
 us men. They tell you that peace has often been made an<l avo 
 have bioken it. IIoav happens it then that so many of their braves 
 have been slain in our country. I Avill tell you : They iuA^aded us, 
 we never iuA^aded them ; none ol" our braves Imv^e been killed in 
 
CONSTITUTION OF THE INDIAN FAMILY. 47 
 
 their land. We have their scalps and we can tell you where we 
 took til em." 
 
 Black Hawk's speech to Col. Enstice, in charge of Fortress Mon- 
 roe, when he and his fellow prisoners were set at liberty, is not 
 only eloquent, hut shows that within his cliest of steel there beat a 
 heart keenly alive to the emotions of gratitude : 
 
 ."Brother, I huve come on my own pnrt, and in behalf of my companions, to 
 bid you farewell. Our irreat father lias at leiio-th been pleased lo permit vis to 
 return to onr hunting urounds. We have buried the tomahawk, and the sound 
 of the rifle will hereafter only bring death to the deerand Ihe buft'alo. Broth- 
 er, you hare treated the red men very kindly. Your squaws have made them 
 presents, and you have given them plenty to eat and drink. The memory of 
 your friendship will remain till the Great Spirit says it is time for Black Hawk 
 to sing his death song. Brother, your houses ai'e numerous as the leaves on 
 the trees, and your young warriors like the sands upon the shore of the big 
 lak(^ that rolls before us. The red man has but few houses, and few warriors, 
 but the red man has a heart which throbs as warmly as the heart of his white 
 brotlier. The Great Spirit has given us our hunting grounds, and the skin of 
 the deer which we kill there, is his favorite, for its cohn' is white, and this is the 
 emblem of peace. Tins hunting dress and these feathers of the eagle are Mliite. 
 Accept them, my brother ; I have given one like this to the White Otter. Acc.pt 
 of it asa ineniorial of Black HawkT When he is far away this will serve to remind 
 you of him. May tiie Great Spirit bless you and your children. Farewell." 
 
 Constitution of the Indian Family. — The most important social 
 feature of the prairie and other tribes, and that which disarmed 
 their barbarism of much of its i-epulsiveness, was the family tie. 
 The marital rite which precedes the family relations required only 
 the consent of tlie parties and their parents, without any concur- 
 rent act of magistracy, to give it validity. The husband, with eipuil 
 facility, might also dissolve this tie or increase the number of his 
 wives without limit. Tliough the nuxrriage compact was not very 
 strong, the ties of consanguinity werc^ rigidlj' preserved, and hered- 
 itaiy rights, generally traced through tlie female line, were handed 
 down from the remotest ancestry. For this piu'pose they had the 
 institution of the Totem., an emblem AAdiich served as a badge of 
 disthuition for dilferent clans or families. This family surname Avas 
 represented by some quadruped, bird, or other object of the ani- 
 mnl world, as the Avolf, deer, hawk, &c. Different degrees of rank 
 and dignity Avere indicated by varion.s totems, those of the bear, 
 wolf, and turtle, being tirst in honor, secured the greatest respect 
 for those who had the right to wear them. Each clansman was 
 proud of his ensign, and if a member of the fraternity was killed, 
 he felt called upon to avenge his death. As the different mend)ers 
 of a clan were connected l)y ties of kindred, they were prohibited 
 from intermarriage, A IJear could not marry a Bear, but might 
 take a wife from the V\o\i or Otter clan, whereby all the branclies 
 of a tribe or nation became united by bonds of consanguinity and 
 friendship. By this sim])le institution, notwithstanding the \v;ni- 
 deri)ig of tribes and their vicissitudes in war, family lineage was 
 Ijreserved and the hereditary rights of furnislung chiefs, accorded 
 to certain clans, was transnutted from generation to generation. 
 
 Though in many of the most endearhig relations of life the men, 
 from immemorial custom, exhibited the most stolid indifference, 
 yet instances were not wanting to show that in their family attach- 
 ments they frequently juauifested the greatest affection and sym- 
 pathy. No calamity can cause nu)re grief than the loss of a jn-om- 
 ising son, and the father has often given his Ufe as a ransom to 
 
48 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 save liim from tlie stake. A striking instance of this kind occnr- 
 red in the war of the 17th eentnry T)etween the Foxes and Chip])e- 
 was, near MontreaL In this war the Foxes captured the son of a 
 celebrated and aged chief of the ( 'liipi)ewas, named Bi-ans-wah, 
 while the father Avas absent from his wigwam. On reaching Ids 
 home, the old man heard the heart ivnding news, and knowing 
 what the fate of his son would be, folhnved on the trail of the enemy, 
 and, alone, reached the Fox village while they were in the act of 
 kindling tlie tire to roast him alive. He stepi)ed bohlly into the 
 arena and offered to take his son's place. " My son," said he "has 
 seen but few winters, his feet have never trod the war path ; but 
 the hairs of my head are white; I have hung many scalps over the 
 graves of my relations, which I have taken from the heads of your 
 warriors. Kindle the tire about me and send my son to my kxlge." 
 The olfer was accepted and the father, Avithout deigning to utter a 
 groan, was burned at the stake. Such are the severities of savage 
 warfare, amidst which the family is maintained Avith a heroism 
 Avhich has no parallel in cIa ilized life. 
 
 T he Methods of ISepulture, among the Indians, varied in different 
 localities. It was common, among the northern forest tribes of 
 the United States, to choose elcA ated s])ots above the reach of 
 tloods, for places of burial. Not luiAing suitable tools for making- 
 excavations, they interred their dead in shadow graves and placed 
 over them trunks of trees to secure them from depredation by AAild 
 beasts. The bodies Avere sometimes extended at full length, in an 
 eastern and Avestern direction, but more frequently in a sitting pos- 
 ture. The Illinois and other prairie tribes fre<puMitly i)laced their 
 dead on scaffolds erected on eminences comnuvnding extensiAe 
 and picturesque AicAAs. The cori)se, after receiving its wrappings, 
 Avas deposited in a rude coffin, fancifully ])ainte(l Avith red colors. In 
 this condition they Avere i)laced on scaffolds df^corated with gifts of 
 liA^ing relatiA^es, and built sufficiently high to piotect them from 
 wolvesand otheraninuils of prey infesting the prairies. But judging 
 from the remains of graves, by far the greater i)art of the ancient in- 
 habitants of Illinois and the adjacent parts of theMississipi)i Valley, 
 deposited large numbers of their dead in a common tomb, and gen- 
 erally marked the place by the (nection of a mound. The X)lain8 
 and alluA'iums of Southern Illinois, luiA^e in many places been liter- 
 ally soAvn Avith the dead, CAincing a density of population greatly 
 exceeding that found by the first European explorers of this region. 
 The custom of raising heaps of earth over the graves, Avas perliaps 
 practiced as a mark of distinction for the tond)S of eminent i)erson- 
 ages, and for such as contained the bodies of warriors slain in bat- 
 tle, or were made common repositaries for the dead of Avliole clans 
 and Adllages. It is sometimes difficult to distinguish betAA een the 
 places of sepulture raised by the ancient mound builders, and the 
 more modern graA^es of the Indians. The tond)s of the former Avere 
 in general larger than the latter, Avere used as receptacles for a 
 greater nund^er of bodies, and contained relics of art CAincing a 
 higher degree of civilization than that attained by the present ab- 
 original tribes. The ancient tunudi of the mound builders have in 
 some instances been appropriated as burial places by the Indians, 
 but the skeletons of the latter may be distinguished from the osteo- 
 logical remains of the former by their greater stature. 
 
TMETHODS OF SEPULTURE. 49 
 
 The existence of a future state was regarded by the prairie tribes 
 as an actuality, and upon tliis idea was j)redicated the custom 
 of depositing in the graves of departed fi'iends tlieir favorite 
 iinplenients, and such as they thouglit wouhl be useful to them in 
 the land of spirits. Wlien a warrior died tliey placed with him his 
 war-club, gun and red paint, and some times his horse was slaiu 
 upon his grave, that he miglit be ready to mount and proceed to 
 to his api)ointed place of rest in the land of spirits. If a female 
 w.is to be interred, they placed with her a kettle, canoe x>''^ddles, 
 articles of apparel, and otber objects of feminine use and interest. 
 No trait of character was more connnendable in the Indian than 
 his scrui)uIous regard for the graves of his ancestoi's. Not e\en 
 the invasion of his liunting grounds roused more (piickly his pat- 
 riotism and resentment, than the ruthless desecration of tlie graves 
 of his fathers, by the unhallowed hands of strangers. So long as 
 any part of their perishable bodies were supi)osed to remain, they 
 were prompted b;\' reverence to \isit the sacred places where they 
 slept, and pour out libations to their departed spirits. 
 
 Man is, by nature, a religious being. The exliibitions of his 
 character, in this respect, are as universal as are the displays of 
 his social, intellectual and moral natiu^e No nations, tribes or in- 
 dividuals have been found, whatever may be their isolated condi- 
 tion or de})th of degradation, but tliey are more or less governed 
 by this inlierent element. Wliile the religious sentiment is univer- 
 sal, its manifestations arc as various as tlie different degrees of ad- 
 vancement made Ityits subjects in knowledge. From tlie ignorant 
 idolator who bows down before a lifeless image or some abject form 
 of animal life, to the devotee of a more enliglitened theology, the 
 devotion is the same, but tlieir theories ami i)ractices are inlinitely 
 diverse. The facnlties which make man a worshipping being are 
 unchangeable, and may not its manifestations become uniform, 
 when tlie immutable attributes of the deity, and the iiivarial)le 
 laws instituted by him for the government of the human family, 
 are i)roperly studied and understood. 
 
 The red man of thejmiiries and forests, like the rest of mankind, 
 was also psychologically religious. AVithout speaking of the diver- 
 sities of belief entertained by different tribes, only the general fea- 
 tures of tlieir faith can be given. Prominent among these was 
 the idea that every natural i»lienomenon was thes])ecial manifesta- 
 tion of the Great Spirit. In the mutterings of the thunder cloud, 
 in the angry roar of the cataract, or the sound of the billows which 
 beat upon the shores of his lake-girt forests, he heard the voice of 
 the Great Spirit. The lightning's tlash, the mystic radiance of the 
 stars, were to him familiar displays of a spirit essence which up- 
 held and governed all things, even the minute destinies of men ; 
 while the Indian attributed to the Great Spirit the good he enjoyed 
 in life, he recognized the existence of evil. To account for this, 
 without attributing malevolence to the Great Spirit, an antagonis- 
 tical deity was created in his theology, whom he regarded as tlie 
 potent ]>ower of malignancy. By this duality of <leities he was 
 careful to guard his good and merciful God from all imi)utations of 
 evil by attributing all the bad intentions and acts which aftli(.*t the 
 human family to the Great Bad Spirit. 
 
 Doubtless, in part, as a result of missionary instructions, the 
 Illinois and other branches of xllgonquiu stock, designated their 
 4 
 
50 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Great Spirit as tlie Autlior of Life, tlie TJpbolder of the Universe. 
 Tliey believed Mm all-wise, all-poAverful, and all-good, and vari- 
 ously assigned Lini a dwelling place in tlie sun, moon or indefinite 
 skies. They not only distinguished the princii)le of good and evil 
 by two antagonistic gods, but supi>lied them with an innumerable 
 number of minor divinities, whose office was to execute their will. 
 These consisted of birds, reptiles, faii'ies, spirits, and a great va- 
 riety of other objects, some being instrumentalities of good and 
 others of evil. Under such a multiplicity of antagonistic powers, 
 everytning which the Indian saw or heard in the external woiid 
 might be the cause of intense hope or fear, and keep him in i)er- 
 petual doubt as to whether it foreboded good or evil. A prey to 
 these mysterious fears, he readily fell into the belief of sorcery 
 and other supposed magic influences. From this cause they were 
 constantly victimized by their priests, jugglers, and proi)hets, a 
 class who lived by these impositions instead of hunting. 
 
 The belief in a future state was common. According to their 
 traditions, which had been modified by missionary teachings, the 
 wicked, at death, sink into a dark retiibutive stream, while the 
 good are rewarded with an abode in a delightful huuting ground. 
 In their lively imagery, they spoke of this place as the laud of the 
 blest, or the country of souls, through which meandered gently 
 flowing rivers. They supposed these streams rei)lete with every 
 kind of fish suitable for food, and that those who bathed in them 
 were exempt from the ills which afflict life in the preseiit state of 
 being. Over the surface, agreeably diversified with hills and val- 
 leys, were prairies interspersed with noble forests, under whose 
 sheltering branches disported the various creations of animal life. 
 Birds warbled their sweetest music in waving groves, ami noble 
 animals gxazed on the veidant plains so numerous and prolific that 
 the demands of the hunter were always met without exhausting 
 the supply. No tempest's destructive blast, nO wasting pestilence 
 nor desolating earthquake, emanating from the Spirit of Evil, oc- 
 curred to mar the sweet and varied pleasures of life. Such was 
 the Indian's future state of existence, the dwellmg i)lace of the 
 Great Spirit, who welcomed home at death his wandering children. 
 The belief in tins terrene elysium, the Indian's most exalted idea 
 of paradise, doubtless explains his stoical indifi'erence of death. 
 With him 
 
 " Time comes unsighed for, unregTetted flies; 
 Pleased tliat he lives, happy that he dies." 
 
 As it regards the Indians in general, it is an adage among those 
 whose observations have been the most extensive, that he who 
 has seen one tribe has seen them all. This seems to be true, not- 
 withstanding their wide geographical distribution, and the great 
 exti'emes of climate to which they are ex^josed. Whether enjoy- 
 ing the great abundance and mild climate of the Mississippi 
 Valley, or chilled and stinted by the bleak and barren regions of 
 the extreme north and south of the hemisphere, over which they 
 are scattered, they have the same general lineaments. "All pos- 
 sess, though in varied degrees, the same long, lank, black hair, 
 the dull and sleepy eye, the full and compressed lips, and the 
 salient but dilated nose."* The cheek bones are prominent, the 
 nostril expanded, the orbit of the eye squared, and the whole max- 
 
 *Schoolcraft. 
 
INDIAN CHARACTERISTICS. 51 
 
 ilory region ponderous. The cranium is rounded, and the dianie- 
 ti'e, from front to l^ack, less in some instances tlian between the 
 sides. The ])osterior portion is flattened toward the crown, while 
 t!ie forehead is low and retreating-. The hair, which, in the white 
 man, is oval, a,n<l in the black man eccentrically' eliptical, is inva- 
 riably round. Not only its cylindrical form, but its great length 
 and coarseness, are foimd in all the diversified climate in \^'hich 
 this people is found. When contrasted with the European, they 
 are found mentally and physically inferior. No measurement has 
 been instituted to determine their average statiu'e, whereby the 
 difference between them and the races of Europe, in this respect, 
 can be accurately determined. Shenandoah was 6 feet 3 inches 
 high; Logan, G feet; Eed Jacket, 5 feet 8 inches, and the distin- 
 guished Fox chief, Keokidi:, feet 2 inches. These celebrated 
 instances doubtless exceeded the majority of their countrymen in 
 hight, as all rude and uncultivated races admire superior physical 
 develox>meiit, and generally consult prominence of stature in the 
 selection of their leaders. While their statui-e may average with 
 that of the Euro})ean, in muscular power and endurance they are 
 surpassed. In feats of agility, connected ^dtli ruiuiing and hunt- 
 ing, tliey are scarcely equal to their white (competitors ; while in 
 all labors recpiiring comiiactness of muscle and protracted exer- 
 tion, the latter are always the victors. In the severe labor of 
 rowing, and the carrying of heavy burdens across the i)ortages of 
 the northwest, it was observed that the French boatmen of lUinois 
 and Canada exhibited the greatest strength and endurance. The 
 European also excels them in brain development and mental 
 power. The facial angle, whi(;h indicated the volume of the intel- 
 lectual lobe, has in the European an average of 80 degrees, while 
 that of the Indian is only 75. The sui)eri()rity of the former in 
 this respect, and in the size and activity of his brain, is in keeping 
 with their respective conditions. The histoiy of the one is a 
 history of human progress; that of the other details the struggles 
 of a race perishing before the aih^ance of civilization, which it is 
 neither able to adopt nor successfully oppose. 
 
 Much has been said and written in regard to the unjust en- 
 croachments of white men upon the territory of the Indians. No 
 doubt uuicli hardship has grown out of the manner in which their 
 lands have been taken, yet the right of civilized ra(;es to demand 
 a part of theu- viist domain, even Avithout their consent, when it 
 could not be obtained otherwise, can hardly be questioned. The 
 earth was designed by the Creator for the commim habitation of 
 man, and it is his destiny and duty to develop its resources. 
 When, therefore, the occupants of any region fail to accomplish 
 these objects, they must be regarded as unfaithful stewards, and 
 give way to those who have the ability to make it yield the largest 
 supphes and support the greatest number of inhabitants. Had 
 the Indians, who refused to become tillers of the soil, been suf- 
 fered to retain j)ossession of the hemis])here over which they 
 roamed, some of the most fertile portions of the globe must have 
 remained a wilderness, thus defeating the object of the Creator, 
 and doing great injustice to the rest of nmukind. Failing to 
 make a proper use of this heritage, they have lost it, but behold 
 the gain ! At the touch of civilization the wilderness has been 
 made to blossom like the rose. Herds and harvests have followed 
 
52 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlie track of tlie pale-faced pioneer, and teeming millions of a 
 liiglier life liave taken the place of a few wandering limiters and 
 fishermen. After Columbns made known to Europeans the exis- 
 tence of the new world, iniority of discovery was considered as 
 conferring upon the governments under whose patronage it was 
 made, the right of extinguishing the Indian title. England, in 
 the exercise of this right, treated the Indians substantially as she 
 did her own subjects. She respected their claim to occupy and 
 use the country for their own benefit, but did not permit them to 
 alienate it except to her own people, in accordance Avith the prin- 
 ciple of English law that all titles to lands are vested in the 
 crown. The United States, by the acquisition of independence, 
 succeeded to the right of the mother country, and has forced upon 
 them similar restrictions, and accorded the same privileges. In 
 every instance the government has extinguished tlieir title by 
 treaty or purchase. It must, however, be admitted that in many 
 instances these treaties grew out of wars provoked by frontier 
 settlers, for the sole piu-pose of demanding territory in the way of 
 reprisal. It must also be added, that when lands have been 
 obtained by purchase, the consideration was frequently of the 
 most trivial character. 
 
Chapter V. 
 
 OPEEATIOl^ OF TUB MISSIOI^TAPJES— EXTE:NT OF 
 THEIR EXPLORATIOIS^S UP TO 1073. 
 
 Altliougli cominercial enterprise is perliaps the principal agent 
 for the disseminatioji of civilization in the undeveloped regions 
 of the globe, its extension into the Mississippi valley ^as due to a 
 different cause. Pioneers, actuated by a religious fervor and 
 enthusiasju hitherto Avithout a parallel in the history of the world, 
 were the tirst to explore its trackless wilds, and attempt to teach 
 its savage inhabitants the relinenients of civilized life. These 
 self-denyhig explorers belonged mostly to the Jesuits or the Society 
 of Jesus, a famous religious order founded by Ignatius Loyola, a 
 S])anish kniglit of the sixteenth century. He gave out that 
 the constitution of his order was given him ]>y immediate in- 
 spiration. Notwithstanding his high pretensions, he at tirst 
 met Avith little encouragement, and the Pope, to Avhom he applied 
 for the authority of his sanction, referred him to a committee of 
 cardinals. Th(i latter decided that his proposed estabhshment 
 would not only be useless, but dangerous, and the Pope refused 
 to gi^-e it his approval. To oveicome the scruples of the Pope, in 
 addition to the vows of other orders he required the members of 
 his society to take a vow of oljedience to the Pope, whereby they 
 bound themselves to go whithersoever he should direct them in 
 the service of religion, ^Aithout requiring anything fi'om him as a 
 nu'ans of su})i)ort. In otlier orders the primary object of the 
 monk i« to separate himself from the rest of the world, and in the 
 solitude of the cloister to practice acts of self-mortification and 
 l)urity. He is expected to eschew the pleasures and secidar affairs 
 of lite, and can only benefit mankind by his exanq>le and prayers. 
 Loyola, on the contrary, preferred that the members of his society 
 should mingle in the affairs of men, and they were accordingly ex- 
 euq»ted from those austerities and ceremonies which consumed 
 much of the time of other orders. Full of the idea of implicit 
 obedience which he had learned from the profession of arms, he 
 gave to his order a government wholly monarchical. To a general, 
 who shcmld be chosen for life fi'oin the several provinces, the 
 members were compelled to yield not only an outward submission, 
 but were requh-ed to make known to him even the thoughts and 
 feelings of their inner life. At the time this offer was made, the 
 l)a])al poM'cr had received such a shock from the refusal of many 
 nations to submit to its authority, that the Pope could not look 
 upon it M'itli indifference. He saw that it would place at his dis- 
 posal a body of the most rigorously disciplined ecclesiastics, 
 whose powerfid intiuence would enable him to repel the violent 
 
 53 
 
54 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 assaults yritli wliicli tlie papal system was everywliere assailed. 
 He therefore aiitliorized tlie establislnueut of the order, and ap- 
 pointed Loyola its first general. The result proved the discern- 
 ment of the Pope, for the enginery he thus put in motion at no 
 distant day extended its intluence to the uttermost limits of the 
 earth. Before the termination of the 10th century, the society 
 furnished the educators in most of the Catholic countries of 
 Europe, a x^rivilege which exerted a more controling inlluence in 
 molding national character than that which emanates from all 
 other sources combined. Although tahing a vow of poverty, it 
 managed to rapidly uicreiise in wealth. Under the pretext of 
 promoting the success of their missions, they obtained the privi- 
 lege of trading with the nations they were endeavoring to convert, 
 and thus frequently became the masters of extensive commercial 
 enterprises. 
 
 Besides the Jesuits, the Recollet monks bore a conspicuous j>art 
 in the history of the French- American possessions. They were a 
 branch of the Franciscan order, founded in the early part of the 
 loth century by St. Francis of Assisi, a madman, samt or hero, 
 according to the different views entertained respecting him. Like 
 all other saints, he became the subject of supernatural visitations, 
 consisting, in his case, largely of dreams revealing to liim the 
 nature of the work which providence had called him to perform. 
 In entering upon the labors of his mission he dressed in the rags 
 of a beggar, and at last presented himself in a state of liudity to 
 the Bishop of xlssisi, and begged the mantle of a peasant. He 
 next robbed his father, to get means to build himself a chapel ; 
 crowds gathered to listen to his fanatical appeals, and Euroi)e 
 soon became dotted over with the c<mvents of his order. In the 
 course of time the Franciscans lost the vigor for which they were 
 first distinguished, but the Eecollets, a reformed branch of the 
 order, at the time of the French ex])k)rations still retained much 
 of its pristine spirit. These two orders, and incidentally that of 
 St. Sulpice, played an important part in the exploration and colo- 
 nization of the Mississippi valley. 
 
 The St. Lawrence and its chain of lakes entering- the continent 
 on the east, and the Mississippi from the south, are the two great 
 avenues through wliich Europeans first made their way to Illinois, 
 The former opening with a broad estuary into the. xVtlaiitic, 
 directly opposite Europe, first diverted a portion of its Gallic emi- 
 gration to the regions drained by its tributaries. Pioneers, led by 
 the indefatigable Jesuits, soon reached Illinois, and made it an 
 imx)oi'tant centre in the vast schemes x>rojccted by the French 
 court for the possession of the Mississijipi valley. 
 
 The French on the St. Laicrence. — As early as 153.5, four 
 years before the discovery of the Mississippi by DeSoto, Jacques 
 Cartier conducted an expedition to the St. Lawrence, which he 
 ascended as far as the island of Orleans. Several attempts w^ere 
 shortly afterward made to plant colonies in the newly discovered 
 region, but they failed in consequence of the inclemency of the 
 climate and hostilities of the natives. France, at that time, was 
 too much engaged in wars to further exhaust her resources in 
 forming settlements, and it was not till 1G08 that a pennanent 
 colony was established. During this year Champlain, a bold 
 navigator, with a number of colonists, sailed up the St. Lawrence, 
 
EARLY EXPLORERS. 55 
 
 aiuT lauded at tlie foot of the lofty i^romontoiy which rises in the 
 an.nle formed by the contlneiice of the St. Charles. Carpenters 
 were set to work, and within a few weeks a i)ile of buildings rose 
 near the water's edge, the first representatives of tlie spacious 
 churches, convents, dwellings and ramimrts which now form the 
 opulent and enteiprising city of Quebec. These buildings consti- 
 tuted the lieadquarters of Champlain, and were surrounded by a 
 wooden wall pierce<l with opejiings hn- a number of small cannon. 
 To secure the triendship of the llurons and mnghboring- Algon- 
 quin nations, Champlain was induced to assist them in a war 
 against the Iroquois, iidiabiting tlie coTintry south of the St. Law- 
 rence. Victory attended his sni)erior arms, but it aroused the 
 imj>lacable hate of these tribes, and for a period of DO years they 
 continued to wreak their fury nx)on the Indian allies of France, 
 and materially contributed to the final overthrovf of her power. 
 
 In 1015 Champlain returned to France, and brought back with 
 him four Ilecollet monks. Great w^as the astonishment of the 
 Indians at first beholding these mendicants, clad in their I'ude 
 gowns of coarse gray cloth. Their first care was to select a site 
 and erect a convent, the completion of which was honored by the 
 celebration of mass. All New France participated in the myste- 
 rious rite, while from the ships and ramj)arts of the fort cannon 
 tliuiulered forth an approving salute. Their great object T\'as the 
 salvation of the Indians, and unappalled by the i^erils that awaited 
 them, they met in council and assigned to each his province in the 
 vast field of labors. As the result of unwearietl effort, tliey estab- 
 lished missions from Xova Scotia to Lake Huron, but finding the 
 task too great for their strength, they applied to the Jesuits for 
 assistance. The followers of Loyola eagerly responded to the 
 invitation, and Canada for the first time saw the order Avhich, in 
 after years, figured so extensively in her liistory. Though suffer- 
 ing- must be their fate, and perhaps martyrdom their crown, tiiey 
 penetrated to the most remote regions ami visited the most \\ ar- 
 like tribes. Missions were established on the Straits of St. Maiy, 
 the northern shores of Lake Huron, the tributaries of Lake Michi- 
 gan, and fiimlly among- their inveterate enemies, the Iroquois. 
 
 Champlain, after having acted as governor for a period of 27 
 years, died on the Christnms of l(j;>5, a hundred years after the 
 first visit of Cartier, and was buried in the city he had founded. 
 Sharing with others of his time the illusion of finding ;i passag-e 
 across the continent to the Pacific, he made voyages of discovery 
 with a view of finding- the long-sought conmierci;d higlnvay. In 
 one of his excursions he discovered the lake which l^ears his name, 
 and was among- the first Euroi)eans who set their feet on the 
 lonely shores of Lake Huron. "What indescribable thoughts must 
 have thrilled his bosom as he looked out on its broad expanse, or 
 I)erliai)s awed by its majestic solitudes, he listened with strange 
 delight to the loud refrain of its l»illow-lashed shores. 
 
 Discovery of the Ohio by LaSalle, IGOO. — After the death of 
 Champlain, the next actor in the field of exploration was lJ()l)ert 
 Cavalier, better known as LaSalle. His father's family was among 
 the old and wealthy burghers of Eouen, France, and its several 
 members were frequently entrusted with important positions by 
 the government. Eobert was born in 1 043, and early exhibited 
 the traits of character which distinguished him in his western 
 
56 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 career. Having a wealthy father, he enjoyed anix>lB faciUties for 
 obtaining an edncatiou, and made rapid progress in the exact 
 sciences. He was a Catholic, and it is said a Jesuit ; but judging 
 from his subsequent life, he was not a religious enthusiast. The 
 order of Loyola, wielded at the centre by a single will so compli- 
 cated and so harmonious, may have attracted his youthful imagi- 
 nation. It was, however, none the less likely that -w hen he found 
 himself not at the centre, but moving in a x>i"t'scribed orbit at 
 the cucumference, he would leave it. Having an individuality 
 which could not be molded by a shaping haiul, he was better 
 qualified for a different sphere of action. He therefore i)arted 
 with the Jesuits on good terms, with an unbleinished character, 
 for his lofty ambition completely divested him of the petty ani- 
 mosities to which groveling minds are subject. 
 
 He had an older brother living in Canada — a priest of the order 
 of St. Sulpice — and it was this circumstance which induced him 
 to emigrate to America. His connection with the Jesuits depiived 
 him, under the laws of France, from inheriting the lU'operty of 
 his father, who died shortly before his departure. He, however, 
 received a small allowance, and with this, in the spring of 1006, 
 arrived at Montreal. Here he found a corporation of pi'iests, 
 known as the Seminary of St. Sulpice, who were disposing of 
 lauds on easy terms to settlers, hoping by this means to establish 
 a barrier of settleiaents between themsehes and tlie hostile 
 Indians. The superior of the seminary, on hearing of LaSalle's 
 arrival, gratuitously offered him a tract of land situated on the 
 St. Lawrence, S iniles above Montreal. The grant was accepted, 
 and thougli the place was gi-eatly exposed to the attacks of savages, 
 it was favorably situated for the fur trade. Commencing at once 
 to imi)rove his new donuiin, he traced out the boundaries of a pal- 
 isaded village, and disposed of his lands to settlers, who were to 
 pay for them a rent in small annual installments. 
 
 Wliile thus employed in developing his seignory, he commenced 
 studying the Indian languages, and in three years-is said to liave 
 made rapid progress in the Iroquois, and eight other tongues and 
 dialects. From his home on the banlcs of tlie St. Lawrence, his 
 thoughts often wa-ndered over the " wild unknown world toward 
 sunset," and like fornun- explorers, dreamed of a direct westward 
 passage to the commerce of China and Japan. While musing 
 upon the subject, he Avas visited by a band of Senecas, and learned 
 from them that a riAer called tlie Ohio, rising in their country, 
 flowed hito the sea, but at such a distance that it required eight 
 montlis to reach its mouth. In this statement the Mississippi and 
 its tributary were considered as one stream, and with tlie geo- 
 graphical views then prevalent, it was supposed to fall into the 
 gulf of California. 
 
 Placing great confidence in this hypothesis, and determined to 
 make an exploration to verify it, he repaired to Quebec, to obtain 
 from Governor Courcelles his approval. His plausible statements 
 soon won over to his plans both the Governor and Intendant 
 Talon, and letters patent were issued authorizing the enter- 
 prise. Xo pecuniary ;iid being furnished by the government, and 
 as LaSalle had expended all his means in improving his estate, he 
 was compelled to sell it to procure funds. The superior of the 
 Seminary, being fa^^orably disposed toward him, bought the 
 
DIFFICULTIES ENCOUNTEREt*. 57 
 
 greater part of his iuiprovenieiit, and realizing 2800 livres, he 
 purchased four canoes and the necessary supphes for the expedi- 
 tion. 
 
 The Seminary, at the same time, was preparmg for a simihir 
 expk)ration. The priests of this organization, emuhiting tlie 
 enterprise of the Jesuits, had established a mission on the north- 
 ern shore of Lake Ontario. At this poiut, hearing of i)opulous 
 tribes further to the northwest, they resolved to essay their con- 
 version, and an expedition, under two of their nuuvber, Avas lifted 
 out for tliis purpose. On going to Quebec to proc-ure the neces- 
 sary outht, they were advised by the Governor to so modify their 
 plans as to act in concert with LaSalle in exploring the great 
 river of the west. As the result, both expeditions were merged 
 into one — an arrangement ill-suited to the genius of LaSalle, 
 whom luiture had formed for an undisputed chief, ratluir than a 
 co-laborer in the enteri)rise. On the 0th of July, KiOO, everything 
 was in readiness, and the combined party, numbering U-t persons, 
 embarked on the St. Lawrence in 7 canoes. Two additional 
 canoes carried the Indians who had visited LaSalle, and who were 
 now acting as guides. Threading the devious and romantic mazes 
 of the river in opposition to its rapid current, after three days 
 they api)eared on the broad expanse of Lake Ontario, Their 
 guides led them thence directly to their village, on the baidcs of 
 the Genesee, where they exi)ected to tind guides to lead them to 
 the Ohio. LaSalle, only partially understanding their language, 
 was comi)elled to confer ^^ ith them by means of a Jesuit priest, 
 stationed at the village. The Indians refused to furnish a con- 
 ductor, and even biu'ned before their eyes a prisoner from one of 
 the western tribes, the only person who could serve them as 
 guide. This and other unfriendly treatment which they recei\ ed, 
 caused them to suspect that the Jesuit, jealous of tlieir enterprise, 
 had intentionally misrepresented their object, for the purpose of 
 defeating it. With the hope of accomplishing their object, they 
 lingered for a month, and at length had the good fortune to meet 
 with an Indian from an Irociuois colony, situated near the head 
 of the lake, who assured them that they could there find what 
 they wanted, and offered to conduct them thither. With 
 renewed hope they gladly ac(;e])ted this proifered assistance, and 
 left the Seneca village. Coursing along the southern shore of the 
 lake, they passed the mouth of the Xiagara, where they heard for 
 the first time the distant thunder of thecataract, and soon arrived 
 safely anu)ng the Iro<piois. Here they met with a friendly recep- 
 tion, and were informed by a Shawnee i)risoner that they could 
 reach the Ohio in six weeks' time, and that he would guide them 
 thither. Delighted with this unexpected good ibrtune, they pre- 
 pared to commence the journey, when they unexpectedly heard 
 of the arrival of two Frenchmen in a neighboring village. One 
 of them ijroved to be Louis Joliet, a young nnm of about the age 
 of LaSalle, and destined to acquire fameby his explorations in 
 the west. He had been sent l)y Talon, the hitendant of Canada, 
 to explore the copper mines of Lake Superior, but had failed, and 
 was now on his return. Giving the priests a map representing 
 such parts of the npper lakes as he had visited, he informed them 
 that the Indians of those regions were in great need of spiritual 
 advisers. On receiving this information, the missionaries decided 
 
58 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 that the Indians must no longer sit in darkness, and tlionght that 
 the disco veiy of the Mississi])pi might be effected as easily by a 
 northern route, through these tribes, as by going farther south- 
 ward. LaSalle, remonstrating against their determiuation, in- 
 formed them that this direction was impracticable, and in case 
 they should visit that region, they woukl perhaps find it already 
 occupied by the Jesuits. He had, for some time, been afHicted 
 with a violent fever, and finding his advice uulieeded, he told the 
 priests that his condition would not admit of follomng them 
 further. The plea of sickness was doubtless a ruse to effect a 
 separation; for the invincible determination of LaSalle never 
 Xiermitted an enterprise which he had undertaken to be defeated 
 by other considerations. A friendly parting was arranged, and 
 after the celebration of mass, LaSalle and his men fell back to 
 Lake Ontario, while the Suli^itians descended Grand river to 
 Lake Erie. 
 
 The latter prosecuted their journey up the lakes, and on arri- 
 ving among the Indians of whom Joliet had spoken, they found, 
 as LaSalle had surmised, Marquette and Dablon established 
 among them. Learning, too, that they needed no assistance from 
 St. Sulpice, nor from those who made him their patron saint, they 
 retraced their steps, and ai-rived at Montreal the following June, 
 without having made any discoveries or converted an Indian. 
 
 The course pursued by LaSalle and his party, after leaving the 
 priests, is involved in doubt. The most reliable record of his 
 movements is that contained in an anouyuious paper, which pur- 
 ports to have been taken from the lips of LaSalle himself, during 
 a visit subsequently made to Paris. xVccording to this statement, 
 he went to Onondaga, where he obttiined guides, and passed 
 thence to a tributary of the Ohio, south of Lake Erie, followed it 
 to the principal river, and descended the latter as far as the falls 
 at Louisville. It has also been maintained, that he reached the 
 Mississippi and descended it some distance, when his men de- 
 serted, and he was compelled to return alone. It is stated in the 
 same manuscript, that the following year he embarked on Lake 
 Erie, ascended the Detroit to Lake Huron, and passed through 
 the strait of Mackinaw to Lake Michigan. Passing to the southern 
 shore, he proceeded by land to the Illinois, which he followed to 
 its confluence Avith the Mississippi, and descended the latter to 
 the oGth degree of latitude. Here, assured that the river did not 
 fall into the gulf of California, but that of Mexico, he returned, 
 with the intention of at some future day exploring it to the mouth. 
 
 The statement that he visited the falls of the Ohio, is «loubt- 
 less correct. He himself affirms, in a letter to Count Frontenac, 
 in 1G77, that he discovered the Ohio, and descended it to the falls. 
 Moreover, Joliet, his rival, subse<]uently made two maps repre- 
 senting the region of the Mississi]>pi and the lakes, on both of 
 which he states that LaSalle discovered and explored tlm Ohio. 
 It is, perhaps, also true that LaSalle discovered the Illinois, but 
 that he descended either it or the Ohio to the Mississippi before 
 the discovery of Joliet, is improbable. If such had been the case, 
 he certainly would have left MTitten evidence to that effect, as in 
 the case of tlie Ohio especially, Avhen the piiority of Joliet's dis- 
 covery had become a matter of great notoriety. 
 
Chapter \\. 
 EXPLORATIONS BY JOLIET AND MAEQUETTE— lOT.!- 75. 
 
 liiiSallo had explored one, and peiliaps two, routes to tlie J\Iiss- 
 issippi, but as yet the ui)i»er portion of the ,^i'eat river had 
 probably never been seen by any European. The honor of inau- 
 j;uratin.i>- the snccesslYd attempt to reach this stream is due to M. 
 Talon, who wIsIkmI to close the loni;' and useful term of his servi- 
 ces, as the Intendant of Canada, by remo\'in,<;' the mystery which 
 enshroinled it. For this i)ur[)ose lie selected Louis Joliet, a fur 
 trader, to conduct the exptnlition, and ,Jac(iues Marquette, a Jesuit 
 missionary, to assist him. 
 
 Talon, however, was not to remain in the country long enough 
 to witness the completion of the enterprise. A misunderstanding- 
 arose between him and G(>vernor Courcelles in regard to the juris- 
 diction of their respective ottices, and both asked to be recalled. 
 Their recpiests were granted, and early in the autumn of 1072, 
 Count Frontenac arrived at Quebec, to take the place of the 
 retiring governor. He l)elonged to the high nobility of France, 
 was well advaiu'cd in life, and a man of prompt and decided 
 action. Though intolerant to euenues, he partially atoned for this 
 fault by his great magnanimity and devotion to friends, while his 
 ciiarm of manners and s))eech made him the favorite and orna- 
 ment of th(^ most ])olished circles. His career in Canada, at tlrst, 
 was beset with o})position and enmity, but its close was rewarded 
 with admiration and gratitu.de for his broad views and unshaken 
 hrmness, when others dis])aired. 
 
 iJefore sailing for France, M. Talon recommended to Frotenac 
 Joliet and Ma-rciucitte, as suitable i)ers()ns to execute his projected 
 dis<;o^'eries. The former was born at Quebec, hi 1(545, of humble 
 parentage. He was educated by the Jesuits for tlu^, pi'iesthood, 
 but early aban<loned his clerical vocation to engage in the fur 
 trach'. Thougli reiu)uncing the priesthood, he still retained a })ar- 
 tiality- for the order which had educated him, and no doubt this 
 was the principal reason which indiu'cd Talon to labor for his 
 api)ointment. l*ossessing no very salient ])oints of character, he 
 yet had suflicient enter]uise, boldness and determination projx'rly 
 to dis(;harge the task betbre him. 
 
 His colleague, Marquette, greatly surpassed him in bold out- 
 lines of character. He was born in 1(>.>7, at Laou, France. Lilieri- 
 ting from his parents a mind of great religions susceptibility, he 
 early united with the Jesuits, and was sent, in 1<!()(), to Amei-ica 
 as a missionary, where he soon distingiushed himself for devotion 
 to his profession. To convert the Indians he ])enetrated a thousand 
 miles in advance of civilization, and by his kind attentions in their 
 
 59 
 
60 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 afflictious, won their aftectious, aud made them his lasting friends. 
 Softening then' savage asperities mto smoothness and peace by 
 the blended pimty and hnmility of his own life, he was the most 
 successful of all the missionaries in developing their higher aud 
 better feelings. His extensive acquaintance with the Indian lan- 
 guages, now enabled him to act in the tlu-eefold capacity of inter- 
 X>reter, explorer and missionary. 
 
 Juliet ascended the lakes and joined his companion at the Jesuit 
 mission, on the strait of Mackinaw, where, for several years, he 
 had been instructing the Ottawas and Hurons. With 5 other 
 Frenchmen and a simple outfit, the daring explorers, on the ITth 
 of May, 1G73, set out on their perilous voyage. Coasting along 
 the northern shore of Lake Michigan, they entered Green Bay, 
 and passed thence up Fox river and Lake Winnebago to a village 
 of the Mascoutins and Miamis. Marquette, who never suffered 
 the beauties of nature to escape his attention, speaks in eloquent 
 terms of the broad prairies and tall forests which he saw from the 
 sumuut of the hill on which it was situated. His admiration of 
 the scenery was, however, greatly exceeded by the joy which he 
 experienced at beholding a cross planted in the midst of the place, 
 aud decorated with some of the most valued of Indian imple- 
 ments. With due ceremony they were introduced to a council of 
 chiefs, when Marquette, pointing to Joliet, said : " My friend is an 
 envoy of France, to discover new countries, and I am an eiid)as- 
 sador from God, to enlighten them with the truths of the gospel."* 
 The speaker then made them some presents, and asked for guides 
 to conduct them on their way. Though the Indians regarded their 
 journey as extremely hazrirdous, these were granted, and the 
 voyagers re-embarked in their canoes. All the village followed 
 them down to the river, wondering that men could be found to 
 undertake an enterprise so fraught with dangers. Their guides 
 led them safely through the devious windings of the river, beset 
 with lakes and marshes overgrown with wild rice. The seed of 
 this plant largely furnished the Indians with food, and subsisted 
 immense numbers of birds, which rose in clouds as the travelers 
 advanced. Arriving at the portage, they soon carried their light 
 canoes and scanty baggage to the Wisconsin, about three miles 
 distant. France and papal Christendom were now in the valley 
 of the Mississippi, ready to commence the drama in which, for the 
 next succeeding 90 years, they were the principal actors. 
 
 Their guides now refused to accompany them further, and 
 endeavored to induce them to return, by reciting the dangers they 
 must encomiter in the further prosecution of the journey. They 
 stated that huge demons dwelt in the great river, whose -voices 
 could be heard at a long distance, and who engulphed in the 
 raging waters all wlio came within their reach. They also repre- 
 sented that, should any of them escape the dangers of the river, 
 fierce and warring tribes dwelt on its banks, ready to complete the 
 work of destruction. Marquette thanked them for the informa- 
 tion, but could not think of tr\ang to save his own perishable 
 body, when the immortal souls of the Indians alluded to might be 
 eternally lost. Embarking in their canoes, they slowly glided 
 down the Wisconsin, i>assing shores and islands covered with 
 forests, lawns, parks and pleasure grounds, greatly exceeding in 
 
 •JVIonette's Valley of the Mississippi, 124. 
 
JOLIET AND MAEQUETTE. 61 
 
 their natural beauty the most skillful training- of cultured hands. 
 The 17th of June brought them to the mouth of the river, and 
 with great joy they pushed their frail barks out on the Hoods of 
 the lordly Mississippi. Drifting lapidly with the current, tlie 
 scenery of the two banks reminded them of the castled shores of 
 theii- own beautiful rivers of France. For days of travel they 
 passed a constant succession of headlands, separated by grace- 
 fully rounded valleys covered with verdure, and gently rising as 
 they recede from the maigiu of the waters. Tlie rocky sunnuits 
 of the headlands, rising high above their green bases, had been 
 wrought by the corroding elements into a great variety of fantas- 
 tic forms, which the lively imagination of jMar(]uette shaped into 
 towei-s, gigantic statues, and the crumbling ruins of fortiftcations. 
 On going to the heads of the valleys, they could see a countiy of 
 the greatest beauty and fertility, appai'ently destitute of iidiabi- 
 tants, yet presenting the a^jpcarance of extensive manors, under 
 the fastidious cultivation of lordly proprietors. By and by great 
 herds of buifalo appeared on the opposite baidcs, tlie more timid 
 females keex)ing at a safe distance, while the old bulls api)roached, 
 and through their tangled manes looked detiance at the strange 
 invaders of their grassy realms. • 
 
 Near a hundred miles below the mouth of the Wisconsin, the 
 voyagers discovered an Indian trace, letiding from the western 
 shore. Joliet and Marquette, leaving their canoes in charge of 
 their men, determined to follow it and make themselves acquainted 
 with the tribes of this region. Moving cautiously through prairies 
 and forests, rendered beautiful by the verdure and bloom of July, 
 they discovere<l a village near the banks of the river and two 
 others on a hill half a league distant. Commending themselves 
 to the protection of Heaven, they api)roached and shouted to at- 
 tract attention. When the commotion, excited by their unexpected 
 salute, had partially subsided, four elders advanced with u])lifted 
 calumets to meet them. A friendly greeting ensued, and alter in- 
 forming the Frenchmen that they were Illinois, they comlucted 
 them to their village. Here they were presented to the chief, who, 
 standing near the door of his wigwam in a state of complete 
 nudity, delivered an address of welcome : "Frenchmen, how blight 
 the sun shines when you come to visit us ; all our village awaits 
 you, and you shall enter our wigwams in peace." After entering* 
 and smoking a friendly pipe, they were invited to \isit the great 
 chief of the Illinois, at one of the other villages. Followed by a 
 motley throng of warriors, squaws, and children, they proceeded 
 thither and were received with great courtesy by the chief. On 
 entering his wigwam, filled with the dignitaries of the tribe, Mar- 
 quette announced the nature of their enterprise, asked for informa- 
 tion concerning the Mississii)pi and alluded to their i)atron, the 
 Governor of Canada, who had humbled the Iroquois and comi)elled 
 them to sue for peace. This last item of information was good 
 news to these remote tribes, and <lrew from their chief the comi)li- 
 ment that the "ijresence of his guests added flavor to their tobacco, 
 made the river more calm, the sky more serene and the earth more 
 beautiful."* Next, followed a repast, consisting of hominy, tish, 
 and biiflalo and dog's meat. The Frenchmen partook sumptiously 
 
 Discov. of the Great West. 
 
62 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 of all tlie dishes, except the last, which they failed to appreciate, 
 although one of the greatest Indian delicacies. The generous 
 hosts, Avith true forest courtesy, as they dished out the different 
 articles, iirst blew their breath ui)on each morsel to cool it, and 
 then, with their own hands, placed it in the mouths of their guests. 
 They endeavored to persuade the explorers, by depicting the great 
 dangers they would incur, to abandon their object. Finding that 
 tneir efforts were unavailing, on the following day they hung on 
 the neclv of Marquette a sacred calumet, brilliantly decorated with 
 feathers, as a protection among the tribes he was about to visit. 
 The last mark of respect, which tbe chiefs could now offer their 
 departing friends, was to escort tliem with 000 of their tribesmen 
 to the river, where, after their stolid maimer, they bade them a 
 kindly adieu. 
 
 Again they were alloat on tlie broad bosom of the unknown 
 stream. Passing the mouth of the Illinois they soon fell into the 
 shadow of a tall promontory, and witli great astonishment beheld 
 the representation of two monsters painted on its lofty limestone 
 front. According to Marquette, each of these frightful figures had 
 the face of a man, the horns of a deer, the beard of a tiger, and 
 the tail of a fish so long that it passed around the body over the 
 head and between the legs. It was an object of Indian worship, 
 and greatly impressed the mind of the pious missionary with the 
 necessity of substituting for this monstrious idolatry, the worsliip 
 of the true God.* Before these figures of the idols had faded fiom 
 their minds, a new wonder arrested their attention. They ran 
 into the current of the Missouri, sweeping directly across their 
 track, and threatening to engulf them in its muddy v.'aves. Frag- 
 ments of trees were drifting in large numbers, which must have 
 couie from a vast unknown A\'ilderness, judging from the magni- 
 tude of the streaiiL which bore them along. Passing on, it was 
 ascertained that for several miles the jMississippi refused to min- 
 gle with the turbid Hoods of the intrudiug stream. 
 
 Soon the forest covered site of St. Louis appeared on the right, 
 but little did the voyagers dream of the em])orium which now^ fills 
 the river with its extended commerce. Farther on, their attention 
 was attracted hy the confluence of the Ohio, a stream which, in 
 the purity of its waters, they found wholly different from that pre- 
 viously passed. Some distance below the mouth of this eastern 
 tributary, the banks of the river became skirted with a dense 
 growth of cane, whose feathery -like foliage formed a x>leasing 
 contrast with that which they had passed above. But a greater 
 vegetable wonder was the Spanish moss which hung in long fes- 
 toons from the branches of the trees, exquisitely beautiful, yet, 
 like funeral drapery, exciting in the beholder feelings of sadness. 
 Another change was the increasing heat, which, now rapidly dis- 
 sipated the hea^^' fogs which previously, to a late hour, had liung 
 over the river. Clouds of mosquitos also appeared in the relaxing 
 at^nosphere, to annoy them by day, and disturb their much needed 
 rest at night. 
 
 *Near the mouth of the Piasa Creek, on the bluff, there is a smooth rock in a cnvei-n- 
 ous cleft, under an overhanyiiig- cliff, on whose face, 50 feet from the base, are painted 
 some anciLiit pictures or hieroglyphics, of great interest to the curious. They are 
 placed in a horizontal line from east to west, representing: men, plants and animals. 
 The paintings, tliough protected from dampness and storms, are in great part destroyed, 
 marred by portions of the rock becoming- detached and falling- down. See Prairie State, 
 1859 . 
 
JOLIBT AND MARQUETTE. 63 
 
 Without suspecting- the presence of Indians, they suddenly dis- 
 co\ cred a number on the eastern banks of the river. Marquette 
 held aloft the symbol of peace, furnished him by the Illinois, and 
 the savages approached and invited him and his jiarty ashore. 
 Here they were feasted on bullalo meat and bear's oil, and after 
 the repast was over, were informed that they could reach the mouth 
 of the river in ten days. This statement was doubtless made witli 
 the best uitention, but with little truth, for the distance Avas not 
 far from 1,000 miles. 
 
 Taking leave of their liosts, and resuming the journey, they 
 penetrated a long monotony of blutt's and forests, and again dis- 
 covered Indians near the mouth of the Arkansas. Eushing from 
 their wigwams to the n\ei\ some of them sallied forth in canoi^s 
 to cut off their escape, while others plunged into the water to 
 atta<'k them. Marfpiette displayed tiie calumet, which was uu- 
 lieeded till the arri\'al of the chiefs, wlio ordered the warriors to 
 desist, and comlncted them ashore. A conference ensued, and as 
 soon as the Indians understood the nature of the \isit, they be- 
 came reconciled. The <lay's proceedings closed with a feast, and 
 the travelers si)ent the night in the wigwams of their entertainers. 
 Early the next day, messengers were sent by the latter to the 
 Arkansas tribe on the river below, to apprise them that French- 
 men were about to descend the stream. - As announced, the explo- 
 rers proceeded a distance of 24 miles, when they were met by a 
 deputation of three Indians, who invited them to visit their town. 
 Assent being given, they were conducted thither and seated on 
 mats, which had been spread for their reception under a shed 
 before the lodge of a principal chief. Soon they were surrounded 
 by a semi-circle of the villagers — the warriors sitting nearest, 
 next the elders, while a promiscuous crowd stared at them from 
 the outside. The men were stark naked, and the women imper- 
 fectly clad in skins, wearing their hair in two masses, one of 
 which was behind each ear. Fortunately, there was a^ young man 
 in the village who could speak Illinois. By his aid, Marquette 
 explained to the assemblage the mysteries of the Christian faitli, 
 and the object of the exi)edition, and learned in turn from them 
 that the river below was infested with the most hostile tribes. 
 ])uring their stay at this place, they were forced to submit to the 
 merciless demands of aboriginal hospitality, which imposed dish 
 after dish ujion their over-taxed organs of digestion, till repletion 
 became intolerable. 
 
 It was now the middle of July and the voyagers debated the 
 propriety of further lengthening out their journey. They had 
 been on the river four weeks, and concluded they had descended 
 sulficiently far to decide that its outlet was on the Atlantic side of 
 the continent. Their provisions were nearly exhausted, and they 
 also feared if they visited the river below they might be killed by 
 the savages, and the benefit of their discovery would be lost. 
 
 Influenced by these considerations, they determined to retrace 
 their steps. Leaving the Arkansas village, they commiiienced 
 forcing their way in opposition to the swift curient of the ri^T'r, 
 toiling by day under a July sun, and sleeping at night amidst the 
 deadly exhalations of stagnant marshes. Several weeks of hai-d 
 labor brought them to the mouth of the Illinois, but unfortunately, 
 Marquette, enervated by the heat and the toils of the voyage, was 
 
64 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 suffering with an attack of dysentery. Here tliey Avere informed 
 by tlie Indians that the Illinois furnished a umch more direct route 
 to the lakes than the WisconsiiL Acting upon this information, 
 they entered the river, aiul found, besides being more direct, that 
 its gentle current offered less resistance than that of the Mississ- 
 ippi. As they advanced into the country, a scene opened to their 
 view which gave renewed strength to their wearied bodies, and 
 awoke in their languid minds the greatest admiration and enthu- 
 siasm. Prairies spread out before them beyond the rea(;h of 
 \ision, covered with tall grass, Avhich undulated in the wind like 
 Avaves of a sea. In furtlier imitation of a watery expanse, the 
 surface was studded with clumps of timber, resembling islands, 
 in Avhose graceful outlines could be traced peninsulas, shores and 
 headlands. Flowers, surpassing in the delicacy of their tints the 
 pampered products of cultivation, Avere profusely si)rinkled OA'er 
 the grassy landscape, and gaA^e their Avealth of fragrance to the 
 I)assing breeze. Immense herds of buff'alo and deer grazed on 
 these rich pastures, so prolific that the continued destruction of 
 them for ages by the Indians, had failed to diminish their num- 
 bers. For the fmilier support of human life, the rivers swarmed 
 Avith fish, great quantities of Avild fruit gi-ew in the foiest and 
 prairies, and so numerous were Avater-fowl and other birds, that 
 the heavens Avere frequently obscured by their tlight. This favo- 
 rite land, with its profusion of ACgetable and animal life, Avas the 
 ideal of tlie Indian's Elysium. The explorers spoke of it as a 
 terrestial paradise, in Avhich earth, air and Avater, unbidden by 
 labor, contributed the most co])ious supplies for the sustenance of 
 life. In the early French explorations, desertions were of frequent 
 occurrence, and is it strange that men, Avearied by the toils and 
 I'estraints of ciAilized life, should abandon their leaders for the 
 abiunlance and Avild independence of these prairies and Avood- 
 lands ? 
 
 I'assing far up the river, they stopped at a town of the Illinois, 
 called Kaskaskia, Avhose name, afterwards transferred to a differ- 
 ent locality, has become famous in the history of the country. 
 Here they secured a chief and his men to conduct them to Lake 
 Michigan and proceeded thither by the Avay of the rivers Illinois, 
 Desplaiues and Chicago. Following the western shore of the 
 lake, they entered Green Bay the latter part of September, liaAdng 
 been absent about four months, and traA^eled a distance of 2,500 
 miles. 
 
 Marquette stopped at the mission on the head of the bay, to 
 repair Ins shattered health, while Joliet hastened to Quebec, to 
 report his discoveries. Hitherto fortune had greatly favored him, 
 and it Avas only at the termination of his voyage that he met his 
 first disaster. At the foot of the rapids, aboA^e Montreal, his 
 canoe was capsized, and he lost the manuscript containing an 
 account of his discoveries, and two of his men. He says, in a let- 
 ter to GoA^ernor Frontenac : "Iliad escaped cA^ery peril from the 
 Indians ; I had i^assed 42 rapids, and was on the point of disem- 
 barking, full of joy at the success of so long and difficult an 
 enteri)rise, when my canoe capsized after all the danger seemed 
 over. I lost my two men and box of papers within sight of the first 
 French settlements, which I had left almost two years before. 
 
JOLIET AND MARQUETTE. 05 
 
 Notliiug remains to me now but my life, and the ardent desire to 
 em]iloy it on any service you may jdease to direct." 
 
 Wlien the successful issue of the voya,i;e became knoAvn, a Te 
 Deum was chanted in the cathedral of (Quebec, and all Canada 
 was filled with joy. The news crossed the Atlantic, an<l France 
 saw, in the vista of coming years, a vast dependency springing up 
 in tlie great valley j>artially explored, which was to enrich her 
 merchant princes witli the most lucrative commerce. Fearing 
 that England, whose settlements were rapidly extending along the 
 Atlantic, might attemi)t to grasp the rich prize before she could 
 occujiy it, she endeavoi-ed to prevent, as far as possible, the gen- 
 eral publicity of the discovery. Joliet was rewarded by the gift 
 of the island of Anticosti, in the gulf of St. Lawrence, wliile 
 Marquette, who had rendered the most valuabh^ services, was sat- 
 isfied with the consciousness of having performed a noble duty. 
 
 Mar(]uette suft(ned long from his malady, and it was not till 
 the autumn of the following year that his superior permitted him 
 to attempt the execution of a long cherished object. This was 
 the establishment of a mission at the principal town of the Illinois, 
 visited in his recent voyage of discovery. With this purpose in 
 view, he set out on the L'oth of October, 1()74, accompaiued by 
 two Frenchmen and a number of Illinois and Potawataniie Ind- 
 ians. The rich and vaiied tints of autumn Avere now ra])idly 
 changing to a rusty brown, and entering Lake Michigan, they 
 found it cold and stormy. Ibitt'eted by adverse winds and waves, 
 it was more than a month before they reached the mouth of the 
 Chicago river. In the meantime Marquette's disease had returned 
 in a. more malignant form, attended by hemorrhage. On ascending 
 the Chicago some distance, it was found that his condition was 
 growing worse, compelling them to land. A hut was erected ou 
 the l>ank of the river, and here the iuAalid and the two Frenchmen 
 prepaied to spend the Avinter. As it wore away, the enfeelded 
 missionary was unceasing in his s])iritual devotions, while his 
 companions obtained food by shooting deer, turkeys and other 
 game in the surrounding forests. The Illinois furnished them 
 with corn, and fre<iuently, l)y their presence and other kindly 
 attentions, greatly cheered tlieir lonely exile. 
 
 ^rarijuette, l)urning Avitli tlu^ desire to establish his contempla- 
 ted mission before he died, consecrated himself anew to the service 
 of tlie Virgin, and soon began to regain his strength. By the 
 13th of March, being able to recommence his journey, the. two 
 men carried their canoes over the portage between the Chicago 
 and Desplaines, and commenced to descend the latter stream. 
 Amidst the incessant rains of opening spring, they were rapidh* 
 borne forward on the swollen river to its junction with the Illinois, 
 and down the latter to the object of their destination. Here, it is 
 said, he was viewed as a messenger from heaven, as he Aisited the 
 wigwams of the villagers and discoursed of i)aradise, the Ee- 
 deemer of the Avorld, and his atonement for sinful men. The 
 excitement at length drcAv together, on the plain between theriA'cr 
 and the present town of Utica, some 500 chiefs, and a great un- 
 known concourse of warriors, women and children. In the midst 
 of this multitude he exhibited four large pictures of tlie Holy 
 Virgin, and with great earnestness harangued tliem on tlie duties 
 of Christianity, and the necessity of making their conduct conform 
 5 
 
66 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 to its precepts. The audience were deeply impressed witli liis 
 gospel teacliiugs, and eagerly besougiit liiin to remain with them, 
 a request which his fast waning strength rendered it impossible 
 to grant. 
 
 Finding he ihust leave, the Indians generously furnished him 
 with an escort to the lake, on which he embarked with his two 
 faithfid attendants. They turned their canoes in the direction of 
 the mission on the strait of Mackinaw, which the afflicted mis- 
 sionary hoped ro reach before he died. As they coasted along the 
 eastern shore, advancing May began to deck the forest with her 
 vernal beauties, but the eyes of the dying junest were now too 
 dim to heed them. On the 19th of the month he coidd go no 
 farther, when, at his request, his two friends landed and built a 
 hut, into which he was carefully conveyed. Aware that he was 
 rapidly approaching his end, he, with great composure, gave 
 directions concerning his biuial, and thanked God that he was 
 permitted to die in the wilderness an unshaken believer in the 
 faith which he had so devotedly preached. At night he told his 
 weary attendants to rest, and when he fouud death approaching 
 he would call them. At an early hour they were awakened by a 
 feeble voice, and hastening to his side, in a few moments he 
 breathed his last, grasping a crucifix, and murmiu'ing the name 
 of the Virgin Mary. Having buried his remains as directed, his 
 trusted companions hastened to Mackinaw, to announce the sad 
 news of his demise. 
 
 Three years afterward, a party of Ottawas, hunting in the vi- 
 cinity of his grave, determined, in accordance mth a custom of 
 the tribe, to carry his bones Avith them to their home at the mis- 
 sion. Having opened the grave and carefully cleaned them, a 
 funeral procession of 30 canoes bore them tOAvard Mackinaw, the 
 Indians singing the songs which he had taught them. At the 
 shore, near the mission, the sacred relics were received by the 
 IDriests, and, with the solemn ceremony of the church, deiiosited 
 under the floor of the rude chai)el. 
 
CnArTER YII. 
 EXPLOEATIO^\S BY LaSALLE. 
 
 We must now turn from Marquette, whose great piety, energy 
 and self-denial made Iiim a model of the order to wlii(;li lie he- 
 Joiiged, and again introduce LaSalle on the stage of action. The 
 l^revious voyage had well nigh estaldished the fact that the Miss- 
 issippi discharged its waters into tlie Gulf of Mexico; yet he and 
 others now entertained the opinion that some of its great tribu- 
 taries miglit afford a direct passage to the Pacitic. It was the 
 great problem of the age to discover this passage, and LaSalle 
 ])roposed not only to solve it by exploring the great river to its 
 moutli, but to erect a fort on its outlet, and thus seciu-e to France 
 the possession of its valley, To further his ol)ject, he gained the 
 intluence and support of Frontenac, and induced some of the 
 Canadian merchants to become partners in the adventure. 
 
 Fort Frontenac. — The new governor had no sooner been installed 
 in oftice, than, with eagle eye, he surveyed the resoiu'ces of Cana- 
 da, and prepared to get them under his control. LaSalle had 
 iiiformed him that the English raid Iroquois were intriguing with the 
 Indians of the upper lakes to induce tliem to break their peace 
 with the French, and transfer their trade in i)eltries fi«m Mon- 
 treal to Jn'cw York. Partly to counteract this design, and in part 
 to monopolize the fur trade for his own benefit, he determined to 
 T)uild a fort on Lake Ontario, near the site of the present city of 
 Kingston. Lest he should excite the jealousy of the merchants, 
 he gave out that lie only intended to make a tour to the upper part 
 of the colony, to look after the Indians. Being without sufticient 
 means of his own, he required the merchants to fiu'uish each a 
 certain niunber of men and canoes for the expedition. AVhen 
 sprhig opened, he sent LaSalle in advance to summon the Iroquois 
 sachems to meet at the site of the proposed fort, while he fobowed 
 at his leisure. Li obedience to his call, the chiefs arrived, and 
 were much pleased with the attentions shown them by the gov- 
 ernor. Flattered by his blandishments, and awed by his audacity, 
 they suffered the erection of the fort, which was called Frontenac, 
 after its founder. The governor writes : " With the aid of a ves- 
 sel now building, we can command the lakes, keep peace with the 
 Iroquois, and cut off" the fm* trade from the English. With 
 another fort at Niagara, and a second vessel on the river above, 
 we' can control the entire chain of lakes." These far-reaching 
 views accorded well with the schemes of LaSalle, who-was shortly 
 afterwards employed in reducing them to piactice. The erection 
 of the fort was iii violation of the king's regulations, which re- 
 quii-ed the fiu' traders of Canada to carry on their trade with the 
 
 67 
 
68 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Indians witliiii tlio limits of the settUMiieiits. In vieAV, liowever, of 
 its great inii)ortaiice as a means of defence against the Iroqnois, all 
 legal objections were waived, aiid j^rovision was made to maintain 
 it. It also served as a stei)X)ing-stone for its snbseqnent owner to 
 make other and greater westward strides in thecanse of discovery. 
 
 In 1071, LaSalle visited France to petition the king for the rank 
 of nobility, and to negotiate with him for a grant in seignory of 
 the new fort and adjacent lands. As a consideration for the lat- 
 ter, he agreed to reimburse him for what it had already cost to 
 maintain in it an adequate garrison, and pro\ide for the spiritual 
 wants of the settlements that miglit gather about it. His petition 
 was granted, and he returned to Canada the proprietor of one of 
 tlie most valuable estates in the x)rovince. His relatives, pleased 
 with Ids flattering prospects, advanced him large sums of money, 
 which enabled him to comjdy with his agreement. Besides fur- 
 nishing the stii)ulated military and clerical forces, and providing 
 a clui]>el for the latter, he built four small decked vessels to carry 
 freight to the head of the lake, whither he next expected to ad- 
 vance. A period of more than three years now succeeded, in 
 which all Canada was rent with civil feuds. Altercations sprang 
 up l)etween rival traders ; Jesuits and Eecollets were embittered 
 by dissensions, and tlie civil authorities became corrupt, and en- 
 gaged in intrigues, attended with the greatest acrimony. It was 
 impossible for a person of LaSalle's prominence to avoid becoming 
 a mark for the shafts of those who differed with him in oi)ipion 
 and interest. As soon, however, as he could extricate himself 
 from the jarring factions, he again visited France, to obtain the 
 recognition and supj)ort of the government in his contemplated 
 undertaking. His object being regarded with favor by the minis- 
 ter, he was authorized to proceed with his discoveries, and occupy 
 the new found countries by the erection of forts, while, in lieu of 
 other sui)port, he was granted a mono])oly in buffalo skins, which, 
 it was believed, would be a som^ce of great wealth. His relatives 
 made additional advances of money, and in July, 1678, he sailed 
 with 30 men and a large supply of implements for the construction 
 and outflt of vessels. After a prosperous voyage he arriA^ed at 
 Quebec, and proceeded thence up the river and lake to his 
 seignory. 
 
 Among the employes he had brought with him was an Italian, 
 named Henri Tonti, who had lost one of his hands by the explo- 
 sion of a grenade in the Sicilian wars. JSrotAvithstandiug the loss 
 of his hand, and a constitution naturally feeble, his indomitable 
 will made him superior to most men in physical endurance. 
 Bcvsides these qualities, so valuable in the pioneer, he possessed a 
 fidelity which neither adversity nor the intrigues of enemies could 
 swerve from the interests of his employer.* On his way through 
 Quebec, he also obtained the services of jM. Lainotte, a person of 
 much energy and integity of character, but not so efticient an as- 
 sistant as Tonti. 
 
 Among the missionaries who became associated with LaSalle in 
 his future ex]>lorations, may be mentioned Louis Hennepin, Gabriel 
 Kibourde and Zenobe Membre. All of them were Flemings, all 
 
 *His father had been govei'nor of Gaeta, but fled to France to escape the political 
 convulsions of his native country. He was an able flnancier, and won distinction as 
 the inventor of Tontine Life Insurance. 
 
LASALLE, 69 
 
 Eecollets, but in other res])ects ditfereut. Heiniepiii, in early life, 
 read with unwearied delight the adventm-es of trav elers, and felt 
 a bnrni)i<i' desire to visit strange lands. Yielding to his ruling 
 passion, he set out on a roving mission through Holland, where he 
 exposed himself in trenches and seiges for the sahation of the 
 soldier. Finding, at length, his old inclination to travel returning, 
 he obtained permission of his sui)eri<>r to visit ^Vinerica, where, in 
 accordaiu'e with his wandering proclivity, he becaiin^' connected 
 Avith the adventures of LaSalle. In tliis cai»acit\ he won distinc- 
 tion as an explorer, but afterwards tarnislied his rei»utation with 
 false pretensions, lliljourde was a hale and cheerful old man of 
 (irt years, and though })ossessing fewer salient i)oints of character 
 than Hennepin, he greatly excelled liini in purity of life. He re- 
 iioun(;ed station ami ease for the privations of a missionary, and 
 at last wa.s stricken down by the parricidal hand of those he fain 
 Mould have benelited. Membre, like Henne])in, is accused of vanity 
 and falsehood. He must, however, have possessed redeeming 
 traits, for he long remained the faithful companion of LaSalle," 
 and fimdiy perished in his service. 
 
 On arriving" at the fort, LaSalle sent 15 men with merchandise 
 to Lake JMichigan, to trade for furs. After disposing of the goods, 
 tliey wer<^ instructed to jiroceed with the bartered commodities to 
 Illinois, and there await his arrival. The m'xt step he hoped to 
 make in his westward i)rogress was the erection of a tort at the 
 mouth of the river Niagara. He thought if he coiTld control this 
 ke,>' to the chain of lakes above, he could also control the Indian 
 trade of the interior. For this pur])ose, La^lotte and Henei)in, 
 witJ! 1(» men, on the ISth of Novend)er, end)arked in one of the 
 small vessels which lay at the fort, and started ior the month of 
 the river. Retarded by adverse Avinds, it was not till the (!th of 
 De(tember that they reached their destination and efl'ected a land- 
 ing". Here they met with a band of Senecas from a neighboring 
 villa^ge, Avho gazed upon them with curious eyes, ;uid listened with 
 great Avomlerment to a song which they sung in honor of their 
 safe arrival. When, however, the erection of a fort Avas com- 
 menced, their surprise gave way to jeah>usy, ami it became neces- 
 sary to obtain the consent of the chiefs before the Avork could be 
 completed. With this object in a'Icav, LaMotte and Hennepin, 
 loaded with pr<\sents, set out to Aisit tlie princi))al town, situated 
 near tlie site of ivochester, IS'eAV York. Ai'riving thitlier after a 
 Journey of 5 days, they Avere receiAcd by a committeeof .Sii chiefs, 
 to whom they made known their object. LaJMotte distributed 
 gifts amo)ig" the chiefs Avith a laA'ish hand, and l>y nutans of his 
 interpreter, used all the tact ami ehxiuence of Avhich he Avas mas- 
 ter to gain their consent to the erection of the fort. They readily 
 rec^iA'ed the gifts, but answered the interpreter Avith evasive gen- 
 eralities, and the embassy Avas comi)elled to retiu'u Avithout a 
 definite reply. In the meantime LaSalle and Tonti, aaIio had been 
 detained in i>rocuring" supplies for the new settlement, arrived. 
 They had also encountered unfaA^orable winds, and LaSalle, anx- 
 ious to hasten forAvard, entrusted one of his vessels to the pilot, 
 Avho, disregarding" his instructions, suffered her to become wrecked. 
 The crcAV escaped, but aaHIi the exception of the cables and 
 anchors intended to be used in building a shi}) above the cataract, 
 the cargo Avas lost. LaSalle, Avho Avas more tlnui an ordinary mas- 
 
70 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tei' of Indian diplomacy, next visited the Senecas, and partially 
 obtained liis request. In lieu of the fort, he was jierniitted to 
 erect a warehouse. This was completed, and used as a shelter for 
 the men durinj;' the ensuing winter, and a depository for mer- 
 chandise in his subsequent transactions on the lakes. 
 
 The. Griffin. — A more vital consideration, and that which next 
 engaged the attention of LaSalle, was the building of a vessel ou 
 the river. The point selected for this purpose was on the east side 
 of the river, at the mouth of Cayuga creek, 6 miles above the 
 cataract. The men struggled up the steep hights above Lewiston 
 with the necessary equipments, and on the 2lid of January, 1(>79, 
 commenced the laborious task of carrying them to the point 
 selected, some 12 miles distant. Arriving thither, Tout! immedi- 
 ately commenced the task of building the vessel, while LaSalle 
 returned to Fronteuac, to replace the stores which had been lost 
 in the lake. Notwithstanding the atteinpt of the Senecas to \)urn 
 the vessel as she grew on the stocks, in due time slie was linished 
 and ready to launch. The tiring of cannon announced her com- 
 pletion, and as the men chanted a soiig in honor of their success, 
 aiul the Indians stared at the novel sight, she gracefully glided 
 out on the waters of the Niagara. During her construction, tliey 
 were gxeatly amazed at the ribs of the huge monster, but now 
 they looked with increased surpiise at the grim muzzles of 5 cau- 
 non looking through her port holes, and a huge creature, part lion 
 and part eagle, carved on the prow. The figure was a grifiiit, 
 after which the vessel was named, in honor of the armorial bear- 
 ings of Frontenac. She was taken further up the river, where the 
 men supplied her with rigging, and Tonti anxiously awaited the 
 arrival of LaSalle. This did not occur till August, he having, in 
 the meantime, been detained by tinancial ditticulties, growing out 
 of the attempt of enemies to injure lus credit. He brought with 
 him EiboiQ'de and Membre, to ])reach the faith antong the tribes 
 of the west, which he now jn'oposed to visit. 
 
 To defer the enterprise longer, would be to defeat it, and on the 
 7th (►f August, 1(>70, the voyagers embarked. The extended sails 
 of their little craft catcliing the breeze, bore her safely out on the 
 bosom of Lake Erie. Never before had been picture<l in its 
 waters the image of tluttering canvas, and to the Gritfiu beUings 
 the honor of first coursing the highway which is now whitened 
 with the sails of such an extended con\merce. After a piV)Sperous 
 voyage up the lake, they entered the Detroit, and passed on each 
 bank a pleasant succession of prairies and forests, alive with 
 game. The men leaped ashore, and soon the decks of the Griffin 
 were strewn with the dead bodies of deer, turkeys and beai^, upon 
 whose tlesh the crew feasted AA'ith the greatest relish. Ascending 
 Lake St. Clair and the rest of the strait, they entered Lake Huron, 
 whi(;h appeared like a vast mirror set in a frame fantastic with 
 rocks and verdure. So pure and transparent were the waters, 
 the lish on the pebbled bottom b(4ow seeiued the only inhabitants 
 of earth, while their little bark floated like a cloud in mid-air 
 above them. At first the voyage was pi"os])erous, and islet after 
 islet loomed up before them, which the strange mirage of the 
 waters converted into huge Tritons stalking rapidly by, and disap- 
 pearing in the distance l)ehind. Soon, however, the breeze belV)re 
 which they moved fieshened into a gale, and at last became an 
 
LASALLE. 71 
 
 angry tempest, causiiig the greatest alarm. All fell to praying ex- 
 cept the pilot, who Avas incensed at the idea of ignobly perishing 
 in the lake, after having breasted the storms and won the lionors 
 of the ocean. LaSalle and the friars evoked the aid of St. An- 
 thony of Padna, Avhom they declared the patron oftlie expedition, 
 and promised a chapel if he would deliver them from the devour- 
 ing waves. The saint, it is said, answered their i)rayers ; the 
 billow-tossed bosom of the lake becaine still, and the Grillin rode 
 into the straits of Mackinaw uninjured. A salute of cannon an- 
 nounced tlieir arrival at the Jesuit mission, where they effected a 
 landing, and immediately rex>aired to the cliai)el to offer thanks for 
 their recent deliverance. 
 
 Here, under the shadow of the cross, the votaries of mammon 
 had erected a bazaar for the fm- trade, which they carried on aa ith 
 or without a license, as best suited their interests. All of tlieni 
 looked with jealous eyes upon LaSalle, but openly extended a wel- 
 come to him, that they might allay suspicions respecting their 
 secret designs against his enterprise. With motives little bettei-, 
 the Indians saluted him with a volley of musketry, and soon 
 swaruied in canoes around the Griftiu, which they calle<l a Hoating 
 fort, and evidt^itl}' regarded it with greater curiosity than good 
 will. iSTot only the residents were secietly hostile, but it soon ap- 
 peared that his own men had proved treacherous. Most of tliose 
 he had sent up the lakes with merchandise had sold it and ke])t 
 the proceeds, instead of going with tliem, as directed, to Illinois. 
 LaSalle arrested four of them at Mackinaw, and sent Tonti to the 
 Straits of St. Mary after two others, whom he also succeeded in 
 captui-iug. 
 
 Ah soon as Tonti i-eturned, LaSalle weighed anchor and sailed 
 through the Straits into Lake Michigan, and hnided at an island 
 near the entrance of Green Bay. Here he was received with gieat 
 hospitality by a Potawatamie chief, and met with a number of his 
 traders, who, uiilike the othei'S, had faithfully disposed of his 
 goods and collected a large quantity of fius. He at once resohed 
 to send them, with others he had collected on the way to Xiagara, 
 for the l)enetit of his creditors. Such a transaction was not author- 
 ized by his hcense of discovery, yet liis will was law, and (l(\spite 
 the protest of his followers, the furs were carried aboard the (Uif- 
 fin. The pilot, after disposing of the cargo, was instructed to 
 return with her to the southern shore of the lake. Her cannons 
 thuiidered forth a parting salute, and soon the little bark melted 
 out of sight in the distance. LaSalle, with the remaining men, 
 now embarked in canoes, laden with a forge, tools and arms, and 
 started for the mouth of the St. Joseph. Unfortunately, they 
 fouud the lake broken with constant storms, which fro(|uently im- 
 periled theu' own lives ami made them tremble for the fate of the 
 Grithu. After a long voyage, in which they suffered inuch from 
 hardship and hunger, they arriAcd at their destination. Here 
 they expected to meet with Tonti and twenty of the men who 
 left Mackinaw simultaneously with the Griftln, expecting to make 
 their Avay along the eastern shore of the lake. After waiting- 
 some time in A^ain for their arriA'al, those Avho had come Avitli La- 
 Salle urged upon him the necessity of pushing forward to obtain 
 corn from the Illinois before they departed for theh- Avinter hunt- 
 ing grounds. He decided it unwise to grant their request, and, to 
 
72 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 divert tlieir luiiids from the subject, comineuced the erection of a 
 fort. After laboring some twenty days, and the structure was 
 far advanced, Tonti and ten of his companions arrived. At the 
 instance of LaSalle he immediately went back with two men to 
 hasten forw^ard the others, who were without provisions, and hunt- 
 ing as a means of support. On their way a violent storm overset 
 their canoes and destroyed their provisions, and they were com- 
 pelled to return. Shortly after, of their own accord, the absent 
 men made their w^ay to the fort, and the entire party was again 
 united. The only care which ]iow o])pressed LaSalie was the ab- 
 sence of the Grillin. Ample time had elapsed for her return, but 
 nowhere on the wild solitude of waters was he cheered with the 
 sight of a sail. Kueful forebodings saddened his breast when he 
 thought of her fate, and two men were sent down the lake, with 
 instructions to conduct her to the mouth of the St. Joseph, in case 
 they were able to tind her. The fort was linished and named 
 Miami, after a neighboring tribe of Indians. 
 
 Without further delay, on the od of December, 1070, the party, 
 numbering 'So i)ersons, commenced ascending the St. Josc|)ii. 
 Ali'eady the margins of the stream were glassed with sheets of ice 
 and the adjacent forests were gray ami bare. Foiir days brought 
 them to the site of Soutli Bend, to look for the path leading across 
 the portage to the Kankakee. A Mohegan hunter, who accompa- 
 nied the expedition, and who was now expected to act as ii guide, 
 was absent in quest of game, and LaSalle sallied forth to tind tlie 
 way. In the blinding snow and tangled woods he sOi)n became 
 lost, and the day wt»re away without his return. Tonti, becoming 
 alarmed for his safety, sent men to scour the forest and lire guns 
 to direct his course to the camp. It was not, hoAvevei-, till the 
 next afternoon that he made his appearance. Two 0}>ossums dan- 
 gled in his girdle, which lie had killed with a club, while sus})eiided 
 by their tails from overhanging boughs. After missing his way, 
 he was com])ell(Ml to make tlie circuit of a large swam]), and it was 
 late at night Ix'fore he got back to the river. Here he tired his 
 gun as a signal, and soon after, discovering a light, made uj) to it, 
 supposing it came from the cami> of his men. To his sui]>rise it 
 pioved to be the lonely bivouac of some Indian, wlu) had Ih'd at 
 the rei>ort of his gun. He called aloud in several Indian tongues, 
 but oidy the reverberations of his voice in the surr«uniding soli- 
 tude met his ear. Looking around, he discovered under the trunk 
 of a huge tree a couch made of dried grass, still warm and im- 
 pressed with the form of its recent occui)ant. He took i)ossession 
 and slept unmolested till morning, when, without further difficulty, 
 he found his Avay to camj). Meanwhile, the Mohegan hunter ha<l 
 arrived, and soon the whole i)arty stood, on the banks of the Kan- 
 kakee, coursing its way in zig-zags among tufts of tall grass and 
 clumps of alder. Into its current, which a tall man might easily 
 bestride, they set their canoes, and slowly nuned down its slug- 
 gish, slimy waters. So full was its channel that the voyagers 
 seemed sailing on the surface of the ground, while their evening 
 shadows, unobstructed by banks, fell far beyond their canoes, and 
 trooped like huge phantoms along by their side. By and by it 
 grew to a considerable stream, from the drainage of miry barrens 
 and reedy marshes skirting its banks. Still farther on succeeded 
 prairies and woodlands, recently scorched by the tires of Indian 
 
LASALLE. 73 
 
 limiteivs, and here aud there deeply scarred with the trails of buf- 
 falo. Occasionally, on the distant verge of the prairies, tliey 
 could see Indians in pursuit of these animals, while at niglit the 
 horizon blazed with cainp fii-es where they were cooking' and feast- 
 ing upon their sweetly flavored meats. La Salle's ]\lohegan hunter 
 had been unsuccessful, and his half-starved men would gladly 
 have shared with the Indians their rich rei)ast. Their wants were 
 however unexpectedly relieved by the happy discovery of a huge 
 bull so deeply mired he was unable to escai)C. So ])onderous m as 
 his huge body that when killed it requued 12 men, with the aid 
 of cables, to extricate him from the nuul. Refreshed with a bouu- 
 tifid repast, they again betook themselves to their canoes, and 
 soon entered the Illinois, meandering through plains of richest ver- 
 dure. They Avere then the i)asture grounds of innumerable deer 
 and buffalo, but now wondrously transformed into scenes of agri- 
 cultural thrift. On the right they passed the high plateau of Buf- 
 falo Rock, long the favorite resort of the Indians. Farther down, 
 on the left, appeared a lofty promontory beautifully crested with 
 trees, and soon destined to be crowned with the bulwarks of an 
 impregnable fortress. Below, on tlie north shore, stood the prin- 
 cipal town of the Illinois, in whieh Henneinn counted 401 lodges, 
 each containing from to 8 families. These structures were made 
 of poles in the form of an oblong rectangle. Those comi)osing the 
 sides rose i)erpendicularly from the ground, and at the top were 
 united in the form of an arch. Others crossing these at right 
 angles completed the framework, which was afterward neatly in- 
 closed in a covering of rushes. As had been feared by the voya- 
 gers, the Illinois were absent, and their village a Aoiceless solitude. 
 The presence of savages is often a cause of alarm, but now the 
 case was reversed, for LaSalle desired to obtain from them corn 
 for his famishing companions. Soon some of his men discovered 
 huge quantities of it stored away in ]>its, but at first refrained from 
 taking it, lest they might seriously ott'end its owners. jSTecessity, 
 however, generally gets the better of prudence, and they took a 
 quantity suflicient to supply their present wants, and dei)aited 
 down the river. 
 
 On the 1st of January, Kl.SO, they again landed to hear mass, 
 and wish each other a hap])y new year. Father llennei»in closed 
 the exercises l)y haranguing the men on the inqjortance of patience,- 
 faith and constancy. Two days afterward they entered the ex- 
 pansion of the river now called Feoria Lake, after the Indians who 
 dwelt upon its banks. Columns of smoke, rising gracefully Irom 
 the forest below, now announced the i)resence of Indians, who, 
 LaSalle had reasons to sus]»ect, were averse to his enterprise. F n- 
 dismaye<l, they moved down tlu> lake, which soon narrowed to the 
 usual Avidth of the river, when, just beyond, they discovered some 
 80 Illinois wigwams on the opposite banks. l)ropi)ing their i)a(F 
 dies and seizing their weapons, they were rapidly borne toward 
 the astounded savages. LaSalle, aware that the least hesitancy 
 on his i)art would be construed as fear, leaped ashore with his lit- 
 tle band of Frenchmen, each armed and ready for action. Such 
 audacity was too much, even for Indian heroism. Women and 
 children trembled with fear; brave warriors fled in the utmost 
 terror, but a few of the more bold rallied and made overtures of 
 peace. Two chiefs advanced and displayed a calumet, which La- 
 
74 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. * 
 
 Salle recognized by exliibitiug one of his own, and tlie hostile dem- 
 onstrations terminated in friendship. Next succeeded a feast, and 
 while some placed the food in the mouths of the Frenchmen, oth- 
 ers, with great obsequiousness, greased their feet with bears' oil. 
 
 As soon as LaSalle could disengage himself from their caresses, 
 he informed them that in descending the river he had visited tlieir 
 town and taken corn from their granaries. He stated that he had 
 been forced to the commission of this unlawful act to save his men 
 from hunger, and was now ready to make restitution. In explain- 
 ing the object of his visit, he said he had come to erect a fort in 
 their midst, to protect them against the Iroquois, and to build a 
 large canoe in which to descend the Mississippi to the sea, and 
 thence return with goods to exchange for their furs. If, however, 
 they did not regard his plans with favor, he concluded by stating 
 he would pass on to the Osages, in the present hmits of Misstmri, 
 and give them the benefit of his trade and influence. The allusion 
 to these Indians aroused their jealousy, which had long existed 
 between the two tribes, aiid the Illinois readily assented to his 
 wishes, and were loud in their professions of frieiulship. 
 
 Notwithstanding this auspicious reception, it soon became evi- 
 dent to LaSalle that secret enemies were intriguing to defeat his 
 enterprise. Some of his men, dissatisfied and nuitinous from the 
 first, secretly endeavored to foment disaffection and ill-will in the 
 better disposed of his followers. They rei>resented to their com- 
 rades the folly of longer remaining the dupes and slaves of a 
 leader whose wild schemes and imngin;iry hopes could never be 
 reaHzed. What could be expected, said they, after following him 
 to the extreme confines of the earth and to remote and dangerous 
 seas, but to either miserably perish or return the victims of dis- 
 ease and poverty. They urged that the only way to escape these 
 evils was to return before distance and the waste of sti'ength and 
 means rendered it impossible. It was even hinted that it might 
 be best to escape from their present calamities by the death of 
 their author : then they might retrace their steps and share in the 
 credit of what had ah-eady been accomphshed, instead of further 
 protracthig their labors I'or another to monopolize the honors. 
 Fortunately those who entertained these views were too few in 
 numbers to reduce them to practice. Unable to effect anything- 
 with their own countrymen, they next turned to the savages. 
 Ha\'hig obtained a secret interview, they informed them that La- 
 Salle iiad entered into a conspiracy with the Iro<]uois to effect 
 their destruction, and that he was now in the country to ascertain 
 their strength and build a fort in furtherance of this object. They 
 also said that, while he was ostensibly preparing to visit Fort 
 Frontenac, his real object was to invite the Iroquois to make an 
 invasion into their country as soon as he was prepared to assist 
 them. The Indians, ever suspicious and ready to listen to charges 
 of this kind, became morose and reserved. LaSalle, noticing their 
 altered demeanor, at once sus])ected his men, and soon obtained 
 information estaldishing the truth of their perfidy. To remove the 
 false impressioiis, he reminded the Indians that the smallness of 
 his force indicated a mission of peace, and not of war; and that 
 neither prudence nor humanity would ever ])ermit him to form an 
 alliance with the Iroquois, wliose brutal aiid revengeful conduct 
 he had always regarded Avith horror and detestation. His great 
 
LASAI.LE. 75 
 
 self possession and frankness, tojietlier with tlie evident tintliful- 
 ness of liis remarks, completely divested the savages of snspieion 
 and restored him to their eontidence. Balked in tludr efforts to 
 make enemies of tlie Indians, the conspirators, as a last resort, 
 souglit the life of their employer. Poison was secretly ])laced in 
 his food, bnt fortnne again came to his rescne. l>y the timely ad- 
 ministration of an antidote the poison was nentrnlized, and his life 
 was saved. This was an age of poisoners, and it luul not been long- 
 since a- similar attempt against the life of LaSalle had been made 
 at Fort Frontenac. 
 
 Hardly had LaSalle escnped the machinations of his own men, 
 before lie became involved in the meshes of others, Avith whom lie 
 snstained not even the most remote connection. The new in- 
 trignes, LaSalle, in a letter to Count Frontenae, attributes to the 
 Jesuit Priest, Allouez, then a missionary among" the Mianiis. 
 Perha])s LaSalle on account of his partiality for the Eecollets, or 
 more Hkely feanng that the latter, through his influence, might 
 become more potent than his own order, he sent aMascoutin chief, 
 called Monso, to excite the jealousy of the Illinois against him. 
 They came equip])ed with prescMits, which drew together a nightly 
 conclave of chiefs, to whom ]\lonso unl)os<)med his ol>iect. IMsiiig- 
 in their midst he said he had been sent by a certain Frenchman to 
 warn them against the designs of LaSalle. He then denounced 
 him as a sjty of the Iro<]uois on his way to secure the co-operation 
 ol' tribes beyond the Mississipi»i, witli the hope that by a com- 
 l)in«Ml attack, to either destroy the Illiin)is or drive them from the 
 country. In conclusion lie added, the best way to avert these ca- 
 lamities was to stay his farther i)rogress, by causing the desertion 
 of his men. Having thus roused the suspicions of the Illinois, 
 the envoys hurridly departed, lest they might have to confront the 
 object of their foul aspersions. The next morning' the savages 
 looked suspi{!ious and sullen. A glance sufihced to convince 
 LaSalle that new difUculties awaited him, nor was it long till he 
 ascertained their character. A chief, to whom the day before he 
 had given a liberal supply of presents, privately informed him of 
 wliat had transi)ired at the council the preceding' ingiit. This 
 informaticm was confirmed by what occurred at a feast, given 
 shortly afterward by a brother of the principal chief, to which 
 LaSalle and his nu^i were invited. While the repast was in pre- 
 paration their host endeavored to persuade them to abandon their 
 j'i>ui'iiey by magnifying the dangers which would attend it. He 
 intbrined them that the object of his invitation was not only to re- 
 fresh tlu'ir l)odies but to remove froin their minds the infatuation 
 of farther attempting an errand which could never be accom- 
 ])lished. If you endeavor to descend the Mississi]>pi, said lie, you 
 will tind its banks beset with tribes wliom neither nund)ers nor 
 courage can overcome, while all avIio enter its waters will be ex- 
 ])osed to the devouring' tangs of seri>euts and unnatural monsters. 
 Should they avoid these, he added, the river at last becomes a 
 snccession of raging whirlpools, which plunge headlong into a 
 storni smitten sea, from which, if they entered, escai)e would be 
 impossible. 
 
 The most of LaSalle's men knew little of Indian artifice, and 
 were greatly alarmed at the thought of having to encounter such 
 fornudable perils. Some of the older and more experienced en- 
 
76 , HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 deavored to exjiose these inisrepreseiitiitious, but as we shall 
 presently see, with only partial success. LaSalle knew in a mo- 
 ment, from what had been told liim, the object of the speaker was 
 to deceive his men and seduce them from their allegiance. After 
 expressing his thanks for the timely warning, he replied as 
 follows : 
 
 "The greater the d.aiiger the greater the lioiior; and t'V(!ii if tlie dnngcr were 
 real, a Frenchman would never be afraid to meet it. But were not tlie Illinois 
 jealous? Had they not been deluded by lies? We were not asleep, my brntlier, 
 when Monso came to tell you, under cover of niglit, that we were spies of the 
 Iroquois. The presents iie gave you, that you might believe his falsehoods, 
 are at this moiiient buried in the earth under this lodge. If hv, told the truth 
 why did he. skulk away in the dark? Why did lie not show himself by day? 
 Do you notWee that when we first came among you, and your camp was all in 
 confusion, ^^ could have killed j'ou without needing hilp from the Iroquois, 
 and now while I am speaking, could we not put your old men to deatii, wiiile 
 your young warriors are all gone away to hunt. If we nnunt to make war 
 on you, wcT should need no help from the Iroquois, who have .so often felt the 
 force of our arms. Look at what we have brtuight you. It is not W( apoiis to dis- 
 stroy .you, but merchandise and tools for your good. If you still harbor evil 
 thoughts of us, be frank as we are and speak them boldlj'. Go after the im- 
 posttT, Monso, and bring him back that we may answer him face to face; for 
 he never saw either us or the Iroquois and whiit can he know of the plots he 
 pretends to reveal ? " 
 
 The savage orator, too much astounded at these disclosures to 
 attempt a reply, ordered the feast t<^ i)roceed. 
 
 LaSalle, suspicious of danger, tlie night after the feast stationed 
 sentinels near the lodges of the French to watch the nu)vements 
 of their recent entertainers. .The night passed without disturb- 
 aiu'-e, and at early dawn he sailed forth to find, that instead of 
 watching the ejieniy, of his men had basely deserted. Doubt- 
 less, in part to escape the imaginary dangers already alliided to, 
 but mostly on account of previous disatfection, they had aban- 
 doned their employer at the time when he had the greatest need 
 of their services. LaSalle assembled the remainder, and spoke in 
 severe terms of the baseness of those who had left him. " If any 
 one yet remains, " he continued, " who from coAyardice desires to 
 return, let him wait till spring, and he can then go without the 
 stigma of desertion. " One of the principal difticulties attending 
 the early French enterprises of the West was to procure trusty 
 men. The wilderness was full of Aagabond hunters who had lied 
 from tlie discipline of civilized life, and now exhibited an extreme 
 of lawlessness proportioned to their previous restraints. Their 
 freedom from care, and immunity from the conseiiuences of crime, 
 rendered them a perpetual lure to entice others from the duties of 
 legitimate employmei it. 
 
 Fort Crevecoeure. — LaSalle, wearied with these difficulties, now 
 determined to erect a fort in which he and his men might pass the 
 winter without molestation. A site was chosen on the east side 
 of the river, a short distance below the outlet of the lake. This 
 was the extremity of a ridge approaching within 2()() yards of the 
 shore, and protected on each side by deep ra\dnes. To fortify the 
 blulf thus formed, a ditch was dug behind to connect the two 
 ravines. Embankments were thrown up to increase the altitude 
 of the different sides, and the whole was surrounded with a i)alisade 
 25 feet in hight. Tlie work was completed by erecting within 
 the enclosure buildings for the accommodation of the men. 
 
LASAJLLE. 77 
 
 LaSalle bestowed on it the name Ore vecoenr,* an appellation wliieli 
 still pei'petnates tlie iiiistortunes and disappointments of its foun- 
 der. The Indians remained ii-iendly, and tlie new fortification 
 siiltserved more the [)urpose of a sanctuary than a place for tlie 
 discharjie of nnlitary duty. Hennepin preached twice on the ISai)- 
 batli, clumted vesj)ers, and re<iretted that the want of wiue pre- 
 vented the celebration of mass. Meud)re daily visited the 
 Illinois ami, despite their filth and dis<iustin,ii' manners, labored 
 earnestly, but with little success, for their si»iritual welfare. t>uch 
 was the first French occupation of the territory now endmiced in 
 the present limits of Illinois. The plac(^, of this ancient fort may 
 still be seen a short distance below the outlet of Peoria Lake. 
 For years after its erection the country around the lake remained 
 the home of savages, and rich i)asture grounds for herds of deer 
 and bnif.ilo. 
 
 Hitherto, LaSalle had entertained some hope that the (.'riflin, 
 which had on board anchors, rigging, and other necessary articles 
 tor the construction of another ^'essel, might still be safe, lie 
 I)rop()sed to build a vessel on the Illinois, freight her with buffalo 
 hides, collected in the descent of the ^lississippi, and thence sail 
 to the West Indies or France, and dispose of the cargo. The (Irif- 
 fin, however, with her nuicli needed stores, never nuideher ap})ear- 
 ance. It was variously belie\'ed at the time that she had found- 
 ered in a storm — that the Indians had boarded and bui-nt her — 
 and that the Jesuits had contrived her destruction. LaSalle was 
 of o]>inion that her own crew, after removing the cargo of furs and 
 nu'rchandise, sunk her and then ran away with their ill-gotten 
 spoils. But the cause of the loss was of little nunnent; they vrere 
 g(jne, and there was no alternative left LaSalle but to return to 
 Frontenacand get others to sui)plytlieir place. His great anxiety 
 in connection with this step was the i\"AV that others of his men 
 might take advantage of his absence and desert. 
 
 AVhile revolving this subject in his mind, an incident occurred 
 which enabled him to disabuse their minds of the false state- 
 ments they had heard in regard to the dangers of the Mississippi. 
 During a lumt in the vicinity of the fort, he chanced to meet with 
 a young Indian who had been absent some time on a distant war 
 excursion. Finding him abnost famished with hunger, he invited 
 him to the fort, where he refreshed him with a generous meal, and 
 questioned him with apparent indifference respecting the JMissis- 
 sippi. Owing to his long absence, he kncAV nothing of what had 
 transpired between his countrymen and the French, and, ^\■ith 
 great ingenuousness, imparted all the information required. La- 
 Salle now gave him presents not to mention the interview, and, 
 with a lunnber of his nu'u, repaired to the camp of the Illinois to 
 expose their misrepresentations. Having found the chiefs at a 
 feast of bear's meat, he boldly accused them of falsehood, and at 
 once proceeded to verify his charges. The IMaster of Lite, he de- 
 clared, was the friend of truth, and had revealed to him the actual 
 character of the Mississip])i. He then gave such an accurate 
 account of it, that his astonished but credulous auditors believed 
 his knowledge had been obtained in a supernatural nuinner, and at 
 once confessed their guilt. It was their desire, they said, to have 
 him remain with them, and they had resorted to artifice for this 
 
 •"Broken hearted. " 
 
78 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 liiirpose, and not to do him any injury. This confession removed 
 a principal cause of desertion, and banished from the mind of La- 
 Salle a fruitfid source of anxiety. Lest idleness should breed new 
 disturbances among his men during his absence, he set them at 
 ■work on the new vessel. Some of his best carpenters had deserted, 
 yet energy supplied the place of skill, and before his departure he 
 saw the new craft on the stocks, rapidly approacliing completion. 
 He also thought that Hennepin might accomplish greater results by 
 exploriug tlie Upper Mississipi)i than by preaching sermons, and 
 he was therefore requested to take charge of an expedition for this 
 purpose. The friar, not wishing to incur the dangers of the luider- 
 talcing, plead bodily infiiinity, and endeavored to have one of his 
 spiritual colleagues appointed in his stead. Ribourde was too old 
 to endure the hardships, and Membre, though disgusted with his 
 clerical duties among the Illinois, preferred an unpleasant held of 
 labor to one beset with perils. Hennepin, findingno alternative but 
 to accept, with rare modesty and great reliance upon providence, 
 says : "Anybody but me would have been much much frightened 
 with the dangers of such a Journey, and in fact, if I had not placed 
 all my trust iu God, I should not have been the dupe of LaSalle, 
 who exposed my life rashly.." A profusion of gifts was placed in 
 his canoe, to conciliate the Indians, and on the last day of Febru- 
 ary, 1080, a i^arty assembled on the banks of the Illinois to bid 
 him him farewell. Father Ribourde invoked the blessing of heaven 
 over the kneeling form of the clerical traveler; his two comi^an-' 
 ions, Accau and DuGay, plied their paddles, and they were soon 
 concealed from view in the meandering channel of the river. 
 
Chapter VIII. 
 TOiTTrS ENCOUNTER WITH THE lEOQUOIS. 
 
 Only two days afterward, another iiarting occurred at tlie river. 
 It was now LaSalle's time to liid adieu to the scenes where, during- 
 the winter, his ]n()ti^•es had been so often misrepresented and im- 
 pugned. Leaving Tonti in connnand of the fort, garrisoned witli 
 three or four honest men and a dozen knaves, he set out for Foit 
 Frontemn^ with four men and his Moiiegan liunter, wliose faithful- 
 ness was a perpetual rehuke to French fickleness and treaclier\'. 
 Tlie winter had been severe, and liis progress up the river was 
 greatly retarded by drifting sheets of ice. Eeaching Peoria Lake, 
 the ice Avas unbroken from shore to shore, and the party was com- 
 pelled to land and make sledges on which to drag their canoes to 
 a point ill the river above, where the swiftness of the current kept 
 the channel open. Little thought these lonely wanderers that t]ie 
 desolate spot where this incident transpired, was one day to re- 
 sound with the tramp of the multitude which now throngs the 
 streets of Peoria. A laborious march of four leagues, through 
 melting snows, placed them above the icy barrier of the lake, and 
 they launched theu' canoes. Thence, to the great town of tlie 
 Illinois, they found the river at different points blocked with i(;e, 
 and their journey was made alternately by land and Avater, in the 
 drenching rains of opening spring. They found the Aillage with- 
 out inhabitants, and its lodges crested with suoav. The adjacent 
 meadows Avere still locked in the fetters of Avinter, and the more 
 distant forests, l>earded with crystals, flashed in the morning sun 
 like a sea of diamonds. Yet the frozen landscape was not Avithout 
 life. The impress of moccasiued feet could be traced in the suoav, 
 and occasionally a straggling buffalo could be seen, and one of 
 them Avas shot. While his men Avere smoking the meat of the 
 animal, LaSalle went out to reconnoitre the country, and soon fell 
 in Avith 3 Indians, one of whom proA^ed to be the principal chief 
 of the Illinois. Inviting him and his associates to his camp, he 
 made them presents, and refreshed them Avith the best food his 
 scanty larder could furnish. He then informed the chief that he 
 was on his way east to procure arms and amumnition for the de- 
 fense of his tribes, and obtained from him a promise that he Avould 
 send proAdsions to his men in the fort during' his absence. While 
 here, he Aisited StarA^ed Eock, the remarkable cliff previously 
 alluded to, a mile or more aboA^e the A^illage, on the southern bank 
 of the river. He afterwards sent Avord to Tonti to examine and 
 fortify it, in case an outbreak of the Indians rendered it necessary.* 
 
 ♦Several years since, it was seleeted by some enterprisihg- Yankees as a site for a 
 town, which they very appropriately called Gibraltar ; but uow it remains houseless, 
 as in the time of the great explorer. 
 
 79 
 
80 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Oil the loth of March LaSaUe h'ft the village, and continued 
 his journey as before, partly by land and in i)ait by water, till 
 within two miles of the site of Joliet. Here, in consequence of 
 the ice, they found the further ascent of the river impossible, and, 
 concealing their canoes, prepared to make a march directly across 
 the country to Lake Michigan. Journeying lakeward, they found 
 the country a dreary waste of mud and half-melted snoAv, inter- 
 sected here and there by swollen streams, some of which they 
 waded, and others they crossed on rafts. On the 23d they Avere 
 gladdened by the distant surface of the lake glimmering through 
 the openings of the forest, and at night stood on its bank, thank- 
 ful that they were safe, and that their hardshii)s had been no 
 worse. The next day they followed its winding shores to the 
 mouth of the St. Joseph, and rested at night in the fort. Here 
 LaSalle found the two men whom he had sent to look for the 
 Grittin, and learned from them that they had made the circuit of 
 the lake without learning any tidings of her fate. Deeming it 
 useless to further continue the search, he ordered the men to re- 
 port themselves to Tonti, and started himself across the trackless 
 wilds of Southern Michigan, to avoid the delay attending the 
 indirect route by way of the lakes. 
 
 It was the worst of all seasons for such a journey, and almost 
 every league traversed, brought with it some new hardshix). Now 
 they were lascerated by brambly thickets, now they idunged'up 
 to their waists in the mud of half-frozen marslu\s, and now they 
 were chilled in wading swollen streams. Dogged by a pack of 
 savages, they were compelled to pass the nights without lire, to 
 escape their murderous attacks. At length, with two of their 
 number sick, they arrived at the head of a stream supposed to be 
 the Huron, which, after making a canoe, they descended to the 
 Detroit. Thence, marching eastward to the lake, 30 miles distant, 
 they embarked in a canoe and pushed across the lake for the falls 
 of Niagara, whither they arrived on Easter iMonday, lOSO. Here he 
 found the men left at the cataract the previous autumn, who not 
 only confirmed the loss of the Griftin, but informed htm that a 
 cargo of merchandise belonging to him, valued at 1*200 hvres, had 
 recently been swallowed up in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Leaving 
 the weary conii)aiiions of his previous journey at Niagara, he set 
 out Avitli fresh men for Fort Frontenac, and on the 0th day of 
 May discovered through the hazy atmosphere, the familiar out- 
 lines of his seigniory. He had now traveled within Oo days the 
 distance of 1000 miles, which, considering the circumstances, Avas 
 one of the nu)st remarkable journeys ever made by the early 
 French explorers. Possessing an invincible determination and a 
 frame of iron, he surmounted obstacles from which a person less 
 favorably endowed woidd have turned away in dispair. How 
 changed has since become the Avilderness through which he wan- 
 dered. Its dark forests have become a region of harvests, and the 
 traveler of to-day accomplishes in less than two days the journey 
 which required of him more than two months. 
 
 At the fort he learned that his agents had treated him with bad 
 faith; that his creditors had seized his property, and that several 
 canoes belonging to him, loaded with valuables, had been lost in 
 the rapids of the St. Lawrence. Without useless repining, he 
 hastened to Montreal, where his ijreseuce excited the greatest sur- 
 
TONTl'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE IROQUOIS. 81 
 
 prise, and wliere, iiotwitlistanding- liis great financial losses, liis 
 personal influence enabled liini to obtain tlie necessary supi)lies. 
 
 Again he directed his course westward, to succ<u- the forlorn 
 hope under Tonti, isolated from the rest of maidcind on the dis- 
 tant banks of the Illinois. At Frontenac he received intelligence 
 of another of those crushing blows which both nature and man 
 seemed to be aiming at the success of his enterprise. Two mes- 
 sengers came with a letter from Tonti, stating that soon after his 
 de}>arture, nearly all his men had deserted, and that, before 
 leaving-, they had destroyed the fort, and thrown away stores they 
 were unable to carry. The news of this disaster had hardly been 
 received, before two traders arrived from the upper lakes, and 
 further stated ^hat the deserters had destroyed the fort on the St. 
 Josei)li, seized a great quantity of furs belonging to him at JMacki- 
 naw, and then, with others, descending the lakes, had i)lundered 
 liis magazine at Niagara. And now, they added, some of them are 
 coming- down the northern shore of the lake to murder him, as a 
 means of escaping punishment, while others are coasting the 
 south shore, with a view of reaching Albany, and getting beyond 
 his jurisdiction. On receipt of this information, LaSalle chose 9 
 of his trustiestmen, and sallied forth to meet them. Coming upon 
 them by .sur])rise, he killed 2 of their nmnber and caittured 7, whom 
 he imprisoned in the fort to await the sentence of a civil tribinial. 
 It miglit be supposed that LaSalle had reached the utmost limits 
 of liunmii endurance, on seeing the hopes of his enterprise so 
 frequently le\'elled to the ground. While, however, weaker men 
 woTild have turned away in dis})air, no eye could detect in his 
 stern demeanor an altered puri)ose or a shaken resolve. His only 
 hope now seemed to be in Tonti, and could that faithful ofticer 
 preserve the vessel commenced on the Illinois, and the tools which 
 had been conveyed thither with so much labor, it might constitute 
 an an(;hor to which lie coidd attach the diilting wreck of his 
 fortunes. 
 
 Having procured supplies and everything needful for the outfit 
 of a vessel, without further delay he set out, on the 10th of Au- 
 gust, for Illinois, accompanied by his lieutenant, LaForest, and 25 
 men. He ascended the river Humber, crossed Simcoe Lake, and 
 descended the Severn into Lake Huron, over which he passed to 
 the Straits of JMackinaw. At the station he found it difticult to 
 replenish his provisions, and, not to be delayed for this puri)ose, 
 he pushed forward with 12 inen, leaving LaForest and tlie remain- 
 der to follow as soon as they could procure supplies. November 
 21th he arrived at the St. eloseph, and, anxious to push forward 
 more rapidly, he left the greater part of the stores, with 5 men, 
 at the ruined fort, and with the renminder ascended the river, 
 crossed the portage and conunenced the descent of the Kankakee. 
 Not meeting with any traces of Tonti and his men, he concluded 
 they must still be at the fort on the river below, and hastened 
 thither, greatly relieved of the anxiety he had felt for their safety. 
 Rumors for some time had prevailed that the Iroquois were medi- 
 tating a descent on the Illinois, aiul should it prove true, it might, 
 after all his labors, invohe his enterprise in ruin. On euterijig 
 the Illinois, he found the great jirairies, which he had left the 
 pre\ious spring sheeted in ice now alive with buffalo. Soni(? were 
 sleeping on the sward, many were cropping the taU grass, while 
 6 
 
82 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 groups, to slake tlieir thirst, were moving toward the river, where 
 they looked with strange bewilderment at the passing canoes. 
 Wherever a squad ai)peared, it was guarded by bulls, whose for- 
 midable manes and unsightly forms might well have inspired an 
 approaching foe with terror. But it was rather with domestic 
 rivals than foreign enennes thej' performed the greatest feats of 
 prowess. Battered heads and splintered horns told of many bat- 
 tles fought among themselves as the result of gallantry, or perhaps 
 the more ambiti(ms jnotive becoming the cha]n})ions of their shaggy 
 herds. The party wishing a supply of buffalo meat, landed and 
 commenced a warfare on the tempting game. Some dragged 
 themselves through the thick grass and with unerring aim biought 
 down tlieir favorite animals, Avhile others, with iess labor and 
 greater success, concealed themselves behind the banks of the 
 river and shot such as came to drink. Twelve huge carcasses re- 
 warded the labors of the hunt, which the men cut into thin Hakes 
 and dried in the sun for futm-e use. 
 
 With abundant supplies they again started down the river, 
 pleased with the prospect of nyoining the men under Tonti iind. 
 relieving tlieir wants. Soon loomed up before them the rocky cit- 
 adel to which LaSalle had directed the attention of Tonti, but 
 they found on a near approach its lofty summit uufortitied. At 
 the great town of the Illinois they were ai)palled at the scene 
 which opened to their view. No hunter ai)peared to break its 
 death-like silence with a salutatory whoop of welcome. The plain 
 on Avhich the town had stood was now strewn with the charred 
 fragments of lodges, which had so recently swarmed with savage 
 life and hilarity. To render more hideous the picture of desola- 
 tion, large numbers of skulls had been placed on the upper ex- 
 tremities of lodge poles, wdiich had escaped the devouring liames. 
 In the midst of the horrors was the rude fort of the spoilers, ren- 
 dered frightful with the same ghastly relics. A near apytroach 
 showed that the graves had been robbed of their bodies, and 
 swarms of buzzards were discovered glutting their loathsome 
 stomachs on then* reeking corruption. To complete the woi'k of 
 destruction, the growing corn of the village had been cut down 
 and burnt, while the pits containing the products of previous years 
 had been rifled and their contents scattered with wanton waste. 
 It was evident the suspected blow of the Iroquois had fallen with 
 relentless fury. No other denizens of the wilderness Avere capable 
 of i)erpetrating such acts of barbarity and unhallowed desecration. 
 LaSalle carefully examined the scene of these hellish orgies, to 
 ascertain whether Tout! and his men had become the victims of 
 savage vengeance. Mghtfall terminated his labors, and no certain 
 traces of their presence were discovered. The nightly camp lire 
 was kindled, and the men now listened with rueful faces at the dis- 
 cordant chorus of wolves, each striving to get his share of the 
 putrid bodies which had been resurrected from the vilage gi-ave- 
 yard. Sleep at length came to their relief, but LaSalle, i)erplexed 
 with uncertainty and filled with anxiety, spent tlie Avhole night ill 
 pondering over the proper course to pursue in future. In his 
 search the previous day he had discovered G posts near the river, 
 on each of which was pamted the figure of a man Avith bandaged 
 eyes. Surmising that the figures might represent French pris- 
 oners in the custody of the Iroquois, at daylight he made known 
 
TONTl'S ENCOUNTER AVITH THE IROQUOIS, 83 
 
 liis iiiteution of furtlier descending- the river to nnl'old the luys 
 tery. 
 
 J>efore liis departure he ordered 3 of his men to conceal them- 
 selves and haggage in the hoUow of some rocks situated on a 
 neighboring island, and keep a sharp lookout for fiirtlu:>r develop- 
 ments. Tliey were instructed to refrain from the use of fires, 
 A\ iiereby they might attract the attention of enemies ; and should 
 others of the men arrive they were to secrete themselves in the 
 same place and await his return. He now set out with the 4 
 remaining men, each properly armed and furnished with merchan- 
 dise to conciliate the Indians Avho nnght be met on the way. Sev- 
 eral leagues below the town they landed on an island, near the 
 western slior(^, where the fugitive Illinois had taken refuge. 
 Directly opj)()site, on the main shore was the deserted camp of tbe 
 Iroijuuis enemy. Each chief had carved on trees of the forest the 
 totem of his (;lan, and signs indicating the strength of the forces 
 lie had led to the war and the number of the Illinois he had killed 
 and captured. From these data LaSalle concluded that the entire 
 strength of the invaders could not have been less than o80 war- 
 riors. Nothing was found to indicate the presence of Frenchmen, 
 and LaSalle agjiin fell down the, riAcr, and passed in one day 
 additional camps of the Illinois and as many more belonging to 
 their enemy. Both i>arties seemed to haA e retreated in compact 
 bodies toward the mouth of the river. Passing Peoria. Lake they 
 found the fort destroyed, as stated in the letter of Tonti, but the 
 vessel was still on the stocks and oidy slightly injured. Further 
 on they discovered 4 additional camps of the opposing armies, and 
 near the mouth of the river met with the usual sequel of an Iro- 
 quois invasion. On the distant verge of a meadow they discovered 
 th(^ half-charred bodies of women and children still bound to the 
 stakes, where they had suffered all the torments that hellish hate 
 could devise. The men, regardless of their hei[)less charges, had 
 eNi<lently ti('d at the first approach of danger to save themselves. 
 Their wives and children, uni)rotected, fell into the hands of the 
 enemy, who, in addition to those who had been ])urnt, thickly cov- 
 ered the j)lace with their mangled bodies, many of which bore 
 marks of brutality too horrid for record. IIel])less innocence, in- 
 stead of exciting compassion in the hearts of these monsters, had 
 only iierved them for the fiendish task of indiscriminate slaughter. 
 
 LaSalle, seeing no traces of his lost men, proceeded to the mouth 
 of the river, where he saw the great highway which for years 
 liad been the object and hopes of his and)ition. Its vast fioods 
 lolled mysteriously onward to an unknown bourne, for the dis- 
 covery of which, with new resolves, he determined to devote his 
 life. His men proposed, without further delay, to i)r()ceed on the 
 long cont(im])lated voyage, but LaSalle, hedged in by untoward 
 coin])li(;ations, was comi)elled to await a more favorable tinu^. 
 Thinking that Tonti might still be in the nighborhood, he fastened 
 to a tree a painting representing himself and juirty sitting in a 
 canoe, and bearing the i)ipe of peace. To the painting he attached 
 a letter, addressed to Tonti, the purport of which was that he 
 should hasten up the river and join him at the great town of the 
 Illinois. The pa.rty next commenced the ascent of the river to 
 the same i»lace, and vigorously })lying their ]»ad(II(\s night and day, 
 arrived at theu' destination in 4 days. " During the upward voyage, 
 
84 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the great comet of 1080 nightly illumined tlie starry expanse above 
 them, projecting its vast tail, with a terrible brilliancy, a distance 
 of 00 degrees. LaSalle speaks of it as an object of scieiititic in- 
 quiry, while Increase Mather, a celebrated New England divine, 
 Avith the superstition common to his time, said that "it was fraught 
 with terrific portent to the nations of the world." 
 
 At the Indian town they found the men who had beeii left be- 
 hind, unharmed, and anxiously awaiting their return. After get- 
 ting some corn from the ravaged granaries of the burnt village, 
 the whole party embarked, and commenced the ascent of the river. 
 On the 0th of January, 1081, they arrived at the junction of the 
 Desplaines and Kankakee, and passing up the latter a short 
 distance, they discovered, not far from the shore, a rude hut. La- 
 Salle lauded, and entering it, found a block of wood which had 
 recently been cut with a saw, thus iudicatingthatTonti must have 
 passed up the river, This discovery kindled anew the hopes of 
 the dispairing voyagers that their friends Avere still aliA^e, and with 
 lighter hearts they started directly overland to Fort Miami. On the 
 way the snow fell in blinding- storms, and not being sufficiently 
 compact for the use of snow shoes, LaSalle led the way to open a 
 track and urge on his followers. Such was the depth of the snow, 
 his tall figure Vv as frequently buried in drifts up to his waist, while 
 the remainder of his person was showered with the crystal bur- 
 dens of boughs overhead, whenever he chanced to touch them. On 
 reaching- their goal, LaSalle's first inquiry Avas for Touti. Ko 
 tidings, however, had been heard from liim, and the hoi)e he had 
 • entertained of meeting him here, Avas changed to disappointment. 
 LaForest and the men whom he had left behind, Avith commenda- 
 ble industry had rebuilt the fort, prepared ground for raising a 
 crop the ensuing year, and sawn material for building a new ship 
 on the lake. 
 
 We must noAv endeaA'or to relate the adventures of Tonti. 
 Meanwhile, we will leaA^e LaSalle in the sheltering- walls of the 
 fort, i^ondering OA^er the Avasted energies of the past, and the 
 gloomy prospects of the future. Yet his mind, so full of expedi- 
 ents, soon found means to CA^olve, from the fragments of his ruined 
 fortunes, new resources for the furtherance of his daring schemes. 
 
 It will be remembered that Touti had been left in command of 
 Fort CreA^ecoeur A\dtli 15 men. Most of these disliking LaSalle, 
 and having no interest in his enterprise, were ripe for re A^olt the 
 first opportunity that x^romised success. LaSalle, stern, incompre- 
 hensible and cold, Avas much better qualified to command the 
 resi)ect of his men when present, than secure their good will and 
 fidelity when absent. His departure eastward was, therefore, the 
 commencement of unlaAvful acts among his men. A short time 
 afterward, another event occurred which gieatly increased the 
 spirit of in subordination. The two men who had been sent to look 
 for the Giiffiu, had, in jiursuance of LaSalle's orders, arriAed at 
 the fort Avith disheartening intelligence. They informed the al- 
 ready disaffected garrison that the Griffin was lost; that Fort 
 Frontenac Avasin the hands of LaSalle's creditors, and that he was 
 now AvhoUy Avitliout means to pay those in his employ. To prevent 
 the desertion of his men, it was usual for LaSalle to A\ithhold their 
 wages till tlie term for Avhich theyAvere emi)loyed should expire. 
 Now the belief that he Avould ncAcr uay them, gave rise to a spirit of 
 
TONTl'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE INDIANS. 85 
 
 mutiny, wbicli soou found an t)])p(^rtunity for furtlierdevelopeinent. 
 The two men alluded to were the bearers of a letter froui La Salle, 
 direeting' Tonti to examine and fortify the Hock on the Illinois; 
 and no .sooner had he, with a few men, departed lor this imr]>ose, 
 than the garrison of the fortrefused longer to submit to authority. 
 Their tirst act of lawlessness was the destruction of the foi-t; after 
 which, they seized the ammunition, provisions, and other porta- 
 bles of vahie and tied. Only two of their number remained true, 
 one of Avhom was the servant of LaSalle, who inunediatcly hastened 
 to apprise Tonti of what had occurred. He, thereupon, disi)atched 
 4 of the men with him to carry the news to LaSabe ; tw o of -whom, 
 as we have seen, successfully discharged their <luty, while the 
 others perhaps deserted. 
 
 Tonti, now in the midst of treacherous savages, had with him 
 oidy T) men, 2 of whom were the friars liiboiu'de and Membre. 
 \\'ith the.se he immcdiiitely returned to the fort, collected the forge 
 and tools which had not been destroyed by the nuitineers, and 
 i'onveyed them to the great town of the Illinois. By this volun- 
 tary display of contideiice, he hoi)ed to remove the jealousy with 
 which the enemies of TjaSalle had ])reviously poisoned their minds. 
 Ibn-e, awaiting the return of his leader, he was unmolested by the 
 villagers, who, when the sjjring opened, amounted, according to 
 the statement of Mendu-e, to some 8,000 souls, Neither they nor 
 their wild associates little suspected that honles of Irixpiois were 
 then gathering in the fastnesses of the xVlleghanies, to burst upon 
 their c^)iu!try and reduce it to an uninhabitable waste. Already 
 tliese hell-lioiuids of the wihh'rness had destroyed the Ilurons, 
 Erics, and other isations on the Jakes, and were now <lii'ecting their 
 attention to the Illinois for new victims with which to tlesh their 
 labid fangs. jS'ot only homicidal fury, but commen^ial advantages 
 Slow actuated the Iroquois, who expet^ted, after reducing these 
 vast regions of the west, to draw thence rich supplies of furs to 
 l)arter with the English for merchandise. LaSalle had also enemies 
 anu>ng the French, who, to defeat his enterprise, did not scru})le 
 to encourage the Iroquois in their rapacious designs. Under these 
 circumstances a council was held by the lattei'. The <jeremonies 
 of inaugarating a cam}>aign were duly c<^lebrate<l, and 500 war- 
 riors, with a dis3)atch only equalled by their terri)>I<' earnestness, 
 commenced traversing the wide waste of forest and ])rairie that lay 
 between them a)i(l tiieir intended prey. Li the line of their march 
 lay tlie Mianiis, who by their crafty intrigues Avere indu<'edto join 
 in the movement against their neighbors and kindred. There liad 
 long existed a rankling jealousy between these tril)es, and the 3fi- 
 amis were ready to enter into aiij' alliance that ]>ron)ise(I revenge. 
 It was the policy of the Iroquois to divide an<l con<]ner, and their 
 new allies were marked as the next object of their venge;ince, 
 should the assault on the Illinois prove successful. 
 
 All was fancied security and idle repose in the gi-eat town of the 
 Illinois, as the formidable war party stealthily approached. Sud- 
 deidy, as a, clap of thunder from a cloudless sky, the listless in- 
 halutants were awakened from their lethargy. A Shawnee Indian, 
 on his return home after a visit to the Illinois, first discovered the 
 invaders. To save his friends from the inquMiding dang<'r, he 
 hurriedly returned and ap])rised them of the coming eiiemy. 
 This intelligence spread with lightning rapidity o\'er the; town, and 
 
86 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 each wigwam (lisgorged its boisterous and astounded inmates. 
 Women snatclied tlieir clnldren, and in a delirium of fright wan- 
 dered aiudessly about, rending the air with their screams. The 
 men, more self-possessed, seizetl tlieir arms, and in a wild panto- 
 mime of battle, commenced nerving themselves for the coming 
 fray. Tonti, long an object of suspicion, was soon surrounded by 
 an angry crowd of warriors, wlio accused him of being an emisssiiry 
 of the enemy. His inability proi)erly to defend himself, in hodse- 
 qTience of not fully understanding their language, left them still 
 inclined to believe him guilty, and they seized the forge and otlier 
 effects brought from the fort, and threw them into the river. 
 Doubting their ability to defend themselves without the assistance 
 of their young men, who Avere absent on a war expedition, tliey 
 embarked their women and children in canoes and sent tliem down 
 to the island where LaSalle hiid seen their deserted huts. Sixt^ 
 warriors remained with them for protection, and the remainder, 
 not exceeding 400, returned late in tlie day to the village. Along 
 the adjacent shore they kindled huge b(mfires, whicli cast their 
 glare for miles around, gilding the village, river and distant mar- 
 gins of the forest with the light of day. Tlie entire night was* 
 spent in greasing their bodies, ])ainting their faces and jterform- 
 ing the war dan(;e, to jjrepare tiiemselves for the approaching con- 
 flict. At early dawn the scouts who hail been sent out returned, 
 closely followed by tlie lro<juois, uu^st of whom were armed with 
 guns, pistols and swords, obtained from the English. The scouts' 
 had seen a chit^f arrayed in French c(Kstume, and rei)orted their 
 suspicions thaf LavSalle was in the camp of i\w. enemy, and Tonti 
 again became an object of jealousy. A conc(mrse of wildly gestic- 
 ulating savages immediately gathered about him, demanding his 
 life, and nothing saved him from their ui)lifted weajyons but a 
 promise that he and his men would go with them to meet the en- 
 emy. With their sus})icions partially lulled, they hm-riedly crossed 
 the river and ai)peared on tlie plain beyond just as the enemy 
 emerged in swarms from the woods skiiting the banks of the Ver- 
 milion. The two foes were now" face to face, and both commenced 
 discharging their guns and simultaneimsly lea])ing from side to 
 side, for the puri)Ose of dodging each other's shots. Tonti, seeing 
 the Illinois outnuuiberedand likely to sustain a defeat, determined, 
 at the imminent risk of his life, to stay the tight by an attempt at 
 mediation. Presuming on the treaty of i>eace then existing be- 
 tween the French and Iroquois, he exchanged his gun for a belt 
 of wampum and advanced to meet the savage multitude, attended 
 by three comi»anions, who, being unnecessarily exposed to danger, 
 he dismissed them and proceeded alone. A short walk brought 
 him into the midst of a pack of yelping devils, writhing and dis- 
 torted with fiendish rage, and imi)atient to shed his blood. As the 
 result of his swarthy Italian complexion and half savage costume, 
 he was at first taken for an Indian, and before the mistake was 
 discovered a young warrior api)roached and stabbed at his heart. 
 Fortunately the blade was tnrjied aside by coming in contact with 
 a rib, yet a large Hesh wound was inflicted, whicli bled profusely. 
 At this juncture a chief discovered his true character, and he was 
 led to the rear and efl'orts made to staunch his wound. When 
 sufficiently recovered, lui <leclared the Illinois were under the pro- 
 tection of the French, and demanded, in consideration of the treaty 
 
TONTI'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE IROQUOIS. 87 
 
 between the latter and tlie Iroqnois, that they shoul<l be suffered 
 to remain without further molestation. ])uriu<^- this eouferenee, a 
 young warrior siuitched Tonti's hat, and, tleeing with it to the 
 front^ held it ah)ft on the end of his gun in view of the Illinois. 
 The latter, judging from this cu'cumstance that their envoy had 
 been killed, cansexl the battle to "breeze up" with increased inten- 
 sity. iSinudtaneously, intelligence was brought to the Irocjuois 
 that Frenchmen were assisting their enennes in the light, when 
 the contest over Tonti was renewed with redoubled fury. Some 
 declared that he should be immediately put to death; while oth- 
 ers, friendly to LaSalle, with equal earnestness demanded that 
 he should be set at liberty. During theii- clamorous debate his 
 hair was several times lifted by a huge savage who stood at his 
 back with a scalping knife, ready for execution. 
 % Tonti at length turned the current of the angry controversy in 
 liis favor, by stating that the Illinois were 1,2(K) strong, and that 
 there were 00 Frenchmen at the village ready to assist them. 
 This statement obtained at least a j)artial credence, and his tor- 
 menters now determined to use him as an instrinnent to <lelude 
 the Illinois with a i»retended truce. The old warriors therefore 
 advanced to the front and ordered the firing to cease, while Tonti, 
 dizzy froia the loss of blood, was furnished ^vith an emblem of 
 ])ea<'e and sent staggering across the })lain to rejoin the Illinois. 
 The two fria,rs, who had just returned from a distant hut, whither 
 they had retired for pra,>'er and meditation, were the lirst to nu^et 
 hini and bless God for what they regarded as a, miraculous deliv- 
 erance.* With the assurance brought by Tonti, the Illinois re- 
 crossed the river to their lodges, followed by the enemy as far as 
 the opposite bank. Not long after, large numbers of the latter, 
 undei- the pretext of hunting, also crossed the river and hung in 
 threatening groups about the town. These hostde indications, 
 and the well known disregard Avhicli the Ii'oquois had always 
 e\'iii(;ed for their pledges, soon con\inced the Illinois that their 
 only safety was in tlight. With this conviction they set fire to 
 their ancestral homes, and while the vast volume of fianie and 
 smoke diverted the attention of the enemy, they quietly droi)pcd 
 down the river to rejoin their women and cliildren. Shortly ixi'tn; 
 the remainder of the Iroquois crossed the river, and as soon as the 
 conJiagration would permit, entrenched themselves on the site of 
 the village. Tonti and his men, remaining at the village, were 
 ordered by the susi)icious savages to leave their hut and take up 
 their- abode in the fort. 
 
 At first their associates seemed much elated at the discomiiture 
 of the Illinois, but two <lays after, when they discovered lliem re- 
 connoitering on the low hills behind their intrenchments, then- 
 courage greatly subsided. AYith fear, they recalled the exaggeia- 
 tions of Tonti, res])ecting their numbers, and immediately concluded 
 to send him with a hostage to make overtures of peace. 1 le starred 
 on his mission, and he and the hostage were received with delight 
 by the Illinois, who readily assented to this proposal which he 
 brought, and in turn sent back with him a hostage to tlu^ Irocpujis. 
 On his return to the fort, his life was again ])laced in je()i)ardy, and 
 
 *Mombi-e. perhaps prompted by vanity, claims that he accompaiaied Tonti in this in- 
 terview. This is the only instance in which he is charged with a want of veracity, and 
 doubtless in many respects was a good man. 
 
88 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the treaty was with great diffi<iulty ratified. The young" and inex- 
 perienced Illinois hostage betrayed to his crafty interviewers the 
 uunierical weakness of his tribe, and the savages immediately 
 rushed upon Tonti, and charged him with having deprived them 
 of the spoils and honors of a victory. "Where," said they, "are 
 all your Illinois w arriors, and where are the Frenchmen you said 
 w^ere among them ?" It now required all the ta(;t of which he was 
 master to escape the present diffculty, which he had brought on 
 himself by the artifice employed to escape the one previous. After 
 much oppositi6n, the treaty was concluded, but the savages, to 
 show their contempt for it, immediately commenced the construc- 
 tion of canoes in which to descend the river and attack the Illinois. 
 
 Tonti managed to apprise the latter of their designs, and he and 
 Membre were soon after summoned to attend a council of the Iro- 
 quois. They still labored imder a wholesome fear of Count FroiF 
 tenac, and disliking to attack the Illinois in the presence of the 
 French, their object was to induce the latter to lea\'e the country. 
 At the assembling of the council, G packages of beaver skins were 
 introduced, and the savage orator, presenting them separately to 
 Tonti, explained the nature of each. " The first two, " said he, 
 " Avere to declare that the children of Count Frontenac, that is, 
 the Illinois, should not be eaten ; the next svas a plaster to heal 
 the wounds of Tonti ; the next was oil wherewith to annoint him 
 and Membre, that they might not be fatigued in traveling ; the 
 next proclaimed that the sun was bright; and the sixth, and 
 last, required them to decam]) and go home. "* 
 
 At the mention of going home, Tonti demanded of them when 
 they intended to set the example by leaving the Illinois in the 
 peaceable possession of their country, which they had so unjustly 
 invaded. The council grew- boisterous and angry at the idea that 
 they should be demamled to do that which they required of the 
 French, and some of its mend)ers, forgetting their previous ple<lge, 
 declared that they would " eat Illinois flesh before they departed. " 
 Tonti, in imitation of the Intliau manner of expressing scorn, in- 
 dignantly kicked away tlie presents of fiu', saying, since they meant 
 to devour the children of Count Frontenac with cannibal ferocity, 
 he would not accept their gifts. This stern rebuke of perfidy re- 
 sulted in the expulsion of Tonti and his companions from the 
 coiuicil, and the next day the enraged chiefs ordered them to leave 
 the country. 
 
 Tonti had now, at the great risk of his life, tried every expedi- 
 ent to avert from the unoifending lUinois the slaughter which the 
 unscrupulous invaders of their soil were seeking an oi)portunity 
 to effect. There was little to be accomphshed by remaining in the 
 country, and as a longer delay might imperil the lives of his men, 
 he determined to depart, not knowing wlien or where he would be 
 able to rejoin LaSalle. AVith this object in view, the party, con- 
 sisting of 6 persons, embarked in canoes, which soon proved leaky, 
 and they were compelled to land for the puri)ose of making re- 
 jjairs. While thus employed. Father liibourde, attracted by tlie 
 beauty of the surrounding landscape, Avandered forth among the 
 groves for meditation and prayer. Not returning in due time, 
 Tonti became alarmed, and started with a companion to ascertain 
 
 *Discoveries of the Great West.— Paikman. 
 
TONTl'S ENCOUNTER WITH THE IROQUOIS 89 
 
 the cause of the long delay. Tliey soon discovered tracks of Ind- 
 iaus, by whom it was supposed he had been seized, and guns were 
 lired to direct his return, in case he was still alive. Seeing 
 nothing of him during the day, at night they built fires along the 
 baidc of the river and retired to the opi)Osite side, to see who 
 uiiglit iipproach them. Near luiduight, a iumd)er of Indians were 
 seen flitting about tlie light, by whom, no doubt, had been made 
 the tracks seen the previous e\'ening. It was after\\'ards learned 
 that they were a band of Kicka-poos, who had, for several days, 
 been hovering about the camp of the Iroquois in quest of scalps. 
 Not beiug successful in obtaining the object of their desires from 
 their enemies, they, by chance, fell in with the inott■ensi^"e old 
 friar, and scalped him in their stead. " Thus, in tlie Or>th year of 
 his age, tlie oidy heir to a wealty Burgundiau house i)erished under 
 the war club of the savages, for whose salvation he had renounced 
 ease and attluence."* 
 
 During the performance of this tragedy, a far more revolting- 
 one was being enacted at the great town of the Illinois. The Iro- 
 quois were tearuig open the graves of the dead, and wreaking 
 their vengeance upon the bodies made hideous by putrifaction. 
 At this desecration, it is said, they even ate i)ortions of the 
 dead bodies, while subjecting tlu'in to every indignity that brutal 
 hate could inflict. Still unsated by their hellish brutalities, and 
 now uni-estrained by the presence of the French, they started in 
 pursuit of the retreating Illinois. Bay after day they and tim 
 opposing forces moved in compacit array down the river, neither 
 being able to gain any advantage over the other. At length they 
 obtauied by falseliood that wliich numbers and prowess denied 
 them. They gave out tliat their object was to possess the country, 
 not by destroying, but by driving out its present inhabitants. 
 Deceived by this mendacious statement, the Illinois separated, 
 some descending the Mississippi, and others crossing to the 
 western shore. Unfortunately, the Tamaroas, more credulous than 
 the rest, renmined near the mouth of the Illinois, and were sud- 
 denly attacked by an overwhelming force of the enemy. The men 
 fled in dismay, and the women and children, to the number of 
 700, fell into the hands of the ferocious enemy. Then followed 
 the tortures, butcheries and burnings which only the infuriated 
 and imbruted Irocpiois could i)erpetrate — tlie shocking evidence of 
 which LaSalle saw only two weeks afterward. Afterthe ravenous 
 horde had suftlciently glutted their greed for carnage, they retired 
 from the country, leadhig v^itli them a number of women and 
 children, whom they reserved either for adoption into their tribes, 
 or as victims to grace the triumphs sometimes accorded them on 
 their return home. 
 
 Their de])arture was the signal for the return of the Illinois, 
 who reljuilt their town. The site of this celebrated village was 
 on the northern bank of the river, where it flows by the modern 
 town of Utica. Its immediate site was on the great meadow 
 which, at this i)oint, originally stretched up and down the stream. 
 The large quantities of bones and rude implements of savage life 
 which are annually turned up by the ploughshare, are the only 
 sad traces of the populous tribes that once made this locality their 
 
 ♦Discovery of the Great West — Parkman. 
 
90 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 principal home. Along the southern side of the ri\ er extends a 
 range of hills, which terminate a mile and a half above in the 
 natural abutment known as Starved Eock, on which the French, 
 in 1(382, built a fort. Several miles below, an opening occurs in 
 the hills, through which the waters of the Big Vermihon unite 
 with those of the Illinois. It was by means of tliese prominent 
 landmarks Francis Parlvman, Esq., a few years since, was eimbled 
 to identify the site of the Indian town, which, for many years pre- 
 vious, was entirely unkno^vn. 
 
 After the death of Eibom-de, the men under Tonti again resumed 
 the ascent of the river, leaving no evidence of their passage at the 
 junction of the two streams which form the Illinois. Their craft 
 again becoming disabled, they abandoned it, and the party started 
 on foot for Lake Michigan. Their supply of provisions soon be- 
 came exhausted, and the travelers were compelled to subsist in a 
 great measure on roots and acorns. One of their companions 
 wandered oif in search of game, lost his way, and several days 
 elapsed before he had the good fortune of rejoining them. In his 
 absence he was mthout Hints and bullets, yet contrived to shoot 
 some turkeys hj using slugs cut from a i)ewter porringer and a 
 firebrand to discharge his piece. It was their object to reach 
 Green Bay and find an asylum for the winter among the Potawat- 
 amies. As the result of privation and exposure, Tonti fell sick of 
 a fever and greatly retarded the i)rogress of tlie nmrch. Nearing 
 Green Bay, the cold increased and the means of subsistence pro- 
 portionately diminishing, the party would have perished had they 
 not found a few ears of corn and some frozen squashes in the 
 fields of a deserted village. Near the close of November they had 
 the good fortune of reaching the Potawatamies, wlio greeted them 
 with a warm reception, and supplied them with the necessaries of 
 life. Their chief was an ardent admirer of the French, whom he 
 had befriended the year previous, and was accustomed to say : 
 "There were but three great captains in the world, himself, Tonti 
 and LaSalle." 
 
Chaptee IX. 
 FURTHEll EXPLOKATIOXS liY LaSALLE. 
 
 We must now rotnrii to LaSalle, whose exploits stand out iu 
 suck bold relief. In the i»ievious discoveries he had observed 
 that white enemies A\eve using' the li'oquois to circnuiivent his 
 operations ; that their incursions must be stoi)i)ed, or his defeat 
 was inevitable. After due consideration, he concluded the best 
 Avay to prevent their inroads was to induce the western tribes to 
 forget theu' animosities, and under a league against their inexora- 
 ble enemies, colonize them around a fort in the valley of the 
 Illinois, where, with the assistance of French arms and French 
 g'eneralshii), the connuoii enemy would be unable further to molest 
 tliein. French colonists could teach them the arts of agriculture, 
 IJecollet monks instruct them in their religious duties, and the 
 w^iii])s of France supply num-handise to trahic with them for the 
 rich harvest of furs annnally gathered from their vast interi(U' 
 v^'ilds. JNIeanwhile he proposed to explore the Mississippi, and 
 make it a highway for the conunerce of the wcnld. Thus, conclu- 
 ded LaiSalle, the plains of Illinois, Avhich for centuries have been a 
 shiiigliter pen for warring- savages, nught be made the theatre of 
 a ci\'ilization as famous as their past history had been rendered 
 infamous by deeds of carnage. To the execution of this new ex- 
 pedient for advancing his plans, he uoav turned his attention. 
 
 After the terrible scourge of King Philip's war, a number of the 
 conquered Indians left then* eastern homes and took refnge in the 
 vicinity of the fort, where LaSalle had spent the winter. These 
 were mostly Abenakis and Mohegans — the latter having' furnished 
 the hunter who had so often, by his superior skill, provided La- 
 Salle's hungry followers with food. lie was also master of several 
 Indian dialects, which, at this particular juncture of LaSalle's 
 affairs, he could use with g'reat advantage. To these exiles from 
 the east LaSalle lirst directed his attention, and f(uuKl them 
 unanimously in fiivor of casting their lot with his, asking no rec- 
 om])euse save the privilege of calling him chief. A new ally, in 
 tbe person of a powerful chief from the valley of the Ohio, also 
 api»eared, and asked permission to enter the new confederation. 
 LaSalle re})]ied that his tribe was too distant, but h't them <'ome 
 to me in the valley of the Illinois, and they shall ))e safe. The 
 chief, without stipulating further, agreed to join hun with 150 
 warriors. To reconcile the Miamis and Illinois, and thus secure 
 their co-operation, Avas now the principal obstacle. Although 
 khulred tribes, they had long been estranged, and it was only after 
 the recent depredations of the Iroquois, they began to see the 
 advantage of opposmg a united front to their outrages. Wish- 
 
92 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 iiig first to consult tlie Illinois, many of whom had returned after 
 the evacuation of the Iroquois, they found the prairies still encrusted 
 with snow, from the dazzliny whiteness of which, LaSalle and 
 several of the men became snow-blind, and were compelled to en- 
 camp under the edge of a forest till they could recover. While 
 suffering- from the loss of vision, they sent out a companion to 
 gather i)iue leaves, which were supposed to be a specific for their 
 malady. While on this errand he had the good fortune to fall in 
 with a band of the Foxes, from whom he learned that Tonti was 
 safe among the Potawatamies, and that Hennepin had passed 
 through their country, on his way to Canada. This was welcome 
 news to LaSalle, Avho had long been anxious in regard to his 
 safety. The afflicted soon after recovered, and the snow having 
 melted, they launched their canoes into the swollen tributary of 
 the Illinois. Following the river, they fell in with a band of the 
 Illinois, ranging the prairies in quest of game. LaSalle exi)ressed 
 his regret at the great injury they had sustained from the Iro- 
 qu(>is,aiKl urged them to form an alliance with their kindred, the 
 Miamis, to prevent the recurrence of similar disasters in the fu- 
 ture. He promised them that he and liis companions would take 
 up their abode among tliem, furnish them with goods and arms, 
 ami assist in defending them in the attaclcs of the comnu)n enemy 
 of tlie Algonquin race. Pleased with LaSalle's proposition, they 
 sui)i»lied him with corn, and promised to confer with others of 
 tluMr c(nintrymen on the subject, and let him know the result. 
 
 Having completed his negotiations with the Illinois, he sent La- 
 Forest to Mackinaw, whither Tonti was expected to go, and where 
 both of them were to renuiin till he could follow them. It now 
 remained for him to consult theMiamis, and he accordingly visited 
 one of their principal villages <.>n the i)ortage between the St. 
 Josei)h and the Kankakee. Here he found ij. band of Iroquois, 
 who liad for some time demeaned themselves with the greatest 
 insolence toward the villagers, and had spolcen with the utmost 
 contempt of himself and men. He sternly rebuked them fin- their 
 arrogance and calumnies, which caused them to slink away, and 
 at niglit flee the country. The Miamis Avere astonislied beyond 
 measure when they saw LaSalle, with only 10 Frenchmen, put 
 their haughty visitors to flight, while they, with hundreds of war- 
 riors, could not even seciu'e respect. LaSalle now resolved to use 
 the prestige he had gained in furtlKU'ing the object of his visit. 
 There were xjresent in the village Indian refugees from recent 
 wars in Virginia, New York and lihode Island, to whom LaSalle 
 counnunicated the nature of his errand, and promised homes and 
 protection in the valley of the Illinois. It is a goodly and beau- 
 tiful land, said he, abounding in game, and well supplied Avitli 
 goods, in which they should dwell, if they would only assist him 
 in restoring amicable relations between the Miamis and Illinois. 
 The co-operation of these friendless exiles, who now knew how to 
 value the blessings of peace and a settled habitation, was readily 
 enough secured. 
 
 The next day the Miamis were assembled in council, and La- 
 Salle made known to them he objects he wished to accomplish. 
 Froin long intercourse Avith the Indians, he had become an expert 
 in forest tact and eloquence, and on this occasion he had come 
 well i)ro Aided Avith presents, to give additional efficacy to his pro- 
 
LASALLE. 93 
 
 ceediiigs. He bejian lii.s address, which consisted of inctaphori- 
 cal allusions to the dead, by distributing gifts among the Uving. 
 Presenting them with cloth, he told them it was to cover their 
 dead ; giving them hatchets, he informed them that they were to 
 build a scaiibldin their honor; distributuig among them beads and 
 bells, he stated they were to decorate their persons. The living, 
 while apx^ropriating these ]iresents, were greatly pleased at the 
 compliments paid their departed friends, and thus placed in a 
 suitable state of mind for that which was to follow. A chief, for 
 whom they entertained the greatest respect, had recently been 
 killed, and LaSalle told them he would raise him from the dead, 
 meaning that he would assume his name and provide for his 
 family. This generous offer was even more than Indian gravity 
 could bear, and the whole aswemblage became uproarious with ex- 
 citement aad applause. Lastly, to convince them of the sincerity 
 of his intentions, he gave them (J guns, a number of hatchets, and 
 threw into their midst a huge pile of clothing, causing the entire 
 multitude to explode with yells of the most extrava-gant delight. 
 After this, LaSalle thus finished his harangue : 
 
 " He who is my master, and the master of all this country, is a mighty chief, 
 feared by the whole world ; but lie loves peace, and his words are for good 
 aloue. He is called the king of France, and is the mightiest among theciiiefs 
 bej'oud the great water. His goodness extends even to your dead, and his 
 sulijects come among you to raise them to life. But it is his will to preserve 
 the lifehehasgiven. It is his will that you should obey his laws, and make no 
 war without the leave of Frontenac, who commands in his name at Quebec, 
 and hives all the nations alike, because such is tlie will of the great king. You 
 ought, then, to live in peace with your neighbors, and above all with the mi- 
 nors. You had cause of quarrel with them, but their defeat has avenged you. 
 Though they are still strong, they wish to make peace with you. Be content 
 with the glory of having compelled them to ask for it. You have an interest 
 in preserving them, since, if the Iroquois destroy them, they will next destroy 
 you. Let us all obej^ tlie great king, and live in peace under his protection. 
 Be of my mind, and use these guns 1 have given you, not to make war, but 
 only to hunt and defend yourselves."* 
 
 Having thus far been successful in uniting the western tribes, 
 he was now ready to use the alliance formed in finther extending 
 his discoveries. First, it was necessary to return to Canada 
 and collect his scattered resources, and satisfy his creditors. 
 Toward the latter part of May, 1681, they left F(»rt Miami, and 
 after a short and prosperous trip arrived at Mackinaw, where they 
 had the hapi)iness of meeting with Tonti. After the kindly 
 greetings of the long absent friends were over, each recounted the 
 story of his misfortunes. Such was LaSalle's equanimity and 
 even cheerfulness, that Membre, in admiration of his conduct, 
 exclaimed : "Any one else except him would have abandoned the 
 enterprise, but he, with a firmness and constancy which never had 
 its equal, was more resolved than ever to i)ush forward his work." 
 Havhig reviewed the past, and formed new resolves for the future, 
 the i)arty end)arked for Frontenac. The watery track of 1000 
 miles intervening l)etween them and their destination, Avas soon 
 crossed, and LaSalle was again in consultation with his creditors. 
 In addition to the cost inciu-red in l)uilding the fort, and maintain- 
 ing in it a garrison, he was now further burdened with the debt 
 of subsequent fruitless explorations. The fort and seigniory were 
 mortgaged for a large sum, yet by i)arting with some of his mo- 
 
 * Discovery of the Great West— Parkman. 
 
94 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 uopolies, and securing aid from a wealthy relative, lie managed 
 to satisfy bis creditors and secure mqans for another outfit. 
 Owing to unaYoidal)le delays the season was far advanced when 
 his tlotilla was pushed out on the waters of Lake Michigan. 
 Their canoes were headed for the mouth of the St. Joseph, and as 
 they slowly crept along the dreary shores of the lake, it is easy to 
 imagine the more dreary thougiit that harrassed the mind of 
 LaSalle. A past of uiu"C(piitted toil and sad disappointment, a 
 present embittered by the tongue of hate and slander, and the 
 future clouded A^ith uncertainty, must have intruded themselves 
 into his mind, but could not for a moment divert him from the 
 accomplisliment of the great object which for years had been the 
 guiding star of his destiny. The trees were bare of the beautiful 
 autumnal foliage when at length the walls of Fort Miami rose 
 above the waste of waters, and they drew up their canoes on the 
 adjacent shore. The columns of smoke that rose high in the still 
 November air, told LaSalle that his Mohegan and Abenaki alUes 
 were awaiting his return. Xot withstanding tliese were the rem- 
 nants of the tribes " whose midniglit yells had startled the bor- 
 der liamlets of ZSTew England; who had danced around Puritan 
 scalps and whom Puritan imaginations painted as incarnate 
 fiends, " LaSalle chose from them IS men to accompany him. 
 These, added to the Frenclimen, made 41 men, who, on the 21st 
 of December, 1081, set out on this famous expedition. Tonti and 
 some of the men crossed in advance to tlie mouth of the Chicago, 
 where they were soon after joined by LaSalle and the remainder 
 of the men. The streams being now sheated over with ice, and 
 the land covered with snow, they were compelled to construct 
 sledges on whicli to drag their canoes and baggage to the wes- 
 tern branch of the Illinois. Finding it also bridged over with ice 
 they filed down it in a long procession, passed the tenantless vil- 
 lage of the IlUnois and found the river open a short distance 
 below Peoria Lake. The season, and other unfavorable cii-cum- 
 stances, rendered the building of a vessel, as originally contem- 
 plated, at this j)oint wholy imiiossible. They were compelled 
 therefore to proceed in thek- canoes, and on the 6th of February 
 they reached the Great Eiver which was to bear them onward to 
 the sea. Waiting a week for the floating ice to disappear, they 
 glided down the current toward the great unknown, which all 
 former attempts had failed to penetrate. The first night tlu^y en- 
 camped near the mouth of the ^Missouri, and witnessed its opaque 
 floods invade the piu-er waters of the Mississippi. Ee-embarldng 
 the next morning they passed several interesting localities, and 
 after several days, landed on the 21th of February, at Chickasaw 
 blufl's for the purpose of going out in quest of game to supply 
 their failing provisions. Here, one of the hunters named Prud- 
 homme, lost himself in the dense forest, and it was only after a 
 search of more than a week he was found in a starving condition 
 and brought to camp. Meanwhile LaSalle caused a fort to be 
 erected which he named Prudhomme to evince his condolence for 
 the suffering of the hunter, who with a snmll party he left in 
 charge of it. Again embarking on the tortuous river, they were 
 soon apprised by tlie opening buds of semi-tropical vegetation, that 
 they were rapidly entering the realms of spring. 
 
LASALLE. 95 
 
 On tlie IStli of Mavcli, their atteution was arrested by the 
 hoomiiig of an Indian drum, and shouts proceeding- Ironi a war 
 dance on the western side of the river. Being unable, in conse- 
 quence of a fog, to seethe authors of the dennnistrations, they 
 retired to the o]iposite shore and threw up breastworks as a 
 nutans of protection. When the mist rolled away the astonished 
 savages for the hrsttime saw the strangers, who made signals for 
 theni to come over the river, Several of them, accepting the hi- 
 vitation, were met midway the stream by a Frcnchmiiu, who, in 
 turn was invited in a friendly manner to visit their village. The 
 whole party, thus assured, crossed the river, and LaSalle at their 
 head marched to the oi)en area of the town. Here in the midst 
 of a vast concourse of adnnring villagers, he erected a cross, 
 bearing the arms of France, Membre sang a liymn in canonicals, 
 and LaSalle, havuig obtained from the chiefs an acknowledge- 
 ment of loyalty, took possession of the country in the name of 
 the king. This lively and generous people, so different from the 
 cold and taciturn Indians of the north, were a tribe or the Ar- 
 kansas, and dwelt near the mouth of the river bearing their name. 
 The travelers, on taking leave of them, were furnished with two 
 guides, and next ])assed the sites of Vicksburg and Grand Gulf, 
 where, 181 years afterward, Avere fought bloody struggles for the 
 dominion of the river they were eiuleavoring to explore. Xear 
 L*(»() miles below the Arkansas, their guides pointed out the direc- 
 tion of the village of the Taensas. Tonti and ]\[embre were di- 
 rect(Ml to visit it^ and were greatly surprised at the evidences of 
 civilization which it exhibited. Its large square dwellings, built 
 of sun-dried mortar and arched o^er with dome-shaped roofs, 
 were situated in regular ordt^r around a square. The residen.ce of 
 the chief, made in the same manner, was a single hall 40 feet 
 square and lighted by a single door, in which he sat in state, 
 awaiting the arrival of the visitors. He was surrounded by a 
 court of GO old men clad in robes of mulbery bark, while near his 
 l)erson sat his three wives, who howled whenever he spoke, to do 
 him honor. After nuiking liim a number of presents, whi(;h he 
 graciously received, the visitors proceeded to exandne the temple, 
 similar in size to the building occupied by the king. Within 
 were the bones of departed chiefs, and an altar kept perpetually 
 bur]iingby the two old men devoted to this sacred office. On the 
 top of the temple were carved three eagles, lookiiig toward the 
 east ; while around it was a wall studded with stakes, on the tops 
 of which hung the skulls of enendes who had been sacrificed to the 
 Sun. The chief, in response to a friendly call, visited the eaiup 
 of LaSall.e. A master of ceremonies was sent to annimnce Ins 
 coming, after which he nmde his appearance, robed in white, and 
 attended by three persons, two of them bearing white fans and 
 the third a'disk of burnished copper. The latter was doubtless 
 intended to represent the Sun, which was not only an 
 object of worship, but the source whence the chief claimed 
 his ancestors were derived. His demeanor was grave and 
 dignified in the presence of LaSalle, who treated him with 
 becoming courtesy and frien<lship. After receiving a 
 number of presents, the principal object of the visit, 
 he returned to his vlUage, and the travelers started down the 
 river. 
 
96 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Shortly afterward, tliey fell in witli another tribe, and LaSalle 
 wishhig' to ai)proach them in a friendly manner, eneami)ed on the 
 opposite shore. He then permitted Touti, with a few companions, 
 to make them a visit, who, finding them favorably disposed, La- 
 Salle and Membre also joined the party. They next visited one of 
 tlie Indian villages and were made the recixtients of a hospitality 
 limited oidy by the means of their generons entertainers. They 
 were the IS'achez, and LaSalle, learning that the princii)al to\vn 
 was not far distant, repaired tliitlier to have an interview with the 
 head chief of the tribe. As among the Taensas, he saw here a royal 
 residence, a temple of the snn, with its perpetnally bnrning tire, and 
 other evidences of more than ordinary Indian progress. Before 
 leaving, LaSalle erected a cross in the nudst of the town, to which 
 Avas attached the arms of France, an act which the nihabitants re- 
 garded with great satisfaction, bnt had they known its meaning 
 their displeasnre wonld have been equally intense. 
 
 Xext, they discovered the month of lied Kiver, and after i)ass- 
 iug a nnmber of other villages, fonnd themselves at the jnnction 
 of the three channels of the river which branch ott" into the Gnlf. 
 A diflerent party entered each passage, and as they moved south- 
 ward the water rapidly changed to brine,and the land breeze became 
 salty with the breath of the sea. Oii tlie Uth of April '' The broad 
 bosom of the great Gulf opened on their sight, tossing its restless 
 billows, limitless, voiceless and lonely as when born of chaos, with- 
 ont a sign of life."* 
 
 The great mystery of the new world was now unveiled. LaSalle 
 had at last triumphed over every opposing obstacle, and secured a 
 fame which Avill live as long as the lioods of the great river roll to 
 the sea and impart fertility to the valley through which they flow. 
 
 After coasting for a short time the marshy shores of the Gulf 
 and its inlets, the party ascended the river till its banks became 
 sufficiently dry to afford a landing. Here LaSalle erected a col- 
 umn on which he inscribed the words : " Louis le Grand Eoy de 
 France et de Xavarre, Kegne ; Le Xeuvieme Avril, 1(582." 
 
 In honor of his King, he called the country through which he 
 had passed, Louisiana, and commenced the ceremony of taking 
 formal i)Ossession by military display and the imposing pageantry 
 of the Catholic church. Standing by the side of the column, he 
 l)rocl aimed in a loud voice : 
 
 "In tlie name of the most high, might}', invincible, find victorious Prince 
 Louis the Great, by the grace of God King of France and Navarre, fourteenth 
 of that name, I, tliis 9lh day of April. 1682, in virtue of the commission of his 
 Miijesty, which I hold in my liaud, and which mny be seen by all whom it may 
 coiKJern, have taken, and now do lake, in the name of liis majesty and of his 
 successors to the crown, possession of this country of Louisiana, the seas, har- 
 bors, ports, bays, adjacent straits, and all the nations, peoples, provinces, cities, 
 towns, villages, mines, minerals, fisheries, streams and rivers, comprised in ihe 
 limits of the said Louisiana." 
 
 A song, with volleys of musketry, closed the ceremonies by 
 which the realms of France received the stupendous accession of 
 the great region drained by the Mississippi and its tributaries, t 
 
 The voyagers having now accomplished the great object of the 
 expedition, started on their homeward journey. The tribes which 
 had treated them with so much civility and generosity in the down- 
 
 *Diseoveries of the Great West. 
 tMoLiette's Val. of the Miss 
 
LASALLE. 97 
 
 ward voyage, were now from some cause alienated, and indisposed 
 to let him have food. On alTi^^ng among the Nachez, they foimd 
 them hostile, and while they abundantly supplied them with corn, 
 they at the same time surrounded them with a large force to cut 
 them off. Fearing, however, to make an attack, the travelers de- 
 parted, and, without further molestation, reached Fort Prud- 
 liomme, where LaSalle was seized with a dangerous illness. 
 Unable to go himself, he sent Tonti and a few companions to an- 
 nounce the news of his discoveries at Mackinaw, whence it was to 
 be dispatched to Canada. Although carefully attended by Mem- 
 bre, he lay sick in the fort till the latter part of July, when he, in 
 a great measure, recovered, and reached Mackinaw on the 1st of 
 Sei>tember. Thence Membre was sent to France with dispatches 
 making- known the grandeur of LaSalle's discoveries ; the vast 
 r<'gio]i visited ; the immensity of its mountain ranges, and its great 
 plains, veined by mighty streams. 
 
 It was LaSalle's intention also to Aisit France, but hearing that 
 the Iroquois were about to renew their attacks on the western 
 tribes, he decided that his presence was necessary to the safety of 
 his projected policy. He accordingly returned to the Illinois river, 
 whitlier Toiiti had already preceded hini, and at once commenced 
 preparations to meet the enemies. As a means of defence it was 
 <leteruiined to fortify Starved Eock, whose military advantages 
 had previously attracted the attention of LaSalle. From the 
 waters which wash its base it rises to an altitude of 125 feet. Three 
 of the sides itis impossible to scale, while the one m\xt to the land 
 may be climbed with difii<'ulty. From its summit, almost as inac- 
 cessible as an eagle's nest, the valley of the Illinois spreads out 
 i}i a landscape of exquisite beauty. The river, nearby, struggles 
 between a luimber of wooded islands, while further below, it qui- 
 etly meamlers through vast meadows, till it disapi)ears like a 
 thread of light in the dim distance. Here, on the summit of this 
 ro(-ky citadel, in the month of November he began to entrench him- 
 self. Storehouses were constructed from the trees that grew on 
 the top, and wlu^n the su]>ply was exhausted, at immense labor, 
 timl)ers were dragged up the steep ascent to construct a palisaded 
 inclosure. With the completion of this stronghold, which was 
 called in honor of the French King the Fort of St. Louis, the In- 
 dians began to gather around it, regarding LaSalle as the great 
 champion who was to protect them against the Iroquois. The 
 country, which lay under the protection of the fort, recently strewn 
 with the ghastly relicts of an Iroquois victory, now became ani- 
 mated with a wild concourse of savage life. The great town of 
 the Illinois, the Jerusalem of these tribes, Phojnix-like, had sprung 
 from its ashes, and again echoed with the tramp of some (3,000 in- 
 habitants. In addition to the Illinois, there were scattered along 
 the vaUey of the river, among the neighboring hills and over the 
 adjacent plains, the fragments of 10 or 12 other tribes, numbering 
 some 14000 souls. Miamis, from the source of the Kankakee ; 
 Shawnees, from the Scioto, Abenakis and Mohegans, from the 
 Atlantic sealioard, and other tribes whose rough names are too 
 unpleasant for record, had buried their animosities, and now 
 lounged here and there in lazy groups, while their wives performed 
 the drudgery of their camps, and their children gamboled and 
 whooped with the reckless abandon of mad-caps. LaSalle's nego- 
 7 
 
98 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tiations with the western Algonquius — aided by tlie universal hor 
 ror inspired by the brutal attacks of the Iroquois — had met with 
 unexampled success. In writing- to the French Minister of Ma- 
 rine, he Avrote that his colony had sprang up as if by magic, in a 
 single night, and contained 4,000 warriors and some 20,000 souls. 
 By the privileges which had been conferred on him as a discoverer 
 he ruled his Avild d(jmain as a seigniory, and granted x>ortions of 
 land to his followers. Little prolit, however, was realized in this 
 manner, for the greater part of his men were so reckless that 
 their traducers were wont to say of them that each married a new 
 squaw every day of the week. 
 
 To maintain his colony, he now found it necessary to furnish its 
 mend)ers with protection against the conmion enemy, and mer- 
 chandise to barter for the immense quantities of furs annually 
 gathered in the interior of the continent. Previously, the avenue 
 of trade lay through Canada, but it was LaSalle's intention to 
 establish an entrepot at the mouth of the ]\Iississippi, whereby his 
 colony would have the advantage of direct intercoiu\se with the 
 West Indies and Europe. While he was thus maturing plans for 
 the benefit of his colony, his cotemiioraries, eithei- through en^ y or 
 too short-sighted to comi^rehend his objects, were striving to defeat 
 them. Unfortunately, Gov. Frontenac had been recalled, and l)e 
 La Barre, an avaricious old naval officer, had been sent out to 
 take his place. His conduct soon jtroved that he was wholly unfit 
 for the office he was called to fill. Like his predecessor, he was 
 guilty of violating the royal ordinances regulating the fur trade, 
 but the former j)artially atoned for this wrong by an energetic ad- 
 ministration of public affairs, while the lattet added inability to 
 his faults, whereby the best interests of the country became paral- 
 lized. Lie was the special champion of the enemies of LaSalle, 
 who, engrossed with the affairs of his colony, was ignorant of the 
 great jealousy with which his affairs were regarded. ]S[ot know- 
 ing the disposition of La Barre, he wrote to him from Fort St. 
 Louis in the spring of 1083, expressing the hope that he would 
 have the same counsel and supijort from him that he had received 
 from his x)redecessor. After cautioning the Governor that his en- 
 emies would endeavor to misrepresent his objects he proceeds to 
 give an account of his explorations : 
 
 With only 22 Frenchmen, he states, he had formed amicable 
 relations T\dth the various tribes along the Mississippi, and that 
 his royal patent enabled him to establish forts in the newly dis- 
 covered country, and to make grants around them as at Fort Fron- 
 tenac. He adds : 
 
 "Tlie losses in my enterprises have exceeded 40,000 crowns, I am now ao- 
 ing400 leagues southwest of tliis place to induce the Chickasaws to follow the 
 Shawnees and other tribes, and settle like themat Fort St. Louis. It remained 
 only to settle French colonists here, and this I have already done. I hope you 
 Avill not detain them as violators of the laws governing the fur trade ^hen they 
 comedown to Montreal to make necessary purchases. I am aware that I have 
 ]io right to trade Avith the tribes who descend to Montreal, and I shall not per- 
 mit sucli trade to my men ; nor have I ever issued licenses to that effect, as my 
 enemies sa}' that I have done." 
 
 Notwithstanding this reasonable request, the men he sent on 
 important business were retained, and he a second time wrote to 
 the governor : 
 
LASAXLE. no 
 
 "The Iroquois are again invadiiig the country. Last year thcMiamis were 
 so alarmed by them thai, tliey abandoned their toTvn and fled, but on my return 
 they came back, and have been induced to settle with the Illinois at my Fort 
 of St. Louis. The Iroquois have lately murdered some fiimilies of tlieir nation 
 and they are all in terror again. I am afraid the}^ will take flight and so pre- 
 vent theMissouris and neighboring tribes from coming to settle at St. Louis, 
 as tiiey are about to do. Some of tlie Hurons and French tell the Miamis that 
 I am kee])ing them here for the Iroquois to destro3^ I pray that you will let 
 m(; hear from 5^ou, that I may give these people some assurances of protection 
 before they are destroyed in mj^ sight. Do not suffer my men who have come 
 down to the settlements to be longer prever.ted from returning. There is 
 great need here of reinforcements. The Iroquois, as I have said, have lately 
 entered tlie country, and a great terror prevails. I have postponed going to 
 Mackinaw, because, if the Iroquois strike any blow in my absence, the 
 Miamis will think that I am in league with them ; whereas, if I and the French 
 Slay among them, they will reganl us as protectors. But, Monsieur, it is in 
 vafn that we risk our lives here, and that I exhaust mj* means in order to ful- 
 fill the intentions of his majesty, if all my measures are crossed in the settle- 
 ments below, and if those who go down to l)ring munitions, without which we 
 cannot defend ourselves, are detained, under pret>'Xts trumped up for the occa- 
 sion. If I am prevented from bringing up men and supplies, as I am allowed to 
 do by tlie permit of Count Frontenac, then my patent from the king is useless. 
 It would be very hard for us, after having doue what was required, even be- 
 fore the time prescribed, and after suffering severe losses, to have our efforts 
 frustrated by obstacles got up designedly. 1 trust that, as it lies with you alone 
 to prevent or to permit the return of the men whom I have sent down, you 
 will not so act as to thwart my plans, as part of the goods which I have sent 
 by them belong not not to me, but the Sieur de Touti, and are apart of his 
 pay. Others are to bu}' munitions indispensable for our defense. Do not let 
 my creditors seize them. It is for their advantage that my fort, full as it is of 
 goods, should be held against the euemj'. I have only 20 men, with scarcely 
 100 pounds of powder, and I cannot long hold the country without more. The 
 Illinois are very capricious and uncertain. . . If I had men enough to 
 send out to reconnoitre the enem}-, I would have done so before this; but I 
 have not enough. I trust j^ou will put it in my power to obtain more, that this 
 important cohni}' may be saved." * 
 
 While LaSalle was tlius corresponding ^^th tlie governor, the 
 latter was writing letters to the French Colonial ^Minister, saying 
 that he doubted the reality of LaSalle's discoveries; that with 
 scarce a score of vagabonds he was about to set himself up as 
 king, and was likely to involve Canada and the western tribes in 
 a war with the Iroquois. The extent to wliich the enemies of La- 
 8aile suffered their jealousies to lead them astray may be gathered 
 from the posture of affairs at the time. The governor of Xcav 
 York, witli the hope of diverting the fur trade from ^lontreal to 
 Albany, was inciting the Iroquois to make another attack on tlie 
 westerjt tribes. Although this proceeding was frauglit v>"ith the 
 greatest danger to Canada, yet La Barre and his political menials 
 were willing it might succeed, and the entire country be endan- 
 gered, provided it residted in the nun of LaSalle. When, there- 
 fore, these pests of the forest, under the influence of British 
 intrigue, were again making preparations to invade the country of 
 the Illinois and Miamis, instead of an earnest effort to check their 
 designs, they even encouraged thein to kill LaSalle and cut off' his 
 supplies to aid them in their diabolical work. The ccnitiuued cal- 
 umnies uttered agauist LaSaUe at length reached the ear of the 
 king, who wrote to his Canadian governor, stating that he was 
 convinced that LaSalle's discoveries were useless, and that such 
 enterprises ought to be prevented in the future, as they tended to 
 diminish the revenues derived from the fiu' trade. 
 
 *This letter is dated Portage de Chicagou, i Juni, 1S63.— Discov. of the Great West. 
 
100 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Doubtless, emboldened by the king's letter, the governor now 
 determined to seize Fort Frontenac, under the pretext that La 
 Salle had not fulfilled the conditions of his contract by maintain- 
 ing- a sufficient garrison. Despite the remonstrance of LaSalle's 
 creditors, he sent two of his political associates to take command 
 of the fort. As soon as this was accomplished, they commenced 
 living on LaSalle's provisions, and were afterward charged with 
 selling those which had been furnished by the king for their own 
 private benefit. The governor also sent an officer of the king's 
 dragoons to Fort St. Louis, and made him the bearer of a letter to 
 LaSalle, demanding his presence at Quebec. Meanwhile rumors 
 were still rife at the Fort that the Iroquois were getting ready for 
 an invasion, and the tribes comprising the colony flew^ to LaSalle 
 and besought him to furnish the promised succor. Cut off from 
 supplies, and robbed of the men whom he had sent to secure 
 them, he was greatly mortified to find himself wholly nnable to 
 make good his pledge. Fortunately the rumors were premature, 
 but as his relations ^Aith the governor w^ere otherwise intolerable, 
 he determined to visit France to obtain relief. With this object 
 in view, he left Tonti in command of the fort, and on his way to 
 Quebec met with the governor's officer, who made known to him 
 the nature of his mission. LaSalle, submitting gracefully to an 
 indignity he could not well avoid, wrote to Tonti to receive the 
 officer with due courtesy, whereupon, without further business, 
 they parted. In due time the dragoon arrived at the fort, and 
 he and Tonti spent the winter harmoniously, the one com- 
 manding in the name of the governor, and the other in that of La- 
 Salle. The threatened invasion of the Iroquois, though post[>oned, 
 was not abandoned. During the latter part of the spring they 
 made an incursion into the country and attacked the fort, but the 
 rocky citadel proved too strong for the assault, and after a siege 
 of 6 days they were compelled to retire. 
 
 LaSalle, on arriving at Quebec, sailed for France, taking- a last 
 leave of the great arena in which, for the last 10 years, he had 
 been the principal actor; had suffered the most harrassing anxie- 
 ties, and had won the proudest triumphs. From forest solitudes 
 and squalid wigwams, a prosperous voyage introduced him to the 
 busy throngs and sculptured magnificence of the French capital. 
 Its venal court, bewildered by the pompous display of wealth and 
 the trappings of jiower, regarded with little interest the sober ha- 
 biliments of honest worth. But the son of the burgher of Rouen, 
 unmoved by regal vanities, and with a natm-al dignity far tran- 
 scending the tinsel of titled rank, announced his discoveries to 
 the giddy court. He asked for means to return to the newfound 
 lands, and to found a colony on the Mississippi, to protect them 
 from the intrusion of foreigners. Two i)oints on the Mississippi 
 j)roperly selected and fortified, he argued, would guard the whole 
 interior of the continent, with its vast areas of fertile lands and 
 boundless resources. Count Frontenac g'ave him the advantage 
 of his influence, the minister of marine entered with vigor into 
 the scheme, and recommended it to the king, Avho also became 
 fascinated with the glittering project. As an act of justice, and 
 to show his ap})re(!iation of LaSalle, he ordered LaBarre to restore 
 to him the possession of Forts Frontenac and St. Louis, and nuike 
 reparation for the damage he had sustained by their seizure. La- 
 
LASAI.LE. 101 
 
 Salle asked for two sliii)s, but the king, in his zeal, gave him tbnr 
 — the Francais, the Belle, the Amiable, and the Jolly. Two liun- 
 dved and eighty men embarked in the exjiedition, eonsisting of 
 eeclesiastics, soldiers, sailors, mechanics, several families, and 
 even a number of girls, lured by the prospects of marriage 
 in the new land of promise. Such were tlie colonists avIio wer(i 
 to i)lant the standard of France and civilization in the wilderness 
 of Louisiana. As in most of the early attempts at colonization, 
 the men were illy qualilied to grapi)le witli the stern work it was 
 proposed to accomplish. But, worst of all, w;is the naval com- 
 uumder, Beaujeu, who was envious, self-willed, dellcient in judg- 
 ment, and foolishly proiul. 
 
 On the first of August, 1G81, they sailed from Eochelle on their 
 adventurous voyage. Frequent calms retarded their progress, 
 and when at length they arrived at Hisi)aniola, the Francais, 
 filled with munitions and other necessaries for tlie colony, was 
 captured by a Spanish privateer. This disaster, for which I>eau- 
 jeu was evidently to blame, was the first of the disasters whi(;]i 
 afterward attended the expedition. After obtaining supplies, and 
 searching for information in regard to the direction in whicli he 
 must sail to find the outk^t of the Mississippi, the voyage was re- 
 nevred. On entering the Gulf of Mexico, and sailing in a north- 
 westerly direction, a sailor at the mast-head of the Amiable, on 
 the 28th of December, discovered land. In coasting along the 
 shore toward the west, searching for the mouth of the rivei', they 
 incautiously passe<l it. Proceeding further, LaSalle discoxered 
 the mistake, but Beaujeu, refusing to return, they at length landed 
 at IMatagorda Bay. Entering this arm of the gnlf, they discov- 
 ered a considerable river falling into it, which LaSalle concluded 
 might be the Lafourche, the mostwestern outlet of the Mississip]>i. 
 if liis conjectures were true, he i^referred to ascend it to the main 
 stream, instead of returning on the gulf against contrary winds, 
 and the still greater imi>ediment of Beaujeu's obstinacy. He had 
 differed with LaSalie from the commencement of the voyage, and 
 in ever}' instance jjroved to be in the wrong, and now, to get rid 
 of him, he preferred to debark his followers on the lone shore of 
 the bay. 
 
 For this purpose, the Aniiable weighed anchor and entered the 
 narrow passage leading into the bay, but was unfortunately ca- 
 reened over by the sand banks obstructing the clsannel. LaSalle, 
 with a sad heart, beheld the disaster, yet with cool and patient 
 energy set himself about the work of removing the cargo. A 
 quantity of powder and Hour was saved, but presently a storm 
 arose, and the stranded vessel, rent assuuder by the waves, scat- 
 tered the remaining treasures n])on the ravenous waters. After 
 the landing was effected, the Indians became troublesojiie, and a 
 fort was built, with great labor, two miles above the month of 
 the La Yacca, a smaU stream falling into the Bay. LaSalle, as in 
 pre\'ious instances, named the fortification St. Louis, in honor of 
 his king. Here he planted the arms of France, opened a fl<'ld for 
 planting a crop, and thus founded the first French settlement 
 made in Texas. The country, thus formally occupied, gave to 
 France a claim whic^h she never abandoned till Louisiana became 
 a part of the United States, nearly 120 years after\xard. 
 
102 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The scene around tlie fort was not uninteresting, and to some 
 extent relieved the dejection arising from the recent misfortunes. 
 The hay, bordered by marshes, stretched away in a southeastern 
 direction, while the other i)oints of the compass spread out in an 
 expanse of prairie sprinkled with the bright llowers for aa hich 
 Texas is remarkable, and which still rank high among the floral 
 beauties of southern gardens. At certain seasons of the year, the 
 grassy area was dotted over with grazing buftalo, while the adja- 
 cent waters swarmed with fish and water fovrl. JSTecessity soon 
 taught the colonists the best methods of securing them, and the 
 sports of the angler, the hunter and the fowler not only gave zest 
 to then- wilderness life, but furnished them with an abundance of 
 food. It was customary for the women to mingle in the hunting 
 parties and assist in cutting up the meat, and thus a hunter and 
 fau" huntress became enamored of each other, and were married. 
 Their imptials were solenniized with the usual expressions of mer- 
 riment, for the genuine Frenchman, whate^'er maybe his situation, 
 always thinks it better to be merry, than to brood over the mis 
 fortunes he is unable to remedy. 
 
 LaSalle, having provided for the security of his people, next 
 went loO leagues along the coast, east and Avest, to search for the 
 hidden river, l)ut without success. He also determined to make a 
 tour of observation toward the mines and settlements of Northern 
 Mexico. After consuming four months in this expedition, and 
 gathering such information from the Indians as convinced him 
 that his previous conjectm-es respecting the situation of the Miss- 
 issippi river were correct, the party retraced their steps, and arrived 
 at the fort March 0th, IGSO. travel-worn, weary, an<l their clothes in 
 tatters. Soon after, it was ascertained that the Belle, the only 
 remaining vessel, had been sunk, and her cargo, consisting of the 
 personal effects of LaSalle and a great quantity of amuuition and 
 tools, were scattered iii the v^aters of the gulf. The loss was a 
 fatal blow to all attempts in the future to move the'coloiiy to the 
 Mississippi, and left little hope of the unhappy exiles ever again 
 beholding the vine-clad homes of their sunny France. 
 
 LaSalle, fin-ced by the necessities of his situation, now deter- 
 mined to make his way, eastward, to the Mississippi, and thence 
 to Canada or France, to obtain relief, ^o sooner had he formed 
 this resolve, the oftspring of dire extremity, than prei>aration8 
 were completed for the journey. April 22d, 20 men issued from 
 the fort and made their way across the prairie, followed by the 
 anxious eyes of those who were left behind. Day after day they 
 held a northeasterly direction, passing througli a> country of wild 
 and pleasing landsca|)es, niade up of ])rairies, woods and groves, 
 gTeen as an emerald with the beauty of May. After having made 
 a distance of some 400 miles, tlieir anunuiiition and provisions 
 failed them, and they were comi>elled to retiu-n to tlie fort without 
 having accomplished the object of their journey. Twenty men 
 had gone out, but only S returned, some having deserted, and 
 others perished in the attempt to reach the fort. The latter num- 
 ber would doubtless have been greatly increased, but for tlie 
 assistance of horses purchased from the Cenis Indians, the most 
 easterly tribe visited. The temporary elation produced by the 
 return of the absent party, soon gave way to dejection, and La- 
 Salle had a heavy task to prevent the latter from becoming dis- 
 
LASALLE. 103 
 
 pair. He was naturally stern and unsympatliizing, yet lie could 
 soften into conrpas.sion at the great extremes of danger and 
 distress of those about hhn. 
 
 The audacity of hope with which he still clung to tlie accom- 
 Xilishnient of ids object, deterniined him to make a second and 
 more persevering effort for this i)urpose. It was decided that the 
 adventurers should con.sist of LaSalle, Ids brother, and two 
 nephews, Cavalier and Moranget; DuHaut, a person of reputable 
 birth; Leotot, a surgeon; Joutel, who afterwards became tlie 
 historian of the expedition, and some 20 others. Among those 
 left behind were the women and children, and Zenobe Membre, 
 who had so long followed the fortunes of LaSalle. Everything 
 being in readiness, the travelers for the last time entered the rude 
 chailel of the fort, mass was solemnly celebrated, and, with the 
 cloud of incense which rose from the altar, ascended the prayers 
 of the colonists for the success of the journey. N^ext came the 
 parting, of sighs, of tears, and of embraces — all seeming intui- 
 tively to know that they should see each other no more. January 
 iL'th, 1087, the chosen band filed out of the fort, placed their bag- 
 gage on horses, and started off in the direction of the previous 
 journey. Pushiiig forward across prairies and woodlands, among 
 tribes some friendly and some hostile, they passed the IJra/.os, and 
 encamped on the loth of ]\Iarch near the western ^^'aters of the 
 Trinity. They were now in the vicinity of some corn which La- 
 Salle iiad concealed in his previous journey, and he sent DuIIaut, 
 Leotot and some others, to get it. The grain was found spoiled, 
 but in returning they shot some large game, and sent for horses to 
 convey it to camp. Moranget and two others were sent on this 
 errand, and found, when they arrived, the nu^at cut up, and that, 
 according to a woodland custom, the hunters had appropriated 
 some of the best pieces to themselves. Moranget, whose violent 
 temper had previously got him into difficulties, berated them in a 
 violent manner for claiming this privilege, and ended by taking all 
 the meat himself. This outburst of passion kindled to i\n aveng- 
 ing flame a grudge which had for some time existed between Du- 
 Haut and LaSalle, and the former co]ispired Avith Leotot to take 
 the life of his nephew. Night came on, the evening meal was 
 dispatched, and when the intemled victim had fallen asleep, the 
 assassins apju-oached and shot him. The commission of one crime 
 generally requires another, to save the perpetrator from merite(l 
 punishnient, and LaSalle was marked out as the next ol)ject of 
 vengeance. 
 
 Two days passed by and tlie latter, hearing nothing of his 
 neidiew, began to entertain rueful forebodings hi regard to his 
 safety. At length, unable longer to endure his suspense, he left 
 Joutel in command of the camp and started in search of his lela- 
 tive. Accompanied only by a friar and two Indians, h(' ap- 
 ju'oached the camp of tlie assassins, and when near by fired a 
 pistol to summon them to his presence. The conspirators, rigidly 
 judging who had caused the report, stealthdy approached and 
 shot their nitended victim, Leotot exclaiming as he fell, "You are 
 down now, Grand liashaw, you are down now." * They then des- 
 poiled the body of its clothing, and left it to be devoured by the 
 
 Monette's Val. of the Miss. 
 
104 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 wild beasts of the forest. Thus, at the age of 43, iu his vigorous man- 
 hood's prime, perished oue whose exploits have so greatly enriched 
 the history of the new world. His successes required for their ac- 
 com])lishment an undaunted will and invincible courage, which few 
 could bring to the aid of an enterprise. His failures were partly 
 caused by the vastness of his schemes, and in part because his 
 imperious nature would not permit him to conciliate the good will 
 of those he employed and was compelled to trust. While he 
 grasped one link in the chain of his extended enterprises, another, 
 through treachery, slipped from his hand. 
 
 "It is easy to reckon up his defects, but it is not easy to hide from siglit tlie 
 Romau virt\ics that redeemed them. Beset by a throng of enemies, he stands, 
 like the King of Israel, head and shouklers above lliem all. He was a tower 
 of adamant, against whose impregnable front hardship and danger, the rage of 
 Tiian and the elements, the southern sun, the n.ortliern bkist, fatigue, famine 
 and disease, delay, disappointment and deferred hope, emptied tlieir quivers 
 m vain. That very pride which, Coriolanus-like, declared itself most steridy 
 in the thickest press of foes, has in it sometliing to cliallenge admiration. Never 
 under the impenetrable mail of pahuliu or crusader beat a heart of more in- 
 trepid mettle tlian within the stoic panoply that armed the breast of LaSalle. 
 To estimate aright the marvels of his patient fortitude, one must follow on his 
 track tlirougii the vast scene of his interminable journeyings, those thousands 
 of weary miles of forest, marsh and river, where, again and again, in tlie bitter- 
 ness of "baffled striving, the untiring pilgrim puslied onward toward the goal he 
 was never to attain. America owes lam an enduring memory ; for in this mas- 
 culine figure, cast in iron, she sees the heroic pioneer wlio guided lier to the 
 possession of her richest heritage." * 
 
 Those who were not in sympathy with the assassins concealed 
 their resentment, and on the 2d day after the murder the party 
 was again in motion. On the main stream of the Trinity they 
 were again compelled to halt for the purpose of bu^ing provisions 
 of the Indians. Here the two murderers, who had arrogated to 
 themselves the conmiaud of the expedition, declared their inten- 
 tion of returning to the fort, and there building a ship in which to 
 escape to the West Indies. This impossible scheme, together with 
 their refusal to let their accomplices in the nuirder share in the 
 spoils obtained by it, soon led to dissensions. The breach rapidly 
 widened, and at last the aggrieved i^aities shot the murderers, an 
 act \\hich was but the recoil of the crimes they were the tirst to in- 
 troduce. Thus ended the bloody tragedy, enacted with such atroc- 
 ity by these pioneers of Christianity and civilization, that even the 
 debased savage of the wildernesss looked on with the utmost 
 amazement and horror. 
 
 cToutel, with the brother and nephew of LaSalle and 4 others, 
 whose innocence Avould permit them to return to civilization, com- 
 menced anew their travels, leaving the guilty behind. Proceeding 
 in a northeastern direction, they encountered by day a monotony 
 of tangled forests, grassy plains, and mirj- fens ; by night, chilly 
 rains alternating with starlit skies, in whose ])ale and mystic 
 radiance they soundly slept and dreamed of absent friends and 
 distant homes. At length, after a iournev of two months, in 
 which they had been led by guides furnished by various tribes, 
 they stood on the banks of the Arkansas, opposite an Indian vil- 
 lage. Gazing across the stream, their eyes fell on a hut, nestled 
 among the trees of the forest, wliile a cross near by showed it to 
 be the abode of Christians. Actuated l»y a common impulse, they 
 
 *Discov. of the Great West.— Parkman. 
 
LASALLE. 105 
 
 fell on tlieii" knee.s, and with emotions of gratitude thanked God 
 for having- directed tlieni to this outpost of civilization. Two men 
 issued from the cabin and iiied a salute, which being- answered by 
 a volley from tlie travelers, a canoe put out from the shore and 
 ferried them over the stream. 
 
 The long lost wanderers were cordially greeted in their mother 
 tongue by" the occupants of the dwelling, who proved to be G of 
 Toiiti's men, whom be had left here in his assent of the Missis- 
 sippi.* This noble ofticer, who had been restored to the command 
 of the fort on the lllhiois by order of the King, had heard of La 
 Salle's disaster, and immediately equipped an expedition with his 
 own means to relieve him. With 25 Frenchmen and o Indians, he 
 left the ±V)rt on the b">tli of Fel )ruary , 10S(i, and soon descended 
 the Illinois and Mississippi to the Gulf. Not finding any traces 
 of him at the mouth of the river, he sent his canoes to scour the 
 shores for a distance of 30 leagues on either side. Not seeing or 
 hearing anything of LaSalle, who at the same time was Avanderiug 
 anion g'theVilds of Texas, in a search equally fruitless, he retraced 
 his course to the fort on the Illinois, leaving, as already mentioned, 
 some of his men near tlie mouth of the Arkansas. The travelers, 
 from motives of policy, carefully concealed the death of LaSalle 
 from their hosts, and' when sufficiently recruited recommenced 
 their journey, Proceeding down the Arkansas, they soon found them- 
 selves on the great river whicli had so long been the object of 
 their search. The 13th of Septend)er found them at the conflu- 
 ence of the Illi)U)is, and 11 days nujre brought them to the fort- 
 crowned rock, which, like a sentinel, stood watch over its ])eaceful 
 waters. They landed and were soon met by parties from the fort, 
 ^vho, after the usual salutations, inquired for LaSalle. Substitut- 
 ing adroitness for a frank avowal of the truth, tlx'y replied that 
 they had left him in Texas, and at the tune of their departure he 
 was in good health. 
 
 It is said the object of the evasion was to eiuible the oUl })riest, 
 Cavalier, as the representative of LaSalle, to derive some advan- 
 tage for himself and companions in the settlement of his brother's 
 estate. Tonti was absent, hghting the Iroquois, but his lieutenant 
 received them with a salvo of musketry, and provided for them 
 comfortable quarters in the fort. Tonti, not long after, returned 
 from his martial expedition, and listened Avith profound interest 
 and sympathy to the story of the disasters and sufterings of the 
 travelers, as related by the elder CavaUer. He did not scruple to 
 tell Tonti the same story by which he had deceived others in re- 
 gard to the death of liis brother. Moreover, after living for 
 months on the hospitality of his generous host, he added fraud 
 and meanness to deception. This flagrant outrage he pcr])etrated 
 by forging an order on Tonti, in the name of LaSalle, for 4, (HH) 
 livres, in furs and other goods, Which his unsuspecting \ictim 
 generously delivered to him at the time of his departure. 
 
 On leaving the fort, the travelers proceeded to Mackinaw, A\herc 
 they exchanged their ill-gotten furs for clothing and means to de- 
 fray their expenses home. Without further delay, they niade 
 their way to Quebec, and thence to France, whither they arrived 
 in October, 1688, having spent more than foiu' years in their dis- 
 
 *This was the commencement of Arkansas Post, captured by Gen. MoClernand dur- 
 ing the Kebellion. 
 
106 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 taut wauderiiigs. They were men of only average ability and 
 energy, yet, moved by the most pressing necessity, they performed 
 one of tlie most remarkable voyages on record. They now, for the 
 first time, divulged the secret of LaSalle's death, and the king 
 issued orders for the arrest of all who were privy to his murder. 
 It does not appear certain that any of them were ever subjected 
 to a criminal prosecution ; but rumor has it that part of them per- 
 ished by theii' own liands, and part by the Indians, whom their 
 misdeeds roused to vengeance. 
 
 In the mean time the news of LaSalle's death also reached Tonti's 
 men on the Arkansas, and was thence carried to him in the fort 
 on the Illinois. It is more easy to imagine than describe the feel- 
 ings of this most devoted of all LaSalle's followers when he learned 
 the tragical manner of his death. But without useless waste of 
 time in grief for him whom he had so long and so faithfully served 
 and who was now beyond reach of help, he determined to make an 
 effort to rescue his perishing colonists. For this i)ur])ose he left 
 the fort in December, 1088, with 5 Frenchmen and 3 Indians, and, 
 after a toilsome journey, arrived at the mouth of Ived Ki^er, where 
 he learned that some of the accomplices of LaSalle's mur<lerers 
 were iiL a village some 80 leagues distant. On making kno^Mi Jiis 
 intention to visit the town all his men refused to accompany hirii, 
 except two, a Frenchman and an Indian. ]Srot being able to enforce 
 obedience, he resolutely set out with them, but unfortunately a few 
 days afterwards, lost the greater i)art of his ammunition. Still 
 undeterred, he pushed on to the town, but no trace of the (.'riminals 
 coidd l)e found. When, however, he questioned the villagers 
 respecting them, he concluded from their suspicions demeanor, 
 that they had pre^aously been there, and that the Indians, incensed 
 at their misdeeds, had i)robably put them to death. Having accom- 
 idished nothing thus far, and now almost without ammunition, with 
 l3itter disappointment he was com])elled to return. In reti'acing 
 their steps they met with jnore tlian the usual amount of hardshii)S 
 attending a march through an unexplored wilderness. On arriv- 
 ing at the Indian village on the Arkansas, Tonti, as the residt of 
 exhaustion and exposure, became sick of a fever, but recovered in 
 time to reach the fort on the lUinois by the first of September. 
 
 This unsuccessful effort was the last attempt made to rescue the 
 unfortunate colony from the savage immensity that shut them out 
 from home and civilization. Their final destruction by the Indians 
 was learned from the Spaniards of Mexico. Spain claimed the 
 country bordering on the Gulf of INIexico, and fiom the capture of 
 LaSalle's vessel in the West Lidiau Seas, his designs became 
 known. After several attempts to find the location of his colony 
 and destroy it, a Mexican expedition, guided by one of the French 
 deserters, pushed across the wilderness to the fort. Seeing no 
 evidences of life without, the Spaniards spurred their horses 
 through the open gateway of the fort, and found only the ruins of 
 what had once constituted the stores and furniture of the gairison. 
 From French deserters domesticated among the Indians, it was 
 learned that about 3 nu)nths before, a band of savages ambushed 
 themselves under the banks of the river, while others drew the 
 gariison out of the fort for the piu'i)Ose of traffic. At a given sig- 
 nal, the concealed foe rushed from his covert, and immolated indis- 
 criminately the men, women and children. Thus ends one of the 
 
LASALLE. 107 
 
 most exteusive exploratiou.s kiio\Yn to liistory. As a <;Teat geo- 
 giiiphical discovery, it is only second to that wliicli iiuulc known 
 to j'^nrope the existence of tlie Western Hemispliere. The great 
 valley thus thrown open has since been tilled with a constellation 
 of ])rosp(n-ons, happy states. The city which death dei)rived him 
 of ror.iiding, and whi(;h his sagacity foresaw would become one of 
 the great marts of the earth, is now the emixuinm of the South. 
 America owes him a debt of gratitude which she will ever be una- 
 ble to pay, and in like manner, as a type of incarnate energy, his 
 deeds she will never forget. 
 
 Hennepin.— It will be remembered that LaSalle having- concluded that Hennepin 
 could do more good by exi'lorinu- the Illinois and Upper Mississippi, than in i>reaching' 
 sermons,ar.dthat ho u-ith txro (•()ini)anions were sent on tliat mission. Haviny descended 
 the lUinoisand commenced tlie ascent ottlie iVIississippi. they were suriiriscd, and taken 
 bv a band of Sioux, who cunducteil them up the river to the lulls ol St. Anthony, and 
 thence to their villages in the vicinity otMilleLac, Wisconsin Here Hennepin spent the 
 Spring- and Summer in hunting, acting- as a ph.> sician, and studyin'r the Sioux language. 
 Autumn at lenght came, and witli the consent of the chief they were permitted to 
 depart. Proceeding by way of the Kum, Mississippi, Wisconsin, and Fox rivers to Green 
 bay, they spent the Wuiter with the .Jesuit Missionaries. With the opening of Spring- 
 they moved down the lakes and St Lawrence, to Quebec, where Hennepin was recei. ed 
 by the governor, who listened with profound interest to the recital of his travels. 
 From America he went to France, where an account of his travels were published in 
 different languages, and read with great interest Not meeting- with the encourage- 
 ment in France he expected, ho went to England and was taken Into the service of 
 King- William. Tnis monarch wishing- to set up a claim to Louisiana, induced him to 
 modify the narrative of his discovery so as to favor his claim. Yielding- to his request 
 tie wrote anew account, in which he falsely stated that before his voyage tip the river 
 he llrst descended it to the sea. Thus while he endeavored to rob LaSalle ot his princi- 
 l)al lain- els, he tarnished his own fame and was afterwards stigmatized by his country- 
 men as the prince ot lia-.'s. 
 
Chapter X. 
 
 1700-1719— ILLII^OIS A DEPEISTDEXCY OF CANADA ^O'D 
 PAET OP LOUISIANA— THE GOVERNMENT A THEOC- 
 EACY— OPERATIONS OF CROZAT. 
 
 A Dependency of Canada. — Twelve years elapsed after LaSalle's 
 fruitless attempt to found a colony on tlie Mississippi, Ix't'ore the 
 govermuent of France made a second effort. At lengtli, feaiing 
 tliat England might obtain precedence in the great valley, the 
 king set on foot an enterprise for this purpose. M. d'lberx ille, 
 "svho had exhibited such mature judgment and prompt action in 
 the wars of the French-American possessions, was chosen to com- 
 mand it. Having encountered the icebergs and snows of Hud- 
 son's Bay and the burning sands of Florida, he was now ready, 
 at the couunand of his king, to encounter the malarious marshes 
 of the Mississippi. Tlie two j)receding years he had established 
 colonies on Ship Island and the head of Lake Borgne, and about the 
 middle of February, 1700, sailed up the Mississippi, to found a 
 thiid one on its banks. A site was selected for a fort aiul set- 
 tleiuent, about 38 miles below New Orleans, aud while he was 
 engaged in its erection, Tonti descended from the fort on the Illi- 
 nois, with a iiarty of Canadians, to assist him. Tonti's intimate 
 acquaintance with the Indian languages and the tribes living on 
 the l•i^'er, made him a valuable ac(juisition to the new colony. 
 Availing himself of his assistance, DTberville resolved to further 
 ascend the river, explore the country on its banks, and form alli- 
 ances with its inhabitants. In comi)any with Tonti, his brother 
 Bienville, and other })arties, he passed up the river to the Nachez 
 tribe, which he found more powerful and civilized tlian others he 
 had visited. The great beauty of the suirounding ciamtry in- 
 duced him to select it as the seat of the futuie provincial go\ern- 
 ment, and the bluft' on which the city of Nat(;hez is now built, he 
 chose as the site of its capital. He named the prospective city 
 Rosalie, in honor of the wife of his patron, the French minister 
 of marine, and 15 years afterward a fort was erected on the site 
 by his successor. D'Iberville now returned to his ships below 
 and embarked for France, while Bienville explored the country 
 about the mouth of Red river, and some of the party from Illinois 
 were sent to ramble for 6 months in the remote west, in the vain 
 seiuch for gold. 
 
 With this expedition down tha Mississippi, Tonti, the most 
 trusted ofllcer of LaSalle, disappears from the roll of authentic 
 history. The following are some of the acts which distinguished 
 his ad\'enturous life during this period : His mediation in the at- 
 
 108 
 
A DEPENDENCY OF CANADA. 109 
 
 tack of the Iroquois a,ii;iinst the Ilhuois in 1080, Avhereby he 
 greatly mitigated, but did not wholly prevent, the butchery of the 
 latter; his government of the Illinois and the associated tribes at 
 Fort St. Louis, during the absence of LaSalle, his effort to relieve 
 LaSalle and his suffering colonists in Texas; the foiniding of Ark- 
 ansas Post, made famous 177 years afterward by the reduction of 
 the rebel fort located there,by McClernand and his brave Illinois 
 and other western troops; and tinally, the assistance he rendered 
 DeNonville, the governor of Canada, with 170 Frenchmen and 3(H) 
 Indians from the west, in his attack on the iSenecas. Says De- 
 ISTonville : "God alone could have saved Canada in 1088. But 
 for the assistance obtained from the posts of the west, Illinois 
 must have been abandoned, the fort at Mackinaw lost, and a gen- 
 eral uprising of the nations would have completed the destruction 
 of IsTew France."* Eumor states that, after the performance of 
 these acts, he resided several years in Illinois, and then returned 
 to France. 
 
 As the St. Lawrence had lieeu made an avenue for the approach 
 of settlers to Illinois, so, after tlu^ exploration of the Missis.sippi, 
 it also became a highway for the in-tlowing of ]M)pulation. Through 
 these channels, comnmnicating with the external world, came the 
 pioneers who, between the years 1080'-1)0, founded the villages 
 and settlements of Fort St. Louis, Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and others 
 of more recent date. These settlements, in common with most of 
 those establislu^d in the interior of the continent, were, to a gieat 
 extent, the work of the Jesuit and Ivecollet missionaries. These 
 hardy and enterprising embassadors of the cross, Avith a zeal 
 which defied the opposition of the elements, heat, hunger and 
 cold, fatigue, famine and pestilence, entered the prairies of Illi- 
 nois 1000 miles hi advance of its secular population. We justly 
 admire the fortitude? of Smith, the founder of Virginia, the courage 
 of ]\Iay-ilower pilgrims, the fathers of !N"ew England; but all 
 these had royal i>atrons; then what shall we say of the devote<l 
 missionaries, who laid the foundations of States in the remote 
 wilderness, when their monastic vows denied them even the i'eeble 
 aid of ecclesiastical support? Neither commercial gain nor secu- 
 lar fame, but religious fervor, could have nerved them to meet 
 the toils and danglers incident to their wilderness life. 
 
 The first missioji in Illinois, as we have already seen, was com- 
 menced by Marquette in April, 1075. It is said as he entered the 
 rude dwellings of the inhal)itants and preached of Christ and the 
 Virgin, heaven ami hell, demons and angels, and the life to conu', 
 he was received as a celestial visitor. The Indians besought him 
 to renmin among them and continue his uistructions, but his life 
 was fast ebbing away, and it behooved him to de])art. He called 
 the religious society which he had established the "Mission of 
 the Imnmculate Conception," and the town "Kaskaskia," after 
 one of the Illinois tribes bearing the same name. 
 
 The first military occupation of the country was at Fort Creve- 
 coeiu-, erected in Fel)ruary, 1(580 ; but there is no evidence that a 
 settlement was commenced there or at Peoria, on the lake above, 
 at that early date.t The first settlement of which there is any 
 authentic account, was commenced with the building of Fort St. 
 
 ♦Bancroft . 
 
 tAnnals of the West. 
 
110 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Louis, on tlie Illinois river, in 1682. It remained in existence at 
 least till 1700, when Tonti seems to have abandoned it and gone 
 sonth, but how long after that date is not delinitely known. The 
 oldest iiermanent settlement, not only in lUinois but the valley 
 of tlie Mississippi, is Kaskaskia, situated G miles above the mouth 
 of the river of the same name.* There is no evidence to sub- 
 stantiate the statement that LaSalle left colonists here and at 
 Cahokia on his return from the successful exploration of the Miss- 
 issippi in 1082. 
 
 The mission here 'oas originally established at the great town 
 of the Illinois, but with the removal of the tribes farther south- 
 ward, it was transferred to Kaskaskia. Father Gravier, who had 
 jireviously been stationed at Mackinaw, effected the removal some 
 time prior to 1000, the exact date beiug unknov.n. He was the 
 lirst of the missioiuiries to asceitain the principles of the Ilhiiois 
 huiguage and reduce them to I'ules. When recahed tVom Kas- 
 kaskia to Mackinaw, he was succeeded by Fathers Binueteau and 
 Pinet, the latter of whom established the luission and village of 
 Cahokia. So successful was Pinet in attracting the atteution of 
 the aborigines, his chapel Avas insufficient to hold the large num- 
 ber that attended his ministrations. The ludians under his charge 
 were the Taniaroas aiul Cahokias, the latter tribe fuiiiishing tlie 
 village its name. Binneteau, to attend to his ministerial labors, 
 followed the Kaskaskias in one of their hunts on the uphuul 
 plains of the Mississippi, and died. Now stifled in the tall grass, 
 now panting with thirst on the arid prairie, i)arclied by day with 
 heat, and by night exi)osed on the grouud to chilling dues, he was 
 seized with a mortal fever, and " left his bones on the wilderness 
 range of the buffalo."t Shortly after his death, Pinet also died, 
 and Father Marest, Avho had before explained the mysteries of 
 the cross to the ice-bound denizens of Hudson's Bay, came to 
 Kaslcaskia and took charge of the missions of Illinois. Iii his 
 corresi)ondence, he says: "Oiu" life is si)ent in roaming through 
 thick woods, in clambering over hills, in i)addliug canoes across 
 lakes and rivers, to catch a poor savage whom we can neither 
 tame by teachings nor caresses." On Good Friday, 1711, he 
 started for the Peorias, who desired a new mission, and thus 
 speaks of his journey: 
 
 " I departed, liaving iiotliing about me but my crucifix and breviary, be'iug 
 accompanied b_y only two savages, who migiit abandon me from levity, or 
 might fly tlirough fear of enemies. I'lie terror of tliese vast nninliabitable 
 regions, in which for 12 days not a single soul was seen, almost took 
 away my courage. This was a journey aa' herein there was no village, no 
 bridge, no ferr^'boat, no house, no beaten path ; and over boundless pi-airies, 
 intersected by rivulets and rivers, through forests and thickets filled with 
 briars and thorns, through marshes, in which we sometimes plunged to the 
 girdle. At night repose was sought on the grass or leaves, exposed to the 
 winds and rains, happj' if b}'' the side of some rivulet whose waters might 
 c^uench our thirst. Meals were prepared from such game as might be kilU'd 
 on tlie waj', or by roasting ears of corn." 
 
 Early in the 18th century he was joined by Mermet, who had 
 previously founded a mission on the Ohio. 
 
 "The gentle virtues and fervid eloquence of Mermet made him the soul of 
 the Mission of Kaskaskia. At early dawn his pupils came to church, dressed 
 neatly and modestl}' each in a deer-skin or a robe sewn together from several 
 skins. After receiving lessons they chanted canticles; mass was then said in 
 
 •Bancroft. 
 
 tlianeroft. * 
 
A DEPENDENCY OF CANADA. Ill 
 
 presence of all the Christians, the French and the converts — the women on 
 one side and the men on the other. From prayers and instructions tlie mis- 
 sionaries proceeded to visit the sick and administer medicine, and their skill as 
 physicians did more than all the rest to win confidence. In the afternoon the 
 catechism Tvas taught iu the presence of the young and the old, when everj^ one 
 without distinction of rank or age, answered the questions of the missionary. At 
 evening all would assemble at the chapel for instruction, for pra}'er, and to 
 cliant the hymns of the church. On Sundays and festivals, even after vespers, 
 a homily was pronounced ; at the close of the day parties would meet in houses 
 to recite the chaplets in alternate choirs, and sing psalms till late at night. 
 Tisese psalms were often homilies, with words set to tamilinr tunes. Saturday 
 and Sundajr were the days appointed for confession and communion, and every 
 convert confessed once in a fortnight. The success of this mission was such 
 tiiat marriages of the French immigrants were sometimes solemnized with the 
 daughters of the Illinois, according to the rites of the Catholic church. The 
 occupation of the country was a cantonment among the native proprietors of 
 tlie forests and prairies.* 
 
 Father Charlevoix, who visited Illinois in 1721, thus speaks of 
 the Cahokia and Kaskaskia Missions : 
 
 "We lay last night in the village of the Cahokias and Tamaroas, two Illinois 
 tribes which have been united, and compose no very numerous canton. This 
 village is situated on a very small river which runs from the east, and has no 
 water except in the Spring. On this account we had to walk half a league be- 
 fore we could get to our cabins. I was astonished that such a poor situation 
 liad been selected, when there are so many good ones. But I was told that the 
 Mississippi washed the foot of the village when it was built; that in 3 years it 
 had shifted its course half a league farther to the west, and that they were now 
 thinking of changing their habitation, which is no great afiair among these In- 
 dians. I passed the night with the missionaries, who are two ecclesiastics from 
 the Seminary of Quebec, formerly my discii)les, but they nuist now be mj^ mas- 
 ters. One of them Avas absent, butl found the other such as he had been rep- 
 resented to me, rigid with himself, full of charity to others, and displaying in 
 his own person an amiable pattern of virtues. Yesterdaj' I arrived at Ka.'^ias- 
 kia about 9 o'clock. The Jesuits here have a very flourishing mission, which 
 has latel}'^ been divided into two, it being more convenient to have two cantons 
 of Indians instead of one. The most numerous one is on the banks of the Mis- 
 sissippi, of which two Jesuits have the spiritual direction. Haifa league be- 
 low stands Fort Chartres, about the distance of a musket shot from the river. 
 M. de Boisbrant commands here for the company to which the place belongs. 
 The French are now beginning to settle the countrj^jetweeu the fort and the 
 first mission. Four leagues farther, and about a league from the river, is a 
 large village, inhabited bj^ the French, who are almost all Canadians, and have 
 a .Jesuit for their curate. The second village of the Illinois lies farther up the 
 couutr}', at the distance of two leagues from the last, and is under the charge 
 of a fourth Jesuit. 
 
 " The Indians at this place live much at their case. A Fleming, who was a 
 domestic of tlie Jesuits, has taught them how to sow wheat, which succeeds 
 well. Thejf have swine and black cattle. The Illinois manure their ground 
 after their fasiiion, and are very laborious. They likewise bring up poultry 
 which they sell to the French. Their women are very neat handed and indus- 
 trious. They spin the wool of the buflalo into threads as fine as can be made 
 from that of the English sheep. Nay, sometimes it might be taken for sill<. Of 
 this the}' manufacture fabrics which are dyed black, j'ellow and red, a tier 
 which they are made into robes, which they sew together with the siia \vs of 
 the roebuck. They expose these to the sun for the space of three days, and 
 Avhen dry, beat them, and without ditficulty draw out white threads of griat 
 fineness." 
 
 Besides the collages mentioned above, others sprang up in sub- 
 sequent times, as Prairie dn ivoche, situated at the base of a, 
 rocky bluff of the Mississippi, 4 miles below Port Chartres, and 
 Prairie du Pont, a mile south of Cahokia. Other missions Avere 
 also established, and Eomish clergy continued to visit the country, 
 and m the absence of civil government, acted not only as spiritual 
 
 *Bancroft. 
 
112 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 guides, but as temporal rulers of the people. lu those days of 
 Jesuit euthusiasui, both the priests and their flocks, iii addition to 
 their strong religious feelings, possessed in many instances an integ- 
 rity which the most trying temptations were powerless to corrupt. 
 It is trueuuich of this enthusiasm was fanaticism, Avhich interpre- 
 ted the results of natural law as special interpositions of provi- 
 dence; which regarded self-imposed i)hysical pain an act of virtue, 
 and construed their tiivial dreams as prophetic of future good or 
 evil. These su])erstitions were common to the age, and rather 
 added than detracted fiom their moral teachings. Under their 
 formative influence, the first French settlements of Illinois were 
 deeply ind)ued with a spirit of justice, honesty, charity, and other 
 virtues, which enabled them to exist nearly a century Avitliout a 
 court of law ; without wars with their Indian neighbors, and up to 
 the time of Boisbriant, without a local governnu^nt. The confi- 
 dence inspired by the priests, as the ministers of a supi>osed infal- 
 lible church, gave tliem ample authority to settle, ^^•ithout the 
 tardy proceedings of courts and their attendant costs, all diifer- 
 ences which occasionally disturbed the i)eace of the colonists. 
 Justice, under these circumstances, was dispensed as in Israel of 
 old, by the power of the mind to discriminate between right and 
 wrong, rather than by laws whose intricacies and technicalities 
 frequently suffer the guilty to go unpunished. Such was tlie res- 
 pect for right, and the parental regard which animated the priestly 
 judges of this isolated theocracy of the wilderness, it might safely 
 challenge comparison with its Hebrew prototype for the religious 
 zeal and virtuous conduct manifested by its subjects. 
 
 A Part of Louisiana. — Hitherto the settlements of Illinois and 
 those subsequently founded on the Lower IMississippi by D'lber- 
 ville and his brother, Bienville, had been separate dependencies of 
 Canada. Now they were to be united as one province, under the 
 name of Louisiaim, having its capital at Mobile, and in 1711 
 Dirou d'Artagnette became the Governor General* It was be- 
 lieved that Louisiana presented a rich field for speculation and 
 enterprise, and it was determined to place its resources in the 
 hands of an individual who had the means and energy to develop 
 them. It was thought, too, that the colonists should become self- 
 supporting, by procuring from the soil products not oidy for their 
 own consumption, but to exchange with France for such articles 
 as they could not i)roduce. In conformity A\ith these views, in 
 1712, the commerce of the province was granted to Anthony Cro- 
 zat, an ofiicer of the royal household, and a merchant of great 
 wealth. The king, in his letters patent, after referring to the 
 orders he had given to LaSalle to explore the Mississippi, as a 
 means of developing the commerce of his American possessions, 
 enumerates the monopolies conferred on Crozat : 
 
 "From the iiifbrmation we liave received concerning the situation and dis- 
 position of Louisiana, we an? of opinion tliat there ma}' be established therein a 
 considerable commerce, of great advantage to France. We can thus obtain 
 from the colonists the commodities wliich hitherto we liave brought from other 
 countries, and give in exchange for them the manufactured and other products 
 of our own kingdom We have resolved, therefore, to grant the commerce of 
 Louisiana to the Sieur Anthony Crozat, our counselor and secretary of the 
 household and revenue, to whom we entrust the execution of this project. We 
 
 •Monette's Val. of the Miss, and Dillon's Indiana. 
 
A PART OF LOinSIANA. 113 
 
 permit him to search, open, and dig all mines, veins, minerals, precious stones, 
 and pearls, throughout the whole extent of the country, and to transport the 
 proceeds thereof into any port of France, during 15 years. And we grant, in 
 perpetuity to him, his heirs, and all claiming under him, all the profits, except 
 one-fifth, of the gold and silver which he or they shall cause to be exported to 
 France We also will that the said Crozat, and those claiming under him, 
 sliall forfeit the monopolies herein granted should they foil to prosecute them 
 for a period of three years, and that iu such case they shall be fully restored to 
 our dominion." * 
 
 Tlie vast region thus farmed out, extended from Canada on the 
 north, to the Gulf on the South; and from the Alleghanies on the 
 east to the llocky Mountains and tlie Bay of Matagorda on the 
 west. " Not a fountahi bubbled " along the suuimit of these gTeat 
 mountain barriers that made its way into the Mississippi, that was 
 not included in French territory. Crozat entered the vast held of 
 liis lab<n-s with euergy, and soon associated Avith him La JMotte 
 Cadilac, the royal gover]U)r of Louisiana. He expected to realize 
 gTeat ]n-otits from the fur tra<le, but the pi'ospect of boundless 
 wealth from the discovery of rich mines of gold au<l silver was the 
 talisman that most ein'a|)tured his vision and indiu'edhim to make 
 the most lavish exi)enditures of his money. To carry out his plans, 
 expeditions were made to the most distant tribes, and posts were 
 established on Eedlliver, the Yazoo, high up the AVashita at the 
 present town of Momoe, on the Cund)erland river near Nashville, 
 and on the Coosa, 400 miles above the mouth of the Alabama, 
 where fort Jackson was built 100 years afterward. The search for 
 the precious metals has always been a mania affecting" the 
 X)ioneers of newly discovered countries, and whether discoveries 
 are made or not, it generally retards their permanent growth and 
 pro8i)erity. To such an extent were Crozat and his i>iii'tners in- 
 tluenced by this shining bubble that they frequently magnified the 
 most trivial pros})ects into what tliey regarded Jis realities of the 
 greatest value. An instance in wliicli tliey suffered by their cre- 
 dulity, and which greatly resembles the im])ositious and decep- 
 tions of the present day, occurre<l at Ivaskaskia. Two pieces of 
 silver ore, left at this place by a traveler from IMexico, were exhib- 
 ited to Cadilac as the produce of mines in Illinois, and so elated 
 Mas he by this assurance of success that he linrried up the river, 
 only to find it, like all previous prospects, vanisli into ejnpty air. 
 But while silver and gold could not be found, large quantities of 
 lead and iron ore were discovered in Missouri ; but the great abun- 
 dance of these metals in the civilized portions of the globe made 
 tbeir presence in the wilds of Louisiana of little consequence. 
 
 Crozat made an attempt to open trade with tlie Spaniards of 
 Vera Cruz, but on sending a vessel with a rich caigo thither, it 
 was not permitted eitlier to land there or at any other harbor of 
 the gulf. The occupation of Louisiana by the French was re- 
 garded as an encroachment upon Spanisli territory, and Crozat, 
 after three years of fruitless negotiations with the viceroy of JNIex- 
 ico, was compelled to abandon the scheme of commercial relations 
 Avith the ports of the gulf. Another project w^as to establish 
 trade by land with tlie interior Spanish provinces, but in this case 
 he also failed, for, after a protracted effort of hve years, his goods 
 were seized and confiscated and his agents inq>risoned. Nor had 
 
 •See Dillon's Indiana. 
 
 8 
 
114 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the fur trade with the Iiidiaus, another source of anticipated 
 wealth, met with success. English emissaries from the Oarolinas 
 had been active in their etforts to excite Indian hostilities against 
 the French, and wherever practicable, had controlled the fur trade, 
 by furnishing goods in exchange at reduced prices. Agriculture, 
 the oidy resource of lasting prosperity to the country, had been 
 neglected, and Crozat, failing to realize any prolits from his efforts 
 in other directions, was unable to meet his liabilities. lie had 
 exi>ended 425,000 livres and realized oidy oOO,000, and failing to 
 13ay his men, dissatisfaction ensued. Despairing also of being- 
 more successful ui the future, in 1717, he petitioned the king to 
 have his charter revoked, which was done, and the goveinment 
 reverted solely to the officers of the crown. During his connection 
 with the province, the growth of the settlements was slow, and 
 httle was acomplished for their j)ermanent benefit. The greatest 
 l)rosperity they enjoyed grew out of the enterprise of huml)le indi- 
 viduals, who had succeeded in establishing a small trade between 
 themselves,the natives and some neighboring European settlements. 
 But even these small sources of prosx>erity were at length cut oft' by 
 the fatal monopolies of the Parisian merchant. The white popu- 
 lation of the country had slowly increased, and at the time of his 
 departure, that on the Lower Mississippi was estimated at 380, and 
 that of Illinois, which then included the settlements of the Wabash, 
 320 souls. 
 
 Crozat's partner had died the year previous, and was succeeded 
 in his official capacity by Bienville, the former governor. Prior to 
 his installation some French hunters and stragglers had located 
 in the beautiful country of the J^achez, and difficulties arising be- 
 tween them and the Indians, two of the former had beoi murdered. 
 Bienville repaired to the tribe in question, and after punishing the 
 guilty parties, erected and garrisoned a fort, to x>revent tlie reciu'- 
 rence of similar disturbances in the future. It was built on the 
 site selected 10 years before by his brother, and was called Rosa- 
 lie, the name of the capital he x^roposed to build at the same xdace. 
 This was the origin of the xu'esent city of Natchez, the oldest x>er- 
 manent settlement in the Mississix>X5i Valley, south of Illinois.* 
 With the retirement of Crozat, Bienville was succeeded by L'Ex^i- 
 nai, who brought with him 50 emigrants and 3 companies of infan- 
 try, to reinforce the garrisons of the different x>osts. 
 
 *It seems that Arkansas Post has never been abandoned since Tonti's men erected 
 their cabin there, after his fruitless search for LaSalle's colony, in the spring of 16S6 
 
Chapter XI. 
 
 1717-1732— ILLINOIS AND LOUISIANA UNDER THE 
 COMPANY OF THE WEST. 
 
 Louis XIV. had recieutly died, leaving- a debt contracted by 
 wars and extra va<ia nee amounting- to o,0()(),()0(),0()0 livres. He 
 was su<'<'eedcd l)y liis grandson, Louis XV, who, bcMiig- then only 
 a cltihl live years old. tlie Duke of Orleans was appointed regent. 
 In the midst of the tinancial confusion growing- out of the efforts 
 of the regent to pay the interest on the o\'er\vhelniing- ])ublic 
 debt, John Law presented himself at the French court with a 
 scheme for affording relief. He was the son of an Edinburgh 
 l>ai!ker, ami shortly after the death of his father, wasted his pat- 
 rimony by gandding and extravagant living. For 3 years he 
 wandered over Enroi)e, supi>orting- himself by gambling- and 
 studying- the principles of tinauce. After perfecting his theory 
 he returned to Edinburgh, and published the project of a land 
 bank, which the wits of the day ridiculed by calling it a sand 
 bank, which would wreck the ship of state. Several years after- 
 ward he })resented his plan to the Duke of Savoy, who told hiui 
 he was too poor a potentate and his dondnion was too small, for so 
 grand a project. He thought, however, that the French people 
 would be delighted with a plan so new and plausil)le, and advised 
 him to go to France. 
 
 According to his theory of banking, the currency of a country 
 is the representative of its mo\ing- wealth, and need not, of itself, 
 have an intrinsic value, as in the case of gold and silver, but may 
 consist of jiaper or any substance that can be conveniently 
 handled. He insisted that the tinancial embarrassnu'ut under 
 which France labored, was not the faidt of her rulers, but an in- 
 sufticiency of currency, and gave England and Holland as exam- 
 ples. The regent, captivated by his views, published an edict in 
 1710, authorizing- Law and his brother to establish a bank with a 
 capital of (;,U0O,U()O livres, the notes of which should be received 
 for taxes, and nuide redeemable in the coin current at the time 
 they Avere issued. Three-fourths of the capital consisted of gov- 
 ernment secimties, and the remainder in specie, Law declaring 
 that a banker deserved death who made issues without means of 
 redemption. The government had already, by arbitrarily redu- 
 cing the value of its coin, diminished the debt 1,000,0(M),(KK) livres; 
 but Law's paper being based on the value of coin at the time 
 he made his issues, was Avithout fluctuations, and on this account 
 soon commanded a prennum of 15 per cent. The regent Avas as- 
 tonished that paper money could thus aid spcn-ic and be at a ])rc- 
 mium, while state bonds were at 78 per cent, discount. 
 
 115 
 
116 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The banker's influence being- now irie.sistible,iie proposed his 
 famous Mississippi scheme, which made him a prominent actor in 
 the history of Louisiana and Illinois. The vast resources of Lou- 
 isiana still filled the imaginations of French statesmen with 
 visions of boundless Avealth. The want of success which had 
 hitherto attended the efforts of D'Iber\ille and Crozat, was still 
 insufticient to produce in the public mind more sober views. The 
 story of its vast mineral deposits was soon revived ; ingots of 
 gold, the products of its supposed mines, were exhibited in Paris, 
 and the sanguine French court saw in the future of the province 
 an empire, with its fruitfid fields, growing cities, busy wharves, 
 and exhaustless mines of gold and silver, pouring its precious 
 freights into the avenues of French commerce. No sooner, thei-e- 
 fore, had Crozat surrendered his charter, than others appeared, 
 eager to enter this vast field of adventurous enterprise. Accord- 
 ingly, in 1717, an organization was effected under the auspices of 
 Law, known at first as the Western Company. Among the piiNi- 
 leges conferred on it may be mentioned the right exclusively to 
 control the commer(;e of the province for a period of 25 years; to 
 make treaties with the Lidians, and wage war against them in 
 case of insult; to open and work all mines free of duty; to cast 
 cannon ; build ships of war, levy troops and nominate the gov- 
 ernors and those who were to commaiul them, after being duly com- 
 missioned by the king. To farther encourage the comi)any, he 
 promised to give them the protection of his name against foreig'n 
 X)owers, i)resented them the vessels, forts, munitions and merchan- 
 dise surrendered by Crozat, and, during the continuance of the 
 charter, exempted the inhabitants of the iirovince from tax, and 
 the company from duty.* 
 
 The stocks of the company consisted of 200,000 shares of 500 
 livres each, to be paid in certificates of state indebtedness. Thus 
 nearly 1000,000,000 of the most depreciated of the public stocks 
 were immediately absorbed, and the government became indebted 
 to a company of its own creation, instead of individuals, for this 
 amount. By means of Law's bank, the interest on this portion 
 of the public debt was promptly paid, and, as the result, it imme- 
 diately rose from a great depreciation to a high i)remium. Any 
 person, therefore, who had invested 100 livres in state bonds, 
 which he could have done at one-third of the value written on 
 their face, could now realize their enhanced worth. Large for- 
 tunes were thus speedily acquired, though the union of the bank 
 with the risks of a commercial company were ominous of its future 
 destiny. 
 
 But humanity aboimds in hope, and men, acting in large com- 
 binations, gather courage from the increase of their numbers. 
 How far their anticipations were realized in the case under con- 
 sideration, will appear in the sequel. All France was now infatu- 
 ated with the glory of Louisiana, and imagined the opulence 
 which it was to acquire in coming ages, already in their grasj). 
 Law's bank wrought such wonders, that new privileges were 
 conferred on it daily. It was permitted to monopolize the tobacco 
 trade, was allowed the sole right to import negroes into the French 
 colonies, and the exclusive right of refining gold and silver. Fi- 
 nally, in 1717, it was erected into the Eoyal Bank of France, and 
 
 ♦Martin's Louisiana. 
 
law's financial sche^ie. 117 
 
 slioi'tly afterMtud the AVesterii Company merg'ed into tlie C/Oinpaiiy 
 of the Indies, and new shaves of its stocks were created and sold 
 at immense profits. In addition to the exchisive privileges which 
 it already held, it was now liianted the trade of the Indian seas, 
 the protits of the royal mint, and the proceeds of farming the 
 royal revenne of France. The government, which was absolnte, 
 conspired to give the highest range to its credit, and Law, says a 
 cotemporary, might have regulated at his ]>leasiire the interest of 
 money, the vahie of stocks, and the price of la])or and i>rodnce. A 
 specnlatnig frenzy at once pervaded the whole nation. The maxim 
 which Law had pr()mnlgated,that the "banker deserved death who 
 made issues of paper without means of redemption," was over- 
 looked or forgotten. AMdle the affairs of the hank were under 
 his control, its issues did not exceed ()(>,(K>(),00() livres, but on be- 
 coming the Bank of France, they at once rose to 100,000,000. 
 Whether this was the act of Law or the regent, we are not in- 
 formed. That ly lent his aid to inundate the whole country with 
 paper money, is conceded, and perhaps dazzled by his former suc- 
 cess, he was h'ss guarded, and unconscious that an evil day was 
 fast approaching. The chancellor, who opposed these extensive 
 issues, was dismissed at the instance of Law, iind a tool of the 
 regent was appointed in his place. The French ])arlia7nent fore- 
 saw the danger a])[)roaching, and remonstrated in vain with the 
 regent. Tlie latte]' anindled their decrees, and on their ])roposing' 
 that Law, v.iiom they regarded as the cause of the whole evil, 
 shoidd bo brouglit to trial, and, if found guilty, be hung at the 
 gates of the Palace? of Justice, some of the most prominent officers 
 of the parliament were committed to prison. Law, alarmed for 
 his safety, Hed to the royal palace, threw himself on tlie protection 
 of the regent, and for a time escaped the popular indignation. 
 
 He still devoted himself to the Mississippi scheme, the shares 
 of Avhich rose rapidly. In spite of jtarliament, r»0,i)00 new shares 
 were added, and its franchises extended. The stock Mas paid iu 
 state securities, with oidy 100 livres for 500 of stock. For these 
 new shares 300,000 a})plications were made, and Law's house was 
 beset from morning till night with eager applicants, and before 
 the list of fortunate stockholders could be comjjleted, the public 
 impatience rose to a. i)it('h of frenzy. Duk<\s, marqnises and 
 counts, with their Avives and daughters, waited for hours in the 
 streets before his door, to know the result •, and to prevent being 
 jostled by the blebeian crowd, took apartments in the adjacent 
 houses, the yeuts of which rose from 100 to iL'OO, and, in some 
 instances, to 1000 livres per annum. Induced by golden dreams, 
 the demand for shares was so great it was thought best to in- 
 crease them 300,000 more, at 500 livres each; and such was the 
 eagerness of the people to subscribe, that, had the governnu^nt 
 ordered three times that nundier, they would all liave been taken. 
 
 The first attempts of the ;*om})any at colonization in Lonisiana, 
 were atten<led with careless prodigality. To entice emigrants 
 thither, the rich i)rairies and the most inviting fields were gi-anted 
 to com]>anies which sought i)rincipalities in the valley of the 
 Mississippi. An extensive prairie in Arkansas, l)oiuided on all 
 sides by the sky, was granted to Law, where he designed to plant 
 a colony, and he actually ex])endeda half million of li\res Ibrthat 
 pnrx)ose. From the representations of the company', New Orleans 
 
118 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 became famous iu Paris as a beautiful city before the woik of 
 cuttiug- dowu the canebrakes, which covered its site, had beeu 
 commenced. Kaskaskia, then mostly a cantonment of savages, 
 was spoken of as an emporium of the most extensive traftic, and 
 as rivaling some of the cities of Europe in refinement, fashion and 
 religious culture. In fine, to doubt the wealth of Louisiana was 
 to provoke anger. Law was now in tho zenith of his glory, and 
 the people in the zenith of their infatuation. The high and the 
 low, the rich and the poor, were at once filled with visions of un- 
 told weath, and every age, set, rank and condition Avere buying 
 and selling stocks. 
 
 The effect of this speculation on the public mind and manners 
 was overwhelming. The laxity of public morals, bad eiu)ugh be- 
 fore, now became worse, and the pernicioiis love of gandjling dif- 
 fused itself through society and bore down all public and nearly 
 all private virtue before it. While confidence lasted, an impulse 
 was given to trade never before known. Strangers flocked to the 
 cax)ital from CAery part of the globe, and its poi)ulation increased 
 305,000 souls. Beds were made in kitchens, garrets and even sta- 
 bles, for the accommodation of lodgers. Provisions shared the 
 general advance, and wages rose in the same proportion. An illu- 
 sory policy CAerywhere i)revailed, and so dazzled the eye that none 
 could see in the horrizon the daik cloud that announced the ap- 
 proaching storm. Law, at the time, was by far, the most influen- 
 tial man in the realm, while his wife and daughters were courted 
 by the highest nobility and their alliance sought by ducal and 
 princely houses. 
 
 Suspicions, however, soon arose; specie was demanded and Law 
 became alarmed. The precious metals had all left the kingdom, 
 and coin for more than 500 livres was declared an illegal tender. 
 
 [Note. — A cobbler, wbe had a stall near Law's office, g-ained near 200 livres per day by 
 letting' it, and finding- stationery for brokers and other clients. A humpbacke'l man, 
 who stood in the street, as the story g-oes, gained considerable sums by loaning- his bacls 
 as a writing- desk to the eager si)eculators. Law, finding- his residence too small, ex- 
 changed it for the Place Vendome. whither the crowd followed him. and the sixieious 
 square had the appearance of a public market. Booths were erected for the transac- 
 tion of business and the sale of refreshments. The boulevards and public gardens 
 were forsaken, and the Place Vendoine became the most fashionable lounge for parties 
 of pleasure. The Hotel d'Suson was taken, and its fine g-arden, ornamented with foun- 
 tains and statuary, was covered over with tents and p-avilions for the accommodatiou 
 of stock jobbers, and each tent heing- let at 500 livres per month, m^de a monthly rev- 
 enue of 250,000 livres. Peers, judges and bishops thronged the Hotel de Suson, and 
 oflicei'sof the army and navy, ladies of title and fashion, were seen waiting in the 
 ante-chamber of Law, to bog a portion of his stock. He was vmable to wait on one- 
 tenth part of the applicants, and everj' i^pecies of ing-enuitj' was employed to gain an 
 audience. Peers, whose dignity would have been outraged if the regent bad made 
 them wait half an hour for an interview, were content to -ivait 6 hours foi*the purpose 
 of seeing the wily adventurer. Enorm-us fees were paid to his servants to announce 
 their name, and ladies of rank employed the blandishments of their smiles. One lady 
 in particular, who had striven in vain many days to see Law, ordered her coachman to 
 keep a strict watch, and when he saw him coming, to drive against a post and ujiset her 
 carriage. This was successfully accomplished, and Law, who witnessed the apparent 
 accident, ran to her assistance. She was led to his house, and as soon as she thought it 
 advisable, recovered from her fright, apologized for the intrusion, and confessed the 
 stratagem. Law was a gallant, and could no longer refuse, and entered her name on 
 his book as the purchaser of some stock. Another lady of i-ank, knowing that Law 
 dined at a certain time, proceeded thither in her carriage and gave the alarm of fire, 
 and while everybody was scampering awaj\ she made haste to meet him ; but he, sus- 
 pecting the trick, ran off in the opposite direction. A celebrated physician in Paris 
 had bought stock at an unfavorable time, and was anxious to sell out. While it was 
 rapidly falling, and while his mind was filled with the subject, he was called <m to 
 attend a lady who thought herself unwell. Doing- shown up stairs, he felt the lady's 
 pulse, and, more intentupon his shocks than the patient, exclaimed: "It falls; good 
 God ! it falls continually." The lady started, and rina-ing the bell for assistance, said : 
 " O, doctor, I am dying-, I am dying; it falls ! " What falls?" inquired the doctor, in 
 amazement, "My pul.se. my pulse," said the lady; "I am uying!" "Calm your 
 fears, my aear madam," said the doctor, ''I was speaking of the stocks I have been 
 so great a loser, and my mind is so disturbed that I hardly know what I am say- 
 ing."] 
 
law's financial SCHEIEE. 119 
 
 A council of state was lield, and it was ascertained tliat 2,600,0(K),- 
 000,000 in paper were in ciicnlation, and the Tbank stopped i);vy- 
 meut. The ])eople assaidted Law's carriage with stones, and but 
 for the dexterity of his coachman, he wouhl liave been torn to 
 pieces. On the following- day his wife and daughter were attacked 
 as th(\y were returning in their carriage froni the races. The re- 
 gent being infornied of these occurrences sent him a guard for his 
 Ijrotection. Finding his house, even with a guard, insecure, he 
 re]>aii'ed to the palace and took apartments with the regent. Soon 
 after\\ ard, leaving the kingdom, his estate and lil)rary were conhs- 
 cated,and he died at Vienna in extreme poverty.* 
 
 The lessons to be learned from these wild financial speculations, 
 is, that the ex])ansion of currency always gives an impetus to indus- 
 try, but when it is based on credits, without nutans of redemption, 
 it uuist meet with an o^'erthrow attended with a prostration of 
 business greatly overbalancing all temporary advantages. 
 
 We must now recount the ox)erations of the company in Louis- 
 iana. On the 25th of August, 1718, its ships, after a 'i)leasant 
 voyage entered the port of Mobile, chanting the Te Dexm for their 
 safe arrival Ou board the ships was the king's lieutenant, M. 
 Boisbriaut, bearing a commission aiuthoriziug Bien^dlle to act as 
 governor-general of the province, and 800 immigrants. The gov- 
 ernor again conunenced the duties of his oftice, still entertaining 
 his i>revious convictions that the capitnl of the i)rovince should be 
 removed from the sterile sands of the Gidf coast to the banks of 
 the ]Missis,sippi. He reasoned that if established on the fertile 
 alluvium or uplands of the great liver, it would become the centre 
 of a community (levote'd to agriculture, the only branch of industry 
 that <'ould give permaneut groAvth and prosperity to tlie province. 
 He therefore selected the site now occupied by jSx^w Orleans for a 
 capital, and gave it the name it now bears, in honor of the Eegent 
 of Fran<;e. Eight convicts were sent from the prisons of France to 
 clear away the coppice which thickly studded the site. Two 
 years afterward the royal engineer surveyed the outlets of the 
 river and declared that it nu'glit be made a' conimercinl port, and 
 in 178^3 it became the ])rovincial and commercial capital of Loins- 
 iana. Although M. Hubert, who had charge of the company's 
 affairs, reluctantly complied with the advice of Bienville in renu)v- 
 ing the depots to the new capital, time has proven the superior 
 judgment of the former. From a depot for the commercial trans- 
 actions of a single company, it has become the emporium of the 
 noblest valley on the face of the globe. 
 
 The delusion that dreamed of silver and gold in Louisiana, and 
 which had so largely coiitributed to the ruin of Cro/at, still haunt- 
 ed the minds of Ids siu-cessors. Unwilling to ])rofit by his ex])e- 
 rience, they cxmcluded that his success was rather the result of liis 
 unskillful assayers than the absence of the precious metals, and 
 accordingly Phillii) Eenaidt was made diiector-general of the 
 mines. He left France in 1719, with L'OO mechanics and laborers, 
 and provided with all things necessary to prosecute the business 
 of his office. On his way hither he bought oOO negro slaves at 
 San Domingo, for working the mines, and on reaching the mouth 
 of the Mississippi, sailed to Illinois, where it was sup[)osed gold 
 and silver existed in large quantities. He established himself a 
 
 *Couaensed from Bancroft, Brown's lUinois, and M' Kay's Extraordinary Delusions. 
 
120 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 few miles above Kaskaslda, iu what is now the southwest corner 
 of Monroe county, and called the village which he founded Saint 
 riiillips. Great expectations prevailed in France at his prospect- 
 ive success, but thej- all ended ui disappointment. From this 
 point he sent out exploruig parties into ^'arious parts of Illinois, 
 which then constituted Upper Louisiana. Search was made for 
 minerals along Brewry's creek, in Jackson county; about the St- 
 Mary's, in Eandolph county; m Monroe county, along Silver 
 creek ; iu St. Clair county, and other parts of Illinois. Silver 
 creek took its name from the explorations made on its banks, and 
 tradition, very improbably, states that considerable quantities of 
 silver were disco^erd here and sent to France. The operations of 
 Eenault were at length brought to a close from a cause least ex- 
 pected. By the edict of the king tlie Western Company became 
 the Company of the Indies, ami tlJe territory was retroceded to the 
 crown. The eftbrts of the company had totally failed, and Kenault 
 was left to prosecute the business of mininng without means. 
 
 In the meantime atierce war hadbeenraging between France and 
 Spain, and their resi)ective colonists in North America presented a 
 contuiuous display of warlike pre]iarations. Bienville, with his reg- 
 ulars and provincial troops, 400 Indians, and a few armed vessels, 
 made a descent on Pensacola and laid it under siege before its 
 garrison could be reinforced. After an assault of 5 hours, and a 
 determined resistance on the part of the besieged, the Spanish 
 connnandant surrendered. The approach of a powerful Spanish 
 aruuiment shortly afterward, compelled Bienville to relinquish the 
 fort and return to Mobile, wliere he, in turn, was besieged in the 
 fort of Dauphin Islaiul. The squadron endeavored, by a furious 
 bond»ardment, to reduce the fort, but its commander, finding his 
 eftbrts unavailing, after 13 days retired. The war continuing to 
 harrass the coast of the gulf, Bienville the following year, with the 
 whole available force of the jirovince, again moved against the 
 town of Pensacola. After a close investment by sea and land the 
 town and fort were carried by storm, and, besides the munitions of 
 the latter, 1,800 prisoners fell into the hands of the victors. Sev- 
 eral Spanish vessels with rich cargoes, iguorant of the occupation 
 of the town by the French, ran into port and ANcre also captured. 
 The occupation of the town, as before, was of short duration, for 
 Bienville, anticipating the arrival of a Spanish force, blew up the 
 fort, burned the town and returned to Mobile. 
 
 But the operations of the war were not confined to the lower 
 part of the province. Traders and hunters had discovered a I'oute 
 across the western plains, and detachments of Spanish cavalry 
 pushed across the great American desert, and were threatening 
 Illinois. The INIissouri Indians were at the time hi alliance with 
 the French, and the Spaniards planned an exj)edition for the ex- 
 termination of this tiibe, that they might afterward destroy the 
 settlements of Illinois and replace them with colonists from Mex- 
 ico. The expedition for this i)uipose was fitted cmt at Santa Fe, 
 and directed to proceed by way of the Osages, to secure their co- 
 operation in an attack on the Missouris. Consisting of soldiers, 
 priests, families and domestic aninnds, it moved like an inunense 
 caravan across the desert, prepaied both to overthrow the French 
 colonies and to establish others in their stead. By mistake, their 
 guides led them directly to the Missouris instead of the Usages, 
 
MASSACRE OF FORT ROSALIE. 121 
 
 and as each spoke tlie same languaj^e they believed themselveti in 
 the presence of the hitter tribe. Tlie wily savages, ou learning- 
 their business, encouraged the misunderstanding, and requested 
 two days to assemble their warriors and prei)are for tlie attack. 
 More than ISO muskets were put into their hands, and before the 
 Simniards found out their mistake the Missouris fell upon them 
 and put them indiscriuiiuately to death. The priest alone was 
 spared to tell the fate of his unfortunate countrymen. In antici- 
 pation of similar difiiculties, Boisbriant was sent to Illinois in 
 
 1720 by the Western Company, to erect a fort on the Mississii»i)i, 
 for the protection of the surrounding regions. Thus origiuated 
 Fort Chartres, Avliich i)layed such an important part in the subse- 
 quent history of Illinois, The fortification was built on the east 
 side of the river, 22 miles northwest of Kaskaskia, and was at the 
 time the most impregnable fortress in North America. Here the 
 AYesteru, compaiiy finally built their warehouses, and when, in 
 
 1721 Louisiana was divided into districts, it became tlie head- 
 quarters of Boisbriant, the first local governor of Illinois. The 
 7 districts were jS^ew Orleans, Biloxi, Mobile, Alabama, Xatchez, 
 IS^atchitochis, and Illinois. 
 
 Soon after the erection of the fort, Cahokia, Prairie du Eoclier, 
 and some other villages, received large accessions to tlieir p(»[)ula- 
 tions. All the settlements between the rivers ]\Iississippi and 
 Kaskaskia became greatly e.vtended and increased in nu'mber, and 
 in 1721 the Jesuits estaldished a monastery and college at Kas- 
 kaskia. Four years afterward it became an incorporated town, and 
 Louis XV granted the inlmbitants a commons, or pasture grounds, 
 for their stock. Immigrants raiiidly settled on the fertile lands of 
 the American Bottom, and Port Chartres not only became the 
 headipiarters of the commandant of Upper Louisiana, but the cen- 
 tre of wealth and fashion in the West.* 
 
 In the Autumn of 172(i, Bienville was succeeded by M. Periier. 
 The retiring governor had with nuich jiropriety, been called the 
 Father of Louisiana, having, with the exception of two short inter- 
 missions, been its executive officer for 20 years. Not long after 
 the arrival of the new governor, his attention was directed to the 
 Chicasaw Indians. His ]>redecesor had observed, in ju-evious years, 
 theinsincerity of their frieiidsliii) for the French, and had urged the 
 directory of the company to institute some more etfective protection 
 for the adjacent settlement. M. Perrier now reiterated its imjiort- 
 ance, but his apprehensions were deemed groundless, and nothing 
 was done. The Indians were now becoming jealous at the rajiid 
 encroachments of the whites, who sometimes punished them harshly 
 for the most trivial offense. Under these circumstances the Cliic- 
 asaws, Natchez, and otlu^r tribes conceived the design of destroy- 
 ing the French, and sent agents to the Illinois to induce them to 
 cut off the settlements in their midst. The attack was to commence 
 at different places at the same tinie, but from sonu^ unknown cause 
 the Natchez were the first to carry the design into execution, 
 although the Chicasaws were the first to propose the conspiracy. 
 It is said that the number of days to elapse from the new moon to 
 the time of the massacre, Avas hidicated by a certain number of 
 reeds, bundles-of which were sent to the different tribes. One reed 
 was to be drawn daily from each bundle, and the attack was to 
 
 Mouette's Val. of the Miss. 
 
122 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 coimneuce wheu the last one was drawn. By design, or accident, 
 the bundle sent to the Natchez was made smaller than the rest, 
 and hence they struck the hrst blow. Indian tradition asserted 
 that the plot was kept a profound secret till the fatal day arrived. 
 This, according to Natchez computation, was on the 28th of JSTo- 
 vember, 1729, at the dawn of which the Great Chief, or Sun, with a 
 number of chosen warriors liav ing concealed weapons, lepaired to 
 Tort Eosalie. At a preconcerted signal, tlie Avarriors drew their 
 weapons, and at a single onset the little garrison slei)t the sleep 
 of death. Other parties were distributed throngli the contiguous 
 settlements, and when the ascending smoke of tlie burning fort 
 was seen, these became the scenes of slaugliter, till the entire . 
 white male pox)ulatiou, numbering 700, were destroyed. While 
 the massacre was raging, the Great Sun seated himself in the spa- 
 cious wareliouse of the company, and with the greatest apparent 
 unconcern, smoked his pipe as his warriors piled up the-heads of 
 the garrison in the form of a pyramid near by, whose apex was 
 the liead of tlie commandant. When the warriors informed him 
 that the last Frenchman ceased to live, he ordered the pillage to 
 commence. The negro slaves were ordered to bring in the spoils 
 for distribution, but the military stores were reserved for future 
 use. As long as the ardent spirit lasted, day and night alike [)re- 
 sented a continued scene of savage triumphs and drunken revelry. 
 The settleineuts on tlie Yazoo and other places, met witli a similar 
 fate,- but those within the present limits of Illinois, owing to the 
 loyalty and friendship of the prairie tribes, remained unharmed. 
 As soon as the massacre became known, M. IVrrier dispatched 
 vessels to France for troojis and military supplies, and couriers 
 were sent to Port Chartres and other posts, urging upon the s<n"- 
 eral commandants the necessity of preparation to co-operate with 
 him against the common enemy. Agents were also sent to llie 
 Choctaws and other Indians in alliance with the French, for fur- 
 tlier assistance. The goAeruor immediately got ready to march to 
 the scene of disaster with the tioops in the soutliein i)art of the 
 province; but the negroes, numbering some 2,000, betrayed 
 symptoms of revolt, and he was detained to watch the intended 
 insurrection. In the meantime, the Choctaws, who had committed 
 no overt act of hostility, liad been visited by one of the company's 
 agents, and induced to furnish 000 wairiors. At Pearl river he 
 received an accession of 000 more, and with this formidable body 
 of warriors he moved forward and encamped near the enemy, to 
 await the arrival of other forces. It was, however, soon ascer- 
 tained that the Natchez, unsusiiieious of (langei-, were spending 
 their time in idle carousals, and the Clioctaws rushed on them 
 unexpectedly, and after a brief conflict, returned with 00 scalps. 
 Not long afterward French troops arriAcd, comi»leted the victory, 
 and liberated the women and children. Tbe larger part of the 
 tribe, led by their Great Sun, tied ;) cross the Mississii)pi and for- 
 tihed themselves on Black river. Thither they were followed by 
 troops from France and the prinpciiil settlements of the province, 
 and in two successful battles were completely cut to pieces. The 
 Great Sun and 400 warriors were captured and taken to New Or- 
 leans, and thence to San Domingo, and sold as slaves. Thus per- 
 ished this powerful tribe, and with them their mysterious worship 
 of the sun and bloody rites of sepulture. No tribe was, perhaps, 
 
CHARTER SURRENDEEED. 123 
 
 more disting'tiislied for refiiiciiient, iiitelligenee, courui^e and cou- 
 te!ni)t of death, in fij;litin,a- for their rights an<l (;()nntry. 
 
 Tlie great exi)enditnres in proseeuting th(^ Natclu'z ^var, the conse- 
 quent loss of trade ^^■ith other tribes, and the tiiianeial embarrass- 
 ments incident to Law's failure, induced the company to ask for a 
 surrender of tlieir charter. The king readily granted their petition, 
 and on the 10th of Ai)ril, 17o2, issued a proclamation (jeclaring- 
 Louisiana free to all his subjects, witli eijual privileges as to com- 
 merce and other interests. The liyears the company had possessiim 
 of the country, notwithstauding the many adverse circumstances, 
 was a period of comparafive x>i't>spcrity. When it assumed con- 
 trol, the number of slaves was 20; now it was 2,000. Then the 
 entire white i)oi)uhition was 7(K); now r),({00, ainoug which 
 were uiany persons of worth, intelligence and enteri)rise. The 
 extravagant hoj)es entertained respecting tlie precious metals, had 
 not been realized, but the search for them had attracted popula- 
 tion, which had now made such i)rogress in agriculture as to be 
 self-sustaining. Illinois, at this time, contained many tiourishing 
 settlements, more exclusively devoted to agri(;ulture than those in 
 other parts of the i)rovince. All industrial enteri)rises, however, 
 were, to a great extent, paralyzed by the arbitrary exactions of 
 the company. The agriculturists, the miners and the fur traders 
 of Illinois were held in a sort of vassalage, which enabled those in 
 ]>ower to dictate the ])]'ice at which they should sell their produ(,'ts, 
 and the amount they should i^ay them for imported merchandise. 
 Tlie interest of the com])a,ny was ah^'ays at variance with that of 
 the i)ro(lucer, and it would have been difficult to devise a state of 
 affairs so injurious to both parties, and so detrimental to the pros- 
 perity of Illinois and other parts of Louisiana. 
 
Chapter XII. 
 
 1732-59— ILLMOIS AND LOUISIANA UNDER THE EOYAL 
 
 GOVERNOES. 
 
 When the Company of the Indies gave up their charter, the gov- 
 ernment of France resumed the administration of public affairs. 
 M. Perrier remained govern or- general, and M. d'Artaguette became 
 local governor of Illinois. Tiie connnon law of Paris had previously 
 been adopted as the code of Louisiana, but had never been formally 
 extended over Illinois. The ecclesiastical affairs were under the 
 superintendence of the vicar-general of New Orleans, as a part of 
 the diocese of the bishop of Quebec. One of the principal objects 
 of the governor was, to establish his authority over the dift'erent 
 Indian tribes inhabiting the country under liis command. The 
 Chicasaws, instigated by English colonists, had made intercourse 
 between Illinois and New Orleans so hazardous that commerce 
 was virtually suspended, and the settlers kept in a constant state 
 of iilarm. Such was the animosity and activity of this tribe, it also 
 sent se<^ret envoys to the Illinois, for the purpose of debauching the 
 time lionorea affection which had existed between them and their 
 French neighbors, and inducing them to destroy the latter. These 
 tawny sons of the prairies, however, refused to desert their friends, 
 and sent an envoy to New Orleans to offer their serN'ices to the 
 governor. Said this deputy to that functiDnary : " This is the })ipe 
 of peace or war ; you have but to speak and our braves will strike 
 the nations that are your foes. "* It was now iie(;essary to reduce 
 the Chicasaws, to estabhsh communication between the northern 
 and southern portions of the province, and to sa\'e the eastern i)or- 
 tionfrom the intrigues of emissaries, sent out among the Indian.sb}^ 
 the English colonies on the Atlantic. An oflicer was, therefore, 
 dispatched to Fort Chartres, in 173(), directing 1^'^U-taguette to get 
 in readiness the French forces under his connnand, and such Indians 
 of Illinois as he could induce to unite with him in the war. It was 
 arranged that D'Artaguette should descend the Mississippi to some 
 suitable point of debarkation, and then cross to the country on the 
 head waters of the Talahatchee, where the enemy's stionghold was 
 situated. 
 
 In the meantime Bienville, who had again been commissioned 
 by the king as governor-general, with the forces of southern Louis- 
 iana, was to ascend the Tombigbee to the continence of its t^^'0 
 principal tributaries, and marching thence by land, effect a junc- 
 tion with the forces fr^m the north. Early in the si)ring, LienAille 
 moved with his forces from New Orleans to Mobile, and then(;e to 
 
 *Bancr.jfc. 
 
 124 
 
INDIAN HOSTILITIES. 125 
 
 the point designated, where a fort had i^reviously been ereeted to 
 serve as a depot of sui)pUes. Here, by offering rewards for scalps 
 and making presents of merchandise, he drew together the large 
 force of 1200 Choctaws. After disembarking the artillery and 
 placing it in the fort, the solitnde of the i)rimitive forests and 
 blooming prairies was broken by the tread of the forces moving in 
 the direction of the enemy.* On tlie 2oth of May, they arrived 
 witliin 3 miles of the Chicasaw village, bnt several days behind the 
 time fixed for meeting the northern forces ; a delay, which, as the 
 seqnel will show, proved fatal. The village was 27 miles from the 
 fort, and within a few miles of I'ontotoc, JNlississippi, which still 
 per])etnates the name of the Indian stronghold, and l)ecame famons 
 as a point in Grierson's great raid in the war of the rebellion. 
 Before daylight, the next morning, the impatient and nngovern- 
 able Choctaws moved against the log citadel of the enemy, expect- 
 ing to take its occnpants by snrprise. On the contrary, theyfonnd 
 the garrison on the alert, and the fort a skillfully constructed 
 fortitication, erected under the sui)ervison of English traders. 
 Twice during the day, Bienville attempted to carry tlie works by 
 vigorous attacks, bnt was rei)ulsed with a loss of 05 wounded, 
 and 32 killed ; the latter embracing 4 officers of rank. The lV)llow- 
 ing day, some skirmishing occurred between the Choctaws and the 
 enemy, without any decisive resnlts, when Bienville, mortified at 
 his defeat, and believing his OAvn fcn'ces too inconsiderable for the 
 reduction of such formidable works without the co-operation ofthe 
 northern forces, of which he had heard nothing, concluded to aban- 
 don the enterprise. He accordingly dismissed his red auxiliaries, 
 made a retrograde march to the fort on theTombigbee,ingloriously 
 threw his cannon into the river, and returned to jSTew Orleans, 
 covered with defeat and shame. 
 
 Prior to the intlicting of this disgrace npon the French arms, 
 the gallant D'Artaguette, accompanied by DeVincennes and Father 
 Lenat, had led his army of 50 Frenchmen and more than 1000 
 red warriors, from the prairies of the north to the Yalabusha. 
 Here, at the appointed puree of rendezvous, he waited for 10 days 
 the arrival of the commander-in-chief, ready to co-operate with him 
 in maintaining the jurisdiction and honor of France. The failure 
 ofthe latter, however, to arrive in time, prevented the junction of 
 the two armies, and thus defeated the campaign. On tlie 20th of 
 May, his rash Indian confederates, Avho had the courage to strike 
 a blow, bnt lacked the calculation and patience to wait the proper 
 tinie, compelled him to commence offensive operations. Having 
 skillfully arranged his forces, with great daring and impetuosity he 
 drove the Chicasaws from two fortifications, and in the assault on 
 the third was disabled in the moment of victory. Dismayed at the 
 loss of their leader, the Indians fled precipitately, closely pursued a 
 distance of 125 miles by the enemy in the flush of unexpected victory, 
 while D'Artaguette and some of liis brave comrades lay weltering in 
 their gore, attendedby Lenat, who, mindful only ofthe assistan(;e he 
 might render the suffering, refused to fly. Vincennes, too, whose 
 name is perpetuated by the city ofthe AVabash, chose also to remain 
 and share the captivity of his leader. The wounds of the prisoners 
 were staunched, and at first they were treated with greatkindness 
 by their captors, who expected to get a large reward from IMen- 
 
 *Bancroft. 
 
126 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ville for their safe return. When, ho we ver, they heard of his discom- 
 fiture and withdrawal, they dispaired of receiving- a ransom for the 
 prisoners and projtosed to malie tliem victims of a savage triumph. 
 For this purpose they were borne to a neighboring field, bound to 
 stakes, and tortured before slow and intermitting fires till death 
 mercifully released them from their sufferings. Thus perished 
 the faithful Lenat, the young and intrepid U'Aitaguette, and the 
 heroic Yincouies, whose names will endure as long' as the Illinois 
 and Wabasli sJiall flow by the dwellings of civilized men. 
 
 The (Jhickasaws, elated by victory, sent a deputation to an- 
 nounce their success and the torments inflicted on their captives 
 to the English colonists, witli whom they Avere now in symi)atby. 
 Bienville, on the other hand, chagrined at the result of the 
 campaign, determined to retrieve his honor and the glory 
 of France by a second, invasion. The ai)i)robation of the IVIinister 
 having been obtained, toward the close of the year 1730 he com- 
 menced i)utting in operation his plans for the reduction of the 
 fierce antagonists who had before so successfully defied him. The 
 signal for preparation was given to the commandants of the dif 
 derent posts, which resulted in efi'orts far transcending in military 
 display anything before seen in the provinces. A fort was erected 
 at the mouth of the St. Francis, which served as a place of 
 rendezvous, and afterward of departure for the grand army 
 eastward, to the country of the enemy. The force from Illinois, 
 consisting of 200 French and 300 Indians, was commanded by La 
 Buissoniere, who had succeeded the lamented I)' Artaguette as 
 commandant at Ft. Chartres. These, with the forces from other 
 posts, amounted to 1200 Europeans and 500 Indians and negroes. 
 The whole, under the command of Bienville, was soon nujved to 
 the mouth of Wolf river, where it was delayed in the erection of 
 a second fort, in which to deposit their military stores, and care 
 for the sick. Before the fort, which bore the name of Assump- 
 tion, was completed, malarious fevers so fatal to I^^uropean consti- 
 tutions, had seriously disal)led the army. Hardly had the early 
 frosts of winter abated the disease, when famine, a more formida- 
 ble enemy, threatened them A\dth annihilation. Supplies could 
 only be obtained at Ft. Chartres and New Orleans, and hence the 
 consummation of the campaign was necessarily postponed till the 
 following spring. Spring came, but such had been the debilita- 
 ting effects of the winter and the want of wholesome food, that 
 only 200 men were now fit for duty. Undeterred, however, by the 
 want of numbers, M. Celeron, a lieutenant of La Buissoniere, bold- 
 ly set out to meet the Chicasaws, who, suiiiiosingthe whole French 
 army was behind him, sued for peace. Celeron, taking advantage 
 of tlie mistake, obtained from them a declaration that they would 
 renounce the English and resume X)eaceable relations with the 
 French. To confirm their statements, a deputation of chiefs ac- 
 companied them to Ft. Assumption and entered into a treaty of 
 peace with Bienville, which was ratified Avith the customary- In- 
 dian ceremonies and festivities. The army now returned to the 
 fort on the St. Francis, Avhere Bienville disbanded it, and " again 
 ingloriously floated down tlie ri\'er to New Orleans."* This was 
 the end of the second campaign against the Chicasaws, Avhereiu 
 Bienville not only failed to retrieA'e his tarnished mihtary fame, 
 
 tMonette's Val.of the Miss. 
 
MANNERS AND CUSTOMS. 127 
 
 but incurred tlie displeasure of liis sovereiiin. Two armies bad 
 been sacrificed in an attempt to mete out to the Chicasaws the 
 fate tluit liad befaUen the Natchez; but like their ancestors, who 
 200 years before liad encoinitered the steel-clad chivalry of Deso- 
 to, they still remained intact. With the close of these disastrous 
 expeditions teiniinated the gubernatorial career of Bienxille, 
 which, with slight interrui)tions, had extended thrcmgh a period 
 of 40 years. Age had cooled down the ardor and eneigy of his 
 maidiood's prime, and the lionois won in previous years were now 
 obscured in a cloud of disap])r(»bation and censure. 
 
 Retiring from office, he was succeeded by the Marquis de Yan- 
 dreuil, who subsecjuently became Governor of Canada. After the 
 establishment of amicable relations with the Chicasaws, the na- 
 tive tribes throughout the valley of the Mississippi sidjmitted to 
 the dominion of France and became her allies. A commercial in- 
 tercourse ^^ ith them succeeded, and agriculture, now freed from 
 company monopobes, rapidly sprang into new life. Sugar cane 
 was brought from San Domingo, and the first attempt at its culti- 
 vation proving successful, it has sinca become the great staple of 
 the present state of Louisiana. Cotton was introduced and suc- 
 cessfully cultivated as far north as Illinois. A gin was subse- 
 quently invented by M. Dubreuil, and though imjx'rfoct compared 
 with Whitney's of the present day, it greatly facilitated the oper- 
 ation of separating the fibre frojii the seed and thus gave a new 
 im[)etus to the cultivation of the plant. The fig tree, the orange, 
 and the lemon, began to bloom abont the houses of the colonists 
 on the Lower Mississipi>i and supply them with delicious fruit, 
 wiiile the sweet potato, extending over a broader range of latitude, 
 contributed largely to the sustenance of both the northern and 
 southern parts of the provhice. Every arrival from France aug- 
 mented the population of the rapidly extending settlements. 
 Many Canadians, retiring from the rigor of their winters, sought 
 homes in the comijaratively mild climate of Illinois and the regiou 
 of the Wabash. Under the stinndus of indi^•idual enterprise the 
 conunerce between the northern ami southern parts of the pro- 
 vince, and between New Orleans and foreign countries, was great- 
 ly extended. Eegular cargoes of pork, flour, bacon, tallow, hides 
 and leather were annually transported in barges from Illinois to 
 New Orleans and Mobile, and thence shipped to France and the 
 West Indies. In exchange were brought back rice, indigo, sugar 
 and European fabrics. The two extremes of Louisiana were mu- 
 tually dependent, and by means of the jMississip|)i and its hun- 
 dred tributaries, natnrally supplied each others wants. The 
 decade connnencing with 1740 and closing with 1750 was one of 
 unusual prosperity. 
 
 Manners and Customs of the French. — Unbke the English and 
 other Europeans, who usually lived in sparse settlements, the 
 French fixed their abode in compact tillages. These were gen- 
 erally built on the banks of some pure stream of water, contign- 
 ous to timber and prairie, the one furnishing them fnel and the 
 other with ground for tillage. The construction of the dwellings 
 "was of ai)rimitive character. The frame work consisted of posts 
 planted in the earth three or four feet deep and strongly bound 
 together by horizontal cross-ties. The interstices thus formed 
 were filled with mortar, intermixed with straw or Spanish moss, to 
 
128 HISTOE-Y OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 give it teiiacitj. The surface of tbe walls, botli internal and ex- 
 ternal, were washed with white lime, wliieh imparted to the build- 
 ings an air of cleanliness and domestic comfort. Most of the 
 dwellings were surrounded by piazzas, on which the inmates found 
 a pleasant retreat to while away in social converse the sultry sum- 
 mer evenings. Destitute of inachine^-- for cutting their trees into 
 boards, they split theni into slabs, w h were used for Hooring, 
 doors and other purposes, while as a suDstitute for shingl«\s they 
 thatched their buildings with straw. Although having the great- 
 est amplitude for wide streets, they generally made them so nar- 
 row that the merry villagers liWng ou o})posite sides could carry 
 on their sprightly conversations each from his own balcony. Even 
 in detached settlements the social turn of the i)eople induced 
 them to group their dwellings as closely together as possible. 
 Each settlement had its ])atriarchal homestead, which generidly 
 stood in a spacious enclosure, ami was occupied by the oldest 
 member of the family. Around this sprung up a cluster of cotta- 
 ges, the residence of each child and grand child as it nmrried and 
 became the head of a family. Not unfrequently the aged i)atii- 
 arch became the centre of a dozen growiug families of his own 
 lineage and embracing 3 or 4 generations. 
 
 Common Field. — A duty imposed \i\)on the cornnmndant of each 
 village was to reserve a tract of land for a common held, in m hich 
 all the inhabitants were interested. To each villager was assigned 
 a i)ortion of the field, the size of which was }>roportioned accord- 
 ing to the extent of his fauiily. Lands thus api)ortioned were 
 subject to the regulations of the villages, and when the party in 
 possession became negligent so as to endanger the common inter- 
 est he forfeited his claim. The time of plowing, sowing and har- 
 vesting, and other agricultural operations, was subject to the 
 enactment of the village seimte. Even the form and arrangement 
 of enclosures surrounding the dwellings and other buildings were 
 the subject of special enactments, and were arranged with a 
 view to protection against the Indians, should an exigency occur 
 luaking it necessary. 
 
 Co/M wows.— Besides the common iield, which was designed for 
 tillage, there was a common which was free to all the villagers for 
 the pasture of their stock ami the supply of fuel. As accessions 
 were nuide to the families of the community, either by marriage 
 or the arrival of strangers, portions of land were taken fiom the 
 common and added to the common tield for their benefit. 
 
 I)Uvrcoarse with the Indians. — Owing to their amiable disposi- 
 tions and the tact of ingratiating themselves with the tribes that 
 surrounded them, the French aluiost entirely escaped the broils 
 which weakened and destroyed other colonies less favored with 
 this trait of character. Whether exploring remote rivers or tra- 
 versing hunting grounds in piu-suit of game; in the social circle or 
 as participants in the religious exercises of tlie church, the red 
 men became their associates and were treated with the kindness 
 and consideration of brothers. Like the Quakers guided by the 
 example of Penn, they kept up a mutual interchange of friendly 
 offices with their red neighboi's, and such was the community of 
 interests, the feeling of dependence and social equality, that inter- 
 marriages frequently occiuTed, thus more closely uniting them in 
 
INTERCOURSE AVITH INDIANS. 129 
 
 the bonds of peace. Peiiii and his follo\s'ers for many years li\-ed 
 in nidji'oken peace with their brethren of tlie forest, but that es- 
 tablislied ])y these i)ione(H's of Illinois Avas never interrnpted and 
 for more than a hnnih-ed years the country enjoyed tlie beni,!4n in- 
 fluence of peace; and when at lenj^th it terminated, it was not tlie 
 conciHatory Frenclinian, but the blunt and sturdy Aii,i;lo-Sa.\ou 
 wlio supplanted him that f)^ made the victim of sa\'a<;'e xcn- 
 geance. * 
 
 Tlie calm aiid(puet tenor of their lives, remote from the bustle 
 and harrassin.i;' cares of civilization, im])artcd a- serenity to their 
 liA'cs rarely witnesst'd in commuidties where the acquisition of 
 wealth and honor are suffered to exchuh^ the better fe(>lini;'s of 
 human luiture. Lands of unequaled fertility, and the still more 
 prolitic waters and the chase suj»i)lied almost unsolicited the wants 
 of life and largely contributed to the hght hearted gaiety of the 
 people. With ami)le leisure and free irom corroding cares, tlicy 
 engaged in their various anuisenu'nts with more than ordinary 
 pk^asure. rrominent ajiiong their diversions was the light fantas- 
 tic dance of the young'. At this gay and innocent diversion could 
 be seen the vilhige priest and the aged patriarch and his com- 
 panion, whose eyes beamed with delight at beholding the liarndess 
 mirth of tlu'ir children. When ]>arties assembled for this pui'])ose 
 it was customary to choose the older and more discreet i)ersons to 
 secure pro])er decorum during the entertaiiunent and see that all 
 bad an opportunity to participate in its pleasure. Frequently, 
 on these occasions, fathers and mothers Avhose youthful enthu- 
 siasm time had mellowc<l down to sober enjoyments again became 
 young and partici]tated in the nuizy evolutions of the dance. 
 EveJi the slave, ind>ibing the spirit of the gay assendtlage, was 
 debghted because his master was hai)])y, and the latter in turn 
 was pleased at the c))joynu'nt of the slave. Whenever the old, 
 who were authority in s.ich cases, decided that the entertainment 
 had been i)rotracted sufticiently long, it was brought to a close; 
 and thus the excesses which so frequently attend parties of this 
 kind at the i)resent day were avoided. 
 
 At the close of each year it was an unvarying and time-honored 
 custom among them for the young men to disguise themselves 
 in old clothes, visit the several houses of the village, and engage in 
 friendly dances with the innmtes. This was understood as an 
 invitation for the members of the family to meet in a general ball, 
 to dance the old year out and the new year in. Large crowds 
 assembling on these occasions, and takingwith them refreshments, 
 
 [•Says Hall in his Sketches of the West: "We have heard of an occasion on which 
 this reciprocal kindness was very strongly shown. Many years ago a murder having 
 been committed in some broil, three Indian voting men were given iij) by the Kaskas- 
 kias to the civil authorities of the newly established American government. The pop- 
 ulation of Kaskaskia was still entirely French, who It- It much sympathy lor their Indian 
 friends, and saw these hard proceedingsof the law with great <iissntisl'action. The la- 
 dies, iiaiticuiarly, took a warm interest in the late of the young aborigines, and deter- 
 mined if they must die, they should at least be converted to chiistianiiy in the mean- 
 while, and be baptized in the true church. Accordingly, after due preparation, 
 arrangements were made for a public baptism of the neophites in the old cathcdi-al of 
 the village. Each of the youths wasadopted by a lady who gave him a name and was to 
 stand godmother in the ceremony, and the lady patronesses with their respective 
 friends were busily engaged forsome time inprepaiing dicoi ations for the lesti\ ities. 
 There was quite a sensation in the village. Never were thice young men brouj-lit into 
 notoriety more suddenly or more decidedly. The ladies talked of nothing else and all 
 the needles in the village were emploved in f'C preparation of tinery for the occasion. 
 Previous to the evening of hanging, the aboriginals gave the .iailer the slip mid es- 
 caped, aided most probably by the ladies, who had planned the whole affair with a view- 
 to thisend. Thelawisnot vindictive in new communities. The danger soon blew 
 over: the young men again appeared in public and evinced their gratitude to their 
 benefactors.] 
 
 9 
 
130 HISTORY OF LLLINOIS. 
 
 with good clieer and merry dauce beguiled the flying hours till the 
 clock ou the mautle chimed the advent of the new born year. 
 Another custom was, on the 0th of January, to choose by lot 4 kings, 
 each of whom selected for himself a queen, after which the parties 
 thus selected proceeded to make arrangements for an entertain- 
 ment styled, in the parlance of the times, a king-ball. Toward the 
 close of the first dance, the old queens selected new kings whom 
 they kissed as the formality of introduction into oftice. lu a simi- 
 lar manner, the newly selected kings chose new queens, and the 
 lively and mirthful dauce continued during the carnival, or the 
 week precedmg Lent. The numerous festivals of the Catholic 
 church strongly tended to awaken and develope the social and 
 friendly intercourse of the people. 
 
 All were Catholics and revered the pope as the vicegerent of 
 God, and respected their priests as spiritual guides and friendly 
 counselors in the secular affaus of life. Mostly without schools 
 or learning, the priest was the oracle in science and religion, and 
 their enunciations on these subjects were received with an uuijues- 
 tioning faith as true. Ignorant of creeds and logical disputations, 
 their religion consisted, in the nmin, of gratitude to God and love 
 for Jiiankind — (pialities by far more frequently foiuid in the unpre- 
 tending walks of life than in the glare of wealth and power. 
 
 As tlie result of these virtues, children were loving and obedient, 
 husbands and wives kind and affectionate. The latter had the 
 undivided control of domestic matters ; and as a further tribute to 
 her moral worth, she was the chief umpire in cases of social ecjuity 
 and propriety. None more than she, whose intuition could pene- 
 trate at a glance the most subtle casuistry, was better qualified to 
 detect and enforce it in a gentle and imi>artial manner. The peo- 
 ple attended church in the morning, after which they collected and 
 spent the remainder of the day in social intercourse and innocent 
 pastimes. To the more sedate Protestant, such aniusements ou 
 the Sabbath, seem unreasonable 5 but the French inhabitants of 
 the country, in these early times, regarded them as a part of their 
 religion, and conducted them with the utmost propriety. If ques- 
 tioned as to their gaiety on the Sabbath, they replied, that man was 
 made for happiness, aiul the more he enjoyed the innocent pleas- 
 ures of life the moie acceptable he rendered himself to his crea- 
 tor. They contended that those who, on the Sabbath, rei)ressed 
 the expression of joyous feelings under the guise of sanctity, were 
 the persons ready to cheat their neighbors duiing the remainder 
 of the week. Such, were the religious sentiments of a- people prone 
 to hosi)itality, urbanity of manners, and innocent recreation; who 
 presented their daily orisons to the throne of grace with as much 
 confidence of receiving a blessing, as that enjoyed by his most 
 devout Puritan brother. 
 
 The costume of the Illinois French, like their manners and cus- 
 toms, was simple and peculiar. Too poor, and t'^»o remote to obtain 
 finer fabrics, the men, during the summer, wore pantaloons made 
 of coarse blue cloth, which, during winter, was sui)planted by 
 buckskin. Over their shirts and long vests, a flannel cloak was 
 worn, to the collar of which a hood was attached, which, in cold 
 weather, was <lrawn over the head, but in warm weather it fell 
 back on the shoulders after the nninner of a cape. Among voy- 
 agers and hunters, the head was more frequently covered with a 
 
COSTUIMES Aa;D occupations. 131 
 
 blue liandkercliief fol(le<l in tlie form of a tiubaii. In the sanic 
 manner, but ta.stefully trimmed witli ril)bons, was formed thefaney 
 bead dress which the women wore at balls and otlier festive occa- 
 sions. The dress of the matron, though plain and of the antique 
 short-waist, was frequently varied in its minor details to suit the 
 diversities of taste. Both sexes wore moccasins which, on public 
 occasions, were variously decorated with shells, beads, and ribbons, 
 giving them a tasty and picturesque appearance. 
 
 No nu^chanical vocation as a means of earning- a livelihood, was 
 known. The principal occvq>ation was agriculture, which, owing 
 to the extreme fertility of the soil, produced the most numilicent 
 Imrvests. Young' men of enterprise, anxious to see the Avorld and 
 to distinguish themselves, became voyagers, hunters, and agents 
 of fur comi)anies, and in disclmrging- their duties, visited the remote 
 sour(;esof the Missouri, jMississij>])i, ;uh1 their tributaries. After 
 months of absence, s])entin this adventurous employnuMitamong'the 
 most distant savage nations of the wilderness, they would retui-n to 
 their native villages, laden with furs and peltries. These articles 
 for a long time constituted the only medium of exchange, and the 
 means whereby they procured guns, amnnuiition, and other impor- 
 tant requisites of their primitive life. The re-union with their friends 
 was signalized by the dance, the most important requisite of hos])i- 
 tality, gaiety and happiness. The whole village would assemble on 
 these occasions to see the renowed voyagers, a]id hear then^^ recount 
 the stnmge sights and the adventures which they had encountered. 
 
 No regular court was held in the country for more than a. hun- 
 dred years, or till its occuinition by the English, evidencing that a 
 virtuous and honest community can live in peace and harmony 
 without the serious infraction of law. The governor, aided by the 
 friendly advice of the commandants and priests of the villages, 
 either pi'evented the existence of controversies, or settled them 
 when they arose, without a resort to litigation. Althongh these 
 civil functionaries were clothed with abscjlnte power, such was the 
 l)aternal nmnnerin which it was exercised, it is said, that the "rod 
 of domination fell on them so lightly ;is to hardly be felt.'' When, 
 in ITG"), the country passed into the possession of the English, 
 many of them, rather than submit to a change in the institutions 
 to which they were accustomed and attached, preferred to leave 
 their fields and homes, and seek a new abode on the west side of 
 the Mississippi, still sui)posed to be under thedojninion of France. 
 Upon the reception of assurances, however, from Great Britain, 
 that they should be protected in their property and religion, many 
 of them remained. Those who had removed to the west side of 
 the river enjoyed but a brief interval of i)eace. Intelligence was 
 received that France had ceded all western and southern Louisiana 
 to S]>ain, and altliough Spanish authority was not extended over 
 the territory for a peiiod of five years, it was a period of uncer- 
 tainty and anxiety. The Spanish govennnent, like that of France, 
 was mild and parental. Every indulgence was extended to her 
 new subjects, aiul for thirty years they continued to enjoy their 
 ancient customs and religion. The next inroads upon their anti- 
 quated habits was the advance of the Americans to the ^lissis- 
 sippi, in the region of Illinois. The luiwelcome news was received 
 that all Louisiana was ceded to the United States and a new sys- 
 tem of jiulsprudence was to be extended over them. Previous to 
 
132 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tliis cession they Lad to a great extent become reconciled and 
 attached to Spanisli rule, but when the uew regime ^yas extended 
 over them, totally at a loss to comprehend the workings of repub- 
 licanism, they asked to be relieved of the intolerable burden of 
 self-government. 
 
 Thus, in the heart of the continent, more than a thousand miles 
 from either ocean, in a region styled by La Salle a territorial x>ara- 
 dise, tlouiished these interesting communities, in the enjoyment 
 of peace, contentment and happiness. It was, however, of a pas- 
 sive character, wanting in that intensity of enjoyment which flows 
 from fully developed i^owers and an energetic and progressive 
 mode of life. The faculties of both uiiiul and body languish with- 
 out labor, and that may be considered the normal condition of the 
 race which brings into healthy play all the diversified springs of 
 action and thought which make up the wonderful machinery of 
 man. Without effort and useful industry he is the creature of 
 languid enjoyments, and a stranger to the highly wrought sensi- 
 bility and the exquisite delights lesulting from cultured mental 
 and physical powers. Furthermore, without enterprise, the vast 
 material forces which slumber in the crust of the earth, and its 
 mantle of exhuberant soil, cannot be made available. While 
 there was peace and contentment on the baidcs of the Illinois, the 
 Wabash, and the Upper Mississippi, it was reserved for a different 
 race to develop the vast coal fields and exhaustless soil of this 
 favored region, and cause their life sustaining products to pulsate 
 through the great commercial arteries of the continent. While this 
 simple, virtuous and happy i^eople, dwelt in the granary of ISTortb 
 America almost unconscious of its vast resources, there was cling- 
 ing to the inhospitable shores of the Atlantic an intelligent and 
 sinewy race, wdiich was destined to sweep over and occupy their 
 fruitful lands as the floods of the great river overwhelms and 
 imports fertility to its banks. Only a few remnants of them have 
 escaped the inflowing tide of American population, who still retain 
 to a great extent the ancient habits and customs of their fathers. 
 With their decline came the do^\aifall of their tawny allies of the 
 forest, and a new direction was given to American history. 
 France, could she have remained supreme, with her far reaching* 
 and adventurous genius, aided by Jesuit enterprise, would perhaps 
 have partially civilized the savages and thus have arrested their 
 destructioji. Populations would have si^rung up in the basins of 
 the Great Lakes, and in the Valley of the JVIississippi, under the 
 impress of a feudal monarchy, and controlled by a hierarchy of 
 priests hostile to freedom of thought. The progress of civil and 
 religious liberty would have been temporarily but not permanently 
 suspended. The present free institutions of America would have 
 been delayed till the shifting phases of luitioiml life furnished new 
 opjiiortunities for exi)eriment and improvement. 
 
 [Many curious anecdotes might l)e still picked up in relation to these early settlers, 
 especially in Illinois and Missouri, where the Spanish, French, English and Americans, 
 have had sway in rapid succession. At one time the French had possession of one side 
 of the Mississippi river and the Spaniards the other; and a story is told of a Spaniard 
 living on one shore, who, having a creditor residing on the other, seized a child, the 
 daughter of thelatter, and having borne her across the river which formed the national 
 boundary, held her a hostage for the payment of the debt. The civil authorities de- 
 clined Interfering, and the military did not think the matter of sufficient importance to 
 create a national war, and the Frenchman had to redeem the daughter by discharging 
 his creditor's demand. The lady who was thus abducted was still living a few years 
 ago near Cahokia, the mother of a numerous progeny of American French.] 
 
.JEALOUSIES AND ANIMOSITIES. 
 
 Ill the year 1750 LaBiiissouier, governor of Illinois, was siiceeeded 
 by ClievalierMaearty. The peaee which ha<lgiveii such nne.\aui[)le<l 
 prosi)erity to Louisiana, was soon to be broken by the (ilaiigor and 
 discord of war. Already, in the controversy between France and 
 England in regard to their I'espective possessions, could be heard 
 the flrst throes of the revolution which gave a new master an<l new 
 institutions not only to Illinois, but to the whole continent. France 
 clainied the whole valley of the Mississippi, which her missionaries 
 and [)ioneers had explored and partially settled, and England the 
 right to extend her possessions on the cVtlantic indefinitely west 
 ward. The jealousies and animosities of the })arent countries soon 
 crossed the Atlantic, and colonial intrigues were the result. 
 Traders from South Carolina and (ieorgia again commenced inti'O- 
 ducing large quantities of goods anujugthe Chickasaws and other 
 tribes of southern Louisiana, and again end<'aA'oi'ed to alienate 
 them from their treaty stii)ulations with the Fi-euch. As the 
 result, depredations wer*^ renewed by the Cllicasa^^'s, and a third 
 exj)edition was .sent to their forest fastnesses on theTombigbee, to 
 reduce them to submission, but like its predecessors, it was sub- 
 stantially a failure. Farther northward similar disturbances 
 c'onnnenced. British merchants sent their agents to the Mianiis 
 jind other western tribes, whose traffic had been previously nio- 
 iH)j)olized by the French. A more grievous oftense was- the 
 foiiuation of a company to whom the king of Englund granted a 
 large tract of land on the Ohio, and conferred on it the i)ri\ilege 
 of trading with the western Indians. 
 
 The o])erations of the Ohio .com{)any soon drew the French and 
 English colonial authorities into a controversy, and the mother 
 coiujtries Avere ready to back aui,'effoit that either might nndce for 
 the maintenence andextension of their respective possessions. As 
 the traders, who were en(M)uraged by the Ohio com]>any, were 
 mostly from Pennsylvania and Xew York, the governor of ( Janada 
 informed the executives of these colonies that their tiaders had 
 been trafficing with Indians dwelling on French territory, and 
 unless they immediately desisted from this illicit commerce, he 
 would cause them to be seized and i)unished. Notwithstanding 
 this menace, the Ohio company employed an agent to survey their 
 lands southwesterly to the Falls of the Ohio, and northwesterly 
 some <listance up the JMiami and Scioto. Virginia, also seconding 
 the effoits of the company, obtained from the Indians the ])ri\i]ege 
 to form settlements on the s(mtheast side oftlu' Ohio, LS miles 
 below the junction of the Alleghany and Monongahela. 
 
 England and France now saw that their territorial contest could 
 only be settled by a resort toarms, and each urged its colonial au- 
 thorities to institute ])re]»arations for defending their resp<'ctive 
 boundaries. In the coming contest the result coidd not be doubt- 
 ful, lor the colonists of the former power numbered ^,{)')l,(H){). while 
 those of the latter were oidy 52,000. Beside this grciit disjjarity 
 of numbers, France had tran.sndtted to her possessions institutions 
 which shackhMl their ])rog)ess. The English colonists brought 
 with them advance<l ideas of government frcmi their native land, 
 and left behind them, the monarch and the nobility. The Fn-nch 
 emigTaut came with only the feudal ideas of the ])ast, an<l cared 
 little for the innovations of modern fi^eedom. The former claiming 
 the right of religious liberty, withdrew from the established church 
 
134: HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 and had a self-appointed ministry. The hitter was closed against 
 every ray of theological liglit, and dominated by a foreign priest- 
 hood, from whose teachings there was not a shigle dissenter. The 
 one were self-reliant, self- sustaining, and energetic ; ever i)ressiiig 
 their way against the receding forests ; always advancing, but 
 never retreating The other were accustonjed to follow a leader, 
 and depend upon the ])arent country for sui)plies, which they 
 might have produced themselves. The inhabitants of British 
 America had the]>ress, local legislatures, nninicipal disci])line, tiie 
 benetit of free schools, and were accustomed to think and act for 
 themselves. As the result, from tlie waters of the southern gulf to 
 where ci^ ilization is stayed by barriers of perpetual frost, the con- 
 tinent is their heritage. 
 
 In response to the advice of the British government, Virginia 
 raised a force for the protection of her frontier, and sent jMajor 
 Washington with a letter to the French commandant on the CHiio^ 
 requesting him to withdraw his trooi)S from the dominion of Great 
 Britain. The officer courteously replied that *■' it was not his 
 province to determine whether the land situated on the Ohio be- 
 longed to his sovereign, but he would transmit the letter to his 
 superior officer, and act in accordance with his instructions. In 
 the meantime, he did not think it incumbent ui)on him to obey 
 the summons of the British government, and would defend his 
 position with all the skill and force at his comn^and." Washing- 
 ton, after encountering much hardship, returned safely, and 
 reported the reply of the French officer. The following year he 
 received orders from the governor of Yii-ginia to proceed with 1*(K> 
 men and'complete the erection of a fort at the junction of the Monf>n- 
 gahela and the Alleghany, previously commenced by the Oliio 
 company. Q'lie attempt to execute the order was defeated by tlie 
 French officer, M. Contrecceur, who, anticii)ating the arrival of the 
 Virginia forces, moved down to the mouth of the Monongahela in 
 advance, with 18 pieces of cannon and a force of 1,000 French ami 
 Indians. He drove away the small detachment of Virginia militia 
 and some employes in the Ohio company, and completing the fort 
 they had commenced, they called it DuQuesne, in honor of the 
 governor ofXew France. In the meantinn^ a snudl detaclunent 
 under Jummonville, was sent to notifv Washington to witlnlrnw 
 from French tei'ritory. Tlie American officer, ](»arning beforehand 
 the approach of Junnnonville, made arian gen tents to fall on him by 
 suri)rise. At a i)lace called tlu^ Litth' J\Ieadows, the forces met, 
 and Washington, ordering Ins men to fir<', set the exani])le by dis- 
 charging his own musket. Its Hasli kindle<l the forests of America 
 to a Hame, and scattered its tires over the kingdom of Furojie. It 
 was the signal gun whose reverbrations followed tlie tliglit of years, 
 anm)unced the revolution Avhich banished from the Xe\f World the 
 institutions of the Middle Ages, and erected u})on their ruins the 
 fabric of free government. The tidings of the renconter cairied the 
 fame of Washington across the Atlantic, and while his name Avas 
 execrated by the advocates of feudal monarchy, they chanted 
 in heroic Averse the martyrdom of Jummonville, Avho had been slain 
 in battle. " And at the very time AVashington became known to 
 France, the child was born who was one day to stretch out his 
 hand for the relief of America. How man v defeated interests bent 
 
MILITARY OPERATIONS. 135 
 
 over the grave of Juminonville, aiul liow mauy hopes chistered 
 about the cradle of the infant Louis. "* 
 
 Fort Chartres was at this time the depot of sup])lies and the 
 phiee of rendezvous for the united forces of Illinois and other 
 posts of Louisiana. Shortly after the affray at the Little .Meadows, 
 M. de Villiers, a brother of JuIunlon^■ille, and at the time an ol'iicer 
 at Fort Chartres, solicited Macarty, the commandaid of tiui for- 
 tress, to go and avenge the death of his relafive. Permission was 
 granted, and with a force from the garrison and a large nninber 
 of Lidians, he passed down the Mississipi>i and up the Ohio to 
 Fort UuQuesne, of which he subsequently became the commander. 
 From the fort he proceeded to the ground of the recent battle. 
 Washington, finding himself confronted with greatly su])erior 
 forces, fell back to Fort IS^ecessity, a rude stockade pre\'iously 
 ere<'ted at the Great Meadows. Tlnther they were followed by De 
 Villiers with a force of OOO French and a smaller number of ! iidians, 
 who took possession of an adjacent eminence and commenced 
 tiring from behind trees on the men in the fort beneath them. 
 Animated by the cool determination of their connnander, the raw 
 provincials, so unequal in nundjcrs and position to their assailants, 
 for nine hours maintained their i)osition. At length the Fi-encli 
 conuuander, tearing the exhaustion of his amnumition, pr()])()sed 
 terms of capitulation, which Washington in his critical situation 
 was compelled to accept. The terms were magnanimous, tlie 
 besieged being permitted to retire with the honors of war and all 
 their munitions, exwpt the artillery. Upon the defeat of the Vir- 
 ginia forces, England and France took up the gauntlet, and the 
 contest between the colonists became further intensitied. In 1755, 
 General Braddock arrived in Virginia with two regiments of 
 British regulars. Washington was made one of his aids-de-cani]), 
 aud afterward his force was augmente<l by the addition of J, 000 
 provincials. Thus strengthened he started for Fort I)u(^)uesne, 
 and at the Little JMeudows received intelligence of the ex[>ected 
 arrival of 500 troops to strengthen the garrison of the fort. 
 Leaving Col. l)unl)ar with 800 men to bring up his stores, he 
 hastened tbrward with the remainder to reach the fort in advance 
 of the reinforcements. Crossing the Monongahela he ])nshed 
 forward A\ith so much rapidity that he seldom took tinn^ to i-econ- 
 noitre the woods and tiuigled thickets through which lie was 
 passi]ig. In the meantime the commandant at Fort DnC^uesne, 
 api)rised by the Fren<-h and Indian scouts of the a])proach of tin; 
 British force, sent M. Beaujeu with a force of 250 French and 000 
 Indians to check their advance. Seven miles from the fort they 
 concealed themselves on the borders of a ravine through wliicli 
 Braddock.niust pass, and awaited his arrival. As soon as his 
 men entered the hollow, the concealed enemy o])ened ui>on those 
 in front, and tlie rear forces ])uslied rajndly forward to su]»]>ort 
 them. Before this could be effected, the advanced columns fell 
 back in a heap on the artilleiy, and the army became greatly <'on- 
 fused. At this juncture the Virginia foi'ces, (;ontrar\ to orders, 
 took positions behind trees and fought till all were killed except 
 thirty men. The regulars, remaining in a conq)act body, were 
 terribly cut to pieces. Braddock received a nujrtal A\-ound and 
 
 •Bancroft. 
 
130 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 died in the camp of Col. Diiubar, whither with the .shattered rem- 
 uaiits of his army he retreated. Never before had the Indiaus 
 received such a harvest of scali)S as that gathered froiu the fatal 
 field. Dressed in the laced hats and scarlet coats of the dead, 
 they celebrated the victory by exhibiting their personal decorations 
 and firing guns, which were a.us\A ered by the artillery of the fort. 
 When the news of the battle became known the two beUigerents 
 increased their forces, and in 175-1 Fort Duquesne again became 
 the objective pouit of an English army. Gen. Forbes, with a force 
 of 7,000, approa(;hed it, and the garrison of Illinois and other 
 troops being unable to cox>e with such a formidable army, dis- 
 mantled the fort and retired to different parts of the West. A 
 portion of the fugitives under M. Massac descended the Ohio river 
 and built a fort on the Illinois side of the stream, forty miles from 
 its month. The fort bore the name of its founder, and v^as fur- 
 nished with a small garrison till the close of the war. Such was 
 the origin of the last French fort built on the Ohio, divested of the 
 roinance which fable has thrown around its name.* In the course 
 of the struggle Ticonderoga, Crown Point and ]^iagara, fell 
 before the victorious arms of England, and finally it terminated 
 in 17o9 by the ca])ture of (Quebec. As the result of the contest on 
 the Plains of Abraham, Illinois and its vast resources became the 
 heritage of a different race. Anglo-Saxon eneigy and progress 
 were now to gather from its prolific soil treasures far exceeding in 
 value the exliaustless mines of gohl, which had haunted the imag- 
 ination of its Gallic inhabitants, even if their dreams had been 
 realized. In this closing battle the colossal power of France in 
 North America received a fatal blow. From her first x>ermaneut 
 settlement on the St. Lawrence she held dominion over its waters 
 for a i)eriod of 150 years. The Teutonic race, with its partiality 
 for individual rights, for self-government and freedom, now ob- 
 tained the dominion of a continent from the Gulf of Mexico to tlse 
 Pole, and the English tonguge, whose utterance 150 years l)efore 
 was coniined to two small islands on the western verge of Europe, 
 was now to become the language of a continent, aiul ultimately, 
 perhaps, a universal vehicle for the expression of human thought. 
 
 *lNoTE.— Jas. Hall, in his Sketches of the West, says : "The French had also a fort 
 on the Ohio, about 36 miles above the junction of that river with the Mississippi, of 
 which the Indians obtained possession by a singular stratagem. A number of them 
 appeared in the day time on the opposite side of the river, each covered with a bear- 
 skin, walking on all-fours, and imitating- the motions of that animal. The French sup- 
 posed them to be bears, and a party crossed the river in pursuit of them. The 
 remainder of the troops left their quarters and resorted to the bank of the river, in 
 tront of the garrison, to observe the sport. In the meantime, a large body of warriors, 
 who were concealed in the woods r>ear b.y, camesilentl.v up behind the fort, entci'ed it 
 witliout opposition, and very few of the French escaped the carnage. They afterward 
 built another fort on the same ground, which they called Massacre, in memory of this 
 disastrous event, and which retained the name of Fort Massac after it passed into the 
 hands of the American government." The Rev. ,T. M. Peek, in his "Annals of the 
 AVest," thinks ''the foregoing statement is a truthful one, according to all the tradi- 
 tional evidence we can collect." Dr. Lewis Beck's Gazeteer of Illinois and Missouri 
 contains the same story, as also Reynold's Pioneer History of Illinois ; and in his Life 
 and Times, the latter says : "Fort Massacre was established by the French about the year 
 1711, and was also a missionary station It was only a small fortress until the war of 
 1755 between the English and French . In 175(5 th fort was enlarged and made a respec- 
 table fortres , considering the wilderness it was in. It was at this jAn e wiiere the 
 Christian missionaries instructed the Southern Indians in the gospel precepts, and it 
 was here also that the French soldiers made a resolute stand against the enemy." The 
 place is also referred to some times as the "old Cherokee Fort." The Letters Edifl- 
 antes indicate it to have been a mission and trading post about 1711 In 18(10 two com- 
 paniesof U. S. troopswere stationed at Fort Massac and a few families resided in the 
 vicinity. In 1855, ^ays Reynolds, he vistedthe site. The walls of the ruins were 135 
 feet sqviare, pallisaded with earth between, and with strong bastions at each angle. 
 Three or four acres were lieautifully gravelled with pebbles from the river, on the 
 north of the fort, as a parade ground. The site is a beautiful one.] 
 
Chapter XIII. 
 
 1750-1703— THE CONSPIKACY OF PONTIAC— ATTACK 
 UrOX DETROIT— DESTEUCTION OF BlUTISH POSTS 
 AND SETTLEMENTS. 
 
 It has already beeu stated tliattlie downfall of (»)uebec was the ■ 
 overthrow of French power iu North America. It was not, 
 however, until 17(30, when the feeble and disheartened pirrison of 
 Montreal capitulated without resistance, that Canada and its 
 dependencies Avere surrendered to the British. The overthroM' of 
 French suprcnuicy w<is now assured, but the recoil of the blow 
 which had smitten it down was the cause of another ,nreat strniijile 
 nu)r(i desolatiii.u' and widely extended than the first, but ended 
 A\ ithout accomplish! Ill;- any [)olitical results. In the second contest 
 the red man became the i)rincii)al actor and exhibited a, de.nree of 
 sagacity and constancy of purpose never before witnessed in the 
 history of his Avarfare. The English, to reap the fruits of their 
 victory at Quebec, sent IMajor Pol)ert Powers to take possession of 
 tlje outi)osts on the frontier. He was a initive of New Hamp- 
 shire, and his startling adventures in the recent colonial struggle 
 had made him the model hero of New England firesides. As he 
 coasted along the southern shore of Lake Erie in the early part of 
 November, 1700, on his way to Detroit, it suddenly became cold 
 and stormy, ami he detennined to put ashore and wait the return 
 of pleasant weather. A camp was soon formed in the adjacent 
 forest, then clothed in the fading hues of Autumn, when a number 
 of chiefs made their appearance and announced themselves as an 
 embassy from Pontiac. The day did not pass away before the 
 daring chief himself canie to the camp and denumded of Kogers 
 his business in the coiinti-y. The latter replied that he was on his 
 way to Detroit to make i)eace with the white men and Indians. 
 Pontiac listened with attention and said he would stand in his path 
 till morning, and after in([uiring if they needed anything wliich 
 his country afforded witlnlrew. This was Eogers' first inti-rview 
 with the Napoleon of his race, whose great conspiracy forms the 
 subject of this cha]»ter. 
 
 According to tradition, he was of medium height, commanding 
 api)earance, an<l possessed a muscular frame of great symmetry and 
 vigor. His (complexion was darker than usual with individuals of 
 his race; his features stern, bold, and irregular, and his bearing 
 that of a person accustomed to surmount all opposition by the 
 force of an in)])erious will. He was generally clad in a scanty 
 cincture girt about his lobis, Mith his long black hair flowing' 
 loosely behind, but on public occasions he plumed and jjainted 
 
 137 
 
138 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 after the manner of liis tribe. On tlie following' morning', in com- 
 pany ^yith liis' chiefs, he again visited tlie camp and told Rogers 
 he was willing' to he at i)eacc with the English and sutfer them to 
 remain in his country as long" as they treated him and his country- 
 men with due deference and justice. Hitherto he had been the 
 devoted friend of the French, and the moti^'e which now actuated 
 him was ap])arent. Shrewd, politic, and ambitious, he sagaciouslj' 
 concluded that the power of France was declining, and it might be 
 best to secure the good will of the English. He hoped by the aid 
 of such powerful allies to extend his intluence over the tribes of 
 his own race, and flattered himself that they also would treat him 
 with the deference which had i)reviously been accorded him by the 
 French. Rogers had several interviews with him, and was sti'uck 
 with the native a igor of his understanding' and the wonderful 
 poAver he exercised over those about him. 
 
 The storm abating, Rogers and his men resumed their voyage up 
 the lake. A messenger had l)een sent in advance to notify 
 Captain Beletre, the French Commandant at Detroit, that Canada 
 had surrendered, and that an English force was on its way to 
 relieve him. This oflicer was greatly incensed at the reception of 
 the news ; treated it as an informal communication, and stirred ni) 
 the Indians to resist the advance of Rogers. When, therefore, the 
 latter arrived at the mouth of the Detroit, and was about to ascend 
 it, he found four hundred Indian warriors ready to dispute his 
 further progress. Pontiac however, whose vigilance was ever on 
 the alert, interi)osed in behalf of his new friends, and they were 
 permitted to I'cach Detroit without further o])position. Rogers 
 immediately took possession of the fort, and the French garrison 
 dehled out on the i>lain and laid down tlieir arms. As the French 
 colors were lowered from the flagstaff, and those of England 
 hoisted aloft, the spectacle was greeted by the yells of TOO Indian 
 warriors. The Canadian militia were next disarmed, and the 
 Indians, unable to com})rehen<l why so many should submit to so 
 few, regarded with astonishment what they considered as obse- 
 quious conduct on the part of their recent allies. oS^othing' is so 
 etfective in winning' the respect of savages as an exhibition of 
 power, and hence the Indians formed the most exalted conceptions 
 of English prowess, but were greatly suri)rised at their sparing' the 
 lives of the vanquished. 
 
 Thus, on the liOth of November, 1700, Detroit i)assed into the 
 hands of the English. The French garrison was sent juisoners 
 down the lake, while the Canadian residents were suffered to retain 
 their houses and lands on the condition of their swearing allegi- 
 ance to the government. Oflicers were sent to the south\\ est to 
 take i)ossession of Forts Miami and Watannon,* the flrst situated 
 on the head waters of the Maumee, and the latter on the A^'abash 
 not far from the site of the present town of Lafayette. Rogers 
 next started to relieve tht' forts on the iq)i)er lakes, but was pre- 
 vented by the gathering ice and storms of Lake Huron. The 
 following season, however, the forts at the head of Green Bay and 
 the mouth of the St. Joseph, and those on the straits of St. Mary 
 and Mackinaw, were garrisoned by small detachments of English 
 troops. The flag of France still waved over the i)lains of Illinois, 
 
 •Quiatenon. 
 
PONTIAC'S 0O]^JSPIKACT. 139 
 
 wliicli was not iiicliuled in the .stipulations entered into at 
 JMoiitieal. 
 
 Tlie country had not long- been in the ])ossessioii of l<iii,<;land 
 before a wide-spread feeliii<;' of dissatisfaetion pervaded its iiiliab- 
 itants. Tlie Freiu-li element of the i)0])nlatioji, luivinj;' their luitioiial 
 hate of the Ihi^i^lisli iidensitied bN years of disastrous warfare, left 
 tlieir homes in Canad;! and settled in Illinois. Here tliey eontin- 
 ned toeherish tlieir ainiuosity, and whenever an oi»p()rtunily offered, 
 were ever ready to einl)raee any scheme that nii.iilit injuria the 
 obj<'cts of their ill will. In common with their brethren of Illinois, 
 they still hoj)ed that Canada mij^ht be restored to Fraiu'c. and no 
 effort was spared by either to brin_iiabout this much desired result. 
 Canada Avas powerless, yet Illinois, her intimate neighbor and 
 sympathizer, was still an untrameled province of France, and now 
 became the depot of snppli(\s and thecentre of French intrigues ; tdl 
 looking forward to the consummaf ion of this object. The Indians, 
 Avhose good will they had long" since won by a conciliatory ]>olicy, 
 they fonml ready instrunu'nts for the execntion of their <lesigns. 
 Accordingly, swai-nis of French traders and Caimdian refugees 
 issued from the head-waters of the Illinois and other i>oiuts of 
 egress, and si)rea(ling over tlu^ conqnered territory, held councils 
 with the Indians in the secret places of the forests. At these 
 secluded lucetings they i.n'g'^'d the excited savages to take up arms 
 against the English, who they declared were endeavoring rocomi)ass 
 their destruction by hedging them in with forts and settlenuMits on 
 one hand, and stirring u]> the Cherokees to attack them on the other. 
 To gi\e eifect to these i'abrieations, they added more j)oteut inc<'n- 
 tives of guns, ammunition and clothing, which the English had 
 refused to grant them. These, long furnished by France, had now 
 become a necessity, but England had incurred heavy expensi's in 
 the re(;ent war, and it became necessary for her either to withhold 
 or deal them out with scanty and reluctant hands. \\'ant, suffer- 
 ing, and in some instances death, wasthe result which, withont the 
 ai<l of French machinations, was snlBcient to make them dislike 
 the English. Formerly, under the nnld sway of France, when the 
 chiefs visited the forts they were received with the greatest polite- 
 ness and hospitality by the officers, and the petty aniujyances of 
 their men were disregarded. Kow, when in tlieir intrusive man- 
 ner they came abont tlie])osts, they heard only words of reproach 
 and abrupt orders to dei)art, frcipiently enlbrced by blows tVom 
 nilhan soldiers. The intercourse of French traders had always 
 been courte<ms and respectful, while those of the English treated 
 them asinieriors, freipiently outraged their families, and in various 
 ways gave them an iiniax oiable opinion of the nation which now 
 laid claim to their country. 
 
 Under thesecircumstancesPontiac., although he had wa\'ei'cd in 
 liis allegiance to the French so far as to ])ermit Ivogers to occupy 
 the fort at Detroit, began to feel his i)artiality for his old friends 
 returning. The Sa^s, his native tribe,* nnder the immediate inllu- 
 ence of the Illinois French, were among" the first to es]»ouse their 
 canse, and it may safely be assumed that if he was not iustrumen- 
 
 *In the Hist. Col, of Mnss..2ntl series, the rcpoitof Morse, 1823, on the Sac and Fox 
 wars ag'ainst the Illinois, and the lifeol'Teoumseli, he is spoken ot as a Sao. Several tribes 
 were ambitious to claim his lineagre. His residence among the Ottawasmay have beea 
 due to his partiality for their reputation as warriors. 
 
140 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tal in bringing about the result, he was not long in following their 
 example. By his own inherent i)owers and assistance obtained 
 from the French, he had become the acknowledged head of the 
 tribes of Illinois, and the nations dwelling in the region of the great 
 lakes and the Upper Mississippi. Says Captain Morris, who was 
 sent West by General Gage to conciliate the tribes of Illinois: 
 " This chief has a more extensive power than was ever known 
 among the Indians, for every chief used to command his own 
 tribe, but 18 nations by French intrigue have been brought to 
 unite and choose him as their commander." Thus the flame kin- 
 dled in Illinois, and linding material in many other localities uj^ou 
 the eve of ignition, as we shall see, spread farther and wider, until 
 all British America became involved in the iiery ordeal of war. 
 Operated upon by so numy causes of irritation and apprehension, it 
 was impossible for a people so excitable as the Indians to long 
 remain quiet. Accordingly, as early as 1761, Maj. Campbell, then in 
 command of Detroit, received hitimations that they meditated an 
 tack upon his fort, and ui)on further inquiry learned that there was 
 to be a- general uprising of allthetribes frojii Illinois toXova Scotia, 
 and that Forts Pitt and Niagara were also to be attacked. Intelli- 
 gence of this discovery was immediately transmitted to the com- 
 nuindcrs of the threatened points, and the calamity averted. This 
 and another similar plot detected and suppressed the followingsum- 
 mer, were only the jnecursors of the coming storm that swept the 
 whole country as with the besom of destruction. A plot was next 
 conceived in the sclu'iaing brain of Pontiac to attack all tlie Eng- 
 lish forts on the same day, and after having nmssacred their 
 unsuspecting garrisons, to turn ui)on the defenseless settlements 
 and continue the work of death until the entire English i)opula- 
 tion, as the Indians fondly hoped and expected, should be driven 
 into the sea. For comin-ehensiveness of design and su.ccessful 
 execution, no similar conspiracy can be found in the annals of 
 Indian warfare. 
 
 I'ontiac was now 50 years of age and brought to the contest a 
 judgment matured by the i)ast experience of his adventurous life. 
 Before the breaking out of the French war, he had saved Detroit 
 from the overwhelming attack of some discontented tribes of the 
 North. Durhig the Avar he fought valiantly for France, and is said 
 to have connnanded the Ottawas at the defeat of Braddock and 
 jnaterially contributed to his overthrow. For his devotion and 
 courage, he was presented with a- full French uniform by the Mar- 
 quis iNlontcalm, only a short time before the famous battle on the 
 Plains of Abraliam. After the defeat of the French and tlie arrival 
 of llogers, as i)reviously intimated, he nuinifested a desire to culti- 
 vate the friendship of the conipierors, but was greatly disai)pointed 
 in the advantages he expected to derive from their inHuence. His 
 sagacious mind discovered in the altered posture of affairs the great 
 danger wiiich threatened his race. The equilibrium hitherto 
 subsisting between the French and English, gave the Indians the 
 balance of power, and both parties were comi)el led to some extent 
 to res[)cct their rights. Under English domination their import- 
 ance as allies was gone and their doom already senled, unless they 
 could re-establish the power of the French and use it as a check to 
 the encroachments of the English. Filled with this idea and Hred 
 by i)atriotism and ambition, he now sent embassadors to the nations 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 141 
 
 of the upper lakes, to tlio.se on tlie Illinois, Mississippi ami Ohio, 
 and as far southward as the Gulf of Mexico. His emissaries, bear- 
 ing the war belt and bloody hatchet as einbleiiis of their mission, 
 passed from tribe to tribe, and everywhere the dusky denizens of 
 • the forest ea,i;erly asseml)led to hear the words of the yreat wnv 
 chief. The principal of the embassy, holding;- aloft theend»lems of 
 Avar, with violent gesticulations delivered the tiery message i)re- 
 viously prepared by I'ontiac for this ])urpose. The attending chiefs 
 and warriors, moved by these imi)assioned ap])eals, i>k'dged tlieiu- 
 selves to assist in the war, and the fer\'or thus excited laitidiy 
 spread till the whole Algoncaiin race was aglow with enthusiasm. 
 
 The attack was to be made in May, ITf!;}, only one month after 
 the treaty of Paris, by which Illinois and all the vast jiossessions 
 of France, east of the Mississippi, passed under the dominion of 
 Clreat Britain. This event was one of the three important steps 
 by which Illinois passed from a French province to its present 
 position as a member of the American republic, the first being- 
 foreshadowed in the trinmi)h of Wolfe on the Plains of Abraham, 
 the second in the conquests of Clark, and the last in the battle of 
 Yorktown. In accordance with the requirements of the cession, 
 the posts of southern Louisiana were surrendered to Biitish gairi- 
 sons. In Illinois, owing to the im])enetrab]e barrier of hostile 
 savages, Avhich surrounded it, this was impossible, and the French 
 officers were empowered by Sir Jeffrey Andu'rst, the l>ritish Com- 
 nmnd(H'-in-chief, to retain their position till this ditliculty could be 
 overcome. In the exereise of this trust they betrayed the confi- 
 dence reposed in them by furnishing the Indians with large sup- 
 idies of guns and ammunition, and for a long tinu' concealed the 
 transfer which had been made, lest the knowledge of it might 
 cause the. Indians to relax their effcn-ts in the i)rosecution of the 
 war. But for this neglect of duty, the war which followed might 
 have been either averted or its virulent character greatly modified. 
 The king, in parceling out his newly acquired donuiin among the 
 colonists, retained tlu^ valley of the Ohio and the region adjai-ent 
 as a reservation for the Indians. The timely publication of his 
 order in this respect would have [)reYented the intrusion of the 
 settlers upon these lands, ami thus have removed a i)rincix)al cause 
 of irritation among the Indians dwelling along the English 
 frontiers. But while the benevolent irdentions of the king slum- 
 bered in the breasts of unfaithful stewards, the forests were alive 
 with preparations tor strife and carnage. Indian maidens were 
 chanting the war song; magicians were retiring to the gloom of 
 rocky defiles and caverns to fast and learn the will of the Great 
 Spirit in the coining struggle, while in the glari^ proceeding from 
 hundreds of nightly camj) fires, chiefs and warriors were enacting 
 the savage pantominu' of battle. 
 
 The warlike spirit of the Indians gave great satisfaction to the 
 French inhabitants of Illinois, who had so unwillingly been made 
 subjects of Britain. To imi>art additional life to their prei>ara- 
 tions, they declared that the King of France had of late years fallen 
 asleep, and during his slumbers the English had taken possession 
 of Canada, but that now he was awake again and his armies Avere 
 adAiincing up the St. Lawren(;e and ^Mississippi, to driAe out the 
 intruders from the homes of his red children. 
 
142 HTSTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 lu accordance with the arrangement of Pontiac, the different 
 I)Osts were to be attacked on the same day by the adjacent Indians. 
 The arch conspirator himself with some of his tribes hved in the 
 vicinity of Detroit, and tliat point soon became the focns of the 
 bloody struggle. To institute preliminary arrangements, a place 
 of rendezvous was selected on the river below the town, and mes- 
 sengers sent to summon the tribes to meet him in council. In 
 obedience to the call straggling bands of Ottawas, Wyandots, 
 Chippewas, and Pottawatomies, of all ages, sexes and conditions, 
 for scAcral days were seen emerging from the forests. Sipuiws 
 accompanied by swarms of naked children, came to attend to the 
 domestic arrangements of the camps; youthful gallants attended 
 by maidens, bedecked with feathers and ruddy with paint, were 
 present looking love at each other and enjoying the social amuse- 
 ments of savage life. Bnt the most important personages were 
 stalwart warriors, who, while waiting the arri^ al of tardy delega- 
 gations, lounged the lazy hoiu'S away in feasting and gambling. 
 At length, on the 27th of April, the last stragglers had arrived, 
 when, variously costumed and armed after the manner of tlieii 
 respective tril)es, they seated themselves in circles on the ground. 
 Pontiac immediately appeared in their midst and with impassioned 
 voice commenced his address. Contrasting the English with the 
 French, he declared the former had treated himself with contempt 
 and his countrymen with hijustice and violence. Presenting a 
 broad belt of wamjuim, he informed his wild auditors that he had 
 received it from the great father, the King of France, who had 
 heard the voice of his red children ; had arisen from his slee]» and 
 was sending his great war canoes up the St. Lawrence and the 
 Mississippi to wreak vengeance on his enemies, ami that the French 
 and their red brethren would again light side by side as when 
 many moons since they destroyed the army of their enemies on 
 the banks of the Monongahela. Having awakened in his hearers 
 their native passion for war and T)lood, he next api)ealed to their 
 snperstitions, by relating a legend composed by one of their magi- 
 cians, which enjoined upon them as a dnty to drive the "dogs that 
 wear red clothing into the sea," and made known to them the best 
 method of doing it. In conclusion he told them that the work 
 must commence at Detroit ; that he would gain admittance to the 
 fort, and having tlms learned the situation ami strength of the 
 garrison, at another conncil he wonld exidain to them thei)lan of 
 attack. 
 
 The object of the convocation was now consummated, and long- 
 before the morning sun broke through the mists that hung over 
 the river, the savage multitude had disapiieared in the gloomy re- 
 cesses of the forest. Nothing remained to tell of the night's 
 carousals and intrigues but the smouldering embers of camp fires 
 and the slender frames of several hnndred Indian lodges. Pontiac, 
 impatient for the execution of his design as previously announced, 
 advanced with 40 warriors, and presenting himself at the gate of 
 the fort asked permission to dance before the ofdcers of the 
 garrison. After some hesitation permission was granted, ami he 
 and 30 of his men filed up to the residence of Major Gladwyn, 
 then in command of the fort. The dance was commenced, and 
 while the officers and men gathered round to witness the perform- 
 ance the remaining 10 Indians strolled about the premises to make 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 143 
 
 observations. Wlien the (lifltererit parts of the fort had been ex- 
 ainiiied the 40 retired, withont e;uisin<i- the slij^htest snspieioii as to 
 the object wliich iiuhiced tlie visit, ]Messeii^ii(M-s were aii;aiii sent 
 to smianon the chiefs to meet in tlie village of the Pottawatoinies. 
 Here a hnndred wily conspirators seated tiiemselves in the 
 conueil hall of the town to perfect in the darkness of night the 
 black scheme they had concocted for the destruction of tlie fort. 
 Fitfnl flashes from the fire in the centre of the room fell ni)on 
 featnres stolid and immovable as if cast in iron, des])ite the fierce 
 passions that rankle<l in the breasts beneath them. As I'ontiax; in 
 an exciting harrangne reiterated the wrongs they had snstained at 
 the hands of the Englisli, and made known his plan of attack, 
 deep gnttnral expressions of approval rose from his statue-like 
 audience. Under pretense of holding a council he proposed 
 to obtain admittan(;e to the fort for himself and principal chiefs, 
 an<l while in c(airerence with the officers, with concealed weapons 
 they would ]>ut them to death. Meanwhile the Indians loitering 
 about the i)alisa(le were to rush on the unsuspecting garrison and 
 infiict on tluMu a similar fate. 
 
 Detroit, now threatened with destruction, was founded in 1701 
 by La Mott Cadilac, who snbsecjuently became the (loNernor-den- 
 eral of Louisiana and the partner of Crozat. Itogers, who visited 
 it at the close of the French war, estimated its population and that 
 of the adjacent settlements at 2o()() souls. The fort which sur- 
 rounded the town was a i)alisade 25 feet high, furnished with 
 l)astions at the tour angles and blockdumses over the gate ways. 
 On the same side of the river, and a little below the fort, was the 
 village of the Pottawatomies ; southeasterly, on the other side, 
 was that of the Wyandots, M'hile on the same bank, 5 miles above, 
 Avas the town of the Ottawas. The river, about half a- mile in 
 width op]>osite the fort, flowed through a landscape of unrivaled 
 beauty. In its pure waters were glassed the outlines of the noble 
 forests that grew on its banks." Farther back white Canadian 
 cottages looked cosily out of the dark green foliage, while in the 
 distance Indian wigwams sentuj) wreathy columns of smoke high 
 in the transparent northern atmosphere. Pontiac, the master 
 spirit of this sylvan ])aradise, dwelt on an island at the outlet of 
 Lake St. Clair,'^and like Satan of old revolved in his i)()werful mind 
 schenu's for marring its beauty and innocence. Though he was 
 friendly to tin' French they seemed to apprehend soiiu' coming 
 disaster. The October preceding the outbreak dark clouds gath- 
 ered over the town and settlement, and drops of rain fell of a 
 strong snli)hurous odor, and so black the people are said to have 
 colle('ted and used them for iidc. Many of the simple Canadians, 
 refusing to accept a scientific explanati<m of the idienomenon, 
 thought it was the precnrser of some great calanuty. 
 
 Although breathing out vengeance and slaughter against the 
 English, the designs of the chief were to be defeated. Accoiding 
 to local tradition J on the afternoon of the 6th of May, the day i)re- 
 ceding the intended assanlt, intelligence of the consi)iracy was 
 communicated to Gladwyn by a beautiful Chippewa_ girl, who had 
 formed for him an attaclunent and wished to save his life. Osten- 
 sn)ly she visited the tort to deliver a pair of ornamental moccasins 
 which he had requested her to nudvC. After deli\ering them, slie was 
 seen, late in the afternoon, Lingering about the fort, with a dejected 
 
144 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 coiiiiteiiance. Gladwyn himself at length iioticed her altered nian- 
 iier, and asked the canse of her tronble. When assured that she 
 ^\'Ouldnot be betrayed, she stated that on thefollowingday, I^ontiac 
 and()0 chiefs, with guns concealed under their blankets, would visit 
 the fort to hold a council, and that after he had piesented a peace 
 belt iu a reversed position as a signal for attack, the chiefs weie to 
 shoot down the ofhcers, and tlieir men in the streets ^^■ere to murder 
 the garrison. Gladwyn immediately comnumicated what he had 
 heard to the garrison, and prei)arations were commenced to avert 
 the threatened calamity. Lest some wild impnlse should precip- 
 itate an attack before morning, half the garrison was ordered 
 under arms, the number of sentinels doubled, and the ofticers 
 arranged to spend the night on the ramparts. Jn the immediate 
 vicinity of the fort there was quiet, but the winds that swept 
 across the river bore to the listening sentinels the distant boom 
 of Indian drums, and the wild yells of savages performing the war 
 dance. The following morning, when the mist had disapi)eared 
 a fleet of canoes was seen nu)ving across the river, tilled 
 with savages mostly in a recumbent position, lest if seen 
 their numbers might excite suspicions. I'resently groups of tall 
 warriors wrapt in blankets up to their throats were seen stalking 
 across the common toward the fort. These were all admitted, for 
 not oidythe garrison l)ut the whole i)opulati<m of fur traders were 
 armed, and Gladwyn detied their treachery. It said that as 
 Pontiac entered, he involuntarily uttered an exchunation of 
 suri>rise and disappointment. liecovering from his (consternation, 
 he started in the direction of the council house, followed by his 
 chiefs, who, notwithstanding their usual stoicism, cast uneasy 
 glances at the ranks of glittering steel on each side of their path- 
 way. Passing into the hall they found the ofticers fully armed and 
 waithig to receive them. Pontiac, observing with suspicion their 
 swords and pistols, asked Gladwyn why so many of his young men 
 were iu the attitude of war. The latter, ^Wth the dissimulation 
 which his adversary was practicing, replied that he had ordered 
 his soldiers under arms for the purpose of exercise and discipline. 
 AYith evident distrust the chiefs at length sat down on mats pro- 
 vided for their accomnu)dation, while Pontiac commenced speaking, 
 holding in his hand the wampum which was to be the signal of 
 attack. Though it was thought he would hardly attempt to carry 
 out his design under ju'esent circumstances, yet during the 
 delivery of his speech he was subjected to the most rigid scrutiny 
 by the ofticers. Once, it is said, he was about to give the signal, 
 when Gladwyn by a slight nH)vement of the hand made it known 
 to the attending soldiers, and instantly the drum beat a charge 
 and the clash of arms was heard in the jiassage leading to the 
 room. Pontiac, confounded at these demonstrations, and seeing* 
 the stern ej^e of Gladwyn fastened uijon him, in great perplexity 
 took his seat. Gladwyn, in a brief reply, assured him that the 
 friendly protection of the English would be extended to his people 
 as long as they deserved it, but threatened the most condign pun- 
 ishment for the first act of aggression. The council now broke up ; 
 the gates were thro^^ni open, and the Indians departed. It has 
 been a query why the chiefs were not detained as hostages, but 
 the full extent of their intrigues was unknown. The whole affair 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 145 
 
 was regarded as a paroxysmal outbrealv wliicli would soon teriiii- 
 nate if an o})en rupture eould be avoided. 
 
 I'outiae, foiled in bis attempt against tlie fort, was enraged and 
 moititied, but not discouraged. He considered bis eseai)e from 
 tbe fort as evidence tliat liis designs were not fidly laiowii, and 
 on tiie following morning' returned witb tliicc ('(»Mi}»anions and 
 endeavored to rt'mo^■e tbe suspicions ^\ bicb be bad excited, imme- 
 diately after bis interview with (Jladwyn, bowe\'er, be repaired to 
 tbe \illag'e of tbe Pottawatomies and commenced considting' witb 
 tbeir cbiefs in regard to anotlier attempt against tlie fort. As tbe 
 result, on tbe'.>tli of ^lay, the common behind tbe fort was crowded 
 Avitb savages, and tbeii- chief, ad\'ancing to the gate, asked that 
 be and liis warriors might be admitted and enjoy with the garrison 
 tbe fragrance of tbe friendly calumet, (iladwyn concisely but 
 uncourteously replied, that "be might enter, but his rabble must 
 renniiu Avitbout." Thus circumvented, be became livid witb bate 
 and detiance, and stalked ojff in the direction of his warriors, 
 large numbers of whom were prostrate on the ground, and sud- 
 denly rising' up, the plain, as if by magic, se med alive witb yel[)ing- 
 creatiu"es ]>art man, i)art wolf, and ])art devil, who rushed upon 
 some English iidiabitaiits outside of the fort and i)ut them to <leatb. 
 Pontiac, taking no part in the brutal butcheries of his men, imme- 
 diately leai)ed into a canoe, and witb a speed commensurate witb 
 liis rage and disappointment, forced his way up the riAer to the 
 village of the Ottawas. Boiuiding ashore and pointing across tbe 
 water, with im})erious voice be ordered tbe entire poi)nlation to 
 move to the oi)posite side, that tbe riAernnght no longer intei])Ose 
 a barrier between him and bis eiuMiiy. xVt nightfall be leai)ed 
 into tbe central area of tbe village, and brandishing bis tomahawk, 
 commenced tbe war dance. As warrior after warrior straggled in 
 froju the day's carnage, they fell into the ring, and circling round 
 and round, made the night hideous witb unearthly yells. Long 
 bowever before juorning the tribe was on the opposite side of tbe 
 river and pitclu'd tbeir camp above tbe mouth of tlu^ smajl stream 
 known as P>lo(^dy Eun, from tbe tragedy wbicb was shortly after- 
 ward enacte<l on its banks. In the early twilight of morning, 
 with terrific yells, they bounded naked over tbe fields and com- 
 menced firing' on the fort. Large numbers secured a position 
 behind a low bill, and soon its sunnnit ])ecaimi wreathed witb 
 pulfs of Avbite smoke from tbeir rajtidly discharging guns. Others 
 gathered in tlie rear of some out-buildings, but a cannon, charged 
 witb red-hot missiles was immediately brought to bear on tbe dry 
 material, which, becoming' wrapt in fiames, soon caused tbe con- 
 cealed savages to retreat witb precii)itation. For six hours tbe 
 attack was unabated, but as the <lay wore away the fire slackened, 
 and at last only a gun could be beard now and then in the direction 
 of the retiring foe. 
 
 After this discomfiture, Pontiac augmented bis forces and, on 
 tbe 12tb of May, renewed the attack. " Day after day the fighting' 
 was continued, till the rattle of bullets on the palisade and the 
 discordant yells of savages became familiar sounds to tbe garrison 
 within. Stealthy warriors -SN'ormed their Avay through the tall 
 grass, and crouching' behind some slieltering' object, shot arrows 
 tipped witb burning' toAv upon tbe bouses within tbe fort. These 
 efforts, bowever, i)roved abortive. Cisterns were dug inside to 
 10 
 
140 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 qiieiicb the tiames and sorties outside were made from time to time 
 till all the adjacent orchards, fences and buildings, were leveled 
 to the jiionnd, and no screen was left to conceal a lurking foe. 
 
 The Indians, expectin<i to take the fort at a single blow, had 
 failed to provide for a protracted siege. Their numbers daily 
 augmenting' by the arrival of straggling bands of warriors from 
 Illinois and other parts of the West and South, the question of 
 food soon became an important consideration. To obtain it they 
 had already irritated the Canadian farmers by conuuittuig de](re- 
 dations upon their stock, and a delegation of their head men called 
 on Poutiac to remonstrate against these outrages. He admitted 
 the truth of the allegations, expressed regret for the injuiies they 
 had sustained, and at once instituted means for obtaining su])plies 
 without their repetition in the future. He visited the different 
 Cainidian families, making a carefid estinuite of their inovisions, 
 levied upon e;ich a proportionate amount tor the sustenance of the 
 assembled tribes, now nundiering nearly 1,000 warriors and m(n^o 
 than 2,000 women and children. The levies thus made were 
 brought into camp, and a comunssary apjiointed to prevent the 
 excessi\e eating and waste which the sa^■age always practices 
 when unrestricted in his access to food. Poutiac, being imableto 
 make immediate com]>ensation, gave promissory notes, drawn on 
 birch bark and signed with the figure of an otter, the totem of 
 his family. To his credit it is said these were all afterward hon- 
 orably paid. This api)roach to the usages of civilized life was 
 doubtless suggested by some of his Canadian allies, yet his ready 
 adoi)tion of them indicates a sagacity which is without a parallel 
 in the history of his race. In the prosecution of the siege he also 
 endeavoied to obtain from the Canadians the method of making 
 approaches to a fort as practiced in civilized warfare. Likewise, 
 to aid his undisciplined warriors, he sent embassadors to M. Neyon, 
 the comnjandant of Fort Chartres, for regular soldiers. This 
 officer had no soldiers at his disposal, but abundantly furnished 
 munitions in their stead. Says Sir William Johnson, Superin- 
 perintendeut of Indian affairs : 
 
 "It now appears from the very best authorities, and can be proven by tlie 
 oatli of several respectable persons, prisoners among the Indians of Illinois, 
 and from the account of the Indians themselves, that not only many French 
 traders', but also the French officers, went among the Indians, as they said, fully 
 authorized to assure them that tlie French King was determined to support 
 them to the utmost, and not only invited them to visit Illinois, where they 
 were plentifully supplied with ammunition and other necessaries, but also 
 sent several cauoe loads at ditferent times up the Illinois river to the Miamis, 
 as well as up the Ohio to the Shawuees and Delawares." 
 
 Thus, while Detroit was the scene of the principal outbreak of 
 the war, Illinois more largely than any other place furnished the 
 means to put it in motion and keep it alive. But while other 
 localities were bleeding and sore from the vengeful thrusts of the 
 strife, the Illinois Frenchmen, caressed and protected by savage 
 adnurers, hunted and fished as usual in the peacefid forests and 
 genthi rivers of his western paradise. 
 
 As the perils were thickening around Detroit, there came vague 
 rumors from time to time of settlements destroyed, forts attacked 
 and garrisons butchered. These Hying reports were soon followed 
 by definite information that, with the exception of Detroit, all the 
 posts scattered at wide intervals throughout the vast forests west 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 147 
 
 of Forts Pitt Hiid ISria<;ai"a, had fallen iiitotlie hands of the enemy. 
 The first reliabk^ evidence of this kind was the apix'aranee of a 
 party of warriors in the rear of Detroit, bearinji" ah)ft a nnniber of 
 scalps taken from victims they had slain in tlie captnre of Fort 
 Sandusky. Ensi!j,n Paully, in command of tlie fort at the time, 
 and subsequently adopted by one of tlie tribes near Detroit, wrote 
 to (lladwyn, jiiving an account of the captuie. Seven Indians 
 called at the fort, and being- intimately acquainted with the garri- 
 son, were readily admitted. Two of the i)arty seated themselves 
 on each side of Paully, and after lighting their pipes, with feigned 
 indifference commenced a conversation, during which they sud- 
 denly seized and disarmed him. Simultaneously a discordant din of 
 yells and theclasliing of arms was heard without, and when Paully 
 afterward was taken from the room by his captors, he beheld the 
 l)arade ground strewn with the mangled boslies of his men. At 
 night he was conducted to the lake in the light of the burning fort 
 and started over its still waters for Detroit. 
 
 On the loth of June, a nundter of Pottawatondes with some pris- 
 oners, who proved to be Ensign Schlosser, the commander of Fort 
 St. Joseph,* and three of his ]»rivate soldiers. Their captors had 
 come to exchange them for some of their own men, who for some 
 tim<^ had been retained as i»risoners in the fort. After this was 
 eliected, the Englishmen related the story of their capture. Early 
 in the morning preceding the. attack, the m-ighborhood of the fort 
 was enlivene(i by the appearance of a large nund)er of Pottawat- 
 omies, who stated that tliey liad come to visit their relations resid- 
 ing on the river St- Joseph. Hardly had the commandant time to 
 sus]KH't danger Avhen he was iidbrmed that the fort was surrounded 
 by hundreds of Indians, evidently intending to make an assault. 
 Schlosser hastened to get his men uiuler arms, but before this could 
 be effected an attack was made, and in a few nn'nutes the fort was 
 plundered an<l all its garrison slahi, exce[)t himself and the priso- 
 ners mentioned. 
 
 Only three days later a Jesuit priest arrived at Detroit, bringing 
 with him a letter from ra])tain Etherington detailing the capture 
 of the fortat jMackinaw, of which he wascommaiuler. For several 
 successive days the Chippewas had been assendjling on a plain 
 near the fort and playing games of ball. Fin;dly, on the 11th of 
 June, while engaged at tins pastime, the ball was intentionally 
 thrown near the fort, and the Indians, rushing up as if to get it, 
 seized Captain Etherington and Lieut. Lesley standing near the 
 gate, and hurried them off" to the woods. At the same time, another 
 l)arty rushed into the fort, and with hatchets furnished by their 
 squaws, who had previously entered with them, concealed under 
 their blankets, slew 15 of the garrison, while the remainder and 
 all the English fur traders were made prisoners. 
 
 The next disaster of this kind was the loss of Fort Watannon. 
 A letter was received from Lieut. Jenkins, the commanding officer, 
 informing- Cxladwyn that on the 1st of June he and several of his 
 men were seized by strategy, and the rest of the garrison, being 
 without a leader, surrendered. The Indians afterward apologized 
 for their conduct by declaring the attack was not the result of their 
 own inclinations but due to the pressure which had been brought- 
 
 •Original) J' Miami. 
 
148 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 to bear on tliciii by suiTOinidiiig: tribes. This plea may have beeu 
 true, for tliey were farther removed from English intiuence than 
 most of the other tribes and hence more paciiic. 
 
 Fort Miami, on the Manmee, in command of Ensign Hobnes, 
 added another to the list of captured forts. Though this oflicer 
 had detected and circumvented a previous attenipt against the 
 fort, his cunning adversaries at length triumi)hed over his vigi- 
 lance. On the 27th of May an Indian girl, ^\ho was living with 
 him, told him that a squaw lay sick in a neighboring wigwam, and 
 desired him to administer medical relief. Placing the utmost con- 
 fidence in the girl, he followed her till they came in sight of a 
 number of lodges, when she pointed out to him the one containing 
 the invalid ami withdrew. Holmes, unsuspicious of danger, con- 
 tinued on his errand of mercy till as he neared the wigwam two 
 guns flashed from behind it, and his lifeless body fell prostrate on 
 the ground. Exultant yells of savages followed the report of the 
 guns, and a Canadian soon came to the fort and demanded its 
 surrender, informing the garrison that their lives would be si>ared 
 if they complied, but in case of refusal their claims to mercy would 
 be forfeited. Taken by surprise, and without a comnuiiuler to 
 direct them, they threw open the gates and gave themselves up as 
 prisoners. 
 
 With the previous disasters fresh in the minds of the beleaguei ed 
 garrison at Detroit, on the 22d of June, their attention was 
 attracted to the oi)posite side of the river where they saw tlie sav- 
 ages conducting Ensign Christie, the commandant of Presque Isle, 
 and the prisoners to the camp of Pontiac. Christie afterward 
 escaped and related the i)articulars of the seige and surrender of 
 his post, situated near the i)resent town of Erie on the southern 
 shore of the lake after which it was named. On the 15th of June 
 it was surrounded by 200 Indians, and the garrisoix immediately 
 retired to the blockhouse, the most imi>regnable part of the forti- 
 fications. The savages, sheltered in a ravine, close by, sent volleys 
 of bullets at the i)ort holes and burning balls of pitch ui)on the 
 roof and against the sides of the building. Eepeatedly it took 
 fire, and finally the barrels of water which had been provided for 
 extinguishing the flames were all exhausted. There was a well in 
 the parade ground, but it w^as instant death to approach it, and 
 they were conq)elled to dig another in the blockhouse. Meanwhile 
 the enemy had made a subternean passage to the house of the 
 commandant and set it on fire, and the walls of the blockhouse 
 near by were soon wrapt in a sheet of flame. The well was now 
 comjilete and the fire subdued, but the men were almost suffocated 
 by heat and smoke. While in this comlition they learned that 
 another more eft'ectual attempt would soon be made to burn them, 
 and at the instance of the enemy they agreed to cai»itulate. 
 Parties met for this purpose, and after stipulating that the garri- 
 son should march out and retire unmolested to the nearest post, 
 the little fortress which had been defended with sonuich valor was 
 surrendered. Notwithstanding the terms agreed upon, a part of 
 the men were taken as prisoners to the camp of Pontiac, ami part 
 l)ede(;ked as warriors were adojjted by the different tribes of the 
 conquerers. 
 
 The destruction of Laboeuf and Venango, on the head waters 
 of the Alleghany, closes the black catalogue of caiJtured posts. 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. . 149 
 
 On the IStli of June, a large number of Indians surrounded the 
 former, the only available defence of which was a l)loek-house. 
 Fire arrows were showered upon it, and by midnight, tlie upper 
 story was wra])t in tlames. The assaiUiuts gathered in front and 
 eagerly watched for the inmates to rush out of the burning build- 
 ing, that they nnght shoot them. In the meantime, however, they 
 hewed an opening; through the rear wall, and icissiiig out unper- 
 ceived, left the savages exulting in the thought that they were 
 perishing in the flames. But from Venango, destioyed about the 
 same time, not a single i)erson escaped or was left ali\e to tell of 
 their fate. Not long afterward it was learned from Indians who 
 witnessed its destruction, that a i»arty of warriors entered it under 
 the pretext of friendship, and closing' the gates behind them, 
 butchered all the garrison except the principal oflicer, whom they 
 tortured over a slow fire si'veral successive uights till life was ex- 
 tinct. Forts Pitt and Niagara were itlso attacked, but like that 
 of Detroit, their garrisons proved too strong for the savage assail- 
 ants who songht their destruction. 
 
 But the destruction of life and i)r()])i'rty hi the forts wns only a 
 fraction of the h>sses. The storm of savage vengeiince fell with 
 appiiUing fury on the frontiers of Virginia, Maryland, and Penn- 
 sylvania, and for hundreds of miles north and south tliey became 
 a c(»ntinuons theatre of rajunc, slaughters, and burnings, without 
 apaialiel in all past and succeeding years. Bands of infuriated 
 savnges skulking in the forests, suddenly bouiuhMl forth from their 
 lurking places and surrounded the un])rotected homes of settlers. 
 The startled inmates where scarcely a^^'are of danger before they 
 became the victims of the most ferocious butcheries. jNIothers 
 were compelled to stand by and witness the brains of theii' help- 
 less innocents dashed out against the walls of their dwellings ; 
 daughters were carried away into captivity to become the wiA^es of 
 their savage captors, while fathers and sons were bound to trees 
 and j-oasted over slow-burning tires to protract and intensify their 
 snftVrings. Whole settlements in the valley retwats of the Alleg- 
 hanics, where a prolitic soil and industry were ra])i(lly multiplying 
 the necessaries of life, were entirely depopulated. Fields ripen- 
 ing for Icarvest were laid waste; herds of domestic animals, like 
 their owners, were kUled; dwellings were burnt to the ground, and 
 where jilenty and h;)]»]»iness had once lived togetlicr in ])eace, there 
 was now only desolation and <le;ith. Thousands of fugitives tied 
 to the interior towns ;ind made known the feaiful tr;ig('di<'s they 
 had witnesse<l, and such had been the dee]) dissimuhitiou of the 
 savages, the story of their butcheries preceded even the faintest 
 suspicions of danger. 
 
Chapter XIV. 
 
 SIEGE OF DETROIT— PONTIAC RALLIES THE WESTERN 
 TRIBES— HIS SUBMISSION AND DEATH. 
 
 Detroit was still the bead of savage macliiuatioiisaiidtLe lioiise 
 of the arch conspirator who, with the couiplaceiicy of a Nero, 
 looked round on tlie constantly widening circle of ruin and death. 
 The garrison of which he had the immediate custody was eontined, 
 as if in a vice, to the narrow confines of the fort. The attempt of 
 Cyler to reinforce it, terminated in the defeat and death of some 
 60 of his men, jMost of the unfortunates taken alive were carried 
 to the camp of Pontiac, where some were pierced with arrows, some 
 had their hands and feet cut off, wliile others were fasteiuHl to 
 trees and cliildren employed to roast th(Mu alive. For se\'eral days 
 after death had ended their sutferings, their bodies were seen float- 
 ing down the river by the fort, still ghastly with the l)ruttd ati'o- 
 cities which had caused their death. No expedient was lett untiied 
 which might injure the besieged. Huge tire rafts were set alloat 
 down the river to burn two small scluH>ners oppi)site the fort. On 
 one occasion a faint light was descried on the river above, which 
 grew larger and brighter as it descended the stream. Presently 
 it loomed up in a violent conflagration and, fortnnately passing 
 between the vessels and the fort, revealed with the light of day 
 the tracery of cordage and spars on one side, and the long line of pal- 
 isades on the other. The distant outlines of the forest and a dark 
 multitude of savages were plainly \isible on the oi>posite side of 
 the stream, the latter watching tlie effects of their artitice as the 
 crackling, glimmering mass floated down with the current of the 
 waters, in which its tires were tiually rpieiiched. Though all the 
 arts of savage warfares were employed to prevent the reinforce- 
 ment of the fort, it was at length accomplished, and an assault 
 made on the camp of Pontiac. In this tierce conflict, which rose 
 to the dignity of a pitched battle, the English were defeated with 
 a heavy loss, and c<^mpelled to retire to the fort for safety. 
 
 Attracted by this success, large nuiiibers of warriors flocked to 
 the standard of Pontiac, and the sjnrit of his men, previously begin- 
 ning to flag, was revived and the siege prosecuted with unexam- 
 pled vigor till the last of Septend)er. The Indian is naturally 
 fickle and impulsive, and perhaps the history of his race does not 
 furnish another instance of such protracted eflbrt and constancy 
 as this. Their renuirkable perseverance must, nodcmbt, be attrib- 
 uted to their intense hatred of the English, the hope of assistance 
 from France, and t\w controllinginfluenceof Pontiac. Theirammu- 
 nition, however, was now exhansted, and as intelligence had been 
 received that jNIajor Wilkins, with a large force, was on his way to 
 
 150 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIEACY. 151 
 
 Detroit, many of them ^Yel•e inclined tosne for jieace. Tliey f<'nre(l 
 tlie inime<liate consequences of an attack, and pro])osed by Inllinn' 
 the En<ilish into security, to n'tire uinuolested to tlieii- winter hiiiir- 
 ing: iii'ound and renew offensive oi)erationsintlie si>rin:n-. A chief of 
 theChippewas, therefore, visited tliefortand informed Gl ad wyn tliat 
 the I'ottawatomies, Wyandots and his own ])eoplewere sorry for 
 what tliey had done, and desired tliereafter to \\\e in peace. The 
 En^nlish ofticer well knew the emptiness of their pretentions, but 
 granted their request that he might have an opportunity of rei>Ien- 
 isliing the fort Avith provisions. The Ottawas, animated by tiie 
 unconquerable spirit of Pontiac, continued n. disidtory warfare till 
 the tirst of October, when an unex])ectedblow wasih'alt the imper- 
 ious chief, and he, too, retired tVom the contest. 
 
 General Andu'rst, uoav aware that the occupation of the forts in 
 Illinois by French garrisons greatly served to ])rotra(*t and inten- 
 sify th<' war, would fain have removed them, but still found it 
 impossible to break through the cordon of savage tribes which girt 
 it about. l*ontiac had derived thence not only luoral su]»i)ort, but 
 large sup}>lies of guns and annuunition,* and the oidy I'cmedy of 
 the British general was to write to M. Xeyon de Villiers, instriu;t- 
 ing hiiu to make known to the Tiulians their altered i-elations under 
 the treaty Ity which the country had been transfeiied to England. 
 This ofticer, with evident reluctance and bad gra(;e, was now com- 
 pelled to make known Avhat he had long concealed, and accordingly 
 wrote to Pontiac that "he could not expect any assistance from the 
 French; that they and the English werenow atpeaceand regarded 
 each other as brothers, and that the Indians should abandon their 
 hostilities, which could lead to no good result." The chieftain, 
 enraged and mortitie<l at having his long cherished ho])e of assist- 
 ance dashed to the ground, with a number of his countrymen 
 immediately departed for the country of the ^Maunu'c, intending 
 to stir up its inhabitants andrenew thecontest the ensuing sj)ring. 
 With his withdrawal, Detroit lost its signiticauce in the war, 
 and its leader was to return no more excei)t as an interceder for 
 peace. 
 
 The winter of 17(>.'>-lpasse(laway without the occurrence of any 
 event of special interest. The ensuiug summer two exix'ditioiis 
 Avere titte<l out by the English; one intended to oj)erate against 
 the savages residing on the great lakes, and the other for the 
 reduction of those living in the valley of the Ohio. l>ou(pu>t hav- 
 ing charge of the latter, advanced from Fort Pitt, ami encounter- 
 ing the warlike Shawnees and Dehi wares on the banks of the 
 Muskingum, soon reduced them to an uiu-onditional peace. Anuuig 
 the demands made by this eflicient officer, was the surren(h'r of 
 all their i)risoners. Large numbers w'ere brought in from Illinois 
 and the region eastward, sonui of whom had been captured as far 
 back as the French and p]nglish wai-, and had now almost forgot- 
 ten their homes and friends of childhood.t 
 
 *8iiys Sir William Johnson : la au especial manner the French promote the inter- 
 ests of Pontiac, whose influence has now become so considerable, as Genci-al (iagre 
 observes in a letter to me, ttiat it extends even to the mouth of the Mississippi, and 
 has been the principal cause of our not sfainin}? possession of fllinois, which the French, 
 as well as the Indians, are interested in preventing?. " 
 
 +0f the scenes atttiidiiis? the revmion of broken families and lonff sundered friends, 
 a few incidents have been i)reserved and are worthy of relation A younjr Virjrinian, 
 who had been robbed of his wife and child, enlisted in the army of noucpiet lor the 
 purpose of recovering them. After sufterinj;' 'he most intense anxiety, he at len^'tli dis- 
 covered her in a group of prisoners, bearing in her arms a child boni in captivity ; but 
 
152 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Bradstreet, wlio commanded the other force, wrested from the 
 sava.^es the military liosts, wliich cuiiuiug' and treachery had 
 phiced in their power. As a part of his phui, while at Detroit, he 
 sent Captain Moriis, and a number of friendly Canadians and 
 Indians, to induce the savages of Illinois to make peace with the 
 English. Having effected arrangements for this purpose, they 
 ascended the Maumee in a canoe, and soon fell in with a party of 
 some 200 Indians who treated Morris with great violence. They 
 had come duectly from the camp of Pontiac, and soon led him 
 into the presence of the great chief, who with a scrowling brow 
 denounced the English as liars. He tlien displaced a letter written 
 by some Frenchman, though puri)orting to be from the King of 
 France, which Morris declares contained the greatest calumnies 
 that ingenious malice could devise for prejudicing the minds of the 
 Indians against the English. The party, after being stripi>ed of 
 everything except their clothing, arms, and canoe, were suffered 
 to de[»art. Ilesuming the ascent of the rivei', in seven days they 
 reached Fort ^liami and effected a landing. This post not having 
 been garrisoned since its capture the preceding year, the Cana- 
 dians had built their houses within its palisades, and a few Indians 
 made it a temporary abode. A Miami village was diiectly oi)po- 
 site on the other side of the stream, while the meadows innuediately 
 around it were dotted with lodges of the Kickapoos, who had re- 
 cently arrived. After getting ashore they i)rocee<led through the 
 meadows toward the fort, but before reaching it they were suddenly 
 surroiuided by a mob of infuriated savages, bent on i)utting- them 
 to death. Fortunately the chiefs inter])osed, and before any seri- 
 ous violence was offered the sudden outbm'st of savage passion was 
 checked. Threatened and insulted, however, ^Morris was con- 
 ducted to the fort and there ordered to remain, while the Cana- 
 dians were forbidden to shelter him in their lumses. He had not 
 long been in this situation before two warriors entered, and 
 with uplifted tomahawks seized and conducted him to the river. 
 Supi)osing it was their intention to drown him, he was agreeably 
 disappointed when they drew him into the water and led him safe 
 to the opposite shore. Here he was strix)ped, and with his hands 
 bound behind him, led to the Miami village, wheiv instantly a vast 
 concourse of savages collected about him, the majority of whom 
 were in favor of putting him to death. A tumultuous debate on 
 tlie subject soon followed, during' which two of his Canadian 
 followers made their appearance to induce the chiefs to spare his 
 life. The nephew of Pontiac, who possessed the bold spirit of Ids 
 uncle, was also present and pointed out to the rabble the impro- 
 
 the pleasure of the meeting- was alloyed by the absence of another child, which had 
 been talcen fi-om the mother and carried she knew not wither. Anxious days and 
 weeks passed away, but no tidings of its fate were received. At lengtli the mother, 
 almost frenzied with despair, discovered it in the arms of an Indian and seized it with 
 irrepressible transports of joy. 
 
 Young women, now the wives of warriors and the mothers of a mongrel offspring-, 
 were re^luctantl.y brought into the presence of their white relatives ; and children 
 whose long- residence among their captors had obliterated the remembrance of former 
 associations, struggled lustily to escape. With the returning army tliey were carried 
 to the East, where they were visited by hundreds whose relatives" had been abducted 
 by the Uidians. Amon.g the fortunate seekers was a mother, who discovercu in the 
 swarthy features of one of the rescued captives the altered lineaments of her daughter, 
 The latter had almost forgotten her native tongue ; and making no response to the 
 wordsof maternal endearment, the parent wept that the child she h:id so often sung 
 to sleep on her knee had now forgotten her in old age. "The humanity of Bouquet 
 suggested an expedient : 'Sing the songs you used to sing to her when a child.' The 
 Old lady obeyed, and a sudden start, a look of bewilderment, and a passionate flood of 
 tears restored the long lost daughter to the mother's arms."— Parkman.] 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 153 
 
 priety of puttiiiii' liiiu to deatli, when so many of their kindled 
 "were in tlie hands of tlie Enjiiish at Detroit. He was accordiii<;ly 
 released, bnt soon afterward aj^ain seized by a nunhh'ned cldefand 
 bonnd to a post. Yoini";' L'ontiae, now more determined than ever, 
 rode up and se\ erini^ tlie cords with his hatchet, exclaimed : '•'I yive 
 this man his life. If any of you want En<;lish meat ji'o to ])etroit, 
 or the lakes, and you will luive i)lenty of it. AVhat l)usiness have 
 you Avitli the En<;lishman, who has come to speak with usf* 
 
 The current of fcelinj;' now beiian to chan.^e in favor of si)aring' 
 liis life, and after havin,i;- violently thrust him out of the villai;e, 
 thej' suffered him to return to the fort. Here the ('amidians ^^()uld 
 have treated him with kindiu'ss, but were unable to do so without 
 exposing themselves to the tierce resentments of the savages. 
 Despite the inauspicious commencement of the journey, Morris 
 was still desirous of completing it, but was notified by the Kicka- 
 poos if he atteni})ted to pass them they would certainly put him to 
 death. He was also informed that a delegation of IShawnee war- 
 riors was on its way to the ))()st for the same ]>ur])ose. The same 
 party, with anund)er of J)elawares, had visited the ^liamis a short 
 time before the arrival of the embassy, to urge upon them the 
 necessity of renewing hostilities, and much of the bad treatment 
 to which he had been subjected was due to the feeling which they 
 had engendered. From tlie fort they proceeded westward, s[)read- 
 ing the contagion of their hostile feelings among the tribes of 
 Illinois, and other Indians, between the Ohio and .Alississippi, 
 declaring that they would fight the English as long as the sun 
 furnished light for the continuance of the conflict. Thus it became 
 evident that the Shawnees and Delawares had two sets of embass- 
 adors, and while one was sent to sue for peace with ]>ouquet, the 
 other was urging the neighboring tribes to renew the atrocities of 
 war. Under these circumstances the further prosecution of the 
 journey was impracticable, and at the earnest soli(;itation of his 
 Indian and Canadian attendants, INIorris decided to return. Sup- 
 posing that Ibadstreet was still at Detroit, he made his way 
 thither, but found that he had gone to Sandusky. Being too nuu*h 
 exhausted to follow him, he sent a letter detailing his hardshii)s 
 among the Indians, and the unfavorable issue of the expe- 
 dition. 
 
 Hardly had Morris escaped from the dark foiests of the IManmee 
 before Pontiac was again in motion. Preceding his advance, a 
 wave of tumultuous excitement swept westward to the jMississippi. 
 M. IS^eyon, commandant of Fort Cliartres, in the meantime !iad 
 retired, and St. Ange (FJU'llrive had taken ui)on himself the 
 arduous duties of the vacated situation. Mobs of Illinois, and 
 embassies from the Delawares, Shawnees, and Mianus, daily im- 
 portuned him for arms and anununition, to be used against the 
 English. The flag of Fiance, which they had been taught to 
 revere, still clung to the stafif on the summit of the fort, and Illi- 
 nois was now the only sanctuary which remained for them to 
 defend. While thus actuated by "feelings of patriotism there were 
 other causes which gave intensity to their zeal. The whole region 
 boi'dering the jMississipi>i was filled with French traders, who re- 
 garded the English as dangerous rivals and Avere ready to resort 
 to any expedient which might be instrumental in their expulsion 
 
 *Parkman . 
 
154 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 from the country. Using every calumny and tiil.seliood that malice 
 could suggest, to excite oi)i)Osition to the objects of their jealousy, 
 they now told the Indians that the English were endeavoring to 
 stir up civil feuds among them, wheieby tliey might tight and 
 destroy each other. They still insisted that the h>ng delayed 
 armies of France would soon be in the countiy, and to keep alive 
 this oft repeated falsehood the traders appeared fre<iuently in 
 French uniforms, represeiiting themselves as embassadors of the 
 King, and sent forged letters bearing the royal signature to 
 Pontiac, urging him to persist in his efforts against the common 
 enemy. 
 
 As intimated, Pontiac, with 400 warriors, in the Autumn of 
 1764 crossed the Wabash to visit these tribes and give direction to 
 their efforts. Unshaken amidst the ruin which threatened his 
 race, with tireless energy he entered the villages of the Miamis, 
 Kickapoos, and Piankishas, and breathed into them his own 
 un('on(]uerable spirit. Receiving from them ju'omisesof (M)-oi>era- 
 tion, he next directed his course throngh trackless ex])anses of 
 prairie verdure, to the homes of the Illinois. These Indians, repeat- 
 edly subdued by surrounding nations, had lost their warlike 
 spirit, and were reprimanded by Pontiac for their want of zeal. 
 Hastily collecting an assemblage, he told the cowering multitude 
 that "he would consume them as the fir<? consumes the dry grass 
 on the prairies if they hesitated in offering assistance." This 
 summary method of dealing with the tardy savages drew from 
 them unanimous assent to his views, and i)romises of assistance 
 which the most waiiike tribes would have been unable to perform. 
 Leaving the Illinois, he hastened to Fort Chartres, and entered 
 the council hall with a retinue of 400 warriors. Assuming the 
 gravity and dignity characteristic of liis race on i)ublic occasions, 
 he addressed the commandant, as follows : 
 
 "Father, we have long desired to see J'ou, and enjoy tlie pleasure of taking 
 3^ou by the hand. Wliili; we refresh ourselves with the soothing incense of tlie 
 friendly calumet, we will recall the battles fought by our warriors against the 
 enemy which still seeks our overthrow. But while we speak of their valor 
 and victories, let us not forget our fallen Iieroes, and with renewed resolves and 
 more constant endeavors strive to avenge their death by the downfall of our 
 enemies. Father, I love the French, and have led liither my braves to main- 
 tain your authority and vindicate the insulted honor of France. But you nmst 
 not longer remain inactive and sutler your red brothers to contend alone against 
 the foe, who seek our common destruction. We demand of you arms and 
 warriors to assist us, and when the English dogs are driven into tlie sea, we 
 will again in peace and happiness enjoy with you these fruitful forests and 
 l)rairies, the noble heritage presented b}^ the Great Spirit to our ancestors." 
 
 St. Ange', being unable to furnish hiniAvith men andnninitions, 
 offered in their stead compliments and good will. But I'ontiac, 
 regarding his mission too important to be thus rejected, com- 
 plained l)itterly that he should receive such poor encouragement 
 from those whose wrongs he was endeavoring to redress. His 
 warriors pitched their lodges al)()nt the fort, and siu-h were the 
 manifestations of disi)leasure that the commandant ai)prehened 
 an attack. Pontiac had i>revi()usly caused his wives to pr(^}>ar(' a 
 belt ot wampun more than six feet in length, interwoven with the 
 totems of the ditt'erent tribes and villages still associated with him 
 in the prosecution ot the war. While at the fort this was assigned 
 to a chosen band of warriors who were instructed to descend the 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIEACY. L 
 
 Missi.ssippi, and cxliibitiiiit:;- it to the mimerous nations liviiiji- on 
 its baiilvs, exliort thvui to repel all attempts wiiieli the Eni;lisli 
 niijiht make to ascend the river. They were turtlier recpiired to 
 call on the governor of New Orleans and obtain the assistan('e 
 Avhieh St. Angc had refused. I'ontiae, aware that the Mississii)pi 
 on the south, and the Ohio on the east were the channels by wiiich 
 Illinois vras most accessible to the English, wisely determined to 
 inter})ose barriers to their api)r()aeh by these .yreat lii.niiways. 
 Not lonji' after the departure of his warriors, tidinj^s were received 
 at the fort which verihed the sai;acity and correctness of his anti- 
 cii>ations. 
 
 The previous s])rin<;- ^lajor Loftus, with a force of 400 men, 
 sailed fioni J'ensacola to New Orleans, for the purpose of asceud- 
 in<^' tlie Mississipi>i ami takini>' possession of Fort Chartres. iJehig 
 end»arked in unwieldy boats, his progress was slow, and when 
 only a short distance abo\e the town he was unexpectedly assailed 
 by the warriors of I'oidiac. They were fired upon from both sides 
 of tlie river, which, swollen by a freshet, had inundated its banks 
 and formed swami)y labyrinths, from which it was impossible to 
 dislodge the foe. Several soldiers were killed at the first discharge, 
 and the terrified oftleers immediately deciding a farther advance 
 impossible, fell back to New Orleans. Here they found the merri- 
 ment of the French greatly excited at their discomfiture, which, 
 it was alleged, had been caused by not more than ;>() warriors. 
 Loftus. smarting under the ridicule, bohlly accused the governor 
 of having been the autliorof his defeat, tlnrngh there was not the 
 slightest ground for such suspicion. As the result of fear, from 
 which he had not yet r<'covered, he likewise conceived the idea 
 that the Indians intended to attack him on his return on the river 
 below, and petitioned the governor, whom he had just accused of 
 collusion with the savages, to interpose and prevent it. The 
 French otficer, with a look of contempt, agreed to furnish him 
 with an escort of French solders, but Loftus. rejecting this humil- 
 iating offer, declared he only wanted an interpreter to confer with 
 the Indians whom he should meet on the way. One was grante<l, 
 and he sailed from Pensacola, leaving the forts of Illinois still in 
 the hands of the Fren<'li, but virtually controlled and protected 
 by the warriors of Pontiac. After this abortive effort to reach 
 Foit Chartres, Captain l*itman sailed tixmi Mobile to make a sec- 
 ond attempt. Hearing- in New Orleans the commotion excited 
 among the saviig(\s l)y the messengers of Pontiac, he was deterred 
 from proceeding ojx'idy without an escort. It however occurred 
 to him that he might reach his destination in the guise of a 
 Frenchman, by going- with a company of Creole tra<}ers, but owing 
 to the great danger of detiH-tion, this also was abandoned. 
 
 In the meantime the and)assadors of Pontiac, true to the trust 
 reposed in them, had tra\ersed the imnu'use forest solitudes, 
 -watered by the t(utuous wimlings of the Mississipi)i, reeking 
 Avith the deadly exhalations of poisonous marshes. Visiting the 
 tribes scatter<'d over this vast wilderiu'ss, even to the southern ex- 
 tremeof Ijouisiana, whither the fame of Pontiac had preceded them, 
 they infused into them a si)irit of resistance to Pritish encroach- 
 ments. Next re])airing to New Orleans to denuind military aid, 
 they found the inhabitatds excited over the transfer of their 
 territory- to the dominion of Spain. By a special provision New 
 
156 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Orleans had not been included in tbe cession made to England 
 east of the Mississippi, and now they had just learned that tlieir 
 parent country had transferred all her remaining i^ossessions to 
 the crown of Spain, The inhabitants cordially hated the Span- 
 iards, and their patriotic governor, inortitied at the disgrace, be 
 came the victim of a disease that shortly afterward caused his 
 death. BoAved with disease and sliame, he received the messen- 
 gers of Pontiac in the council hall of the town. Besides the 
 French officials, a nund)er of English officers Avere present at the 
 interview. The orator of the Indian deputation Avas a SluiAvnee 
 Avarrior, avIio, displaying- the great belt of Avampum and pointing 
 to the English, said : 
 
 " These red* dogs have crowded upon us more and more, and wlieu we ask wiiy 
 tluy doit, we are lold that j^ou, our French fathers, have given them our huid. 
 But we know they have lied. These lands are neither yours nor theirs, and 
 no man shall give or sell them without our consent. Fathers, we have always 
 been your faithful children, and we have come to obtain from you arms to aid 
 us in this war." 
 
 After an ineffectual attempt by tlie governor to allay the animos- 
 ity expressed in the speech, and a promise to furnish them Avitli 
 sup])]ies for their immediate Avants, the council adjourned till the 
 next day, When, however, it again assembled, the dying gover- 
 nor had breathed out his life. M. Aubrey, his successor, presided 
 in his place. After one of the Indian orators, according to the 
 solemn custom of his people, had expressed his regret for the sud- 
 den death of the goA^ernor, a Miami chief arose and said : 
 
 "Since we last sat on these seats we have heard strange words. We hare 
 learned that you, whom we have loved and served so well, have given these 
 lands on which we dwell to our common foe. We have also ascertained lliat 
 the English have forbidden you to send traders to our villages, and that you, 
 whom we thought so great and brave, have obeyed tlieir conmiands like 
 women, leaving us to die and starve in misery. We now tell you again that 
 these lands are ours, and moreover that we can live without your aid and hunt 
 and tish -and fight as did our ancestors before us. All we ask is the guns, the 
 knives, and the hatchets we have worn out in fighting your battles." 
 
 To these home-thrusts of Indian invective, M. Aubrey could 
 make but a feeble reply. Presents Avere distributed among them, 
 but produced no effect on the imlignant Avarriors, ;ind on the mor- 
 roAv they commenced their jiscent of the great river. 
 
 The great intliience of Pontiac in Illinois convinced General 
 Gage, the successor of (ileneral Amherst, thtit as long as the posts 
 of Illinois remained in the hands of French officers tind the flag of 
 France was recognized in any ]>art of the ceded territory, it Avould 
 be impossible to eradicate from the minds of the Indians the i)han- 
 tom of French assistance, lie therefore deteiinined to send a 
 force A\'estward of sufficient magnitude to OAcrcome all opposition, 
 and at once termimite the Avar, by removing the cause. After the 
 repulse of Loftus the southern route to Illinois Avas regarded as 
 impracticable, and it was decided to send the troops by way of the 
 Ohio. George Croghan and Lieutentmt Frazer, accompanied by a 
 small escort, Avere sent in advance to prepare the Iiulitmsfor the 
 advent of the contemplated expedition. Croghan had for years 
 been a trader among the Avestern tribes, and by the aid of his 
 manly character had won the res]K'ct of the savages, and Avas Avell 
 fitted for the discharge of this iini)ortant trust. The party set out 
 
 •Alluding to the red coats of the British soldiers 
 
PONTIAC'S nOXSPIRACY. 157 
 
 for Fort Pitt in February, 1765, and after having penetrated snow- 
 bonnd forests and iiionntain detiles duriiifi' the rij^ors of a severe 
 winter, they aiTived safely at the fort, llerc^ Cro.uli:in \v;is de- 
 tained several weeks, for the pur[)ose of having a eonsultation 
 with the Shawnees and Delawares, along whose southern bolder 
 the expedition was to i)ass. In the meantime, fearing that the 
 delay attending his negotiations might have a i)rejudieial effect 
 upon the tribes of Illinois, he sent Frazer immediately forward to 
 enter upon the im])ortant duties with which they had been en- 
 trusted. The icy blockades which during the winter had obstructed 
 the navigation of the Ohio, now disappeared, and the party em- 
 barking in a canoe, descended with the current of the river near 
 1,00(1 ndles without encountering opx)Osition. But when a landing 
 was effected the followers of Pontiac were on hand, and he met 
 with a rece])tion similar to that accorded to Morris the i>revious 
 autumn. P>uffeted and threatened with death, he abandoned the 
 object of his A'isit, and lied in disguise down the river to seek a 
 refuge among the French. The universal overthrow which had 
 attended the efforts of the Indians in all the surrounding regions, 
 caused them to look upon Illinois as sacred ground, and iience 
 their determined efforts to prevent its desecration by the intru- 
 sion of their hated foe. 
 
 The English, having thus far failed to effect an eidrance into the 
 country by force and negotiations, now determined to try their 
 hand at conciliation. They had heard of the Avonderful intluence 
 exerted over the sa^'ages in this way by the French, and concluded 
 that their own efforts might be attended with similar results. For 
 this purpose they secured the services of a Frenchnuin, and sent 
 him u}> the river with a boat load of goods, Avhich he was instructed 
 to distribute among the Indians as presents from the English. 
 Intelligence of this movement traveled far more rapidly than the 
 supplies, and Pontiac deternnned that they should siibserve his 
 OAvn interest and not that of his enemies. He. therefore, watched 
 the arrival of the boat, and no sooner had a landing been effected 
 than his men leaped aboard, and having flogged the Frenchnuin 
 and his crew, distributed the goods among tliemselves. As was 
 customary, these supplies were soon squandered with reckless 
 prodigality, and the savages wheninessed with want turned to the 
 French for assistance. But the latter were now expecting the 
 arrival of a British force to take possession of the country, ami 
 fearing that punishment might overtake them for past offences, 
 concluded it best to withhold their assistance. St. Ange and other 
 officers, also believing that their successors would soon arrive, 
 informed them that henceforth they must look for supi)lies to the 
 English, whose good will it was now their interest to cultivate. 
 
 Hunger itself is more powerful than an "army Avith banneis, " 
 and when the savag(\s saw other disasters equally appalling and 
 imminent, the most resolute warriors began to hesitate in regaid to 
 the further prolongation of the struggle. Even Pontiac, whose 
 masculine fibre and enduring fortitude the ordinary vicissitudes of 
 w^ar failed to affect, began to waver when he learned that the highest 
 French dignitaries refused to grant him aid. The expectations 
 which had so long nerved his arm were fast vanishing, ami 
 with a sorrowful heart he beheld the vast civil and nnilitary com- 
 binations he had formed, in a state of hopeless disintegration. 
 
158 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Deserted by allies ou every haud, there was no place of refuge 
 whither he might fly for safety. In the south and west were fierce 
 tribes, the hereditary enemies of his peoi)le; from the east came 
 an oN'erwhelmiiig foe to engulf him, while the north, the home of 
 his children and the scenes of his youthful activities and aspi- 
 rations, was under the guns of an impregnable fortress. At 
 present, unable to extricate himself from the labyrinth of impend- 
 ing dangers, he was compelled to submit and wait a future day of 
 vengeance. 
 
 Croghan, having completed his conference with the Indians at 
 Fort Pitt, with hisow^n men and a number of Delaware and Shaw- 
 net? warriors, ou the loth of jMay, 1705, started down the Ohio. 
 With little detention, he landed on the Illinois shore, a short dis- 
 tance below the mouth of the Wabash.* Soon after disembark- 
 ing, he was uuexi)ectedly greeted by a shower of bullets proceed- 
 ing from tangled thicki^ts on the banks of the river, whereby 5 of 
 his men were killed and most of the reiuainder wouuded. Imme- 
 diately following the exi)losion of nuisketry, 80 yclpiug Kickapoos 
 rushed from their coverts, and disarming the English, took posses- 
 sion of all their i)ersonal effects. When thus I'endered itowerless, 
 the assailants began to apologize for the dastardly attack. They 
 declared to Croglian that the French had told them that his escort 
 consisted of Cherokees, their mortal enemies, and that under this 
 false impression, they had made the assault. This i)retext was, 
 however, another instance of the deception for which that tribe 
 Avas distinguished. Though endeavoring to excuse their conduct 
 on the plea of ignorance, it was afterward ascertained that they 
 had dogged Croghan for several days, and knew well the charac- 
 ter of his esc(ut. \Yith less government over themselves than 
 children, and tilled with the instinct of devils, their real object was 
 to wreak vengeance on the English and gratify a rabid desire for 
 blood. 
 
 Carefully guarded as a prisoner, Croghan was conducted uj) the 
 Wabash to Vinceunes, where, fortunately, he met with a number 
 of his former friends, who not only effected his release but sharply 
 reprimanded his captors for their nujustifiable conduct. From 
 Vincennes he was escorted farther up the river to Fort AVatanon 
 an^gg^rtaiiied with nuicli apparent cordiality by Indians with 
 w'fldiHe had been previously acquainted. Here he spent several 
 days in receiving and shaking hands with deputations of chiefs 
 and warriors from the surrounding region, all of whom were appar- 
 ently anxious to be on friendly terms with the English, and 
 expressed a desire for the return of peace. In contrast with these 
 evidences of good will, a Frenchman arrived Avith a message from 
 a chief living in Illinois, urging the Indians in the vicinity of the 
 fort to put the English ambassador to death. Despite this mur- 
 derous request, he was assured by his savage friends that they 
 would not only protect his person, but assist in taking possession 
 of the country where the hostile chief resided. Unexpectedly a 
 
 *" On the 6th of June they arrived at the mouth of the Wabash. Here they found a 
 breastwork, supposed to have been erected by Indians. Si.x miles further, they 
 encamped at a place called the 'old Shawnee village,' upon or near the present site 
 of Shawneetown, which perpetuates its name. At this place they remained 6 days for 
 the purpose of opening' a friendly intercouse and trade with the Wabash tribes ; and 
 while here, Col. Croghan sent messengers with dispatches tor Lord (Lieut. ?) Frazer 
 who had gone from Fort Pitt as commandant at Fort Chartres, and also to M. St. Ange, 
 the former French commandant."— MONNE' £,1,346. 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. J 59 
 
 messenger next came from St. Aiige, requesting liim to visit Fort 
 Cliartres and adjust affairs preparatory to his withdrawal from 
 the fort. As this was in a(;cordance with his intentions, he imme- 
 diately set out, but had not proceeded far before he was met by 
 Pontiac and a numerous retinue of warriors. The chief liad come 
 to offer terms of peace, and Croghan returned with him to the fort 
 for consultation. The chiefs and warriors of the surrounding 
 nations also met in council, and Pontiac, in the 2>resence of the 
 ninltitnde, introduced the pipe of peace and ex])ressed his concur- 
 rence in the friendly sentiments which had been interchanged at 
 the fort befor<' his arrival. He declared that the French iiad misle<l 
 him with the statement that the English pr()])()sed to stir u[) the 
 Cherokees against his bi-ethren of Illinois, and thus recbu'c them 
 to servitude. The English, he agreed, might take possession of 
 Fort Cliartres and the other military posts, but sagaciously inti- 
 mated that the French had never purchased the lands of the 
 Illinois, and as they lived on them by sufferance only, their suc- 
 cessors would have no legal right to their possession. The amicable 
 feelings manifested by the Jllinois chiefs who Avere present, 
 obviated the ]iecessity of his proceeding farther westward, and he 
 next directed his attention to the tribes of the north-east. 
 
 Accom])anied by Pontiac he crossed to Fort ]Miami, and descend- 
 ing the Maumee, lield conferences with the different tribes dwelling 
 in the immense forests which shelter the baid\S of the stream. 
 Passing thence up the Detroit, he arrived at the fort on the ITtli 
 of August, where he found a vast concourse of neighboring tribes. 
 The fear of punishment, and the long })rivations they had suffered 
 from the suspension of the fnr trade, had banished every thought 
 of hostility, an,d all were anxious for peace audits attenchmtbless- 
 ings. After numerous interviews with different tribes in the old 
 town hall, where Pontiac first essayed the execution of his 
 treachery, Croghan called a final meeting on the 27th of August. 
 Imitating the forest eloquence with which he had long been 
 familiar, he thus addressed the convocation : 
 
 " Ciiil(U'eu, we are very glad to see so many of 3'ou present at your ancient 
 council tire, wliicli lius been neglected for some time past. Since tlien liigh 
 Avinds have blown and raised beavy clouds over your country. I now, by this 
 belt, re-kindle j'our ancient tires, and throw dry wood upon it, that tlie blaze 
 may ascend to heaven, so that all nations may see it and know that you'l^^/jyi 
 peace with your fathers, the English, liy this b(-]t I disperse all the blitclc 
 clouds from over your heads, that the sun may shine clear on your women 
 and children, and that those unborn ma}' enjo}' the blessings of this general 
 peace, now so happil}' settled between your fathers, tlie English, and 3'ou and 
 all your younger brethren toward the sunsetting." 
 
 Pontiac replied : 
 
 "Fatiier, we have all smoked together out of this peace pipe, and as the 
 Great Spirit has brought us togetlier for good, I declare to all the nations that 
 1 have made peace with the English. lu the presence of all the tribes now 
 asscml)led,I lake the King of England for my father, and dedicate this pipe to 
 Jiis use, that thenceforth we may Adsit him and smoke together in peace." 
 
 The object of Croghaii's visit was now consummated, but before 
 he departed he exacted from Pontiac a promise that the following 
 spring he would repair to Oswego and enter into a treaty with Sir 
 AVilliain Johnson, in behalf of the western nations associated with 
 him in the war. * 
 
 ''In the meantime a hundred Highlanders of the 4lM regiment, 
 those veterans whose battle cry had echoed over the bloodiest 
 
160 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 fields of America, had left Foil Pitt iiiuler coimiiaiid of Captain 
 Stirliii^'j and descending the Ohio niideterred l)y the rigor of the 
 season, arrived at Chartres jnst as the snows of early winter began 
 to Avhiten the naked forests. The tiag of FrancM' descended from 
 the rampart, and with the stern courtesies of war St. Ange yielded 
 up his [)ost, the citadel of Illinois, to its new masters. In that 
 act was consummated the double trium}»h of British power in 
 America. England had crashed her hereditary foe ', France in her 
 fall had left to irretrievable ruin the savage tribes to whom her 
 policy and self-interest had lent a transient sui)port."* The doomed 
 nations were next to seal their submission to the i)ower which had 
 wrought their ruin, and British sway wonld be complete. 
 
 Keminded of his promise to Croglian by the leafy dra])ery of 
 summer, Pontiac repaired to Oswego, and for the last time appeared 
 before the representatives of English sovereignty. In the midst 
 of a large concourse, which the im})(H'taiice of the occasion had 
 drawn together, he arose and said : "Fatlier, we thank the Great 
 Si)irit who has given us this day of bright skies and geiiial warmth 
 to consider the great affairs now before us. In his presence, and 
 in behalf of all the nations toward the sunsettiiig, of which I am 
 the master, I now take you by the hand. I call ujjon him to wit- 
 ness, that I have spoken from my heart, and in the name of the 
 tribes which I represent, I i)ronuse to keep this covenant as long 
 as I live." Having now fulfilled his promise, he retired from the 
 scene of his humiliation with a sad heart. Before his fierce glance 
 the vail Avhich hides the present from the future was witlulrawn, 
 and he saw his people, deceiNed by intruding strangers, driven 
 from the home of their ancestors and fleeing westward to perish 
 on the desert with hunger. 
 
 After the treaty he returned to the west, and for three years 
 buried his disappointment in the seclusion of its dark forests, 
 providing as a comiiu)n hunter for his family. In the earlier part 
 of the year 176!), some slight disturl)ance occurred between the 
 Indians of Illinois and some French traders living in and arcmnd 
 St. Louis. Simultaneously Pontiac appeared in the excited region, 
 but whether he was connected with the disturbance is not known. 
 The English evidently' regarded him with distrust, and determined 
 to take his life to prevent a repetition of the bloody drama he had 
 formerly enacted. Soon after his arrival he went to St. Louis and 
 called on his old friend St. Ange, then in command of the Spanish, 
 garrison. For this purpose he arrayed himself in the uniform 
 Avhich had been presented him l)y ]Montcalm,and which he had the 
 good taste never to wear except on important occasions. St. Ange 
 and the principal inhabitants of the place gave him a cordial wel- 
 come, and exerted themselves to render his visit agreeable. He 
 had been there but a few days when he heard that there was a 
 social gathering of the Indians at Caliolda, on the oi)posite side 
 of the river, and informed his friend that he ^\<)uld cross over and 
 see what tliey were doing. St. Ange, aware of the danger he 
 woidd encounter, endeavored to disuadehim from his purjwse, but 
 the chief boasting that he was not afraid of the English, departed. 
 At Cahokia he found the Indians engaged in a drunken carousal, 
 and soon becoming intoxicated himself, started to the neighboring 
 woods, and shortly afterward was heard singing magic songs, in 
 
 ♦Parkman. 
 
PONTIAC'S CONSPIRACY. 161 
 
 the mystic influence of which he reposed the greatest confi- 
 dence. 
 
 There was an English trader in the village at the time, who, in 
 common with the rest of his countrymen, regarded him with the 
 greatest distrust, and while tlie oportunity was favorable deter- 
 mined to effect liis destruction. He approaclied a vagabond Indian 
 of theKaslcaskia tribe, and bribed him with a barrel of whiskey to 
 execute his murderous intent. The assassin api)roached the woods, 
 and at a favorable moment glided up behind the chief and buried 
 his tonuihawk in his brain. Thus basely terminated the carreer 
 of the warrior, whose great natural endowments nuule him the 
 greatest hero of his race, and with him ended their last great struggle 
 to resist tlie inroads of ci^'ilized nu^n. The Ixxly was soon found, 
 and the village became a i)andemonimn of howling savages. His 
 friends, worse than brutalized by their fiery potations, seized their 
 arms to wreak vengeance on the perpetrator of thenuuder, but the 
 Illinois, interposing in behalf of their c<mntrynuin, drove them 
 from the town. Foiled in their attempt to obtain retribution, they 
 fled to the neighboring nations, and making kno^ni the momentous 
 intelligence, a war of extermination was de(;lared against the 
 abettors of this crime. Swarms of Sacs, Foxes, Pottawatomies, 
 and other northern tribes who had been fired by the eloquence of 
 the nnirt^ red chief, descended to the plains of Illinois, and whole 
 villages were extirpated to appease his shade.* St. Ange pro- 
 cured the body of his guest, and mindful of his former friendship 
 buried it with the honors of war near tlie fort under his command 
 at St. Louis. His proud nmusoleum is the great city which has 
 since risen above his unknown grave, and his loud requiem the diu 
 of industry and the tramp of thousands descended from the race 
 he hated with such remorseless rancor. The forest solitudes 
 through which he loved to wander have been swept away, his 
 warriors are no more, and the rusty relics of tlieir foimer existence 
 can only be found in the cabinet of the antiquary, while the great 
 river which floated only their frail canoes is now beat into foam by 
 the powerful enginery of the passing steamboat. 
 
 *It was at this time that the trag-edy before described on the Itock of St. Louis was 
 enacted, which has since been known as "Starved Rock." 
 
 11 
 
Chapter XV. 
 
 1705-78— ILLmOIS AS A BRITISH PROVINCE— P«rf?«Z 
 
 Exodus of the French — Their Dislike of English Laiv, and 
 Restoration of their Oivn by the Quebec Bill — La7id Gra^its by 
 British Commandants — Curious Indian Deeds — Conditon of the 
 /Settlements in 1700, by Captain Pitman — Brady''s and Meillette^s 
 Expeditions to the St. Joseph in 1777-78. 
 
 It was on the 10th of October, 1705, that the ensign of France 
 was rephiced on the ramparts of Fort Chartres by the tiag- of Great 
 Britain. At the time the cokjnies of the Athiutic seaboard were 
 assembled in prehminary congress at New York, dreaming of hb- 
 erty and indei)eiidence for the continent, while the great valley 
 east of the Mississippi, with its broad rivers rnshing from the 
 monntaiiis and gathering in the plain, its vast prairies misnrpassed 
 for their wealth of soil, its boundless primeval forests with their 
 deep solitudes, into which were presently to be summoned the 
 eager millions of many tongues to build their hapijy homes, passed 
 finally from the dominion of France under the yoke of Great 
 Britain.* Besides being constructively a part of Florida for over 
 100 years, during which time no Spaniard set foot upon her soil 
 or rested his eye upon her beantful plains, Illinois, for nearly DO 
 years, had been in the actual occupation of the French, their ]>uny 
 settlements slumbering quietly in colonial dependence on the far- 
 off waters of tlie Kaskaskia, Illinois and Wabash. But the Anglo- 
 Saxon had gained at last a peimanent foot-hold on the banks of 
 the great river, and a new life, instinct with energy and progress, 
 was about to be infused into the country. 
 
 M. Neyon de Villiers, long the commandant of Fort Chartres, 
 kept from the French, and particularly the Indians, so long as he 
 could, a knowledge of the cession of the country to Great Britain 
 by the treaty of Paris, and finally, when it had gained publicity 
 and when the power and influence of the great Indian conspirator 
 was broken, rather than dwell under the detested flag of the con- 
 queror, he abandoned Illinois in the summer of 1701, followed by 
 many of the inhabitants, to New Orleans. The comumnd of the 
 fort and country then devolved upon ]\I.'St. Ange de Bellerive, a 
 veteran Canadian officer of rare tact and large ex])erience, who, 40 
 years prior, had escorted Charlevoix through the West, tlie Jesuit 
 travelermentioning him with commendation. His position reqmred 
 
 •Bancroft 
 
 162 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 1G3 
 
 skill and address to save his feeble colony from a renewed war 
 with the English, and from a general massacie by the incensed 
 hordes of savages nnder Pontiac surrounding him. By the home 
 go\'ernment he had been advised of the cession to the British, and 
 ordered to surrender the country upon their arrival to claim it. 
 By repeated embassies from Pontiac and from various warlike 
 tribes toward the east, he was importuned for assistance against 
 the English, and unceasingly tormented by the Illinois demand- 
 ing arms and ammunition. Butiu various dexterous ways, he put 
 off from time the importunate savages with fair speeches and occa- 
 sional presents, wLile he anxiously awaited the coming of theBritish 
 garrison to take possession and relieve him of his dilemna.* After 
 the evacuati(m of Fort Chartres, he also retired from the country, 
 conducting his feeble garrison of 21 soldiers to the infant settle- 
 ment of 8t. Louis, where, in the absence of any S])anish rule as 
 yet, he <'ontinued to exendse the fun(rtions of his otiice with great 
 satisfaction to the peoi)le until Xoveml)er, 1770, when his authority 
 was superceded l>y I'iernas, commandant under the Spanish gov- 
 ernment. ]>>' a secret treaty, ratitied Xoveinber .'*>, 1702, the king 
 of Prance had ceded to the king of Spain all the territory west of the 
 JMississippi to its remotest tributaries, including Xew Orleans ; but 
 the civil jurisdiction of S])ain was not enforced in Up]>er Louis- 
 iana until 17()9.t Prior to his departure, with a fatherly care and 
 benevolent intent, St. Ange instituted for those he left behind m 
 Illinois some wise and salutory regulations regarding titles to 
 their laiuls-l 
 
 The exodus of the old Canadian French was large just prior and 
 during the British occupation. LTnwilling to dwell under the flag 
 of their hereditary enemy, many, including some of the wealth- 
 iest families, removed witli their slaves and other persoiml effects, 
 mostly to Up])er Louisiana, just across the Mississippi, and settled 
 in the small handet of St. Genevieve. Others joined and aided 
 Laclede in founding the present great city of St. Louis, the site of 
 which had then but just been selected as a depot for the fur com- 
 pany of Louisiana. The number of inhal)itants of foreign Uneage 
 residing in the Illinois settlements were estimated as follows: 
 AA'hite men able to bear arms, TOO; white women, 500 ; their chil- 
 dren, S50; negroes of both sexes, 900 ; total, 2,050, Bythehegira, 
 one-third of the whites and a greater proportion of the blacks 
 removed, leaving probably less than 2,000 souls at the commence- 
 ment of the British occupation, during whicli the influx did not 
 more than keep pace with theetflux. Fcav English or Americans 
 even visited the country under the British rule, and less settled. 
 Scarcely au Anglo-Saxon (other than the British troops, traders, 
 ofdcers and favored land speculators) was seen there during 
 this time, and until the conquest of Clark in 1778. 
 
 Captani Steiling, of the 4r2d Poyal Highlanders, brought out 
 with him, and in taking x^ossession of Fort Chartres, published 
 the following proclamation: 
 
 " B}' His Excellency, TIkwhus Gage, Major-Gencrnl of the King's armies, 
 Colonel of tlic 22d regiment, General commanding in chief all tlie forces of His 
 Majesty in Nortli America, etc., etc: 
 
 ♦Seehis letter to Governor D'Abliadie, Sept. 9th. 
 +Monette's Valley of the Mississippi. 
 $Peck's Annals of the West. 
 
164 HISTORY OF ILXINOIS. 
 
 "Whereas, by tlie peace concluded at Piiris, on tlie 10th of February, 1763, the 
 country of tlie Illinois has been ceded to His Britannic Majesty, and the taking 
 possession of the said country of the Illinois by troops of His Majesty, though 
 delayed, has been determined upon, we have found it good to make known to 
 the iiihnbilants — 
 
 "That His Majesty grants to the inhabitants of the Illinois the liberty of the 
 Catholic religion, as it lias already been granted to his subjects in Canada; he 
 has consequently given tlie most precise and effective orders, to the end that 
 his new Roman Catholic subjects of the Illinois may exercise the worship of 
 their religion according to the rights of the Roman Church, in the same manner 
 as in Canada; 
 
 " That His Majesty, moreover, agrees. that the French inhabitants, or others, 
 who have been subjects of the Most Christian King, may retire in full safety 
 and freedom, whereverthey please, even to New Orleans, or any other part of 
 Louisiana, altlKUigli it should liappen that the Spaniards take possession of it 
 in the name of His Catholic Majesty ; and they may sell their estate, provided 
 it be to subjects of His Majesty, and transport their effects, as well as persons, 
 without restraint upon their emigration, under anj^ pretense whatever, except 
 in consequence of debts or of criminal process; 
 
 "That those who choose to retain their lands and become subjects of His 
 Majesty, shall enjoy the same rights and privileges, the same security for their 
 persons and efi'ects and liberty of trade, as the old subjects of the King; 
 
 "That they are commanded, by these presents, to take the oath of fidelity 
 and obedience to His Majesty, in presence of Sieur Sterling, Captain of the 
 Higliland regiment, the bearer hereof, and furnislied with our full powers for 
 this purpose; 
 
 " That we recommend forcibly to the inhabitants, to conduct themselves like 
 good and faithful subjects, avoiding by a wise and prudent demeanor all cause 
 of complaint agaijist them ; 
 
 " That they act in concert with His Majesty's officers, so that his troops may 
 take peaceable possession of all the posts, and order be kept in the ccmntry ; by 
 this means alone the}^ will spare His Majesty the necessity of recurring to force 
 of arms, and Avill lind themselves saved from the scourge of a bloody war, and 
 of all the evils which the march of an army into their country would draw 
 after it." 
 
 " We direct that these presents be read, published, and posted up in the 
 usual places. 
 
 " Done and given at Headquarters, New York. Signed with our hand, sealed 
 with our seal at arms, and countersigned by our Secretary, this 30th of De- 
 cember, 1764. 
 
 "Thomas Gage, [L. S.] 
 
 " By His Excellency: 
 
 " G. Mattjrin." 
 
 Witli sucli fair and liberal concessions, so well calculated to gain 
 the favor and affection of the French, and stay their emigration, 
 Captain Sterling- began the government of this isolated colony. 
 Bnt it was destined to be of short duration. He died some three 
 months after his arrival, leaving the ofUcc of commandant vacant. 
 Under these circumstances theu- former beloved commandant, M. 
 St. Ange, returned to Fort Chartres and discharged the duties of 
 the office untd a successor to Captain Sterling should be sent out. 
 Major Frazer was next sent out from Fort Pitt. He exercised a 
 brief bat arbitrary power over the settlements, when he was re- 
 lieved by a Colonel Eeed, who proved for the colonists a bad 
 exchange. For 18 months he enacted the petty t;yTant by a series 
 of milit.ary oppressions over these feeble settlements, which were, 
 by reason of their isolation, entirely without redress. He was, how- 
 ever, at last removed and succeeded by Lieutenant Colonel Wil- 
 kins, who arrived September 5, 1708. He brought orders for the 
 establishment of a court of justice in Illinois for the administra- 
 tion of the laws and the adjustment and trial of all controversies 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 105 
 
 existing between the people relating to debts or property, either 
 real or personal. 
 
 On the lilst of aSTovember, 17G8, Col. Wilkins issned his procla- 
 mation for a civil adniinistration of the laws of the conntry. For 
 this purpose he appointed seven magistrates or jndges, from 
 among the people, as a civil tribunal, to hold montldy terms of 
 court. The names of these tirst exponents of the principles of the 
 common law of England u])on the soil of Illinois, we are unable to 
 transmit. A term of this court was held, commencing December 
 C, 1708, at Fort Chartres, whicli was the first common law juris- 
 diction ever exercised within the present limits of Illinois. Al- 
 though we call this a common law court, it was in point of fact a 
 vei;y nondescript affair. It was a court of first and last resort — no 
 appeal lay from it. It ^\'as the highest, as well as lowest — the 
 only court in the country. It i)r()ved anything but popular, and 
 it is just x)Ossil)le that the honorable judges, themselves taken 
 from among the people, may not have been the most enlightened 
 exponents of t\w law. The i)eople were under the laws of England, 
 but the trial by jury — that great l)uhvark of the subject's rigid, 
 coeval with the common law ai*d reiterated in theUritish Consti- 
 tution — the French mind was umible to api)reciate, particu- 
 larly in civil trials. They thought it very inc(»nsistent that the 
 English should refer nice questions relating to the rights of 
 property to a tribunal consisting of tailors, shoemalcers or other 
 artisans and tradesi>eople, for determination, rather than the 
 judges learned in the law. While thus under the English admin- 
 istratu)n civil jurisprudence was sought to be brought nearer to 
 the people, where it should be, it failed, because, owing to the 
 teachings and perhaps geinus of the French mind, it could not be 
 made of the peo])le. For near 90 yeai's had these settlements been 
 ruled by the dicta and decisions of theocratic and military tribu- 
 nals, absolute in both civil and criunnal cases, but, as may well be 
 imagined, in a i)ost so remote, where there was neither wealth, 
 culture nor fashion, all incenfives tooppress the colony renuiined 
 dormant, and the extraordiiuiry i)owers of the priests and com- 
 mandants were exercised in a patriarchal spirit which gained the 
 love and implicit confidence of the peo])le. Believing that their 
 rulers were ever right, they gave themselves no trouble or i)ains 
 to review tlieir acts. Indeed, many years later, Vthen Illinois had 
 passed under the jurisdiction of the United States, the perplexed 
 inhabitants, unable to comprehend the to them complicated ma- 
 chinery of republicanism, begged to be deli\'ered from the intoler- 
 able burden of self gov(^rnment and again subjected to the will of 
 a military commandant. 
 
 In 177-1 the English Parliament restored to tlie people their 
 ancient laws in civil cases, without the trial by jui-y ; guaranteed 
 the free exercise of their religion, and rehabilitated the Eomau 
 Catholic clergy with the privileges stipulated in the articles of 
 ca})ifulation of Montreal in 17(iO. The act was known as the 
 "■((Quebec bill," which extended the boundaries of the proAance of 
 Quebec to the Mississippi, including all the French inhabitants at 
 Detroit, Mackinaw, on the Wabash, and in the Illinois country. 
 Its object was to firmly attach these remote French coh)nies, as 
 well as all ('anada, to the English government, and to thwart the 
 rising oiiposition of the colonies on the Atlantic i^'aboard to its 
 
160 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 13olicy. The latter strongly disapprobated it, viewing" it as but 
 another stroke of ministerial policy to secure the aid of the French 
 toward tlieu" subjugation. Tlie colonists were then openlj' arrayed 
 against the arbitrary acts of the home government. At a conven- 
 tion held at Falmouth, Mass., ^September 22, 1774, it Avas resolved 
 that "As the very extraordinary and alarming act for establishing 
 the Eoman Catholic religion and French laws in Canada may 
 introduce the French or Indians into our frontier towns, we recom- 
 mend that every town and individual in this country shoidd be 
 l)rovided with a ])roi)er stock of military stores," etc. The French 
 colonists, a]>prised of the bitter opposition of the English colonists 
 to the Quebec bill, and believing that Puritanism was inclined to 
 deprive them of the religious ])rivileges granted by it, were bound 
 the closer to the support of the government during tlie first years 
 of the revolutionary war. It is asserted that the French supplied 
 Indian war j^arties with arms and ammunition to commit depre- 
 dations upon the western frontiers of the English settlements.* 
 n/ After the acquisition of ISTew France by Great Britain, the king, 
 by his proclamation of October 7th, 1703, forbade his subjects 
 "making any i)urchases or settlcMuents whatever, or taking- pos- 
 session of any of the lands beyond the sources of any of the rivers 
 which fall into the Atlantic ocean from the west or northwest." 
 The policy was to reserve this vast and fertile region as a hunting- 
 ground for the Indians, and by means of the lakes place withiu 
 British control their enormous fur and peltry trade ; to confine the 
 English colonies to the seaboard within the reach of British sliip- 
 ping, which would be more promotive of trade and commerce, 
 while the granting of large bodies of land in the remote interior, it 
 was apprehended, would tend to separate and render independent 
 the people, who woidd want to set up for themselves.t 
 
 iSfot withstanding this policy of the home government, the most 
 noticeable feature of Colonel Wilkins' adnunistration was the won- 
 derful Uberalit^' with which he parceled out the rich domain over 
 which he ruled in large tracts to his favorites in Illinois, Philadel- 
 phia and elsewhere, without other consideration than the 
 re(iuiring of them to re-convey to him an interest. Under tlie 
 proclamation of the king, dated October 7, 170o, the taking or pur- 
 chasing of lands from the Indians in any of the American colonies 
 was strictly forbidden, without special leave or license being first 
 obtained. In view of this i)rohibiti(tn, Colonel AYilkins and some 
 others of the commamlers during the British occuijation of Illinois, 
 from 1705 to 1775, seem to have considered the property of the 
 French absentees as actually forfeited, and granted it away. But 
 this transaction never received the sanction of the king ; by no 
 official act was this property in any manner annexed to the Brit- 
 ish crown. True, under the laws of England, an alien could not 
 hold land, yet to divest his title, and cause it to become escheated, 
 a jnocess in the nature of an inquisition was necessary. Did m)t 
 the same rule apply in the case of a conquered country before the 
 forfeiture of the lands of an absentee became (;om})lete? 
 
 Colonel Wilkins' grants amounted to many thousands of acres. 
 One became afterwards somewhat notorious. This was made to 
 
 'Dillon's Ind. 90, 
 
 +See letter of the Royal Governor of Georgia to the British Lords of Trade, 1769. 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 167 
 
 Jolin Bayntoii, Samuel Wharton and George Morgan, inercliants 
 of Pliiladelpliia — wLo, "trading in tliis country, liavc greatly con- 
 tributed to lii.s uiajesty's service" — "for range of cattle and for 
 tilling graiu," .said to contain 13,i)8(> acres, but the metes and 
 bouiuls disclosed it to cover some 30, (>()() acres.* It was a mag- 
 nificcut domain, lying between the villages of Kaskaskia and 
 Prairie du Ivoclier, in the present county of Randolph. The con- 
 veyance opens and closes with the flourishes of the period : " Joiui 
 Wilkins, Esq., lieutenant colonel of his inajesty's 18th, or royal 
 regiment of Ireland, governor and commandant throughout the 
 Illinois country, sends greeting," etc., etc., whereunto he " set his 
 hand and seal-at-arms at Fort Chartres, this l^th day of Ai)ril, in 
 the ninth year of the reign of our sovereign, Lord George the Third, 
 king- of Great Britain, France and Ireland," etc., etc., 1709. A 
 condition is annexed that "Tlie foregoing be void if disapproved 
 of by his majesty or the commander-in-chief." 
 
 On the2oth of June following, at Fort Ohartres, George Morgan 
 and J. Ramsey executed an instrument of writing, reciting a 
 nund)er of grants besides the foregoing, together with the names 
 of the grantees, wherein in consideration of ColonelJohn AVilkins, 
 "the l)etter to j)romote the said service, has agreed to be interested 
 one sixtli part therein," they "engage that each of the before men- 
 tione<l persons shall assign over to the whole, and to Colonel 
 Wilkins, five-sixth parts thereof," etc. For the better carrying 
 out of their plans, tlie British officers, and their grantees perliai)S, 
 committed a canton <nitrage on the records of the ancient I'rench 
 grants at Kaskaskia, destroying to a great extent their regular 
 chain of title and conveyances.! 
 
 By act of congress of 1788, the Governor of the Northwestern 
 territory was authorized to confirm the possessions and titles of 
 the French aiul Canadian inhabitants and other settlers on the 
 public lands, who, on or before 1788, had professed themsehes 
 citizens of the United States, or any one of them. Governor St. 
 Clair confirmed nnmy of these graids in a very loos** manner, 
 sometinuNs by the bundle. But tliis British grant of 3(>,()0(> acres, 
 which had been assigned to Jolin P^dgar, was i)atented by the 
 Gov<'rnor to Edgar and his (the Govermjr's) son, John JMurray St. 
 Clair, to whom Edgar, previtms to the confirmation, had conveyed a 
 moiety by deed. Much fanlt was Ibnnd with this and many other 
 transactions, and some grave charges weremadebyJMichael Jones 
 and E. Backus, IT. S. laml commissioners for the district of Kas- 
 kaskia, as to the manner of obtaining confirmation of innumerable 
 old land grants. But the title to the claim in (piestion ^^'as after- 
 ward confirmed by the U. S. GoveinnuMit to Edgar and St. Clair, 
 notwithstanding the adverse report of the commissioners. Edgar 
 was for nmny years the largest land holder and richest man in 
 Illinois. He had deserted the British naval service, and in 1784 
 came to Kaskaskia with a stock of goods. 
 
 At an Indian council held at Kaskaskia, in 1773, an association 
 of English traders and merchants, styUng themselves ''Illinois 
 Land Comi)any," obtained, July 5th, from ten chiefs and head men 
 of the Kaskaslvias, Cahokias, and Peorias, by a curiously signed 
 deed, two immense tracts of land, the first 
 
 ♦American State Papers, vol. 11, Public Lands. 
 tAm. State papers. 
 
168 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 " Bugiiiningat themoiilh of the Huron creek, called by the French the river 
 of Marj^, being about a league below the raoiith of the Kaskaskia river; thence 
 a northward of east course, in a direct line to the Hillj' Plains, eight leagues or 
 thereabouts, be the Siime more or less; thence the same course, in a direct line 
 to the Crabtree Plains, seventeen leagues, or thereabouts, bo the same more or 
 less; thence the same course, in a direct line to a remarkable i)lace known by 
 the name of the Big Bufialo Hoofs, seventeen leagues, or thereabouts, be the 
 same more or less; thence the same course, in a direct line to the Salt Lick 
 creek, about seven leagues, be the same more or less; thence crossing the said 
 creek, about one league below the ancient Shawneestown, in an easterly 
 or a to the north of east course, in a direct line to the river Ohio, about four 
 leagues, be the same more or less; tlience down the Ohio, by the several 
 courses thereof, until it empties itself into the Mississippi, about thirty-five 
 leagues, be the same more or less; and then up the Mississippi, by the several 
 courses thereof, to the place of beginning, thirly-tliree leagues, or thereabouts, 
 be the same more or less." 
 
 This, it will be perceived by tracing- the line, iucluded ten or 
 twelve of the most southerly counties in the State. 
 The other tract was bounded as follows : 
 
 "Beginning at a place or point in a direct line opposite to the mouth of the 
 Missouri river ; thence up the Mississippi, by the several courses thereof, to 
 the mouth of the Illinois river, about six leagues, be the same more or less; 
 and then up the Illinois river, by the several courses thereof, to Chicagou or 
 Garlick creek, about ninety leagues or thereabouts, be the same more or less; 
 then nearly a northerly course, in a direct line, to a certain place remarkable, 
 being the ground on which an engagement (U- battle was fcjught, about forty 
 or fifty years ago, between the Pewariaand Rinard Indians, about 50 leagues, 
 be the same more or less ; thence by the same course, in a direct line, to two 
 remarkable hills, close together, in the middle of a large prairie or plain, about 
 forty leagues, be the same more or less ; thence a north-east course, in a direct 
 line, to a remarkable spring, known by the Indians by the name of Foggy 
 Spring, about fourteen leagues, be the same more or less; thence in the same 
 course, in a direct line, to a great mountain to the northward of White Bufialo 
 Plain, about fifteen leagues, be the same more or less; thence nearly a south- 
 west course, in a direct line, to the place of beginning, about forty leagues, be 
 the same more or less." 
 
 The consideration recited in the deed of conveyance was : 250 
 blankets, 200 stroudes, 350 shirts, 150 i)airs of stroud and half 
 thicli stockings, 150 stroud breechclotlis, 500 lbs. of gunpowder, 
 4,000 lbs. of lead, 1 gross of knives, 30 lbs. of vermilion, 2,000 
 guntlints, 200 lbs. of brass kettles, 200 lbs. of tobacco, 3 doz. gilt 
 looking-glasses, 1 gross gun wx)rms, 2 gross awls, 1 gross lire 
 steels, 16 doz. of gartering, 10,000 lbs. of tiour, 500 bus. of Iiuliau 
 corn, 12 horses, 12 horned cattle, 20 bus. of salt, 20 guns, and 5 
 shillings in money. This deed was duly signed by the Indian 
 chiefs and attested by the names of ten persons, and was recorded 
 in the oftice of a notary ptiblic at Kaskaskia, September 2d, 1773. 
 The transaction was effected for the Illinois Land Company by a 
 member named William Murray, then a trader in the Illinois 
 country. There belonged to it two members in London, ten in 
 Philadelphia, two in Lancaster, three in various counties of l*enn- 
 sylvania, one in Pittsburg, and George Castler and James liumsey, 
 merchants of the Illinois cotmtry. The names indicate the members 
 to have been mostly Jews. 
 
 In 1775, Louis Viviat, a merchant of the Illinois country, acting 
 as the agent of an association denominated the Wabash Land 
 Company,* obtained by a deed dated October 18th, from eleven 
 Piaunkeshaw chiefs, immense tracts of land lying on both sides of 
 
 *We recognize in this company some of the same names as in the Illinois Company. 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 169 
 
 the Oiiabacli river, one coinmenciug at Cat river 52 leagues above 
 Viiiceunes, to Point Coupee, with 40 leagues in width on the east 
 side and 30 leagues (90 miles) on the west side — Illinois. Another 
 tract, also on botli sides of the rivcjr, beginning at the mouth of 
 White river, to the Ohio, 50 leagues, and extending 40 leagues into 
 Indiana ami 30 into Illinois. The number of acres contained in 
 these grants was about 37,41)7,(500. The consideration was much 
 the same as recited in tlie other purchases. The deed was regis- 
 tered, as the other, at Kaskaskia. 
 
 The title thus acquired to enormous bodies of fertile lands, was 
 contrary to the King's proclanuition, and at best imperfect. But 
 it was the revolt of the colonies and the establishment of their 
 iudepeudence that frustrated the schemes of these powerful com- 
 panies. Their grants might otherwise have been perfected by the 
 King. In 17>S0 (Ajtril I'Otli), the two land companies effected a 
 consolidation under the style of "The United Illinois and Waliash 
 Land Com])anies." Through their agents they now applied to 
 congress repeatedly for a recognition and conlirmation of tlieir 
 Imlian grants, in part at least, tlieir efforts running through a 
 period of 30 years^l7<S7, 1701, 1707, 1804 and 1810; but thatltody 
 was firm, and all their a])plications were rejected. 
 
 We here give some valuable extracts from an old English report 
 of 108 i)ages, entitled, "The present state of the European Settle- 
 ments on the ]\Iississii)i)i," by Captain Phillip Pitman, i)ublislied 
 at London in 1770. Captain Pitman was engineer in the British 
 army and was sent out to make a survey of the forts and report 
 the condition of the villages and improvements in these newly 
 acquired territories of the British crown. This work is a docu- 
 ment of rare value, filling up, as it does in a measure, a hiatus 
 in Illinois history for which there are no other authentic sources 
 of information. He visited Illinois iu 17G0. Of Kaskaskia, he 
 gives the following description : 
 
 "Tlie village of Notre Dame de Cascasquias is by far tlie most coiisidcral)le 
 settlement in the country of the Illinois, as well from its uumber of inhabi- 
 tants as from its advantageous situation. * * -x- * * 
 
 " Mons. Paget was the first who introduced water-mills in this country, and 
 he constructed a very fine one on the river Cascasquias, which was botji for 
 grinding corn and sawing boards. It lies about one mile from the village. 
 The mill proved fiital to him, being killed as he was working it, with two 
 negroes, by a party of the Cherokees, in the year 1764. 
 
 " The principal buildings are the church and Jesuits' House, which lias a 
 small cliapel adjoining it; these, as well as some other liouses iu the village, 
 are built of stone, ami, considering this part of the world, make a very good 
 appearance. The Jesuits' plantation consisted of 240 arpents (an arpent is 
 85-100 of an acre) of cultivated land, a very good stock of cattle, and a l)rew(!ry ; 
 whicli was sold by tlie French commandant, after the country was ceded to the 
 English, for the crown, in consequence of tlie suppression of the order. 
 
 " Mons. Beauvais was the purchaser, who is the richest of the English sub- 
 jects in this countiy ; he keeps 80 slaves; he furnishes 86,000 weight of fiour to 
 the King's magazine, which was only part of the harvest he reaped in one year. 
 Sixty-five families reside in this village, beside mercliants, other casual people, 
 and slaves. The fort, which was burnt down in October, 1766, stood on the 
 summit of a high rock opposite the village and on tlie opposite side of the 
 river. It was an oblong quadrangle, of which the extreme polj'gon measured 
 290 by 251 feet. It was built of very thick square timber, and dove-tailed at 
 the angles. An officer and twenty soldiers are quartered in the village. The 
 officer governs the inhabitants, under the direction of the commandant at 
 Fort Cliartres. Here are also two companies of militia." 
 
170 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Prairie dii Eocher — " La Prairie des Eoclies" — is described as 
 being 
 
 " About 17 [14] miles from Cascasquias. It is a small village, consisting- of 
 22 dwelling houses, all of -which are inhabited by as many families. Here is a 
 little chapel, formerly a chapel of ease to the church at Fort Chartres. Tlie 
 inhabitants are very industrious, and raise a great deal of corn and every kind 
 of stock. The village is two miles from Fort Chartres. [This was Little 
 Village, which was a mile or more nearer than the Fort.] It takes its name 
 from its situation, being built under a rock that runs parallel with the river 
 Mississsippi at a league distance, for 40 miles up. Here is a company of militia, 
 the Captain of which regulates the police of the village. 
 
 " Saint Phillipe is a small village about five miles from Fort Chartres, on the 
 road to Kaoquias. There are about sixteen houses and a small church standing ; 
 all of the inhabitants, except the Captain of the militia, deserted it in 1765, and 
 went to the French side, (Missouri.) The Captain of the militia has about 
 twenty slaves, a good stock of cattle, and a water-mill for corn and planks. 
 This village stands on a very fine meadow, about one naile from the Mis- 
 sissippi." 
 
 " The village of Saint Famille de Kaoquias (Cahokia) is generally reckoned 
 fifteen leagues from Fort Chartres and six leagues below the mouth of the 
 Missouri. It stands mar the side of the Mississippi, and is marked from 
 ,the river by an island (Duncan's) two leagues long. The village is opposite 
 the center of this island ; it is long and straggling, being three-fourths of a mile 
 from one end to the other. It contains forty-five dwelling houses, and a church 
 near its center. The situation is not well chosen, as in the floods it is generally 
 overflowed two or three feet deep. This was the first settlem nt on the Mis- 
 sissipoi. The laud was purchased of the savages by a few Canadians, some of 
 whom married women of the Kaoquias nation, and others brought wives from 
 Canada, and then resided there, leaving their children to succeed them. The 
 inhabitants of this place depend more on hunting and their Indian trade than 
 on agriculture, as they scarcely raise corn enough for their own consumption ; 
 they have a great plenty of poultry and good stocks of horned cattle. 
 
 '• The mission of St. Sulpice had a very fine plantation here, and an excellent 
 house built on it. They sold this estate, and a very good mill for corn and 
 planks, to a Frenchman who chose to remain under the English government. 
 They also disposed of thirty negroes and a good stock of cattle to difl'erent 
 people in the country, and returned to France in 1764. What is called the 
 fort, is a small house standing in the center of the village. It difl:'ers nothing 
 from the other houses, except in being one of the poorest. It was formerly 
 inclosed with high palisades, but these were torn down and burnt. Indeed a 
 fort at this place could be of but little use." 
 
 Kegardiiig tlie soil, products and commerce, of the colony, Pitt- 
 mau says: 
 
 " The soil of this country, in general, is very rich and luxuriant ; it produces 
 all kinds of European grains, hops, hemp, flax, cotton and tobacco, and 
 European fruits come to great perfection. The inhabitants make wine of the 
 wild grapes, which is very inebriating, and is, in color and taste, very like the 
 red wine of Provence. 
 
 In the late wars. New Orleans and the lower parts of Louisiana were sup- 
 plied with flour, beef, wines, hams and other provisions, from this country. At 
 present its commerce is mostly confined to the peltry and furs, which are got 
 in trattic from the Indians ; for which are received in return such European 
 commodities as are necessary to carry onthbt commerce and the support of its 
 inhabitants." 
 
 Of the Indians, be says : 
 
 " The principal Indian nations in this country are, the Cascasquias, Kaho- 
 quias, Mitchigamias, and Peoyas; these four tribes are generally called the 
 Illinois Indians. Except in the hunting seasons, they reside near the English 
 settlements in this country. They are a poor, debauched, and detestable 
 people. They count about 350 warriors. The Panquichas. Mascoutins, Mi- 
 amies, Kickapous, and Pyatonons, though not very numerous, are a braveand 
 warlike people." 
 
 Of old Fort Chartres, the strongest fortress in the Mississippi 
 valley, which was rebuilt by the French government in 1756, 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 171 
 
 •» ~ — ' ■ 
 
 duriug' the French and English war in America, Captain Pitman 
 furnislies the following descrii^tion : 
 
 " Fort Chartres, when it belonged to France, was the seat of the o-overnment 
 of the Illinois. The headquarters of tlie English commanding officer is now 
 here, who, in fact, is the arbitrary governor of the country. The fort is an 
 irregular quadrangle; the sides of the exterior polygon are 490 feet. It is 
 built of stone, and plastered over, and is only designee! iis a defense against the 
 Indians. The walls are two feet two inches thick, and are pierced with loop- 
 holes at regular distances, and with two port-holes for cannon in the facies and 
 two in the flanks of each btistion. The ditch has never been flnished. The 
 entrance to the fort is through a very handsome rustic gate. Within the walls 
 is a banquette raised three feet, for the men to stand on when they tire through 
 the loop holes. The buildings within the fort are, a commandant's and a com- 
 missary's house, the magazine of stores, corps de garde, and two barnicks ; 
 these occupy the square. Within the gorges of the bastion are a powder mag- 
 azine, a bake house, and a prison, in the floor of which are four dungeons, and 
 in the upper, two rooms, and an out-house belonging to the commandant. The 
 commandant's house is thirty-two yards long and ten broad, and contains a 
 kitchen, a dining-room, a bed-chamber, one small room, five closets for serv- 
 ants, and a cellar. The commissary's house (now occupied by oflicers) is built 
 on the same line as this, and its proportion and the distribution of its apart- 
 ments are the same. Opposite these are the store-house and the guard-house; 
 they are each thirty yards long and eight broad. The former consist's of two 
 large store-rooms, (under which is a la"ge vaulted cellar,) a large room, a bed- 
 chamber, and a closet for the store-keeper ; the latter of a soldiers' and ofticers' 
 guard-room, a chapel, a bedchamber, a closet for the chaplain, and an artillery 
 store-room. The lines of barracks have never been finished ; they at present 
 consist of two rooms each for oflicers, and three for soldiers; they are each 
 twenty feet square, and have betwixt a small passage. There are fine spacious 
 1( fts over eacli building which reach from end to end; these are made use of to 
 lodge regimental stores, working and entrenching tools, &c. It is generally 
 believed that this is the most convenient and best built fort in North America. 
 * * * In theye:ir 1764, there were about forty families in the village near 
 the fort, and a parish church, seived by a Franciscan friar, dedicated to St. 
 Anne In the following year, when the English took possession of the coun- 
 try, tliey abandoned their houses, except three or four families, and settled in 
 the villages ( n the west side of the Mississippi, choosing to contmue under the 
 French government." 
 
 In 175G, when the fort was rebnilt, the intervening distance 
 to the bank of the JMississippi was some 000 yards. A sand bar 
 was forming opposite, to which tlie river was fordable. At the 
 time of Captain Pitman's visit, the cnrient had cut the bank away 
 to within 80 yards of the fort, the sand bar liad l)ec()me an island 
 covered with a thick growtli of cottonwoods, and t]n^ intervening 
 chantu'l was 40 feet deep. The great freshet of 1772, which inun- 
 dated the American IJottom, produced such havoc u]>on the bank 
 tliat ihi^ west walls and 2 bastions were i)re('i[>itated hito the rag- 
 ing current of the mighty river. Tlie Pritish garrison abandoned 
 it and and took up their quarters at Fort (xage, on the bluff of the 
 Kaskaskia, opposite the ancient village of that nanu^, to which the 
 seat of government was remoA'ed. Since then the great citadel of 
 New France has been a ruin. Tlu)se of its walls winch escaped 
 destruction by the flood, were in great part haided away by 
 the neigld)oring villagers for buihling purposes. In 1820 the 
 ruins were visited by Dr. Lewis C. Beck and Mr. Hanson of 
 Illinois, who made an accurate drawing of the plan for the Illinois 
 and Missouri (lazetter. Many of the rooms, cellars, ]>arts of the 
 walls, showing the oi)ening for the large gate, i)ort-ho]es, &c., were 
 still fouml in a tolerable state of preservation. The exterior line 
 of the walls measured 1417 feet. Bv 1850, a dense forest siu*- 
 
172 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 rouuded and covered the ruins, and trees, 3 feet in diameter, bad 
 grown up within the crumbling- walls.* 
 
 Fort Ciage, which continued to be the headquarters of the Brit- 
 ish while they occupied the country, was, in shape, an oblong par- 
 allelogram, 280 by 251 feet, built of large squared timbers. In 1772 
 the British garrison consisted of only 20 soldiers and an officer. 
 In the village of Kaskaskia were organized 2 small companies of 
 well disciplined French militia. When George liogers Clark, in 
 1778, effected the bloodless conquest of Illinois, not a British sol- 
 dier was on garrisou duty in the country. M. Rocheblave, a French- 
 man, was in command as the British governor. He occupied Fort 
 Gage, and in Kaskaskia the French militia was kept in good order. 
 We iind no chronicle of how long Colonel Wilkiiis remained in 
 command, or when the last remnant of the British garrison took up 
 its line of dejiarture. It is highly probable that these withdrawals 
 were made with the breaking out of the war of the revolution. 
 
 Tlie Illinois French were remote from the nuiin theatre of the 
 revolutionary war; and while they had perhaps little sympathy 
 with the object for which the colonies straggled, their hatred of 
 their hereditary foe was active. In 1777, Thomas Brady, Avhom 
 they commonly called " Monsieur Tom, " a courageous and enter- 
 prLsingFennsylvanianwlio had wandered outto Cahokia, organized 
 there and at Prairie duPonta band of 1() volunteers, and ni Octo- 
 ber, proceeding to the British post on the St. Joseph in Michigan, 
 surprised and attacked the fort in the night time, defeating the 
 garrison of 21 men. A negro . slave who had es<;a|(ed from the 
 French in Illinois, was killed in his flight. A large quantity of 
 goods for the Indian trade, fell into the hands of tlie victors, which 
 doubtless had been one incentive to the expedition. With these, 
 their homeward j(jurney was retarded, and the British traders, 
 having rallied the soldiers and stirred up the Indians, Avith a large 
 force made pursuit and fell upon the camp of the marauders on 
 the Calumet in the night time, killing 2, wounding 2 more (who 
 were afterward dispatched with the tomahawk) and made prisoners 
 of the rest. Brady, in being sent East, effected his escaped, and 
 later returned to Cahokia, where he uuxrried the celebrated widow 
 LeComi)t. 
 
 The following year, while Colonel Clark was conducting his 
 expedition against Kaskaskia, Paulette Meillet, the founder 
 of Peoria, which was then called L(U-ille a Meillet, who was 
 a remarkable character for bravery, brutality and enteri)rise, 
 burning to avenge the disaster of Brady's party, in which were 
 many of his relatives, assembled about 300 warriors, red, white 
 and mixed, and marclied thence to St. Joseph. On the way, 
 through the broad praries on foot under the rays of the sunnner's 
 sun, M. Andin, one of his men, exliaiisted with fatigue, gave out. 
 Celerity and secrecy being essential to success, an<l unwilhng to be 
 encumbered with the sick, the soldier lell a sacrifice to the toma- 
 hawk, sunk in his brain by the brutal commander. Arriving at 
 the post, the fort was surrounded, and, after an obstinate engage- 
 ment, the garrison surrendered and was permitted to retire to Canada. 
 Tiic i)risoners of Brady's party Avere released, and the stores of 
 nuM-chandise, said to have amounted to $50,000, were brought away 
 to Peoria.t 
 
 *Koj'nold's Pioneer History. +See Pecli's Annals of the West. 
 
Chapter XVI, 
 
 1778_COXQUEST OF ILLIXOTS, BY GEORGE ROGERS 
 
 CLAlMv. 
 
 Wliile the colonists of the east were uiaintaiuiiig- a fierce strnogle 
 with the armies of England, tlieir western frontiers were ravaged 
 by merciles?? butcheries of Indian warfare. The jealousy of the 
 savage had been aroused to action by the rapid extension of 
 American settlements westward and the imi)roper influence exerted 
 by a number of military posts garrisoned by British troo]>s in 
 difiVrent parts of the west. To prevent indiscriminate slaughters 
 arising from tliese causes Illinois became the theatre of some of the 
 most daring exploits connected with American history. The hero 
 of these achievements by which this beautiful land was snatclied 
 as a gem from the British crown, was George Rogers Clark. He 
 was born in Albemarle county, Virginia, November 19, 1752, and 
 like his great cotemporary of the Revolution in his youth studied 
 and practiced the art of surveying land. The manly exercise con- 
 nected with the original sur\'eys of the country seemed to create a 
 partiality for the adventurous exposiu'e of military life. Little is 
 known in regard to Clark's early history. It is said he became a 
 l^roficieut in geography and devoted considerable time to the study 
 of mathematics, but owing to the imperfect condition of the schools 
 and the exciting times of his youth, the presumx^tiou is that his 
 education was confined to the usefid rather than ornamental 
 branches of learning. Shortly after attaining his majority he en- 
 listed as a staff officer in Governor Uunmore's war and with many 
 other daring spirits of the times was present in the campaign of 
 1771 on the river Scioto. For meretorious conduct he was offered a 
 commission in the royal service which, owing to the unfriendly feel- 
 ing then existing between the colonists and the mother country and 
 unsatisfactory termination of the war, he declined. Dunmore 
 became api^rehensive that the colonists would rebel, and it was 
 believed by Washington and others that he was instructed to so 
 treat with the Indians that he could use them as allies in case of 
 re\'oIt. 
 
 A spirit for adventure being awakened in the mind of young 
 Clark by the war in 1775 he visited the wilds of Kentucky. Here 
 he found the pioneers in a state of excitement as to whether the 
 country on the south side of the Kentucky river was a part, of the 
 territory of Kentucky or Virginia. At the suggestion of Clark a 
 meeting was called for considering the subject and devising 
 the best means of remedying the perplexed state of affairs. The 
 meeting was duly held and a paper prepared setting forth tlieir 
 grievances, and Clark and Gabriel Jones were appointed to lav it 
 
 173 ' 
 
174 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 before tbe legislature of Virginia. The envoys started on their 
 journey, and after suffering the most distressing hardships arrived 
 at the county of Bottetourt \Yhere they heard that the legislature 
 hadjust adjourned. At the reception of this news Gabriel Jones 
 returned to the settlement on the Holstein river and Clark pro- 
 ceeded on his way to Hanover county, where he found Governor 
 Henry lying sick at his private residence. Clark made known to 
 him the object of his visit, which the executive cordially ap- 
 proved, and to further his views gave him a letter to the council 
 for further consideration. At the fall term of the Legislature of 
 177(J, Clark and Jones presented their Kentucky petition to that 
 body, and des])ite the efforts of Henderson and other I^Torth Caro- 
 lina land si)eculators, the disi)uted territory was erected into the 
 county of Kentucky, which embraced the limits of the present 
 State of the same name. In addition to this political recognition, 
 the parent State gave 500 lbs. of pow^ler for the defense of the 
 isolated settlement, a gift wdiich now seems small, but flien looked 
 large, for the tremendous struggle of the revolution deinanded all 
 the energies of the donor to protect her own people and firesides 
 from the ravages of tlie enemy. 
 
 Clarlc's great services for Kentucky and the good w'ill inspired 
 by his manly api)earance and genial manners induced the pioneers 
 to i)lace him ut the head of their irregular militia, and he soon 
 instituted such effective means of defense that in all the fierce 
 conflicts with the savages, wliich gave Kentucky the name of 
 "Bloody Ground," his valor was more than e(]ual to the emergency. 
 Intimately acquainted with the progress of colonization west of 
 the Alleghanies, he was the first to fully comprehend the advan- 
 tages which would arise from the extension of American conquest 
 to the banks of the Mississippi. While associated with the mili- 
 tary operations in Kentucky, Ins sagacity enabled him to trace the 
 Indian ravages to the instigations of British enussaries at Kas- 
 kaskia, Vincennes, Detroit and other places in their possession. 
 These remote posts furnished the Indians with clothing and mili- 
 tary stores, and Clark believing that their capture was the only 
 possible way to abate the evils caused by their savage allies, sent 
 two spies by the name of Moore and Dunn, to learn the nature of 
 their defences. They having made observations returned and re- 
 ported that their militia was well organized and active ; that the 
 predatory excairsions of the Indians were encouraged by the British 
 authorities and thatnotwithstandingBritish agents had endeavored 
 by misrepresentation to prejudice the minds of the French inhab- 
 itants against the colonists many of them were CAidently in favor 
 of their cause and interests. Clark, furnished with this informa- 
 tion, again started to Virginia to make known to the government 
 his plans respecting the subjugation of these British outposts. 
 While on the road thither, fortunately for the enterprise which he 
 had in view, the battle of Saratoga was fought, and resulting in 
 victory to the Americans, prepared the public mind for a more 
 spirited prosecution of the war. On reaching the cax)ital, Clark's 
 im])ressive representations captivated the mind of Governor Henry 
 with the idea of subduing these British strongholds in the centre 
 of their savage confederates. The enterprise, however, was re- 
 garded as extren)ely hazardous, and so great was secrecy indis- 
 pensable to success that it was j '^t deemed prudent to entrust the 
 
BRITISH OCCUrATION. 175 
 
 direction of it to the legislature. Being interrogated by Jetlerson as 
 to wlnit lie would do in case of defeat, lie rei>lied "cross the INlissis- 
 sippi and seek the protection of the Spaniards." The plan was so 
 thoroughly digested thattlie approbation of the conned was readily 
 obtained, and to secure men, George AVythe, Thonuis Jefferson and 
 George Mason ])k'dged themselves, if theenteri)i'ise was successful, 
 to use their inrtuence to secure a bounty of 300 acres of land for 
 every one eiigaged in the service. Governor Henry gave him 11*00 
 pounds in depreciated (currency, and an order on the connnaudant 
 of Ft. Pitt for ammunition boats, aud other necessary equii)meuts. 
 He also furnished instructions, one set authoriziug him to enlist 7 
 compa-iues of 50 men each for the defense of Keutucky, and the 
 other was drawn as foUoAVS : 
 
 •' Lieut. CoUmel George Rogers Clark : 
 
 "You are to proceed with all convenient speed to raise 7 companies of soldiers, 
 to consist of 50 men eacli, officered in the usual manner, and armed most prop- 
 erly for the enterprise; and with this force attack the British force at Kaskas- 
 kia. It is conjectured tliat there are many pieces of cannon, and military' stores 
 to a considerable amount at that place, the taking and preservation of which 
 would be a valuable acquisition to the state. If you are so fortunate, tlu-refore, 
 as to succeed in your expedition, you will take every possible measure to 
 secure the artilkay and stores, and whatever may advantage the state. For the 
 transportation of the troops, provisions, etc., down tiie Ohio, j'ou are to appl}' 
 to tiie commanding officer at Fort Pitt for boats, and during the whole trans- 
 action you are to take especial care to keep the true destination of your force 
 secret ; its success depends upon this. Orders are, therefore, given to Captain 
 Smith to secure the two men from Kaskaskia. It is earnestly desired liiat 
 you show humanity to such British subjects and other persons as fall into your 
 hands. If the white inhabitants of that post and neighborhood will give un- 
 doubted evidence of their attachment to this state, for it is certain they 
 live within its limits, by taking the test prescribed by law, and by ever}^ other 
 way and means in their power, let them be treated as fellow-citizens, and their 
 persons and property be duly respected. Assistance and protection against all 
 enemies, wliatever, shall be atiorded tliem, and the commonwealth of Virginia 
 is pledged to accomplish it. But if these i)eople will not accede to these reason- 
 able demands, they must feel the consequences of war, under that direction of 
 liumauity tliat has hitherto distinguished Americans, and whicli it is expected 
 you will ever consider as the rule of your conduct, aud from wliich you are in no 
 instance to depart. The corps you are to command are to receive the pay and 
 allowance of militia, and to act under the laws and regulations of this state 
 now in force as to militia. The inhabitants of this post will be informed b}^ you 
 that iu case they accede to the ofl'ers of becoming citizens of this common- 
 wealth, a proper garrison will be maintained amcng them, and every attention 
 bestowed to render their commerce beneficial ; the fairest prospects being opened 
 to the dominions of France and Spain. It is iu contemplation to estabiisli a 
 post near the mouth of the Ohio. Cannon will be wanted to fortify it. Part 
 of tiiose at Kaskaskia will be easily brought thither, or otherwise secured as 
 circumstances make necessary. You are to appl}^ to General Hand, at Pitts- 
 burg, for powder and lead necessary for this expedition. If he cannot supply 
 it, the person who has that which Captain Sims brought from New Orleans 
 can. Lead was sent to Hampshire, l)y mj' orders, and tliat may be delivered to 
 you. Wishing you success, I am your humble servant, 
 
 P. Henry. " 
 
 These instructions breathe a generosity and humanity in strik- 
 ing contrast with the spirit of the British government, whose 
 minions were suffering our soldiers to i)erish by thousands in 
 X)rison-ships for the want of food and offering bounties to encour- 
 age the merciless savages to murder aud scalp our heli)less women 
 aud children. It was thought best to raise the requisite number 
 of troops west of the Alleghauies, as the colonies needed all the 
 
176 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 available forces of the east for the Atlautic defences. To eulist 
 men Major William B. Smith went to the settlement of the llol- 
 stein, and for the same imrpose Captains Leonard Helm and Joseph 
 BoAvman visited other localities. Clark proposed to get assist- 
 ance at Pittsburg, but on account of jealousy arising from the 
 rival claims of Pennsylvania and Virginia to the dominion of the 
 Kentucky settlements, he was unsuccessful, and the latter colony 
 furnished the troops. His real destination being uidi;nown, many 
 thought it would be better to remove the Kentuckians tlian to 
 attempt their defence while their own citadels and the whole 
 country rouiul them was threatened by the savage confederates of 
 England. Clark in the meantime being informed that Major 
 Smith had laised 4 companies, and that Captains Helm and Bow- 
 man would join him with two others at Brownsville, on the 
 Monongahela, made no further attempts to secure enlistments at 
 Eort Pitt. Major Smith's men were to go by way of Cumberland 
 Gap to Kentucky, and Clark, with the other troops, amounting to 
 300 men and a number of private adventurers, commenced the 
 descent of the Ohio. At the mouth of the great Kanawa he was 
 besought by Captain Ai-buckle, commanding the fort at the junc- 
 tion of the two rivers, for assistance in capturing a band of Indians 
 who had attacked him the preceding day. Thinking, however, his 
 own enterx>rise was of greater monvent, and wishing to strictly 
 (;omply with his instructions, he continued on his course. He 
 landed at the mouth of the Kentucky, with the intention of erect- 
 ing a fortitication at that i)oint, but after mature consideration 
 abandoned it for a more favorable i»()sition farther westward, at 
 the falls of the Ohio. While here, learning that of the 4 compa- 
 nies promised 1)5' Major Smith, Captain Dillard's alone had arrived 
 in Kentucky, he wrote to Captain Bowman, infonning him of his 
 intention to establish a fort at the falls, and having in view an 
 enterprise of the greatest importance to the country, requested him 
 to repair' thither with Major Smith's men, and as many more as 
 could be spared from the frontier stations. At this i>lace he for- 
 tified Corn Island, opposite Louisville, not only as a base of 
 operations, but as a means of protecting boatmen, who, in i)ass- 
 ing the rapids, were frequently attacked and plundered by the 
 Indians. When joined by Captain Bowman's party from Ken- 
 tucky, it was discovered that the withdrawal of his forces from the 
 country left it to a great extent Avithout ijrotection, and therefore 
 only a portion of them were engaged, with the understanding that 
 when the remainder of Major Smith's men arrived the others should 
 return for the defence of Kentucky. Clark now announced to his 
 assembled forces the real destination of the expedition, and with 
 the exception of Captain Dillard's com^jany, the project met the 
 enthusiastic approbation of tlie men. Lest desertions might occur 
 in the disaffected company, the boats were secured and sentinels 
 stationed at different jioints where the Ohio was snjqiosed to be 
 fordable. IS'otwithstanding these precautions, one of Captain 
 Dillard's lieutenants and the most of the men, passing the senti- 
 nels miperceived, waded to the opposite shore and disajipeared iu 
 the woods. A mounted party the next day was sent in pursuit of 
 the fugitives, with orders to kill all who refused to return, and 
 although overtaken 20 miles from the river, such was their vigil- 
 ance that only 8 were caught and brought back. " The disap- 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 
 
 jioiiitmeiit caused by tlic loss of tlie men," says Clark in his 
 joiuiiiil, "was cruel, and in its conse(|uences alarming-." The 
 reniaiiMler of tlie deserters, dispersed in the woods to elude pur- 
 suit, sutfcred tlie most intense ]>rivations, and wIumi finally they 
 reaclicd Harrodsl»ur,i;-, the bra\e Iventuekians were soexasj)erated 
 at the l)as<'n^ss of their eondnet that for a lon<^' time they refused 
 to admit tlieiii into their stations. The ibi'ces were now about to 
 sepai'ate, and in a- day of rejoicing and mutual encouraiiement the 
 heroes of the Kaskaskia exi)editiou took leave of their friends who 
 "were to return for the defense of Kentucky. After the departure 
 of the latter, Clark's little army, under the command of Ca|)tains 
 Bowman, Helm, Ilarrod and ]Mont;j:omery, only numbered 153 
 men. Everything being in readiness, on the 24th of June, 1778, 
 while the sun was in a total eclipse, he left the position which he 
 had foitified a)id fell down the liver. This phenomenon ftxes the 
 tinu', of Clark's end)aikation, and by the same means other impor- 
 tant events of history, the dates of vrhich were wholly unknown, 
 have been determined with ]K'rfect precision. Science in nioderji 
 tinu's has so far diveste<l (XM-nirences of this kind of the teirors 
 which they excited in ancient armies, that among the men of the 
 expeilition but little imi)ortauce was attached to the e(;lipse, as a 
 ]!a]l)inger for good (U' e^■il. 
 
 All nimecessary ])aggage was left behind that they nught not be 
 encun)be)ed in the difticult march which they proposed to make 
 across the country, in order to reach unper(;eived the post which 
 they designed to capture. Clark was anxious to make an assault 
 upon the ])ost of Vincennes, but the greater extent of the French 
 settlements in Illinois, the prospect of setairing them as allies if 
 tliey were conquered, ami the facility of retreat to the Spanish 
 possessions beyond the Mississip})i, in case of defeat, inclined him 
 to the original ]>laii of the <;aini)aigu. While descending the river 
 a letter was fortunately received from Colonel Campl)ell, of Fort 
 Pitt, stating that an alliance had been entered into ])et\veen France 
 and the United States, and that the army and navy of the fornun' 
 were coming to our assistance. This infornuition was calculated 
 to nuike a favoral)le im[)ression upon the French and Indians of 
 Illinois, and theivfore of the greatest im|»ortance to the successful 
 terniinati(m of the expedition. Lauding on an island at the mouth 
 of the Tennessee, the guard stoppe<l a man by the mime of John 
 Duff and a nund>er of other Ainerican hunters, from whom they 
 also had the good fortune to obtain valuable information respect- 
 ing the garrison at Kaskaskia. Duff and his party had recently 
 been at that place, and he informed Clark that a French Cauadiau 
 by the name of Eocheblave was iu command; that he kept the 
 militia well drilled ; sentinels stationed on the Mississi])])!, and 
 had ordered the hunters and Indians iu their excursions through 
 the country to watch for the rebels, or '' Long Knives," as they 
 designated the Virginians. They also stated the fort was kept in 
 order as a place of retreat in case they were attacked; that its de- 
 fence was attended to more for the purpose of military discipline 
 than from any apprehensions of immediate danger, and that if 
 any assault was anticipated, its great strength would enable the 
 garrison to make a formidable resistance. The <leclaration of 
 Moore and Dunn respecting the fearful apprehensions with which 
 the inhabitauts regarded the Virgiuians was likewise coirobora- 
 12 
 
178 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ted. Ha^dng obtained the hunters for guides, Clark dro])ped 
 down the stream, and hmdiiig near Fort Massac, conceakid the 
 boats in a small creek emptying into the river. Tlie distance from 
 this point to Kaskaskia is 120 miles, and at that time the inter- 
 vening country was difficult to traverse, in consequence of streams, 
 swamps and other obstructioiis. The expedition started across 
 this tract in the direction of Kaskaskia, both leader and men 
 sharing the vicissitudes incident to travel in the wilds of an un- 
 cultivated region. Success depended entirely upon secrecy, ami 
 to send out hunting parties in x>wi'suit of game, upon which they 
 mostly depended for subsistence, it was feared might be the 
 means of discovery. 
 
 On the third day, John Saunders, the principal guide, becoming- 
 bewildered and being unable to point out the course, suspicion was 
 immediately excited in regard to his fidelity, and a cry arose among 
 the men to put him to death. He, however, accomi)anied by a 
 guard, was permitted to go to the adjoining prairie for fnrther 
 search, and was told unless he directed them into the hunters' 
 path leading to Kaskaskia, a road in consequence of having so fre- 
 quently tra\eled lie could not easdy forget, he should certaiidy be 
 hung. After spending some time in examining the featiues of the 
 country, he exclaimed : " I know that point of timber, " and point- 
 ing out the direction of Kaskaskia established his innocence. In 
 the afternoon of the 4th of July, 1778, the invading party, with 
 their garments worn and soiled, and beards of three weeks' 
 growth, approached the village where their long and wearisome 
 journey terminated, and concealed themselves among the hills east 
 of the Kaskaskia river. Clark sent out jiarties to reconnoitre, and 
 at night-fall, a detachment took possession of a house £ of a mile 
 above the town, and on the west side of the river. From the family 
 living in it, he learned that there were a great man 3' men in town, 
 that but few of them were Indians, and that the militia had 
 recently been under arms, but no danger being discovered 
 they were dismissed. Boats having been procured for transport- 
 ing the troops, the forces were divided into 3 parties ; 2 of which 
 crossing to the west side of the river, were to proceed to different 
 parts of the town, while the other, under Colonel Clark, was to 
 capture the fort, on the east side. If Clark should be suc(;essful 
 in securing the fort, at a given signal the other detachments, with 
 a shout, were to take possession of the town and send heralds 
 who could speak the French language, to warn the inhabitants 
 that they would be shot down if they appeared in the street. 
 
 Kaskaskia, at that time, contained about 250 houses, and the 
 British officer, who had charge of the place after the revolt of the 
 Atlantic colonies, endeavored to create in the minds of the unsus- 
 pecting French the most dreadful apprehensions respecting the 
 ferocity and brutality of the " Long Knives ; " telling them that 
 they not only plundered property but indiscriminately murdered 
 men, women and children when they fell into their hands. The 
 object of these falsehoods was to stimulate the people of these 
 remote outposts to make a determined resistance in case they were 
 attacked, and to induce them to supply the Indians with guns, 
 amuumition and scalping knives to aid them in their dei)redations 
 upon the Americans. Clark now wisely concluded if he could sur- 
 prise them fear would cause them to submit without resistance, 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 170 
 
 and tliey would afterward become friendly from gratitude if treateil 
 with unexpected clemency. Tiie plan of attack was 8uccessfully 
 executed. Clark witlioiit resistance entered the fort throngb a 
 postern gate on the side next to the river, and the others, passing' 
 into the village at both extremities with the most hideous outcries, 
 alarmed the unsnspec-ting inhabitants, who commenced screaming 
 "the Long Knives, " ^^ t])e Tjong Knives." In about two hours 
 after the suiprise, the townsmen, jtiuiic stricken, delivered uj) their 
 arms, and though the victory was comi)lete it had been obtained 
 without shedding a dro].) of blood. The A'ictors, in oltedience 
 orders, rendered tlie remainder of the night a pandemonium of 
 tumult. This artifice as it prevented o])position and the effusion of 
 blood, was the most innocent means that couldhave been resorted to 
 to in ordertobe successful. M. llochel>lave, the British commadant, 
 was not aware that he was a prisoner till anotticerof the detachment 
 Avhich had eiiter(Ml the fort, penetrated to his bedroom and tapi)ed 
 him on the shoulder. The public i)apers were either concealed or 
 destroyed. It Avas supposed that the governor's lady, presunung 
 upon the deference which would be extended to her sex and ra.nk, 
 concealed them in her trunk, and such was the chivalry of these 
 ancient Virginians that, although the papers were supi)Osed to be 
 valuable, they suffered her trunic to be rt^moved without exauumi- 
 tion. 
 
 In seeking for information during the night, they learned that a 
 consideral)le body of Indians was encamped near Cahokia, 50 
 miles higher up the Mississippi, and that M. Cerre, the princi}>al 
 merchant of Kaskaskia and an inveterate hater of the American 
 cause, was at St. Louis on his way to Quebec. This inhuinatiou 
 respecting the intensity of his hatred was, perhaps, a misrepre- 
 sentation. None of the French iidiabitants of llliiu:>is were 
 greatly attached to the British government, and it is probable that 
 his unfriendly feeling Avas only the i^rejudice ho, in common with 
 the rest of his countrymen, entertained against the Virginians. 
 His fanuly and a large assortment of merchandise were then in 
 Kaskaskia, and Clark thought that if these pledges were in his 
 possession he could render the influence of this oi)ulent merchant 
 available in case an emergency should occur in which he ndght 
 need it. A guard was accordingly placed about his house and 
 seals put on his property, and also on all the merchandise belong- 
 ing to oth'^r citizens of the place. 
 
 On the 5th day Clark withdrew his forces from the town to posi- 
 tions around it, aud to augment the gloomy forebodings which had 
 already unnerved the inhabitants, he sternly forbade all intercourse 
 between them and his own men. After the renu)val of the troops 
 the citizens were again permitted to appear in the streets, 
 but when Clark perceived they assembled in groups and earnestly 
 engaged m conversation, he caused some of the princix>al militia 
 ofiicersto be put in irons, without assigning any cause for the arrest 
 or granting any opportunity for defense. This exhil)ition of arbi- 
 trar^' power did not spring from a desi)otic/ disposition or a 
 disregard , for the principles of liberty. oSFo one exct^lled Clark in 
 the resi)ect whicli he entf'rtained for the rights of others, and he 
 keenly felt himself the hardships which the neticssities of his situ- 
 ation compelled him to inflict upon those in his })ower. The terror 
 hitherto intense now reached its climax, and when hope had nearly 
 
180 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 vaiiisliecl Clark, who of all commanders had the clearest insight 
 into hnman nature, granted an audience to the priest and five or 
 six elderly men of the village. The sliock which they received 
 from the capture of their town, by an enemy which they regarded 
 with so niucli horror, could ouly be equaled by their siu'prise when 
 admitted to the i)resence of their captors. Their clothes were torn 
 and soiled by tlie rough usage to which they had been exposed, and, 
 as Clark says, they looked more friglitfiil than savages. Their 
 appearance, uncouth in the extreme, doubtless to the sensibility 
 and refinement of the ancient French, seemed worse than the 
 reality. After admission the dei)utatation remained sometime 
 unable to speak and when at length their business was demanded 
 they could not determine who should be addressed as commander 
 so effectually had the hardships of the ex})edition obliterated the 
 distinction between the chieftain and his men. Colonel Clark 
 being pointed out, the priest in the most submissive tone and 
 posture, said that "the i^eople expected to be separated, perhaps 
 never to meet again and they requested the j)rivilege of meeting- 
 in the church to take leave of each other and commend their 
 future lives to the protection of a mennful God.^ Clark, aware 
 they suspected him of hostility to their religion, carelessly remarked 
 that "the Americans did not interfere with the beliefs of otliers 
 but let every one worship God accordijig to his convictions of 
 duty," that they might assemble in the church "but on no account 
 must a single person venture outside of the village." Some farther 
 conversation was attempted, but that the alarm might not Jibate it 
 was roughly repelled, Clark abru})tly informing tbem that he had 
 not time for further intercourse. Tlie entire population immediately 
 convened in the church, and the houses being deserted orders were 
 given that they should not under any pretext be entered by the 
 soldiers, and that all private proi)erty should be honorably 
 respected. After remaining in church a longtime the priest and a 
 few others again called upon Colonel Clark, and exjiressed their 
 thanks for the great favor which he had granted them and also a 
 desire that he would inform them what disiiosition he proposed to 
 make of the people. They stated that, owing to the remoteness of 
 their situation they did not fully com})rehend the nature of the 
 contest between England and her colonies ; that their conduct had 
 been influenced by British comuianders whom they were constrained 
 to obey, and that some of then- citizens had expressed themselves 
 in favor of the Americans, whenever the restraint to which they 
 were subject would permit. They added, their present coiulition 
 was the result of war and they were willing to submit to the loss 
 of property, but begged that they might not be separated from 
 their families, and that some food and clothing might be retained 
 for their future sui)port. 
 
 Clark having now sufficiently wrought upon their fear, resolved 
 to try the efl'ect of lenity. "What !" said he, abrui)tly addressing 
 them, "do you mistake us for savages? Do you think Americans 
 will strip women and children and take the bread out of their 
 mouths?" "My countrymen," said the gallant colonel, "disdain to 
 make war ujxm lieli)less innocence. It was to protect our own 
 Avives and children that we penetrated the wilderness and subju- 
 gated this stronghold of British and Indian barbarity, and not the 
 despicable object of plunder. We do not war against Frenchmen 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 181 
 
 The King of France, your former ruler, is the ally of the colonies; 
 his fleets and anus are fighting our battles, and the war must shortly 
 terminate. Embrace whicli ever side you deem best, and enjoy 
 your religion, for Anu^rican law respects tlie beliexxns of every 
 creed and i)rotects them in tlieir rights. Aiid now, to convince you 
 of my sincerity, go and inform the inhabitantstlmttliey can dismiss 
 their fears concerning their proiierty, and families that they can 
 conduct thenjselves as usual, and that their frieuds who are in 
 j'onflDemeut shall immediately be released." The revulsion of 
 feeling which followed this speech can better be imagined than 
 described. The village seniors endeavored to a])ologize for the 
 suspicion they had entertained, upon the supposition that the 
 l)ro})eTty of a captured town IxOongs to the (;onuuercrs, but Clark 
 geiiliy dispensing with all explanations desired tliem immediately 
 relieve the anxiety of tlieir friends and strictly com[)]y with the 
 terms of a proclamation which he was al)out to issue. The 
 good news soon spread throughout the village; the bell rang 
 a merry peal and the peojtle alnsost frantic witli joy assembled in 
 the church to thaidc God for their ha])py deli^•erance. Clark's 
 iinticipfitions were fully ^'erifle<l, the inhabitants were allowed all 
 tho. liberty they could desire and all clieertully submitted to him as 
 the commandant of the village. 
 
 An expedition was now plaimed against Cahokia, and several 
 inlluentifd Kaskaskiiins volnntarily offered to acc<nnpany it. They 
 assnred Clark that the C.rhokians were their kindred and frieuds, 
 and that when the situation of Kaskaskia was exphiined to them 
 they would be willing to change their political relations. Their 
 offer was accepted, and Major Bowman and his comi)any were 
 .selected as one party for the new concpiest, and the other the 
 French militia comniiinded by their former oiiicers, the entire 
 detachment being i;ut little inferior in nuud)ers to that wluch 
 invaded the country. jNlounted on horseba<'k the expedition 
 reached Cahokia before the suri-euder of Kaskaskiti was known to 
 the inlial.fitaids, On iM'ing ]^)erceived, th<^ cry of ''the Long Knives, 
 the Long Knives," as at Kaskaskia, created the most intens<^ con- 
 sternation among the timid portion of the little community. As 
 soon, howevei', as the new Fn'iich allies could notify them of the 
 change of government, this formidable a^jpellation of the Virginians 
 was changed to huzzas for freedom and the Americans. Major 
 Bowman took possion of the fort without op])osition; the Indian 
 force in the vicinity Avas dispersed, and the inhabitants a few days 
 afterward took the oath of allegiance. 
 
 The success which had hitherto attended the efibrts of Clark 
 greatly exceeded the means employed, but such were the compli- 
 cations of his position tliat he was compelled to use the greatest 
 address in order to maintain it. He cultivated the nH)st intimate 
 relations with the Spanish on the west bank of the IMississippi, 
 and iiistrueted his men to create the im])ression that the head- 
 cpiarters of his army was at the Falls of the Ohio ; that rehiforce- 
 ments were daily expected to airive, and that when they came 
 military o])erations aa oidd be resumed u])on a more exteiuled scale. 
 This artilice enabled him to couideraet the extensive influence of 
 his adversaries, and ultimately triumi)h over their superior 
 strength. 
 
182 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 In tlie meantime M. Cerre, whose iiiflneuce Clark had endeav- 
 ored to obtain by .seeming his property and family, became 
 aiixions to retnrn to Kaskaskia. Feiiring to place himself in the 
 hands of the American oflicer withont some protection, he pro- 
 cnred letters of recommendation from the Spanish governor of St- 
 Lonis, and the commandant of St. Genevieve, with a view to ob. 
 taining a passport. Clark, however, refused his application, and 
 intimated that it need not be rei>eated, as he understood that M. 
 Cerre was a man of sense, and if he had not been guilty of encour- 
 aging Indian barbarities, he need not ai)prehend any danger. 
 These sentiments having been communicated to M. Cerre, he im- 
 mediately repaired to Kaskaskia, and called upon Colonel Clark, 
 who informed him that he was charged with inciting the Indiiins 
 to plunder and murder the Americans, and tliat humanity required 
 that such violators of honorable warfare should be punished 
 according to the enormity of their crimes. The merchant, in reply 
 to this accusation, said he challenged any num to prove that he 
 had encouraged the depredations of the Indians, and that on the 
 contrary, he could produce many witnesses who had heard hint 
 repeatedly condemn sncli cruelties in decided terms. He further 
 remarked that he never interfered in matters of state, except when 
 liis business denmnded it; that he was not well acquainted Mith 
 the nature of the contest in which the colonists were engaged, and 
 that these charges were i)erhaps jtreferred by some of his debtors, 
 who sought by this means a release from their obligations. Being 
 willing to submit to an examination in the i)resence of his accus- 
 ers, Clark requested him to retire to another room, while he sirm- 
 moned them to api)ear. In a short time they came in, followed by 
 a large part of the inhabitants, but when M. Cerre was brought 
 into their midst they were confounded. Clark told them that he 
 was nnwilling to condemn any one without a trial ; that M, Cerre 
 was now in their presence, and if they found him guilty of tlie 
 alleged crime he should be summarily X'lniished. At the conclu- 
 sion of these remarks, the witnesses commenced A^hispering with 
 each other and retiring, till only 1 out of 7 was left. He being 
 called on for his proof, replied that he had none, and M, Ceire was 
 thus honorably acquitted. His friends and neighbors congratn- 
 lated him upon tiie happy termination of the trial, and Clark 
 informed him that although it was desirable he should become an 
 American citizen, yet if he was not inclined to do so, he was at 
 libc^rty to dispose of his i)roperty ami i<Mnove from the village. 
 M. Cerre was so pleased with the e(]uitable ami gener<ms treat- 
 ment which he had received at the hands of the American com- 
 mander, he imnu'diately took the oath of allegiance and thereafter 
 renmined the staunch friend of the new i)olitical i>ower which he 
 espoused. 
 
 Clark never resorted to artifice or punishment except wlien he 
 could make it condiu'ive to the pid)lic good. In the cases narra- 
 ted he kept u}) the ai)i)eaTance of rigor wjth the view to enhancing 
 the favors which ixdicy and the nmgnanijuity of his own disposi- 
 tion inclined hhii to grant. So adroit had been his management 
 that he snbdned without bloodshed all the French settlements 
 within the present boundaries of Illinois. The cai)tures, as we 
 shall have occasion to show, were fraught with great consequences 
 to the nation, and does it speak less honorabl}' for him who, with 
 
BRITISH OCCUPATION. 183 
 
 great skill, had accomplished them with few instead of thousands, 
 or because lie had conquered without the slieddinu' of blood instead 
 of milking' the plains of Illinois gory with the blood of the enemy 
 and that of his friends ? The essence of true heroism is the same, 
 whatever may be the scale of action, and although numbers are 
 the standard l)y which military hoiu)rs are usually a\\arded, they 
 are in reality only one of the extrinsic circumstances. So 
 important were Clark's achievements considered, that on the 23d 
 of November, 1778, he and his brave ofticers and men were voted 
 the thanks of the Virginia House of Delegates for their extraordi- 
 nary resolution and perseverance in so hazardous an enterprise, 
 and the important services thereby rendered tlie country. In this 
 extraordinary conquest the Americans were doubtless assisted by 
 the affection which the French in]ml)itauts still retained for their 
 ancient Fatherland, now allied with the colonies. 
 
Chapter XVII. 
 
 CLARK OBTAINS POSSESSION OF VINCENNES— TREA- 
 TIES WITH THE INDIANS— VINCENNES FALLS INTO 
 THE HANDS OF THE ENGLISH, AND IS RE-CAPTURED 
 BY CLARK. 
 
 Clark now tnrued his attention to the British post of St. Yin- 
 cents (Yincennes), the subju^atiou of which wonhl not only extend 
 the dominion of his native State, bntfroni its contiguity render his 
 own position and governnient more secure. He, therefore, sent for 
 M. Gibanlt, who, being the Catholic priest both of Yincennes and 
 Kaskaskia, could gi\'e him any information he desired. He 
 inlbrjiied Clark that Governor Abbot had lately gone on business 
 to Detroit, and that a military expedition against the place was 
 wholly nnnecessary. Desirous of having' his parishioners free 
 from the violence of war, he ottered to induce the people to transfer 
 their allegiance to the Americans without the assistance of troops. 
 This x>roposition was readily accei)ted, and DeLafont and a spj' 
 Avere selected to accompany him. The embassy set off for Yincen- 
 nes, and after a full explanation between the priest and his liock, 
 the inhabitants conchuled to sever their relations with the British 
 government and take the oath of allegiance to the commonwealth 
 of Yirginia. A temporary governor was api»ointed, and the Amer- 
 ican flag immediately displayed over the fort, to the great sur- 
 prise of the Indians. The savages were told that their old father, 
 the king of France, had come to life and was angry with them 
 because they fought for the English, and that if they did not wish 
 the land to be bloody with war they must make peace with the 
 Americans. M. Gibault and party returned about the 1st of 
 August, with the joyful intelligence that everything was peace- 
 ably adjusted at Yincennes in favor of the Americans. This news 
 was both a source of astonishment and gratification, as such a 
 result was hardly to be expected. 
 
 The 3 months for which Clark's men had enlisted was now ter- 
 minated, and his instructions being indefinite, he was at first at a 
 loss how to proceed. If the country was abandoned at this junc- 
 tiu'e, the immense advantages already gained would be sacrificed, 
 and, therefore, acting upon the discretion which necessity demanded, 
 he re-enlisted as numy of his own men as were willing to continue 
 in the service, and commissioned French oflQcers to raise a com- 
 pany of the inhabitants. He established a garrison at Kaskaskia, 
 under the command of Cai)tain Williams, another at Cahokia 
 under Captain Bowman, and selected Captain Sims, who had 
 accomi^anied the exj)edition as a volunteer, to take charge of the 
 men who wished to return. The latter offlcer was also intiusted 
 
 184 
 
AMERICAN OCCUPATION. 185 
 
 with orders from Clark for the removal of the station from Coru 
 Island, at the Falls of the Oliio, to the main land, and a .stockade 
 fort was erected where Loiii.svide, the metroi)olis of Keiducky, 
 has since been built. Captain John ]Mont<4omery, in charge of 
 Eocheblave and tlie bearer of dispatches, \Yas sent to liichmond, 
 Avhich had become the cai)ital of A'irgiuia. It had been the inten- 
 tion to restore to the Britisli commander his (slaves, which had 
 been seized as public property, and he and some of his friends 
 were invited to dine with Clark and his officers, when the restitu- 
 tion was to take place. M. Ilocheblave, however, called them a 
 set of rebels and exliibited such bitteruess of feeling, that it was 
 necessary to send him to the guard-honse and linally a prisoner 
 to Virgiiua. The generous idea of returning the slaves to their 
 former owner having been frustated by this provocation, they were 
 subsequently sold for 500 pounds, which was divided among the 
 troo[)s as piize money. 
 
 The government of Virginia in the meanthne was informed of 
 the reduction of the country and Clark desiring that a- civil govern- 
 ment might be instituted, an act was i)assed in October, 1778, 
 organizing the county of Illinois which included all the territory 
 of the commonwealth west of the Ohio river. This immense region, 
 exceeding in superhcial extent the whole of Great liritain and Ire- 
 land, was at that time thelargest county in the XAorld, and contained 
 the best section of farming lands on the continent. A bill was 
 also passed to raise 500 men for oi»ening communication with I^ew 
 Orleans, for the benetit of the isolated settlements, and Col. John 
 Todd was appointed the princi[)al officer in the government of the 
 new county, and justice Avas for the tirst time administered under 
 the authority of Virginia. 
 
 About the uuddle of August, Clark appointed Capt. Helm com- 
 mandant of Vincennes and Indian agent for the department of the 
 Wabash. His great prudence and intimate knowledge of Indian 
 character eminently (pialilied him for the duties of this important 
 trust. It was also the intention of Col. Clark to place a strong 
 detachment under his command as soon as reinforcements should 
 arrive from Virginia. 
 
 At that time there lived in the vichiity of Vincennes a chief of 
 the Piankashaw Indians, who i)Ossessed great influence over his 
 people. He was comi>limented by his countrymen with the appel- 
 lation of the Grand Door of the \\ abash, in inutatiim of the title 
 of Pontiac, Avho was styled the Grand Door of St. Joseph. Clark 
 had exchanged messages with him through Gibault, the catholic 
 priest, and lie instructed Helm to secure his influence, as nothing 
 could be done within the Indian confederacy of the Wabash without 
 his approbation. The American agent arriving safe at Vincennes, 
 and being received with acclamation by the inhabitants, he imme- 
 diately invited the Grand Door to a conference. The proud and 
 pompous chief was pleased with the courtesies of Capt. Helm, who, 
 in a friendly talk, communicated to hiiu an invitation from Clark 
 to unite with the "Long Knives" and his old master, the King of 
 France. In rei)ly to this invitation, he said that he was glad to see 
 a chief of the "Long Knives'' in town, but with the caution pecidiar 
 to Indian character, declined giving a deiinite answer, until he 
 could confer with the principal men of his tribe. In all their inter- 
 course, the Grand Door observed the ceremonies of the most 
 
186 HISTORY OF ILI^INOIS. 
 
 courtly dignity, aiul the American, to operate on liis vanity, 
 exliibited tbe same pomposity, till after several days the interview 
 was concluded. Finally, Capt. Helm was invited to attend a ('ouncil 
 of chiefs, in which the Grand Door informed him, in a strain of 
 Indian eloquence, that "the sky had been very dark in the war 
 between the 'Long Knives' and English, but now the clouds were 
 brushed away he could see the 'Ijong Knives' were in the right, 
 and if the English conquered them, they might also treat the 
 Indians in the same Avay." He then jum])ed up, struck his hands 
 against his breast, and said, "he had always been a man and a 
 warrior, and now he Avas a 'Long Knife' and would tell the 
 red people to bloody the land no longer for the Euglish." He and 
 his red brethren then took Capt. Helm by the hand, and during 
 the remainder of his life, he remained the staunch friend of the 
 Americans. Hying two years afterward, at his request he was 
 buried with the honors of war, near the Fort of Cahokia. 
 
 Maliy chiefs south of Lake Michigan followed the example of 
 the Cxrand Door, and the British influence, wlii<'h had caused great 
 mischief to the frontier settlements, daily declined. ]\Iuch of the 
 success attending these negotiations was due to the influence of 
 the French, for the Indians, relying imi)licitly upon their state- 
 ments, became greatly alarmed at the growing poAver of the Ameri- 
 cans. Clark's method of effecting treaties with them Avas attended 
 with remarkable success. He had studied the French and .Spanish 
 methods of intercourse, and tliought their })lan of urging them to 
 make treaties was founded upon a mistaken estimate of their 
 character. He was of opinion tliat such overtures were constnuxl 
 b}' the savages as evidence of either fear or weakness, and there- 
 fore studiously avoided making the first advances. Uidike the 
 English, who endeavored to win their good will by freely granting 
 them presents, he either bestowed them reluctantly, or fought 
 them until they were compelled to seek refuge in treaties as a 
 means of self-preservation. The ceremonies attending his coim- 
 cils with these sons of tlie forest, as they illustrated their charac- 
 ter, are Avorth recording. Tlie flrst convocation of this kind in 
 which Colonel Clark was present, met at Cahokia about the 1st of 
 Septend)er. The various parties had assembled, and as the Indians 
 were the solicitors, one of the chiefs aitpioached the table where 
 Colonel Clark was sitting, bearuig three belts, one of which was 
 emblematical of peace, another contained the sacred pipe, and a 
 third the fire to light it. After the pipe was lighted, it was first 
 presented to the heavens, then to the earth, next forming a circle, 
 it was oflered to all the spirits, invoking them to Avitness their 
 proceedings, and finally to Colonel Clark and the other mend)ers 
 of the council. At the conclusion of these formalities, a chief arose 
 and spoke in favor of i)eace, after which he thrcAv down the bloody 
 belt and flag, which had been given to him by the English, and 
 stamped on them, as CAidence of their rejection. Clark coldly re- 
 plied that he Avould consider what he had heard and give them an 
 answer on the following day. He however intimated that their 
 existence as a luition depended on the determination of the coun- 
 cil, and as peace Avas not concluded, he cautioned the chief not to 
 let any of liis countrymen shake hands with the Avhite people, 
 saying it would be time to give the hand Avlien the heart also 
 could be given Avith it. When he had ceased speaking, one of the 
 
AMERICAN OCCUPATTON. 187 
 
 cliirfs remarked that such sentiments were like men wlio h-.ul but 
 one lieart and wlio did not s])eak with a forked toii.iiue. The 
 council then adjonrned till the next day, and ^Yhen, at the a|)[)oint- 
 ed time the Indians reassembled, Clark thus addressed them: 
 
 " Men and Warriors : Pay atteution to my words. You informed 
 me yesterday that you hoj^ed the Great Spirit had brought us together 
 for good. I have the same liojje, and trust each party will strictly udhei'e 
 to whatever is agreed upon, whether it be peace or war. I am a man 
 and warrior, not a councilor. I carry war in my right hand, peace in 
 my left. I am sent by the great council of the Long Knives and their 
 friends, to take possession of all the towns occupied by the English in 
 this country, and to watch the red people; to bloody the paths of those 
 who attempt to stop the course of the rivers, and to clear the roails for 
 those who desire to be in peace. I am ordered to call upon the Great 
 Fire for warriors enough to darken the laud, that the red people may 
 hear no sound but of birds which live on blood. I know there is a mist 
 before yom* eyes. I will dispel the clouds that you may cleax'ly see the 
 causes of the war between the Long Knives and the English ; then you 
 may judge which party is in the right, and if you are warriors, as you 
 profess, prove it by adhering faithfully to the party which you shall be- 
 lieve to be entitled to your friendship." 
 
 xVfter Clark had explained in detail the cause and effect of the 
 war existing be\\'een the English and the colonies, he thus con- 
 cluded : 
 
 " The whole land was dark ; the old men held down their heads for 
 shame, because they (^ould not see the sun ; and thus thei-e was mourn- 
 ing for many years over the land. At last the Great Spirit took pity on 
 us, and kindled a great council fire at Philadelphia, planted a post, put 
 a tomahawk by it and went away. The sun immediately broke out, the 
 sky was blue again, and the old men held uii their lieads and assembled 
 at the fii'e. They took up the hatchet, sharpened it, and inunediately 
 put it in the hands of our young men, ordering them to strike the Eng- 
 lisli as long as they could tlnd one on this side of the Great Water. The 
 young men immediately struck the war post and blood was shed. In 
 this way the war began, and the English were driven from one place to 
 another, until they got weak, and then hired the red peojile to figiit for 
 them. The Great Spirit got angry at this, and caused your old tather, 
 the French King, and other great nations to join the Long Knives, and 
 fight with them against all their enemies. So the English have become 
 like deer in the woods, and you can see that it was the Great Spirit that 
 troubled your waters, because you have fought for the people with whom 
 he was displeased. You can now judge who is in tlie right. I have 
 already told you who I am. Here is a bloody belt, and a peace belt; 
 take which you please ; behave like meu, and do not let your being sur- 
 rounded by Long Knives cause you to take up one belt with your hands 
 while your hearts take up the other. If you take the bloody path, you 
 can go in safety and join your friends, the English. We will then try 
 like warriors who can stain our clothes the longest with blood. If, on 
 tlie other hand, you take the path of peace, and are received as brothers 
 by the Long Knives, and then listen to bad birds that are flying through 
 the laud, you cannot longer be considered meu, but creatures with two 
 tongues, which ought to be destroyed. As I am convinced that you 
 never heard the truth before, I do uot wish you to answer me before you 
 have taken time for consideration. We will therefore part this evening, 
 and when the Great Spirit shall bring us together again, let us speak and 
 think as men with but one heart and one tongue. " 
 
 On the following day, the council fire was kindled with more 
 than ordinary ceremou}', and one of the chiefs came forward and 
 said : 
 
 " We have listened with great attention to what the chief of the Long 
 Knives told us, and are thankful that the Great Spirit has opened our 
 ears and hearts to receive the truth. We believe you tell us the truth, 
 
188 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 for you do not speak like other people, and that our old men are right, 
 who always said the English spake with double tongues. We will 
 take the belt vf peace, and cast down the bloodly belt of war ; our war- 
 riors shall be called home ; the tomahawk shall be thrown iuto the 
 river, where it can never be found ; and we will carefully smooth the road 
 for your brothers whenever they wish to come and see you. Our friends 
 shall hear of the good talk you have given us, and we hope you will send 
 chiefs among our countrymen, that they may see we are men, and 
 adliere to all we have promised at this fire, which the Great Spirit has 
 kindled for the good of all who attend." 
 
 The pipe was again lighted, the .spirits were called on to witness 
 the transactions, and the council concluded by shaking hands. 
 
 In this manner alliances were formed with other tribes, and in 
 a short time Clarlv's power was so well established that a siisgle 
 soldier could be sent in safety as far nortli as the head waters of 
 the streams emptying into the lakes. In the vicinity of the lakes 
 the British retained their iutluence, some of tlie tribes being- 
 divided between them and the Americans. This sudden and 
 exteusive change of sentiment among the Indians, was due to tlie 
 stern and commanding iutluence of Colonel Clark, supported l)y 
 the alliance of the French with the colonies, and the regard wliicli 
 the Indians still retained for their tirst Great Fatlier. it re(juired 
 great skill on the part of Clarli, wliile in command of such dinnn- 
 utive forces, to keep alive tlie impression which had originally 
 been made respecting tlie arrival of forces from the Falls of the 
 Oliio. To create a favorable impression, the fees connected with 
 the adininistration of justi(ie were abated. The maintenance of 
 friendly intercourse with the iSpanish authorities, and the per- 
 mission of trade among the iidial)itants on both sides of the Mis- 
 fc;issip[)i, was also productive of good will. 
 
 In his uegotiatiou with the Indians, an incident occurred about 
 this time w^hich, from its romantic character, is worthy of mention. 
 A large reward was offered the Meadow or Mascoutin Indians, 
 who accompanied the other tribes to the council, to assassinate 
 the American commander. For this i)urpose they pitched their 
 cam}) on the same side of Cahokia. creek occui)ied by Clark, dis- 
 tant 100 yards from the fort and the Anu'rican heachjuarters. It 
 was arranged that a part of their number should cross the creek, 
 which could easily be waded, tire in the direction of the Indian 
 encampment, and then tiee to the quarters of Clark, where, under 
 the pretense of fear, they were to obtain admission and put 
 the garrison to death. The attempt was made about 1 o'clock iu 
 the morning. The flying party having discharged their guns in 
 such a manner as to cast suspicion upon the Indians on the o]>po- 
 site side of the creek, started directly to the American encampnuuit 
 for protection. Clark was still awake with the midtiplied cares 
 of his situation, and the guards being stronger than had been 
 anticipated, i>resented their pieces and comi)elled the fugitives to 
 bait. The town and garrison were immediately underarms; the 
 Mascoutins, whom the guard had recognized by moonlight, were 
 sent for, and being interrogated respecting their conduct, declared 
 that they had been tired upon by em^mies on the o])})osite side of 
 the (;reek, and that they had Hed to the Americans for refuge. The 
 French, lu)wever, understanding them better than their concjuer- 
 ors, called for a light, and on examination discovered that their 
 leggings and moccasins were wet and muddy, which was evidence 
 
AMERICAN OCCUPATION. 189 
 
 that tliey had crossed the creek and that the Indians they visited 
 "vrere friends instead of enemies. The intended assassins were 
 dismayed at this discovery, and Chirk, to convince the Indians of 
 the coniidence whicli he reposed in tlie Frencli, lianded over the 
 cnlprits to them to be dealt with as they thought proper. Inti- 
 mations were, however, nnide to tliem privately, that they onjiht 
 to be confined, and they were accordingly manacled and sent to 
 the guardhouse. In this condition they were daily bronght into 
 the council, where he whom they had endeavored to kill, was 
 fonning- friendly relations with their red brethren of other tribes. 
 When all the other business of the council was transacted, Clark 
 ordered the irons to be struck off, and said : " Justice re<iuires 
 that you die for your treacherous attempt upon my life during the 
 sacred deliberations of a council. I had determined to intlct death 
 upon you for your base designs, and you jnust be sensible that you 
 ha^'e justly forfeited your lives ; but on considering the meanness 
 of watching' a bear and catching him asleep, I have C(nichuled that 
 you are not warriors, but old women, and too mean to be killed 
 by the Long Knives. Since, however, you nnist be punished i'or 
 wearing the apparel of men, it shall be taken away from yori, and 
 you shall be furnished with ])lenty of provisions for your journey 
 home, and while here you shall be treated in every respect as 
 squaws." At the conclusion of these cutting remarks, Clark turned 
 to converse with others. The offending Indians, exi>ecting anger 
 and i>unishme]it, instead of eontesuitt and disgrace, were exceed- 
 ingly agitated. After counseling with each other, <»ne of the chiefs 
 came forward, and laying a pipe and belt of ])eace on the table, 
 made some exi)lanatory remarks. The interpreter stood ready to 
 translate these words of friendship, but Clark refused to hear 
 them, and raising his SAvoid and shattering the pipe, declared that 
 the Long Knives never treated with women. JSome of the other 
 tribes with Avhom alliances had been formed, now interposing for 
 thediscomtitted Indians, besought Clark to pity their families and 
 grant them pardon. To this entreaty he coldly rei»lied, that '^the 
 Long Knives never made war u]>on these Indians; they are of a 
 kind which we shoot like wolves when we nu'ct them in the ^^■oods, 
 lest they kill the deei'." This rebuke wrought more and nu)re rtpon 
 the guilty i)arties, and, after again taking counsel, two of the 
 young men came forwraxl, covered their heads with blankets, 
 and sat down at the feet of the inexorable Clark. Two chiefs also 
 arose, and standing by the side of the victims who thus offered 
 their lives as an atonement for the crime of their tribe, again i)re- 
 sented the pipe of i)eace, saying, we hope this saeritice will ai>pease 
 the anger of tlie Long Knife. The American commander, not 
 replying iunnediately, as if still unsatisfied, the most profound 
 silence reigned in the assembly, and nothing was heard but 
 the deep breathing of the multitude, all turning their eyes upon 
 Clark, as if to read in the expression of his countenance the 
 fate of the devoted Indians. The suddeu impulse caused by the 
 heroism of this romantic; incident, almost overcaine the powerful 
 nerve of Clark, who, from the first, had intended to grant tliese 
 Indians peace, but wuth a reluctance, as he says, that should 
 enhance its value. At length, to relieve the great suspense of the 
 assembly, he advanced toward the young men and ordering them 
 to uncover their heads and stand up, said : "I am rejoiced to find men 
 
190 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 among all natioiis ; these two yonug warriors who have offered 
 their lives a sacrifice, are at least i)roof for their owu country in eu. 
 Such men only are worthy to be chiefs, and with such I like to 
 treiit." He then took them by the hand, and in honor of their 
 magnanimity and courage, introduced them to the American ofiicers 
 and other members of the assembly, after which all saluted them 
 as the chiefs of their tribe. "The Koman Curtius leaped into the 
 Gulf to save his countrymen, and Leonidas died in obedience to 
 the laws of Greece ; but in neither of these iiistances Avas displayed 
 greater heroism than that exhibited by these unsophisticated 
 children of nature." They were ever after held in high esteem 
 among the braves of their own tribe, and the fame of the white 
 negotiator was correspondingly extended, A council was immedi- 
 ately con\'ened for the benefit of the Meadow Indians; an alliance 
 was formed with their chiefs, and neither party ever afterward had 
 occasion to regret the reconciliation thus effected. 
 
 Although it was Clark's general aim not to ask favors of the 
 Indians, yet some of their chiefs were so intelligent and i)owerful 
 he occasionally invited tliem to visit him and explan the nature of 
 the contest betw cen tiie English and thecolonists. Anoted instance 
 of this kind was his intercourse with Black Bird, a very distin- 
 guishe<l cliief whose lands bordered on Lake Michigan, and A^ho 
 had obtained such a reputution among his people that a departure 
 from the usual policy was deemed advisable. Black Bird Vias in 
 St. Louis when the country was first invaded, but having little 
 confidence in Spanish protection, he wrote a letter to Clark apolo- 
 gizing for his absence, and returned to his tribe. A special mes- 
 senger Avas sent requsting him to come to Kaskaskia, and comply- 
 ing Avith the invitation, he called upon Colonel Clark with only 8 
 attendants. Greatpreparations were immediately made for hohl- 
 ing a council, but the sagacious chief, disliking the usual formali- 
 ties of Indian negotiation, informed Clark that he came on business 
 of importance, and desired that no time mightbe Avastedin useless 
 ceremonies. He stated that he wished to converse with him, and 
 proffered Avithout ostentation to sit with him at the same table. A 
 room was accordingly furnished and both, provided with interpret- 
 ers, took their seats at the same stand and commenced the confer- 
 ence. Black Bird said he had long Avished to have an interAiew 
 with a chief of our nation ; he had souglit infornmtion from jjris- 
 oners but couhl not confide in tlieir statements, for they seemed 
 afraid to speak the truth. He admitted that he had fought against 
 us, although doubts of its justice occasionally crossed his mind; 
 some mystery hung OA'er the matter which he desired to have 
 removed; he Avas anxious to hear both sides of the question, but 
 hitherto he had only been able to h(;ar but one. Clark undertook 
 to imi)art the desired information, but owing to the difiiculty of 
 rendering himself intelligent, several hours Avere spent in answering 
 his questions. At the conclusion, Black Bird, among other things, 
 said that he Avas glad that their old friends, the French, hadunited 
 their arms Avith ours, and that the Indians ought to do the same. 
 He affirmed that his sentiments Avere fixed in our. favor ; that he 
 Avould never again listen to the offers of the English, AAho nuist 
 certainly be afiaid because they hire with merchandise the Ind- 
 ians todo their fighting. He closed by saying that he Avould caU 
 in his young men, and thus pnt an end to the Avar, as soon as he 
 
AMERICAN OCCUPATION. 191 
 
 could get ail opportunity of explainiug to them the nature of the 
 contest. This (leterniination of the chief was very agreeable to 
 Clark, who informed him that he would write to the government of 
 Virginia and have them registered among the friends of the white 
 people. A few days afterward, thisintelligent Indian, supplied 
 witii presents and aceom])anied, at his request, by an agent of 
 Clark, set off for his native forests. His conduct afterward exem- 
 pliiied the honesty of his professions, for he thereafter remained 
 the faitlifnl friend of the Americans. 
 
 Clark in his intercourse with the Indians, never blamed them 
 for accepting the presents of the English, as the necessities of 
 their condition and the inability of the Americans to supply their 
 wants, rendered it unavoidable. Commerce had to some extent 
 already introduced among them superior appliauces of civilizatiou. 
 The rifle and its ammuintion had h»ng since superceded the bow 
 and arrow, and blankets, cooking utensils, cutlery, and other im- 
 plements manufactured in an advance state of arts, were as 
 necessary to the savage as the civilized man. While, however, 
 he forcbore to reproach them for receiving presents from the 
 English, he endeavored to impress upon their minds the degrada- 
 tion of lighting for hire. The "Long Knives," he said, "regarded 
 the scalps taken while fighting in self-defence as the greatest of 
 trophies, but those obtained in mercenary warfare, are thrown to 
 the dogs or used as toys for the amusement of their children." 
 
 Another chief by the name of Lages, about this time, sent a 
 letter to Clark. He was also known by the appellation of Big 
 Gate, a title which he received from ha^^ang shot ;\, British soldier, 
 standing at the fort when Pontiac, with whom he was tlien associ- 
 ated, besieged Detroit. ♦ Several marauding parties against our 
 frontier settlements, had been successfully commanded by this 
 warrior, who happened to fall in with a party of Piankeshaws 
 going to Kaskaskia to make the Americans a visit. Gaudily decked 
 in the full costume of war, and with the bloody belt, whi(di the 
 British had given him, suspended about his neck, he daily came to 
 the council and occupied one of the nu)st prominent seats. As a 
 silent spectator he thus attended till all the i)ublic business was 
 transacted, the American officer then accosted him with an apology 
 for not having paid his respects during the deliberations of the 
 assembly. Although we are enemies, said he, it is cnstoniary Avitli 
 the wliite people to treat celebrated warriors with respect, in pro- 
 portion to the exploits which they have performed against 
 each other in war. Being a distinguished warrior, Clark invited 
 him to dinner. Surprised at this civditj^ he at first endeavored to 
 decline the invitation. The American ofiicer, however, when he 
 attempted to offer an excuse, repeated with greater warmth his 
 solicitations, till the feelings of the chief were wrought up to the 
 highest pitch of excitement. Eoused in this manner he advanced 
 to the center of the room, threw down the war belt, tore oft' the 
 clothes and flag, which had been given him by his friends, the 
 English. Despoiled of these presents, he struck himself violently 
 on the breast, and said that he had been a warrior from his youth, 
 and delighted in battles ; that he had fought three times against the 
 Americans and was preparing another war party, when he heard 
 of Colonel Clark's arrival ; that he had determined to visit the 
 Americans, who he now thought were right, and that he was hence- 
 
192 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 forth a "Long Knife" and would war no longer for the English. He 
 then concluded by shaking hands with Clark and his oliicers and 
 saluthig them as brothers. The comical part of the affair was that 
 the new brother was now naked, and since he nmst be clothed, a 
 line laced suit Avas provided and he api)eared at the entertainment 
 arrajed in all the trappings of military costume. After the re])ast 
 was over, in a private interview, he disclosed to Chirk the situation 
 of Detroit, and offered to obtain a scalp or i)risoner from its garri 
 son. Clark not wishing to encourage the barbarities of the Indians, 
 declined the former, but assured the warrior of his willingness to 
 accept the latter, provided he treated tbe captive kindly when lie 
 got liim in his power. This policy of api)ealing to the better feel- 
 ings of hunmnity was little appreciated by the savages, and in 
 some instances caused them to unite with the less scrupulous 
 enemy Avho suffered them to phmder and nuirder without stint, 
 provided British aggrandizement was the result. When the chief 
 dei)arted Clark gave him a captain's connnission and a medal as 
 evidence of the new relations and responsibilities which he had 
 assumed. 
 
 While the American commander was thus negotiating with the 
 Indians, Hamilton, the British governorof Detroit heard of Clark's 
 invasion, and was incensed that the country which he had in charge 
 should be wrested fromhimbya few ragged militia from Virginia. 
 He therefore hurriedly collected a force consisting of 30 regulars, 50 
 French Caiuidians and 400 Indians, and marching by way of the 
 Wabash appeared before the fort at Vincennes on the lotli of 
 December, 1778. The inliabitauts made no efl'ort to defend the 
 town, and when Hamilton's forces arrived Capt. Helm and a man 
 by the name of Henry were the only Americans in the fort. Tlie 
 hitter charging a cannqji, placed it in the open gatewaj^ and the 
 captain standing by it with a lighted nmtch cried out as Hamilton 
 came in hailing distance, "halt." The British officer, not knowing 
 the strength of the garrison stopped and demanded the surrender 
 of the fort. Helm exclaimed "no man shall enter here till I know 
 the terms." Hamilton responded, "you shall have the honors of 
 war." The entire garrison, consisting of one officer and one private, 
 then capitulated, and receiving the cnstonuiry courtesies for their 
 brave defense, marched out with tlie honors of war. Capt. Helm 
 was retained a prisoner, the Fiench inhabitants were disarmed, 
 and a large portion of Hamilton's troops were detached against the 
 settlements on the Ohio and Mississipi)i. 
 
 These movements transpired at Vincennes, 6 weeks before the 
 intelligence reached Kaskaskia, thus verifying the serious ajipre- 
 hensions which Clark, in the meantime, had entertained for the 
 safety of the place. In consequence of these forebodings, he en- 
 gaged Colonel Vigo to go and recon]U)itre tlie situation of the 
 post. No choice could have been more fortunate. Although Vigo 
 was an Italian by birth, no one excelled him in devotion to the 
 cause of freedom and syiiii)athy for an oppressed people strug- 
 gling for their rights. Associated as a merchant with the Spanish 
 governor of St. Louis, he amassed a large fortune, which, with the 
 greatest generosity, he expended during the revolution for the 
 benefit of his adopted country. Having for a long time resided in 
 Indiana, and died there, the State, in honor of his memory, called 
 a county after his name, and Congress ultimately refunded a large 
 
AMERICAN OCCITPATION. 193 
 
 part of the money which he had expended. After conferring with 
 Chirk, he .started on hiis mission, and Avlien within five miles of his 
 destination, he was captured by tlie Indians and fallen before 
 Governor Hamilton. He was rei^arded as an Aniericsiu spy, but 
 bein,n" a Spanish subject, and very popular with the iidiabitants of 
 the town, the British ofticer did not dare to proceed aj^ainst him 
 according' to his suspicions. The citizens threatened to sto]) his 
 supplies if he was not sutfered to depart. Hamilton reluctantly 
 proposed to let him go if, during the war, he would not do any 
 act injurious to British interests. Colonel Vigo peremptorily 
 refused to become a party to such a com})act. Agreeing, however, 
 not to do anything prejudicial in his honu'ward j(mrney, he was 
 permitted to return in a boat, down the Wabash and up the Mis- 
 sissippi, to St. Louis. He remained neutral just long enough to 
 comply with his stipulations, for, on his arrival home, he imme- 
 diately changed his clothes, and set off for Kaskaskia to commu- 
 nicate the infornmtion which he had obtained to Colonel Clark. 
 After detailing the cai)itulation of Vincennes and the disposition 
 of the British force, he made kno^\Ti Hamilton's intentions of re- 
 compiering Illinois, and his meditated attack upon Kaskaskia, on 
 the re-assend)ling of his forces in the spring, as the surest way of 
 effe(;ting this oliject. AYlien this place was reduced, with his 
 forces augmente(l by the addition of 700 warriors from Mackinaw, 
 the Cherokees and Chickasaws, aiul other tribes, he proposed to 
 penetrate as far as Fort Pitt, and subjugate in liis march all the 
 intervening settlements. So elated was the British commander 
 with his hopes of conquest, he inten<led, in a short time, to be 
 master of all the territory of Virginia between the Alleghanies 
 and the Mississipjji. 
 
 Clark, in view of the critical condition of the country, and the 
 extreme peril of Lis own situation, wrote to Governor Henry, of 
 Virginia, acquainting him of Hamilton's designs, and asking him 
 for troops. Parties of hostile Indians, sent out by the British 
 governor, began to appear, and as assistance could not be obtained 
 from the State in time, with the promptness which the emerg(mcy 
 demanded, he resolved to help himself. Anticii)ating his rival, he 
 commenced preparations with his own limited means to carry the 
 war into the enemy's country, for, as he says, " f knew if 1 did 
 not take him, he would take me." Colonel Vigo had informed 
 him that, owing to the dispersion of the Biitish forces, tlie 
 garrison at Vincennes was reduced to 80 men, three pieces of 
 cannon and some swivels, and that if the town was attacked be- 
 fore the troops were recalled, it might, witliout difficulty, be 
 recaptured. Without a moment's delay, a galley was fitted up, 
 mounting two 4-pounders and 4 swivels, and i)laced in charge 
 of Capt. John Eogers, and a comiiany of 46 men, with orders after 
 reaching the Wabash to force their way up the stream to the 
 mouth of White Eiver, and remain there for further instructions. 
 Clark next ordered Captain Bowman to evacuate the fort at Caho- 
 kia for the purpose of organizing an expedition to proceed across 
 by land, and co-oi)erate with the force under Captain Eogers. 
 The French inhabitants of Cahokia and Kaskaskia raised two 
 companies, commanded by Captains McCarty and Charleville, 
 which, with the Americans, amounted to 170 men. On the 7th of 
 February, 1779, just 8 days after the reception of the news from 
 13 
 
194 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Viuceiiiies, tliis forloru hope commenced its march in a northeast- 
 erly direction, over the innnndated flats of the country, in a wet, 
 but fortunately, not cold season. To relieve the hardshii)S of the 
 journey, which was perhaps the most dreary one performed during 
 the revolution, hunting-, game feasts, and Indian war dances were 
 instituted for the amusement of the men. After incredible hard- 
 shij^s, on the 13th they reached the forks of the Little Wabash, 
 the low bottom lands of which were covered with water. At this 
 part of the stream the opposite banks were 5 miles apart 
 and the water so deep when Clark arrived as in many phujes 
 to be waded with the greatest difliculty. Here, drenched in 
 the rains which fell almost daily, thej' managed to construct a 
 canoe, and ferry over their baggage to the opposite shore. Hith- 
 erto they had borne their labors ^^'ith great fortitude, but now 
 many became discouraged by the continued obstacles which beset 
 the way. While wading the Wabash, and in some instances to 
 the shoulders in mud and water, an incident occurred which, by 
 its merriment, greatly relieved the desponding spirits of the men. 
 There was in the service an Irish drummer, who was of small stat- 
 ure, but possessed rare talent in singing comic songs. On coming 
 to a depression beyond his depth, he put his drum into the water, 
 and mounting on the head, requested one of the tallest men to 
 pilot him across the stream, while he eidivened the comjiany by 
 his wit and music. 
 
 On the morning of the 18th, 11 days after leading Kaskaskia, 
 they heard the signal guns of the fort, and during the evening of 
 the same day, arrived at the Great Wabash, 9 miles below Viu- 
 cennes. The galley had not arrived with the supplies, and the 
 men being exhausted, destitute and almost in a starving con- 
 tion, it required all of Clark's address to keep them from giving uj) 
 in despair. The river was out of its banks, all the low lands 
 were submerged, and before means of transportation could be pro- 
 cured they might be discovered by the British and the entire party 
 captured. On the 20th, a boat from Yincennes was hailed and 
 brought to land, from the crew of which was received the cheer- 
 ing intelligence of the friendly disi)Osition of the French inhabit- 
 ants, and that no suspicion of Clark's movements was entertained 
 by the British garrison. The last day of the march, the most 
 fornddable difficulties were encountered. Says Colonel Clark, in 
 his journal : 
 
 " The nearest laud to us, in the direction of Vincennes, was a si:)ot 
 called the 'Sugar Camp,' on the opposite side of a slough. I sounded the 
 water, and finding it deep as uiy neck, returned with the design of liav- 
 ingthe men transported on board the canoes to the camp, though I knew 
 it would spend the whole day and the ensuing night, as tiie vessels would 
 pass slowly through the bushes. The loss of so much time to men 
 half-starved, was a matter of serious consequence, and I would now 
 have given a great deal for a day's provisions or one of our horses. 
 When I returned, all ran to hear the report. I uu fortunately' sjDoke in a 
 serious manner to one of the officers; the whole were alarmed witbout 
 knowing what I said. I viewed their confusion for a minute, and whis- 
 pered for those near me to do as I did. I immediately put some water 
 in my hand, poured powder on it, blackened my face, gave the war- 
 whoop and marelied into the water. Tin? party immediately followed , 
 one alter another, without uttering a word of complaint. I ordered those 
 near me to sing a favorite song, which soon passed tlirough the line and 
 all went cheerfully. I now intended to have them transported across 
 
AIMERICAN OCCUPATION. 105 
 
 the deepest irAvt of tlie water, but wlien about waist-deep, one of the 
 men informed me tliat he tliouglit lie liad discovered a path. We fol- 
 lowed it, and finding that it kept on hig:her ground, without further dif- 
 flc'ulty arrived at the camp, where there was dry ground on which to 
 pitch our lodges. The Frenchmen that we had taken on the river, 
 appeared to be uneasy at our situation, and liegged that they might be 
 permitted, during the night, to visit the town in 2 canoes and bring, 
 from their own houses, provisions. They said that some of our men 
 could go with them as a surety for their conduct, and that it would l)e 
 imi:)ossible to leave that place till the waters, which were too (iee]) 
 for marching, subsided. Son1^■; of the officers believed that this might 
 be done, but I would not sutibr it. I could never well account for my 
 obstinacy on tliis occasion, or give satisfactory reasons to mj^self or any- 
 body else why I denied a proposition apjiarently so easy to execute, and 
 of so much advantage ; but something seemed to tell me it should not be 
 done. 
 
 " On the following morning, the finest we had experienced, I har- 
 angued the men. What I saitl I am not now able to recall; but it may 
 he easily imagined by a person who possesses the regard which I, at that 
 time, entertained for them, I concluded by informing them, that pass- 
 ing the sheet of water, which was then in full view and reaching the 
 opposite woods, would put an end to their hardships ; that in a few hours 
 they would have a sight of their long-wished for object, and immedi- 
 ately stepped into the water without waiting for a reply. Before a third 
 of the men had entered, I halted and called to Major Bowman, and 
 ordered him to fall into the rear with 25 men and put to death any man 
 who refused to march with us, as we did not wish to have any such 
 among us. The whole gave a cry of approbation, and on we went. 
 This was the most trying of all the difficulties we experienced. I gen- 
 erally kept lo of the strongest men next myself, and judged from my 
 own feelings, what must be that of the others. Getting near the middle 
 of the inundated plain, I found myself sensibly failing, and as there were 
 no trees for the men to support themselves, 1 feared that many of the 
 weak would be drowned. 1 ordered the canoe to ply back and forth, and 
 with all diligence to pick up the men ; and to encourage the party, sent 
 some of the strongest forward with orders that, when tliey had advanced 
 a certain distance, to pass the word back that the water was getting 
 shallow, and when near the woods, to cry out land. This stratagem 
 had the desired effect. The men, encouraged by it, exerted themselves 
 almost beyond their abilities; the weak holding on the stronger. On 
 reaching the woods where the men expected land, the water was up to 
 their shoulders ; but gaining the timber was the greatest consequence, 
 for the weakly hung to trees and floated on the drift till they were 
 taken off by the canoes. The strong and tall got ashore and built tires ; 
 but many of the feeble, unable to sujiport themselves on reaching land, 
 would fall with their bodies half in the water. The latter were so 
 benumbed with cold, we soon found that tires would not restore them, 
 and the strong were compelled to exercise them with great severity to 
 revive their circulation. 
 
 " Fortunately, a canoe in charge of some squaws was going to town, 
 which pur men captured, and which contained half a quarter of buffalo 
 meat, some corn, tallow and kettles. Broth was made of this valuable 
 prize and served out to the most weak l_y with great care. Most of the 
 men got a small liortiou, but many of them gave part of theirs to the 
 more famished, jocosely saying something cheering to their comrades. 
 This little refreshment gave renewed life to the company. We next 
 crossed a deep but narrow lake, in the canoes, and marching some dis- 
 tance, came to a copse of timber called Warrior's Island. We were now 
 distant only two miles from town, which, without a single tree to ob- 
 struct the view, could be seen from the position we occupied. 
 
 " The lower jwrtions of the laud between us and the town were cov- 
 ered M itii water, which served at this season as a resort for ducks and 
 other water fowl. We had observed several men out on horseback shoot- 
 ing them, half a mile distant, and sent out as many of our active young 
 Frenchmen to decoy and take one of them prisoner, in such a manner 
 as not to alarm the others. Being successful, in addition to the informa- 
 
100 HISTORY OF ILLl]SrOTS. 
 
 tiou which had been obtained from those taken on the river, the captive 
 reported that the British liad that evening completed the wall of the 
 fort, and that there were a good many Indians in town. Our situation 
 was truly critical. No possibility of retreat in case of defeat, and in full 
 view of the town, which, at this time, had 600 men in it — troops, 
 inhabitants and Indians. The ci'ew of the galley, though not 50 men, 
 would now have been a re-info rcement of immense magnitude to our 
 little army, but we could not think of waiting for them. Each had for- 
 gotten his suffering, and was ready for the fray, saying what he had 
 suffered was nothing but what a man should bear for the good of his 
 country. The idea of being made a prisoner was foreign to every man, 
 as each expected nothing but torture if they fell into the hands of the 
 Indians. Our fate was to be determined in a few hours, and nothing but 
 the most daring conduct would insure success. I knew that a number 
 of tlie inhabitants wished us well ; that many were lukewarm to the in- 
 terests of either party. I also learned that the Grand Door had but a 
 few days before openly declared, in council with the British, that he 
 was a brother and friend of the Long Knives. These were favorable 
 circumstances, and as there was little probability of our remaining unlil 
 dark undiscovered, I determined to commence operations immediately, 
 and wrote the following placard to the people of the town. ' To the in- 
 habitants of Vincennes : Gentlemen, being now within two miles of 
 your village with my army, determined to take your foi't this night, and 
 not being willing to surprise you, I take this opportunity to request 
 such of you as are true citizens, and willing to enjoy the liberty which I 
 bring you, to remain still in your houses, and those, if any there be, who 
 are friends of the king, let them instantly repair to the fort and join the 
 hair-buyer general-*, and fight like men. And if any of the latter do 
 not go to the fort, and shall be discovered afterward, they may depend 
 upon severe punishment. On the contrary, those who are true friends 
 to liberty, may depend upon being well treated, and I once more request 
 them to keep out of the streets, for every one I find in arms on my arri- 
 val shall be treated as an enemy.' " 
 
 This forcible letter, wliicli sliows Clark's insight into human 
 nature by insi)iring confidence in the friendly, and tilling the adverse 
 party with dismay, was half the battle that followed. On the 
 receipt of the letter, the people of the town supposed the invaders 
 liad come from Kentucky as no one imagined it possible that an 
 expedition could come from Illinois, in consequence of the freshets 
 which prevailed at that season of the year. To deepeen this impres- 
 sion, letters piu-porting to come from well known gentlemen 'in 
 Kentucky, were written and sent to the inhabitants, and so well 
 established was the conviction, that the presence of Clark could 
 not be credited till his person was pointed out by one who knew 
 him. The soldiers, as on i)revious oc(!asions, were directed to 
 greatly exaggerate the strength of the American forces. 
 
 About sunset on the 23d, they sallied forth to attack the fort- 
 When in full view of it, they were divided into platoons, each dis. 
 playing a different Hag, and by marching and counterm arching 
 among some mounds between them and the town, their api)areut 
 numbers greatly exceeded their real strength. Nearing the village 
 and encamping on the adjacent heights, some commotion was per- 
 ceptible in the streets, but no hostile demonstration ocicurred at 
 the fort, and it was afterward ascertained that even the friends of 
 the British were afraid to give notice of Clark's i^resence. The 
 utmost impatience i)revailing in the American encampment, to 
 know the cause of the silence, Lieut. Bailey, with 14 men was 
 sent to make an attack upon the garrison. The fire of the party 
 
 "I'hus named from having hired the Indiaas to murder the American prisoners, by 
 paying so much per scalp. 
 
AMERICAN OCCUPATION. 197 
 
 was attributed to some druiikeu Indians, who liad saluted the fort 
 ill that iiiauner on previous occasions, and it was not till after one 
 of tlie beseiged was shot tlirougli a port hole that the real character 
 oftlie assailants was ascertahied, and the engagement counnenced 
 ill earnest. Henry and Captain IJeim were still retained as 
 prisoners in the fort. Through the wife of the former, wlio lived 
 in Vincennes, und was permitted to visit her husband daily, Clark 
 obtained minute information respecting the garrison. Learning in 
 this way where Capt. Helm hjdged — knowing his fondness for 
 apple-toddy, and believing he would have some on the hearth as 
 usual, he suffered one of his men to tire on his quarters, with a 
 view, as he said, to knock the mortar into the captain's favorite 
 beverage. At the time he Avas playing cards with Hamilton, and 
 when the bullets commenced rattling about the chimney, he Jumi)ed 
 up and swore that it was Clark, that he would take all of them 
 l»risoners, and that the d — d rascal had ruined his toddy. While 
 thus conversing, Helm observed some of the soldiers looking out of 
 thi^ port holes and cautioned them not to do so again as the Amer- 
 icans would certainly shoot out their eyes. It so hai»{)eiied that 
 one of the men afterward attempting to look out was shot in the 
 eye, which Capt. Helm obser^'ing exclaimed, ''there, I told you so." 
 These incidents, cliaracteristic of the men and the times, doubtless 
 had tlieir effect upon the garrison. 
 
 The ammnnition of the Americans, who had expected supplies 
 from the galley, being now nearly exhausted, some of the inhabi- 
 tants famished them with }>owder and ball, which had been buried 
 to keep it from falling into the hands of the British. Had the 
 Americans also needed assistance, the Grand Door, with whom a 
 treaty had jn-eviously been concluded, a})peared with 100 warriors 
 and offered his services to Clark, who, tlamgli declining his aid in 
 the held, refjueste<l his [uesenc^ and intluence in council. 
 
 The Americans had advanced behind a bank to within 30 yards 
 of the fort, whose guns in consequence of their elevation, were 
 useless, and no soont^r was a i)ort hole darkened than a dozen 
 rifles discharged their contents into the apperture, and the British 
 soldiers could no longer be kept at their i)Osts. Clark perceiving 
 their difficulties, in the course ot the morning demanded the sur- 
 render of the fort, which Hamilton refused, stating that he would 
 not be awed into anything unbecoming a British officer. The men 
 were urg«.'nt to take the fort by storm, but Clai-k knowing that he 
 could gvt })ossession of it without the exjienditure of life result- 
 ing from an assault, wisely opposed their desires. In the evening 
 of the same day Hamilton, apj)rehensive that he would be com- 
 pelled to surrender at discretion, sent a tlag to the beseigers 
 desiring a truce of three days. This Clark refused, although <luring 
 the armistice the galley might arrive with its men and munitions, 
 which would greatly facilitate his operations for the reduction of 
 the fort. He pi'oposedin return the unconditional surrciuler of the 
 garrison, and informed the British commander if he wished to have 
 an interview for that purpose, he might meet him at the church. In 
 compliance with this offer, Gov. Hamilton, in comi)any with Capt. 
 Helm and JNIajor Hay, waited on CoL Clark at the a[»i)ointed place. 
 At the conference which ensued, the American comnnuider reject- 
 ing all the overtures of his antagonist, resolutely adhered to his 
 first proposition, and when Capt. Helm attempted to moderate his 
 
198 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 demands, lie informed him that a prisoner had no ri«^htto interfere. 
 Hamilton thereupon replied, that lie was free from that moment, 
 but Clark unmoved, would notaccei>t his release upou these terms, 
 telling him he nnist return and abide his fate, and the British 
 officers that the tiring would recommence in 15 minutes. The gen- 
 tlemen were about to retire to their respective quarters, when 
 Hamilton called Clark aside, and politely asked his reasons for 
 rejecting the liberal terms which had been offered. The latter 
 steridy replied, "1 am aware the principal Indian partisans from 
 Detroit are in the fort, and I only want an honorable opi)ortunity 
 of putting such instigators of Indian barbarities to death. The 
 cries of widows and orphans made by their butcheries, require 
 such blood at my hands. I consider this claim upon me for punish- 
 ment next to divine, iind I would rather lose 50 men than not 
 execute a vengeance demanded by so much innocent blood. If 
 Gov. Hamilton is willing to risk his garrison for siu;h mi.screants, 
 he is atperfect liberty to do so." Major Hay, who lieard this state- 
 ment iiKiuired, "Pray, su', who do you mean by 'Indian partisans!'" 
 Clark promptly replied, "I consider j\Iajor lla.}' one of the principal 
 ones." The latter, as if guilty of the charge, immediately turned 
 deadly pale, trendjled and could hardly staml. Gov. Hamilton 
 blushed for this exhibition of cowaidice in ]>resence of the Ameri- 
 can officer, and Capt. Helm could hardly refrain from expressing 
 contempt. Clark's feelings now relented, and secretly resolving to 
 deal more leniently with the British officers, before separating he 
 told them he would reconsider the matter and let them know the 
 result. After retiring, a council of war was held and milder terms 
 being submitted to (jiov. Hamilton, he accei)ted them, and on the 
 24th of February, 177t>, the garrison surrendered.* 
 
 The following day Clark took possession of the fort, hoisted the 
 American flag, and tired 13 guns to celebrate the recovery of this 
 important stronghold. Seventy prisoners were captured, and a 
 considerable quantity of military stores became the property of 
 the victors. Most of the i)risoners were peiiuitted to return to 
 Detroit on parol of honoi', but Ilauulton and a feW' others were 
 sent to Virginia, where the council or<lered them into continement 
 as a punishment for their idtra barbariism, in ottering re\^ ards 
 for the scalps of those who were captured by the Indians. Geu. 
 Phillips protesting against this rigid treatment, Jelferson referred 
 the nuitter to Washington, who considering it a violation of the 
 agreement made at the surrender of the fort, they were released. 
 
 During the siege of the fort, a party of Indian warriors, bringing 
 W'ith them two white persons, whom they had captured in a raid 
 on the frontier of Kentucky, aiTi\'ed and cami)e(l in the vicinity 
 of the village. Ignorant of Clark's presence, he sent against them 
 a force which soon routed them, with a loss of nine warriors. The 
 remainder precipitately fled, well pleased to escape Mith their lives 
 from an enemy whose ju-owess on previous occasions they had 
 learned to fear. A few days aiterward, Capt. Helm and 00 
 men were detached to proceed uj) the Wabash and intercept val- 
 uable military stores then on the way from Detndt to Vincennes. 
 The expedition was suc(;essful, securing the convoying party and 
 property to the amount of $50,000. On the return of the detach- 
 ment laden with their spoils, the galley hove in sight, and was 
 
 *Butler's KentuckJ^ 
 
AMERICAN OCCUPATION. 190 
 
 prepariug for an attack on the little river fleet, when the ensign 
 of freedom was discovered waving over the fort. The crew, 
 although rejoicing in the trinui})!! of their brethren who liad pre- 
 ceded them by land, regretted exceedingly the circumstances 
 which had denied them the privilege of participating in the reduc- 
 tion of the fort. 
 
 After taking Viucennes under obstacles which, by any other 
 commander except Clark, would have been deemed insurmount- 
 able, this brilliant achievementwas only considered the stepping- 
 stone to other and richer conquests. Detroit was nndoul)tedly 
 within the reach of the enterprising Virginian. "Fortune has 
 thus twice placed this point in my power," he writes to Gov. Henry. 
 " Had I been able to raise oOO men when I first arrived in tlie 
 country, or 300 Miien at Viucennes, I should have aUemi)t('<l its 
 subjugation." Intelligence was brought to him that the g;r i-ison 
 at that time contained but 80 men, many of whom were invalids, 
 and that the inhabitants of the town were so partial to the Amer- 
 icans as to rejoice exceedingly when they heard of Hnniilton's 
 capture. In view of these facts, Clark deteimined to make an 
 attack upon the place, when receiving dispatches from the gov- 
 ernor of Virginia promisiiig a battalion of men, he deemed it most 
 prudent to postpt)ne ox)erations till the reinforcements should 
 arrive. 
 
 Leading Cax)t. Helm in command at Viucennes, Clark embarked 
 on board the galley and returned to Kaskaskia, where he found 
 himself more embarrasse<l by the depreciated curicncy which had 
 been advanced to him by the government of Virginia, than pre- 
 viously by the British and IndiaJis. While adjusting these difd- 
 culties, the war with England and the colonies terminated in the 
 independence of the latter, and with it followed a suspension of 
 the hostilities which had so long devastated the western frontier. 
 Clark's services being no longer needed, at the instance of Gen. 
 Harrison he was relieved of his command, receixing the most 
 hearty encomiums of Virginia's noblest statesmen for the valuable 
 services he had rendered the countrj^ 
 
 The advantages resulting from the capture of the military sta- 
 tions of Illinois cannot be over estimated. Hamilton, as intimated, 
 had made arrangements to enlist all the southern and western 
 Indians for his contemplated campaign the ensuing sjjring, luid 
 had he not been intercepted, the entire country between the Alle- 
 ghanies and the Mississippi might have been overrun, and thus 
 have changed the whole current of American history. Jetferscm 
 said, in a letter to Clark, '• Much solicitude will be felt for the 
 result of your expedition to the Wabash ; if successful it will have 
 an important bearing in determining (mr north-western bound::ry." 
 Accordingly, as predicted by this great statesman, in the prelitn- 
 inary negotiations ior peace ami boundary of 1782 between the 
 colonies and the three great riAal poweis of Euroi)e, the conquest 
 of Chirk had a controlling influence in their deliberations. S]»ain 
 claimed the entire region between the Ohio and Mississip])! rivers, on 
 the pretense, that in the winter of 1781, sixty-flve >S])aniar<ls and 
 an equal number of Indians captured St. Joseph, a sumll English 
 fort near the source of the Illinois, and took possession of the adja- 
 cent country in the name of their sovereign. Dr. Franklin, one of 
 the negotiators, referring to the claim of this power, said it was 
 
200 HISTORY OF LLLINOIS. 
 
 the design of the Spanish court to restrict the United States to 
 the Alleglianies, and he hoped that Congress woukl insist on the 
 Mississippi as the western boundary. It was, however, found 
 impossible to connect the Spanish possessions on the Lower Mis- 
 sissippi with the disputed territory, for Clark had built Fort 
 Jeft'ersou, belo\Y the mouth of the Ohio, and Virginia had actual 
 possession between the two rivers. France, at the treaty of Paris, 
 in 17G3, had transferred all this vast region to England, and could 
 make no claim. She, however, objected to the right of the Amer- 
 icans, hoping by this stroke of policy in favorof her jealous rivals, 
 to gain some other point in the controversy Avbere she was more 
 directly interested. 
 
 Nor had England the presumption to contend, that it did not 
 belong to the colonies, which had established themselves as the 
 United States. The patent of Vii'ginia covered most of the dis- 
 puted territory ; the army of Clark had subdued and permanently 
 occupied it. Subsecpiently it had been organized as a county of 
 the State, and consequently the English envoy could not claim it, 
 with any more pro] aiety than other parts of the commonwealth 
 after the battle of Yorktown. lie was too accurate a jurist to 
 allow the claim of Si)ain, or to listen to the objections of France ; 
 but what would have been his decision looking to British aggran- 
 disement, had it not been for the civil and nulitary rule previously 
 established by the Americans "? 
 
 In estimating the debt of gratitude we owe to Clark and his 
 sturdy Virgiuia veterans, let us consider whether the great country 
 of Louisiana, subse<iuently i)urchased by Jelferson from the First 
 Consul, could have been obtained but for the service whicli they 
 rendered. Nay, but for their valor, the magnificent national 
 domain now stretching away to the Pacific, and promising to 
 absorb the whole continent, might have been broken at the moun- 
 tain's summit or the river's shore; and the Pei)ublic, now exerting 
 controlling iuHuence among the great nationalities of the world, 
 would consequently have remained an inconsiderable power. 
 
 After his campaigns in Illinois, Clark engaged in a number of 
 expeditions against the Indians; fought under Baron Steuben in 
 the East against the traitor Arnold, and finally enlisted as a brig- 
 adier-general in the armies of France to operate against the 
 Spanish possessions on the lower Mississippi. Before anything 
 was effected. Genet, the French minister and leader of the enter- 
 prise, Avas recalled, Clark's comndssion was annulled, and he 
 retired to private life. During the latter years of his life he 
 became an invalid, suffering intensely from rheumatic affections 
 caused by exposure in his previous campaigns. With advancing 
 age the disease assumed the form of paralysis, and terminated 
 fatally, his death and burial occurring in 1818, at Locust Grove, 
 near Louisville. 
 
 The rippling waters of the beautiful Ohio still murmur a requiem 
 over the grave which contains his dust, and his tireless energy 
 still lives in the enterprise of the millions who dwell in the land 
 he loved and defended. In other respects the innovations of time 
 have ruthlessly effected a change. 
 
 Only the relics of the race which contended with him for the 
 empire of the wilderness, can be found in the cabinet of the 
 antiquary ; forests, solitary and unproductive, have passed away, 
 
AJVEBKICAN OCCUPATION. 201 
 
 and a new creation of fruitful fields and cultivated landscapes has 
 taken their place ; the untrained energies and stationary condition 
 of savage life have been sui)ereeded by a civilization whose ouAvard 
 march is heard in the turmoil of rising cities, the din of railroad 
 trains, or the panting steamboat lashinginto foam the watery high- 
 ways which bear it on the errands of commerce. 
 
Chapter XYIII. 
 
 1778-1787— ILLIJfOIS UNDEE VIEGINIA. 
 
 The French Take the Oath of Allegiance — Illinois County — American 
 Immigrants — La Balme's Expedition — The Cession of the Coun- 
 try, and Delays Incident Thereto — No Regular Courts of Law 
 — Curious Laud iS])eculation. 
 
 The respect shown by Clark and liis followers for their property 
 and religion, the news of an alliance between their mother conn- 
 try, France, and the United States, and perhaps their hereditary 
 hatred to the British, readily reconciled the French inhabitants of 
 Kaskaskia and neighboring towns to the change of governinent 
 over them. In October, 1778, the Virginia Assembly erected the 
 conqnered country, end)racing all the territory northwest of the 
 Ohio, claimed nnder this conquest and otherwise, into the County 
 of Illinois, a i)retty extensive county, which has since been carved 
 up into 5 large States, containing a i)0})nlation now exceeding* 
 8, 000, 000 soids, A force of 500 men was ordered to be raised for 
 its defence, an order which (lark had in part anticipated by en- 
 listments nmde on his own reponsibility. Colonel Clark continued 
 to be the military commander of all the western tei'ritory, both 
 noith and south of the Ohio, including Illinois. 
 
 Colonel John Todd, then residing in Fayette county, Kentucky, 
 Avho, under Clark, had been the tirst man to enter Fort (iage, was 
 api)ointed lieutenant-comiiiandant of the County of Illinois. Pat- 
 rick Henry, governor of Virginia, in his letter, dated Williams- 
 burg, Virginia, Decendjer lUth, 1778, a])prising Todd of his 
 appointment, instructed him to cultivate and comdliate the affec- 
 tions of the French and Indians, and inculcate the value of liberty; 
 that on account of his want of acquaintance with the usages and 
 mariners of the people, to advise with the intelligent and upright 
 of the country ; to give particular attention to Colonel Clark and 
 his corps, aiul co-operate with him in any military undertaking; to 
 tell his peophi that peace could not be expected so long as the 
 British occupied Detroit and incited the savages to deeds of rob- 
 bery and murder; that, in the military line, it ^vould be expected 
 of him to over-awe the Indians, that they might not war on the 
 settlers southeast of the Ohio ; toconsiderhimself as thehead of the 
 civil department, and see that the iidiabitants luxve justice done 
 them for any injury received from the soldiery, and quell their 
 licentiousness ; to touch not u])on the subject of boinularies and 
 lands with the Indians and arouse their jealousy ; to punish every 
 tresspass upon the same, and preserve ijeace with them ; to mani- 
 
 202 
 
A COUNTY OF VIRGINIA. 203 
 
 fest a liigh regard toward His Catholic Majosty, and tender tlie 
 frieiidsliip aiul services of liis people to the Spanish conimandaiit 
 at St. Louis. A lar,i;e discretion was given him in his administra- 
 tion of civil affairs, and montldy re])<n-ts were asked. 
 
 In the spring- of 1779, Colonel Todd visited Kaskaskia, and 
 began at once to organize a tem])orary government for the colo- 
 nies. On the loth of June, he issued the following proclamation : 
 '■' IlUnins \_Ci))nitii'\ to-irit : 
 
 " Whereas, from the fertility and beautiful sitnatiou of the lands bor- 
 dering; upon the Mississippi, Oliio, Illinois and Wabash rivers, the taking 
 up of the usual quantity of laud heretofore allowed for a settlement by 
 the government of Virginia, would injure both the strength and com- 
 merce of this country : I do, therefore, issue this })roelamation, strictly 
 enjoining all persons, whatsoever, from making any new settlements 
 upon the flat lauds of said rivers, or within one league of said lands, 
 unless in manner and form of settlements heretofore made by French 
 inhabitants, until further orders herein given. And, in order that all 
 the claims to lauds, in said couuty, may be fully known, and some 
 method provided for perpetuating, by record, the just claims, every 
 iuliabitant is requii'ed, as soon as conveniently may be, to lay before the 
 person, in each district appointed for that purpose, a memorandum of 
 his or her land, with copies of all their vouchers ; and where vouchers 
 have been given, or are lost, such de])Ositions or certificates as will tend 
 to support their claims: — Tlie memorandum to mention the quantity 
 of land, to whom originally granted, and when, deducing the title 
 through various occupants to the present jDossessor. The number of 
 adventurers wdio will shortly overrun this country, renders the above 
 method necessary, as well as to ascertain the vacant lands, as to guard 
 against tresspasses which will probably be committed on lands not on 
 record. Given under my hand and seal, at Kaskaskia, theloth of June, 
 ia the 3rd year of the commonwealth, 177'J. 
 
 " John Todd, Ju. " 
 
 Many of the French inhabitants at Kaskaskia, Cahokia and 
 Vincennes, readily took the oath of allegiance to Virginia. Not 
 only these, but numy of the chief men of the Indian tribes 
 exi)ressed sentiments of friendship for the United States govern- 
 ment. 
 
 At the period of which we write, with the exception of tlie 
 French along the Mississi})]>i, and a few fannlies scattered along' 
 the Illinois and Wabash rivers, all within tlie present boundaries 
 of Illinois was the abode of the nomadic savage. During the 
 years 1779-80, the westward enngration from the Atlantic States, 
 took a very considerable start. AnK)ng the circumstances which 
 gave it impetus, were the brilliant achicivements of (Jol. Clark at 
 Kaskaskia and Vinceniu^s, which were tlie 0(;casion of i)ublishing' 
 abroad the fertile plains of Illinois ; the triunqdi of the Britisli arms 
 in the south, and a threatened advance upon Virginia; and the 
 liberal manner of the latter State, in inviting families to take pos- 
 session of the pnl)lic lands (dainied by her in the w estern country. 
 Three hundred fannly boats arrived at the Falls of Ohio in the 
 spring of 1780, mostly destined for Kentucky.* Among the im- 
 UHgrants to Illinois, we note the names of James Moore, Slnnlrach 
 Bond, James Garrison, liol)ert Kidd and Larken Ilutlierford, the 
 two latter having been with Clark. They were from Virginia and 
 jNIaryland. With their families, they, without molestation in those 
 perilous times, crossed the Alleghanies, descended the Ohio, 
 stemmed the Mississippi, and landed safely at Kaskaskia. James 
 
 ♦Butler's Kentucky. 
 
204 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Moore, tlie leader, aucl a portion of liis party, located on the hills 
 near Bellefontaine, while Bond and the rest settled in the Ameri- 
 can Bottom (from which circumstance that name is derived), near 
 Harrison ville, afterwards known as the blockhouse fort. James 
 Piggot, John Doyle, Robert Whitehead and a Mr. Bowen, soldiers 
 in Clark's expediticni, also shortly after settled in Illinois. Doyle 
 had a family and taught school. He was, perhaps, the first teacher 
 to make tliat profession his business in Illinois. He also spoke 
 French and Indian, ami in the latter language was frequently em- 
 ployed as interi)reter. Not until 1785 was this little band of 
 American pioneers reinforced. Then came Joseph Ogle, Joseph 
 War ley and James xVndrews, all from Virginia and each with a 
 large family. In the following- year the American settlements 
 were again augmented by the arri\al of James Lemen, George 
 Atcherson, and David Waddell with their families, besides several 
 others.* 
 
 While the country was under the A'irginia regime (but without 
 the sanction of her authorities). La Balme, a native of France, in 
 the fall of 17S0 during- the revolutionary war, made another attempt 
 to lead an exi)editio]i from Kaskaskia against the British. It con- 
 sisted of 30 men, and was ostensibly formed to capture the post 
 of Detroit. At Vincennes it was reinforced by a iew men. The 
 party moved up the Wabash, and at the liead of the Maumee 
 attacked and destroyed a British trading- post (;alled Kekionga, on 
 the site of the present Fort Wayne. After securing the booty, 
 the party retired to the baidis of the small river Aboite, where 
 they encamped. Here a party of Indians attacked tliem in the 
 night, the leader and a few of his followers were killed, the re- 
 mainder dispersed, and the expedition against Detroit failed. Its 
 object, like those of Brady and Meillet, was doubtless ])lunder.t 
 
 Col. Todd, the Virginia- commandant, was but littleof his tiiiu^ in 
 our part of the Illinois county; he remained in conunand until the 
 time of his death, which occurred at the battle of Blue Licks Lu 
 Kentucky, August 18, 1782, where he was in command, not having" 
 resigned as commander of the militia of that district in Kentucky. 
 This was the bloodiest Indian battle ever fought in Kentucky. 
 Cols. Todd, Trig, Harlan, and a son of Daniel Boone, all fell. It 
 w^as a sad day ; the Kentuckians lost ()7 juen, more than a third of 
 their force, mostly killed. Col. Todd had just returned from 
 Virginia on business pertaiinng- to the Illinois county. His gov- 
 ernment in Illinois was i)opnlar. 
 
 The'successor of Col. Todd was a Frenchman, named Timothy 
 deMontbrun, of Avhose administration, how long it lasted, or who 
 was his successor, little or nothing is known. Montbrun's name 
 appears to land grants and other documents among- the archives 
 at Kaskaskia. 
 
 The Cession of Illinois. — As we have seen, all of the ^North- 
 western territory, by private conquest, passed under the dominion 
 of Virginia at a time when all the States were engaged in a common 
 war, defending- against the power of the mother countiy to reduce 
 them to subjection ; and whatever was the right of a State to 
 organize an individual war enterprise, and turn its success to 
 
 *See Annals of the West. 
 +lleyuold's Pioneer History. 
 
A COUNTY OF VIRGINIA. 205 
 
 private advantage, by extending her jurisdiction over a vast and 
 fertile region for her separate benefit and aggrandizement, the 
 congress of the States, probably for the sake of harmony, acqui- 
 esced in the validity of this. But Virginia and a number of other 
 States asserted still another claim to these western lands, and 
 during the revolutionary war these conflicting claims became quite 
 a hindrance to the promi)t adoi)tion of the articles of confedera- 
 tion. Many of the cniginal colonies had their boundaries exactly 
 defined in their royal charters, bnt Virginia, Connecticut, jMassa- 
 chusetts, and the Carolinas, claimed to extend westward to the 
 farther ocean, or to the Mississii)pi; since, under the treaty of 
 Paris, 1703, that river had become the established western 
 boundary of Great Britain. ISTew York, too, under certain alleged 
 concessions to her jurisdiction made by the Iroquois,or six nations, 
 the conquerers of many Algonqnin tribes including the Illinois, 
 claimed almost the whole of the western country from beyond the 
 lakes on the north to the Cumberland mountains on tlie south, 
 and Avest to the great river. 
 
 Large ideas as to the pecuniarv value of the Avestern lands 
 obtained at the time, from which vast revenues were anticii>ate<l. 
 The prospective well-filled coffers of the States, as well as the 
 broad expansion of their dominions, excited the envy of their land- 
 less sisters. The latter liehl, therefore, that as these lands, as well 
 as their own independence, had to be wrested from the British 
 crown by joint effort, they ought to beconu> joint property. Still, 
 the claimant States in congress had succeeded in getting a clause 
 inserted into the proposed articles of confederation, that, no State 
 should be deprived of any territory for the joint benefit of all. 
 But Maryland, a non-claimant State, refusedher assent to the arti- 
 cles with that provision. The adoption of the articles, which would 
 make of the coloiues a union, was ver^' much desired. jS^ew lOrk 
 now, whose claim was the most baseless, opened the way by allow- 
 ing her delegates in congress, at discretion, to cede to the union all 
 her interest west of a line drawn through the western extremity of 
 Lake Ontario. Congress urged this example ujjon the <^tther 
 claimant states, guaranteeing that the cede<l lands should be dis- 
 posed of for the connnon benefit of all ; and as the territories became 
 populated they should be divided into States and admitted into 
 the Union on an equal footing with the origimd States. 
 
 Connecticut nextproposed a cession of her indelinite due western 
 extension, retaining, however, a tract of some o,(K)(),()()0 acres in 
 IsTorthwestern Ohio, known since as the Western Eeserve. This 
 she also relinquished in the year 1800. The Virginia asseujbly, 
 hoping to reanimate the flagging cause of the South by a more 
 thorough union, just prior to its adjournment, December 31, 1780, 
 on the approach of Arnold, who sacked and burned Ilichmond 
 within a few days after, ceded to the United States all her claim 
 to the territory north-west of the river Ohio, requiring from con- 
 gress, however, a guarantee of her right to the remainder south 
 of the Ohio and east of the Mississippi. The New York delegates 
 soon after exercised the discretion confided to them by their State, 
 and executed a deed of cession, reserving the right of retraction 
 unless the same guarantees were extended to New Y^ork a*s to any 
 other ceding States. On the same day the delegates of ^Maryland, 
 being thereunto empowered by act of the State, signed the articles 
 
206 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of coiifederatioii, wliicli comiileted the ratification, and a nation 
 was laiinclied. 
 
 Tliis was early in tlie spiiig' of 1781; Virginia, however, did not 
 execute lier deed of cession till Mar<:h 1, 1784. In the meantime 
 peace had been made with Great Britain, by which nearly all this 
 country passed to the ownersliip of the Nation, iu common, and 
 Virginia modified her act of cession by omitting her demand to the 
 territory soutli-east of the Oliio. The deed of cession was executed 
 by her delegates in Congress, Thomas Jefferson, Samuel Hardy, 
 Arthur Lee and James Monroe. It stipulated that the territory 
 sliould be cut into States not less than lUU nor more than laOmiles 
 square; to be republican in form, and to be admitted into the 
 union with "the same rights of sovereignty, freedom and inde- 
 pendence as the other States;" that indemnity for the expenses of 
 her expeditions incurred in subduing the British posts in the west 
 be allowed her; that land, not exceeding 150,000 acres, promised 
 by her, should be allowed to George Kogers Clark, his officers and 
 soldiers; that the proceeds of the sales of the lands ceded shall 
 be considered a common fund for all the States, present and future; 
 and that "the French and Canadian inhabitants, and other settlers 
 of the Kaskaskias, Post Vincennes, and the neighlxning villages, 
 who have professed themselves citizens of Vii-giiiia, shall have 
 their possessions and titles confirmed to them, and be protcted in 
 the enjoyment of their rights and liberties." 
 
 Immediately after the execution of the deed of cession by Vir- 
 ginia, Congress jn-oposed by ordinance, (April 23, 1784,) to establish 
 a form of government for the entire western region, from the Gulf to 
 the Lakes, though it was not yet wholly acquired. The plan proi)osed 
 to divide the wljole into 17 States; a tier of 8 was to border on the 
 Mississii)pi, whose eastern boundary was to be a north and south 
 line through the falls of the Ohio, and each to contain two par- 
 allels of latitude, except the northernuu^st, which was to extend 
 from the 4oth ]»arallel to the iiorthern limits of the United States; 
 to the east of these a corresponding tier of 8 more was to be laid 
 off, whose eastern boundary was to be a north and south line run- 
 ning through the mouth of the Great Kanawha; the remaining 
 tract, to the east of this and north of the Ohio, was to constitute 
 the 17th State. In these territories, the settlers, eitlier on their 
 petition or by act of Congress, were to receive authority to create 
 a temporary form of government; but when 20,000 free inhabi- 
 tants had settled within any of them, they were authorized to call 
 a convention, form a constitution, and establish for themselves a 
 pernuxnent government, subject to the following requirements: to 
 remain forever a part of the confederacy of the United States ; to 
 be subject to the articles of confederation and the acts and ordi- 
 nances of Congress like the original States; not to interfere \yith. 
 the disposal of the soil by Congress; to be liable to their proportion 
 of the federal debt, present ami prospective; not to tax the lands 
 of the United States ; their respective governments to be repub- 
 lican ; not to tax lands belonging to non-residents higher than 
 those of residents; and when anyone got of free inhal)itants as 
 many as the least numerous of the original Thirteen States, to be 
 admitted into the Union on an equal footing with them. The com- 
 mittee, of which Mr. Jefferson was chairman, reported also this 
 
A COUNTY OF VIRGINIA. 207 
 
 remarkable provision, the adoption of whicli, and unalterable 
 adherence to, would doubtless liave prevented the late re- 
 bellion: "That after they ear 1800, of the Christian era, there 
 shall be neither slavery nor involuntary ser\ itnde in any of the 
 said States, otherwise than in punishment of crimes, whereof the 
 party sliall have been duly convicted." But this proviso failed on 
 account of not receiving a majority of the States. The four N^ew 
 Eniiland States, with New York and Pennsylvania, voted for it; 
 New Jersey, Delaware and Geori;ia, were unrei)resented; North 
 Carolina was divided; Maryland, South Carolina and Virginia, 
 (Mr. Jeflerson being: overboi'iie by his colleagnes.) voted against 
 it. The anti-slavery clause was stricken out and the resolutions 
 became an ordinance. 
 
 While such was the law for these territories, it never received 
 application to any of them ; no orji'anization was ever effected 
 under it. Nor had IMassachusetts in the meantime relinquished 
 her claim in the territories. In 1785, llnfus King- renewed the anti- 
 slavery ])roviso in congress, as a condition upon which she would 
 make a cession of her claim. The question was referred to a coni- 
 mittee of eight States, where it slept the sleej) that knows no 
 waking. Massachusetts, however, in accordance with the V'irginia 
 scheme of dividing the western territory into small States, ceded 
 her claim, April 10, 1785; and with the consent of Congress to 
 accept the cession of Connecticut, with the reservation of o, 000,000 
 acres, September 13th, 1780, the title of the confederated States to 
 the lands north-west of the river Ohio became complete. In the 
 meantime, by act of congress, surveys and explorations were 
 going on in the territories which glaringly exposed the total disre- 
 gard of natural })Oundaries, and the inconvenience resulting from 
 cuttingup the western country into fourteen small States. Virginia 
 and Massachusetts were now called upon to modify the conditions 
 of their deeds, so as to allow that portion of the territory north- 
 west of the Ohio to be divided up into three or five States, at the 
 option of Congress, which was accordingly done, and the following 
 year Congress passed the ordinance of 1787. 
 
 This was a slow transition perio<l, which was doubly experienced 
 in the settlements of Illinois which were the fartherest removed 
 from tlie seat of power, be it Virginia or the United States. 
 During all this time, and for three years after the adoption of 
 the ordinance of 1787, and until the organization of the county 
 of St. Clair, by Governor St. Clair, in 1790, there was a very 
 imperfect administration of the law, which consisted of a mixture 
 of the civil or the French, the English, as resulting from the pro- 
 mulgations of the arbitrary acts of the British commaiulants at 
 Fort Chartres, and such as had been instituted by the Virginia 
 authorities. There were no regular courts of law in existence in 
 the country, and no civil government worth mentioning. The peo- 
 ple were a law unto themselves ; their morals were simple and 
 pure, and the grosser vices were kept dormant. Crimes against 
 the peace of society were rare, misdemeanors infrequent, and 
 fraud and dishonest dealings seldom practiced. During part of 
 this time, too, the Indians were hostile, committing many brutal 
 murders, which engaged the settlers in constant waifare and 
 mutual protection against the savages ; a state of afiairs not con- 
 
208 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ducive to the civil administration of the law where even tne most 
 perfect code exists. The following- curious kind Si[)eculation, on the 
 part of a territorial court instituted by Colonel Todd, as it relates 
 in part to Illinois, may not be amiss to transcribe, as it illustrates 
 also the fallibility of men in office, and the necessity of the peo- 
 ple to ever bold a watchful eye over their official servants. 
 
 In June, 1779, Colonel Todd established a court of civil and 
 criminal jurisdiction at Post Vincennes, composed of several mag- 
 istrates. Colonel J. M. P. Legras, having been ai>pointed com- 
 mandant of t\ui post, acted as president of the court, and exercised 
 a controlling intluence over its proceediugs. Adopting in some 
 measure the usages and custems of the early Prench command- 
 ants, the court began to giant or concede tracts of land to the 
 French and American iuhabitants, and to different civil and mili- 
 tary officers of the country. ludeed, the court assumed tbe power 
 of granting lands to e^'ery applicant, mostly in tracts varying froui 
 the size of a house lot to 400 acres, thougli some were several 
 leagues square. Before 1783, about 20,000 acres of land were thus 
 grauted to different iiulividuals; aud from 1773 to 1787, when in 
 the latter year the practice was stoi>ped by General Harmar, the 
 grants amounted to 22,000 acres, making a total, first and last, 
 of 48,000 acres. The commandant aud magistrates, after having 
 exercised this power for some time, were easily led to believe that 
 they had the right to disi)ose of all that large tract of land which, 
 in 1742, had been granted by the Piankeshaw Indians, for the use 
 of the French inhabitants at Post Vincennes. Once convinced of 
 their supreuie dominion over this entire tract, the court was not 
 long in arri\ing at the couclusion that they might make grants to 
 themselves with as much i)ropriety as to others ; and if they could 
 do this with small tracts, they jnight with the whole; hopiug, 
 doubtless, that, as the country passed under the government of the 
 United States, the grants would receive confirmation. Accord- 
 ingly, all that tract of country extending on the Wabash 72 miles 
 from Pointe La Coupee to the mouth of White river, westward into 
 Illinois 120 miles aud east from the Wabash 90 miles (excluding 
 lands already conceded), " to which the Indian title was supposed 
 to be extinguished, was divided between the members of the 
 court, and orders to that effect, entered on their journal ; each 
 member [as a matter of delicacy] absenting himself from the 
 court on the day that the order was made in his favor, so as to give 
 it the appearance of being the [disiuterested] act of his fellows 
 only."* 
 
 This shameful transaction being totally illegal, as no agent or 
 trustee can make sale to himself, fading to i^rove a source of profit 
 to the grantees in open market, was in a measure abandoned. 
 Still, as the grant was in due form, under the great seal and 
 authority of Virginia, land speculators, spying out the matter, 
 quietly purchased freely of the lands thus granted, which could 
 be readily done for a song, and then dispersed themselves over all 
 the United States, and for many years after, duped great numbers 
 of ignorant aud credulous people, many of whom did not find out 
 the swindle until moving out to their lands so purchased, they dis- 
 covered their titles to be a myth. These swindling practices 
 
 •Letter of Governor Harrison. 
 
A COOTiTY OP TmOINIA. 209 
 
 never wholly ceased tmtil Governor Harrison in 1802 ^t v,-„ 
 cennes fo-bid protbonotaries from anthentica™ g .uSlfe sS" 
 
 4oordLa?,v''o^';r' '"f 1 ,""; *™'"°'-y' •™'^' ■■«='=«'>•='* from 
 lecortlnig any of these fraudulent papers.* 
 
 •Annals of the West. 
 
 u 
 
Chapter XIX. 
 
 1787— 1800— ILLINOIS UXDER THE GOVERKME:^rT OF THE 
 NORTH- WESTEEX TEERITOEY. 
 
 Ordinance of 1787 — Organization of St. Clair County — Bar of Illi- 
 nois in 1790 — Impoverished Condition of the French — Indian 
 Hostilities, 1783 to 1795 — Randolph County — American Immi- 
 gration — Siclcness — Territorial Assemhly at Cincinnati — Xotable 
 Women of the Olden Time — Witchcraft in Illinois. 
 
 The celebrated ordinance of 1787 was passed by tbe congress 
 of the confederated States on the loth of July of that year. By 
 it, tlie whole of the country north-west of the river Ohio was con- 
 stituted one district, for the x>"iT(>ses of temporary government. 
 It provided for the descent of pioperty in equal shares, substan- 
 tially as under our present laws, (a just jn'ovision, not then 
 generally recognized in the States,) " saving, however, to the 
 Fiench and Canadian inhabitants and other settlers of Kaskaskia, 
 St. Vincents, and other neighboring villages, who have heretofore 
 professed themselves citizens of Virginia, their laws and customs 
 now in force among them, relative to the descent and conveyance 
 of property." A governor was provided for, whose term of ofitice 
 was three years, who was to reside in the district and own a freehold 
 of 1,000 acres of land ; a secretary, whose commission was to run 
 four years, subject to revocation: he was to reside in the district 
 and own 500 acres of land. A court was provided for, to consist 
 of three judges, two of them to constitute a court; they were to 
 exercise common law jurisdiction, to reside in the district, own 
 500 acres of laud, their commissions to last during good behavior. 
 They, jointly with the governor, were to adoi>t such laws of the 
 original States as were suitable to the conditions of the country, 
 to remain in force until the organization of the general assembly, 
 which might alter or re-adopt them ; congress, also, might dis- 
 approve them. The governor was constituted commander-in-chief 
 of the militia, with power to appoint all officers below the grade 
 of general officers. Until the organization of the general assembly, 
 the governor was to appoint all the civil officers in each county. 
 He was to estabhsh counties from time to time, to whose limits 
 legal process was to run. With 5,000 free male inhabitants of full 
 age, the territory was entitled to a general assembly, the time and 
 l^hu'e of election to be fixed by the governor; each 500 were 
 entitled to one representative, till the number reached 25, after 
 which the legislature was to regulate the number and proportion. 
 The qualifications of a member were, either a residence in the 
 
 210 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 211 
 
 territory three years, or citizenship in a State for three yeara and 
 present residence in the territory, and a fee simple right to 200 
 acres of hind within the same; qualilication of an elector : freehold 
 of 50 acres and citizenship in one of the States, or a like freehold 
 and two years residence in the district. Eepresentatives were 
 elected for the term of two years. The assembly was to consist 
 of the governor, council and honseof representatives. The council 
 was to consist of live members, three to constitute a <|uorum; 
 time of service, Hve years. Congress was to select the council 
 from ten men — residents of the territory, each having- a freehold 
 of 500 acres — nominated by the house of i-epreseutatives. Bills, 
 to become laws, nnist pass both houses by a uiajority and receive 
 the signature of the governor, who possessed an absolute veto by 
 simi)ly withhohling his approval. The two houses, by joint ballot, 
 were to elect a delegafe to congress, who was allowed to debate, 
 but not to vote. An oath of office of office was to be taken by all 
 the officers. 
 
 For extendin.g the fundamental principles of civil and religious 
 liberty, and to tix the basis of government of future States to be 
 formed out of said territory, it Avas further provided, in six unal- 
 terable articles of perpetual compact between the i)eoi)le of the 
 original states and the people of the territory : 
 
 I. ]S]"o person, in j)eaceable demeanor, was to be molested on 
 account of his mode of worship or religi<^)us sentiments. 
 
 II. The inhabitants were gnaranteed tin? benelits of the writs 
 of habeas cor[»us and trial by jury; a proportionate representation 
 in the legislature and judicial proceedings according to the course 
 of the common law. "All i)ersons shall be bailable, unless for 
 capital offenses, where the proof shall be evidentorthe i)resumi)tion 
 great. All fines shall be moderate; and no cruel or unusual pun- 
 ishments shall be inflicted. Xo nuin shall be deprived of his liberty 
 or his property, but by the judgment of his i)eers, or the law of 
 the land; and should the public exigencies mi\kQ it lux-essary, for 
 the common preser^^ation, to take any person's property, or to 
 demand his particular services, full compensation shall be made 
 for the same." No law o^lg•ht ever to be uuide or have force in 
 said territory, that shall, in any manner, interfere Avith or affect 
 private contracts or engagements made in good faith and without 
 fraud. 
 
 III. Religion, morality and knowledge being necessary to good 
 government and the happiness of numkind, schools and the means 
 of education shall forever be encouraged. Good faith, justice and 
 humanity toward the Indians, was to be observed ; their lands and 
 property not to be taken without consent, and peace and friend- 
 ship to be cultivated. 
 
 IV. The territory, and States to be formed therein, were to 
 renmin forever a part of the United States, subject to her laws; 
 the inhabitants to pay a just proportion of the public debt, con- 
 tracted or to be contracted ; not to tax the lands of the United 
 States, nor those of non-residents higher than those of residents; 
 the navigable waters of the lakes to remain forever free to all 
 citizens of the United States. 
 
 V. The territory was not to be divided into less than three States, 
 and, at its option, congress might "form one or two (more) States 
 in that part which lies north of an east and west line drawn 
 
212 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tbroiigh the southerly bend or extreme of Lake Michigan." With 
 60,000 free inhabitants, snch States uere to be admitted into the 
 union on im e<]ual footing with the original States. 
 
 VI. " There sliall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude 
 in the said territory, otherwise than in the punishment of crimes, 
 •whereof the party shall have been duly convicted;" this section 
 providing also for the reclamation of fugitives from labor. 
 
 Such was substantially the fundamental law of this vast territory, 
 which has ever had a controlling inlluence upon the destiny of the 
 States carved out of it, and saved some of them from the perma- 
 nent blight of slavery. While the convention at Philadelphia 
 w'as occupied witli framing the constitution of the United States, 
 congress, sitting in New York, disposed of this subject, which was 
 fraught witli an importance second only to the constitution itself. 
 The anti-slavery clause, it will be observed, was substantially the 
 same as that reported by Jetferson in 1784, for the organization of 
 all the western territory, but which was then rejected. The ordi- 
 nance was re])orted from committee by Mr. Dane, of Massachusetts, 
 and unanimously adopted by the eight States then only repre- 
 sented in congress. On October 5, 1787, Major General Arthur 
 St. Clair was, by congress, elected governor of the ]S^ortli western 
 territory. St. Clair was born in Scotland and emigrated to 
 America in 1755. He served in the French and British war, 
 under General Amherst, at the taking of Louisburg, in 1758, and 
 at the storming of Quebec, under Wolfe, in 1759. After the peace 
 of 1703, he settled in western Pennsylvania. In the war of the 
 Eevolution he was first commissioned a colonel, raised a regiment 
 of 750 men and was afterward promoted to the rank of major 
 general. In 1788 he was tried by court-martial for evacuating 
 Ticonderoga and Mt. Independence, but was honorably acquitted. 
 He remained in the service until the close of the war. In 1786 he 
 was elected to congress, and was chosen president of that body. 
 Owing to his losses in the war of the revolution, his friends pressed 
 him for the governorship of the ISforthwesteru Territory, that he 
 might retrieve his fortune. But he "had neither taste nor genius 
 for speculation in lands, nor did he think it consistent with the 
 office."* 
 
 The instructions from congress were, ineflect, to promote peace 
 and harmony between the Indians and the United States, to defeat 
 all combinations or confederations between them, and conciliate 
 good feeling between them and the white settlers ; to regulate 
 trade with them; to ascertain as far as possible the several tribes, 
 their head men and number of warriors, and by every means 
 attach them to the government of the United States; and to neg- 
 lect no opportunity to extinguish the Indian titles to lands west- 
 ward as far as the Mississippi, and north to the 41st degree of 
 north latitude. 
 
 In the summer of 1788, the governor and judges (Samuel Holden 
 Parsons, James Mitchell Yarnum, and John Cleves Symmes), met 
 at Marietta, the seat of government, and adoi)ted and i)ronudgated 
 a code of laws for the whole territory. The governor immediately 
 established some counties, except in Illinois, appointed the ci^^I 
 officers for them, and thus, July 15th, the machinery of the terri- 
 torial government under the U. S. was put into operation. These 
 
 *His letter to W. B. Giles, of Virginia. 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 213 
 
 steps by the judges and governor were commouly denominated the 
 first grade ot" territorial goveruinent under the ordiiunice. 
 
 As characteristic of the pericjd, Ave note tliat tlie punishment I'or 
 crimes, owing to the want of prisons, were generally of a sum- 
 mary character : Death for nuirder, treason, and arson, (if loss 
 of life ensued therefrom) ; \vhii)piug with 39 laslies, and fine, lor 
 larceny, bnrgiary and robbery ; for peijury, w]ii])piug-, fine, or 
 standing in the i)illory ; for forgery, fine, disfrancliisement and 
 standing in the pillory; drunkenness, fine, for non-payment of 
 wliicli to stand in the stocks ; for non-payment of fines generally, 
 the sheriff was empowered to bind out the convict for a terin not 
 exceeding 7 years; obscene conversation and profane swearing 
 were adiuonished against, and threatene<l with the loss of the gov- 
 ernment's confifU'iice; nu)rality and piety were enjoyned, and the 
 Sabbath pronounced sacred. 
 
 Under date of October (Jth, 178!), president Washington wrote 
 to Governor St. Clair: You will also })roceed, as soon as you can, 
 with safety, to execute the orders of the late congress respecting 
 the inhabitants at Post Vincenues and at the Kaskaskias, and the 
 other villages on the j\Iississii>i)i. It is a circumstance of some im- 
 l)ortance, that the said iidKibitants should, as soon as possible, 
 possess the lands which they are entitled to, by some known and 
 fixed pi-iucii)le. Accordingly in February, Gov. St. Clair and the 
 Secretary, Winthroj) Sargent, arrived at Kaskaskia. The country 
 within the boundaries of our jiresent State extending north Ward to 
 the mouth of the Little Mackinaw creek on the Illinois was organ- 
 ized into a county, which was named after His Excellency, St. 
 Clair, and nujy be called the nn)ther of counties in llliiH)is. It 
 was <livided into three judicial districts, a- court of common pleas 
 established, 3 judges ap[)ointed, namely: John Edgar, of Kas- 
 kaskia ; John ihibtiste Barbeau, of Prairie du Rocher, and John 
 3). Moulin, of Cahokia, each to hold the courts for and in the dis- 
 trict of his residence. The terms were fixed to be held evei'y three 
 months, hence the name of (pnirter sessiojis, by Avhich the courts 
 were generally known. William St. Clair, brother of the governor, 
 w^as appointe<l clerk and recorder of deeds, and A\'illiani Biggs, 
 sheriff. Cahokia became the county seat. While the clerk could 
 issue proces.s for the county, and the sheriff serve the sanu', suit 
 had to be bi-ought and entitled of the district where the defendant 
 reside<l, and the writs to bear test of the judges of the respective 
 districts, dated at the respective villages and run with the respec- 
 i\\v districts. Grand juries were to be <piarterly organized in each 
 district. The right of appeal was rendered practically nugatory, 
 and in no case was it resorted to. The sessi(»ns of the U. 6. 
 judges for the territory were held in banc at either Cincinmiti or 
 Chillicothe, a distance so great from Illinois, by the then facilities 
 of travel, as to render ap))eal impracticable. Of the judges, John 
 de Moulin, a native of Switzerland, ])ossessing a good education 
 ami fair knowledge of the civil law, was a large, fine looking man, 
 a bachehn'. He was also colonel of the militia, and shoAved well 
 on parade days. He Avas a ery popiilar. Jean Babtiste Barbeau, 
 Avas of the original Caiuidian French stock, long settled in Illinois; 
 euergetic, fair business talent, and extensive experience. John 
 Eilgar was an Englishman. Justices of the iieace Avere also ap- 
 pointed throughout the county. Then' jurisdiction Avas limited to 
 
214 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 $20 in civil cases ; in criminal, they possessed only examining 
 l)Ower ; jnries before them were not conntenanced. Api)eal lay to 
 the common pleas conrts.* Thns was lannclied the tirst county 
 of Illinois upon its career of iisefnlness, witli all its political ma- 
 chinery duly organized under the laws of the United States. Down 
 to tliis period, a Inixture of the old Frencli, English and Virginia 
 laws had maintained a sort of obsolete existence and operation. 
 
 It may not be uninteresting to relate that the bar of Illinois, in 
 1790, was illuminated by but a single member, who was, however, 
 a host himself. This was John Eice Jones, a Welchman, born 
 1750. He was an accomi^lished linguist, possessed of a classical 
 education, and a thorough knowledge of the law. He was the 
 earliest practitioner of law in Illinois and would have been con- 
 spicuous at any bar. His practice extended frcmi Kaskaskia to 
 Vincennes and Clarksville, (Louisville, Ky.) Contrary to the 
 habits of frontier life, he was never idle. Asa speaker, his capacity 
 for invective under excitement was extraordinary. Eemoving to 
 Vincennes. he became a member of the territorial legislature, and 
 in 1807 rendered important services in revisingthe statute Iav,"s for 
 the territory of Indiana. t In 178G, news found currency in the 
 western country that congress, whose meetings were in great part 
 secret, had by treaty agreed with Spain to a temporary reiinquish- 
 ment of the right to the free navigation of the jMississii)pi. The 
 western people, who received these reports greatly magnitied, were 
 bitterly incensed thereat. At Vincennes a body of men were en- 
 listed without authority, known as the Wabash regin>ent, to be 
 subsisted by imi)ressment or otherwise, of whom Geoige Eogers 
 Clark took command, and by his orders the Spanish traders there 
 and in the Illinois, were i)]undered and despoiled of their goods 
 and merchandise in retaliation of similar alleged oft'ences by the 
 Spaniards at ISTatchez. In these outrages John liice Jones took a 
 leading part. He became the commissary general of the 
 marauders, to the su])port of whom Illinois merchants contributed. 
 Such goods as were unsuited to the use of the garrison were sold 
 by Jones. These acts tended to embroil us with Si>ain. Jones 
 later removed to Missouri, became a nu^mber of the constitutional 
 convention, and was a candidate for U, S. Senator in oi)position to 
 Mr. Benton. He held the oftice of judge of the Su})reme Court of 
 Missouri until his death, in 1824. 
 
 The second lawyer of Illinois, prior to 1800, was Isaac Dar- 
 nielle. To a strong native intellect, (classical education and a 
 tolerable knowledge of the law, he added an engaging manner^ 
 free benevolent disposition, and a rather large, i)ortly and attractive 
 person. He was an agreeable speaker, conspicious at the bar, and 
 popular with the people. He was said to have been educated for 
 the ministry and had occupied the pulpit. But his great forte lay 
 
 *nrown, History ol Ills. p. 273, (with a confused idea as to boundary), to show the 
 inconvenient size of St. Clair County, relates tlie following : 
 
 Suit havin": been brought before a Justice of Cahokia to recover the value of a cow, 
 and judgment liaving been rendered for $16, the case was appealed. The adverse 
 party and witnesses resided at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin, distance 400 miles. The 
 Sheriff, who was also an Indian trader, having received a summons for the party and 
 subpoenas for the witnesses, fitted out a boat with a suitable stock of goods tor the 
 Indian trade and proceeded thilherwith his papers Having served the summons and 
 subpoenaed the witnesses, which included the greater part of the inhabitants of Prairie 
 du Chien, he made his return charging mileage and svrvice for each, as he had a right 
 to, his costs and the cost of the suit altogether, it is stated, exceeding $900. Whether 
 the costs were ever paid or not, chroniclers have faijed to transmit. 
 
 +See Reynold's Pioneer Hist, of Ills. 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 215 
 
 ill the court of Yeiiiis, where he practiced with coiismiiinute art and 
 with more stiidiousi assiiidity than his books received, lie never 
 married and yet ai^pareutly was never without a wife. This course 
 of life brought its inevitable consequences. \^^ile youth and 
 vigor lasted all was well, but with advancing age, he was com- 
 pelled to abandon his i>rofession, and finally died in western 
 Kentucky, at the age of 00, a poor and neglected school-teaclier.* 
 
 As to the practice of those times, ex-governor Reynolds relates 
 seeing the records of a proceeding in court at Prairie du llocher, 
 against a negro for the ''murder" of a hog. The case was mali- 
 cious mischief, for wantonly <lestroyiiig a useful animal, which it 
 was sought to bring before the court ; but in the absence of a pros- 
 ecuting attorney, officers disallowed at that time, the grand jury, 
 groping about in the law books, met with a precedent of an iudict- 
 ment for mimler and applied it to the case in hand. 1\ rhaps 
 justice was meted out as fully under this indictment as if drawn 
 with the nicest precision as to the nature of the offence, and i)ros- 
 ecuted by the ablest attorney hi the* country. 
 
 In the dee<l of cession from Virginia, it was stipulated that the 
 French and Canadian inliabitants, and other settlers, Avho had 
 professed allegiance to Virginia, should have their titles con- 
 firmed to them. By a law of congress of 1788, the go\'ernor of 
 the territory was authorized to confirm the possessions and titles 
 of the French to their lands (and those i)eoi)le in their rights,) 
 who, on or before the year 1783, had professed themselves citizens 
 of the United States, or any of them. But nothing had been 
 done in this direction up to the arrival of Goveinor St. Olair at 
 Kaskaskia. It was to this that Washington had called tlie gover- 
 nor's attention, in his letter of October 0, 1789. In March, 1790, 
 to cany the.se instructions into effect, the governor issued liis proc- 
 lamation to the inliabitants, directing them to exhibit their titles 
 and claims to the lands which they held, in order to be confirmed 
 in th<'ir possessions. Numbers of these instruments were exhib- 
 ited, and for those found to be authentic, orders of survey were 
 issued, the expense whereof was to be paid by the owners. Such 
 payment Avas anything but satisfactory to the people, as will be 
 seen by the subjoined quotation from the governor's report to the 
 secretary of state, in 1790 ; and from it may further be gh'aned 
 the deplorable condition of the French, at the time of the gover- 
 nor's visit in this oft-painted Eden of the Far AVest as if over- 
 flowing with abundance : 
 
 "Orders of survey were issued for all the claims at Kaskaskia, 
 that ai)peared to be founded agreeably to the resolutions of con- 
 gress ; and siu'veys were made of the greater part of them. A 
 part of these surveys, however, have only been returned, because 
 the people objected to paying tlie surveyor, and it is too true that 
 they are ill able to pay. The Illinois c<mntry, as well as that ui)on 
 the Wabash, has been involved in great distress ever since it fell 
 under the American dominion. With great cheerfulness, the i>eo- 
 ple furnished the troops under Colonel Clark, and the Illinois 
 regiment, with everything they could spare, and often with much 
 more than they could spare with any convenience to themselves. 
 Most of these certificates for these supplies are stUl in theirhands, 
 
 ♦Reynold's Pioneer Hist. 
 
216 History of Illinois. 
 
 uuliquidated aud unpaid ; aud iii many instances, where applica- 
 tion lias been made for payment to the State of Virginia, under 
 whose authority the certificates were granted, it has been refused. 
 The Illinois regiment being disbanded, a set of men, jjretending 
 the authority of Virginia, embodied themselves, and a scene of 
 general depredation ensued. To this, succeeded three successive 
 and extraordinary inundations from the Mississipi)i, which either 
 swept away their crops, or prevented their being planted. The loss 
 of the greater pai't of their trade with the Indians, which was a 
 great resource, came iqiou them at this juncture, as well as the 
 hostile incursions of some of the tribes which had ever been in 
 friendshii) with them ; and to these was added the loss of their 
 Avliole last crop of corn by an untimely frost. Extreme misery 
 coidd not fail to be the consequence of such accumulated misfor- 
 tunes. " 
 
 The impoverished condition of the French settlements is fur- 
 ther portrayed, and doubtless truly, in a memorial addressed to 
 Governor St. Clair, while in Illinois, Avhich l)ears the date " JuneO, 
 1790," and is signed by "P. Gibault, Priest," and 87 otliers. 
 Gibaidt was the same ecclesiastic who, in 1788, conducted the suc- 
 cessful embassy of Colonel Clark to Vincenues, severing the 
 allegiance of that post from the British : 
 
 " The naemorial humbly showeth, that by an act of congress of June 
 20, 1788, it was declared that the lands heretofore possessed by the said 
 inhabitants, should be surveyed at their expense; aud that this clause 
 appears to tliem neither necessary nor adapted to quiet the minds of tlie 
 people. It does not appear necessary, because from the establishment 
 of the colony to this day, they have enjoyed their property and joosses- 
 sions witliout disputes or law suits on tlie subject of their limits ; that 
 the surveys of them were made at the time the concessions were obtained 
 from their ancient kings, lords and commandants ; and that each of 
 them knew what belonged to him without attempting an encroachment 
 on liis neighbor, or fearing that his neighbor would encroach on him. It 
 does not appear adapted to pacify tliem ; because, instead of assuring to 
 them the peaceable possessions of their ancient inheritances, as they 
 have enjoyed it till now, that clause obliges them to bear expenses which, 
 in their present situation, they are absolutely incapable of paying, and 
 for tlie failure of whicli they must be deprived of their lands. 
 
 " Your Excellency is an eye-witness of the poverty to which the 
 inhabitants are reduced, and of the total want of provisions to subsist 
 on. Not knowing where to find a morsel of bread to nourish their fam- 
 ilies, by what means can they support the expenses of a survey which 
 has not been sought for on their parts, and for which, it is conceived by 
 them, there is no necessity? Loaded with misery, and groaning under 
 the weight of misfortunes, accumulated since the Virginia troops entered 
 the country, the unhappy inhabitants throw themselves under the pro- 
 tection of Your Excellency, and take the liberty to solicit you to lay 
 their deplorable situation before congress ; and as it may be interesting 
 for the IJnited States to know exactly the extent and limits of their 
 ancient possesssion, in order to ascertain the lands which are yet at the 
 disposal of congress, it appears to them, in their humble opinion, that 
 the expenses of the survey ought more properly to be borne for whom 
 alone it is useful, than by them who do not feel the necessity of it. Be- 
 side, this is no object for the United States ; but it is great, too great, for 
 a few unhappy beings, who, Your Excellency sees yourself, are scai'cely 
 able to support their pitiful existence. " 
 
 The French settlements steadily declined and melted away in pop- 
 ulation from the time the coimtry passed under Anglo-Saxon rule, 
 1765, until their exodus, many years later, became almost complete. 
 After their tiist hegira, commencing with the EngUsh occupation, 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 217 
 
 down to 1800, the iminigTatiou of the latter race scarcely conn terbal- 
 ancedthe emigration of the former. Indeed, tliercAvas a time dnring 
 the Indian tron))les, tliat tlie balance fell innchbeliind ; but after 
 the treaty of Greenville, in 171)5, iinmi.i;ration was greatly increased. 
 In 1800, the popnlation was little, if any, greater than in 17(35. 
 Incapacity for conqnest or colonization, fin energy of charaeter, 
 thrift, ingenions and labor-saving inventions, the Anglo-Saxon 
 race snrpasses all others. It was that race which established the 
 British constitntion ; which permanently colonized the shores of 
 America and gave to it mnnicipal liberty, the gemot repnblicanism, 
 and which fnrnished ji)nr ninivaled federative system, which may 
 yet be the unmans of politically enfranchising' the world. To have 
 his seclnded abode and remote qnietnde stirred up by snch a race, 
 with whom he felt himself incapable to ent(a" the race of life, the 
 Frenchman of these wilds lost his contentnu^iit, aiul he aban- 
 doned his ancient villages in Illinois, to the new life, instin(;t with 
 the progress opening all aronnd them, after an occupation of 
 over a century. 
 
 INDIAN HOSTILITIES — 1783 TO 1705. 
 
 After the tide of European immigration had forced back the red 
 men of America from the Athuitic slopes, they found their best 
 hunting" grounds in the nnignihcient forests and grassy ])lains 
 beyond tlu-, Alleghanies, north of the Oliio and east of the Missis- 
 sippi. When, after the war of the lievolntion, this empire region, 
 wrested from the grasp of the British crown, was thrown open to 
 settlement and the pioneers of the pale faces began to i)onr oNcr 
 the mountains and into the valley with a steadily augmenting' 
 stream, the red men determined not to give back farther. Tliey 
 resolved to wage a war of extermination for the retention of this 
 vast ami rich domain. Here had gathered the most w arlike tiibes 
 of the Algonipiin nations, who have given to known Indian histiny 
 the al)lest chieftains and greatest Wiuriors, Pontiac, Little Tnrtle, 
 Tecumseh, and his brother theone-eyed Prophet, Black Hawk, and 
 Keokuk. 
 
 During the war of the Bevolution all the most belligerent tribes 
 residing within this regi(m, and the tisheries along the great lakes 
 of the north, had adhered to the side of Great Britain. But by 
 the treaty of peace, 178.'3, the territory was transferred to the U. 
 S. withont any stipulations by England in favor of her savage 
 allies. The British, during their twenty years rule, had not extin- 
 guished the Indian title to any part of the conntrx'. The Fi-ench, 
 dui-ing their long occui)ation, had made no considerable purchases 
 of lands from the western Indians-; and by the treaty of Paris, 
 1763, the English succeeded oidy to the small grants of the French 
 about the various forts, Detroit, Kaskaskia, Yincennes, etc. True, 
 in 1701, at Fort Stanwix, the Iroquois had ceded to Great Britain 
 their shadowy claim over a part of tlu^ northwestern territory, ac- 
 quired by their wars with the Ilurons and Illinois, and in 1708 the 
 six nations had conceded to her their rights to the lands south of 
 the Ohio, but tho conijuered tribes residing upon them and nniking 
 them their hunting grounds, al)andoned them but temporarily, and 
 returned and did not respect the transfers. An Indian conquest, 
 unless foUowed by permanent occupation, was seldom nu)re than a 
 
218 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 mere raid, and could not be said to draw title after it. There- 
 fore, by tlie treaty of peace of 1783, the U. S. received nothing 
 from England bej'Oud the old small French grants, and the title of 
 the six nations by conquest, such as it was, to the western teriitory. 
 Indeed, the general government inthelVth article of the ordinance 
 of 1787, seems to aeknowledge that it had yet to secure the title 
 to the lands from the Indians. 
 
 Tlie general government, on accoitnt of the adherence of the 
 Indians to the side of tlie British during the war, if not deducing 
 actual title, was inclined to regard the lamls of the hostile tribes 
 as conquered and forfeited. But while it attempted to obtain 
 treaties of cession from the several nations, it also immediately 
 threw open the country to settlers, nuide sales to citizens, and in 
 the exercise of supreme dominion, assigned reservations to some 
 of the natives, dictating terms and prescribing boundaries. This 
 at once produced a deep feeling of discontent among the Indians, 
 and led directly to the formation of an extensive confederation 
 among a great number of the northern tiibes. 
 
 In October, 1781, the government Indian commissioners made a 
 second treaty at Fort Stanwix with a portion only of the Iroqnois, 
 which, on account of its not being made at a general congress of 
 all the northern tribes, was refused to be acknowledged by their 
 leading chiefs. Brant, Red Jacket, and others. The following 
 jear, at Fort Mcintosh, the government again treated with a por- 
 tion of the tribes — the Wyandot, Delaware, Chippewa, and 
 Ottawa nations — only partly represented ; and in January, 1786, 
 at the mouth of the Great Miami (Fort Kinney,) with the Shaw- 
 auese, the Wabash tribes refusing to attend. 
 
 We have seen that among tlie instructions issued to Gov. St. 
 Clair, he was to carefully examine into the real temper of the 
 Indians, and to use his best eftbrts to extinguish their titles to 
 lands, westward as far as the Mississippi, and north to the lakes. 
 In the tiill of 1788, he invited the nortliern tril)es to confirm the 
 late treaties of Fort Stanwix and Fort Mcintosh, ceding lands; 
 but the Indians, in general council assembled, refused to do so and 
 informed the Governor "that no bargain or sale of any i)art of 
 these Indian lands would be considered as valid or binding." The 
 Go\ernor, nevertheless, persisted in collecting a few chiefs of two 
 or three nations, at Fort Ilarmar, (mouth of the Muskingum), and 
 from them obtained acts of contirniation to the treaties of J^'orts 
 Stanwix and Mcintosh, ceding an inmiense conn try, in which tliey 
 were interested only as a branch of the confederacy, and unauthor- 
 ized to make any grant or cession whatever.* The nations, who 
 tlius participated in the acts of contirnuition, were the Wyandots, 
 Delawares, Ottawas, Chippewas, Fotawattomies, and Sacs ; but 
 the confederation of the north claimed that it was done without 
 authority, with the young men of the nation, alleged to have been 
 intimidated and over-reached.t But aside from the fact that the 
 government had treated with separate tribes, the grants obtained 
 from the Iroquois and their kindred, the AVyandots, and the Dela- 
 waresandShawanese, were ()i)en to scarcely any objectious.| Those 
 most vehement in denouncing the validity of the concessions were 
 
 'Proceedings of Indian Council 1793 -See American State papers, V. 357—7. 
 
 +Idem. 
 
 $Stoae, ii. 281. 
 
NORTHWESTEEN TERRITORY. 219 
 
 the Miamis, Chippewas, Piankashaws, Eel River Iiuliau.s, Weas 
 (Quias OuiateiioiKs,) Jiiid Kaskaskias, the latter lour making' tluMr 
 residenee in great part in Illinois. 
 
 Tlie ('onfederacy of Indians at all times streuuonsly insisted that 
 the Ohio river should eonstitute a i)erpetual boundary between 
 the red and white men ; and to maintain this line the former organ- 
 ized a war against the latter, the ablest and most stupendous 
 known to their annals, in the quelling of which the governnnMit 
 was actively engaged for six years, and which was finally accom- 
 plished only by the i)rowess of "iMad Anthony" Wayne. In their 
 determination, eviden',;e is qnite abundant tliat the Indians were 
 inspired and sup[»orted by the advice and encouragement of 
 British agents and oflicials, sni)p]emented by the avarice of British 
 tra<lers. It Avas to their interest to have this splendid country 
 remain the abode of the savages, with whom to exchange their 
 gewgaws for valuable pelts and furs ; a lucrative trade which would 
 cease with the advances of American civilization. The British 
 continued to hold the northwestern posts from which to supi)ly the 
 Indians ; and the home cabinet entertained hopes that circum- 
 stances nught yet compel the U. S. to recognize, the Uliio as its 
 northwestern boundary.* ^luch of the dissatisfaction of the 
 Indians was cleaily traced to the intluence and intrigues under the 
 su[>erintenden(;e of Col. 3IcKee, the British agent at Detroit and 
 the Ikapids of the Maumee.t The Indian discontent was openly 
 encouraged, and their hostility fanned into a tlame of war ; the 
 warrior bands obtained their outfit of arms and ammunition from 
 tlie British traders; to trade with the Indians while at war with 
 the U. S. they maintained as but fair ami just. 
 
 As the main o])erations of this war occuired within the lindts 
 of the present iStates of Ohio and Indiana, we shall not treat of 
 them in detail, notwithstanding Illinois was united with them 
 uiuler a common government. Indian depredations upon the settle- 
 ments and murders of the whites became freijucnt, inspiring terror 
 on every hand. In the fall of 171X), Gen. llarmar conducted a 
 large, but fruitless, exi)edition of 151)0 men, mostly Kentucky and 
 Pennsylvania militia, i)oorly armed a,nd without disci}>line, from 
 Fort Washington, (Cincinnati) against the Mianu villages on the 
 Maumee and head waters of the Wabash. Caution had foolishly 
 been taken so notify the British at Detroit, tlnit the troops 
 collected were to be used against the Indians alone.| The villages 
 were found deserted. They were destroyed, together with 20,000 
 bushels of corn. Two detachments of from oOO to 400 men each, 
 the first under Col. Trotter and the next under Col. Hardin, rival 
 Kentu(;kians, engaged the Indians, but owing to wretched manage- 
 ment and worse discipline, both met with defeat and very heavy 
 losses.jl The defeated army marched back to Fort Washington, 
 and the Indians were only encouraged in their dastardly work of 
 murder ui)on the settlements. 
 
 In the spring of 1791, congress authorized Brig. Gen. Charles 
 Scott, and others of Kentucky, to conduct an independent expe- 
 dition against the Wabash Indians. It consisted of about 1,000 
 
 *See Burnett's Letters, p. 100. 
 
 lAin. State Papers— Wayne's Dispatches. 
 
 tUiid 
 
 IIAm State Papers, Asheton's Statement, and Cists' Cin. Miscellany 
 
220 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 mouuletl volunteers, who left tlie Ohio, May 23d. Early on the 
 moiuiiig of June 1st they reached the Wabash at the old Wea 
 towns, a few miles above the present Terre Haute. The villages 
 were discovered by the ascending smoke from the lodges. The army 
 was formed in order of battle and moved briskly forward; the in- 
 habitants being in blissful ignorance of the stealthy a])proach of 
 the foe. Gen Scott reports that the town was situated on the low 
 ground bordering the Wabash below the plain across which they 
 marched. " 0)i turning the point of woods, one house presented 
 in my front. Capt. Price Avas ordered to assault that with 40 men. 
 He executed the command with great gallantry, and killed two 
 warriors." This remarkably "gallant" exploit doubtless was the 
 means of saving many human lives, otherwise totally surprised on 
 this early June morning. Gen. Scott continues : 
 
 " When I gained the summit of the eminence which overlooks the 
 villages on the banks of the Wabash, I discovered the enemy in great 
 confusion, endeavoring to make their escape over tlie river in canoes. I 
 instantly ordered Lieutenant Colonel commanding Wilkinson to rush 
 forward with the first battalion. The order was executed with prompti- 
 tude, and this detachment gained the bank of the river just as the rear 
 of the enemy had embarked ; and, regardless of a brisk fire kept up from 
 a Kickapoo town on the opposite bank, they, in a few minutes, by a well 
 directed fire from the rifles, destroyed all the savages with which five 
 canoes were crowded."* 
 
 How tliis attack differed from a regular murderous Indian raid, 
 is left to the discovery of the reader ; as also, how nuvny of the enemy 
 were women and children. "JMany of the inhabitants of the village 
 (Ouiatenon) were French and lived in a state of civilization. By 
 the books, letters, and other documents found there, it is evident 
 that the place was in close connection with and dependent on 
 Detroit. A large quantity of corn, a variety of household goods, 
 peltry, and other articles, were burned with this village, which 
 consisted of about 70 houses, many of them well finished."! Col. 
 John Hardin, "bnrning to retrieve his fame," was sent with a de- 
 taclunent to a village six miles down the river, where he killed six 
 warriors and took tifty-two prisoners. In the meantime another 
 force under Col. Wilkinson had crossed the swollen river at a 
 secluded place two nules above and proceeded on the opjiosite 
 bank to dislodge the refractory Kiekapoos. On the following daj^ 
 Col. ^V. was again detached with a force of oGO, on foot, to destroy 
 the town of Kethtipenunk (Tippecanoe) which was done, no doubt 
 "gallantly." Gen. t5t. Clair in a letter to Washington dated Sept. 
 14, 171)8, says the Kentuckians were "in the hal>it of retaliating, 
 perhaps, without attending precisely to the nations from which 
 the injuries are receixed." 
 
 In August, Col. Wilkinson, with an independent command, sur- 
 prised the natives on Eel river. "The men," says Wilkinson, 
 "forcing their way over every obstacle, plunged through the river 
 witii vast intrepidity. The enemy was unable to nmke the smallest 
 resistance. Six warriors, and (in the hurry and confnsion of the 
 charge) two squaws and a child were killed, 34 prisoners (s(]uaAVs 
 and children) were talcen, and an unfortunate captive released, 
 with the loss of two men killed and one wounded." Four thousand 
 
 *Aiii. Stiite Papers, V. 131. 
 tScott's Report. 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 221 
 
 acres of corn were destroyed, and the cabins burned.* lie was 
 voted the thanks of congress. 
 
 On tlie early morning of November 4, 1701, occurred that most 
 disastrous defeat of Gen. St. Chiir, in western Oliio, on a small 
 branch of the Wabash; by 1) o'clock a. m. his beaten and confused 
 army, wliat little was left of it, was in a completii and precipitate 
 rout toward Fort Jefterson, distance 29 miles. From the lirst 
 onset, the troops were thrown into disorder and confusion by the 
 murderous tire of the savages, and panic reigned supreme. f The 
 loss was <S90 out of a forces of 1400 engaged in battle. "Six hundred 
 skulls," writes (^icorge JMill from General Wayni^'s army which 
 camped on the battle held tliree years later, "were gathered up 
 and buried ; Avhen we went to lay down in our tents at iiight, we 
 had to scrape the bones together and carry them out, to make our 
 beds."| The Indians engaged were estimated at 1040. Liitle 
 Turtle, jMechecuiKupia, cliief of the Miamis, was in conunand. 
 The battle field was afterwards known as Fort Reco^ ery. 
 
 The general government made repeated efforts, both before and 
 during' thewai', to arrange a peace upon a fair e<piivalent for the 
 lands of the aborigines. But the red men tluslu'd with victories, 
 aiul intluenced by the artful whispers of the Ihitish emissaries, 
 closed their ears to every aj)])eal for peace, and rejected i»roj)osition 
 after pro])osition; nothing but the boundary line of the Ohio would 
 be entertained as a basis for peace. At the foot of the ]\Iauiuee 
 Rapids, August 13, 179.'>, 1(» of the confederated mvtions being- 
 represented in council, replied to the American peace commis- 
 sioners: 
 
 "Brothers: We shall be persuaded that you mean to do us justice, if 
 you agree that the Ohio shall remain the boundary line between us. * * 
 Money to us is of no value ; and to most of us uukuown ; and, as no con- 
 sideration whatever can induce us to sell the lands on which we get 
 sustenance for our women and children, we hope we may be allowed to 
 point out a mode by which your settlers may be easily removed, and 
 peace thereby obtained. 
 
 "Brothers: We know that these settlers are poor, or they would never 
 have ventured to live in a country which has been in continual trouble 
 ever since they crossed the Ohio. Divide, therefore, this large sum of 
 money, which you have oftered to us, among these people. Give to each, 
 also, a proportion of what you say you would give to us, annually, over 
 and above this very large sum of money ; and as we are persuaded, they 
 would most readily accept of it in lieu of the land you sold them. If you 
 add, also, the great sums you must expend in raising and paying armies, 
 with a view to force us to yield you our country, you will certainly have 
 more than sufficient for the purpose of repaying these settlers for all tlieir 
 labor and their improvements. * * We want peace. Eestore to us our 
 country, and we shall be enemies no longer." 
 
 It is a curious fact, illustrating- our dealings with the Indians, 
 that a treaty of peace and friendship was entered into at Vin- 
 cennes, Septend)er 27, 1792, by Brig-. Gen. Eufus Putnam, accom- 
 panied by John Heckvelder and 31 Indians of the Wabash and 
 Illinois tribes, the 4th article of which contamed the following* 
 languag^e : 
 
 "Art. 4. The United States solemtdy guaranty to the Wabash 
 and Illinois nations or tribes of Indians, all the lands to which 
 they have a just claim ; and no part shall ever be taken from them 
 
 ♦Wilkinson's Report. 
 
 +Ani. State Papers, 
 
 J Am. Pioneer— Wayne's Statement. 
 
222 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 but by a fair purcliase, and to tlieir satisfaction. That the lands 
 originally belonged to the Indians; it is theirs, and theirs only. 
 Tliat they have a right to sell, and a right to refuse to sell. And 
 tliat the United States will i>roteet them in their said rights." 
 
 When the treaty, which contained 7 articles, was laid before the 
 United States Senate, the 4th article was objectionable, and after 
 much deliberation, it was, Jan. 9, 1794, rejected by a vote of 21 to 
 4._ Senate Jour. 1. 128 to 146. 
 
 The Illinois settlements were fortnnately beyond the main 
 theatre of this savage war; still, owing to the general hostility 
 of nearly all the tribes, their depiedationswere each year extended 
 to them, and a comparatively great number of barbarous murders 
 were committed by the Kiekapoos. These we will give condensed 
 from the "Annals of the West," i)ages 700 to 705 : 
 
 In 1783, a single murder, that of James Flannory, was first committed 
 while on a hunting excursion, but it was not accounted an act of war. 
 In 1786 the Indians attacked the American settlements, killed James 
 Andrews, his wife and daughter, James White and Samuel McClure, 
 and two girls, daughters of Andrews were taken prisoners. One of these 
 died with the Indians, and the other was ransomed by French traders. 
 Slie is now (1850) alive, the mother of a large family, and resides in St. 
 Clair county. The Indians iiad previously threatened the settlement, 
 and the people had built and entered a blockhouse ; but tliis family was 
 out and defenceless. 
 
 1787. Early in tliis year, five families near Bellefountaiue, united and 
 built a blockhouse, surrounded it with palisades, in which these families 
 resided. While laboring in tlae corn field they were obliged to carry 
 their rifles, and often at night had to keep guard. Under these embar- 
 rasi-iineuts, and in daily alarm, they cultivated their corn-fields. 
 
 1788. This year the war assumed a more tlireatening aspect. Early in 
 the spring, William Biggs was taken prisoner. While himself, John 
 Vallis, and .loseph and Benjamin Ogle, were passing from the station on 
 the hills to the blockhouse fort in the bottom, they were attacked by the 
 Indians. Biggs and Vallis were a few rods in advance of tlie party. 
 Vallis was killed and Biggs taken prisoner. The others escaped unhurt. 
 Biggs was taken through the prairies to the Kickapoo towns on the 
 Wabash, from whence he was finally liberated by means of the French 
 traders. The Indians treated him well, offered him the daughter of a 
 brave for a wife, and pi'oiiosed to adopt him into their tribe. He after- 
 wards became a resident of St. Clair county, was a member of the terri- 
 torial legislature, judge of the county court, and wrote and published a 
 narrative of his captivity among the Indians. 
 
 On the 10th day of December, in the same year, James Garrison and 
 Benjamin Ogle, while hauling hay from the bottom, were attacked by 
 two Indians ; Ogle was shot in the shoulder, where the ball remained ; 
 Garrison sprang from the load and escaped into the woods. The horses 
 taking fright, carried Ogle safe to the settlement. In stacking the same 
 hay, Samuel Garrison and Mr. Riddick were killed and scalped. 
 
 1789. This was a period of considerable mischief. Three boys were 
 attacked by six Indians, a few yards from the blockhouse, one of which, 
 David Waddel, was struck with a tomahawk in three places, scalped, 
 and yet recovered ; the others escaped unhurt. A short time previous, 
 James Turner, a young man, was killed on the American bottom. Two 
 men were afterwards killed and scalped while on their way to St. Louis. 
 In another instant, two men were attacked on a load of hay, one was 
 killed outright, the other was scalped, but recovered. The same year 
 John Ferrel was killed, and John Demphsey was scalped and made his 
 escape. The Indians frequently stole the horses and cattle of the 
 settlers. 
 
 1790. The embarrassments of these frontier people greatly increased, 
 and tiiey lived in continual alarm. In the winter, a party of Osage In- 
 dians, who had not molested hitlierto, came across the Mississippi, stole a 
 number of horses and attempted t"^^ recross the river. The Americans 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 223 
 
 followed and flred upon them. James Worley, an old settler, having 
 got in advance of his party, was shot, scalped, and his head cut off and 
 left on the sand-bar. 
 
 The same year, James Smith, a Baptist preacher from Kentucky, while 
 on a visit to' these frontiers, was taken prisoner by tlie Kickapoos. On 
 tlie 19th of May. in company with Mrs. Huff and a Frenchman, he was 
 proceeding: from the bloclvhouse to a settlement then known by the name 
 of Little Village. The Kickapoos fired upon them from an ambuscade 
 near Bellefountaine, killed the Frenchman's horse, sprang upon the 
 woman and her child, whom they despatched with a tomahawk, and took 
 Smitli prisoner. His horse being shot, he attempted to flee on foot ; and 
 having some valuable papers in his saddle bags, he threw them into a 
 thicket, where they were found next day by his friend. Having reti'eated 
 a few yards down the hill, he fell on his knees in prayer for the poor 
 woman they were buteliering, and who had been seriously impressed, 
 for some days, about religion. Tlie' Frenchman escaped on foot in the 
 thickets. The Indians soon had possession of Smith, loaded him with 
 packs of plunder which they had collected, and took up their line of 
 march through the prairies. Smith was a large, heavy man, and soon 
 became tired under his heavy load, and with the hot sun. '' Several con- 
 sultations were held by the Indians, how to dispose of their prisoner. 
 Some were for despatching him outright, being fearful the whites would 
 follow them from the settlement, and frequently pointing their guns at 
 his breast. Knowing well the Indian ciiaraeter, he would bare liis 
 breast as if in defiance, and point upwards to signify the (xreat Spirit 
 was his protector. Seeing him in the attitude of prayer, and hearing 
 him singing hymns on his marcli, which he did to relieve- his own mind 
 of despondency, they came to the conclusion that he was a "great medi- 
 cine," holding daily intercourse with the Good Spirit, and must not be 
 put to death. After this, they took off his bunlens and treated him 
 kindly. They took him to the Kickapoo towns on the Wabash, where, 
 in a few months, he obtained his delivei'ance, the inhabitants of New 
 Design paying $170 for his ransom. 
 
 1791. In the spring of this year, the Indians again commenced their 
 depredations by stealing horses. In May, John Dempsey was attacked, 
 but made his escape. A party of eight men followed. The Indians 
 were just double their number. A severe running fight was kept up for 
 several hours, and conducted with great prudence and bravery on the 
 part of the whites. Each party kept the trees for shelter, the Indians 
 retreating, and the Americans pursuing, from tree to tree until night put 
 an end to the conflict. Five Indians were killed without the loss of a 
 man or a drop of blood on the other side. This party consisted of Capt. 
 Hull, who commanded, Joseph Ogle, sen., Benjamin Ogle, James N. 
 Semen, sen., J. Ryan, Wm. Bryson, John Porter, and D.Draper. 
 
 1792. This was a period of comparative quietness. No Indian fight- 
 ing ; and the only depredations committed, were in stealing a few 
 horses. 
 
 1793. This was a period of contention and alarm. The little settle- 
 ments were strengthened this year by the addition of aband of emigrants 
 from Kentucky ; among which was the family of Whiteside. In Feb- 
 ruary, an Indian in ambuscade wounded Joel Whiteside, and was 
 followed by John Moore, Andrew Kinney, Thos. Todd, and others, 
 killed and scalped. Soon after, a party of Kickapoos, supposed to have 
 been headed by the celebrated war chief, Old Pecan, made a predatary 
 excursion into the American bottom, near the present residence of S. W. 
 Miles, in Monroe county, and stole 9 horses from the citizens. A number 
 of citizens rallied and commenced pursuit ; but many having started 
 without preparation for long absence, and being ajJi^rehensive that an 
 expedition into the Indian country would be attended with much 
 danger, all returned but 8 men. This little band consisted of Samuel 
 Judy, John Whiteside, Wm. L. Whiteside, Uel Whiteside, William 
 Harrington, John Dempsey and John Porter, with Wm. Whiteside, a 
 man of great prudence and unquestionable bravery in Indian warfare, 
 whom they chose commander. 
 
 They passed on the trail near the present site of Belleville, towards the 
 Indian camps on Shoal Creek, where they found 3 of the stolen horses, 
 
224 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 which they secured, The party then, small as it was, divided into two 
 parts of four men each, and approached the Indian camps from opposite 
 sides. The signal for attack was the discharge of the captain's gun. 
 One Indian, a sou of Old Pecan, was killed, another mortally, and others 
 slightly wounded, as the Indians fled, leaving their guns. Such a display 
 of courage by the whites, and being attacked on two sides at once, made 
 them believe there was a large force, and the old chief approached and 
 begged for quarter. But when he discovered his foes to be an insignificant 
 number, and his own party numerous, he called aloud to h is braves to return 
 and retrieve their honor. His own gun hesurrendered to the whites, but 
 now he seized the gun of the captain, and exerted all his force to wrest 
 it from him. Captain Whiteside was a powerful man, and a stranger to 
 fear, but he compelled the Indian to retire, deeming it dishonorable to 
 destroy an unarmed man, who had previously surrendered. This in- 
 trepid band was now in the heart of the Indian country, where hundreds 
 of warriors could be raised in a few hour's time. In this critical situa- 
 tion, Capt. Whiteside, not less distinguished for prudence than bravery, 
 did not long hesitate. With the horses they had recovered, they imme- 
 diately started for home without the loss of time in hunting the 
 remainder. 'They traveled night and day, without eating or sleeping, 
 till they reached in safety Whiteside's station, in Monroe county. On 
 the same night, Old Pecan, with 70 warriors, arrived in the vicinity 
 of Cahokia. From that time the very name of Whiteside struck terror 
 among the Kickapoos. Hazardous aud dax'ing as this expedition was, it 
 met with great disapprobation from many of the settlers. Some alleged 
 that Old Pecan was decidedly friendly to the whites ; that another party 
 had stolen the horses ; that the attack upon his camp was clandestine 
 and wanton ; and that it was the cause of much subsequent mischief. 
 These nice jwints of casuistry are difRcult to be settled at this period. It 
 has long been known, tliat one portion of a nation or tribe will be on 
 the war path, while another party will pretend to be peaceable. Hence 
 it has been found necessary to hold the tribe responsible for the conduct 
 of its party. 
 
 1794. The Indians, in revenge of the attack just narrated, shot Thos. 
 Whiteside, a young man, near the 'station ;' tomahawked a son of Wm. 
 Whiteside, so that he died, all in revenge for the death of Old Pecan's 
 son. In February of the same year, the Indians killed Mr. Huff, one 
 of the early settlers, while on his way to Kaskaskia. 
 
 1795. Two men at one time, and some French negroes at another 
 time were killed on the American bottom, and some i^risoners taken. 
 The same year the family of Mr. McMahon was killed and himself and 
 daughters taken prisoners. This man lived in the outskirts of the settle- 
 ment. Four Indians attacked his house in day-light, killed his wife 
 and four children before his eyes, laid their bodies in a row on the floor 
 of the cabin, took him and his daughters, and marched for their towns. 
 On the second night, Mr. McMahon, finding the Indians asleep, put on 
 their moccasins and made his escape. He arrived in the settlement just 
 after his neighbors had buried his family. They had inclosed their 
 bodies in rude coffins, and covered them with earth as he came in sight. 
 He looked at the newly formed hillock, and raising his eyes to Heaven 
 in pious resignation, said, "they were lovely and pleasant in their lives, 
 and in their death are not divided." 
 
 His daughter, now Mrs. Catskill, of Ridge Prairie, was afterwards 
 ransomed by the charitable contributions of the peoi^le. Not far from 
 this period, the Whitesides and others to the number of 14 persons, made 
 an attack upon an encampment of Indians of superior force, at the foot 
 of the bluffs west of Belleville. Only one Indian ever returned to his 
 nation to tell the story of their defeat. The graves of the rest were to be 
 seen, a few years since, in the border of the thicket, near the battle 
 ground. In this skirmish Capt. Wm. Whiteside was wounded, as 
 thought, mortally, having received a shot in the side. As he fell, he 
 exhorted his sons to fight valiantly, not yield an inch of ground, nor 
 let the Indians touch his body, tjel Whiteside, who was shot in the 
 arm, and disabled from using the rifle, examined the wound, and found 
 the ball had glanced along the ribs and lodged against the spine. With 
 that presence of mind which is sometimes characteristic of our backwoods 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 225 
 
 hunters, he whipped out his knife, gashed the skin, extracted the ball, 
 and holding it up, exultingly exclaimed, "Father, you are not dead!" 
 The old man instantly jumped up on his feet, and renewed the tight, ex- 
 claiming, "Come on, boys, I can fight them yet!" Such instances of 
 desjjerate intrepidity and martial energy of character, distinguished the 
 men who defended the frontiers of Illinois in those days of peril. 
 
 After the defeat of St. Clair, the conduct of the war in the 
 northwest was placed in the hands of Gen. Anthony Wayne. His 
 campaign during- the summer of 1794:, which culminated in the 
 victory of the 20th of August on the Maumee, proved a complete 
 success. The confederated tribes, defeated and disheartened, now 
 retired to wait the long promised supi)ort of the English. Brant, 
 of the Iroquois, said : "A fort had been built in their country [by 
 the English] under pretense of giving refuge in case of necessity, 
 but when that time came, the gates were shut against them as 
 enemies."* For several years difficulties had existed between 
 Great Britain and the United States, which British Indian agents 
 and traders had seduously taught to red men must speedily even- 
 tuate in war, when they would become their oi)en and powerful 
 all}'. But on the 19th of November, 1794, after protracted nego- 
 tiations, Jay, at London, concluded a treaty of amity, commerce, 
 and navigation between the United States and Great Britain, in 
 which the King pledged a firm peace and agreed to withdraw, by 
 the 1st of June, 179(), all his troops and garrisons from the i)osts 
 within the boundary lines of the United States, as fixed by the 
 treaty of 1783. This took away from the Indians the last hope of 
 British aid, so long promised them, and the vast confederation of 
 savage tribes, bending to their inevitable fate, hastened to the 
 headquarters of Gen. Wayne during the winter, and signed prelim- 
 inary articles of peace, which resulted in the trea,ty of Greenville, 
 and which, after a protracted council with all the sax^hems, chiefs, 
 and principal men of the confederacy, lasting from June to August 
 3d, 1795, was finally signed. A vast body of land in Ohio and 
 Indiana, large enough for a good sized State, was ceded by the 
 confederate tribes, besides 10 tracts 6 miles square at various 
 points in the northwest, among which Ave note, as being in Illinois, 
 "one piece of land, G miles square, at the mouth of Chicagcj ri\ er, 
 emptying into the south-west end of Lake Michigan, where a fort 
 fonnerly stood ;" one piece 12 miles square, at or near the mouth 
 of tlie Illinois river, and '^one piece G miles square, at the old 
 Peorias fort and village, near the south end of the Illinois lake, on 
 said Illinois river." The Indians also allowed free passage through 
 their country, in Illinois from the mouth of the Chicago river and 
 over the portage to the Illinois and down to the Mississippi, and 
 do-uTi the Wabash. Under the treaty, of what may be considered 
 Blinois tribes, the Pottawattomies were to receive an annual 
 stipend of $1000 in goods (being as much as any tribes received,) 
 and the Kickapoos, Piankeshaws, and Kaskaskias, $500 each.t 
 
 And now, as the news of this important treaty spead abroad, 
 the retarded tide of emigration began to flow with a steadily aug- 
 menting stream into these territories ; apjirehension of danger 
 from the Indians was banished, and friendly intercourse succeeded 
 former enmity ; forts, stations, and stockades were abandoned to 
 decay; the hardy pioneer pushed ever forward and extended the 
 
 *Am. State Papers, V. 
 tScott's Brant, 11, 390. 
 
 15 
 
226 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 frontier; and men of capital and enterprise, securing titles to ex- 
 tensive bodies of fertile lands, organized colonies for their occupa- 
 tion, and thus the wilderness under the tread of civilization was 
 made to blossom as the rose. 
 
 By an act of congress, 1791, 400 acres of land were granted to 
 all heads of families who made improvements in Illinois prior to 
 1788, except village improvements. These rights were coinmoidy 
 designated as "head-rights." A list of names of heads of families, 
 who settled in Illinois previous to the year 1788, entitling them to 
 these donations, which included also non-residents who should 
 return in five year's time to occupj^ their claims, shows a total 
 number of 214 claimants, 80 of whom were Americans. By allow- 
 ing the usual number of 5 souls to the family, we have a popida- 
 tioii in that year of 1220, This excluded negroes. Before 1701, 
 under the militia law of the governor and judges, the muster roll 
 gi^•es about 300 men capable of bearing arms, of which number 
 Go only were Americans.* 
 
 In 1707 a colony of 126 persons — the largest which had yet 
 arrived — were most fatally stricken with disease. They were from 
 Virginia, had descended the Ohio in the spring, and landed at Ft. 
 Massac, from which they made their way across the land to the 
 New Design. This jdace, in the present county of Monroe, Avas 
 established in 1782. It was located on an elevated and beautiful 
 plateau of ground, barren of timber, whicli commanded a view of 
 both the Kaskaskia and Mississippi rivers. The season was ex; 
 ceedingly wet, the w^eather extremely warm, and the roads heavy 
 and muddy. The colonists toiled through the woods and swamps 
 of Southern Illinois for 26 days, distance about 135 miles. They 
 were worn down, sick, and almost famished. Arrived at their 
 destination, they found among the old settlers long harrassed by 
 Indian warfare, from which they had not recovered, but poor ac- 
 commodations. There was no lack of hosi)itality in feeling, but 
 that did not enlarge the cabins, which usually contained but one 
 room, into many of which 3 and 4 families were now crowded with 
 their sick and all. Food was insufficient, salt was very scarce, 
 and medical aid was almost out of the question. A putrid and 
 malignant fever broke outamong the newcomers, attended by such 
 fatality as to sweep half of them into the grave by the a|iproacli 
 of winter. No such fatal disease ever ai)peared before or since in 
 the country.t The old inhabitants were not affected. The intelli- 
 gence of this unwonted mortality produced abroad the wrongful 
 imi)ression that Illinois was a sickly country, which tended no 
 little to retard immigration. It is now well established that Illinois 
 is far healthier than many of her western sisters. 
 
 Among the first Americans who formed settlements remote from 
 the French, a great want was mills. The latter had had their 
 wind mills and water mills since a very early date; but with their 
 hegira the wind mills fell into decay, and for the others the water 
 frequently failed, and the Americans were compelled to have 
 recourse to other means. The simplest modes of trituration was 
 by means of the grater and the mortar. The first consisted in the 
 brisk rubbing of an ear of corn over a piece of tin closely pierced 
 with orifices. The mortar was extemporized by excavating with 
 
 •Reynold's Pioneer Hist. 
 tWestern Anuals. 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 
 
 fire the butt of a good sized short log, up-euded, sufficieutly deep 
 to hold a peck or more of corn. Over this was erected a sweep 
 to lift, by comiter-traction, a piston with a firm, blunt end, 
 whicli served to pound the corn into meal. To these primitive and 
 laborious processes, succeeded, in the order of their simplicity and 
 in due time, hand mills, band mills, horse mills, and last water 
 mills. t 
 
 From 1788 to 1795, Gov. St. Clair and the Judges of the north- 
 western territory, in their legislative cai^acity, adopted (U stat- 
 utes, 38 at Cincinnati in the last named year. In April, 1798, 11 
 more were adopted.* Four-flftbs of tliese laws were imported 
 from Pennslvania, and a few from Massachusetts and Virginia. 
 This gave to the country a complete system of statute law, which 
 was i)erhaps l)ut little inferior to that of any of the States at that 
 early period. Among them was the common law of England and 
 statutes of Parliament in aid thereof,of a generalnature and not local 
 to that Kingdom, down to the Itli year of the reign of James I; which 
 is the law in Illinois to this day, except as varied by statute. From 
 it we derive all those fundamental principles of the British Consti- 
 tution Avhich secure to the citizen personal liberty and protection 
 to life and i)ro])erty — the habeas cori)us, trial by jury, &c. This 
 was imported from Virginia; but the bill of rights is also in the 
 ordinance of 1787. In 1795 the Governor also divided St. Clair 
 county in Illinois by running aline through the New Design settle- 
 ' nient in the present JVEonroe county, due east to the Wabash — all 
 that country lying south of it being established into the county of 
 iiandolph, named in honor of Edmund Randoli)h, of Virginia. 
 
 Before the close of the year 179(5, the white population of Ohio 
 alone was ascertained to exceed 5,000. By the ordinance of 1787, 
 the country was entitled to the 2d grade of territorial government 
 so soon as it should contain 5,000 white inhabitants. There being 
 no longer any doubt regarding this. Gov. St. Clair, October 29, 
 1798, issued his proclamation directing the qualified voters to 
 hold elections for territorial representatives on the 3d Monday of 
 December, 1798. From Illinois, Shadrach Bond, subsequently the 
 first governor of this State, was elected. The representatives 
 elect were convened January 22d, 1799, at Cincinnati. In accord- 
 ance with the provision of the ordinance of 1787, they nominated 10 
 men to the President of the U. S. (Adams) to select 5 from, who 
 were to constitute the legislative council. These were confirmed 
 by the Senate of the U. S., March 22, 1799. The assembly, after 
 making the nominations for the council, immediately adjourned to 
 September IGth following, at which time both houses met, though 
 they did not perfect their organization till the 21th. This was the 
 first time that the people of this coiuitry, through their representa- 
 tives, enacted their own laws for their own local government. The 
 Legislature confirmed many of the laws enacted by the governor 
 and judges, and passed 48 new ones, the governor vetoing 11. 
 They were prorogued December 19, 1799.t 
 
 +Re.vnold's Pioneer History. 
 *DilIon'sInd. I. Chase's Stsitute 1790, 1795. 
 tSee Dillons's Ind„ Vol. 11. 
 
228 HISTORY OF ILLESrOIS. 
 
 NOTABLE WOMEN OF THE OLDEN TIME. 
 
 Mrs. LeCompt. — Among the ladies of Illinois at the close of the 
 last and the beginning of the present century, presenting such 
 marked characteristics as to leave their impress upon the period 
 of their existence, we cannot in justice forbear to mention a few. 
 The first which we notice was the well known Mrs. LeConipt- 
 She was born in 1734, of French parents, on the eastern shore of 
 Lake Michigan, at the old station on the St. Joseph. This was the 
 country of the warlike Pottawatomie tribe of Indians. Throughout 
 her long life Mrs. LeCompt had ever the western savage for a 
 neighbor. She early became proficient in the dialect of the 
 Indians and gained a deep insight into their character. She was 
 married at Mackinaw, settled with her husband, whose name was 
 St. Ange, or Pelate, at Chicago, but subsequently removed to Ca- 
 hokia, and, her husbaiul dying, she here married Mr. LeCompt, a 
 Canadian. From this marriage sprung one of the largest French 
 families in Illinois. Later in life, after the death of LeCompt, she 
 married again, this time that Thomas Brady who conducted an un- 
 fortunate marauding expedition against the Fort St. Joseph in 
 1778. Of this union no issue resulted. This extraordinary woman 
 was x^ossessed of an iron constitution, a strong mind and dauntless 
 courage. Her jierson was attractive and her manner winning. 
 She traveled much, took majiy long trips, and underwent much , 
 exposure to the inclemencies of the weather, yet she was seldom 
 sick. She lived a hardy and frugal life. By her knowledge of the 
 Indian language, and a thorough appreciation of his character, she 
 acquired a wonderful influence over the tribes,with which she was 
 brought into contact. And this was turned to a blessed account 
 for the benefit of the settlement where she lived. From the con- 
 quest of Clark, the French, as we have seen, sided with the 
 Americans, while the Indians adhered to the British. From that 
 time down to the peace of Greenville, in 1795, the old kindly 
 feeling between the French and Indians was more or less inter- 
 rupted, and many a meditated attack upon Cahokia did Mrs. 
 LeCompt frustrate by her rare sagacity and friendly counsel with 
 the savages. It is said, that such was the infatuated friendship of 
 the savages for her, that they would invariably advise her in 
 advance of their meditated attack upon the village. It was upon 
 such occasions that the heroine within her would become manifest. 
 In the dead hour of night she would go forth from the village to 
 meet the warrior hosts, often camped near the foot of the Quentin 
 mound, at the foot of the bluffs, or wherever they might be ; in 
 their "sicinity, dismiss her attendants, and solitary and alone pro- 
 ceed on foot amid the savage horde. Such devotion to her people 
 and such courage in a woman, joined by her ready wit, would 
 awaken a chord of sympathy in the warrior's breast. At times she 
 would remain among them for days, i>leading for the delivery of 
 her village, counseling peace, and appeasing the anger of the 
 savages. Her efforts ^^'^re not intermitted until she was well con- 
 vinced that the storm was allayed and bloodshed averted. At 
 such times the young men of the village were mostly away on the 
 chase, or as boatmen down the river, Avhile the remaining inhabi- 
 tants, terror strickeu, would arm themselves for such defence as 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 229 
 
 •"liey were capable of. What would be tlieir joy to see this extraor- 
 dinary woman escorting- a swarthy band of warriors to the village, 
 changed from foes to friends ! (The Indians, upon such occasion, 
 would paint themselves black to manifest tlieir sorrow for their 
 infernal murderous intent upon their friends.) After a thorough 
 feasting of the savages, sometimes for days, their reconciliation 
 would usually last some time. Mrs. LeCompt, as slie was still 
 called after Brady's death, lived to the extreme age of 109 years. 
 She died in 1843, at Cahokia. Ex-Gov. Eeynolds, from whose 
 pioneer history we are in great i)art indebted for the above 
 account, says he knew her well for 30 years. 
 
 Mrff. John Edgar. — This accomplished woman, the center of 
 fashion for remote Illinois in the olden time, presided for many 
 years with equal grace and dignity over her husband's splen<lid 
 mansion at Kaskaskia, the abode of hospitality and resort of the 
 elite for near a half century. It was in the spacious and elegantly 
 fnriiislied parlors of this house that La Fayette, on his visit to 
 Illinois in 18l.'5, was sumi^tuously entertained, by a banquet and 
 ball. Mrs. Edgar's name merits high rank on the scroll of revolu- 
 tionary heroines. By birth, education, and sympathy, she was 
 American, but her husband, John Edgar, was an otlicer in the 
 British navy, lighting against the colonies in their struggle for 
 liberty and in(lei)endence. By her talent, shrewdness, and above 
 all, her patriotic devotion to her country, she won over not only 
 the heart of her husband to the American cause, but was the i^ro- 
 jector of many plans by which soldiers in the British army were 
 induced to quit and join the ranks of the patriots. She had, upon 
 one occasion, arranged a plan of escape for three soldiers and was 
 to furnish them guns, American uniforms, etc., and all needful in- 
 fornjation to enable them to reach the patriot camp. When they 
 came she was absent from home, but her husband, i\ covfidanfe of 
 all her operations, notwithstandhig liis position in the enemy's 
 navy, supplied them with the outtit prepared I'or them by her. 
 But the deserters were ap})rehended, returned to the British camp, 
 and compelIe<l to divulge the names of their abettors. This imi)li- 
 cated Edgar and he fled; remaining a while in the American army 
 lie deemed it safer for his life to seek greater seclusion and came 
 to Kaskitskia, His property was contiscated; but the rare sagacity 
 of his patriotic and devoted wife, who renmined back, enabled her 
 to save from the wreck some $12,000, with which she joined her 
 husband two .years afterwar<ls in his western home.* Their union 
 was childless; but they were for many years the most wealthy 
 family in Illinois. Edgar was a large, portly man. A count^s' of 
 the State perpetuates his name. 
 
 3Irs. Robert Morrison. — This talented lady was a rare acquisition 
 to the society of Kaskaskia. Reared and educated in the monu- 
 mental city, she, in 1805, accompanied her brother. Col. Donaldson, 
 to St. Louis, in the far off Avilds of the west, whither he was sent 
 as a commissioner to iiuestigate the land titles. Bnt the west 
 became her permanent home. She was married the following year 
 to llobert Morrison, of Kaskaskia, which place became her resi- 
 dence thenceforth. Well educated, sprightly and energetic, her 
 mind was gifted with originality and romance. ''Her delight was 
 
 •See Hist. Sketch of Randolph &Co. and Reynold's Pioneer Hist. 
 +Reyno!d's Pioneer Hist, of Ills. 
 
230 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 in the rosy fields of poetry."t Her pen Avas seldom idle. She com- 
 posed with a ready facility and her writings possessed a high 
 degree of merit. Her contributions to the seieutitic publications 
 of W. Walsh, of Philadelphia, and other periodicals of the time, 
 both verse and prose, were much admired. Nor did the political 
 qnestions of the day escape her ready i^en. The discussion of 
 these topics in our newspapers were eagerly read by the politicians 
 of Illinois. A feat of much ingenuity was her work of remoddling 
 and converting into verse the Psalms of David. The volume was 
 presented to the Philadelphia Presbytery and met with high com- 
 mendation for many of its excellencies, though it was not adopted. 
 Later in life, she gave a thorough investigation to the doctrines of 
 religious sects, and after much retlection united with the Catholic 
 church. Possessed of great force of character, and zealous and 
 ardent in whatever she espoused, her exami)le and precepts con- 
 tributed greatly toward proselyting members to that faith. She 
 became the mother of an interesting family. Some of her sons 
 have been quite conspicious in the affairs of this State. Mrs. 
 Moriison lived to an advanced age, and died at Belleville in 
 1843. 
 
 VOUDOUISM OR WITCHCRAPT IN ILLINOIS. 
 
 It is recorded| that at least two human lives have fallen a sacri- 
 fice to the miserable superstition of witchcraft in Illinois in early 
 times. An African slave by the name of Morean Wiis, about the 
 year 1790, hung on a tree a little ways southeast of Cahokia, 
 charged with and convicted of this imaginary crime. He had ac- 
 knowledged, it is said, that by his power of devilisli incantatiou 
 "he had poisoned his master, but that his mistress had proved too 
 powerful for his necromancy," and this it seems was fully believed, 
 and he was executed. The case was murder ; but there was at this 
 period a \evy imperfect administration of the laws in Illinois. In 
 the same village, ignorantly insi)ired by a belief in the existence 
 of this dread power of diabolism, another negro's life was ofi'ered 
 up to the Moloch of superstition, by being shot down in the jaiblic 
 streets. An old negress of that vicinity, named Janette, commonly 
 reputed to possess the siq)ernatural power of destroying life and 
 property by the potency of her incantations, insjjired such terror 
 by her appearance that adults as well as children woidd fiee at 
 her approach. It was a very common feeling among the French 
 to dread to incur in any way the displeasure of certain old coloreil 
 people, xmder the vague belief ami fear that they possessed a 
 clandestine power by whi(;h to invoke the aid of the evil one to 
 Avork mischief or injury to person or property. Nor was this belief 
 solely confined to the .French, or this power ascribed only to the 
 colored people. An old wonum living on Silver Creek was almost 
 generally accredited w ith the pow er of witchcraft, whieh, it was 
 believed, she exercised in taking milk from her neigh boi-'s cows at 
 X^leasure, without the aid of any physical agency. The African's 
 belief in fetishes, and the jiower of their divination, is well-known. 
 Many superstitious bhu-ks in this country have claimed the descent 
 to them of fetish powei'j the infatuation regarding voudouism, 
 formerly so wide spread, is not yet extinct among many ignorant 
 
 JReynold's Pioneer Hist. 
 
NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. 231 
 
 blacks of Louisiana, as we read occasionally from New Orleans 
 papers. Renault, agent of the "Conii)any of tlie West," bought 
 in 1720, at San Domingo, 500 Nlaves wliieli lie brought to Illinois, 
 many of« whom were direct from Africa, and thus was impoited 
 the claim to this occult power, which, perhai)S, had no difHculty in 
 Unding- lodgement in the minds of the superstitious French of 
 Illinois. Mankind have ever been prone to superstitious beliefs ; 
 there are very many ])ersons now who are daily governed in the 
 multiplied affairs of life by some sign, omen, or auger3\ 
 
 Nor were the red children of the foi-est in American free from 
 superstition. The brother of the Shawanee warrior, Tecumseh, 
 named Lawlelueskaw, the loud voiced, better known as tlie one 
 eyed Proi)het, who commanded the Indians at the battle of Tii)i»e- 
 canoe, seeking to reform his people, earnestly declaimed against 
 the vice of witchcraft, as well as drunkenness, intermarrying with 
 W'hite men, etc. In obedience to the commands of the maniteau, 
 the Great Spirit, he fulminated the i)eualty of death against those 
 who practiced the black art of witchcraft and magic. His vehe- 
 ment harrangues e\'oked among' his follo\Yers a paroxysm of 
 superstitious infatuation. An old Delaware chief, nanu'd Tate- 
 bockoshe, was accused of witchcraft, tried, condemned, tomahawked 
 and consumed on a pyre. This was enacted on the present siie of 
 Yorktown, Delaware county, Indiana.* The chief's wife, his 
 nephew, Billy Patterson, and an aged Indian named Joshua, were 
 next accused of witchcraft and the two latter convicted, sentenced 
 and burned to the stake; but a brother of the chief's wife boldly 
 stepped forward, seized his sister ami led her from the council 
 house, without oi)position from those present, and immediately re- 
 turned, and in aloud tone harangued the savages, exclaiming: 
 "Maiiiteau, the evil spirit has come in our midst and we are 
 murdering one another." This, together with the earnest letter of 
 Gov. Harrison, sent by special messenger in the spring- of ISOG, 
 exhorting the Indians to spurn the pretended prophet, checked the 
 horrid delusion. See Drake's Tecumseh, 88. 
 
 *He had also offended by his influence in biinginff about the treaty of Aug-. 1804, by 
 which the chiefs and head men of the Delawares ceded to the U. S. that large tract of 
 land in southern Indiana, since known as the "pocket." 
 
Chapter XX. 
 
 1800-1809— ILLINOIS AS PAET OF THE INDIANA TEEEI- 
 
 TORY. 
 
 Its Organization — ExtinguisMng Indian Titles to Lands — Gov. Har- 
 risonh Facility in TJtis — Land. ISpeculations and Frauds in 
 ^^Improvement-rights^' arid '-'•Head-rights''' — Meeting of the Legisla- 
 at Vincennes in 1805 — Statutes of 1807. 
 
 By act of Congress, apx)roved May 7, 1800, the large aiul 
 unwieldy territory of the Noitliwest was divided ; all that part of 
 it lying westward of a. line beginning on the Ohio river opposite 
 the mouth of the Kentucky, running thence north via Fort liecov- 
 ery to the British possessions, was constituted a separate territory 
 and called Indiana. It enclosed the present States of Illinois, 
 Wisconsin, Michigan, and Indiana excei>t a little strip on the 
 eastern side between the mouth of the Kentucky and Great Miami. 
 The white population of the country was estimated at 4,875, and 
 negro slaves 135, while the aggregate number of Indians within 
 the extreme limits of the territory was fairly reckoned at 100,000. 
 The seat of Government was tixed at Vincennes, and the ordinance 
 of 1787 was applied to the territory in amodifieil form : that clause 
 requiring 5,000 free white male inhabitants of the age of 21 years 
 and upwards, before a general assembly could be organized, was 
 changed to the wish of a simple majority of the fret^holders. The 
 law was to go into effect on the 4th of July following. 
 
 A chief reason for maldng this division was the large extent of 
 the northwestern territory, which rendered the orduiary operations 
 of government uncertain and the promx)t and efficient administra- 
 tion of jnstice almost impossible. In the three western counties — 
 Knox, St. Clair and Eaudolph, the latter two in Illinois, there had 
 heen but one term of court, having cognizance of crimes, held in 
 five years. Such imnuuiity to offenders offered a safe asylum to 
 the vilest and most abandoned scoundrels. The law of 1791, con- 
 firming titles and granting lands to certain persons for military 
 services, and the laying out thereof, remained uuexcuted, causing 
 great discontent;* and the unpopularity of Governor St. Clair was 
 constantly on the increase. His unfortunate campaign against the 
 Maumee towns, which had greatly shaken the confidence of the 
 X)eople, had but rendered his conduct of civil affairs more arbitra- 
 ry and defiant. He vetoed nearly every act of the legislature 
 establishing new counties, to the great inconvenience of the people 
 
 •See report of Committee in Congress— Am. State Pap. XX, 206. 
 
 232 
 
INDIANA TERRITORY. 233 
 
 in their trausactions witli clerks and recorders, and to the vexation 
 of suitors at law. 
 
 The territorial legislature sitting at Cincinnati, elected, on the 
 3d of October, 1700, William Henry Harrison, then secretary of 
 the territory, a delegate to congress, over Arthur St. Clair, jun., by 
 a vote of 11 to 10. The contest elicited \Yide and unusual interest, 
 and w as not unattended by much acrimony and ill blood. The 
 St. Clairs were federalists, and party feeling ran extremely high 
 in those days. Harrison was largely instrumental in Congress in 
 obtaining the passage of the act of division. Up to this time the 
 smallest tract of public lands which could be entered was 400 
 acres, except fractional i>ieces cut by important streams. This 
 was a great hindrance to settlement, and to the poor our land sys- 
 tem was a curse rather than a blessing. Harrison, fully 
 appreciating this gric^vance, urged through Congress a law 
 authorizing the sale of the pul>lic lands in tracts of 320 acres, with 
 a cash payment ot only one-fourth and the balance in one, two and 
 three years. The passage of this law was regarded in the west as 
 a public service of the greatest importance, rendering Harrison ex- 
 tremely popular. He was. May 13, 1800, appointed Governor for 
 the Indiana territory. John Gibson (he to whom in 1774, Logan, 
 the great Indian chief had delivered his celebrated speech), was 
 appointed secretary; and William Clark, John Griftin and Henry 
 Yanderbiirgh, territorial judges. In the absence of the governor, 
 secretary Gibson proceeded in July to put the machinery of teiri- 
 torial government in motion by appointing the necessary local 
 officers for the administration of the laws, &c. In January, ISOl, 
 Governor Harrison, having arrived at his post of duty, immediate- 
 ly convened the judges with himself at the seat of government, for 
 the adoi)tion of "such laws as the exigency of the times" required, 
 and to the discharge of such other duty for the government of the 
 territory as congress had by law imposed upon them. They 
 remained in session two weeks, passing several resolutions provi- 
 ding paynu^nt for various ser^ices, and adoi)ted a number of laws, 
 one i)roviding for the establishment of C(mrts of (quarter sessions 
 of the peace in the counties of St. Clair, IJandolidi and Knox. A 
 term of the general court for the territory at large, was commenced 
 by the three judges on the 3d of March, 1801. Thus the tirst 
 grade of territorial goN'erinnent was put in full working order. 
 
 The purchase of Louisaiux from France having been consumma- 
 ted in 1803, that vast domain lying west of the Mississi[)pi, was by 
 act of Congress, March 20, 1804, annexed to the Indiana territory. 
 Gov. Harrison and the judges, in October, 1804, adopted the 
 necessary laws for the government of the district of Lousiana. 
 The union was, however, of short duration; March 3, 1805, Louis- 
 iana was detached and erected into a sei»arate territory. Shortly 
 after this Aaron Biut entered ui)on his treasonable effort to wrest 
 from the United States this large domain and to found his south- 
 western empire. To organize an expedition for his enterpris(s he 
 visited, among other places in the west, Vincennes and Kankaskia, 
 and induced a few men of the territory to enroll their names on the 
 list of his followers; but the scheme came speedily to naught — his 
 men abandoned it, and he Avas arrested in Mississii)pi in the si)ring 
 of 1807. After the purchase of Louisiana, it became desirable to 
 learn something resijpctiug the vast region lying between the Mis- 
 
234 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sissippi and the Pacific. Congress therefore anthorized an 
 overland exploring- expedition, to the command of which the 
 ipresident api)ointed Captains Merriweather Lewis and William 
 Clark, the latter a brother of Gen. George liogers Clark. The 
 party-, consisting of 34 men, encamped dnring the whiter of 
 1803--4 in the American bottom, near the month of Wood ri^'er, 
 below Alton — then the nltama tlinle of tlie white settlenu'nts in Illi- 
 nois — and started thence njion their toilsome and perilous jonrney, 
 May 14t]j, reaching the Pacific Noveniber 17, 1805. Tlie explorers 
 retnrned in safety to St. Lonis abont a year the rg^ifter. The 
 jieninsnla of Michigan was also, by act of Congress,'' J annary 11, 
 1805, detached from Indiana and erected into a separate territory, 
 the act to take effect Jnne 30, 1805. 
 
 The main topics of interest dnring the 9 jears that Illinois con- 
 stituted a part of the Indiana territory, were : the acqnisition of 
 land titles from the resident Indian tribes, land speculations, and 
 the adjustment of land tithes; negro slavery; organizaiion of the 
 territorial legislature, extension of the right of suffrage antl the 
 detachment of Illinois from the Indiana tcri'itory.* Captain Wil- 
 liam Henry Harrison, besides his appointment as governor, was 
 also constituted superintendent of Indian affairs, and vested 
 wath plenaiy powers to negotiate treaties between the United 
 States and the several tribes of Indians residing within his ofticial 
 jurisdiction, lor the cession of lands. As the rai)idly advancing 
 settlements of the whites i)euetrated farther daily, and crowded 
 upon thedonuiin of the re<l man, it became desirable on the i)art 
 of the general govenunent to enlarge the area of its landed acqui- 
 sitions beyond the stipulations of the treaty of Greenville, by 
 which 17,724,489 acres of land were obtained. By an active exer- 
 cise of these powers, in which his Excellency discovered a 
 remarkable aptitude, no less than ten treaties were concluded with 
 various tribes by the close of the year 1805, extinguishing the In- 
 dian titles to about 30,0()0,()00 acres more of land. We cite in 
 brief the treaties of that period, l)y which lands lying either wholly 
 or in part within Illinois, wererelin(iuished : 
 
 Treaty of Fort Wayne, coiu-luded June 7, 1803, with certain 
 chiefs and head men of thcDelawares, Shawanese, Pottawatomies, 
 Eel Piver, Wea, Kickapoo, Piaidvcshaw, and Kaskaskia tiibes — 
 ratified at Vincennes August 7, 1803, by thiee of the tribes and 
 the Wyandots, by which there were ceded to the United States, 
 1,034,000 acres of land, 330,128 of which were situated within 
 Illinois. 
 
 Treaty of Vincennes, concluded August 13, 1803, with certain 
 chiefs and warriors of the Kaskaskias, in consideration of the pro- 
 tecting care of the government, of $580 in cash, of an increase of 
 their annuity nnder the treaty of Greenville to $1000, of $300 
 toward building a church, and an annual pa.yment for seven years 
 of $100 to a Catholic priest stationed among them, the tribe of 
 Kaskaskias, reduced to a few hundred individuals, but still repre- 
 senting the once powerful coidederacy of the Illinois, ceded to the 
 United States, excej)! a small reser\ atit)n, all that tract included 
 Avithin a line beginning below the mouth of the Illinois, deseeJid- 
 ing the Mississippi to its junction with the Ohio, asc<'ndiug the 
 latter to the Wabash, and from a point up the Wabash west to 
 
 The subject of slavery is deferred to Gov. Cole's administration, 
 
INDIANA TERRITORY. 235 
 
 tlie Mississip])i, embracing the gTeater jKirt of southern Illinois, 
 some S,(!()8,107 acres, a magnilicient grant. 
 
 Treaty of ISt. Louis, concluded Noveml)er .'id, 1804, by wliicli the 
 cliiefs and head men of the united Sac and Fox nations ceded to 
 the United States, a, gi-e;it ti'iict on both sides of the JVIississippi, 
 extending on the east bank IVom the mouth of the Illinois to the 
 liead of that I'iver and thence to the Wisconsin, and iiichidingon 
 the west considerable portions of lowii and Missouri, fi'om the 
 mouth of the Gascomule mn-thward. (In 1810 the government 
 granted hack to the united tribes about r),0(K»,01)() acres in ](>\\a). 
 Out of this tieaty, as we shall see, subse(juently grew the J Mack 
 Hawk war. 
 
 Tredti/ of Vinccrines, concluded Decend)er 3()tli, 1805, by wliich 
 the chiefs and warriors of the I'iatdveshaw" tribe ceded to the United 
 States their claim to a tract of country in Illinois, bordering on 
 the Wabash river oi)])osite Vincennes, extending nortli and south 
 for a considerable distance, and comi)rising U,(>1(),1)1!4 acres. 
 
 Thus by successive treaties all the southern third of Illinois and 
 a broad belt of hind between the lllin(.>is and :Mississip])i rivers, 
 bordering on both strea-ms and running northward to the Wiscon- 
 sin, was (li\'esred of the Indian titU', as early a.s 1805; but while 
 much of the country was thus lawfully thi'own open to the advance 
 of tiie enterprising pioneer, the children of the forest still lingered 
 around theii- ancient hunting grounds, reluctant to abandon t!ie 
 scenes of their youth and the graves of their ancestors, notwith- 
 standing the solemn cession of their native land to the ])owei-ful 
 goNcrnment of the ])a,le faces, the receipt of payment, and their 
 ])romises to retire. iN'or did they abstain from occasional maraud- 
 ing excursions into the frontier settlements of the whites. The 
 remoteness of Illinois from the Atlantic seaboard, its <lestitutiou 
 of many of the comforts of civilized society, and exposure to the 
 precarious amity of the savages, to a great extent deterred emi- 
 grants from coming hither. Tliey found, aside from the quality of 
 the soil, equal o])portunities in Kentucky, Ohio, and soutliei'n 
 Indiaim, witli greater security from danger and more convenience 
 of access in their slow^aiid toilsome mode of ti'avel. Hence, at this 
 time the settlements on the Wabash, the Illinois, and the U])i)er 
 jMississip])i, increased slowly, conii)aied with tlu^ regions above 
 mentioned. 
 
 Virginia, by lier deed of cession, had stipulated thaf'the Ui'cnch 
 and Canaclian inhabitants, and all other settlers of the Kaskas- 
 kias, St. Vincents, and the neighboring villages, Avho professed 
 thenisehes citiztMis of Vii'ginia, shall liaAC their ])ossessions and 
 titles coidirmed to them, and be protecte<l in the enjoyments of 
 their rights and liberties." The congress of the old (ionfiideration, 
 by resolutions of June 20th and August 20, 1788, ordained that 
 ste|)s be immedhitely taken for (;onfirming in their j)ossessions and 
 titles to hinds the French and Uanadian inhabitants, and other 
 settlers, who, on or before 1783, had professed themselves citizens 
 of the United States, or of any State; and that a donation should 
 be given each of the families then living at either of the \illages 
 of Kaskaskia, Prairie du Kocher, Cahokia, I^>rt ( Uiartres, or St. 
 Phillips. Out of this grew the old "head-right" claims, of which 
 it seems there were oidy a total of 24-1 in all the country. We 
 have seen that in 1790 the French, in their impoverished condition, 
 
236 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 objected strenuously to payiug- the expense of surveys. Congress 
 passed a law March 3, 1791, i)roviding further, that where lands had 
 been actually improved and cultivated, under a. supposed grant of 
 the same by any conimaudant or court claiming authority to make 
 such grant, the Governor of the territory was empowered and 
 charged with the duty to confirm to the persons entitled thereto, 
 as above, their heirs or assigns, the land sujtposed to have been 
 granted to them, or such share of itas might be adjudged upon the 
 proof to be reasonable, not exceeding 400 acres to any one person 
 however. The benefits of this act were extended to persons enti- 
 tled imder it, but who had removed out of the country, provided 
 they or their heirs should return and occupy their lauds Avithin 5 
 years. By the (Jth section of the same act, in the same numner, a 
 grant of land not exceeding 100 acres was provided to each person 
 who had not already obtained a donation as above from the United 
 States, and who, on the first day of August, 1790, had been en- 
 rolled in the militia and done militia duty. 
 
 Governor St Clair had made many coiifinuations of these grants, 
 but still a large number of claims remained unadjusted. The 
 abeyance of these confirmations was a great hindrance to the set- 
 tlement of that portion of the country where they were located. 
 No one cared to in \ est a fair i>riee in lands, the title whereof was 
 not estabhshedby survey and record. There was naturally much 
 anxiety on the part of claimants, and those who desired to see the 
 country fill up and prosper, to liave these obstacles cleared away. 
 As a remedy, a law was passed by congress, March 15, 1801, estab- 
 lishing land oflices at Kaskaskia, Vincennes and Detroit, for the 
 saleof the public lands, ami constituting the registers and receivers 
 a board of commissioners, upon which was devolved, for the 
 respective districts at each place, the former ])owers and duties of 
 the governor to exanune the validity of land claims, decide thereon 
 according to justice and equity, and not confirm, but report their 
 decisions to congress. The land otfice at Kaskaskia was author- 
 ized to sell such of the lands included in the cession of the Kas- 
 kaskia tribe of Indians, by treaty of August 13, 1S03, as were not 
 claimed by any other tribes. 
 
 Michael Jones and E. Backus were appointed register and re- 
 ceiver, respectively, of the land ofitice at Kaskaskia. These 
 gentlemen, in entering upon their duties as commissioners, soon 
 learned that it would be necessary to proceed with great circum- 
 spection, as many of the land claims presented discovered 
 evidences of fraud, and hence their labor of investigation became 
 immense, and they made but slow progress. They made an ehibo- 
 rate report in 1810, which nuiy be seen in Vol, II, American State 
 Papers — Public Lands, to which we are indebted for our facts in 
 great part. See i)age 102, 
 
 From a very early time these land claims of ancient grants, both 
 French and Englisli — of donations to heads of families, "head 
 rights," of improvement rights, and militia rights, became a rare 
 field for the operation of specnlators. The French claims, owing 
 to the poverty of this people, were in great part unconfirmed, 
 and this circumstance, with others, contributed to force many of 
 them into market. We have seen, also, with what facility the 
 British commandant, Wilkins, made extensive grants to numerous 
 favorites in various portions of the country, and these being 
 
INDIANA TERRITORY. 237 
 
 apparently in coiitraYention of tlie King's proclamation of October 
 7tli, 1703, were pnrcliased for a trifle-, and as for the militia rights 
 of 100 acre tracts, while valid, they sold freely at 30 cents ])er 
 acre, in high priced and triHiiig merchandise. Fr<nn the passage 
 of the law of 1791 to the timetliat the commissioners took np the 
 investigation of these claims, si»ecidation in them was rife, and very 
 few of them renuiined in the hands of original claimants. The 
 greed of specnlatorscansed nnmerous claims to x)ass current with- 
 out close scrutiny as to the i)roofs npon which they rested, a 
 circumstance which at the same time tended all the more to stimu- 
 late the i)ro<luction of fraudulent claims. The number of 
 fraudulent claims was comparatively great, but by purchase aiul 
 assignment they, more than the genuine, became concentrated in 
 the hands of a few speculators. The oflicial report of the commis- 
 sioners for the district of Kaskaskia, made in ISIO to the secretary 
 of the treasury, shows that tiiey rejected 800 land claims as either 
 illegal or fraudulent, 370 being supported by perjuiy, and a 
 considerable nund)er forged. The report further shows that the 
 assignees were privy to l)oth these attempted frauds; the perjured 
 depositions a|»i>eared in the handwriting of claimant speculators 
 not unfrequently without a word changed by the sworn sigiuns. 
 There are 14 names given, both English and French, who made it 
 a regular business to furnish sworn certificates, professing an in- 
 timate knowledge, in every case, of the settlers who had nmde 
 certain improvements, and Allien and where they were located, 
 upon which claims were predicated. In some cases these names 
 were assumed and the dei>onent would never a|)]K*ar;in some they 
 were real and well known ; while still in others, puri)ortingto come 
 from a distance, well known names Avould be forged. In one case 
 several hundred depositions poured in upon the commissioners 
 from St. Charles, jMissouri, in the names of gentlemen formerly 
 well known in Kaskaskia. The commissioners, having their 
 susi»icions aroused that they were forgeries, summoned them to 
 api)ear before them, which they readily did, though they c<mld not 
 have been compelled to, and Avith tears in their eyes declared on 
 oath that they lived in Upper Louisiana, that they had never l)een 
 in St. Charles in their lives, and that tlu^ dei)ositions Avere des|)ic- 
 able forgeries. A Frenchman, clerk of the I'arish of Praiiie du 
 Eocher, "without property and fond of liquor," after having given 
 some 200 (k'positions in favor of three certain land clainmnt si)ec- 
 nlators, Avhose names Avould be familiarly recognized to-day, "was 
 imluced either by compensation, fear, or the impossibility of 
 obtaining absolution on any other terms, to declare on oath that 
 the said des])ositions Avere false, and that in giving them in, he 
 had a regard to something beyond the truth."* 
 
 It is not i>leasant for an lllinoisan to read in the public archives 
 of our country, note<l after the honored names of the first pronn- 
 nent settlers of onr State, whose descendents haA^e become 
 conspicuous in its subsequent history, by sworn and intelligent 
 ofticials the danmging Avords of "perjury," "deed forged," " fraud 
 and perjury," time and again, in support of land claims; but such 
 
 [Note.— The forged and perjured depositions were mostly adduced to support claims 
 presented by Robert Morrison, John Edfrar, Robert Reynolds, AVm. Morrison, Richard 
 Lord, Wm. Kelley, and others. Am. State Papers, vol. ii, 104— Pub. Lands, 3, lb. 115— 
 XoO.3 
 
238 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 is the fact. Well might a cotemporary, young at the time, snbse-- 
 qiieiitly exclaim, tliat "])arties Vveie branded with peijury and 
 foriicry to an alarming extent."! But when he further .says that 
 "the best citizens in the country were stiginatized with the above 
 crimes, Avithout cause," the facts appear against him. Much 
 rancor and partisan feeling was engendered against the commis- 
 sioners by the influential claimant speculators, who were thus 
 thwarted to a great extent in their rascally schemes. The com- 
 missioners close their report with these words: 
 
 "We close this melancholy picture of human depravity, by ren- 
 dering our devout acknowledgements that, in the awful alternative 
 in which we have been placed, of either admitting i)eijured testi- 
 mony in support of the claims before us, or having it turned 
 against our characters and lives, it has, as yet, pleased Divine 
 Providence wliich rules over the affairs of men, to preserve us both 
 from legal murder and private assassination." 
 
 The chiimants, particularly those who held by assignment, had 
 met with little trouble in liavingtlieir claimscontirine(land])atents 
 issued to them by Gov. St. Clair, while Illinois was part of the north- 
 western territory. On the occasion of his visit to Illinois, in 1790, 
 while the impoverislied French were unable to bear the expense 
 of the government surveys, the rich and influential speculators 
 readily met this difticnlty and obtained their patents. It seems 
 that many of the goverm)r's conflrmations were made by the 
 bundle. As but a single instance, cmt of many, we will cite his 
 confirmation, in one bulk, of 90 donation rights to heads of fam- 
 ilies, of 400 acres each, amounting to 3(1,000 acres of land, in the 
 hands of John Edgar as assignee. We have already noted his 
 confirmation of an English grant described as containing 
 13,000, acres but which really contained 30,000, a moiety of which 
 had been previously conveyed to his son. While this was the 
 largest, there were many others in which his son shared, that 
 r<'adily received his confirmation. Evident fraud and im])osition 
 were also practi(;ed upon Governor Harrison in i)rocuring his con- 
 firmation to land claims. 
 
 As the report of the commissioners raised manifest doubts re- 
 specting the validity or propriety of a number of confirmations by 
 tlie governors, and as there was much dissatisfaction on the part 
 of the claimants, congress, Feb. 20, 1812, passed an act for the 
 revision of these land claims in the district of Kaskaskia. The 
 commissioners under tliis law were Michael Jones, John Caldwell, 
 and Thomas Sloo. Their investigations resulted in unearthing 
 more facts and confirming many previous ones, damaging to the 
 good name of gentlemen high in ofiticial life. Kegarding the 
 English grant of 30,000 acres, which Governor St. Clair confirmed 
 to his son, John Murray and John Edgar, they declared that the 
 patent was issued after the governor's powders had ceased to exist 
 and the Indiana Territory was stricken oft^ which rendered it a 
 mdlity, and that the claim was founded neither in law nor equity, 
 and ought not to be confirmed. It was, however, confirmed by 
 congress. Governor St. Clair was empowered to make absolute 
 coutirmations and issue patents for the lands ; but the land com- 
 missioners imder the act of 1804 were not vested with the power 
 of conlirmation — they were only an examining board for the in- 
 
 +Reynold's Pioneer History. 
 
INDIANA TERRITORY. 239 
 
 vestigation of tlie rights of claimants to aucient grants, head, 
 improvement and militia riglits. 
 
 A vote, talven September 11, 1804:, sliowed a majority of 138 
 freeholders of the territory in favor of the second grade of terri- 
 torial government, and in obedience to the will of the people. Gov- 
 ernor Harrison ordered an election for re|)resentatives to the 
 territoiial general assembly, for Jannary 3, 1805, which was to 
 meet at Vincennes, Febrnary 7th following, and nominate ten men 
 for the legislative coniicil. The members elect from Illinois were 
 Shadracli Bond and AYilliani Biggs, of St. Clair, and George Fisher, 
 of llan(loli)h. The names presented from Illinois for councilors, 
 were Jean Francis l^errey and John Hay, of St. Glair, and Pierre 
 Menard, of liandolph. Fresident Jefferson waived his right of 
 selection in favor of Governor Harrison, asking only that he reject 
 "land jobbers, dishonest men, and those who, thongh honest, 
 might suffer themselves to be warped by party pri^jndice." Perrey 
 and Menard were selected for Illinois. On the 7th of June follow- 
 ing, the governor issued his proclamation convening the legislature 
 for the 2yth of July, 180.5. Tins was the second time that the 
 people of this country, through their represeidatives, exercised 
 the law making power for their own local government. 
 
 In his message, de]i^■ered the following day, the governor re- 
 commended the passage of laws to prevent the saleof intoxicating 
 liquors to the Indians, saying : " You have seen ovn- towns crowded 
 M'ith drunken savages; our streets liowing with blood; their arms 
 and clothing bait(U'ed for the liquor timt destroys them ; and their 
 miserable women and children enduring all the extremities of cold 
 and hunger; wholt^ villages have been swept away. A miserable 
 renmantis all that remains to nmrk the situation of many warlike 
 tribes." He recommended, also, a remodeling of the inferior 
 courts, so a^ to insnre a more efticient administration of justice ; 
 an improved militia system ; more efficient punishment for horse 
 stealing; and ways and means for raising a revenue, saying, that 
 this latter would be their most difficult and delicate duty; that while 
 few were the objects of taxation in a new country, it must still be a 
 burthen, and the commencement of our tinancial operations must 
 be expected to be attended by some trilling, though he trusted, 
 temporary embarrassments. The legislature, by joint ballot, 
 elected Benjamin Parke, of Indiana, territorial delegate to con- 
 gress. The levying of taxes, as was anticipated, created consid- 
 able dissatisfaction among some of the people. The poll tax was 
 particularly obnoxious to the French residents. Their indigiuition 
 found vent at a public meeting, held at Vincennes, Sunday, Au- 
 gust 10, 1807, where it was " resolved" that they would ''withdraw 
 their contidence and support forever from those men who advocated, 
 or in any manner promoted, the second grade of government."* 
 
 The legislature re-enacted many of the general laws selected and 
 adopted by the governors and judges of both the Northwestern 
 and Indiana terri tori ties, under the first grade of their respective 
 governments. Provision was made for a collection and thorough 
 revision of the laws, by a commission. Accordingly, a volume was, 
 two years later, produced, bearing the following title: "Laws of 
 the Indiana Territory, comprising those acts formerly in force, and 
 as revised by INIessrs. John Rice Jones and John Johnson, and 
 
 ♦Dillon's Indiana. 
 
240 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 passed (after araeudinents) by the legislature ; and the original 
 acts passed at the first session of the second general assembly of 
 the said territory — began and held at the boroiigh of Vincennes, 
 on the 10th day of August, A. 1). 1807." Messrs. Stout and 
 Smoot, "printers for the territory," were the publishers ; the paper, 
 on wliicli it was i)rinted, was brought on horseback from George- 
 town, Kentucky. 
 
 Tliis collection of old statutes relates principally "to the organ- 
 ization of superior and inferior courts of justice, the appoint- 
 ment and duties of territorial and county officers, prison and 
 prison bounds, real estate, interest and money, marriages, 
 divorces, licenses, ferries, grist-mills, elections, militia, roads and 
 highways, estrays, trespassing, animals, inclosure and cultivation 
 of common fields, relief of poor, taverns, improving the breed of 
 horses, taxes and revenues, negroes and mulattoes under inden- 
 tures as servants, fees of officers, sale of intoxicating liipiors, 
 relief of persons imprisoned for debt, Ivilling wolves, jirohibiting 
 the sale of arms an<l ammunition to Indians and other pei'sous, 
 the standard of weights and measures, vagrants, authorizing aliens 
 to purchase and hold real estate in the territory,"* etc. The pen- 
 alties provided for crimes and misdemeanors, were, death fur 
 treason, murder, arson and horse-stealing ; manslaughter, i)unish- 
 able as provided at common law; burglary and robbery, each by 
 whipping, fine and, in some cases imprisonment not exceeding 40 
 years ; riotous conduct, by fine and imprisonment ; larceny, by 
 fine or whipping, and in certain cases, bound out to labor not 
 ex(;eeding 7 years ; forgery, by fine, disfranchisement and stand- 
 ing in the j^illory ; assault and battery, as a crime, by fine not 
 exceeding $100; hog-stealing, by fine and whipping; gambling, 
 profane swearing and Sabbath-breaking, each by fine ; bigamy, by 
 fine, whipi)ing and disfranchisement. The disobedience of ser- 
 A ants and children, a justice of the i)eace was entitled to i)unish 
 by imprisonment in the jail until the culprit was " humbled," and 
 if the offense was accompanied by assaidt, he might be whipped, 
 not exceeding 10 stripes. 
 
 *Dillon's Indiana. 
 
 The laws, relating to indentured slaves, are treated under Governor Cole's adminis- 
 tration. 
 
Chapter XXI. 
 
 1809— ILLINOIS TEEEITOEY. 
 
 Opposition to Division — Jesse B. Thomas— Gov. Udwards — Nathaniel 
 Pope — Territorial Federal Judges — The Governor avoids the meshes 
 of the Separationists and Anti-Separationists — Condition and Pop- 
 nhition of the Territory. 
 
 By act of congress, approved Febrnary 3, 1809, all that part 
 of the Indiana Territory lying' "west of the Wabash river, and a 
 direct line drawn from the said Wabash river and Post Vincennes, 
 dne uortli to the territorial line between the L^'nited States and 
 Canada,'' should, after the first of March following-, constitute a 
 separate territory, and be called Illinois. This, it will he i)erceived, 
 included the present State of Wisconsin. The population of the 
 newly organized territory Avas estimated at about 9,000, leaving 
 in Indiana about double tiiat number. 
 
 There are many things which usually influence any American 
 community in the desire to be inde})en(1ent. The main reasons 
 advanc(Hl by Illinois in favor of a separation from Indiana were, 
 the "wide extent of wilderness country" which intervened between 
 the civilized settlements of the country on the Mississippi, about 
 the only ones in Illinois, and the seat of government on the 
 Wabash, rendering the ordinary protection of government to life 
 and property almost nugatory; the inconvenience, expense and 
 dangers of long journeys whose routes led through sections wholly 
 inhabited l)y savages, which litigaiits in the superior courts of the 
 territory were compelled to incur for themselves and witnesses; 
 and the almost total obstruction to an efiicient administration of 
 the laws in counties so distant from the seat of government as 
 those of Illinois. Xotwithstanding the remoteness and isolation 
 of this country from the centers of i)0])ulation in the United 
 States at that early day, the tide of enngration i>ressed westward 
 with a gradual but ever increasing flow. In 1805 IMicliigan was 
 erected into a separate territory, and by this time Illinois contained 
 a wliite population fully as great as that of the whole teiritory of 
 Indiana when detached from Ohio five years before. The question 
 of separation in Illinois grew apace from this time on; it was re- 
 peatedly pressed upon the attention of congress by legislative 
 memorials in 1806, 1807 and 1808, until that body finally disposed 
 of the subject as above stated. But while the people of Vincennes 
 and neighboring villages east of the Wabash opposed the separa- 
 tion from interested motives, for a division would before many 
 years elapsed take from them the seat of government and remove 
 it to a more central locality, and would also increase the rates of 
 10 ' 211 
 
242 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 taxation, what may appear difficult of solution was the fact that 
 iu Illinois tliere was anything- hut unanimity in favtu" of division and 
 indciK'ndence. A violent anti-separation party sprung up here, 
 which, though greatly overhorne by nund)ers, by its activity 
 aroused a deep and angry feeling which ultimately resulted iu 
 bloodshed. l>y the machinations of the opposers to a division 
 "one of the warmest friends and ablest advocates of the measure 
 was assassinated at Kaskaskia in consequence."* The question 
 of separation turned upon the ability of the Illinois members of 
 the Legislature, in session at Vincennes in October 1808, to elect 
 a delegate to congress in place of Benjamin Parke, resigned, Mho 
 jshould be tavorable to the division. The Illinoisans found a suit- 
 able candidate in anindiana mend)erof the House, who was also 
 Speaker, by the luime of Jesse 13. Thomas, who, for the sake of 
 going to congress, was read}* to violate the sentiments of his con- 
 stituents upon this question. But the Illinois members, with a 
 due appreciation of the i)romises of politicians, even at that early 
 day, re(pured of this gentleiiuin, before they would vote for him, 
 to sui)i)ort his pledges by his bond, conditioned that he would 
 procure from congress a division, whereui)on he was triumphantly 
 elected by a bare majorit}" with the aid of his own vote.f He was 
 hung in effigy at Vincennes by the anti-separationists; but he dis- 
 charged his pledges and his bond, by procuring the division from 
 congress; and, as it was doubtless desmible to change his residence, 
 he came home .with a commission for a federal judgeship of the 
 new territory in his x>ocket and removed to Illinois. 
 
 By the act of separation, the people of Illinois were also entitled 
 to all and singular the rights, privileges and advantages granted 
 and secured to the peo})le under the ordinance of 1787, which was 
 a|)plied to the territory — fair words enough, but the ordinance con- 
 ferred little political power; the i)revi(ms duties were imposed upon 
 the new ofiticers, and the President \Aas enai)Owered to nuike 
 appoiutments during the recess of congress; provision was nuule 
 for the organization of the second grade of teiTitorial government, 
 whenever the governor should at any time be satished that a nui- 
 jority of the freeholders of the territory desired the same, 
 notwithstanding there were less than 5,000 inhabitants, fixing the 
 nund)er of representatives, in such case, at not less than seven iu)r 
 more than nine, to be apportioned among the counties by the gov- 
 ernor; the legislative council and delegates tocongress were made 
 elective by the people; the old officers were continued in the exer- 
 cise of their duties in Indiana, but prohibited in llhnois ; provision 
 was made for the final disposition of all suits from Illinois pending 
 in the court at Vincennes, for the collection of taxes levied and 
 due; and the seat of government was fixed at Kaskaskia, until 
 otherwise ordered by the legislature. 
 
 •See address of citizens to Gov. Edwards, at Kaskaskia, June, 1809, 
 
 +See Ford's Illinois, p. 30. 
 
 rNoTE —A curious state of affairs obtained witb regard to Indiana after the separa- 
 tion of Illinois. On the 2()tii of October, 1808, tiie governor had dissolved the legisla- 
 ture : by act of congress, Februarys, 1809, Illinois Avas detached, taking with it five 
 members, which would have dissolved the legislature had it notalready been dissolved; 
 later in the same month, on the 27th, congress passed a law extending tlie right of 
 suffrage and prescribing tlie nvuiiber of representatives for the territory, and further, 
 directed the legislature to apportion the representatives ; but there was no legishitiu-e 
 in existence to make the appurtionTiient. Indiana was in political chaos— something 
 was required of a body that she did nt)t possess, and whicli it was impossible for her to 
 legally create. livit Governor Harrison cut the gordean knot, and, legally or otherwise, 
 appoitioned the territory, Issued writs of election for a new legislature, and in October 
 
ILLINOIS TEERITORY. 243 
 
 Kiiiiaii Edwards, at the time chief justice of the Courtof Ap^ieals 
 in Kentucky, became governor of the newly organized territory 
 of Illinois. John Boyle, of the same State, at first received the 
 appointment of Governor, but declined the office and accepted 
 that of associate justice of the same court whereof Edwards was 
 Chief Justice. Edwards was (h'sirous of liliing the vacancy, and at 
 the recommendation of Henry Clay, received the ap[)ointment from 
 President Madison, his commission bearing date April -J4, 1<S(M>. 
 
 In his letter to the president, Henry Chiy spoke of Judge Ed- 
 wards as follows: ''The honorable appointments which this 
 gentleman has held (first as a judge of our Superior Court, and 
 then promoted to his present station), evince how highly he is esti- 
 mated among us." And in ai letter of the same date to the Hon. Eobt. 
 Smith, he said: "His political principles accord with those of the 
 Republican party. His good understanding, weight of character 
 and conciliatory manners, give him very fair pretentions to the 
 offi(;e alluded to. * * * I have no doubt that the whole repre- 
 sentation froiu the State, when consulted, would concur in ascrib- 
 ing to liiiu every qualification for the othce in question." 
 
 Ninian Edwards was born in Montgomery county, Md., in 1775, 
 and at the time of his iipi>ointinent as goverm>r was about .'H years 
 old. He obtained his early education in company with and partly 
 under the tuition of William Wirt, his senior by two years, and life 
 long friend. After a collegiate course at Carlyle, Pa., he (•om- 
 menced the study of law, but before finishing it was sent to 
 Kentucky to select lands for his brothers and sisters and open a 
 farm. He located in isTelson county, and being furnished with 
 ample means in a new country where the character of society was 
 as yet unformed, and surrounded by companions whose pleasures 
 and pursuits were in sensual indulgences, he fell into indiscretions 
 and excesses for two oi- three years.* But in the then standard of 
 society, this did not prevent liis election to the Kentucky Legisla- 
 ture. Subsequently he broke away from his dissolute companions 
 and habits, removed to iiusselville, and devoted himself to lalxiri- 
 ous study. He soon attaiiu'd eminence in his profession. Before 
 lie was 32 years old he had tilled in succession the offices of pre- 
 siding judge ot the general court, circuit judge, 4th judge of the 
 court of appeals, and chief justice of the State, which last he hekl 
 Avhen his associate justice, Boyle, received the appointment of 
 territorial governor for lliiiiois. The two, to suit their respective 
 inclinations, exchanged offices, Edwards, through the patronage 
 of Mr. Clay, becoming governor, and Boyle chief justice. Governor 
 Edwards was a large, fine looking man, with a distinguished air and 
 courtly maiuners, who wielded a ready i)en and was fiuent of speech. 
 
 The territorial judges ai)i)ointed, besides Thomas, were Alex- 
 ander Stuart and William Sprigg. The former was a Virginian, a 
 man of fine education and i^olished manners, who,t however, re- 
 
 foUowing convened it for business. But that body, entertaining- doubts whetlier it was 
 really a legislature or not, prepared a statement to congress, petitioning that power to 
 constitue it a legal body, and adjourned temporarily to await action upon the case. 
 Such are some of the inconveniences of government where original sovereignty does 
 not reside in the people, but is derived from a power superior to them— an apparent 
 anomoly in the theory of American government. — See Dillon's Ind.] 
 
 *Gov. Edward's Life, by his son. 
 
 +.ludge Creese, in the address of laying the corner stone of the new State House by 
 Judge Caton, says: '"And withall a good liver, of whom it is said he esteemed the 
 turkey the most inconvenient of the poultry tribe, as it was too large for one and not 
 large enough for two." 
 
244. HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 maiiK'd on the bench in Illinois but a short time, being changed 
 to Missouri. His successor was Stanley Griswold, a good lawyer 
 and an honest man, who, as Gov. Reynolds says in his Pioneer 
 History, "paid his debts and sung David's Psalms." He was after- 
 W'ards transferred to Michigan, and Thomas Towles became his 
 successor. William Spi'igg was born and reared in Maryland, where 
 his brotlier attained to the high office of governor. His education 
 was classical and he was deeply read in the law. He was a man 
 of singular purity of heart and simplicity of manner — lacking 
 totally in all the arts of the politician.* 
 
 Nathaniel Pope, a relative of the governor, was appointed secre- 
 tary of the territory. He was born in Kentu.cky, at the Falls of the 
 Ohio, in 1784. His education was collegiate, being one of the early 
 graduates of Transylvania University, at Lexington. His imtural 
 endowments of head and heart, were very superior. To a fine 
 analytical mind, he added a genial and benevolent disi)Osition, 
 and great dignity of character. He selected the law for a profes- 
 sion, and soon mastered its intricacies. At the age of 21, he emi- 
 grated to St. Genevieve, then Upper Louisiana, where he learned 
 to speak French (juite fluently. Five years later, he was appointed 
 secretary of the Illinois territory. As such, in the absence of the 
 governor, he was empowered, under the ordinance of 1787, to dis- 
 charge the duties of the latter's office. On the 25th of April, 
 1809, at St. Genevieve, before Judge Shrader, he took the oath of 
 office, and coming to Illinois, inaugurated the new government on 
 the 28th instant, by issuing his proclamation to that effect. The 
 counties of St. Glair and Randolph were reinstated as the two coun- 
 ties of the Illinois territory. On the 3d of May, he ai)X>oiiited and 
 commissioned Elias Rector attorney-general, John Hay sherilf, 
 Enoch Moore corojier, and 17 justices of the peace. 
 
 On the 11th of Junefollowing, Governor Edwards assumed the 
 duties of his office. He had taken tbe oath of office in Kentucky, 
 before his departure. Upon his arrival at Kaskaski a, his Excel- 
 lency was tendered a flattering public address by the citizens, in 
 which he was asked to esi)ouse the side of the "virtuous majority" 
 by whose i^atriotic exertions the territory had been tlivided 
 and his Excellency attained his high station, and to whom ought 
 to be distributed the offices in his gift, rather tlmn to those who 
 never ceased to oppose the measure and heap calumnies and indig- 
 nities ui)on its friends. The governor, unwilling to become a part- 
 isan on either side, made a felicitous but non-committal reply. He 
 re-appointed John Hay clerk of St. Clair county, and, as a curious 
 instance of official self-succession to office in this country, we will 
 mention that he held that public trust from thence on, luitil his 
 decease, in 1845. In place of Rector, Benjamin H. Doyle had 
 been appointed attorney-general, and he resigning, John J. Crit- 
 tenden, of Kentucky, was apijointed; but the latter, after holding 
 the office a few months, also resigned, when his brother, Thomas 
 L., succeeded him. 
 
 On the 10th of June, 1809, the governor, joined by Judges Stuaxt 
 and Sprigg (Thomas being still absent in Washington), coustitut- 
 
 *Reynolcls, in his Pioneer Histoi-y, says that Sprig-o- accompanied Governor Edwards in 
 his canipaiorn against the Indians on Peoria Lai^o, in 181L', unencumbered by gxin or other 
 weapon indicating- bellijierency. ''His pacific aiui sickly appearance, tosrether with his 
 perfect philosopliic indifference as to war or jieace, life or death made him the subject 
 of much discussion amons- the troops. He was the only savant in tliearniy." 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 245 
 
 big a legislative body in the first grade of territorial government, 
 under tlie 5tli section of the ordinance of 1787, met and re-enacted 
 sncli of the laws of the Indiana- territory, with which the people, 
 wlio for nine years liad formed a part thereof, were familiar, and 
 as were snitableand applicable to Illinois, and not local or special 
 to Indiana. JMany of these laws Avere those which, witbont change 
 of phraseology, had either been originally imported or enacted by 
 the authorities of the old N^orthwestern territory. 
 
 Tims was i)nt into operation the machinery of civil government 
 in the Territory of Illinois ; but Governor Edwards, owing to the 
 local political dissensions, growing out of the question of territor- 
 ial division, which had degenerated into personal animosities, met 
 with no inconsiderable ditticulties in avoiding the meshes of these 
 factions, struggling fiercely for respectix^e ascendancy. He re- 
 solved not to be caught in the toils of either party, and for the 
 interests and prosperity of the country, sought to ignore the entire 
 question that it might i>ass into oblivion. At that day, the militia ' 
 system, which had received the earnest recommendation of Gover- i 
 nor Harrison, and which was also a necessity of the times, was in; 
 full and eliective operation. AVith the dissolution of the Indiana i 
 territory, it became the duty of Governor Edwards to re-organize 
 the militia for the new territory of Illinois. The separatiouists 
 urged his Excellency to appoint none to oftice in the militia who 
 had ever opposed the division of the territory-; itut this would 
 have committed him contrary to his judgment- The anti-separa- 
 tionists pressed him to re-appoint all the old ofticers ; but as a new 
 commission would have voided all otfenses for which any officer 
 might have been tried and punished by dismissal, he refused to 
 accede to that also. To steer clear of both Scylla and Charibdis, 
 he referred t!ie question to the people, by directing the militia 
 companies to elect the company officers, and the latter to choose 
 the field officers. With tliese orders, his Excellency retired from 
 the field of contention to Kentucky, to wind up some unfinished 
 court business, and upon his return, late in the fall, he issued an 
 address tothe people, explanatory of his course, and commissioned 
 the militia offi('<'rs returned to him as elected. 
 
 The poi>ulation of the territory, at the time of its organization, 
 was estimated at OOUO; tliQ. census of 1810 returned it at a total of 
 13,282 — 11,501 whites, 108 slaves, 013 of all others, except Indians 
 — being an increase of some 400 percent duri)ig the preceding- 
 decade. The frontiers had been steadily advanced by the adven- 
 turous ]>ioneers. To the north, the settlements had extended 
 to the Wood river country, in the present Madison county; east- 
 ward, on Silver creek and up the Kaskaskia river; south and east, 
 from Kaskaskia, some 15 miles out on the Fort Massac road; the 
 Birds had located at the mouth of the Ohio; at old Massac and 
 the Ohio salines, there had been nuclei of settlements for 
 some time; Shawneetown,* the nearest point on the Ohio to the 
 salt wells, 12 miles west, had contained a few straggling houses 
 
 *Sha-wneetown. which derives its name from a dissatisfied band of tbat tribe of Ind- 
 ians located there from l',o5 to about 1760, was laid out by the direction of the United 
 States croverment, in 1813-1-i, and for a quarter of a century was the ijrineit)al town iu 
 the State. The site, chosen with reference to its eontio-uity tothe United States salines, 
 was an unfortunate one, beins suhject to repeated inundations. In 1S13, a tiood rose to 
 the rid»e poles on the roofs of many of the logr houses, and swept 40 of them away, be- 
 sides other damage to stock, feucinjr, etc, Petitions to chanae the Jocation tothe 
 mouth of the Saline creek, 8 miles below, were disregarded. 
 
246 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 since 1805; along the west side of tlie Wabash, opposite Viu- 
 ceuues, were scattered a few families, one McCawley iiaviug pen- 
 etrated inland to the crossing of the Little Wabash by the Viu- 
 cennes road, but the latter were mostly abandoned during tlie war 
 of 1812. Indeed, the new settlements were very sparse and all 
 feeble, and from 1810, until the close of the war, 4 years later, 
 immigration was almost at a stand. Nine-tenths of the territory 
 was a howling wilderness, over which red savages held domin- 
 ion and roamed at will, outnumbering the whites at least three to 
 one. 
 
Chapter XXII. 
 
 IXDIAX TEOUBLES IX ILLIXOIS PKECEDIXG THE WAR 
 
 OF 1812 
 
 The Couniry put in a State of Defence by the Organization of Kang- 
 ing Companies and the Building of Bloalc-house and Stoclcade 
 Forts — Governor Edn-ards Sends an Envoy to Gonio\H Village — ■ 
 Battle of Tippecanoe — Indian Council at Cahokia. 
 
 The British, after the war of IiKlependeuce, relinquished witli 
 great i^ehietaiiee, as we liiive seei), their hohl upon th(^ northwest- 
 ern territory. The confederated tribes of the iiortliwe.st only 
 ceased tlieir warfare wlien they found their last hope of British 
 aid cut off by Jay's treaty at London, Xovend)er, 17i)l; but tliis 
 treaty <lid not coA'er all the outra<ieous pretensions of Great ]>rit- 
 ain. lu lier desperatewar with France, later, slie boldly boarded 
 American vessels on the hi^h seas, searching for English-born 
 seamen, impressing them into her marine service upon tlie ground 
 of " once an Englishman, always an Englishman," and denying 
 expatriation and American citizenshii) by naturalization. Xor did 
 she scrutinize very closely as to the nationality of the seamen 
 impr(\ssed, as in the case of the Chesapeake, boarded off the 
 coast of Virginia, where, of four of the crew taken as deserters, 
 three were of American birth. In the retaliatory measures 
 between France and Engiainl, to x>i'tivent trade and commerce 
 with either power, our vessels, as neutrals, became the prey of both, 
 hostile nations. The affair of the Chesapeake intensitied the feel- 
 ing already deep; Jefferson ordered all British ships-of-war out 
 of the waters of the United States, and congress laid an embargo 
 on American vessels, forbidding them to leave port, to the great 
 injury of American commerce. 
 
 In the West, Ibitish ennssaries were busy arousing the noith- 
 western savages to war against the United States. Harrison's 
 zeal and activity in divesting the Indian titles to western lauds, 
 was no inconsiderable pro\'ocative. In September, ISOl), he had 
 held a treaty at Fort Wayne with the Delawares, Potawattoniies, 
 Miamis, Kickapoos, W<'as and Eel lliver Indians, who, in consid- 
 eration of $2,350 as annuities, and 88,200 of presents in hand, 
 ceded to the United States a large tract of country, coin])risiug 
 near three million acres of land in Indiana, extending up the \Va- 
 bash above Terre Haute, and interiorly to include the middle 
 waters -of White river, and trenching upon the home and hunting 
 ground of the great Shawnee warrior, Tecumseh, whose nation 
 
 247 
 
248 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 was not a x)arty to the treaty, and who deuouuced it as imjust aud 
 illegal. 
 
 At a coimcil, invited by Governor Harrison and held at Vin- 
 cennes, August 12, 1810, Tecuiuseh, followed by lOO warriors, 
 maintained that all the northwestern tribes were one nation, hold- 
 ing their lands in cojunion, and that without the consent of all 
 the tribes concerned, no treaty of purchase and cession was a alid; 
 that his purpose was to wrest power from the village chiefs 
 and put it in the hands of the war chiefs. Xor did he deny having 
 threatened to kill the chiefs who had treacherously signed the 
 treaty. An angry discussion arose between Harrison and Tecum- 
 seh, the latter boldly avowing his purpose to hold the lands con- 
 veyed by the treaty, and resist the further intrusion of the 
 W'liites. He made an impassioned and bitter recital of the wrongs 
 and aggressions of the whites upon the Indians, declaring they 
 had been driven back from the sea coast now to be pushed into 
 the lakes. Harrison ridiculed his pretensions and the wrongs of 
 his people, whereupon Tecumseh si>rang to his feet, and excitedly 
 charged his Excellency with cheating and imposing upon the Ind- 
 ians. His red warriors, inhamed by his vehement manner, sim- 
 ultaneously siezed their tomahawks and brandished their war 
 clubs, as if ready for the work of massacre. A moment of silent 
 but awfid suspense to the whites, who were unarmed, followed. 
 ISTo further demonstration was however made, and Tecumseh, 
 spurned by Harrison, retired, determined to adhere to the old 
 boundary. 
 
 The ill-feeling, steadily on the increase, between the United 
 States and Great Britain, w;is early api)rehende(l by the savages 
 through tlie machinations of British agents and traders on the north- 
 western frontier. Nicholas Jarrott, of Cahokia, having just 
 returned from a trip to Prairie du Chien, made aftidavit, June 28, 
 ISO',), that British agents and traders at that post, and on the fron- 
 tiers of Canada, were inciting the Indians to hostility, and fitting 
 them out with guns and amuRiiiition for demonstrations against 
 the western settlers.* The savages were greatly emboldened by 
 these friendly offers to commit dei)redations upon tlie American 
 settlements. In July, 1810, a band of Potawattomies, from Illinois, 
 made a raid upon a settlement in Missouri, opposite the mouth of 
 the Gasconade, stealing horses and other property. The owners, 
 with their friends to the nund)er of six, made pursuit. The Ind- 
 ians, who were discovered at the distance of a few miles, to battle 
 their pursuers, changed their course. The whites, after a latiguing 
 march, went into camp, and neglecting to post a guard, fell soundly 
 asleep. In the night, the Indians, with demoniac yells, ponnced 
 upon the* sleepers and tomahawked all but two. The survivors 
 speedily spread the dreadful tidings, which created great excite- 
 ment at the time. The proof from various circumstances being- 
 clear that the murderers were Potawattomies, the governor of 
 Missouri made a requisition upon the governor of Illinois for them. 
 During the same year, hostile demonstrations were made by the 
 Sac and Fox nations, from Illinois, against Fort jMadison, situate 
 on the west bank of the Mississippi, above theDesMoines Rai)ids. 
 Hostilities also existed between the lowas and Osages, both resid- 
 
 *Annals of the West,— Appendix. This was, however, denied by a communication 
 from Messrs. Bleakly aud Portier,the parties implicatedj of Prairie du Chieu. 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 249 
 
 iiig west ot the Mississippi. In 1811, the Iiuliaiis coininitted 
 many murders upon tlie whites in Illinois. Near the forks of Shoal 
 creek, on the 2(1 of June, the family of Mr. Cox being absent, 
 except a young man and woman, a party of savages killed the 
 former, mangling his body liorribly, stole tlie horses, and carried 
 ofl" the gul a prisoner. The Coxes and neighbors, to the number 
 of eight or ten, made i)ursuit, and some 50 miles north of the pres- 
 ent Springfield, overtook the Indians, re-captured their property, 
 and during the rand)ling tight, the girl, after being wounded by a 
 tomahawk in the hip, made her escape and joined lier friends. In 
 the same month, at the lower part of the present city of Alton, 
 where a j\[r. Price and another named Pullis, were plowing corn, 
 a party of Indians were observed approaching the spring in the 
 viciidty, Avhere there was a cabin. The whites unhitched their 
 horses and seized their guns; but the Indians declared themsehes 
 friendly, and one of them, a tall, stout fellow, laid down his gun 
 and gave Price his hand, but in so doing, held him fast while the 
 others tomahawked him to death. At this, his comj>anion bounded 
 on his horse and made good his escape, with a wounded thigh.* 
 But Ave will not further detail these horrid Indian butclieries. 
 The people saw their imniinence, and began to make preparations 
 for defence. Forts and stockades began to be built, and in July 
 of the same year, a conii>any of "rangers," oi; mounted riflemen, 
 was raised and organized in the Goslien settement of Illinois. 
 
 Congress, in 1811, passed an act for the organization of 10 com- 
 panies of mounted rangers, to protect the frontiers of the AVest. 
 These companies constituted the 17th United States regiment, 
 and Colonel William Eussel, an old Indian lighter of Kentucky, 
 was assigned to its command. The comiianies Avere generally 
 made up of frontier citizens, who had the additicnial stimulus in 
 their duties of imnuMliately defending their honu's, kindred and 
 neigldnu-s. Each ranger had to furnish his own horse, provisions 
 and equipments all complete, and the recompense from the govern- 
 ment was one dollar per day. They ai)pointed their own company 
 officers, and were eidisted for one year. Four com}>anies were 
 allotted to the defence of Illinois, whose respective captains were, 
 Sanuiel and William 1). Whitcsides, James P. ]Moore, and Jacob 
 Short. Independent cavalry com])anies Avere also organized for 
 the protection of the renu»te settlcuients in the loAA'er Wabasli 
 country, of Avhich Willis ilargrave, William AlcIFenry, Nathaniel 
 Journey, Captain Craig, at Sha^vneeto^\n, and William Poon, on 
 the Big Muddy, Avere, respectively, connnanders, ready on short 
 notice of Indian outrages, to nmke pursuit of the de])redators. 
 These ranging companies performed most efficient service in the 
 protection of the settkMuents in Illinois against the savage foe. 
 The rangers and mounted militia, in times of su])i>osed ])eril, con- 
 stantly scoured the country a considerable distance in advance of 
 the frontier settlers ; and yet the savages Avould oiten prowl 
 through the settlements, commit outrages, and elude succctisful 
 pursuit. 
 
 Great numl)ers of block-house forts, or stations for the security 
 of families, Avere built, extending from the llIiiH)is i-iver to the 
 Kaskaskia, thence to the United Stated salines, near the present 
 town of E(pudity, up the Ohio aiul Wabash, and nearly to all set- 
 
 •Keynold's Pioneer History. 
 
250 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlenieiits in Illinois. Some of these forts were situated as follows : 
 One on the present site of tlie town of Carlyle; one a small dis- 
 tance above the present town of Aviston, known as Journey's 
 fort ; two on the east side of Shoal creek, known as Hill's and 
 Jones' forts ; one a few miles soutlieast of the present town of 
 Lebanon, on the west side of Looking-glass prairie, known as 
 Chambers' fort; on the Kaskaskia river were MiddletoJi's and 
 Going's forts; one on Doza creek, a few miles from its moutli, 
 known as Nat. Hill's; two in the Jourdan settlement, eastern 
 part of Franklin county, on the road to the salt works; one at 
 the mouth of the Illinois river, and later, John Campbell, a United 
 States officer, erected a small block-house on the west bank of the 
 Illinois (Prairie Marcot), 19 miles above its mouth. More preten- 
 tious military stations were established on the Mississippi, oppo- 
 site the mouth of the Missouri, to guard the river; and on Silver 
 creek, near Troy. But the main military depot was established 
 about a mile and a half northwest of the present town of Edwards- 
 ville, called Camp Kussell, in honor of the colonel commanding 
 the 10 ranging companies. 
 
 The simplest form of block-house forts consisted of a single 
 house built of logs, comi)actly laid n]3 a story and a half or two 
 stories high, with the corners closely trimmed, to prevent scaling. 
 The walls of thelowerstory were provided with i)ort-holes ; the door 
 was made of thick puncheons, and was strongly barred on the 
 inside. The upper story projected over the lower three or four 
 feet, Avith port-holes through the floor of the projecting irAii, 
 which commanded the walls and sjtace below against any Indian 
 attempts to force an entrance. They afforded entire sec^urity 
 against the rude arts of savage war, but were only single 
 family forts. A stockade fort consisted of four block-houses, 
 as described above, or larger, pla<;ed one at ea(;h corner of a 
 square piece of ground, of dimensions ample enough to accommo- 
 date the number of peoi)le seeking shelter therein. The interven- 
 ing space was tille<l u]) with timbers or logs, firmly set on end ui 
 the ground, and extending upwards 1.5 or 15 feet. This was the 
 stockade into whose sides port-holes were cut, high enough to be 
 above the head, and to Avhich platforms were raised, from which 
 to fire upon the enemy. There were also port-holes in the projecr- 
 ing walls of the corner block -houses, which thus commanded the 
 whole of the stockade walls on the outside. A^'ithin the stockade, 
 cabins were built for the families to live in: Wells were dug for 
 water, or, possibly, the site was selected over a spring. Tliere 
 were usually two heavy entrance gates in the stockade walls, 
 securely barred on the inside, and large enough to admit teams. 
 In times of extra peril, horses, and sometimes other valuable do- 
 mestic animals, were taken into the stockade over night for sai'ety. 
 If the fort was not built out on thei>rairie, the woods was invaria- 
 bly cleared back some distance, so as to affoi'd no i)lace of con- 
 cealment to the stealthy enemy. It was often hazardous to iirst 
 open the gates of a morning. JMilking jtarties, upon their errands, 
 were not unfrequently attacked by the skulking red foe. At 
 times, sentinels were often posted during the night, as in the case 
 of regular garrisons. 
 
 The most notable, as also the largest, strongest, and best 
 appointed in every respect of the stockade forts, was Fort llussell, 
 
ILLINOIS TEEKITOEY. 251 
 
 established by Governor Edwards early in 1812, about H- miles 
 iioitliwestof the ]»reseiit Edwardsville, then on the extreme north- 
 ern frontier. The eannon of Ijonis XIV, whieh had done service 
 for many years in tlie ancient Fort (liartres, were remo^•ed thither 
 and placed in position, where, if they served no other pur]>ose, 
 their thundin' toiies reverberated over the broad ex])anse of wilder- 
 ness prairie, and upon days of festivity, <U'ess parade, and other 
 displays, added eclat to the occasions. Tliis stockade was made the 
 main depot for military stores, and became also the general ren- 
 dezvous for the nnlitia volunteers, rangers and regidars, as well as 
 the great 2^'^V^f (Vapinii for the organization of expeditions into 
 the country of savages on the Peoria lake. The only United States 
 regulars, however, which cami)ed at this fort during the war, was 
 a small coni])any, under tlie command of Captain iiamsey, early 
 in the spring of 18J2. 
 
 When Governor Edwards, during the perilous times of 1.S12, with 
 Indian hostilities threatening on every haiul, assumed command 
 of the Illinois forces, it A-\as here that he established his head- 
 quarters. Here was gathered about him the beauty and chivalry 
 of those days. AVithin the ]>rotecting walls of this stockade, 
 defended without and within by brave, stouthearts, were attracted 
 and fouiul shelter, much of the talent, fashion and wealtli of the 
 country ; and here, his Excellency, not devoid of a mitural love for 
 display and ])arade, presided with a courtly grace and stately dig- 
 nity well belitting his tine i)ersonal appearance and his many 
 accomplishnnMits. 
 
 Early in the year 1811, numerous were thecom]»laints of horses 
 being stolen, Inmses plundered, and alleged murders comnutted 
 by the savages. Governor Clark, of Missouri, after the murder of 
 the four citizens near the mouth of tlie (Sasconade, in August, 1810, 
 made a, rcijuisition ui)on Governor Edwards for the authors of 
 the crime. (Tovernor Edwards also wanti'd the tribes on the Illi- 
 nois to STirrender the nuirderers of the Gox boy and Price, belV)re 
 noticed, and to deliver \\\> the property stolen by the Indians for 
 two years past. To effect these objects, he comnnssioned Gaptain 
 Samuel Levering, an intelligent and discreet ofticer, who was fit- 
 ted out with a boat by GoveriM)r (lark, duly jtrovisioned, nuinned 
 and equipped. Levering was accompanied h\ ('a]>tain Herbert 
 Henry Swearingen, a l*otawattonne named W'ish-Iia, and eight 
 oarsmen, who signed articles to act as boatmen and soldiers, eacli 
 armed with a gun. Tht'y started fiom Cahokia for Peoria, July 
 25, 1811. Before leaving the IMississippi, they met (Japtain 
 Whitesides with his rangers from the block-house, near the mouth 
 of the Illinois, who informed them of firing on a party of Sacs 
 ascending- the Illinois, but that their "summons" was disregarded. 
 At Prairie Marcot, they found Lt. Cani})bell and his force of 17 
 men. On the 3(1 of August they arrived at Peoria, and met 
 Mr. Forsythe, the goverinnent Indian agent, Avho, by his long res- 
 idence among the Indians, was thoroughly veiseil in their tongue. 
 The princii)al chief of the Potawattomies there was Masseno, 
 better knowji as Gomo. To him Mr. Forsythe had l)re^iously 
 delivered a letter from Governor Clark, demanding a suirender 
 of the Gasconade nuirderers. Gonu) was thought to be not unfa- 
 vorable to tlie surrender, but claimed to not ha^'e power to enforce 
 his solo will against so many. Here Captain Levering- learned, 
 
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 fioin a Frenclinuiii, named Jacques Mettle, the whereabouts of the 
 murderers ou Shoal creek, who were Potawattoiuies. A Freuch- 
 mau, uanied Founder, was sent forward to ai)prise Gomo of the 
 arrival of Captain Leverinj^' with a letter for him from Governor 
 Edwards; but an Indian had preceded him, and reported that 
 Levering was accompanied by a force of 50 men, and Gomo was 
 unwilling to meet him Avithout an armed escort of 14 waniors. 
 On the morning of the oth, however, the chief raised the Ameri- 
 can Hag, and in answer to a message, called and received the 
 governor's letter from the hands of Levering. He immediately 
 sent out his young men to call together in council all his chiefs, 
 who were mostly absent on distant journeys. Gomo professed 
 his readiness to do justice to the Americans, so far as his power 
 extended. Levering gave Gomo tobacco to be sent as a present 
 with a message to tlie chiefs, and retired. The uuirderers of Price 
 vrere found to be live brothers, Polsawines. 
 
 Li the meantime, Capt. Levering and Mr. Fourniermade a visit 
 to tlie Indian towns some L'O miles up the Illinois river. Gonio's 
 town Avas still some 4 miles farther on and l)ack of the river 
 bottom, where they arrived late one niglit. Tliey were hospitably 
 entertained in the wigwnm of the cliief, which was built of bark 
 an<l jiftbrded lodging room for 30 or more i)ersons. It was 25 by 
 50 feet on the inside; sleeping banks, by 7, and 5 feet high were 
 arranged around the lodge, upon which the Indians slept or 
 lounged, with their lieads i)ointing toward the centre of the room 
 and their feet toward the walls. Captain Levering and his 
 comi)anions were honored A\ith one next to that of the chief and 
 his fannly. Although it was late when the visitors arrived, a 
 dish of new corn Avas set before them by the (ihief's squaAV, and 
 while they were partaking of it, the chief smoked his pipe, as 
 also the men, Avho generally quitted their sleeping i)la('es and 
 squatted around the h)dge tires in the centre, "in all the solemnity 
 of profound smoking," as a inark of etiquette due to strangers.* 
 
 In his frequent informal communications Avith the Indians, 
 Cai>taln Levering learned nuich of their internal polity and their 
 feelings toward the Americans, Avhom they regarded as their ene- 
 mies, notwithstanding their professions of i)ea('e and friendship 
 for them. Their adroitiiess in di[)loniacy is Avell disclosed in the 
 replies of the chiefs to Captain Levering; their most cnstoniary 
 evasions to deliver up any of their braves, charged Avith crime^ 
 being, that they had departed Avith snch and such chiefs on au 
 expedition ; that they had no control over them ; that it Avas not 
 their business, and did not concern them, etc. The ambition of 
 the young braA^es to be able to exclaim, during their orgies, "I am 
 a man: Avho can gainsay it I I have killed an Osage ! I have killed 
 aAvhite!" stinudated them to the commission of outrages ; while 
 their frequent immunity from i)unishment, led them to infer inac- 
 tivity, if not fear, on the i)art of the Avhites. Gomo Avas anxious 
 the chiefs should attend at the deliAcry of the governor's address, 
 and hear for themselA^es, so that they could not afteiwaids charge 
 him with fear or treachery, and denounce him as "sngar mouth." 
 In a conversation, Gomo spoke of seeing Washington at Phila- 
 delphia, in ITlKj, and his elder brother remembered the time Avheii 
 the British put the Indians in the front of battle. 
 
 *N. W. Edwards' Life of his Father. 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 253 
 
 A number of chiefs and warriors Laving arrived, in obedience to 
 Gomo's sniiiinons, they inibilged their eoiiteiiipt in a little art of 
 oftensiveness by displaying' the American liag nnion down, ('ap- 
 tain Levering, inclining to attribute tliis to tlieir ignorance, 
 attempted to explain its meaning, to which they rei)lie(l that 
 they knew it. But on the morning Ibllowing, the flag was dis- 
 played union up. The Indians in council differed as to the jKjlicy 
 to be adopted, regarding the demand of the Anu^ricans for the 
 surrender of the nuirderers and the stolen proi)erty. The ofl'end- 
 ers were greatly scattered, receiving the protection of chiefs liun- 
 dreds of miles away. Gonu) favored the sending of an Indian 
 connnission for them, but foresaw tliat it would be said to him 
 that he belonged on tlie Illinois, and that he better attend to 
 his own tribe ; and lie disliked the cowardly ai)pearance of hav- 
 ing made the attempt and failed. Others opposed the surrender 
 of anything but the stolen property. ]Meanwhile, the Ib-itish 
 inspired the policy of sending Little Chief, who was a "talkative 
 fellow," to give the Americans any amount of assurance to 
 answer present i>urposes, with which these, like many jm'vious 
 outrages, soon to be covered by i)assing events, wonld likewise 
 directly blow over. Little Chief, in a preliminary' conversation 
 with Captain Levering, indicated his dis})l('asiire i»y saying that 
 lie hoped the letter of the governor would be fully told tiiem 
 as it was written, at which insinuation Mr. Forsythe, the 
 interpreter, became not a little incensed. 
 
 On the morning of the 10th of August, 1811, Ca])taiu Levering 
 being informed that the Indians were ready to i)roceed to the 
 council chamber, prom^itly repaired thither, accom])anied by his 
 leading men ami the iidiabitants of Peoria- whom he had invited. 
 After a prelinnnary "talk" on the jiart of Captain Levering, and 
 smokuig the pipe, the address of Governor Edwards, dated Kas- 
 kaskia, July Ulst, was slowly delivered to them ami carefully 
 interpreted. It was addressed "to the chiefs and ^^ arriors of 
 the tribes of Potawattonnes, residing on the Illinois river and 
 its waters, in the territcny of Illinois." The governor explained 
 to them how faithfully th<^ })resi(U'nt Iiad carried out all treaty 
 obligations with the Indians, and that it was his great desire to 
 have his red and white children live in ]>eace and friendship; that 
 the tomahawk and scali)ing-knife had been for a longtime buried, 
 but that a storm seemed now to be gathering; that the AvhitcvS 
 were being plundered and nuirdered ; citing a number of acts of 
 hostility and giving the names of Indians who had committed 
 them ; that the relatives and friends of these victims cried aloud to 
 the Great Spirit, their hearts allanie with revenge, and who could 
 onlj be repressed from instant war by showing them that these 
 acts of barbarity were notajiproved by the nations of the authors 
 of them, whom he demanded to be surrendered for trial. Allusion 
 was also made to tlie British emissjiries among them, who tlat- 
 tered, deceived and instigated them to the commission of these 
 horrible acts ; concluding with a full explanation of the power and 
 resources of the American nation. 
 
 After the reading of the address the council dispersed, and on 
 tlie following day Goino nmde the subjoim^d reply, which was 
 interpreted and written down on the spot, and is not only very 
 interesting to peruse but shows this chief to have been the pos- 
 
254 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sessor of a high order of intellect. After inviting atteutiou to 
 hi.s words, and expreysing gladness for the opportunity, Gonio 
 spoke as follows : 
 
 " You see the color of our skin. The Great Spirit, when he made 
 and disposed of man, placed the red-slvins in tliis land, and those wlio 
 wore hats, on the otlier side of the big waters. When the Great Spirit 
 placed us on this ground, we l^new nothing but what was fur- 
 nished to us by nature. We made use of our stone axes, stone knives 
 and earthen vessels, and clotlied ourselves from the skins of the beasts 
 of the Ibrest. Yet, we were contented ! When the French first made 
 large canoes, they crossed the wide waters to this country, and on first 
 seeing tlie red people, they were rejoiced. They told us that we must 
 consider ourselves as the children of the French, and they would be 
 our father ; the country was a good one, and tliey would change goods 
 for sliins. 
 
 "Formerly, we all lived in one large village. In that village there was 
 only one chief, and all things went on well ; but since our intercourse 
 with the whites, there are almost as many chiefs as we have young 
 men. 
 
 " At the the time of the taking of Canada, when the British and the 
 Frencli were fighting for the same country, the Indians were solicited 
 to take part in that war — since which time there have beeii among us a 
 number of foolish young men. The whites ought to have staid on the 
 other side of the waters, and not have troubled us on this side. If we 
 are fools, the whites are the cause of it. From the commencement of 
 their wars, they used many persuasions with the Indians ; they made 
 tliem jiresents of merchandise in order to get them to join and assist in 
 tlit'ir battles — since which time there have always been fools among us, 
 and tlie whites are blameable for it. 
 
 " The British asked the Indians to assist them in their wars with the 
 Americans, telling them that if we allowed the Americans to remain 
 upon our lands, they would in time take the wholecountry, and we would 
 tl'jeu have no place to go to. Some of the Indians did join the British, but 
 all did not; some of tins nation, in particular, did not join them. 
 The British persisted in urging upon us tiiat if we did not assist them in 
 driving the Americans from our lands, our wives and children would 
 be miserable for tlie remainder of our days. In the course of that war, 
 the American general, Clark, came to Kaskaskia, and sent for the 
 chiefs on this river to meet him there. We attended, and he desired us 
 to remain still and quiet in our own villages, saying tliat the Americans 
 were able of themselves to fight the British. You Americans generally 
 speak sensibly and plainly. At the treaty of Greenville, General Wayne 
 spoke to us in the same sensible and clear manner. I have listened with 
 attention to you both. At the treaty of Greenville, General Wayne told 
 us that the tomahawk must be buried, and even thrown into the great 
 lake; and should any white man murder an Indian, he should be 
 clelivered up to the Jndians; and we on our part, should deliver up 
 the red men who murdered a white i:)erson to the Americans. [Mis- 
 take]. 
 
 "A Potawattomie Indian, by the name of Turkey Foot, killed an 
 American, for which he was demanded of us ; and although he was a 
 great warrior, we killed him ourselves in satisfaction for his murders. 
 Some of the Kickapoos killed an American. They were demanded, 
 were given u]), and were tied up with ropes around their necks for 
 the murders. This was not what the chief, who made the demand, 
 promised, as they were put to death in another manner. Our custom is 
 to tie up a dog that way when we make a sacrifice. Now, listen to me 
 well in what 1 have to say to you, 
 
 "Some time ago, one of our young men was drunk at St. Louis, and 
 was killed by an American. At another time, some person stole a horse 
 near Cahokia. The citizens of the village followeu the trail, met an 
 innocent Kickapoo, on his way to Kaskaskia, and killed him. Last 
 fall, on the other side, and not far from Fort Wayne, a Wyandot Indian 
 set fire to the prairie ; a settler came out and asked him how he came 
 to set fire. The Indian answered hat he was out hunting. The set- 
 
rLLINOIS TERRITORY. 255 
 
 tier struck the ludian and continued to beat him till they were parted, 
 when another settler shot the Indian. This summer, a Cliippewa Ind- 
 ian, at Detroit, was looking at a gun, when it went off accidentally and 
 shot an American. The Chippewa was demanded, delivered up and 
 executed. Is this the way General Wayne exhibits his charity to the 
 i-ed-skius? Wlienever an instance of this kind happens, it is usual for 
 the red-skins to regard it as an accident. You Americans think that all 
 the mischiefs that are committeol are known to the chiefs, and immedi- 
 ately call on them for the surrender of the offenders. We know noth- 
 ing of them ; our business is to hunt, in order to feed our women and 
 children. It is generally supposed that we red-skins are always in the 
 wrong. If we kill a hog, we are called fools or bad men ; the same, or 
 worse, is said of us if we kill an horned animal; yet you do not take 
 into considei'ation that, while the whites are hunting along our rivers, 
 killing our deer and bears, we do not speak ill of them. When the 
 French came to Nia'j^ara, Detroit, Mackinaw and Chicago, they built no 
 forts or garrisons, nor did the English, who came after them ; but when 
 the Americans came, all w as changed. They build forts, and garrisons 
 and blockades wherever they go. From these facts, we infer that they 
 intend to make war upon us. Whenever the United States make the 
 Indians presents, they afterwards say that we must give them such a 
 tract of land ; and after a good many presents, they ask for a larger 
 piece. This is the way we have been served. This is the way of extend- 
 ing to us charity. Formerly, when the French were here, they made 
 us large presents ; so have the English ; but the Americans, in giving 
 their presents, have asked a piece of land in return. Such has been the 
 treatment of the Americans. 
 
 " If the whites had kept on the other side of the waters, these acci- 
 dents would not have happened ; we could not have crossed the wide 
 waters to have killed them there ; but they came here and turned the 
 Indians into confusion. If an Indian goes into their village, like a dog he 
 is hunted and thi-eatened with death. The ideas of the Potawattomies, 
 Ottawas and Chippewas are, that we wish to live peaceable with all man- 
 kind, and attend to our hunting and other pursuits, that we may be 
 able to provide for the wants of our women and children. But there 
 remains a lurking dissatisfaction in the breasts and minds of some of 
 our young men. This has occasioned the late mischiefs which, at the 
 time, were unknown to the chiefs and warriors of the nation. I am sur- 
 prised at such threatenings to the chiefs and warriors (old people), who 
 are inclined entirely for peace. The desires of the chiefs and warriors 
 are to plant corn and pursue the deer. Do you think it possible for us to 
 deliver the murderers here to-day ? Think you, my friends, what would 
 be the consequence of a war between the Americans and Indians. In 
 times passed, when some of us were engaged in it, many women were 
 left in a distressful condition. Should war now take place, the distress 
 would be, in comparison, much more general. This is all I liave to say 
 on the part of myself and warriors of my village. I thank you for your 
 jDatient attention to my words."* 
 
 Captain Levering replied to tlieni, giving a resume of the his- 
 tory of the white settlers on this continent, and their contact witli 
 the red men. He denied that the forts at Chicago, Fort AVayne, 
 or the one opposite the moutli of the Missouri, were established to 
 threaten or make war on the Indians, but tliat they Avere built to 
 alford i)rotection to their friends; tliat the Americans, unlike the 
 British, liad never taught nor employed the red men to join in wars 
 and outrages ni)on the whites; that even in the' revolutionary 
 struggle they had advised the Indians to lie on their skins at 
 home, raise corn and kill deer, but not to engage on eitlieir side; 
 lie showed them their mistake regarding tlu^ treaty of Greenville, 
 that all murderers, on either side, should l)e deli\ered up tothe oppo- 
 site party; that the government at Washington would not liave 
 
 •See Edwards' Life of Edwards. 
 
250 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 permitted Wayiie to do tliis, but that all offenders against our 
 laws nmstbe tried under tlie laws by a jury of 12 men, and tliat 
 justice would be nutted out to Indians tlie same as the whites. 
 
 At the conchision, Little Chief said : "I request you now to take 
 the names of the chiefs and warriors, that you may show to your 
 father in Kaskaskia, how ready we have been to atteml his words." 
 Gomo, the day following', upon the finiil adjournment of the coun- 
 cil, said : "We have listened with patient attention, and I hope 
 that the great Master of Light was noticing it. When the Mas- 
 ter of Light made man, he endowed those who Avear hats with 
 every gift, art ami knowledge. The red-skins, as you see, live in 
 lodges and on the wilds of nature." This sentiment evinced a 
 high ai)i)reciation of the relative status of the two races. 
 
 Two horses only were delivered up. Little Chief promising to 
 return two more to Captain Heald, at Chicago, and Gomo prom- 
 ised to try and return all, as soon as thej' could be found. The 
 murderers of the Coles party in jMissouri, were revealed to be in a 
 village about 20 miles west of the Proi>het's town — Tippecanoe; 
 that by inviting them to Fort Wayne with others they might there 
 be seized in the fall. But it is said that some of them were, in 
 point of fact, with them then. So (^nded Levering's nnission. By 
 the ex]iosure incurred on the Illinois, this clear headed soldier con- 
 tracted disease and died soon after his return to Kaskaskia. 
 
 A mission, in charge of Joseph Trotier, a sagacious French 
 Creole of Cahokia, was also sent to the Kickapoos, who inhabited 
 the country along Sugar Creek in the northern part of the present 
 county of Logan. The usual "talks," or si^eeches, with many fair 
 promises from this rather shrewd but treacherous and imj)lacable 
 nation, were had, which were also written down as interpreted. 
 
 But throughout the west English emissaries kept up the dastardly 
 work of "setting the red men like dogs upon the Avhites," in the 
 energetic language of Tecumseh to Harrison. That great warrior, 
 the fit successor of Pontiac, having conceive<l the plan of bring- 
 ing the southern tribes, the Creeks, Choctaws, and Chicasaws, 
 into a league with the tribes of the north, to ujake war against the 
 United States till their lands were restored to them, started thither 
 on his errand in the spring of 1811. The ])nri)Oses of this chief- 
 tain and his brother, the one-eyed Proi)het, being well understood 
 by (tOV. Harrison, he determined, during the former's absence, to 
 strike and disperse the hostile forces collected under the latter at 
 Tippecanoe. He started from Yincennes in the fall of 1811 and 
 arrived in the vicinity of the Prophet's town on the (Jth of jS'ov., 
 with an effective force of something over 700 men. Here he was 
 met by ambassadors from the Proxdiet, and a suspension of hostili- 
 ties was arranged until an interview on the following day coidd be 
 had. The governor, desiring a good jjiece of ground to camp 
 upon, allowed the tieacherous foe to point it out; but the site was 
 not selected without examimition and apitroval by his ofticers. 
 Upon this spot, before the dawn of the following morning, the 
 stealthy foe, with a superior force, attempted to re-enact the defeat 
 of St. Clair 21 years before. Under cover of darkness he crept 
 upon the American camp, and began a murderous attack with 
 savage fury uncommon even to him, and maintained it with great 
 obstinacy; but the surprise was not complete, and he was ulti- 
 mately repulsed and put to flight, with a loss equaling that of the 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 
 
 Americans. The loss of the hitter was, in killed, 37; nioi'tally 
 "vvounded, 25; wounded, 12G. The loss in ofificers was particularly 
 hea\'y. Of the Illinoisaus who fell here we may mention Isaac 
 White, for some years the government agent of tlie Ohio salines, 
 who, having received the appoijitment of captain of a militia com- 
 pany from Gov. Edwards, in 1810, joined the expedition of Gov. 
 Harrison. His death was much regretted, and the Territorial Leg- 
 islature, in 1815, to perpetuate his nu^uiory, named the connty of 
 "Wliite in honor of him. Here, too, fell the gifted and brilliant 
 young Major Joe Daviess, whose deeds of valor have also been 
 comniemorated in Illinois by naming- a county after him. The 
 intelligence of the battle of Tii)pecanoe was peculiai-ly alarming- 
 to tlie settlements of Illinois, so contiguous to these hordes of 
 savages, and additional measures were concocted as speedily as 
 circumstances permitted, to meet the exigency of the times. 
 
 During the winter of 1811-12, the Indians on the Upi)er Missis- 
 sippi were ^'ery hostile and committed many murders. In antici- 
 pation of an early war with the United States, the British agent at 
 Prairie du Ohien, Col. Dixon, it Avas reported by Indian traders, 
 had engaged all the warriors of that region to descend the Missis- 
 si[)pi and exterminate the settlements on botli sides of the river;* 
 but upon the breaking out of actual hostilities in June of that 
 year there was more pressing need for savage recruits in Canada, 
 which doubtless saved tlie effusion of nuu'h blood in the denser 
 settlements of Illinois; still many murders were committed. The 
 Louisiana Gazette, March 21st, 1812, reports murders in the dis- 
 trict of St. Charles; 1 at Fort Madison; 2 at the lead mines in 
 Illinois, and a party of men who left the Fort in February for the 
 mines, not liaving been heard from, were supjiosed to have fallen 
 into the hands of the savages. Two hundred Winnebagoes from 
 Illinois made a plundering raid upon a "factory st(ue" of the 
 United States, situated on the west baidv of the Mississippi, the 
 l)resent site of Bellevue. Lieutenants Hamilton and Vas(pu^s, with 
 a small force of regulars, made a gallant defence and rei^ulsed the 
 savages. 
 
 A few marauding parties penetrated far down into Illinois. 
 Andrew Moore and his son, on their way home from the Jourdan 
 blockhouse, nuide camp near the middle fork of the Big Muddy, 
 not far from the crossing of the old Massac road. Here they were 
 attacked by the savages, and after a bloody encounter both 
 father and son were killed and their horses stolen. Moore's 
 Prairie in the present county of Jefferson, perpetuates their names. 
 At Tom Jourdan's fort, on the road to E(]uality, three men ven- 
 tured out after dark to gather firewood, when they were tired 
 on by Indians concealed in the brush, killing Barbara, Avound- 
 ing James Jourdan, but missing AValker. A nmranding band of 
 Winnebagos attacked Lee's settlement at Hardscrabble, about 4 
 miles from Fort Dearbon, near the present junction of tlie canal 
 with the Chicago river, and killed a Mr. White and a Canadian in 
 his employ. Two other men escaped. 
 
 At Hill's Fort, later in the same year, a band of warriors ap- 
 peared. They removed the mud from between the logs of a 
 chimney of one of the blockhouses, inserted a gun, and shot a nuiu 
 sitting inside by the fire. A soldier by the name of Lindley, iu 
 
 •Reynolds' Own Times. 
 
 17 
 
258 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 carryiug feed out to liis horses, left tlie stockade gate open, for 
 wliicli the skulking- foe made an instant rush, but the occupants 
 quickly slammed the gate shnt, leaving the soldier outside ^Yith 
 the savages. lie sheltered himself from their missiles among the 
 cattle, which directly stampeding, he managed by feats of great 
 dexterity to ride on and under an ox, thus escaping the savages 
 and saving his life. The Indians were meanwhile engaged in a 
 fight at the fort over the pickets, and were rex)ulsed with loss, as 
 indicated by the trails of blood, they, as nsual, carrying away the 
 "wounded or dead.* 
 
 In March, 1S12, Governor Edwards sent Capt. Edward Hebert 
 with another friendly message to the Indians residing on the Illinois, 
 inviting them to a council, j;ind reqnesting traders of every descri])- 
 tion to withdraw till the Indian affairs became more settled, and if 
 the latter did not instantly comply they need expect no further 
 indulgence. 
 
 On the 16th of April, 1812, His Excellency met in protracted 
 council at Cahokia, with the chiefs and warriors of the following- 
 nations : Of the Pottawatomies — Gomo, Pepper, White Hair, 
 Little Sauk, Great Speaker, Yellow Son, Snake, Maukia, l>ull, 
 leman, Neckkeenesskeesheck, Ignance, Pottawatomie Proi)liet, 
 Pamonsa, Ishkeebee, Toad, Manwess, Pipe Bird, Out Branch, The 
 South Whid, and the Black Bird; of the Kickapoos — Little Deer, 
 Blue Eyes (representative of Pamawattau), Sun Fish, Blind of an 
 Eye, Otter, Makkak, YelloAV Lips, Dog Bird, and Black Seed. Of 
 the Ottawas — JMittitasse (representative of the Blackbird), Kees- 
 kagon, and Malshwashewii. Of the Chippewas— the White 
 Dog.t 
 
 The Governor delivered in person a forcible address to tliem. 
 He spoke of the ardent desire of the general government to main- 
 tain peace and harmony with all the Indian nations; defended the 
 United States against the charge of rapacity for their latuls; 
 warned them against the arts and deceptions of the Shawanee 
 Prophet and other "bad birds," or evil counselors, whom the 
 British had sent among them; portrayed the power ami resources 
 of the American nation, which desired not war but jteace; insisted 
 that the murderers, whom they had harbored all the time, notwith- 
 standing their denial to Levering, must be surrendered ; that he 
 nnderstood well their unfriendly disposition and the efforts at com- 
 binations attempted to be formed among the tribes; warned them 
 that their depredations could not be laid to the Winnebagos, who 
 were at open hostility; that he was prepared with energetic me?s- 
 nres to protect the whites and punish tbe Indians, &c. 
 
 The leading chiefs of the different tribes represented all deferred 
 to Gomo as the one wlio was to answer the Governor's speech, 
 wliich he did on the following day : He professed that the w(^)rds 
 of the Go^'ernor had sunk deep into liis heart; that he spoke the 
 sentiments of all the chiefs accordhig to their instruction. He 
 declared the Great Spirit to be angry with the red men for selling 
 their lands, which he had given them to live upon, and denied the 
 power of a chief to sell lands; they wanted to live in peace; if 
 there was a chief among them of iniluence enough to deliver up a 
 
 *ReynoIf]s' Own Times. 
 +Kdwards' Lifeof his Father. 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 259 
 
 liuu'derer he would like to see Mm 5 if he attempted to secure the 
 nnirderers -without the conseut of all the chiefs he would be killed, 
 and that the Missouri murderers were Kickapoos; he denied being 
 himself a great chief, and said he could not control his young men 
 who were so scattered that it would be impossible to biing them 
 together; they had no laws among theui lilce the whites to punish 
 offenders: denied listening to evil birds or interfering between the 
 British and Americans. They wouhl not join the Ikitish, for in 
 the last war they had left them in the lurch nnd woidd do so again. 
 When he wanted a blanket be bou.ght it. The British had invited 
 them to aid them, but they had sent them word to fight their own 
 battles, that they wanted to live in i)eace. He comi)lained that 
 the Americans did not live up to their promises in supplying their 
 wants, and that they had been fired upon by whites in coming- 
 down to the council. Promised good behavior, which they hoi)ed 
 the Good Spirit would help them to perform, and professed great 
 humility.* 
 
 The Indians had brought their women and children along to 
 show his Excellency, as Gomo naively said, how ragged and needy 
 they were. This, together with their fair promises of good be- 
 havior and peaceable intentions, had the desired effect. They 
 came away loaded Avith substantial i)resents. An early writer 
 says: "The wild men exercised the most dii^lomacy, and nuide the 
 governor believe the Indians were for i>eace, and that the whites 
 need dread nothing from them. They promised enough to obtain 
 presents, and went oif laughing at the credulity of the whites."! 
 Some of them were in August following concerned in the horrible 
 massacre at Chicago. 
 
 The savages of tlie northwest, however, were thoroughly stirred 
 up and did not desire i)eace; in this the reports of travelers, 
 traders, and spies all concurred; the red wampum was constantly, 
 passing between the ditterent tribes in all parts of the country, 
 from the Sioux of the St. Peters to the tribes at the head of the 
 Wabash, and a general combination was fast ripening. The 
 British agents at Prairie du Chien, Fort Maiden, and other points, 
 in anticipation of a war with the United States, sought to enlist 
 tlie favor of the savages by the distribution of large supplies of 
 goods, arms and amnjunition to them. The English continued their 
 insults to our flag upon the high seas, and their government refus- 
 ing to relinquish its offensive course, all hoi)e of a peaceful issue 
 was abandoned, and congress, on the 19th of June, 1812, formally 
 declared war against Great Britain. In Illinois the threatened 
 Indian troubles had already caused a more thorough organization 
 of the militia along the frontiers, from the mouth of the Illinois 
 dovni the Mississippi to the Ohio, thence up that stream and the 
 Wabash above Yincennes. Additional foi'ts were also built, one 
 towards the mouth of the Little Wabash, and at the mouth of La 
 Motte Creek. 
 
 ♦Edwards' Life of Edwards. 
 tReynolds'' Own Times. 
 
Chapter XXIIL 
 
 THE MASSACEE AT CHICAGO— EAELY HISTOEY OF 
 
 THE PLACE. 
 
 The greatest, as well the most revolting, massacre of whites 
 that ever occurred in Illinois, was perpetrated by the Potawat- 
 tomie tiihe of Indians, on the site of the present city of Chi- 
 cago. 
 
 Prom early Indian tradition, it has been gathered that the 
 mouth of the Chicago river was a favorite resort of the Illinois 
 tribes in very remote times. Besides its fisbing facilities, it was 
 the only deep inlet from the lake on its southwesterly bend. The 
 portage between the Chicago and the headwaters of the Illinois, 
 offered but a narrow interruption to canoe travel from the great 
 lakes on the north to the Gulf of Mexico. It is said, that the 
 Tamaroas gave name to the river, derived from Checaqua, the 
 title of a long succession of governing chiefs, which, by an easy 
 transition, attached to the place. It was said also to mean thun- 
 der, the voice of Manitou, and ''skunk," an appellation but too 
 suggestive during a few years preceding the deepening of the 
 canal, by which its current was reversed with the pure waters of 
 the lake. But its most commonly accepted definition is "wild 
 onion," from that rather odorous vegetable growing abundantly 
 on its banks in early times.* 
 
 A small French trading post was established there in the period 
 of the French explorations. For the better possession of their 
 western emiiire, the French built forts at various j^oints, from 
 Canada, via Peoria, to New Orleans, including one at Chicago. 
 On the earliest known map of this region, dated Quebec, 1688, a 
 correct outline of the lake is given, and the river accurately loca- 
 ted, with "Fort Chicago" marked at its mouth. Subsequently, the 
 Ameiicans found no vestige of the early French settlers there. 
 By the treaty of Greenville, to Avhich the Potawattomies from this 
 region, with many others, were i^arties, "one piece of land 6 miles 
 square, at the mouth of the Chekajo river, emptying into the 
 south-west end of Lake Michigan, wltcrc a fort formerly stood," 
 was relinquished. The tide of emigration setting into Indiana 
 and Michigan after the treaty of Greenville, 1795, concentrated 
 the Indians in greater numbers about this point, and largely in- 
 creased tlie Indian trade, for which a number of traders were here 
 located ; .lohn Kinzie being one whose descendants are residents 
 of Chicago down to the present time. The general governnuMit, 
 in 1804, built, on the south side of the river. Fort Dearborn, 
 
 * Chicago and its great conflagration. 
 
 260 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 2C1 
 
 named after a general of the army, and garrisoned it with 50 men 
 and 3 pieces of artillery. The fort consisted of 2 block-houses, 
 with a parade ground and sall;y~port, or subterranean passage to 
 the river, the whole surrounded by a stockade. With this pre- 
 carious protection, the number of traders increased and a few set- 
 tlers gathered around the post. 
 
 For eight years, this isolated garrison and comnumity furnished 
 scarcely an incident worthy of record. Friendly intercourse 
 between the garrison and neighboring Indians grew apace. The 
 attncliment of tlie Indians for tlie traders was particularly cordial. 
 While iiearly all the chiefs visited Fort Maiden yearly, and 
 received lai'ge amounts of presents, and many Potawattomies, 
 Winiu?bagos and Ottawas were in the battle of Tippecanoe with 
 the Sliawanese, the principal chiefs of the neighborhood were yet 
 on amicable terms here with the Americans. Then our trouble 
 with (heat Uritain threatened an open rupture; but the Indians, 
 long before the declaration of hostilities, took the war-path, as we 
 have seen. We have already noticed their attack on an out|)ost 
 of this place called Hardscrabble. 
 
 On the 7th of August, arrive<l the order of Governor Hull, 
 commander-in-chief of the northwest, by the hand of a trusty 
 chief of the Potawattomies, called AVinnemeg, or Cat-fish, "to 
 evacuate the post if practicable, and in that event, to distribute 
 the property belonging to the United States, in the fort and in 
 the factory or agency, to the Indians in the ueighboiliood." The 
 dispatches furtlier announced, that the British liad taken Mack- 
 inaw, and that General Hull, with his army, was proceeding from 
 Fort Wayne to Detroit. 
 
 The garrison, at the time, consisted of 75 men, few of whom 
 were effective soldiers. The ofticers were, Ca|)tain Heahl, the 
 commander, Lieutenant Helm and Ensign Ronan (both very young 
 men), and Doctor Yoorhees, the surgeon. John Kinzie was the 
 principal trader. He and the first two named officers liad families 
 there. So also some of the soldiers and other traders. Consider- 
 able coolness existed between Ensign lionan, a brave and gallant 
 soldier, but overbearing in his disi)osition, and Captain Ileald. 
 
 Winnenieg, the bearer of the dispatches, well apprised of the 
 hostile disposition of the treacherous savages, ad^ised strongly 
 against the evacuation, which was discretionary. The fort was 
 well supplied with amnmidtion and provisions for six months, and 
 in the meantime succor might come. He sought to learn the 
 intention of the connnander, and further urged, that if it should 
 be decided to evacute, then let it be done immediately, and by 
 forced marches elude the concentration of the savages before the 
 news, of which they were yet ignorant, should circulate among 
 them. To this most excellent advice, Cai)tain Heald gave no heed; 
 he decided not only to evacuate, but deemed it obedience to orders 
 to collect the neighboi'ing Indians and make an e(]uitab]edisti'ibu- 
 tion of the property amongtlu'm. Again the sagacious Indian chief, 
 strongly seconded by Mr. Kinzie, who had much at stake, sug- 
 gested the expediency of promptly marching out, lea\ing all 
 things standing, and while the Indians should be engaged in di's-id- 
 ing the spoils, to effect an unmolested retreat. But the com- 
 mander, not apprehending the murderous intent of the sa^'ages to 
 the extent the advisers did, and imx)ressed with the dut}' of obedi- 
 
262 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ence to orders, disregared tliis also, uotwitbstauding the discretion 
 allowed him. On the following- morning, without consultation with 
 the subordinate ofticers — with whom he was estranged — he jiub- 
 lished on parade the order for evacuating the post. The ofticers 
 whose council had been thus ignored in so important an emergency, 
 remonstrated against this step, and pointed out the improbability 
 of their party reaching Fort Wayne without molestation ; how 
 the}" would be retarded in their marches by the women and chil- 
 dren, and invalid and snpei'anuiited soldiers ; how the few friendly 
 chiefs, who had from motives of private regard for the family of 
 Mr. Kinzie, oi)posed successfully an attack upon the fort the pre- 
 ceding antumn, were now, when the countiy was at war with 
 Great Britain, powerless to restrain their tribes. They advised 
 remaining and fortifying themselves till succor came ; at any rate, 
 it was better to fall into the hands of the British, as prisoners, 
 than a sacrifice to the brutal ferocity of the savages. CajUain 
 Heald, however, dreading censure, stood npon his idea of obedi- 
 ence to orders, and expressed confidence in the friendly profess- 
 ions of the Indians. With this, the officers, who regarded the 
 project as little short of madness, held themselves aloof from their 
 commander, and dissatisfaction and insubordination si)read among 
 the soldiers. The Indians, too, became daily more unruly. They 
 entered the fort in defiance of the sentinels, and made their way 
 without ceremony into the quarters of the ofticers. On one oc(;a- 
 sion, an Indian tired a rifie in the parlor of the commanding ofti- 
 cer. This was by some construed as a signal to the young braves 
 for an attack. The old chiefs were i)assing to and fro among the 
 assembled gr(mi)s witli much agitation, while the squaws were 
 rushing hither and hither, as if looking for a fearful scene. Still 
 Captain Heald clung to his conviction of having created a feeling 
 so amicable among them, as would ensure the safe passage of the 
 party to Fort Wayne. In the meantime, a runner had arrived 
 with a message from Tecumseh, who had joined the British with 
 a large force, couveyjjig the news to tlie Indians ot the capture of 
 Fort Mackinaw in July, the defeat of Major Van Home at Browns- 
 town, and the inglorious retreat of General Hull from Canada, 
 saying further, that he had no doubt but that Hull would, in a 
 short time, be comijelled to surrender ; and ni'ged them to arm 
 immediately. 
 
 The Indians from the neighboring villages having at length 
 collected, a council was held on the i2th of August. Of the ofti- 
 cers of tlie garrison, though requested, none attended beside the 
 commander; the others, in anticipation of intended mischief, 
 opened the port-holes of the blockhouses and with loaded cannons 
 commanded the council. This action, it was supposed, prevented 
 a massacre at the time. Capt. Heald promised the Indians to dis- 
 tribute among thein all the goods in the United States factory, and 
 the aramnnition and i)rov)si()ns in the fort, desiring an escort of 
 the Pottawatomies to Fort Wayne in return, and promising them 
 a further liberal reward upon arrival there. The Indians, with 
 many professions of friendship, assented to all he proposed and 
 promised all he required. 
 
 Ko sooner had the commander made these indiscreet promises 
 than he allowed hhnself to be persuaded to violate them. Mr. 
 Kinzie, well knowing the treachery of the Indian character, repre- 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITOEY. 203 
 
 seufedto him tlie danger to their party of finiiisliiiig- the savages 
 with arms and ammnuition, and liqnor to fire their brains. Tliis 
 argument, true and excellent in itself, was now certainly inoppor- 
 tune, and, if acted ui)on could only incense the treacherous foe. 
 But Capt. Heald, struck with the impolicy of his conduct and 
 falling in with the advice, now resolved to break his indiscreet 
 promise. Accordingly, on the 13th, all the goods in the factory 
 store vrere duly distributed; but in tlie night time the arms were 
 broken, the ammunition secretly thrown in a well, and the barrels 
 of whisky, of which there was a large quantity, mostly belonging 
 to traders, were rolled quietly through the sally-ijort, their heads 
 knocked in and their contents emi)tied into the river. But the 
 lurking redskins witnessed the breaking of the casks, and quickly 
 apprehending how faith had been broken with them by the Avhites, 
 were greatly exasperated at the loss of their fond "fire v. ater," 
 which they asserted was destroyed in such al)undance as to make 
 the river taste "groggy." At a second council held on the 14th, 
 they exjiressed their iiulignation at this conduct, and their mnriiiurs 
 aiid tlireats were loud and deei). Black Hawk, who lived maiiy 
 years after, always maintained that this violation of promises ou 
 the part of the whites precipitated the massacre ou the followuig 
 day. 
 
 While nearly all the Indians in alliance with the British partook 
 of the hostility of their people against the Americans, there were 
 still several chiefs and braACs who retained a personal regard for 
 the inhabitants of this place. Among these was Black Partridge, 
 a chief of some renown. He now entered the quarters of Capt. 
 Heald and spoke as follows: "Father, I come to deliver up to you 
 the nu'dal I wear. It was given me by the Americans, and I have 
 long worn it in token of our mutual friendsliip. But our young 
 men are resolved to imbrue their hands in the Wood of the 
 whites. I cannot restrain them, and I will not wear a token of 
 l^eace while I am compelled to act as an enemy." 
 
 Ou the same day, the llth, the desi)ondency of the garrison was 
 for a time dispelled by the arrival of Capt. Wells from Ft. Wayne, 
 with 1.5 friendly Miamis. Capt. Wells was the son of Gen,. Wells, 
 of Kentucky, and either a brother or uncle to Mrs. Capt. Heald. 
 AVhen a child, he was taken prisoner by the Miamis and reared 
 and adopted in the family of Little Turtle, who commanded the 
 Indians in the defeat of St. Clair, in 1790, Wells leading 300 of the 
 warriors in the very front of that battle. He subseqneiitly Joined 
 the army of Gen. Wayne, and by his knowledge of tlie country, 
 proved a powerful auxiliary. Later he rejoined his foster father. 
 He was a brave and fearless warrior. Having learned tlie order 
 of evacuation, and knowing well the hostile disposition of the 
 Pottawatomies, he made a rapid march through the wilderness to 
 save, if possible, hi.s sister and the garrison at Chicago, from their 
 impending doom. But he (;ame too late. The ammunition was 
 destroyed and the savages were rioting on the provisions. I're- 
 paratioris were therefore made to march on the morrow. The 
 reserved anununitiou, 25 rounds to the man, was now distributed. 
 The baggage wagons for the sick, the women and the cliildren, con- 
 taining also a box of cartridges, were got ready, and amid the 
 pervading gloom, a fatiguing march through the wilderness in 
 prospect, and the fears of disaster on the route, the Avhole party 
 
264 HISTOllY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 except the faithful sentinels retired for a little repose. The m'orii- 
 iijg of the fatal loth of August, 1812, arrived. The suu shoue 
 with its wonted s])lendor, and Lake Michigan "was a sheet of burn- 
 ished gold." Early in the morning Mr. Ivinzie received a message 
 from Topeneehe, a friendly chief of the St. Joseph band of Potta- 
 watomies, warning him that his people, notwithstanding their 
 promise of safe conduct, designed mischief. Mr. Kinzie with his 
 eldest son, who had agreed to accompany the garrison, was urged 
 to go with his family, for which a boat had been litted out to 
 coast around the southerly end of the lake to the St. Joseph. 
 
 At 9 a. m, the party quitted the tort amidst martial music and in 
 military array. (Ja|>t. Wells, at the head of his band of Miamis, 
 led the van. Ids face blackened after the manner of tlie Indians. 
 The troops with loaded arms came next, followed by the wagons 
 cont;;ining the women and children, the sick and the lame and the 
 baggage. A little distance in the rear followed the escort of about 
 500 l^ottawatomies. The party took the beach road southward with 
 the lake upon their left. On reaching the range of san{l hills sepa- 
 rating the bea(;h from the i)rairie, the Indians defiled to tlie right, 
 bringing these shore elevations between them and the whites down 
 on the beach. They had marched about a mile and half from the 
 fort, when Capt. Wells rode furiously back, shouting: "They are 
 about to attack us; form instantly and charge upon them." The 
 words were scarcely uttered when the savages poured a volley of 
 musketry from behind the hills upon the party. The troops were 
 hastily formed into line and tliey charged up the bank. One 
 veteran of 70 years fell as they ascended. The action became 
 general. The IVIiamis tied at the outset; their chief rode up to the 
 Pottawatomies, charged them with treachery, and branishing his 
 tomahawk, declared "he would be the fiist to head a j^arty to 
 return and punish them." He then turned his horse aud galloped 
 after his cowardly companions. The troops behaved gallantly, 
 but were overwhelmed by inimbers. The savages flaidxcd them, 
 and "in about 15 minutes got possession of the horses, provisions, 
 and baggage of every description."* Here the murderous work 
 upon the helpless women and children was commenced. 
 
 Mrs. Helm, wife of Lieutenant Helm, was in the action, aud 
 furnished Mr. Kinzie, her step-father, many thrilling incidents.t 
 Dr. Voorhees, who had been wounded at the first fire, was, while 
 in a paroxysm of fear, cut down by her side. Ensign Eonan, a 
 little ways off, though mortally wounded, was struggling with a 
 j)owerful savage, but sank under his tomahawk. A young brave 
 with uplifted tomahawk sought to cleave her skull; she sprang 
 aside and the blow grazed her shoulder; she seized him around 
 the neck and while grappling for his scali)ing kniie, was forcibly 
 borne away by another and plunged into the lake and held down in 
 the water. She soon found, however, that her captor did not design 
 to drown her, and now for the first time recognized, through his 
 disguise of paint and feathers, the frieiully chief, Black I'artridge. 
 When the firing had somewhat subsided her i)reserver bore her 
 safely to the shore. A soldier's wife, under the conviction that 
 prisoners taken by Indians were subjected to tortures worse than 
 death, though assured of immimity, fought a party of savages, 
 who attempted to take her, with such desperation that she was 
 
 *Heaid's Report. tSee J. H. Kinzie's Narative. 
 
ILLINOIS TEEIIITOKY. 2G5 
 
 litterally cut to pieces and ber luaiigled remains left on tlie field. 
 "Mrs. Ileald, too, fought life a perfect heroine and received several 
 wounds. After she was in the boat, a savage assailed her with 
 his tomahawk, when her life was saved by the interposition of a 
 friendly chief." 
 
 The troops having fought gallantly till over half of their number 
 were slain, the remainder, but 27 out of GO, surrendered. And 
 now the most heart-rendering and sickening butchery of this 
 calanutous day was committed by a young brutal savage, who 
 assailed one of the baggage wagons containing 12 children, ever^^ 
 one of whom fell beneath his murderous tomahawk. When Capt. 
 Wells, who with the othei's had become a i)risoner, beheld this 
 scene at a distance, lie exclaimed in a tone loud enougli to be heard 
 by the savages around him: "If this be your game, lean kill too !" 
 and turning liis lujrse, started in full gallop for the Pottawatomie 
 camp, located about what is now State street, near the crossing of 
 Lake, where the squaws and pa]>pooseshad been left. Tlie Indians 
 j^ursued, and he avoided the deadly aim of their ritles for a time by 
 laying tiat on his horse's neck, but the animal was directly killed and 
 he wounded. He again became a. prisoner ; ^Vinnemeg and Wabaii- 
 see, both frieiuls of the whites, interceded to save him, but 
 Peesotum, a Pottawatomie, while he was being supported along, 
 gave him his death blow bj- a stab in the back. Thus fell Wm. 
 Wayne Wells, a white man of excellent parentage and descent, 
 reared among the Indians, and of as brave: and generous a nature 
 as num ever possessed, a sacritice to his own rash imx)ulse inspiivd 
 by a deed of most savage ferocity. His remains were terribly 
 multilated ; the heart was cut in pieces and distributed among the 
 tribes, as was their wont, for a. token of bravery. Billy Caldwell, 
 a half-breed Wyandot, long well-known in Oliicago afterward, 
 arriving next day, gathered u}) the several portions of the body 
 and buried them in the sand. Wells street, in the present city of 
 Chicago, perpetuates the memory of his name. 
 
 The following is co[)ied from the oflicial report of Cai)tain 
 Heald: 
 
 "We proceeded about a mile aud a half, when it was discovered the 
 Indians were prepared to attack us from behind tlie bank. I immediately 
 marched tlie company up to the top of the bank, when the action com- 
 menced ; after firin,<^ one round, recliarged, and tlie Indians gave way in 
 front and joined tliose on our flanks. In about 15 minutes, .tliey got pos- 
 session of all our horses, provision aud baggage of every description, aud 
 finding tlie Mianiis did not assist us, I drew off the few men I had left, 
 and took possession of a small elevation in the open prairie out of shot 
 of the bank or any otlier cover. The Indians did not follow me, but 
 assembled in a body on the top of the bank, and, after some consultation 
 among themselves, made signs for me to approach them. I advanced 
 towards them alone, and was met by one of the Pottawatomie chiefs, 
 called the Blackbird, with an interpreter. After shaking hands, he re- 
 quested me to surrender, promising to spare the lives of all the prisoners. 
 On a few moments consideration I concluded it would be the most pru- 
 dent to comply with his request, altiiougli I did not put en tire confidence 
 in ills promise. After delivering up our arms, we were taken back to 
 their encami3nient near the fort and distributed among the dilierent 
 tribes. Tlie next morning they set fire to the fort, and left the place, 
 taking the prisoners with tiiem. Their number of warriors was between 
 400 and 500, mostly of the Pottawatomie nation, and their loss, from the 
 best information I could get, was about 15. Our strength was o-l regulars 
 and 12 militia, out of wqiicli 26 regulars, and all the militia, were killed 
 in the action, with two women and 12 children. Ensign George Ronau 
 
266 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 and Dr. Isaac V. Van Voorhees, of my company, with Captain Wells, 
 of Fort Wayne, are to my great sorrow, numbered among the dead. 
 Lieut. L. T. Helm, with 25 non-commissioned officers and privates, and 11 
 women and ehildieu, were prisoners, wlieu we separated. Mrs. Heald 
 and myself were taken to the mouth of the river St. Joseph, and being 
 both badly wounded, were permitted to reside with Mr. Burnet, an In- 
 dian trader. lu a few days after our arrival there, the ludians all went 
 off to take Fort Wayne, and in their absence I engaged a FreuchiUian to 
 take us to Mackinaw, by water, where I gave myself up as a prisoner 
 of war, with one of my sergeants. 
 
 In the surreiuler, Captain Heald had stipulated for the safety of, 
 the remnant of his force and the remaining' women and children. 
 The wounded prisoners, in the hurry of the moment, were unfor- 
 tunately omitted, or rather, not parti(;ular]y mentioned. These 
 helpless snfferers, on reaching- the Potawattouiie camp, were there- 
 fore regarded as proper subjects upon to wi-eak their savage 
 and cowardly brutality A distinguishing trait of civilized 
 humanity is, protection for the helpless ; with the savage, these 
 become the objects of vengeance. Mrs. Helm writes : "An old 
 squaAV, infuriated by the loss of friends or excited by the sangui- 
 nary scenes around her, seemed possessed of demoniac fury. She 
 seized a stable fork and assaulted one ]uiserable victim, who lay 
 groaning and writhing in the agony of his wounds, aggravated by 
 the scorching beams of the sun. With a delicacy of feeling 
 scarcely to have been expected under such cir(;ircumstances, AVan- 
 bee-uee-wau stretched a mat across two poles between me and this 
 dreadful scene. I was thus spared, in some degree, a view of its 
 horrors, although I could not entirely close uiy ears to the cries of 
 the sufferer. The f(jllowiug night li^'e more of the wounded pris- 
 oners were tomahawked."* 
 
 When the Indians about the fort first learned of the intended 
 evacuation, they dispatched runners to all the villages of the 
 nation, apprising them of the news and their purpose to overpower 
 the garrison. Eager to share in the act of bloodshed and plun- 
 der, many warriors hastened forward, oidy to be too late. 
 
 A band of Potawattomies, from the Wabash, weremet at the Aux 
 Plains by a party from Chicago, bearing home a wounded chief. 
 Being infornu'd that the battle had been fought and won, the 
 l^risoners slain and scalped, and the spoils divided, their disap- 
 pointment and rage knew no bounds. Tliey accelerated their 
 march, and reaching Chicago, determined to glut their taste for 
 blood on new victinis. They blackeiu^d their faces, and without 
 ceremony entered the parlor of Mr. Kinzie and sullenly squatted 
 upon the floor amidst the assembled family, who had been 
 kindly restored to their home on the north side of the river 
 by Black Patridge, Wabansee and others, and who now guarded 
 them. Black Patridge, interpreting their looks and intent cor- 
 rectly, observed to Wabansee in an undertone, that their white 
 friends were lost. But at this moment the whooj) of another band 
 of I)]diaus was heard on the opposite shore. Black Patridge hast- 
 ily advanced and met their chief in the darkness, on the river's 
 bank. "Who," said he, "are you?" "A man," ansAvered the 
 chief, "who are you f "A man, like yourself," replied Bla<;k 
 Patridge; "but tell me, who are you for!" "I am," said the 
 
 *Brown, Hist. Ills., page 316, note 5, says: "Mrs. Heald and Mrs. Helm ha\lng 
 eclipsed the most visionary taste of romance, with which modern literature abounds, 
 lived lor many j'ears thereafter, highly respected." 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITOIIY. 267 
 
 cliief, "tlie Sau-ga-uash" (tliat is, the Eiiglislimaii). "■Then make 
 all speed to the house," Tvas the replj' ; "your liieuds are iu dau- 
 ger, aud you alone cau save them." 
 
 It was Billy Caldwell, the half-breed Wyandot, to whom we 
 have referred as burying' the remains of Captain Wells. He hur- 
 ried f<n*\vard, entered the house with a resolute step, deliberately 
 removed his accoutrements, placed his ritle behind the door and 
 saluted the Potawattomies : "How now, my friends, a good day to 
 you. I was told there were enemies here ; but I am glad to tiiid 
 only friends. Why have you blacked your faces °? Are you mourn- 
 ing for friends lost in the battle? (adroitly mistaking the token 
 of their evil intent), or, are you fasting ? If so, ask our friend 
 and he Avill give you food. He is the Indian's friend, and never 
 refused them in their need." 
 
 Diverted by the coolness of his manner, they were ashamed to 
 avow their nuirderous puri)ose, and simply asked for some cotton 
 goods to wrap their dead, i)reparatory to burial. This, with other 
 presents, was given them, and they quietly d(^i)arted. Thus, by 
 his i)resence of mind, Caldwell averted the murder of the Kinzie 
 family. 
 
 The ])risoners, with their wives and children, were disi)ersed 
 among the Potawattomie tribes on the Illinois, liock river, the 
 Wabash, and some to JMilwaukee. The most of them were ran- 
 somed at Detroit thefollowing spring. A part of them remained 
 in cal)ti^ity, however, another year, but were more kindly treated 
 than they expected. Lieutenant Helm was taken to the AnSable, 
 thence to St. Louis, where he was liberated through the interven- 
 tion of Thoums Forsythe, long the government Indian agent at 
 Peoria.* 
 
 *Brown'sHist. Ills. 
 
Chapter XXIV. 
 
 ILLIXOIS IN THE WAR OF 1812.— GOVEEXOR EDWARDS' 
 MILITARY CAMPAIGX TO PEORIA LAKE. 
 
 Gen. HopWms tvitli 2000 Mounted Kentuchy Bifiemen Marches over the 
 Prairies of Illinois — His Force Mutinies andMarches hach — Gapt. 
 Craig Burns Peoria and talccs all its Inhabitants Prisoners. — iSec- 
 ond Expedition to Peoria Lake — Indian Murders — Illinois and 
 Missouri send tivo Expeditions up the Mississippi in 1814 — Their 
 Battles and Disasters. 
 
 After liis i«iiiomiuious retreat from Canada, Gen. Hull, in a most 
 unaccountable manner, on the IGtli of August, the day after the 
 Chicago massacre, at Detroit surrendered his army all the mili- 
 tjuy stores, and the whole of Michigan, without a struggle, while 
 his men, it is said, wept at the disgrace. Thus by the uuddle of 
 August the British and their red allies were in i>ossession of the 
 whole northwest, with the exception of Forts A¥ayne and Harrison. 
 This activity and success of the enemy aroused the people of this 
 region to a realization of their imminence. To the impulse of self- 
 l)reser^'ation was added the i)atriotic desire to wipe out the dis- 
 grace with which our arms were stained, stay the tide of savage 
 desolation which menaced the frontiers, and retrieve our losses. 
 
 The savages grew holder and penetrated dee})er into the settle- 
 ments. Early in Se|»tember a large force from the Prophet's town 
 made anight attack on Fort Harrison, located a few miles abo^■e 
 the present city of Terre Haute, in command of Gapt. Zachary 
 Taylor, afterwards president. They ingeniously tired one of the 
 blocklumses, killed during the engagement three men and wounded 
 several more. By the coolness of the commander and the energy of 
 the garrison, though greatly reduced by sickness, the buildings were 
 mostly saved, and the Indians at daylight repulsed. They, how- 
 ever, shot, killed, or drove away, nearly all the hogs, cattle and 
 work oxen belonging to the fort. 
 
 Gov. Harrison superseded Gen. Hull, and was also a])pointed 
 major-general by brevet in the Kentucky militia. This young- 
 State, in the course of a few weeks, by the aid of Richard ]\L John- 
 son and others, had raised a force of 7, 000 men, a portion of which 
 was dii^ected to the aid of Indiana and Illinois, Vincennes being 
 designated as the rendezvous* The British had descended the 
 Mississi])pi to Rock Island, and were distributing loads of goods 
 as presents to the Indians, through one Girty. 
 
 In the m(?antime Governor Edwards was active in making })re- 
 paratious for an exi)edition against the Kickajjoos and Potawat- 
 
 *Lanmau Bio. Sketches. 
 
 2C8 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 2G9 
 
 toniies on the Illinois river. His excellency, "before congress liad 
 adopted any measures on tlie subject of volunteer rangers, organ- 
 ized companies, sni)plied tliem with arms, built stockade forts, 
 and established a liuc of posts from tlie mouth of the Missouri to 
 the Wabash." His commission had at this time expired and bis 
 appointment had not been renewed, reiideriug him legally liable 
 for the expenses of the expedition, a respousibility which, relying 
 ui^on the justice of hisconntry, he did not hesitate to assume,* Col. 
 William Eussell, of the ITtli regiment, on the 11th of October, 
 started from the neighborhood of Vincennes with two small com- 
 panies of U. S. Rangers, commanded by Captains Perry iind 
 Modrell to join the expedition of Governor Edwards.t The place 
 of rendezvous for these forces was Camp Kussell, already described. 
 
 General Samuel Hopkins, a veteran officer of the Revolution, 
 had been invested with the command of tlie Kentucky mounted 
 volunteers, some 2,(HH) in nnniber, at Yincennes. His instructions 
 were to break up the villages and disperse the Indians residing on 
 the AVabash ami Illinois rivers. 
 
 The plan was now suggested that the expedition of Edv/iirds, 
 then in preparation, act in concert with that of Hopkins; tluit 
 the latter, consisting of mounted Kentucky riliemen, should 
 move up the AN'abash to Fort Harrison, destroy the villages in its 
 course, pass over into Illinois, nuirch across the prairies via. the 
 head waters of the Sangamon and Vermilion rivers to the Illinois, 
 effect a junction with the Illinois forces nnder Edwards and Rus- 
 sell, and sweep all the villages along the Illinois river.| The })lan 
 thus arranged was sent by the hand of Col. Russell and readily ivc- 
 ceded to by the Governor. But it was destined to meet with failure 
 and disgrace on the partof theKentuckians. In that ill-compacted 
 and nndiscii)lined crowd of horsemen there had already been dis- 
 content and murmurs against proceeding further, at Vincennes 
 and Bosseron. At Fort Harrison a number of the men and one 
 officer " broke off' and returned." About the middle of October, 
 however, the Waliash was crossed at this point, and great harmony 
 prevailing the expedition \)ore promise of success. At the request 
 of Gen. Hopkins, a council of the officers was now held, and the 
 object and destination of the exi)edition considered, which were 
 highly favored. In his letter to Gov. Shelby, of Kentncky, dated 
 October 26, 1812, Gen. Hopkins writes : 
 
 " Thinking myself secure in the confidence of my brother officers and 
 the army, we proceeded on our march eaily on the loth, and continued 
 it four days — our course lay north on the prairie — initil we came to au 
 Indian house where some corn, &c., had been cultivated. The last day 
 of the marcli to this place I liad been made acquainted with a return of 
 that spirit of [discontent] that had, as I had hojjed, subsided; and M'hen 
 I ordered a halt near sunset (for the first time that day), in a fine piece 
 of grass in the jirairie, to aid our horses, I was addressed in the most 
 rude and dictatorial manner, requiring me immediately to resume my 
 march, or his battalion would break froiii the army and return. This 
 was a Major * * * I mention him in justice to the other officers of that 
 grade ; but, from every information, I began to fear that the army waited 
 but for a pretext to return. This was afforded the next day by our guides, 
 who thought they had discovered an Indian village at the site of a 
 grove, about ten miles from where we had encamjied on the fourth night 
 of our march, and turned us six or eight miles out of our way. Au almost 
 
 ^Edwards' Life of of Edwards 
 tDiUon'sInd. 1. 
 $Annals of the West. 
 
270 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 universal disconteut seemed to prevail, and we took our course in such a 
 direction as we supposed would atone for the error in the morning. About 
 or after suuset, we came to a thin trrove affording water. Here we toolc 
 our camp ; and about tliis time arose one of the most violent gusts I ever 
 remember to have seen, not proceeding from clouds. The Indians had 
 set tire to the prairie, which drove on us so furiously that we were com- 
 pelled to fire around our camp to protect ourselves. This seems to have 
 decided the army to return. I was informed of it in so many ways, that, 
 early the next morning, Oct. 20th, I requested the attendance of the 
 general and field officers and stated to them my apprehensions — the ex- 
 pectations of our country — the disgrace attending the measure — the ap- 
 probation of our own consciences. Against this I stated the weary 
 situation of our horses and the want of provisions — which to me seemed 
 only partial — six days only having passed since every part of the army 
 was furnished with ten days' rations in bacon, beef, or breadstuff". The 
 reasons given for returning, I requested the commandants of each regi- 
 ment, with the whole of the officers belonging to it, to take fully the 
 sense of the army on this measure* * *and to report to me in writing — 
 adding that if 500 volunteers would turn out, T would ]nit myself at their 
 head, and proceed in quest of the towns ; and the balance of the army 
 might retreat, under the conduct of the officers, in safety, to Fort Har- 
 rison. In less than a hour the report was made, almost unanimously, 
 to return. I then requested that I might dictate the course to be pur- 
 sued that day only, which, I pledged, should not i)ut them more than six 
 miles out of their way— my object being to cover the reconuoiteriug 
 parties I wished to send out for the discovery of the Indian towns. About 
 this time — the troops being paraded — I put myself in front, took my 
 course, and directed them to follow me. The columns moving otf quite 
 a contrary way, I sent Captain [Zachary] Taylor and Major Lee to api:)ly 
 to the otficers to turn them. They were told that it was not in tlieir 
 power — the army had taken their'own course, and would imrsue it. Dis- 
 covering great coiifusion and disorder in their march, I threw myself in 
 the rear, fearing an attack on those who were there from necessity, and 
 continued in that position the whole day. The exhausted state of the 
 horses, nor the hunger of the men, retarded that day's march. * * * The 
 generals — Hay, Ramsey and Allen — lent all their aid and authority in 
 restoring our march to order ; and so far succeeded as to bring on the 
 whole with much less loss than I had feared." They were not followed 
 or menaced by an enemy. They had "marched at least 80 or 90 miles 
 into the heart of the enemy's coi;ntry." A Major Dubois commanded 
 the corps of spies and guides. Messrs. Barron, Lasselie and Laplaute 
 were the interpreters. Gen. Hopkins was certain they "were not 20 
 miles from the Indian village when [they] were/orcaZ to retire." The 
 exact point at which they commenced their retrograde march is not 
 known. 
 
 Governor Edwards had collected and was organizing all the 
 disiK)sable forces of Illinois, ainouiitiugto about 350 men, at Camp 
 Eussell, by the time C!ai)taiu Kussell arrived from Viucennes with 
 a x>i^rt of two companies, consisting of 50 privates. The volun- 
 teers were divided into two small regiments, commanded by 
 Colonels Elias Eector and Benjamin Stei)bensou, respectively. 
 Col. Eussell commanded the U. S. Eangers. Col. Besbaof the U. 
 S. army, ]\[ajor John Moredock and others, Avere the field oflicers. 
 The companies were commanded respectively by Captains Sanntel 
 and AVilliam B. Whitesides, James B. Moore, Jacob Short, Willis 
 Hargrave from the Ohio Salina, McHenry afterwards of White 
 County, Janney, and Lieut, lioakson with a small independent 
 company. Captain Samuel Judy had also organized an inde- 
 pendent corps of spies, consisting of 21 men. The staff of 
 Go\'ernor Edwards, who was in chief command, were Secretary 
 Nathaniel Pope, Nelson Eector, and Lieut. EobertK. McLaughlin, 
 of the U. S. Army. Col. Eut- -ell, an unpretending but very 
 
ILLINOIS TEERITORY. 271 
 
 efficient officer, was next in command to his Excellency, but lie 
 ueitlier bad nor wanted aids. Baggage wagons for the army were 
 not i^rovided in this short campaign. The men were ordered to 
 pack each on his horse 20 days' rations. The horses were to 
 sustain themselves on prairie grass. Some of the officers employed 
 extra jiack-horses. 
 
 Captain Craig, of Shawneetown, was detached ^ith a sufficient 
 force to man two boats, one laden with provisions and the neces- 
 sary tools to build a fort, and the other armed Avitli blunderbusses 
 and a swivel, both so fortified that the enemy's bullets could not 
 penetrate their si<les. He was dispatched in advance up the Illinois 
 river, with orders to wait at Peoria until further word from the 
 army. He was also to make offensive war ui)on the French 
 inhabitants of Peoria, who were suspected of inciting the savages 
 to their murderous raids, and he possessed besides large discre- 
 tionary powers. On the 18th of October, the defenses of the 
 frontiers having been duly provided for, tliis crude army of about 
 400 mounted men, took up its line of march from Camp Russell. 
 Tlje privates, it seems, looked upon the expedition as affordimg 
 them rare sport, not caring whether they were "marched into 
 danger or frolic." The route pursued was upon the west side of 
 Cahokia creek, thence to the Magoupin, which was crossed near 
 the present site of Carlinville; thence northeasterly, crossing the 
 Sangamon below the junction of the north and south forks, east 
 of the present capital of the State; passing thence east of Elkhart 
 grove, crossing Salt creek not far from the present city of Lincoln, 
 and thence in a northward direction striking an old deserted 
 Kickapoo village on Sugar creek. These tenantless bark wigwams, 
 which were painted up here and there with rude savage devices, 
 mostly representing the red-skins scalping whites, provoked the war- 
 like indignation of the army. The town was assaulted, set on tire and 
 reduced to ashes ! After this, fearing that their niylitly camp-fires 
 would reveal their approach to the Indians, tlie marches were mostly 
 continued after dark till midnight. The course was now directed y 
 towards the upper end of Lake Peoria, where was located tlie 
 Black Portridge village of the Potawattomies, on the eastern bluff 
 of the river. A small i)arty in charge of Lieut. Pej'ton was dis- 
 patched to Peoria on a direct west course, which, however, made 
 110 discoveri(vs, and Capt. Craig liad not yet arrived thither. The 
 army moved ra|)idly but cautiously forward, and late in the night 
 preceding the attack encamped within a few miles of the 
 village. It Avas now desirable to reconnoitre the position of the 
 enemy, or rather the Indian town. Four men, namelv Thomas 
 Carlin (subsequently governor), and three of the Whitesides — 
 Eobert, Stephen and Davis — volunteered for this perilous service, 
 and were entrusted by the governor with its delicate execution. 
 They proceeded to the village, exiilored it and the approacluis to 
 it, thoroughly, without starting an Indian or provoking the bark 
 of a dog. The position of the town was ascertained to be about 
 5 miles distant, situated on a bluff separated in great j)art from 
 the high lands by a swampy glade, through which meandered a 
 miry branch or creek, whose low banks were covered by a rank 
 growth of tall grass and clumps of brush, so high and dense as to 
 reatbly conceal an Indian on horseback until within a few feet of 
 
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS 
 
 him. Tlie ground liad become additionally yielding by recent 
 rains, rendering it almost impassable to mounted n)en. 
 
 In the lireless and cheerless camp all was silent as the grave. 
 A deep gloom, with many misgivings, had settled ui^on the men. 
 The fatiguing marches had ceased to be frolicsome. The troops 
 felt jaded and snlky, and they were within the enemy's country. 
 They reposed upon their arms, with their horses tethered near at 
 hand, ready saddled to be instantly mounted for action. During 
 the night a gnn in the hands of a trooper was carelessly discharged, 
 Avhich caused great consternation in the camp. The stealthy foe, 
 with gleaming tomahawk raised over his victim, was momentarily 
 expected. All the horrors of the night attack at Tippecanoe, then 
 fresh in the minds of every one, presented themselves to the active 
 imaginations of the men. Every white coated soldier at that 
 battle, it Avas said, had been singled out in the dusky morning and 
 killed by the savages. In a moment now not a white coat 
 remahied in sight. But directly the assuring voice of his Excel- 
 lency cried out that the firing was an accident, and all became 
 quiet again. 
 
 Early on the following morning, with a dense fog prevailing, the 
 army took up its line of march for the Indian town, Captain 
 Judy with his corps of spies in advance. On the route in the tall grass 
 they came up with an Indian and his squaw, both mounted. The 
 Indian wanted to surrender, but Capt. Judy observed that he "did 
 not leave home to take prisoners," and instantly shot one of them. 
 "With the blood streaming from his nu)uth and nose, and in his 
 agony "singing the death song," prompted by the ijistinctive 
 emotion of self-defense which even a trodden worm will exercise, 
 the dying ludiau raised his gun, shot and mortally wounded in 
 the groin a Mr. Wright, and in a few minutes expired. Wiight 
 was from the Wood river settlement, and died after he was 
 brought home. The rest of those who had incautiously approiU'hed 
 the wounded Indian, when they saw him seize his gun, quickly 
 dismounted on the far sides of their horses, making of them, as 
 it were, a breast-work. Many guns were immediately discharged 
 at the other Indian, not then known to be a squaw, all of which, 
 in the trepidation of the occasion, missed her. Badly scared, and 
 her husband killed by her side, the agonizing wails of the squaw 
 were heart-rending. She was taken prisoner, and subsequently 
 restored to her nation. 
 
 Owing to the fog, the army was misled into the si)ongy bottom, 
 some three-fourths of a mile below the town, with the miry creek 
 to cross, which deranged the plan of attack. The Aillage thus 
 escaped a sm-prise ; and while a halt was made, preparatory to 
 crossing, the Indians were observed running from the town, 
 bounding thi'ough the tall grass on their horses, almost hid from 
 view. An attack was every moment expected while crossing the 
 treacherous stream, and the advanced corps, uiuler Judy, sat 
 lightly in their saddles, expecting to draw the fire of the hidden 
 foe. To their great satisfaction, no attack was made or meant; 
 the Indians were fleeing from their village and impending death, 
 liell-mell, women and children, some on horse-back and some ou 
 foot, into the swamp among the tall grass, and toward a point of 
 timber, in which the governor, disappointed in his charge upon 
 the town, judged they intended to make a stand for battle. " I 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 
 
 imiuediately changed my course," he writes, "ordered and led on a 
 general charge upon them," but "owing" to tlie nnsoundness of the 
 ground," tlie pursuers, liorses, riders, arms and baggage, fr(nn 
 liis E.xeelh'ncy so valiantly leading the charge to the shouting 
 subaltern and private, all shared in the common catastrophe alike, 
 and were unhorse<l and overwhelmed in theinorass. It wascalle<l 
 a democratic overthrow, in which all were literally "swamped." 
 
 Upon this yielding grouml, into which a horse would sink and 
 plunge without avail, a ]nounted force could not be moved. A 
 pursuit on foot was ordered, which was both diiticult and extremely 
 dangerous on account of the tall grass in which the Indians were 
 lurking. Several parties on foot trailed in pursuit of the Indians, 
 liowever, two or three miles across the saturated bottom to the 
 river, killing some of the enemy while attemi)ting to cross to the 
 farther .shore. To such a pitch of exciteinent were some of the 
 men wrought, that Charles Kitchen, John Howard and Pierre St. 
 Jean, finding soiiu' Indian canoes, in thefury of the chase, crossed 
 the river alone in full view of the retreating foe, but without moles- 
 taion. 
 
 A Potawattomie town, called by the govtn'uor, ('hcquemd)oc, 
 after a cliief, was here burned. The Indians Hed toward theinte- 
 rioi- wilderness. Another party nnide ])ursuit of the fugitives in a 
 difi'crcnt direction ; but the Indians making a stand in considerable 
 force, these were compelled to retreat. Peinforcements were sent, 
 when the savages entirely dispersed. Some of the trooi)s were 
 wounded in this action it is reported, but none killed. In the 
 meantime, the village was pillaged and buined by the main bodj'* 
 of the troops. The Indians, in their precipitate flight, had left 
 behind all of their winter's store of i)rovisions, whic-h was de- 
 stroyed or taken away. Hiding about the burning embers of the 
 ruins, were found sonu^ Indian children, left by the frightened 
 fugitives ; also, some disabled adults, one of whom was in a starv- 
 ing condition, ami ])artook of the bread given him with a vora- 
 cious appetite. He is said to have been killed by a cowardly 
 trooper straggling behind, after the main army had resumed its 
 retrograde march, who wanted to be abh^ to assert or boast that 
 he had killed an Indian. Governor Edwards reports that four 
 prisoners were taken away, and some eighty head of horses ; of 
 the Indian losses, gathered from their own account, between 2-4 
 and 30 were killed; our loss being one wounded. The Indian 
 losses, based entirely upon their own reports, made by the few 
 prisoners taken, to please the vanity of the whites, Avere, doubt- 
 less, apochryphal. To shoAV the reckless daring of the Indian 
 character, it is mentioned that a warrior walked cabnly down the 
 bluff some 200 yards distant, deliberately raised his gun and tired 
 upon the troops in the town, then turned and strode slowly away 
 amid a shower of bullets. 
 
 jS^othing having been heard from General Hopkins and his 2000 
 mounted Kentucky ritlemen, and apj)rehensive that a large force 
 of warriors would be speedily collected, it was deemed prudent 
 not to protract their stay, and accordingly, the retrograde march 
 of the army was commenced that very day. A heavy and con- 
 tinuous rain prevailed at the tinu^, but the dread of i)ursuit caused 
 them not to intermit their travels till darkness overtook them, 
 when, greatly exhausted and wet, without fire to dry their clothes, 
 18 
 
274 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 or food to nourish their bodies, they sauk into sleep on the wet 
 yrouiid, tlieir clothing covered with the mud of the morass. The 
 dread warrior did not appear. " Our army returned home 
 with all convenient si)eed," writes Governor Eeynohls, who in the 
 canvpaign earned the soubriquet of " Old Ranger^" and to whose 
 account we are largel}' indebted for this. 
 
 On the juorrow, a detachment in cliarge of Lieutenant Peyton, 
 was again sent over to Peoria with a message to Captain (Jraig 
 in charge ot the provision boats, to return as speedily as possible. 
 This party on tlieir way burnt a oNIiami village witliin a half-mile 
 of Peoria. 
 
 The force of Captain Craig, in charge of the provision boats 
 for the armies of Hopkins and Edwards, and under instruction 
 ti-om his Excellency to proceed to Peoria, '-and take prisoners those 
 persons who were there for the purpose of assisting the savages to 
 murder the frontier settlers," was not idle. His armed boat, by 
 force of a gale liaving brolcen its cable and drifted ashore, it was 
 in the night time lired upon by ten Indians, who immediately lied. 
 Disc(n"ering at daylight their traclvs leading up into the town. 
 Captain Craig inquired of the French their whereabouts. These 
 denying all knowledge of them, said "they had heard or seen noth- 
 ing," but he took the whole of them prisoners, burned and de- 
 stroyed Peoria, and bore the captured inhabitants away on 
 his boats to a point below the present Alton, where he landed 
 and left them in the woods — men women and children — in the in- 
 clement month of Novembei', Avithout shelter, and without food 
 other than the slender stores they had themselves hurriedly gath- 
 ered up before their departure. They found their way to JSt. Louis 
 it is said, in almost a starving condition. They numbered perhaps 
 75, the naTiies of the heads of families given exceeding a dozen.* 
 Thomas Forsythe, the government Indian agent stationed at 
 Peoria, was included among the number. This was owing to his 
 true relation to the goverjunent not being disclosed to the Indians 
 or others, tlnit he might have more influence with them in releas- 
 ing or ransoming the prisoners cai»tured in the recent Chicago 
 massacre. From his long residence among the Indians, he was 
 very popular with them. The burning of Peoria and taking pris- 
 oners its inhabitants, upon the mere suspicion that tln'y sympa- 
 thized with tlie Indians, was generally regarded as a needless, if 
 not wanton, act of military power.t 
 
 After an absence of 13 days the gallant army of Governor 
 Edwards returned to Camp Russell without loss. It was received 
 Avith the honors of war, amidst the booming of the old but royal 
 cannon which had done duty for many years at Fort Chartres, 
 and the rattle of small arms. The troops were mostly dis- 
 charged ; the governor, in a letter to the secretary of war, be- 
 speaks for them a speedy payment as '' the reward due to their 
 
 *Sce life of Governor Edwards, by his son. 
 
 lAltor the building' of Fort Crevecoeur, in 16S0, Peoria lalve was ever familiar to wes- 
 tern travel and history ; but there is no autheniic account of a permanent European 
 S(^ttlement there until 1778, when Lavillo de Meillot, named after its founder, was 
 started. On account of the quality of the water and its greater salubrity, the location 
 was changed further down the lake to the present site of Peoria, and by 179G, the old 
 had l)een entirely abandoned for the new village. After its destruction, in 1812, it was 
 not settled agaii\ imtil 1819. and then by American pioneers, ttiough in 181;), Fort Clark 
 was built there, wliicli gave a name to the place for several years. In 1818, the fort 
 was destroyed by lire. In 1825, the county of Peoria was established and the county 
 seat located. 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 275 
 
 services." In liis address, to tlie St. Clair county militia, the j^ov- 
 ernor said: "Your bravei'j lias enabled nie to repel hostile invas- 
 ion and to wage war upon the enemy in their ow n country. * * 
 Your intrepidity and patriotism have been equally honorable to 
 yourselves, and useful to your country." Xot to be outdone in 
 such flattering testimonials, the militia, through their officers, 
 replied in as felicitous a vein, that his Excellency had "gr<'at]y 
 increased his claims u])on the gratitude of theconntry for his wise 
 measures," and tlmtthey had "witnessed his coolness, deliberation 
 and promptitude in the hour of j)cril." It seems, howe\'er, that 
 his Excellency was not without rivals for the laurels of this 
 campaign. With much concern, he writes, under date of Decem- 
 ber 25tli, 1812: "1 discover that some i)itiful attempts are nudcing 
 to deprive nn^ of the credit I am entitled to, by gi\ing it to (Joloncd 
 Eussell, who ha])})ened to join me (al)out three days before I com- 
 menced my march) with oO I'angers. The injusticeof this is known 
 and attested by the whole of my little army," etc.* 
 
 1813. — Early in this year, the country was i)ut in such state of 
 defense against the hostile Indians as its s])arse ])Opu!ation admit- 
 ted of. Block house stations and stockade forts were repaired and 
 strengthened along the entire frontier, and the reinote settlers 
 and feeble garrisons were remoNcd to the denser settlements. 
 New ranging- companies were formed and so stationed as to easily 
 range through the settlements. 1^'rom the present Alton to Kas- 
 kaskia, twenty-two family forts were scattered along. In sjiite of 
 these precautions, the extent of the frontier was so great that no 
 diligence in ranging afforded entire immunity from savage attacks. 
 Numerous depredations and murders were committed by maraud- 
 ing bands of the red foe. Of these, only a few will be men- 
 tioned. 
 
 The savages fell upon the fandly of Mr. Lively, four miles south- 
 east of Covington, in the ])resent Washington c-ounty, and four 
 were slain. The bodies of two women were shockingly mangled ; 
 a little boy of seven years was borne away from the house, his 
 head severed from his body, his enti'ails torn out, and both 
 carried away, it was thought, for puiposes of cannibalism. Mr. 
 Lively's body Avas iude(;ently mutilated. A son and a stranger 
 stopj)ing there, were out in quest of their horses, and from a dis- 
 tance saw the house attacked. These in their retreat to the 
 settlements, bivouaced in a grove 6 ndles southeast of Fayette- 
 ville on the Kaskaskia river, which perpetuates the name of the 
 murdered family. Th(^ Indians, supposed to be Kicka])oos, were 
 pursued by Captain Boon's company, but having 4 days the start, 
 nui(h' good their escape. That a pursuing force should be 1 days 
 behind, shows how incautiously icmote trom the denser settle- 
 ments some families must have local(Ml. On the l)anks of Kas- 
 kaskia, near the present Carlyle, a Mr. Young and a minister by 
 the name of McLean, had a (h^sparatc^ struggle with a party of 
 savages. The former having been killed, as also both horses, a 
 single but powerful savage i)nrsued McLean, who was ujiarmed 
 and on foot. IMcLean would come to a stand at times and in a 
 menacing manner defy the savage to ap])roach with his tonudiawk. 
 The Indian seeking the advantage, would hestitate. At such 
 times, McLean would divest himself of a ])ortion of his surplus 
 
 ♦Edwards' Life of Edwards. 
 
276 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 clotliincj, and finally, tlie attention of the Indian having been 
 arrested byliis cast off garments, McLean plunged into the river, 
 swam to the further shore, and eft'ected his escape.* Some murders 
 "were also committed on Cacheri^'er in the present Alexander county. 
 On the Wabash, 30 miles above Vincenues, near Fort Lamotte, the 
 ■wife of a Mr. Houston and four children were killed. In a suiall 
 l»rairie 2 or 3 miles from the present Albion, in Edwards county, a 
 farmer by the name of Boltenhouse was killed, the prairie perpet- 
 uating' his name. 
 
 Considering the frequent murders and the fact that the general 
 government had made no i)rovisi()n to sustain the militia and 
 volunteers, which caused those of Illinois to be discharged from 
 the service on the 8th of June, by the governor, it may be said 
 that the year 1813 presented but a gloomy prospect for the exposed 
 settlements in the west. 
 
 /Second ExpedlHon to Peoria. — Large numbeis of hostile Indians 
 "svere known to have collected among the Potawattomies aiul 
 Kickapoos on Lake Peoria, whence marauding parties, which 
 harrassed the frontiers of both Illinois and Missouri, were sent 
 out. It became again an object therefore to penetrate their country 
 with a military force, disperse them from their convenient location, 
 and drive them far into the iuterior. In the latter part of the 
 summer a joint expedition froui Illinois and Missouri, was projected 
 for this purpose. An army of souie 900 men was collected and 
 Gen. Howard, who had resigned the oftice of Governor of Missouri 
 to accept a Brigader General's comnussion in the United States 
 Army, was phu-ed in command. The Illinois troops were ordered 
 to rendezvous at Camp Russell ; one comi)any was ordered to the 
 y^ Mississipia at a point called the Piasa, opi)osite the Portage des 
 Sioux, where it remained several weeks and became quite sickly. 
 The Illinois troops were formed into the second regiment, and 
 Benjamin Stei)henson, of Randolph county, was appointed colonel; 
 "VY. B. AVhitesides and John Moredock were majors; and Joseph 
 Phillips, Sanuiel Judy, ISIathauiel Journey, and Samuel White- 
 sides, captains. There was some delay on account of the Missou- 
 riaus, Avho were being collected at St. Louis. 
 
 Finally the order for a forward movement arrived, and the 
 Illinoisans marched up the Mississippi by coiupanies to the Illinois, 
 which was crossed 2 or 3 miles above its mouth. The movement 
 was slow ; in Calhoun County, where the bee-trees were very 
 numerous, a few rangers, who rambled from the main body, got 
 into a skirmish with some Indians, but no loss was sustained 
 except that a gun-stock was shivered by an Indian bullet. The 
 Missourians marched 100 luiles north, on the west side of the 
 Mississippi to Fort Mason, where they swam the river nu)unted 
 naked on their horses, while their garments were crossed on a 
 platforui, bovue up by 2 canoes, and joined the Illinoisans. They 
 Avcre commanded by Col. McXair, afterward governor of Missoiiri. 
 Tlie whole force was re-organized into a brigade, of which General 
 Howard was in chief command. The nuirch was continued uptlie 
 Mis,sissii>pi. On the present site of Quincy they passed a recentl}' 
 deserted camp and village, supposed to have contained 1,000 Sao 
 warriors. Ata. point called the " Two rivers," they struck out east- 
 ward and across the high prairies to the Illinois, which was reached 
 
 ♦Missouri Gazette, Marcli 1813. 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 
 
 near tlie nioutli of Spoon river. Here their provision boats arrived 
 and took on board the siek. The niarcli Avas continued up the 
 Ilhnois to Peoria, where there was a. small stockade in charj^e of 
 Captain Nicliolas of the U. S. Army. Two days before, the 
 Indians had nuide an attack on the fort, but were repulsed. On 
 the line of march from the jVfississippi, numerous fresh tiails indi- 
 cated that the Indians, gaininy knowledi;e of the invadini;' ibrce, 
 were fleeing' northward. 
 
 IJeing iu the enemy's country, knowing his stealthy habits and 
 the troops at no time observing a- high degree of disci[)]ine, many 
 unnecx'ssary night alarms occurred; they were i)arade<l, fre(piently 
 ordered to arnis, and under the general excitement incident to a 
 constant diead of momentary attack, guns were incautiously lired, 
 and one tine young Kentucky trooper, was shot <lead by a fear 
 smitten sentiueL All this tiuu', the dread savages were far away. 
 
 The army was niaiched u[) tlie lake, to Gomo's village, the v^ 
 present site of (Miilicotlic, and finding that the enemy had asc<'n(led 
 the Illinois, two deserted vilhiges were demolished under tlie shock 
 of its onset, and burned, when it took up its retrograde march. 
 At the outlet of the lake, the [)resent site of ]*eoria, the troops 
 remained in cauip several weeks, building Fort Clark, named iu 
 memory of Gen. George Kogers Clark. jNIaJor Christy, iu tlie 
 meantime, was dispatched \\ith ai force in charge of two fortified 
 keel-boats up the river to the foot of tlie rapids, to chastise and 
 rout such of the enem3' as might have hxlged in that region. 
 Major Boone was sent with a force to scour the 8poon river 
 country, towaids IJock river. Both expeditions returned without 
 other disc<)\'eries than signs of alarm on the [lart of the enemy, 
 and his r<'treat into tlie interio]-. The army retuined by a dire('t; 
 route to Ca!ii]> Bussell, where the volunteers and militia were dis- 
 banded, OctolM'il^LM, 1S1;5. 
 
 The campaign, though no battle was fought or enemy seen, was 
 still fraught witli great beiu'fit in adbrding the frontiers immunity 
 from tlie murderous incursions of the savages for the entire siu;- 
 ceeding winter. To the foe was unfolded the ])ower and resources 
 lie liad to contend witJi, and shaking his head he muttered, "pale 
 faces like the leases in the forest — like the grass on the ])rairies — 
 they grow everywhere !" 
 
 1814. — The year 1811, was, however, also prolitic with hoi-rible 
 deeds of savage butchery. Those fiends, with a natural aptitude 
 for such work, received additional incentives from their British 
 allies. Our naval victories on Lake Erie, the recovery of Detroit, 
 and the (h'feat of the British at the battle of tiie Tliam(\s, where 
 Tecnmseh fell, which was fought Ixdbie the close of I8I0, had the 
 ett'ect to cause the savages to i-etreat from Canada, and <'oncentrate 
 in great iiund>eis on the banks of the upper Mississippi; and 
 maiaiiding bands again Aisited the settlements of Illinois and 
 ]Miss{)uri, committing many de)»redations and murders. We do 
 not ]>retend to cite all. 
 
 In .Inly, a band of Indians raiding in the Wood river settle- 
 ment. (! miles east of th<' i»resent Alton, massacred a ]\Irs. licagan 
 and her (> children. The husband a-ud father, absent at the time, 
 was the first to discover the dreadful slaughter. On arri\'ing- 
 home after night-fall, and opening the door of his cabin, he 
 
 •Annals ot the West— Appendix. 
 
278 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 stepped into the gore of liis loved family, and beheld their stark 
 and inaugled reiuauis. Captain Samuel Whitesides with his 
 company of rangers pursued the savnges to the San gani on, where, 
 in a thicket, all escaped except the leader of the band, who was 
 shot out of a tree-top. In his belt he had dangling the scalp of 
 Mrs. Keagau. 
 
 In the westerji part of Clinton county, near the crossing of the 
 present O. & ■Nl. 11. II. over a stream, Jesse Bailes and wife were 
 looking for their hogs on a Sunday evening in the creek bottom, 
 and the dogs bayingat a thicket, it was sup[)osed they were found; 
 but on approaching the thicket, the Indians, concealed within, 
 tired npou both, tiie lady only being liit. She was taken to her 
 father's house, Mr. Bradley, an<l died in a short time. 
 
 In August, while a^ company of Captain Short's rangers were 
 encamped at the Lively cabins, a trail was discovered which led 
 directly to the starting of 7 Indians with 14 stolen horses. AYheu 
 overtaken a skirmish ensued, in which the rangers were rather 
 worsted ; one was wounded, a horse killed, and another, Moses 
 Short, received a bullet which lodged in a twist of tobacco in his 
 X)Ocket. William Stout, with great sjjeed, went to camp for rein- 
 forcements. Captain Short with 30 men now followed the trail all 
 night, and next nunning overtook the marauders (m a fork of the 
 Little Wabash. A lagging Indian here shot a turkey, ami the 
 report of his gi u ai)prised the purstiers of their proximity. On 
 discovering the whites, the rear Indian ran in great haste forward, 
 and all i)re])ared for battle, in ignorauce probably of the number 
 of the pursuing force, and assured doubtless by their previous 
 success, for they might ha\'e easily nuide their escape. They were 
 directly surrouiuled, aiul when they realized their situation, sang 
 the death song, shouted defiance, aiul fought bravely to the last. 
 All were killed. The i)ursuers lost one man, William O'lSTeal, 
 who, while taking deliberate aim, met an adversary quicker than 
 himself, and was shot. 
 
 [Note. — The most desparate sinfrle-handed combat with Indians, ever fouohton the 
 soil of Illinois, was that of Toin Hijij-ins, Auyust 21. 1814. Higgrins was 25 years old, of 
 a muscular and compact build, not tall, but strong and active. Jn clanger he possessed 
 a quiclt and discerning .iudg-ment, and was without fear. He was a member of .Tourney s 
 rangers, consisting of 11 men, stationed at Hills Fort, 8 miles southwest of the present 
 Greenville. Discovering Indian .'•igns near the fort, the company early the following- 
 morning started on the trail. They had not gone far before they were in an ambus- 
 cade of a larger party. At the first tire, their commander Journey and 3 men fell. Six 
 retreatea to the fort ill flight, but Higgins stopped '• to have another pull at the red 
 skins," and t'iking deliberate aim at a straggling savage, shot him down. Higgin's horse 
 had been wounded at the first Are, as he supposed, mortally, but coming to, he was 
 about to efiect his escape, when the familiar voice of Burgess hailed him from the long 
 grass, " Tom don't leave me."' Higgins told him to come along, but Uurgess replied that 
 his leg was smashed. Higgins attempted to raise him on his horse, bvit the animal took 
 fright and ran away Higgins then directed Burgess to limp off as best he could, and 
 tay crawling through the grass he reached the fort, while the former loaded his gun 
 and remained behind to protect him against the pursuing enemy. When Burgess was 
 well out of the way, to throw any wandering enemy off the trail, Higgins took another 
 route which led by a small thicket. Here he was unexpectedly confronted by 8 savages 
 approaching. He ran to a little ravine near at hand for shelter, but in the effort dis- 
 covered for the first time that he was badly wounded in the leg. He was closely pressed 
 by the largest, a powerful Indian, who lodged a ball in his thigh. He fell, but instantly 
 rose again, only to draw the fire of the other two and again fell wounded. The 
 Indians now advanced upon him with their tomahawks and scalping knives, but as he 
 presented his gun first at one, then at another, from his place in the ravine, each 
 wavered in his purpose. Neither party had time to load, and the large Indian, suppos- 
 ing finally that Higgins' gun was empty, rushed forward with uplifted tomahawk and a 
 yell, but as he came near enough, was shot down. At this, the others raised the war- 
 whoop and rushed upon the wounded Higgins, and now a hand to hand conflict ensued. 
 They darted at him with their knilos tinii- and a'-;ain,iiiflicting many ghastly flesh wounds 
 which bled profusely, One of the assailents threw his tomahawk at him with such 
 precision as to sever his ear and laj bare his skull, knocking him down. They now 
 rushed in on him, but he kicked them off, and grasping one of their spears thrust at 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 279 
 
 The military expeditions of 1814, in whicli Illinois participated, 
 were by water on the Mississippi. The first projecteil in the west 
 was tlnit of (lovernor Clark (in the absence of Genenvl Howard), 
 which left St. Louis about the 1st of May. It comprised a force 
 of some 200 men in live armed barues, its desiiuatiou being 
 Prairie du Ohieu. The notorious Dickson, llritish agent and In- 
 dian trader, a man of pleasing nninner and captivating address, 
 had but a few days l)ef()re recruited for the British ai'uiy 300 
 Sioux, Winnebagoes and Folsavoisns, whom he was conducting to 
 Canada. A small garrison of "Mackinac fencil)lcs", in couiiuand 
 of a iiritish officer, was left in charge of the i)lace, but being givatly 
 outnumbered by Clark's forces, they joined the tleeing inhabitants. 
 Clark's unopposed troopS' were quartered in the house of the 
 Mackinaw Fur Company, and a fort, callcdShelby, was built. In 
 June Grov. Clark returm'd to St. Louis, where the people temlered 
 him a })nblic ovation in honor of his conquest. Thus easily did he 
 win military glory. But in July a large force of British and Indians 
 under Col. Mackey, came by water from Mackinaw, \'ia Green 
 Bay and the Wisconsin, and after a short seige, (rov. Clark's entire 
 garrison capitulated and was ]>aroled, leaving the British with the 
 new fort in luuch better condition than two nK)nths before. Such 
 are the fortunes of war. 
 
 In the meantime, Gen. Howard, having returned to his ]K)st, 
 deemed it advisable to strengthen so remote a ])ost as i'rairie du 
 Chien, and to that end sent reinforcements to the number of 108 
 men, in charge of Lieut. Canii)bell of the regular army, in three 
 keel boats up the river. Of this force 00 men were Illinois Rang- 
 ers, under Captaius Stephen liector, and Biggs, who occupied two 
 boats. The remainder were Avith Cami>bell in the other boat. 
 Bock Island, Avhere they laid up for a night, was i)assed without 
 nudestation, but at the foot of the rapids great numbers of the 
 Sacs and Fox IndiauvS visited the boats with professions of friend- 
 ship. Some of the French boatmen were known to the Indians, 
 and very much lik(^l by them. They would squeeze their hands 
 with a pull down the river, indicating that it would be well for 
 them to leave. It was rightly J udg<'d by them that the treacherous 
 sa\ages meditated an attack, of whicli Lieut. Campbell was duly 
 informed. He, however, disieganh^d these hints. The sutler's 
 ami contractor's boats, and two barges with the Illinois rangers, 
 had passed the rapids, and had got some two mdes ahead, when 
 Campbell's barge was struck by a gale from the west so strong as 
 to force her against a snnUl island, next to the Illinois shore. 
 Thinking it advisable to lie to till the wind abated, sentiiuds were 
 immediately stationed, while the men went ashore to cook break- 
 
 him, was raised up by it. He quickly seized liis gun, and by a pciwerful blow crushed 
 in the skull of one, but bruke his rifle. His' rem lininu- antationist still ueiit up the 
 contest making thrusts with his knife at the blecdinji and exliavisted Hiasins, which lie 
 parried with his broken gun as best he could. Must of this desperate engag-einent was 
 in plain view of the Fort, but the rangers, having been in one ambuscade, saw in this 
 fight only a ruse to draw out the balance of the garrison. But a Mrs. Purselj", residitig 
 at the Fort, no longer able to see so brave a man contend unaided for liis lite, seized a 
 gun, and mounting a horse, started to his rescue. At this the men took couraue and 
 hastened along. The Indian seeing aid coming, fled. Higgins being nearlr hacked to 
 pieces, fainted from loss of blood. He was carried to the Fort. There being no sur- 
 geon, his comrades cut two balls from his flesh ; others remained in For davs his life 
 was despaired of, but by tender nursing, he ultimately recovered his health, badly 
 crippled. He resided in Fayette County for many years after, where he raised a large 
 family, and died in 1839. He received a pension, pursued farming, and at one time 
 was door-keeper of one of the houses of the General Assembly at Vandal ia . Reynold's 
 Pio. Hist.— p. 321. 
 
280 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 fust. At this time a larye force of Indians on the main .shore, 
 nnder the command of Black Hawk, commenced an attack. The 
 savages, in canoes, i)assed rapidly to the island, and with a war 
 whoop rushed upon the men, who retreated and souij;ht refuj^e in 
 the barge. A battle of brisk musketry now ensued between the 
 few regulars aboard the stranded barge and the hordes of Indians 
 nnder cover of trees on the island, with severe loss to the former. 
 Meanwhile, Captains Rector and Riggs, ahead with their barges, 
 seing the smoke of battle, essayed to retnrn, bnt in the strong- 
 gale Riggs' boat becaine unmanageable and was stranded on the 
 rapids. Rector, to avoid a similar disaster, let go his anchor. The 
 rangers, however, opened with good aim and telling effect on the 
 sa\ages. 
 
 The nnequal condiat having raged for some time, the command- 
 er's barge, with many wonnded and several dead on board, among 
 the former of whom, very badly, was Cami)bell himself, had almost 
 ceased fighting when she was discovered to be on tire. And now 
 Stephen Rector, and his brave crew of Illinois rangers, com}>i:e- 
 hending the horrid situatiou, performed, without delay, as cool 
 and heroic a deed, and did it well, as ever im})eriled the life of 
 mortal man. In the howling gale, in fnll view of hundreds of the 
 infuriate savages, and within range of their rities, they delilverati'ly 
 raised anchor, lightened their barge by casting overboard quan- 
 tities of provisions, an<l guided it with the ntmost labor down the 
 swift current, to the windward of the burning barge, and, in the 
 galling lire of the enemy, rescued the sur\'iv«_)rs, removed the 
 wounded, the dying and all, to their vessel. This was as heroic a 
 deed of noble daring as was performed dnring tlie war in the 
 west. The island, in memory of the struggle, was named after 
 Campbell, but witli Rector and his crew of Illinois rangers remains 
 the glory of the action. 
 
 The manner of effecting the rescue displays the resonrce of 
 courageous minds in the crisis of iuiminent peril. Rector's ])arge 
 was lirst quickly lightened by casting overboard the provisions, 
 the crew (mostly experienced French boatmen,) got into the Avater 
 on the windward side of the barge, which brought it between 
 them and the Are of the enemy. In this manner it was guided in 
 close proximity to the disabled barge, and held there till the re- 
 moval was effected, when, aftei being hauled against the wind far 
 out into the stream, it glided safely away. The loss was 1*5; 9 
 killed — 4 rangers, 3 regulars, 1 woman, 1 child ; wounded 16, 
 among whom were Lieut Cani])bell and Dr. Stewart, severely.* 
 Rector's barge was uncomfortably crowded for the wounded, but 
 as the force was large they rowed night and day until St. Louis was 
 reached. The Indians, after the abandonment of Campbell's 
 barge, feasted upon the contents of their prize. 
 
 It was now feared that Riggs and his conq)any were captured 
 and sacrificed by the savages. His vessel, which was strong and well 
 armed, was for a time surrounded by the Indians, but tlie whites 
 on the inside were Avell sheltered. The wind beconung allayed in 
 the evening, the boat, under cover of the lught, glided safely down 
 the river without the loss of a single man. At St. Louis there was 
 great rejoicing on the arri\'al of Riggs and crew, all safe. Many 
 fervent prayers had gone up, many anxious eyes had eagerly 
 
 *Mo. Gazette, July 30, 1814 
 
ILLINOIS TEKRITORY. 281 
 
 w;it(*lie<l the river, and many a patriot heart was made glad by tlie 
 liiial tidings of tlieir safety. 
 
 Still another expedition for the Upper Mississip})! was projected 
 this season after tlie two foregoing disasters. It was fitted out at 
 Cape an Grls, and old French hamlet on the left bank of the Mis- 
 sissippi, a few miles above the mouth of tlie Illinois. It consisted 
 of 334 effective men, 40 regulars and the rest rangers and volun- 
 teers, in command of Major Zackary Taylor (afterwards president.) 
 ]^elson Hector, and Saiiuiel AVhitesides, with the lUinoisans, were 
 in command of boats. It was generally regarded as of material 
 imi)ortance to ha\'e a strong fort with a garrison well up the Mis- 
 sissi]>pi in the heart of the Indian country. The plan was to 
 proceed above the rapids, and in descending sweep both baid^s of 
 the river of the Indian villages, destroy their corn down to 
 Rock Island, and there build the fort. Tlu> expedition dei)arted 
 its place of nMidezvous, August 23, 1814, and passed Hock Island 
 and the Ka|)ids unmolested. It was now learned that the coiuitry 
 was not only swarming with Indians, but that the English were 
 there in command, with a detachment of regulars and artillery. 
 The advanced boats in command of Ivcctor, Whitesides, and 
 Hempstead, turned about and began to descend the Ivai)ids, tight- 
 ing with great gallantry the hoardes of tlie enemy ])ouring their fire 
 into them from the shore at eveiy step. A little way above the 
 mouth of Rock river, not far from some willow ishuuls, Major 
 Taylor anchored his lleet out in the Mississippi. During the night 
 the English planted a battery of six pieces down at the water's 
 edge to siidi: or disable the boats, and filled the islands with 
 redskins to butcher our men, who might, unarmed, seek refuge 
 there. But in this schenu^ they were frustrated. In the morning' 
 Taylor ordered all the i'orce, except 20 boatmen on each vessel, to 
 the u[)per island to dislodge the enemy. The order was executed 
 with great gallantry, the island scoured and the savages, many of 
 whom were killed, driven to the lower one. In the nu'antime the 
 British cannon told with effect upon the tleet, ])iercing many of the 
 boats. The men rushed back and the boats were (lrop]>ed down 
 the stream out of range of the cannon. Captain Rector was 
 now ordered with his company to make a sortie on the lower island, 
 which he did, driving the Indians back among the willows, but 
 they being reinforced, in turn hurled Rector back upon tlu^ saml 
 beach. A council of officers called by Taylor had by this time 
 decided that their force was insufficient to contend with the enemy, 
 who outnuml)ered them three to one, and the boats were in full 
 retreat down the river. As Rector attempted to get under way, 
 his boat grounded, and the savages, with demoniac yells, sur- 
 rouiuled it, when a most desi)erate hand to hand engagement 
 ensued. The gallant ranger, ^Samuel Whitesides, observing the 
 imminent i>eril of his brave Illinois comrade, went inun(Mliately 
 to his rescue, who, but for his timely aid, would undoubtedly have 
 been overpowered with all his force and murdered. Taylor's loss 
 was 11 nu^n badlj wounded, 3 of whom had died at the date of 
 his report to (len. Howard, Sei)t. (5, 1814. 
 
 Opposite the mouth of the Des 3Ioiues, on the site of the present 
 town of Warsaw, a fort w^as built by Taylor's men, called Edwards, 
 which consisted of a rough stockade and blockhouses of unhewn 
 logs. Fort Madison, on the W' est side of the Mississippi and farther 
 
282 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 up, after being repeatedly attacked by the enemy, was evacuted and 
 bnrnt. A few weeks later (in October) Fort Edwards shared a 
 similar fate; the troops got out of provisions, and nimble to sustain 
 their position, retreated down the river to Cape au Gris. The 
 people of Illinois and IMissouri were astonished at this extraordi- 
 nary evacuatioii and destruction of the fort by our own trooi)s. 
 The rangers and volunteers were discharged October IStli, 
 1814.* 
 
 Thus ended the last, lik(} the two previous exi>editi(iiis up tlie 
 Mississippi during the war of 1812, in defeaf and disaster. The 
 eneniy was in undisputed possession of all the country north of the 
 Illinois river, and the ])rospect respecting these territories boded 
 nothing but gloom. With the ajtproacli of winter, however, 
 Indian dej)redations ceased to be committed, and the jjeace of 
 Ghent, Dec. 21, 1811, closed the war. 
 
 *The account of these expeditioas has beea in great part gathered from Reynolds' 
 Own Times. 
 
Chapter XXY. 
 
 CIVIL AFFAIRS OF THE ILLINOIS TEKRITOEY FEOM 
 
 LSI 2 TO JS18. 
 
 Meeting of the Legislature — T/ie ]\lemhcrs — Laws — Conflict hctiveen 
 the Legislature and Judiciary — Curious Acts — Territorial Banhs 
 — Cairo Bank — Commerce — First Steamboats — Fursuits of the 
 
 Fcople. 
 
 For iioarly four years after tlie orj^auizatioii of the territorial 
 j;ovei'iiinciit no le<iislature existed in Illinois. The governor was 
 both exe('llti^■e and, in ;L:reat ]»art, the law-making' power. These ex- 
 traoi'dinary powers, authorized by the ordinance of 17S7, viewed at 
 this day, seem strangely ineonsisteiit with our re})ubliean nc^tions of 
 the necessity of co-oi'dinate branches of government. Under that 
 celebrated ordinance, the political ])ri\ileges of the citizen were 
 few or none. IL' could not exercise the elective franchise unless 
 be was a freeholder of 50 acres, nor asi)ire to a seat in the territo- 
 rial legislatuie unless he was a freeholder of from 200 to 500 acres. 
 Those of the territorial officers whom the piesident did notapi)oint, 
 were appointed by the governor. The i)eople could not elect jus- 
 tices of the peace, county surveyors, treasurers, coroners, sheriffs, 
 clerks, judges of the inferior courts, nor even choose the officers of 
 the territorial militia; all this power and nuu'h more was vested 
 in the governor. IJy the act establishing the Illinois territory, it 
 was provided that whenever his Excellency was satistied that a 
 majority of the freeholders desired it, tluMi he might authorize a 
 legislaruie. While none of these extraordinary j'owers were per- 
 haps ever arbitrarily exercised by any of the governors, unless it 
 was St. Clair, the ]>eople were all the time clamorous for an exten- 
 sion of suffrage. Congress (not the governor) finally, by act 
 of J\Liy 21, LS12, raised Illinois to the second grade of territorial 
 government, and further extended the right of suhrage to any 
 white male person 21 years old, who had paid a territiuial tax and 
 resided one year in the teiritory next])rece(lingany election, author- 
 izing such elector to vote for representative, mend)er of the legis- 
 lative council and delegate to congress. The property (puditication, 
 under the. ordinance of 1787, was abolished. This was a very 
 great concession to the peo})le. The goveinor was recjuired to 
 apportion the territory. On the 14th of February, 181 2, accordingly, 
 he issued his proclamation, ordering an election to take the sense 
 of the people for or against enterifig upon the second grade of 
 territorial government. The election was to beheld for three suc- 
 cessive days in each county, commencing on the second Monday 
 iu Ai)ril. The question, was decided iu the affirmati\e by a larue 
 
 ' 283 
 
284 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 majority. On September lOtli, following, the governor and judges 
 liaving organized the new counties of 3Iadison, Gallatin and John- 
 son, making' now, with the two old counties of St. Clair and Ifan- 
 do]i>h, a total of five, a proclamation was issued, publishing their 
 establishment. By another proclamation of the same date, an 
 election for o mend)ers of the legislative council, 7 representatives 
 and a delegate to congress, was ordered to be held in each county 
 on the 8th, 9th and 10th days of October following. At this elec- 
 tion, Shadrach B(jnd was elected to congress. The members elect 
 of the legislative council were, Pierre Menard, of Eandolph — 
 chosen to preside ; William Biggs, of St. Clair ; Samuel Judy, of 
 IMadison; Thomas Ferguson, of Johnson, and Benjamin Talbot, 
 of Gallatin. 
 
 The members elect of the house of representatives were, George 
 Fisher, of Eandol[)h; Joshua Oglesby and Jacob Sliort, of St. 
 Clair; William Jones, of jMa<lis<»n ; i'liillip Trammel and Alexan- 
 der Wilson, of Gallatin, and Jolin tirammar, of Johnson, 
 
 We subjoin brief sketches of the mend)ers constituting the first 
 general assembly of Illinois. Pierre Menard^ a Canadian French- 
 man, settled at Kaskaskia in 171K). He was a merchant and 
 enjoyed an extensive trade with the Indians, over whom he ex- 
 erted a great influence and was for many years the government agent 
 for them. He was well informed, energetic, frank and honest, 
 and was very iK)pular with all classes. WiUii(m Biggs was an 
 intelligent and respectalde member, who had been a soldier in 
 Clark's expedition, and ten years afterward had been a i)risoner 
 for several years anujng the Kickapoos, He Avrote and published a 
 complete narrative of his Indian captivity, and in 181^0, congress 
 voted him three sections of land. He was for many years county 
 judg(\ iSa7}tuel Judy — the same who, in the fall preceding, com- 
 manded the cori)s of spies in Governor Edwards' military ciuu- 
 paign to Peoria lake — was a man of "energy, tV)rtitn<le and 
 enteri)rise." Some of his descendants now reside in ^Madison 
 county. Joshua Ogleshy was a local Methodist preacher of ordinary 
 education, who lived on a farm and was greatly resi)ected by his 
 neighbors. Jacob Short, the colleague of Oglesby, removed to 
 Illinois with his father, Moses, in 171>0, and puisued farnjing. Dur- 
 ing the war of 1812, he distinguished himself as a ranger. George 
 Fisher \)osiiesiie(\ a fair education, and was by profession a physi- 
 cian. He removed from Virgiina to Kaskaskia. in 1800, and en- 
 gaged in merchandizing, but at this time he resided on a farm. He 
 was afterward in public life. rhiUip Trammel was a man of dis- 
 criminating miiul, inclined to the profession of arms. He was the 
 lessee of the United States saline in Gallatin county. His col- 
 league, Alexander Wilson, was a pojudar tavern keei)er at Sliaw- 
 neetown, of fair abilities. William Jones was a Bai)tist i)reacher, 
 grave in his deportment, and i>ossessed of moderate abilities. He 
 was born in oS^orth Carolimi, removed to Illinois in 1800, and set- 
 tled in the liattan prairie, east of Alton * This w as the first 
 ai)pearance in public life of John Grammar. He afterwards rep- 
 resented Union county frequently during a period of 20 years. 
 He had no education, yet was a man of shrewdness. After his 
 election, it is related that to procure the necessary ap])arel to 
 appear at the seat of government, he and the family gathered a 
 
 *Aauals of the West. 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITOEY. 2St) 
 
 lav^e quantity of hickory nuts, which were taken to tlie Oliio 
 saline and traded for bhie stroiidiiiii-, such as the Indians wore for 
 breech-cloth. Wlien the iieiiihhoriii_i; women asseiiibk'd to nialco 
 np the garments, it was found that he had not invested (inite 
 enough nuts. The pattern was measured in every way possibhs 
 but was unmistalcably scant. Wliereupon it was (h'cick^d to make 
 a '*bob-tailed coat and a h)ngpair of k'ggings.''' Arrayed in these, 
 he duly appeared at the seat of government, where he continued 
 to wear Ids prinuti\'e suit for the greater ])art of the session. 
 Notwithstanding his illiteracy, he had the honor of originating Uw. 
 practi(;e much followed by public men since, of voting against all 
 new measures — it being easier to conciliate jiublic opinion for 
 being remiss in voting for a good measure, than to suffer arraign- 
 ment for aiding in the passage of an unpopular one.* 
 
 On the lOtli of Xovember, th<^ governor, by proclamation, or- 
 dered the mend)ers elect to convene, on the -jr)th instant, at Jvas- 
 kia, the seat of government. The two bodies met in a large, 
 rough old building ot uniait limestoui', with steep roof and gahU^s 
 of un])aintetl boards, situated in the centre of a square, which, 
 after the ruin and aband<niment of Fort ( 'hartres, had served the 
 French as the hea<l(iuarters of the military commandant. Tiie 
 first floor, a large, low, cheerless room, was titted up for the house, 
 and a small cham1)er above for the council chaiidxn'. The latter 
 body chose John Thomas their secretary, and the former elected for 
 clerk William C. (xreenup. The two houses had a do<a'-keeper in 
 common. All the 12 members boarded with one family, and lodged, 
 it is said, in one room. How unlike the present times ! Tlie 
 members addressed themselves to the business in hand, without 
 delay or circundocution. Windy speeches ov contention were 
 uidieard of, and parliamentary tacticians, if any there were, met 
 with no indulgence. It has bt'cn naively remarked that not a 
 lawyer appears on the roll of names. 
 
 The assend)ly effected a i)eaceful revolution of the civil i>olity 
 of the territory, at a time when actual war was the all-absorbing 
 public question. By act of December 13, 1812, all the laws 
 liassed by the Indiana legislature, and in force IMarch 1, 180!), 
 general in their luiture and not local to Indiana, which stood 
 unrepealed by the governor and Judges of Illinois, and all laws 
 originally adopted for Illinois under the first grade of territorial 
 government, remaining unrepealed, were by them re-enacte<l. 
 The idea nninifestly was, that by the assembling of the legislature, 
 the territory stood forth in utter nakedness, divested of all law 
 until re-invested by them. The enacting clause of the territorial 
 laws was : "Be it enacted by the legislative council and house of 
 representatives, and it is hereby enacted by the authority of the 
 same." To the courts of common pleas was given the same juris- 
 diction previously had under the Indiana territory. The general 
 court, established at the seat of government, besides being a tril)- 
 unal of oyer and ternuner for jail delivery on indictments found by 
 the grand juries of the common i)leas court, was also constituted 
 a court of original jurisdiction, of appeals, to correct eirors of 
 inferior courts, and to i)unish the contempts, neglects, favors or 
 corruptions of the justices of the peace, clerks, sheriffs, etc., its 
 process running to any county, to the great inconvenience of the 
 
 ♦Ford's Illinois. 
 
28G HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 peoi)le. Sncli other laws as it was deemed tlie country required, 
 were passed, and after a brief session, tlie first legislature ad- 
 journed. 
 
 The laws of the territory were afterward revised and digested, 
 under the authority of the legislatue, by Nathaniel Pope, and 
 printed in one volume by Matthew Duncan, printer of the terri- 
 tory, wliicli bears the date June 2, 1815. There are besides, two 
 small volumes, by the sanui })rinter, of the session laws of 1815-10 
 and 181-718. While the laws are faithfully rendered, the mechan- 
 ical appearance of these books, owing to the. great coarseness of 
 the i)aper and the use of clumsy type, illy compares with work of 
 the present time. Many of the laws imported, revised and 
 adopted by the governor and judges, were well drawn but the 
 great body of those origiiuited in the legislature present much 
 crudity, both in composition and grasp of the subjects intended to 
 be subserved. We will allude to some features of the territorial 
 code, now happily obsolete, which give, by contrast with the i)res- 
 ent, an idea to the reader of the progress and amelioration 
 attained in criminal jurisprudence and the punishment for debt. 
 Thus, in the punishment of crimes, both felonies and misdemean- 
 ors, the barbarous practices of whipping on the bare back, con- 
 finement in stocks, standing in the pillory, and branding with hot 
 irons, were the i)eualties fre(piently prescribed; besides tines, 
 imprisonment, and loss of citizenship. These sununary modes of 
 chastisement grew, in part, out of the condition of the country. 
 It was but sparsely settled, the people were poor, they hsul no gen- 
 eral prison or penitentiary, and the few jails were so insecure as to 
 present scarcely any barrier to the escape of prisoners. Whip- 
 Xjing upon the bare back, besides other punishments at the 0]>tion 
 of the couit, was X)rescribed in burglary or robbery, 39 stripes ; 
 in perjury, larceny, the receiving of stolen goods, and obtaining 
 goods by fraudulent pretenses, 31 stripes: horse-stealing, first 
 oftence, from 50 to 100 lashes; hog-stealing, from 25 to 39 lashes ; 
 altering and defacing marks or brands on domestic animals at 
 large, 40 lashes "well laid on;" bigamy, punished with from 100 
 to 300 stripes ; for sodomy, from 100 to 5((0 lashes were prescribed; 
 forcibly taking away a female to marry against her consent, was 
 declared a felony and might be punished by whi])i)ing ; children 
 or servants for disobedience, might, ui)on comi)laintand conviction 
 before a justice, be whipped not exceeding 10 stripes. In all these 
 offences there were other penalties provided, alternatively or addi- 
 tionally, at the option of the court — such as fines, imprisonment, 
 restitution, etc. Fines were collected from those unable to pay, 
 by the sheriff hiring or selliug them to any one who would pay the 
 tine or costs, for such terms as the court might deem reasonable, 
 and if the delinquent should abscond, the peualty was double the 
 term of servitude and 39 stripes. Standing in pillory was pre- 
 scribed, iu addition to other i^en allies, in perjury, forgery, and the 
 altering or defacing of brands or marks on domestic animals. For 
 this last offence, on secoiul conviction, the culprit was to have the 
 letter T biauded in the lefthaiul with a red-hot iron. To prevent 
 the conunon crime of killing stock running on the range, every one, 
 iiuiluding the owners, was recpiired to exhibit the ears of hogs, or 
 hides of cattle, killed, to a magistrate or two freeholders within 
 three days, under a penalty of '10. For aiding the escape of a 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITORY. 287 
 
 convict, the ijnni.slimeiit was the same as that of the culprit, ex- 
 cept in capital cases, wlien stripes, standing in pillory, or sitting 
 on the gallows with the rope adjusted about the neck, at the 0])tion 
 of the court, was the penalty. Besides in treason and murder, 
 the penalty of death l)y hanging was denounced against arson 
 and rape, and horse stealiug on second conviction. For selling 
 intoxicating liquors to Indians, slaves, apprentices and minors, 
 severe penalties were euacted. For reveling, quarreling, fighting, 
 profanely cursing, disorderly behavior at divine worship, and 
 hunting on the Sal>bath, penalties by lines were prescribed. Cock- 
 lighting, horse-racing on the highways, gambling, keeping E. O. 
 tables, sending challenge to fight or box atfisticufl's, lotteries, etc., 
 were punished by fines. In 1810, a- law was adopted to suppress 
 dueling, which made the fatal result of a duel nuu-der, including 
 the aiders, abettors or counselors as x>i'iii<'ipals in the criiiu'. 
 
 In regard to the collection of debts, the principles of the com- 
 mon law obtained, which wholly favored the creditor. All the pro- 
 perty of the judgement debtor, both real and personal without any 
 of the present humane features as to exemption, might be levied 
 upon and sold under executi(m. The sale was absolute — no time 
 of redemption, as at present, was allowed in the case of realty. 
 If the land failed to sell for want of bidders, it was the judgment 
 creditor's right, at his option, to take it absolutely at the appraised 
 value made by 12 jurors. But this was not all. If the property 
 was insufficient to pay the judgment, the body of the debtor might 
 be seized ami cast into prison. Here he would l)e allowed the i)rison 
 bounds, extending 200 yards from the jail in any direction, on con- 
 dition only of giving bonds in double the sum of the debt, not 
 to depart therefrom. 
 
 The territorial revenue was raised by a tax upon lands. Those 
 situated in the river bottoms of the Mississippi, Ohio and the 
 Wabash were taxed at the rate of $1 on every 100 acres. The 
 uplands were classed as second rate, and were taxed at the rate 
 of 75 cents per 100 acres. Unlocated, but confirmed land (ilaims, 
 were taxed at the rate of 37^ cents per 100 acres. The county 
 revenue was raised chiefly by a tax upon personal property, in- 
 cluding slaves or indentured servants between the ages of 10 and 
 40, not to exceed $1 each. The only real property taxed was lots 
 and houses in towns, and mansion houses in the country, worth 
 $200 and upwards. There was levied also a cai)itation tax of $1 
 on every able-bodied single man, having attained his majority 
 and owning $200 worth of taxable property. This ought to have 
 induced marriage. Two men were appointed to appraise the prop- 
 erty required to be assessed. Merchants and terriers were licensed 
 at ilo and |10 respectively. Horses and cattle were taxed by 
 the head, not exceeding 50 and 10 cents, respectively — not accord- 
 ing to value, as at preseut. 
 
 The entire territorial revenue, between the 1st of ISTovendier, 
 1811, and the 8th of November, 1814 (3 years), was reported by 
 the legislative committee on finance, in 1814, to be $4,875 45. 
 But of this amount, only $2,516 89 had actually been paid into the 
 treasury ; the balance — nearly half — $2, 378 47 remaiued in the 
 hands of delinquent sheriffs. The delinquencies of sheriffs, in 
 their capacity as collectors of the revenues, remained a curse to 
 
288 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Illinois not only during its territorial existence, but for many 
 years after it became a State. 
 
 In 1811 tlie legislature attempted to reorganize the judiciary by 
 establishing the supreme court of tlie territory. The United States 
 judges for the territory were assigned to circuit duty, each having 
 a circuit composed of two counties in each of which two terms of 
 court were to be hehl annually. The conrts possessed common 
 law and chancery jurisdiction, and suits were to be tried in the 
 counties in which they originated. Once a year the jmlges were 
 to convene in banc at the seat of government, to hear appeals and 
 revise erroneous decisions from the courts below. This arrange- 
 nu'ut was w^ell calculated to give to the people in their 
 counties a more thonuigh administration of the laws than the 
 courts of common pleas afforded; but the idea of circuit duty was 
 numifestly distasteful to the judges. In the legislature nuicli 
 discussion arose as to its power to prescribe the duties of the 
 appointees of the geiu'ral government. The judges were re<iuested 
 to give a written opinion upon the merits and legality of the pro- 
 ])osed act. These gentlemen — Si)riggs and Thomas, Griswold 
 being absent— wanted no better oi)i)ortnnity to assail it, which 
 they did in a very em[)]iatic maimer, arguing at length the inva- 
 lidity of the act; that "the court established l»y the ordinance of 
 17S7 cannot be subjected to the revision or control of any tribunal 
 established by the Territorial Legislature; and that an appeal from 
 the same court to the same was a solicism." The governor, at the 
 instance of the legislature, in his message ai)proving the bill, took 
 U}) the question, elaborately argued the power of the legislature in 
 the premises, and apparently demolished the i)osition of the judges. 
 The bill without iinally be(;oming a law was by the legislature re- 
 ferred to congress, together with the objections of the judges and 
 thereply of the goveriu>r, with an address "requesting the i)assageof 
 a law declaring the aforesaid act valid, or to pass some law nuu"e 
 explanatory of the relative duties andi)owersof the judges aforesaid 
 and of this legislature." Congress, by act of March 3, 1815, 
 passed "an act regulating and defining the duties of the United 
 States judges for the Territory of Illinois," which sul)stantially 
 embodied the provisions required by the legislature. The judges 
 were x'equired to do circuit duties and reside in their respective 
 circuits, and to meet in banc twice a year at the seat of govern- 
 ment, as a court of appeals. They were also subje(;ted to the 
 regulations of the legislature as to the times of holding their 
 terms. The governor appointed the clerks 
 
 In the meantime by a suplemeutal act the legislature at the same 
 session had abolished the general court, whose jiu'isdiction was to 
 be superseded by the supreme corut ; and by another act the court 
 of common pleas was abolished, and county courts (the germ of 
 our present county system) which had no jurisdiction for the trial 
 of ordinary cases, substituted. Until congress therefore acted, 
 a period of some two months and a half, Illinois presented the 
 anomalous condition of being without a judicial tribunal higher 
 than that of a justice's court, whose civil jurisdiction, by another 
 act of the same session, A\as enlarged to $20 in debt. Sitting as 
 an examining tribunal, to what court could a justice of the peace 
 have validly bound over a culprit during this period of partial 
 judicial vacuum? However, we have nothing showing to the con- 
 
ILLINOIS TEERITORY. 289 
 
 'trarv', but that the people got ahiiig- just as well as before and after. 
 By act "of Jan. 0, 1810, the duties of the judges of the court of 
 appeals were more clearly detined, and a law relatiug to this court 
 was aineuded in 1817 and the circuits reorganized; next by an act 
 of June 11*, 1818, a radical change was made. There being some 
 obscurity in tlie county court act passed in 1814, its duties were 
 monj clearly defined by a snp])lemental act of the same session. 
 The civil jurisdiction of the justice's couit was in 1817 extended to 
 $40. 
 
 Tims it will be obser\'ed that at a very early ]>criod the Legis- 
 hiture of Illinois fell into tlu^ habit, which Ix^came chronic, of 
 changing and reorganizing the conrtsand mo(bfying their jurisdic- 
 tion at alnu)st every session, down to the adoption of the constitu- 
 tion of 1848. Since then this species of legishition seems to have 
 ex[)ended itself in the frequent changes of the terms of court iu 
 the various circuits. ISText to changing and shifting the well 
 settled priiu'iples of the law in its relation to the rights of property 
 and tiie multifarious trausactions of business, nothing is so per- 
 nicious as the varying of the meaus and modes of obtaining 
 redress iu our courts. Both ought to be pern'ianent. 
 
 During the territorial existence of Illinois three general ass(MU- 
 blies Avere elected by the peoi»]e — the council holding over the 
 second term. In 1814 Col. Benjamin Stephenson, father of the 
 late gallant James W. Stci)henson. of Gelena, was elected delegate 
 to congress, and in 181() Xathaniel l*oi)e, who took his seat in 
 congress l)e("('ml)er 1817. The legislature met every year at Kas- 
 kaskia, but the sessions were short. New counties were established 
 from time to time; in 1815, the flrst formed by the legislature, 
 was named Edwards, in honor of the governor. In 181.">, White 
 county was organized, uamed in honor of Capt. Isaac White, who 
 fell at Tippecanoe; iu ISIO, jVIonroe, Crawford, Jackson, an(l 
 Pope, the latter in honor of the newly elected delegate to congress; 
 iu 181(5, Bond, in honor of Shadrack Bond, tirst Governor of the 
 State afterward; and in 1818, Union, Franklin, and AVashingtoii 
 counties were organized. 
 
 We subjoin a few specimens of curious legislation during terri- 
 torial times. It will be observed that the Solons of that period 
 thundered considerably in the preandjle. By a law of September 
 17, 1800, to regulate the elections, all commissioned officers, either 
 federal or territorial, except justices of the peace and militia 
 officers, were nnide ineligible to a seat iu either branch of the 
 general assembly. The object of this law is not so clear, unless it 
 was to avoid a nnmopoly of official dignity and imi)ortance; but 
 such proscription could not be brooked, and accordingly it fell by 
 act of December 14, 1814, the preamble of which, consisting of 3 
 whereases, is as huge a specimen of gaseous buncond) to conceal a 
 true intent, and make ita]>pearthat the law of 1800 was inunensely 
 oppressive to the i)eople, as can be reclaimed from the early annals 
 of political demagoguery in lUinois : 
 
 "Whereas, The free jx'opleof this Territory areasoompetentas tlicir 
 public servants to decide on whom it is their interest to elect to represent 
 them in the geueral a sembly ; and are too enlightened and inde})endent 
 to recognize tlie odious andaristocratieal doctrine that tliey are their own 
 worst enemies,, or to admit that it is the duty of their representatives to 
 save the people from themselves ; and 
 
 19 
 
290 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 "Whereas, This legislature, being composed of the servants, not the ' 
 masters of the people, cannot without an arbitrary assumption of power 
 impose restrictions upon the latter as to tlie choice of their represeuta- 
 tives, which are not warranted by the express words or necessary 
 implications of the ordinance from which the legislature derives its 
 powers ; and 
 
 "Whereas, The duties of the judges of the county court established 
 by law are such as have heretofore been performed in the territory by 
 justices of the peace, by whom they are also usually performed in many 
 of the States, and there being notliing in the ordinance, nor any reason 
 to exclude from a seat in the legislature those judges of the county, or 
 surveyors, or prosecuting attorneys, that do not apply with equal force 
 to military otticers and justices of the peace, and tlie duties of the former 
 being no more incompatable with a seat in the legislatui'e than those 
 of the latter, therefore," &c. By one short section of two or three lines, 
 laws inconsistent with the above sentiments were abolished. 
 
 Anotlier specimen, whose object is disclosed in the preamble, we 
 can not forbear to give : 
 
 "Whereas, Voters have hitherto been obliged to vote by ballot, and 
 the ignorant as well as those in embarassed circumstances are thereby 
 subject to be imposed upon by electioneering zealots; and 
 
 "Whereas, It is consistent with the spiritof representative republican 
 government, since the opening for bribery is so manifest which should 
 ever be suppressed in such a government, for remedy whereof, " &c., 
 when follow the sections abolishing the ballot. These reasons would 
 hardly be tenable at the present time, and were doubtless false then. 
 
 "J>y an act of December 24, 1814, "To promote retaliation upon 
 hostile Ijidiaus," we hud evidences of the extreme measures of 
 defence to which the pioneers had to resort. This may be difhculi 
 for lis at this time, with a population exceeding 2,500,000, and the 
 Indians nuuiy hundreds of miles away, to appreciate. The pre 
 amble refers to the "liostile incursions of savages, tlieir indiscrim- 
 inate slaughter of men, women and children. Experience shows 
 that notliing so much tends to check those blood-tliirsty monsters 
 as retaliation," and "to encourage the bravery and enterprises of 
 our fellow citizens and otlier persons hereafter engaged in frontier 
 defences," it is enacted : 1. That when in such incursions into 
 the settlements, the commission of murder or other depredations 
 by Indians, citizens, rangers, or other persons who shall make 
 prisoners of, or kill such Indians, shall receive a regard for each 
 Indian taken or killed, of $50— if done by rangers or others 
 enlisted in the defence of the country, $25 only, 2. That any 
 person, having obtained permission from a comnumding ofticer on 
 the frontier to go into the territory of hostile Indians, who shall 
 kill a warrior, or take prisoner a squaw or child, is entitled to a 
 reward of $100 for each warrior killed, or squaw or child taken 
 prisoner. 3. Tluit any party of rangers, not exceeding 15, \\ho 
 on leave granted make incursions into the country of hostile 
 Indians, shall receive a reward of $50 for each warrior killed, or 
 squaw or child taken prisoner. 
 
 In 1810 a retaliatory act was i^assed to x)revent attorneys at law 
 from Indiana i)racticing in any of the courts of Illinois, for the 
 reason stated in the preamble, "Whereas, by a law now in force in 
 the State of Indiana, persons who do not reside therein are not 
 permitted to i»ractice in the courts of the said State; and whereas, 
 that restriction is illiberal, unjust, and contrary to those princi])les 
 of liberality and reciprocity by whi(;h each and every State or 
 territory should be governed, therefore," &c. The young Hoosier 
 
ILLINOIS TERRITOKY. 201 
 
 State onglit not to have put on such exalted airs; but, ]>erl]ni)s, 
 slie was ri^ht after all, as we find that by act of January 9, 1818, 
 Illinois oti'ered the following premiums for SHsfamed indict- 
 ments. In section 4, fixing the salary of prosecuting- attorneys at 
 1 100, it is proN ided that in addition to his salary he shall receive 
 " in eacli and every case of felony where his indictment is sus- 
 tained the sum of $15;" and for other "presentments in cases less 
 than felony, "if the indi(;tnu'nt was sustained," he was to receive 
 a i)ei(pusite of |5. But the most unaccountable feature of this 
 law remains to be told. In section it was provided that if the 
 indictment was sustained, notwithstanding the accused should be 
 acquitted by the traverse Jury, the fee of the prosecuting attorney 
 was to be paid by the prosecuting witness. What [)erson, though 
 never so good a citizen, in view of the quirks of the law, the fin<'sse 
 and the ability of counsel, and the notorious uncertainty of how 
 any jury will (lecide, would, with the ])rospectof having such fee to 
 pay, care to engage in an attempt to bring an offender to justice. 
 A singular provision was contained in an act of Dec. 22, 1811, 
 which did away with prosecution l)y an attorney, in cases of treason, 
 murder, or other felony. 
 
 By :in act of Dec. 31, 1817, the territory of Illinois was in a 
 manner turned o\er to and parceled out between the medical 
 doctors. It was divided into the east and west districts, the head 
 quarters of the doctors being located at Carmi and Kasksakia, 
 respectively. The incorporators comprised about all tlu' doctors 
 in the territory, and they proposed and were empowered to hold 
 these extensive fields of practice for their exclusixe nse and benefit, 
 unless every ncAV comer, proposing to practice the healing art, 
 should first be examined by their board and procure from them per- 
 mission to do so, fV)r the sum of $10, failing to do which, he was 
 disqualified fiom collecting his fees in any court or before any 
 magistrate. The act was repealed by the first legislature under 
 the State government. 
 
 With the close of the war of 1812, and the cessation of Indian 
 hostibties, the tide of emigration set into Illinois with a volume 
 unequaled and strength unabated. To this prosperity contributed, 
 in no small degree, the act of congress passed in 1813, granting the 
 right of pre-emption to settle upon the public domain. This was the 
 first great lev(>r to move Illinois forward in the path of empire. Prior 
 to this, emigrants in four cases out of five " squatted" on the 
 l)ublic lands, witlumt right or title to what they were improving 
 by their labor, and with the ever harrassing doubt that some 
 speculator might spy out and buy their homes before they coulddo it 
 themselves. Small and inferior improvements were of course the 
 result, and prosperity lagged. To stimulate a man to industry 
 and enterpiise, let him be assured that his labor is not misapplied 
 and his title is indisputable. Shadrach Bond, our delegate in 
 congress at the time, contributed largely by his influence in pro- 
 curing the passage of the act of i)re-emption. 
 
 Prior to the close of the Avar of 1812, money was Aery scarce in 
 the west. The i)elts of the deer, raccoon, &c., for which there was 
 a ready market, were to a certain extent a staiidard of exchange, 
 and supi)liedin a manner the circulating medium. This coiulition 
 of the country was greatly impro\'ed by the money distributed in 
 the x>ayment of the rangers and militia for their ser^■ices during 
 
292 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the WiXYj and by the increased immigration aft^r its close. Besides, 
 the territorial legislature, emulating the financial aspirations of 
 Ohio and Kentucky, which had each authorized a number of banks, 
 incorporated at its sessi<m of 1810, the Bank of Illinois, located at 
 Shawneetowii, and at the succeeding session, tlie banks of 
 Edwardsville and Kaskaskia. They were banks of issue. And 
 the legishiture, not satisfied with this, very unjustly lent its aid in 
 forcing the issue of these banks upon the people; not only these, 
 but the issues of the banks of Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee and 
 Missouri, by tlie enactment of laws postponing the collection of 
 debts unless the creditor would receive the notes of these banks, 
 were thus likewise forced ui)on the i)eople. Both became banks 
 of deposit for the United States funds, arising from the sales of 
 public lands, which they used as their own. The government lost 
 by the Edwardsville bank, $54,000, for which judgment was 
 obtained, l)ut ne\'er collected 5 the Shawneetown bank eventually 
 accounted to the government in full. 
 
 This made money, such as it was, abundant, times flush, and 
 rendered a spirit of speculation rife, which was api)arently a 
 desirable state of affairs, if it 'had been all. The circulation of 
 bank notes among a people largely iguorant and uuused to them, 
 afforded to the vicious a rare oi)portunity to set afloat quantities of 
 counterfeit money. This evil became so great that, to restrain it, 
 many ()f the best citizens of St. Clair county— did what no good 
 citizen should ever do — organized themselves into "Regulating com- 
 panies," as they designated themselves, to visit swift judgment 
 and condign punishment in the forum of Judge Lynch, upon such 
 offenders as weie to their secret cabal proven guilty. A Br. Estes, 
 of Belleville, was chosen as their captain. Many makers or 
 utterers of the base currency, and for other crimes, fell under their 
 ban and we're iiunished. It created great excitement in the country. 
 Public opinion soon withdrew its countenance and condemned the 
 order. After a- few months time its organization ceased to exist. 
 
 The visionary schemes of banking operations during territorial 
 times culminated in the Cairo City charter, granted at the session 
 of 1817-18. The low tongue of land between the Ohio and Mis- 
 sissippi rivers at their confluence, was at a very early period re- 
 garded as the best position in the west for a great and important 
 city, " as it res]iccts commercial advantages and local sni)i)ly," as 
 the preamble had it. Such a city, it was argued, must become of 
 vast consequence to the prosijeritj' of the territory. But this low 
 point of land was frequently inimdated ; in answer to which it 
 was further argued, that as the ordinary inundations of the 
 two great rivers rarely happened simultarieously, an embankment 
 might be constructed to effectually obviate the injurious conse- 
 quences of floods. The proprietors and incorporators of the city 
 an<l bank of Cairo were John G. Comyges, Thomas II. Harris, 
 Charles Slade (afterwards member of Congress), Shadrach Bond 
 (nfterwards Governor), Michael Jones, Warren Brown, Edward 
 Humphries, and Charles W. Hunter. These gentlemen proposed 
 the following self-execmting scheme to build up a large city there, 
 l)our wealth into their coffers, and at the same time render them- 
 selves public benefactors. The basis or cai)ital of the banking in- 
 stitution was 2000 Cairo city lots, 00 by 120 feet, valued and lim- 
 ited at $150 each. The streets were to be 80 feet in width. As fast 
 
ILLINOIS TEKKITORY. 293 
 
 as tlie lots Avere sold$50oftlie proceeds of each Avas to be devoted 
 to the construction of a levee to secure them against the floods, 
 and to the iininovement of the city by the building- of public edi- 
 flces. The residue — being $100 per lot — was to constitute the cap- 
 ital of the bank, amounting to $-00,000. Thus Avas a great city 
 to be founded ! Could Utopia go fnrther "I Of course the scheme 
 l)roved a failure. Cairo langnislied for many years, but at the 
 present, with actual ca])ital, the power of nerve and muscle, and 
 the concentration of railroads, she is making ra|)id strides toward 
 the realization of her early dreams. During the intei'nal improve- 
 mejit mania of 1837 tliis Cairo Bank was gahanized into life, but 
 after flonrishing a short period expired. 
 
 Another Utopia was the incorporation of acomi)any, at the same 
 session, for tlie cutting- ot a canal a few miles north of Cairo to 
 unite the waters of the Mississippi with the Ohio, via the town of 
 America, then in Johnson connty, owned by the compauy. Tolls, 
 wharfage charges, etc., under certain restrictions, were permitted 
 to this comi)any ; but nothing" came of it. The s(;heme was some 
 15 or 18 years since revived, in connection A>ith the present 
 Mound City. 
 
 Coinnu']-ce tlu-oiighout the early and territorial period of Illinois, 
 and to no inconsiderable extent for some time afterward, was in its 
 helpless infancy. All foreign products consumed here, eithei- nat- 
 ural or maniifactnred, were brought to Illinois via Xew Orleans, 
 in keel-boats, [)nshed at great labor, with hnjg poles, ami towed at 
 points with long ro])es, a proci'ss called "cordelling," against the 
 strong- cnrrent of the ]Mississii)pi, by the hardy boatmen of that 
 da-Vj or wagoned over the Alleghany monntains from rhiladclphia 
 to Pittsburg-, or from Baltimore to Wheeling, thence in tlat-boats 
 floated down tlie Ohio ami landed at convenient points, whence it 
 wajs again taken by wagons to the final points of destination. A 
 trip from St. Louis to l!^ew Orleans and back, with keel-boats, 
 was a six months voyage. But a revolution in the carrybig busi- 
 lu^ss of the world, was at hand. The power of steam had been 
 utilized, and by Fulton successfully applied to the propulsion 
 of vessels, which produced a wonderful effect upon the western 
 country in contrast between steam as a motor for conveyance and 
 the ordinary mode by keel or flat boat, which inaugurated a new era. 
 
 The flrst steand)oat to ascend the Upper Mississip[»i, reached 
 St. Louis August 2, 1817. It was named the " General Pike," and 
 was conimauded by Captain Jacob Reed. 
 • 
 
 [Of tlie first steam V)oat on the Ohio, the "New Orleans," which was launciied at 
 Pittsburgh in the summer of 1811, it is related that, ''The novel appearance of the 
 vessel, and the learful rapidity with which the passage was made over the broad 
 reaches of the rivOr, excited a mixture of terror and surprise amons many of the 
 settlers on the banks, whom the rumor of such an invention had never reached : and 
 it is related that on the unexpected arrival of the boat before Louisville, in the course 
 of a fine, still moonlight night, the extraordinary sound which tilled the air as the pent 
 up steam was allowed to escape from the valves, on rounding- to, prcduceda general 
 alarm, and multitudes in the t«wn rose from their beds to asccrtstin tlie cause. * * 
 The general impression among- the good Kentuckians was, that the comet [of 1811, visi- 
 ble at the time with its immense fierj' tail, and by the superstitious believed to be the 
 harbinger of war and all sorts of dire evill, had fallen into the Ohio." 
 '•She walked the waters like a thing of life, 
 And seemed to dare the elements of strife." 
 At Louisville, owing to the small depth of water on the falls, the boat was detained 3 
 •weeks, during which time several trips were made bj- her between that place and Cin- 
 cinnati. The waters finally rose, and the trip to New Orleans was resumed. On reach- 
 ing the Lower Mississippi, the boat was nearly overwhelmed by the earthquakes which 
 rocked the waters of the great river to and fro, and which continued for several days, 
 
204 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The pursuits of the people during territorial times, were mainly 
 agricultural, varied by hunting and trap])iiig. Few merchants 
 were required to supply the ordinary articles of consumption not 
 jiroduced or manufactured at home. Coffee, tea, and sugar did 
 not then generally enter into the daily meals of the family. Ma- 
 terials for personal wear were either grown, or taken in the 
 chase, and manufactured into garments by wife or daughter, the 
 merchant supplying only some of the dye stuff to color the wool, 
 flax or cotton. Foreign nninufactured boots and shoes, or hats 
 and caps, were worn but by few — home-made moccasins and rac- 
 coon caps supplying the place. Me(;hanics in pursuit of their 
 trades, are seldom pioneers, and every settler was his own carpen- 
 ter. The houses, mostly log cabins, were binlt without glass, 
 nails, hinges or locks ; the furniture, too, mod(ded in the same 
 rude fashion, was made by the same hand. Yokes for oxen, and 
 harness for horses, the carts and wagons in daily use — without 
 tires, boxes or iron — ^whose woeful creakiugs, for the want of tar, 
 which was not imported, might be heard at a great distance, all 
 were manufactured as occasou reipiired by self-taught artifi- 
 cers.* 
 
 commencing on the morning' of the 16th of December, 1811. They were severest in the 
 neig-hborhood of New Madrid, where, on the Tennessee side, a few miles back o f the 
 river, the earth sunk in many places 50 and 60 feet, carrying- with it great trees left 
 standing- ei'ect, producing- what is known as the Reel-foot Jake — Rambler in North 
 America. 
 
 *As an instance of the ready ing-enuity of the times, it is related of James Lemon, a 
 well known pioneer of Monroe connty, an old style Baptist preacher, and a farmer Ijy 
 occupation, who manufactured the harness for his teams as occasion required, that 
 being' employed plowing- a piece of stubbie g'round one day, on turning' out tor dinner 
 he left the harness on the beam of the plougrh, as was his wont. His son, not dittering: 
 from the proverbial minister's boys perhaps, who hai assisted him by i-enioving- the 
 straw from the cl.:)gg'ing' plow with a pitchfork, remained behind long enough to 
 conceal one of the collars, that he might have a playing spell while his father was 
 occupied in making another. But his plot failed; on returning- after dinner and miss- 
 ing the collar, his lather, reflecting for a few minutes, jironiptly divested himself of 
 his leather breeches, stuffed the legs with stubble, straddled them acr iss the neck of 
 the horse for a collar, and plowed the remainder of the day bare-legged requiring 
 the assistance of the truantly inclined boy all tho time. At this day, to provide for 
 such a mispap, half day would have been spent in going- to town after another col- 
 lar, and the boy would" probaby have gained his point. — From Ford's History of Illi- 
 nois. 
 
Chapter XXVI. 
 
 OEGAXIZATION OF THP] STATE GOVERNMENT— AD- 
 MINISTRATIOX OF GOVEEXOR BOND. 
 
 Our JSforthern Box ndary — First (Jo)istitHfional Convention ami iSome- 
 tJti)i<j of the In.strinnent Framed — Governor Bond — Lientenant- 
 governor Menard — Meeting of the Begislature and, Fleetion of 
 State Officers — First Supreme Court — Hard Times and First State 
 Banl- — Organization of Counties. 
 
 By the year 1S18, owing to her ra])i(l increase of ])0})ii]atioii, 
 Illinois aspired to a i)osition anioni^' the sisterhood of sovereign 
 States. Accordingly, the territorial legislature, in session at Kas- 
 kaskia in January of that year, i)re])ared and sent to Xathaniel 
 Pope, our delegate in co/ingrcss, their petition jnaying for the 
 admission of Illinois into the Union on an ecjual footing with the 
 original States. Tlie i>etition was proni]»tly jn-esentcd, and tlie 
 comniitteeon territoi'ics in duetinie reported a bill for the admission 
 of Illinois with a population of 40, 000. The ordinance of 1787 
 required 00.000. Mr. l'(>]>e, looking to the future of tliis State, 
 succeeding in ..mending the bill as it came from the hands of the 
 comnnttee, in several essential features. One of these was to ex- 
 tend the northern boundary of the Stat<' to the i)arallel of 40 
 degrees 30 nnnutes north latitude. The oth section of the ordi- 
 nance of 1787, required that at least three States be fornu'd out 
 of the Northwest territory — detining the boundary of the western 
 State by the Mississii)pi, the Ohio and the Wabash rivers, and a 
 line running due north from Post Viucennes, on the last n;imed 
 stream, to Canada. This included the present States of Illinois 
 and Wisconsin. But, by a i)roviso, it was reserved "that if con- 
 gress shall hereafter find it e\i)edient, they shall have authority 
 to form one or two States in that p;irt of said territory which lies 
 north of an east und west line drawn through the soutlu'rly bend of 
 Lake Michigan.'' The line of 10 deg..">0 nun. extended the boundary 
 50 miles farther north. To the vigilance of Nathanii'l Pope, 
 therefore, are we in del )ted for a coast ou Lake Michigan to this 
 extent: for the site ocxaipied l)y the present luighty city of Chi- 
 cago ; for the northern terminus of the Illinois and jMichigan 
 canal, and for the lead mines of Galena — all of which coiue 
 Avithiu that extension. It was npon the above quoted language 
 of the ordinance of 1787, which was declared a com]!)act to renutin 
 
 295 
 
296 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 forever unalterable, that Wisconsin subsequently based lier claim 
 to tlie 14 northern counties of this State. 
 
 While the foregoing were paramount considerations with the 
 people of Illinois, others were urged with nuich force and entire 
 effectiveness upon congress, acting for the nation at large. Even 
 at that day statesmen had not failed to mark the inherent weak- 
 ness, and consequent easy dissolution, of confederated republics. 
 The late civil war had not then demonstrated the strength and 
 unity of the American confederation through the loyalty of the 
 people. European statesmen had entertained no other thought 
 than that at the tirst internal hostile trouble, the bonds of the 
 Union would be broken and scattered to the winds. It was easily 
 shown that the geographical i)osition of Illinois made her the key 
 in the western arch of States. The southern extremity of Illinois 
 l^enet rated far between the slaves States down to the main Mis- 
 sissii)pi, alibrding an outlet to the Gulf the year round, and 
 skirted with hundreds of miles of navigable rivers on either side ; 
 to give her, therefore, a fair coast on the lake would also unite 
 her interests through the strong bonds of trade and commerce 
 with the north and east. Linking thus the north and the south 
 by her geographical position and the ties of intercourse, her in- 
 terests nuist be conservative, and she would ever exert a controll- 
 ing intluence ui)on the perpetuity of the Union. This view has 
 been amply verified in the late war b^' the pronqjt occui)ation of 
 Cairo, and the rally of her near 200,000 sous to the national 
 standard. 
 
 Another amendment was, that the three-fifths of the o per cent 
 fund from the sale of i)ublic lands, applied to the construction of 
 public works in other States carved out of the northwest territory, 
 should instead be devoted by the legislature to the encouragement 
 of education ; one-sixth of which to be exclusively bestowed on a 
 college or university. These inq)ortant amendments were sug- 
 gested and urged by Mr. Tope without instruction, but they re- 
 ceived the ready sanction of the people, and to-day we are 
 realizing the full fruition of his foresight.* The bill became a law 
 April 18, 1818. 
 
 'Nathaniel Pope was an able lawyer, and in his olHcial relations was ever faith tul to 
 his trusts. His first appearance in Illinois, as we have seen, was as secretary of the 
 te-ritory. In 1816, he was elected delegate to congress and procured the enabling 
 act lor the admission of Ilhnois as a State Subsequently he was appointed United 
 States district judge, in Avhich capacity heserved for many years, residing- in Spring- 
 field. He died in 1850, 
 
 [Note —The question of our northern boundary agitated the people of the section 
 concerned for man.y years, entering into their political conflicts and exercising an 
 important influence upon their local affairs. Many of the old settlers down to a 
 late date, condemned this striking departure from the ordinance of 1T87, which li.\-ed 
 the present line 50 miks further north. Boundary meetings at various places in the 
 14 northern counties continued to be held from time to time, showing the feeling to 
 be deep and wide spread. vVe note the proceedings of a large meeting held at Ore- 
 gon City, January 22, 1843, as showing the grounds of complaint, and the purpose of 
 the people to either belong to Wisconsin or set up for themselves: 
 
 " iJesotved, That in the opinion of this meeting, that part of the northwest territory, 
 which lies north of an 'east and west line through the southerly bend or extreme of Lake 
 Michigan,' belongs to and of right ought to be a part of the State or States which 
 have been or may be formed north of said line." 
 
 Wisconsin was yet a territory. They resolved further that the ordinance of 1781 
 could not be altered or changed without the consent of the people of the original 
 States and of the northwest territory ; that as jiart of the people of said territory, 
 they would not so consent ; that the lines designated in the orainance were better 
 suited to the geographical situation and local interests of their region ; that they 
 were decidedl.y opposed to place any of the territory north of said line within the 
 jurisdiction of a State south of it : that they recommended the legislature of Wis- 
 consin to apply for admission into the Union, claiming the line of the ordinance as 
 
bond's administration. 297 
 
 III pursuance of the enabling act a^ convention was called to <liaft 
 •the tirst constitution of the State of Illinois, whicli assembled at 
 Kaslcaskia in July, 1818, and completed its labors by signing the 
 constitution on the 2Gt]i of August following. We subjoin the 
 names of the delegates, and the counties whicli they represented, 
 in the order of their organization : 
 
 St. Clair county — Jesse U. Thonuis, John Messinger, James 
 Lemon, jr. 
 
 I\andol[»h — George Fisher, Elias Kent Kane. 
 
 IMadison — Benjamin Stephenson, Joseph Borough, Abraham 
 Prickett. 
 
 Gallatin — Michael Jones, Leonard White, Adolphus Frederick 
 Hubbard. 
 
 Johnson — Hezekiah AVest, Win. McFatridge. 
 
 ]*]d\vards — Scth (Jard, Levi Comi)ton. 
 
 ^Vl)ite_^^'illis Hargrave, Wm. Mrllenry. 
 
 Monroe — GaldwcU Cams, Enoch Moore. "*^ 
 
 Pope — Samuel O'Melveny, llandet Ferguson. 
 
 Jackson — Conrad Will, James Hall, jr. 
 
 Crawford — Joseph Jvitchell, Edward N. Cullom. 
 
 ]>ond — Thomas Kil[)atrick, Samuel G. Morse. 
 
 Union — Win. Echols, John Whitaker. 
 
 Washington — Andrew Bankson.* 
 
 Franklin — Isham Harrison, Thomas Roberts. 
 
 Jesse B. Thomas was chosen president, and Wm. C. Greenui> 
 secretary of the convention. 
 
 The constitution was not submitted to a vote of the people for 
 their approval or rejection; nor did the people have much to <lo 
 with the choice or election of ofticers g(Mierally under it, other than 
 that of governors, the general assemblies, sheriffs and coroners, 
 i^otwithstandiug the elective franc-hise was in a blazon manner 
 extended to all white male inhabitants abo\e the age of 21, having 
 a residence in the State of G months next preceding any election, 
 Avhich it will be perceived included aliens and possibly in\ited 
 immigration, there was scarcely an office left to be filled by its 
 exercise. • 
 
 The electors or })eople were not trusted with the choice of State 
 officers, other than mentioned; nor of theii- judges, either su[)reme, 
 circuit, or probate; nor of their prosecuting attorneys, county or 
 circuit clerks, recorders, or justices of the peace; the appointnu'ut 
 of nearly all these being vested in the general assembly, which 
 body was not slow to avail itself of the })owers thus conferred to 
 their full extent. The language of the schedule was, "an aiUditt)r 
 of public accounts, an attorne}- general, and such other officers of 
 the State as may be necessary, may be ai)pointed by the geneial 
 assembly, whose duties may be regulated !)>' law'." It is said to 
 have been a (piestion for many years, in x'ww of this language, 
 
 their southern boundary : that they tlisclaiinerl any intention to absolve tlicnisolves 
 from any pecuniary responsibility created by the lefiislature of Illinois on acoount of 
 the inter iiai iinprovemSnt system, etc. The resolutions were adopt(id unanimously. 
 A committee of '.(was appointed to proceed to Madison, with full power to consult 
 with the g:overnor and the legislature of Wisconsin territory. Governor Dot.v and the 
 legislature gave them their assuraneesof earnest co-opei'ation in petitiotiingconuress 
 toward the end in view. Rut nothinfr ever came of all the clamor. The essential 
 point was, whether the acts of the conjrross of the confederated States are of such 
 binding force that a con.gre.ss of the United States cannot annul or amend them 
 — whether the former possessed a higher power than the latter. 
 *Bunkson's colleague died during the session of the couveution. 
 
298 HISTOEY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 what was "an officer of the State." The governors were for a time 
 allowed to ai>i)oint State's attorneys, recorders, State coiumis* 
 sioners, bank directors, &c., bnt the legislatures afterward vested 
 by law the ap})ointiueiitof all these and many more in themselves. 
 Occasionally, when in fall political accord, tlie governor wonhl 
 be allowed the apixjintiiig ])ower pretty freely, to perhaps be 
 shorn of by a succeeding legislature. In the administiation of 
 Duncan, wlio had forsaken Jackson and incurred the displeasure 
 of the dominant party, the governor was tinally stripped of all 
 patronage, except the appointment of notaries public and public 
 administrators. It was a bad feature of the constitution ; it not 
 only deprived the people of their just rights to elect the various 
 officers as at present, but led hordes of place hunters to repair to 
 the seat of government at every session of the legislature, to 
 besiege and torment members for office. Indeed, this was the 
 chief occu})ation of many an honorable member. Innumerable in- 
 trigues and corruptions for place and power were thus indulged. 
 
 To the governor was denied the veto power; but he, Jointly with 
 the four supreme judges, was constituted a council to revise all 
 bills passed, before they should become laws. For this purpose 
 the judges were required to attend at the seat of government 
 during the sessions of the legislature, without compensation. The 
 validity of all laws was thus decided in advance. If the council 
 of revision, or a nmjority, deemed itim])roperforany bill to become 
 a law, their objections were to be noted in writing; but the bill 
 might, notwithstanding, l)e passed over their objections by a ma- 
 jority and become a law. While the executive is commonly 
 a co-ordinate branch of the law-making power, here he was entirely 
 stripped; and while the judicial department is never thus vested, 
 here it was clothe<l with a quasi, legislative prerogative. 
 
 The (;onstitution was about the tirst organic law of any State in 
 the Union to abolish imi)risonment for debt. It did not prohibit 
 the legislature from grant ing divorces; and this was a fnutful 
 source of legislation, as the old statutes abundantly testily. i>ut 
 its worst feature, perhaps, was the want of a limitation against 
 the legislature loaning or pledging the faith and credit of the State 
 in aid of, or to the undertaking of, any i)ublic or i)rivate <'nter- 
 prise; or to the aid of any individuals, associations, or coipora- 
 tions. The absence of such most necessary limitations, caused 
 her repeated connections afterward with baidcing schemes, and 
 her undertaking the vast system of internal improvement in 18o7, 
 all of W'liich proved detrimental to her credit, harrassing and 
 expensive to her linances, and came near bankrupting and com- 
 l^leting her ruin. Of the members of the convention, Elias Kent 
 Kane, afterward a senator in congress, is mentioned with commenda- 
 tion as a leading spirit, and as largely stamj)ing the constitution 
 with its many excellencies. 
 
 ["Dui-ing- the sitting' of tlie convention the Rev. Mr. Wiley and congrcfration, of a sect 
 called Covenanters, in Randolph county, sent in their petition asking: that body to 
 declare in the constitution, that "Jesus Christ was the head of the government, and that 
 the Holy Scriptures were the only rule of iiaith and practice." The petition was not 
 treated with any attention, wherefore tlie Covenanters have never fully recognized 
 the State government. Thej' have loolied upon it as "an heathen and unbaptized 
 government," which denies Christ; lor which reason they have constantly refused to 
 worlf the roads, serve on juries, hold any office, or do any other act showing that they 
 recognized the government. For a long time they refused to vote, and never did until 
 the election of 1824, when the question was. whetlier Illinois should be made a slave 
 State, when they voted tor the tirst time, and unanimously againstslavery."— Governor 
 Ford's History.] 
 
bond's administration. 299 
 
 The first election under tlie (jonstitution, for governor, lieat. \ 
 •governor, and members of the general assend)].v, was. aceor<ling t 
 to the appointment of the convention, held on the third Thursday, 
 and the two succeeding days, in September, 1818. All white male 
 inhabitants 21 years old, residing in the State at the adoption of 
 the constitution were permitted to vote. The general assend)ly was 
 to meet at Kaskaskia on the tirst Monday (being the 5th) of Oct. 
 following, to set the machinery of the new government in motion. 
 After that, regular sessions were to commence on the first Mondays 
 of December. Sha,(lra(di Bond was elected goxcrnor and Pierre 
 Memird lieutiMiaut governoi', as had been e\i)ected even before 
 the formation of tlie ('onstitution; they had no opposition. Tlieir 
 terms of service wei'e till 1822, four years. 
 
 Governor l>ond was born in Frederick county, Mai-yh^'id, in 1773, 
 and was raised a farmer on his father's i)iantation, and agricnlture 
 was his })ursuit in Illinois, whither he emigrated in 1794. He had 
 received but a ])laiii English education. To a convivial, benevolent 
 disi)osition, he joined a naturally shrewd observation of men and 
 a clear ai)preciation of events. His person was erect, standing (I 
 feet in hight, and after middle life he became portly, weiginng 
 200 pounds. His features were strongly masculine, complexion 
 dark, hair jet, and eyes hazel. He was a. f\n'orite with the ladies.f 
 His jovial disposition, thorough honesty and unostentatious inter- 
 course with the i)eoi)le, made him the most po[>ular man of his 
 day. He had been a member of the general assembly under the 
 Indiana Territory, a <lelegate to congress in 1812, and in tlie latter 
 cai)acity he ]>r()cured the right of pre-emi)tion on the public 
 domain ; in 1814 he was appointed receiver of the })ublic moneys 
 at Ivaskaskia. After his gubernatoi-ial term expired he ran in 
 1824, for congress against Daniel P. Cook, but was beaten. Sub- 
 se(pu^ntly he was a[)i)ointed register of the laud ottice at Kas- 
 kaskia; where he died, in peace and contentment, Ai)ril 11, 1830. 
 The county of Pond was named in honor of his memoiy. 
 
 Pierre .Alenard was born at Quebec in 17(57. At the age of 19, 
 inspired by adventure, he came to Yincennes and entered tlie 
 eini)loy of Col. Vigo, a nu'rchant. In 1790 he removed to Ivaskaskia 
 aiul engaged in merchandising with DuBois, of Vincennes. By 
 liis trade with the Indians, and in various public (^iipacities, he soon 
 becanu' well known. Xature nunle him frank, kind and honest; 
 his mind, with l)ut an ordinary education, was strong, and his 
 judgment quick and unerring. His industry was wonderful, being 
 iie\er idle. For many years he was government agent for the 
 Indians, and that race had the most implicit eoufidence in his in- 
 tegrity. As a merchant, it is said, he could buy their peltries 
 at half the i)rice a ''Long- Knife" would have to pay. He 
 liad been a member of the lower house of the legislature while 
 Illinois was under the Indiana regime, and a member of the Illinois 
 legislative council from 1812 to 1818, being the president of that 
 body. In the framing of the constitution the (]ualittcations for 
 liculenant govermu' were first fixed the sanu^ as those of the gov- 
 ernor — one of which was citizenshii) of the United States for .30 
 years; but as that would exclude Col. ^Menard, who had been natur- 
 alized only some two years, the convention change<l this ])rovisiou 
 in the shedule as a special favor to him, he being generally looked 
 
 +Keynold's Pioneer History. 
 
)00 HLSTOE,Y OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 forward to for that i)Ositioii. After the expiration of his term of 
 ofitice he declined all fnrther tenders of oftice, accepting only that 
 of United States Commissioner to treat with the Indians, whose 
 character he knew so well. He accnmulated qnite a fortnne, bnt 
 it was greatly impaired by that kindness of heart which allowed 
 him to become secnrity for his friends. In 1839 the legislature 
 honored his name by establishing the county of Menard. He died 
 in 1844: at the ripe age of 77 years. 
 
 Tlie State legislature met at the appointed time, October 5th, 
 1818. Mnian Edwards, the retiring executive of the defuncit 
 territorial government, and Jesse B. Thomas, one of the federal 
 judges for the territory, who had also been president of the con- 
 stitutional convention, both looked forward to the United States 
 seniitorship, and were not disappointed in their aspirations. Our 
 member to the lower house of congress at the time, was John 
 McLean, elected in the September previous, in one of the nu)st 
 memorable political campaigns ever had in Illinois, Daniel P. 
 Cook being his opponent. Elijah 0. Berry was elected auditor of 
 public, accounts, John Thomas, State treasurer, Daniel P. Cook, 
 attorney general, and Messrs. Bhuikwell & Berry State printers. 
 Elias Kent Kane was appointed Secretary of State. The supreme 
 court, the judges whereof were required also to do circuit duty, 
 was to consist of one chief justice and three associate justices. 
 Both houses again met in johit session on the 8th, and on the first 
 ballot Joseph Pliillii)s was elected chief justi('e by 31 out of 40 
 votes cast; Thomas C. Brown receiving 1, and Henry S. Dodge 3. 
 F(n" associate justices, Wm. P. Foster aiul Thonuis C. Brown were 
 chosen on the first ballot, Henry S. Dodge receiving at the same 
 time 18 votes, William Wilson 15, C. E. ^latheny 9, John Warnock 
 1, James W. Whiting 1, and Joseph Kitcliell 7. On balloting 
 again, a new candidate, John Reynolds, atterwards governor, was 
 brought forward and on the second ballot elected by 22 out of the 
 40 votes cast. Phillii)s was a lawyer of fine intellectual endow- 
 ment. He had been a captain in the regular army, and during the 
 war of 1812 had seen service in Illinois; afterward he was appointed 
 secretary of the territory in place of jSTathaiiicl Pope. Being 
 ambitious, he aspired above the dull routine of the court at that 
 day, and in 1822, becoming a candidate for governor against 
 Coles, r(5signing his i)lace upon the bench on the 4th of July, but 
 was defeated. This was more than his high-strung miture would 
 brook, and with feelings of disgust at the ingratitude of the people, 
 afterward quitted the State and removed to Tennessee. On the 3Ist 
 of August, 1822, Thonnis Reynolds was api)<)inted in his i)lace. 
 Brown was a large, somewhat stately looking, affable man, yielding 
 in his disposition, with little industry tor study, and few of the 
 higher qualities for a judge. He r<'mained on the bench till the 
 constitution of 1848 went into effect, a period exceeding thirty 
 years. 
 
 Reynolds, in his "Own Times," written nmny years later, tells 
 how lui came to be chosen a mend)er of that exalted tribunal, the 
 sni»reme court. At the time he resided at Cahokia and had no 
 intention of visiting the session of the legislature, which was <lis- 
 pensing so many fat things on the first organization of the State 
 government. He cared little who obtained office, and certaiidy 
 wanted none for himself. But being urged by his friends, he 
 
bond's administration. 301 
 
 joined tliem in a visit to Kaskaskia. Upon arrival tlioy found 
 much excitement and coiniiiotion at tlie capital, incident to the 
 selection of State otiticers. In ;i few days lie was urged to i;i\'e 
 liis assent to beconu.' a candidate for sn[)reme judge. Tliis request, 
 he says, broke npon Inni lilce a clap of thunder. His consent was 
 yielded, he was elected. His experience in the law was four years 
 jn-actice of "commerce inland." * "1 speculated, sold land and 
 bonght two stores of dry goods, amonnting to $10,000." His tii-st 
 term of court was to him a "strange and novel business," This was 
 at Covington, Washington county, among his former comrades 
 of Indian rangers, who now failed to draw the line of distinction due 
 him as a supreme judge. The sheriff, unmindful of the exalted 
 position of his old comrade in arms, on (>})ening court, nuulc proc- 
 lamation of the fact, without rising from the rude bench in the 
 court room which he occupied astride, saying, in a familiar tone, 
 "Boys, the court is now open, John is on the bench." These 
 omissions of ceremony were not distasteful to his honor, for he 
 nttei'ly detested any kind of mo(;k dignity, though he says he was 
 not regardless of the "solemn, serious dignity and decorum" pro])(U' 
 in the proceedings of court.* 
 
 Foster, another of the supreme judges, resigned within a 
 year — June 22, 1810. He " was almost a total stanger in the coun- 
 try. He was a great rascal, but no one knew it then, he Invving 
 been a citizen of the State only for about three weeks befoic he, 
 was elected. He was no lawyer, never having either studied or 
 j)racti(!ed law; but a man of winning, polished nmnners, and 
 withal a gentlemanly swindler, from some part of Virginia. * * 
 He was believed to be a clever fellow, in the American sense of 
 that phrase, and a good hearted soul. He was assigned to hold 
 courts in the circuit on the Wabash ; but being fearful of exi>os- 
 ing his utter incompetency, he never went near any of them. 
 In the course of one year he resigned his high ottice, but took care 
 first to pocket his salary, and then removed out of the State. He 
 
 *Gov. Ford in his histoi-y, writes: "This same judge presided at a court in which a 
 man named Green was convicted of murder; and it became his unpleasant duty to pro- 
 nounce sentence of death upon the culprit. He called the prisoner before him, and 
 said to him: 'Mr. Green, the jury in their verdict say you are guilty of murder, and the 
 law says you are to be hung. Now I want you and all your friends down on Indian Creek, 
 to know that it is not I who condemns j ou, but it is the jury and the law. Mr. Green, 
 the lawallows you time for preparation, and so the court wants to know what time you 
 would like to be hung.' To this the prisoner replied, 'May it please the court, I am 
 read;,' at any time; those wlio kill the body have no power to kill the soul ; my prepara- 
 tion is made, and I am ready to suffer at any time the court may appoint.' The judge 
 then said, 'Mr. Green, you must know that it is a very serious matter to be hung; it 
 can't happen to a man more than once in his life, and you had better take all tlie time 
 you can get; the court will give you until this day four weeks. Mr. Clerk, look at the 
 almanac, and see whether this day four weeks comes on Sunday.' The clerk looked 
 at the almanac, as directed, and reported that 'thatday four weeks came on Thursday.' 
 The judge then said, 'Mr. Green, the court gives you until this day four weeks, at 
 which time you are to be hung.' The case was prosecuted by James Turney, Esq., the 
 attornej- general of the State, who here interposed and said : 'May it please the court, 
 on solemn occasions like the present, when the life of a human being is to l)e sentenced 
 away for crime, by an earthly tribunal . it is usual and proper for courts to pronounce a 
 formal sentence, in which the leading features of the crime shall be brought to the re- 
 collection of the prisoner, a sense of his guilt impressed upon his conscience, and in 
 which the prisoner should be duly exhorted to repentance, and warned against the 
 judgment in the world to come.' To this the judge replied. 'O! Mr. Turney, Mr. 
 Green understands the whole matter as well as if I had preached to him a month. He 
 knows he has got to be hung this day four weeks. You understand it in that way, Mr. 
 Green, don't you?' 'Yes,' said the prisoner; upon which the judge remanded him to 
 jail, and the court tlien adjourned." 
 
 Reynolds, in his work entitled "My Own Times," takes pains to deny the "silly fabri- 
 cation recorded In history," and says : 'T may not have acted in that frigid, unfeeliiYg 
 and mechanical manner that would please heartless and superficial men, who gen- 
 erally write and detail these tea-pot slanders. * * I considered them both [alluding 
 to the case of one Bennet also] guilt.y. and the judgment of the court was so under- 
 Stood, that they were both to be executed." 
 
302 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 afterwards became a noted swindler, moving- from city to city, 
 and living by swindling strangers, and in'ostituting his danghters, 
 who were very beantifnl."* 
 
 On the 7tli of Angnst, 1819, William Wilson was appointed to 
 fill the vacancy creiited by the resignation of Foster. Wilson 
 was a young man, scarcely 25 years old, of spotless character, 
 good education (though not collegiate), and fair attainments as a 
 lawyer. He was social in his disi)ositi()n, candid and artless by 
 nature, witli a manner pleasant and winning. He proved a sound 
 judge, and i)reside<l with a dignity which ins})ired the utmost 
 respect in the bar and attendants. Thus organized, and with 
 these men to guide her helm of State, was Illinois launched on 
 her career of independeiu'C among the sisterhood of sovereign 
 States. The men who, a little over a half century ago, assisted 
 at the i)olitical birth of this now great State, were, many of them, 
 the equals in sturdy virtues of the heroes of the Ivevolution, 
 and the peers in commanding intellect of the founders of any 
 the States ; but, without exception, they have passed to the land 
 ot sliadows, and many of them lie buried in obscure graves, their 
 deeds of greatness unknown to tlu^ great majority of the busy 
 throng of to-day. 
 
 But Illinois had not yet been declared admitted into the Union; 
 congress was not in session. At the October meeting of the 
 assembly therefore, no legislation or business other than the elec- 
 tion of officers, was attempted, for obvious reasons. After a 
 session of eight days a recess was taken till the first Monday in 
 January, 181i». In the meantime congress met, and by resolution 
 ot l)ecend)er od, 1818, declared Illinois to be '• one of the United 
 States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal foot- 
 ing with the original States in all respects." 
 
 Of the 15 counties organized at tlie adoi)tion of the constitution, 
 the farthest north was i>oml. Only about one-fourth of tlie terri- 
 tory of the State was embraced in these 15 counties. The settled 
 portions of the State were all south of a line drawn from xilton, 
 via Carlyle, to Palestine on the Wabash; but within this area 
 were large tracts of wilderness country of several days journe>' in 
 extent ; the settlements being mostly scattered along the borders 
 of the great rivers. All the vast prairies north of this line, com- 
 prising the most fertile lands of the State, and nearly every acre 
 of ^A'hicli was susceptible of cultivation, ready cleared and pre- 
 pared, as it were, for the hand of the husbandman, was a howling 
 wilderness, uninliabited save by the red savage and the prairie 
 wolf. 
 
 The population of the new State for admission into (lie Union 
 was required to be 40,000; the census of 1820 showed 55,211. 
 This was ai remarkable ratio of increase — exceeding 300 per cen- 
 tum within the preceding decade — the greater part of which had 
 come hither since the close of the war of 1812. Of this population, 
 scarcely a twentieth ]>art were the descendants of the old French or 
 Canadian settlers, whose blood, by their long isolation, had become 
 freely intermingled with that of tlie Indians. Nineteen-twentietlis 
 of the residue were Americans, and with the excei)tion of some 
 from Pennsylvania, were almost wholly from the southern States. 
 The latter stamped their peculiar characteristics of manners and 
 
 Word's History Illinois, 
 
bond's administration. 303 
 
 customs, in business and social relations, u])(>n all of soutliern 
 Illinois, which are in great part retained to this day. Tlie means 
 of education were extremely limited, and with the exce[)tion of 
 « one school for surveying;' and l)ook-keei»in<;', the only branches of 
 learning' taught at that tinu^ were spelling, reading, writing and 
 arithmetic. iSTor were the latter generally taught, or without ])rice. 
 Professional men came almost invariably from abroad, unless they 
 were ministers of the gospel, who, at that day, more than i)ei'haps 
 at the present, in obediemte to the voice of the Lord, entered at 
 once upon their sacred <;alling without other i)reparations than a 
 diligent reading of the scriptures — the free (pu)tation of which, 
 often without })oint or a|)plication, and their vehement exhorta- 
 tions being about all that was expected of them by the ])eople. 
 
 In his nu'ssage to the general assembly, J aiuniry, 1810, Governor 
 Bond reported the treasury of the new State in an eml)arrassed 
 condition, and advised a temporary loan. The total revenue of 
 the State, due December 1st, 1818, was reported by the auditor 
 at $7,510 41, [)art of which was in the hands of delinquent col- 
 lectors, while for still another part, the sheriffs of St. Clair and 
 Gallatin connties had refnsed to receive the warrants. A tempo- 
 rary loan of $:ir),000 was therefore authorized by the legislature. 
 The governor also advised a revision and inoditicafion of the ter- 
 ritorial laws for the puiushment of crimes, the ptMuilties whereof 
 were unnecessarily severe. But this the legislature did not view 
 in the same light, and no amelioration in the barbarous penalties 
 of the territorial code was nuule. They were re-enacted verbatim 
 (the enacting clause alone being changed to conform to the new 
 government), with all the whippings, the stocks and pillory, and 
 death by hanging for rape, arson, horse-stealing, etc., left intact. 
 They were, however, moditied at tin; session of 1821 ; and not only 
 the criminal code, but all the standard laws were regularly altered 
 at every session down to the re\ ision of 18137.* 
 
 The building of Jails and a penitenitary was also reconnnended 
 by the governor; so also the leasing of the school sections — the 
 proceeds to be exi)ended for education, and those from the town- 
 ship of seminary lands, to be reserved for subse(ptent use. The 
 goverm)r also recommended at that early day, the taking of some 
 steps toward the construction of the Illinois ami ^Michigan canal, 
 a work which was not accomplished, however, for thirty years 
 after, but throngh which, at this writing, by the enterprise, of Chi- 
 cago, the limpid waters of Lake Michigan course their way to the 
 Gulf of jNIexico. 
 
 The legislature fixed the salaries of the State officers as follows : 
 Governor and supreme jiulges, $1000 each; auditor, $700 ; sec- 
 retary of State, $000; treasurer, $500; payable quarterly ont of 
 the State treasury. The per diem compensation allowed to mem- 
 bers of the legislature, and also to the delegates who franuMl the 
 constitution, was $4, and to each of the i)residing otii(H'rs $5. 
 
 The State revenue was chietiy raised by a tax up(ui lands owned 
 by non-residents, whi('h at an early day fell almost wholly ui)on 
 the military tract between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers, while 
 
 •" For a long time the raare for amendinn' and altei-ing- was so sTfat, that it was saifl to 
 be a goofl thing- that the Holy Scriptures iliii not have to come before the legislature, tor 
 that bod J- would be certain to alter or amend them, so that no one i^ould tell what was 
 or was not the word of God, any more than could be told what was or was not the law 
 of the State. "—Ford's History lil. 
 
304 / HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlie connty revenues were raised by a tax on personal j)roperty, 
 including slaves or indentured servants, and by a resident land 
 tax. Unlike as at present, the vabiation of binds were then fixed 
 by law, in tbree classes, of $2, $3 and -$4: per acre, respectively. 
 The levies of taxes were nuide according to tlie estimates of the 
 sums reqnired to defray accruing exjienses, either State or county. 
 I^on-residents were required to enter their lands for taxation 
 directly with the auditor, under oath as to class; jnid the taxes 
 on tlieir lands were i)ayable directly to this officer. The collection 
 of the State revenue on <lelinquent lands was enforced by sending 
 lists thereof to the sheriffs of counties where situated to be ex- 
 posed at x)ublic sale. The penalty for failure of piiyment was 
 three times the tax imposed and costs. 
 
 A peculiar feature in the legislation of the times was the mak- 
 ing of important pid)lic improvcmen.ts bj means of private lot- 
 tery schemes. Thus, the navigation of tlie Big Wabash at the 
 Grand liapids, near Palmyra, by the digging of a canal, was 
 to be accomplished by a lottery. rerhai>s a snpertluous i»rovision 
 in the law was, that the overplus of any moneys arising from the 
 sclieiiie, should, at the discretion of the managers, be laid out in 
 farther improvements. Other like schemes had for their object 
 the drainage of poiuls in the American J3ottom, the building of 
 levees, and the reclannition of lands; all of them most woithy 
 objects, bnt, as might have been expected, tlie means provided 
 were very inadequate to the accomiilishment of the ends. The 
 session of 1819, was the last ever held at the ancient village of 
 Kaskaskia. 
 
 We have noted the fact that the legislature, during the latter 
 years of territorial existence, granted charters to several banks. 
 Prior to that, Ohio and Kentucky had each a large nuniber in oi»er- 
 ation. Missouri also authoiized two at St. Louis. The result was 
 that paper money became very abundant, times Hush, credit un- 
 limited, the throng of inunigrants, all with more or less nutans to 
 invest large, and property' rose rai)idly in value. A s])irit of spec- 
 ulation became rife. Towns were mimerously platted, lots pur- 
 chased on credit, houses built on promises, government lands 
 entered in large quantities — the price at the time being $-5 i)er 
 acre, one-fourth cash (the x>aper money of the banks being re- 
 ceived at the land offices, which also dei)osited with tlie bank), 
 and three-fourths on 5 years tune, under penalty of forfeitnre for 
 non-iiayment at maturity of contracts. Eveiybody invested to 
 the utmost limit of his credit, with the confident expectation of 
 realizing a handsome advance before the expiration of his credit, 
 from the coming immigrant. The merchants, ever enterprising, 
 bought vast quantities of goods on time, transported hither by the 
 increased facilities of steam navigation, while the ready credit 
 obtained at the stores, begot extravagance among the peoi)le. 
 Everybody was inextricably in debt to everybody. 
 
 P>y 1819, it became apparent that a day of reckoning would 
 approach before their dreams of fortune could bei-ealized. Banks 
 everywhere began to waver, pai)er money became dejireciated, 
 while gold and silver were driven out of circulation by the irre- 
 deemable currency. The legislature, at its session of 1819, sought 
 to bolster up the times, or stem the tide of approaching disaster, 
 bj incorporating a new Bank of Illinois, a monster concern, with 
 
bond's administration. 305 
 
 a ciipital of $2,000,000; stock was divided into shams of $100, 
 Avhicli might be subscribed by coi-porations or iiidi\i<hia]s, the 
 State reserving the right to take part or all that should reniaiji, as 
 the condition of the treasury might warrant, whenever the legisla- 
 ture shoidd deem it i)roper to do so. The charter was to run 1'7 
 years. When 15 ])ercent of the stock was paid in, it was to go 
 into oi>eration. The total amount of its debts was never to exceed 
 twiee the amount of paid up stock, beyond which oftieers were to 
 become liable indivi(bmlly. It might deal in six'cie, exchange, or 
 pai>er ple<lged l)y goods sold, or goods which might l)e the ])ro- 
 cceds of its lands. This last was a very objectionable feature. 
 Book.s were opened for subscription in div(»rs towns, but not a (h)l- 
 lar of stock was ever taken, ami it utterly failed to meet the 
 exigency of the times. 
 
 J5y IS1*0, the I>anks of neighboring States were broken, and those 
 of Illinois suspended; specie had tied the country; immigrants 
 came as moneyless as were those who had looked forward to their 
 well lilled i)urses ; paper towns failed to grow into nourishing vil- 
 lages; trade flagged; there was no commerce to bring money into 
 the country ; real estate was uiisaleable ; while contracts wildly 
 entered into, nmtured. As the folly of the people became ap])ar- 
 ent, ruin stared them in the face. Enormous sacrifices of proi)erty 
 under prospective executions must ensue, unless some scheme for 
 relief could be devised. In August, 1S20, a new legislature was 
 elected. The genius of this body was invoked on the behalf of 
 the endvarassed people. At its session of 1820-21, it willingly 
 addressed itself to this work, and evolved the " Illinois State 
 Bank" with a capital of half a million dollars, based entirely upon 
 the credit of the State. 
 
 The l»ills of this baidc, issued in from $1 to $20 notes, were, by 
 section 12, directed to be loaned to the people in sums of $100 on 
 personal security, deemed to be, in the (^pinion of the board, good 
 and sufficient; and all sums over $100 — not to exceed $1,000 to 
 any one borrower — on real estate security of double value. In- V/ 
 terest was six per cent. To bring the bank nearer to the people, 
 a mother bank was located at Vandalia with branches well distrib- 
 uted — at Edwardsville, Brownsville, Shawneetown and the county 
 seat of Edwards county — the State, for the convenience of the 
 public, being apportioned into 4 baidc districts. Each county was 
 entitled to a director, who with the Xnmk officers, were all elected 
 by the legislature. The notes weremade receivable in payment of all 
 State and county taxes, costs and fees, and the salaries of the ])ub- 
 lic officers were payable in them. They were also made a species 
 of legal tender, for unless an execution creditor endorsed his exe- 
 cution ''The bills of the State Bank of Illinois, or eithtir of the 
 branches, will be received in discharge of this execution," the de- 
 fendant was entitled to three years stay by replevy and personal 
 security, a most unjust feature. Three hundred thousand dollars 
 "were ordered to be issued innnediately, to be distribiited among tiie 
 respective districts in proportion to the inhabitants thereof. AVheu 
 the banks commenced o])eration, every one who was able to fur- 
 nish security, borrowed his $100, and those with lands unencum- 
 bered, took tlieir $1000 on mortgages ; and as both officers and 
 directors were mostly politicians looking forward to place or pol il- 
 eal advancement, few apj)licants, it has been inferred, were denied 
 20 
 
306 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 or liad tlieir endorsers closely scrutinized ; thus the $300,000 were 
 v/ soon absorbed by the people, and little of it was ever paid back. 
 Many of those who received acconuiiodations, regarded it from the 
 start as " «oinuch clear gain," and neither did nor intended to pay. 
 although at the subsequent depreciation of the currency it was 
 not difficult to do so. 
 ^ The issues bore 2 per cent annual interest, and were redeemable 
 by the State in 10 years time, which constituted them in fact bills 
 of credit, whose emission is inimical to the constitution of the 
 United States.* About this x)oint, no trouble was made howe\ er, 
 other than that the council of revision pointed out this among 
 other objections to the bill ; but it was pronsptly passed notwith- 
 standing. Although no provision was made for the conversion of 
 the notes into specie at any time, it was, nevertheless, confidently 
 believed that the bills m oidd keep at par with gohl and silver, and 
 our delegatiim in congress was gravely instructed to use their 
 utmost exertion to procure them to be made receivable at the land 
 offices in this State. " When this resolution was put to a vote in 
 the senate, the old French lieutenant-governor. Colonel Menard, 
 presiding over that body, did u}) the business as follows: Gentic- 
 men of de senate, it is moved and seconded dat de notes of dis 
 bank be made land office money. All in favor of dat motion say 
 aye ; all against it, say no. It is decided in de affirmative. And 
 now, gentlemen, I bet you $100 he never he made land office money.''''] 
 Such i)ro\'ed to be the fact. 
 
 The legislature were not unadvised of their infatuation. John 
 McLean, subsequently a senator in congress, was speaker of 
 the house. He was opposed to the measure, and his power as 
 a forcible debater was justly dreaded by the bank men. It is 
 rulable to debate all important bills in committee of the whole, 
 that the speaker may participate. To avoid an arraignment of 
 their bantling by him, the bank majority resorted to the trick of 
 refusing to go into committee of the whole. Burning with indig- 
 nation at such treatment, he promptly resigned the speakership, 
 and taking the floor, denounced in scathing terms the exi)ensive 
 folly of the scheme, presaging the injurious results which must 
 inevitably flow from its passage, involving creditors in ruin and 
 the State in bankruptcy. But it was pre-determined to pass the 
 bill, which was done over the veto by the requisite majority. The 
 issues of the bank did not long remain at par ; as their worthless- 
 uess became apparent, good money was driven out of circulation. 
 This was particularly so with small coins, and it became so diffi- 
 cult to make change that bills had to be cut in two. By various 
 steps, they depreciated to 25 cents on the dollar; and with this 
 worthless State currency were the people cursed for a period ex- 
 ceeding four years. By the year 1824, their depreciation had the 
 effect to almost impede the wheels of government. The ordinary 
 revenue for State imrposes, amounting to some $30,000 annually, 
 wasraisedbya tax on lauds belonging to non-residents; the expen- 
 ditures in good money equaled the re\enue. As taxes might be 
 paid in bills of the State baidv, non-residents, as well as residents, 
 availed themselves of the depreciated currency for this purpose. 
 Taxes from non-residents were collected biennially — an unfair ad- 
 
 *Craiff vs. the State of Missouri.— Supreme court of the U. S. 
 fFord's Illinois. 
 
bojNd's administration. 307 
 
 vantage over residents whose tax went into tlie eounty treasuries. 
 But the latter, in many instances, resorted to the artifice of listing 
 their lands in the names of unknown or fictitious persons sup- 
 posed to be non-residents, gaining- thus the same advantages, 
 which was a prolific source of injury to many counties. While 
 the State thus nominally received its full revenue, it was in i)oint 
 of fact Avorth only one-fourth, or one-third, as much as good money. 
 Under these circumstances, the legislature, the department of the 
 government that had made the bills a quasi legal-tender which an 
 execution creditor was comi)elled to take or wait three yearw for 
 his pay — than which notliing could be more unjust- hesitated not 
 to commit the enormity of voting themselves, the State ofticials, 
 judges, and for otlier expenses, their per diem compensation, sala- 
 ries, etc., in treble the amount of auditor's warrants, rated with the 
 dei)reciated stulf to e<pud in vabu' good money. Thus while the 
 ordinary ex])enses of the State government were $'>(>,(K)0 annually, 
 by these }»ra('tics they Avere sw(»llen to .$1)0,000, which the tax-pay- 
 ers had ultimately to foot. Xever was law more dishonorable. 
 With such exam])les from tlieir hiw makers, what would have been 
 the moral effect upon the people had they been influenced by them. 
 A crumb was, however, thrown to the latter. It \\ as enacted for 
 the accommodation of the debtors — the larger class, but again 
 most unjustly to the creditors — authorizing the rendering of judg- 
 ments against them for only one-third of tlu'ir debts, and exempting, 
 by another act, all real property, other tliau mortgaged himls, "from 
 liability to satisfy judgments for said debts." 
 
 This banking folly, not to charac'terize it worse, is said to have 
 cost the State, first and last, during the ten years for which its 
 charter was to run, the full amount of the autliorized issue, -$500,- 
 000, though f ;-)00,000 was all that was e^'er actually issued. Its 
 pernicious influence on the general prosi)erity of the IState. and 
 its damaging eftects u])on the revenue, became speedily so i)alpa- 
 ble that no legislature possessed hardihood enough to encounter 
 the ])ublic resentment by proposing that the State issue the 
 remaiming $L'w'(M) 000 ])rovided for in the charter. Still issuing 
 auditor's warrants and i)aying them out at $o for $1 to defray 
 State expenses generally, as authorized by the legislature, was 
 infinitely worse. In 182.")^ the State thus paid out $107,000 in au- 
 ditor's waiTants when its ordinary annual expenses in good nu)ney 
 would not at the uttermost have exceedeil $35,000. This was 
 equivalent to borrowing money at 200 per centum interest — a most 
 ruinous i)olicy if well followed. 
 
 The current expenses of the principal bank for the year 1824, 
 exceeded the discounts by $2,403 00. Without ever meeting the 
 fond expectations of its friends — unless it was in the contrivance 
 of robbing the creditor class for the benefit and lelief of •the 
 debtoi' class — without observing any of its promises, the old bank, 
 a frightful source of legislation all its life, lingered out the allotted 
 time of charter, and was finally wound up by the State in 1831. 
 This was done by means of the " Wiggins loan" of $100,000, 
 which gave to the State the requisite funds. This loan was ibr 
 a long time, unpopular in many sections of the State, whei^e it 
 was currently believed, it is said, that the State was sold to Wig- 
 gins. It has been asserted that if the State had originally 
 assumed dii'ectly and gratuitously the obligations of tlu; clamorous 
 
308 HISTORY OF TLLINOIS. 
 
 debtors, it would have proved less expensive to the treasury ; cer- 
 tainly less injurious to its credit. 
 
 At the session of 1821, the counties of Greene, Fayette, Mont- 
 gomery, Lawrence, Hamilton, Sangamon and Pike, the latter 
 including all the State north and west of the Illinois river and 
 whiit is now Cook, were established. Applications for the author- 
 ity to form new counties poured in so rapidly that the legislature 
 provided for 12 weeks publication of their intentions before the 
 petitions of parties would in future be entertained. A joint reso- 
 lution was passed requesting of Kentucky concurrent jurisdiction 
 on the Ohio river, so far as the same forms a common boundary to 
 both States, which has been conceded by that State. 
 
L*''. 
 
 ^ 
 
 Chapter XXVII. 
 
 1822-1826— ADMIXISTEATION OF GOVEENOR COLES. 
 
 A resunvs of Slavery in Illinois from its earliest date — Indentured 
 Slaves — BUick Laws — Kidnapping — Life and Character of Gov. 
 Coles — The effort to malce Illinois a Slave State in 1824. »^/ cv^ 
 
 The general election of An_2,nst, 1822, resulted in the choice of 
 Edwai'd Coles as ^oxernor, by a. i)lurality of votes over his prin- 
 cipal opponent, Joseph P]iilhi)s, then chief justice of the State. 
 Tliere were two otlier candidates in the held, Thomas C. Brown, 
 associate justice of the supreme court, and INlajor General James 
 B. Moore, of the State mihtia. Adolpluis Frederick Hubbard was 
 elected lieutenant governor. The otlier candidates for lieutenant 
 governor were James Lemon, jr., John G. Loften, Wm. Pine, and 
 James A. Peacoclv. 
 
 Into this election the question of slavery entered to a very con- 
 siderable extent. Coles and Moore being anti, and Phillips and 
 Brown pro-slavery. The country had but just emerged from the 
 angry contest over that su])ject as connected with the admission 
 of Missouri into the Union, in which our senators in congress, 
 Messrs. Edwards and Thonnis, had taken a leading part, being the 
 originators of the compromise line of 30 degress and oO minutes, 
 "while our member of the House, Daniel P. Cook, with luuch vigor 
 Lad opposed the admission of Missouri as a slave State. Thonuis' 
 term as senator would ex|)ire with the existing congress, and he 
 looked forward to an ap[)roval of his course in congiess and a re- 
 election. Of the legislature chosen at the same election, a nnijority 
 was against the governor in his anti-slavery views. But the sub- 
 ject of princii)al interest during his administration was the 
 convention struggling to make Illinois a slave State. To give the 
 reader a more connected ideu , we have heretofore purposely omitted 
 to present in chronological ord«?r the kindred subjects constituting 
 the heading of this chapter, and noAv group them together. 
 
 African slaves were tirst brought to Illinois in 1720 b^' I\<Miault, 
 agent and business manager of the "Company of St. Philli])s." 
 The belief obtained in France at that time that the wealth of the 
 M-estern world consisted in its i)earl fisheries, its mines of gold and 
 silver, and the wool of its wild cattle.* A monopoly of these 
 resources with nvaiiy others, was lii-st granted by the King to Cro/at 
 in 1812, and upon his resignation in 1717, to the great ''Com])any 
 of the West," of which the St. Plullips was a branch. Beiiault 
 left France in 1719 with a cargo of mechanics, miners and laborers 
 
 •Charlevoix, iii, 389. 
 
 309 
 
310 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 nuuibering- some 200, and on his way hither touched Avith his vessels 
 at Sau Domingo, where he purchased 500 shives, and thus j^re- 
 pared to prosecute the objects of the comi)any, he arrived in 
 lUinois. He founded tlie vilhige of "St. ThiHips,'' in what is now 
 the southeast comer of Monroe county, whence lie sent out exi)k)r- 
 ing' parties to various secticms in Illinois and Missouri, to i)iosi)ect 
 for the precious metals. In 1744, before his return to France, 
 Eenault sold these slaves to the French colonists of Illinois. 
 Vivier, a missionary among the Illinois, six leagues from Fort 
 Chartres, under date of June 8, 1750, writes: "We have here, 
 whites^ negroes, and Indians, to say nothing of the cross breeds. 
 There are live Fi-ench villages, and three of the natives, within a 
 space of 21 leagues, situated between the Mississi})pi and another 
 river called the Kaskaskia. In the five French villages are, 
 perhaps, 1,100 whites, 300 blacks, and some 00 red slaves or 
 savages. The three Illinois [Indian] towns do not contain more 
 than 800 souls, all told." These San Domingo slaves thus intro- 
 duced became the progenitors of the Fi-en(;h slaves in 
 Illinois. 
 
 The edict of Louis the XIII, dated April 23, 1015, first recognized 
 slavery in the French possessions of America, and the French 
 settlers of Illinois brought with them from Canada the French 
 laws and customs, among them the law which tolerated slavery. 
 In March, 1724, Louis XV published an ordinance reenatrting the 
 edict of XIII, and for the "regulation of the government and 
 administration of juvstice, police, disei[>le, and traffic in negro slaves 
 in the province of Louisiana," which included Illinois. It i>rovides 
 that the slaves be baptized and instructed in the Koman Catholic 
 religion and that they observe the Sabbath : prohibits the inter- 
 marriage of whites and blacks, under i»enalties, and the priests 
 from solemnizing such marriages; provides that the children of 
 slaves shall be bondsmen, or if one parent is free the children shall 
 follow the condition of the mother; that slaves enfeebled by age or 
 inliriwity shall be nuiintained by the master; allows the master to 
 pursue and recapture fugitives; i)rohibits their severe treatment, 
 and the separate sale of husband or wife, or children under age, 
 of a family, either by bill or execution ; ]>rovides that no slave 
 over forty years old attached to lands, shall be sold from the land, 
 unless for the debt of his purchase; enjoins their parental treat- 
 ment upon the masters, &c. The edict contains 55 articles, and 
 may be found at large in Dillon's History of Indiana, i, 31. It 
 was more just, and tempered with greater mercy, than most laws 
 of that character. 
 
 Thus was slavery originally established in Illinois, By the peace 
 concluded at Paris, Feb. 10, 1703, this country, as a dejiendency of 
 Canada, was ceded to Great Britain, and when General Gage took 
 possession of Illinois, he promised in his proclanuition of Dec. 30, 
 1704, to the late subjects of France, "that those wlio choose to 
 retain their lands and become sulyects of his [Biitanic] majesty, 
 shall enjoy the same rights and i)rivileges, the sauie security for 
 their persons and efteets, and libeity of trade, as the old subjects 
 of the king." At this jieriod England recognized slavery in all 
 her American colonies, and the ac(]uisition of Canada and its 
 dependencies oi)erated to extend her colonial laws and customs to 
 these. 
 
coles' ADSnNISTEATION. 311 
 
 Next, Virginia, 1778, tlirongli lier expedition under tlie eonunand 
 of George Kogers Claili:, made tlieconciuest of Illinois, and as soon 
 as the news was received, her house of burgesses further declared as 
 Avithin her chartered limits the whole of the northwest territoi y, and 
 proceeded by act to erect it into a county which A^as called Illinois, 
 an<l extended over this country her laws and jurisdiction. The 
 prcainl)le of the act recites, "that the inhabitants had acknowledged 
 themselves citizens of the commonwealth of Virginia, and had 
 talceu the oath of fidelity to the Statti," M'iierefore it was declared 
 "that they should enjoy their own religion, with all their civil rights 
 and ]>roi>erty." Qtlier Strifes came forward with charter claims, 
 bnt that of Virginia was as broad as these; added to which was 
 her title by comiuest, going i^ack to the first principles by which 
 all titles are originally deduced, and lier actual occn])ation con- 
 stituting the best of tenures; and while it was urged thatthe latter 
 could not operate against her confederate claimant sister ^States, 
 engaged in a common war jointly with her, congress did not deny 
 the right of her separate conquest. After some hesitation, Vir- 
 ginia finally authorized her delegates in congress to convey all of 
 the northwestern territory to the llidted States. The deed 
 of cession was executed March 1st, 1784, the same day accepted 
 ajud by congress ordered to be enrolled among the ])ubli(; archives. 
 In the meantinie, by the treaty of peace with Great Britain, in 
 1783, the whole of this country was ceded to the United States. 
 
 The following stii>ulation in the <leed of cession has given rise 
 to much controversy in the history of slavery in Illinois : '• That 
 the French and Canadian iulmbitaiits ami other settlers of the 
 Kaskaskias, St. Vincents, and the neighboring villages, who have 
 professed themselves citizens of the State of Virginia, shall have 
 their ]>ossessions and titles confirmed to them, and be protected in 
 thv enjoyment of their rights and liberties." 
 
 The first effort made by congress to organize the northwestern 
 territory was as early as 1784. The bill contained the provision, 
 "that after the year 1800 there shall be neither slavery nor invol- 
 untary servitude in any of the said States," to be formed out of the 
 territory. When the bill came up for action, the pioviso, on a 
 separate vote, failed, although States voted for it to 3 against ; 
 but under the articles of confederation the vote of 9 States was 
 recpiired to carry a measure. 
 
 On the 13th of July, 1787, congress adoi)ted the ordinance for 
 the government of the territories northwest of tiie river Ohio, the 
 6th article whereof reads as follows : "There shall be neither 
 slavery nor involuntary serxitude in the said territor\', otherwise 
 than in punishment of crinu'S whereof the i>arty shall have been 
 duly convicted." The ordinance was subsequently ai)proved under 
 the constitution, when the latter went into operation. The acts of 
 congress dividing tlie territory, both in the case of Indiana and 
 Illinois, extended to the inhabitants of each, all and singular the 
 rights, in-ivileges, and advantages granted by the ordinam^e 
 originally, as we have seen. The census of 1800 gave the number 
 of slaves in the Indiana territory, which then included Illinois, as 
 133. In 1810 Illinois separately had 1(38 slaves; in 18l'0, !)17, whicdi 
 probably included in dentm^ed and registered servants, and in 1830, 
 746. 
 
312 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The (5tli article of the ordinance of 1787, prohibiting' slavery, 
 became at an early i)eriod a subject of repeated complaints. In 
 1790 four i)ersons in Kaskaskia, doubtless picturiu!^' to themselves 
 in golden colors the ease and attiuence incident to slave labor, 
 petitioned congress to suspend the restriction of the ordinance. 
 November 22, 1802, Gov. Harrison, in compliance with the wishes 
 of a lumiber of inhabitants, but with what legal right it is diflficult 
 to conceive, issued his proclamation directing the people to liold 
 an election in the several cojinties of the territory on the 11th of 
 December and choose delegates, who were to meet in convention at 
 Vincennes on the 20tli instant, to deliberate on "territorial inter- 
 ests." From Illinois, for the county of St. Clair, Shadrach Bond, 
 John IMoredock, and Jean F. Perry were returned, and for 
 Ean(lol[)li, liobert JMorrison, Pierre Menard, andPobert lieynolds; 
 Gov. Harrison presided. The object \\as to obtain frtmi congress 
 a re})eal or nioditieation of the Gth article of the organic act, 
 prohibiting the introduction of slaves into this territory. 
 
 A memorial was prei)ared and transmitted to congress, declaring' 
 the consent of the i)eople to a susi)ension of the prohibitory 
 clause; that such suspension would be highly advantageous to the 
 territory and would meet the ai)p]obation of nine-tenths of the 
 good citizens" thereof; that "inasmuch as the number of slaves 
 in the United States would not be augmented by the measure," 
 the abstract question of liberty and slavery was not involved; 
 that the introduction of slaves into the territory where labor was 
 scarce, from the States Avhereitwas abundant, would i)rove equally 
 advantageous to both sections; that slavery was prohibited in the 
 territory by congress when "they were not represented in that 
 body — witlnmt their being consulted and without their knowledge 
 or approbation;" that the number of slaves could never bear such 
 a ratit) to the white poi>ulation "as to endanger the internal peace 
 or prosperity of the country; that slaves were tolerated in other 
 territories; that among their small farmers they would be "better 
 fed and clothed than where they were crowded on large i)lantations 
 by hundreds," etc.* 
 
 In March, 1803, Mr. Pandol])h, of Virginia, as chairman of the 
 special committee, reported that "the rapidly increasing popula- 
 tion of the State of Ohio sufficiently evinces, in the opinion of your 
 committee, that the labor of slaves is not necessary to promote 
 the growth and settlement of colonies in that region. That this 
 labor, demonstrabl.A' the dearest of any, can only be employed to 
 advantage in the cultivation of products more valuable than any 
 known to that quarter of the United States ; that the committee 
 deem it highly dangerous and inexpedient to impair a provision 
 "wisely calculated to promote the happiness and prosi>erity of the 
 northwestern country, and to gi\'e strength and security to that 
 extensive frontier. In the salutary operation of this sagacious 
 and benevolent restraint, it is believed that the inhabitants will, 
 at no very distant day, find ample reuumeration for a temporary 
 privation of labor and immigration." How prophetically true ! 
 A resolution embodying these views was also reported. 
 
 This report, made just before the close of the session, was not 
 acted upon, and at the next session was referi-ed to a new com- 
 mittee, with Mr. Eodney, of Delaware, as chairman, who reported 
 
 *aee Annals oi Congress, House, Nov. 1807. 
 
COLES ADMINISTRATION. 313 
 
 Feb. 4, 1804, lii\oviibly to the ineinoi-ialists, .suspciKliug- tlie (ith 
 article for teu years, allowing' the importation of slaves from States 
 only, and that the male descendeiits slioidd be free at 25 and the 
 females at 21; but no action was had on the report. Again, at 
 the legislative session of l.SOa-O, additional memorials of similar 
 import were prepared and submitted to congress, and in the House 
 referred to a select committee, with IVlr. Garnett, of Virginia, as 
 chairman; and again a favorable repoit to the prayer of the 
 iiu'Uiorialists was made, Feb. 14, concluding with a- resolution sub- 
 stantially like tlie one of Mr. llodney. The report was nuule the 
 special order for a certain day, but it was ne^'er called up. AVith 
 the 0]>ening" of the next congress, more resolutions from the Indiana 
 legislature transmitted by Gov. Harrison, were presented, urging 
 in a long ])reand)le a suspension of the (ith article of the ordinance. 
 The subject was tinally referred to a special committee, this time 
 with Mr. I'arke, the territorial delegate, as chairman, and for the 
 third time a favorable report was nuule, together with a resolution 
 suspending the obnoxious article; but no action was had and the 
 rei)ort slept with its i)r(Hlecessors. Simultaneously Mith these im- 
 portunities upon the House, copies of memorials and resolutions 
 were also transmitted to the president aiul by him sent to tlie 
 senate. 
 
 But while those favorable to throwing open the territory to the 
 influx of slaves were active, the opponents were not idle. In 
 October, 1807, a large and enthusiastic nu'ctiugof the citizens was 
 held in Clark county, Indiana, and a remonstraiu'c drafted ex- 
 pressive of the impr(>i)riety of the suspension, aiul soliciting con- 
 gress to defer action until their population should entitle them to 
 form a constitution, etc. They also charged that the slave party, by 
 some "legerdenuiin," obtained the name of the jtresident of the 
 legislative council to the last resolutions sent to congress, which he 
 denies signing. In the seiuite a committee, consisting of Franklin, 
 of North Carolina: Kitchell, of New Jersey, and Tiftiu, of Ohio, 
 was api)ointed, to which the Avhole sul))ect was referred. After 
 duly considering the uuitter, they reported adversely to the pray- 
 er of the legislative memorialists. Thus ended the very per- 
 sisteut, but happily abortive, efforts to throw oi)en the doors of 
 this vast and tertile region to the blighting influences of slaAcry. 
 Not the people at home, but congress sitting at Washingtou, saved 
 us from this curse. 
 
 Notwithstaiuling the words of the ordinance, "there shall be 
 neither slavery or involuntary servitude in said territory," it was 
 very early contended that the words in the deed of cession fioni 
 Vii'ginia — " shall have their possessions and titles coutirnu^d" — 
 guaranteed to the holders of these slaves a right of proi)erty in 
 them; that this provision in the deed overrode the ordiiumce and 
 secured them a vested right for all time in that species of i>rop- 
 erty ; that slavery in the territories was not abolished, but its furt her 
 introduction simply prohibited ; that these slaves were the prop- 
 erty of citizens of Virginia, or were then the desceiulants of sn<di 
 slaves, ami reumined slaves by the compact eutere<l into between 
 the State of Virginia and the general government. And althougli 
 others contemled that the words "titles," "possessions," "rights" 
 and " liberty," in the deed of cession, " were never intended by 
 Virginia to guarantee the possessions of slaves," still all that class 
 
314 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of x)ersons M^ere held as slaves, and tlie rigbtfiiluess of tbeir ten- 
 ure was not brought before the proper tribuual in this State until 
 the year 1845. 
 
 The lirst decision sustaining the sixth article of the ordinance of 
 1787, was made by the supreme court of Indiana. Next, by that 
 of Missouri.* In the former, the mother of plaintiff had been a 
 slave in Virginia, was taken to Illinois before the ordinance of 
 1787, held in sla^"ery there before and after its passage, and there 
 tbe plaintiff" was Ijoin after its passage. It was held that she was 
 free. In the case of Menard vs. Aspasia,t the mother of As})ii,sia 
 was born in Illinois before the ordinance, and held as a slave from 
 birth. Aspasia was born after the ordinance, at Kashaskia, and 
 held as a slave. The supreme court of Missouri held that she 
 was entitled to her freedom, and upon a writ of error to the su- 
 preme court of t]ie United States, that court declined jurisdiction, 
 which affirmed the judgment below. In 1845, for the lirst and 
 only time, was the question brought squarely before the supreme 
 court of this State, and it ^^"as decided that the descendants of 
 the slaves of the old French settlers, born since the adojttion 
 of the ordinance of 1787, or bu|"ore, or since the constitution, could 
 not be held in slavery in Illinois.^ 
 
 Indentured and Ixegistered 8laves. — Failing in their effort with 
 congress to modify the restriction of the organic law with regard 
 to slavery, the next step to compass the same result, was by the 
 law-making powers of the territory, both of the 1st and 2d grades, 
 and in detiauce of the prohibition, a law was adopted entitled " an 
 act concerning the introduction of negroes and mulattoes into this 
 territory." The act bears date Septeud)er 17, 1807, but this sim- 
 ply means that it was reported among the revised laws by Jones 
 and Johnson, the whole batch of which was re-adopted on that 
 day at Vinceunes. It was a law ad()i)ted by the first grade of ter- 
 ritorial government. Tlie first general assembly met at Vinceunes 
 July 29, 1805, yet more than a year previous, April (!, 1804, Gov- 
 ernor Harrison, learning tliat certain persons were about to remove 
 a number of indentured persons from the territory for the pur- 
 l)Ose of selling them as slaves, issued a prochimation forbidding 
 their removal and calling upon the civil authorities to interpose. 
 We quote from the law of 1807 : 
 
 "Section 1. It shall and may be lawful for any person, being the 
 owner of any negroes or mulattoes of and above tbe age of 15 years, and 
 owing service and labor as slaves in any of tlie States or territories of the 
 United States, or for any citizen of the United States or territories, 
 purcbasing the same, to bring the said negroes or mulattoes into this 
 territory. ' ' 
 
 Section 2 provided, that within 30 days after bringing tbe slaves into 
 tbe territory, tbe owner or master should taketbem before tbe clerk of the 
 court and liave an indenture between tbe slave and bis owner entered 
 upon record, specifying tbe time wliicb tbe slave was compelled to serve 
 his master; [tbe term being generally fixed at 99 years, a period beyond 
 tbe ordinary term of human life]. 
 
 Section 3 guarded the i)roi)erty of the master against loss by allowing 
 him, in tbe event of tbe slave refusing to enter into such agreement or 
 indenture, to have the lawful rigbt, within 60 days, to remove such slave 
 to any State or territory where such property could be legally held. 
 
 *John Murry vs. Tiffin and Menard, 1 Mo. R. 735. 
 
 +5th Peters, 510. 
 
 $See 2d Gilman, p. 1— Jarrot vs. Jarrot. 
 
coles' administration. 315 
 
 The 4th section prescribed tlie riiainier of correcting' tlie ser- 
 vant for laziness, inisheliaviour, or disorderly conduct, the pun 
 ishnieiit being' chastisement with "stri]tes." 
 
 ''.Si'.c. 5. Any person removing into this territory, and being the 
 ownei' of any negro or nuihilto under the age of 15 yenrs, it shall and may 
 he law ul lor such person, owner or possessor to hold the said negro fJr 
 mulatto to service or lal)or, the males until they arrive at the age of 35 
 and the females until they arrive at the age of 82 years. 
 
 "SiX". 13. The children born in this territory of a parent of color, 
 owing service of labor by indenture, according to the law, shall serve 
 the master or mistress, the males until the age of 30, and females mitil 
 the age of 2H years." 
 
 Tbeotlier secticnis of tlie act wei'e all in harmony with the pur- 
 pose to introduce, innintiiin ;ind |)rotect sla\ery in Illinois in defi- 
 ance of the ordiniiiice of J7S7. 8hivei'y was thus not ouly 
 introduced, but nnide liereditiiry, by ini])osin<i' upon the chihlreii 
 boi'u under it the obligation to serve the owners of tlicir ])ni'(Mits 
 until 2S ami 30 years. It also pointed out tlie mode in whicli the 
 master might sell his servants by an assignment of the indenture 
 by which these ])eople were made commerce, as completely as 
 if in a condition of absolute slavery. 
 
 Aftertlieorganization of the Illinois territory in 1800, the governor 
 aud judges adopted the same act as the law of Illinois, and upon 
 the assembling of the tirst legislaf ure at Kaska.skia, it was, De- 
 cember 13, 1812, re-adopted. The law was, to all intents and pur- 
 poses, void under the ordinance of 1787. In the case of l'li<ebe 
 vs. Jarrot,* of the su[)reme court, Loclvwoo<l, judge, decided that 
 the act of Se])teniber 17, 1807, respecting the introduction of ne- 
 groes an<l mulattoes into the territory, was void, as being repug- 
 iiiiiit to the sixth article of the ordinance of 1787. But it was 
 fiu'ther h(dd that the contracts of indenture under that law were 
 rendered valid by the third section of the sixth article of the State 
 constitution : 
 
 "Each and every person who has been bound to service by contract or 
 indenture in virtue of the laws of Illinois territory heretofore existing, 
 aud in conformity to the provisions of the same, without fraud or collu- 
 sion, shall be held to a specihc performance of their contracts or inden- 
 tures ; and such negroes and mulattoes as have registered in conformity 
 with the aforesaid laws, shall serve out the time appointed by said laws; 
 provided, ho'wever, that the children hereafter born of such persons, 
 negroes or mulattops, shall become free, the males at the age of 21 years, 
 the females at the age of 18 years." 
 
 The court say : A constitution can do what a legislative act can- 
 not do, because it is the su[)renie, tixed and ])ermanent will of the 
 people in tluMr original, soxereign and unlimited ca})acity ; that the 
 act of accepting that constitution and admitting it into the Union 
 by congress, abrogated so much of the ordinance of 1787 as was 
 repugnant to it. In Boone vs. Jitliet,* the ccmrt held that ''the 
 children of negroes and mulattoes, regisrered under the laws of 
 the territory of Indiana and Illinois, are unqiu\stionably free — 
 because of an absence in the law of 1807 providing for the chil- 
 dren of registered slaves, notwithstanding the constitution of 
 Illinois says that the children born of such registered persons 
 shall render service until 18 and 21 years old." 
 
 The question of the validity of the indenture and registration 
 act, under the sixth article of the ordinance of 1787, i-t seems, Avas 
 
 ♦Breese Ills. JR. 268. tlst Scam. 258. 
 
316 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 not raised before the territorial courts, and indeed, not for some 
 time afterwards. The couvention, therefore, which enacted the 
 constitution, gave that hiw the only legal vitality it ever had, but 
 it is presumable that they were under the impression that it 
 was valid and had been all the time; and it was only in require- 
 ment of the enabling act of congress that they enacted article VI, 
 section I : " Neither slavery nor involuntarj^ servitude shall here- 
 after be introduced into this State." 
 
 At the session of the territorial legislature, in 1817, a bill was 
 passed to repeal so nuich of "an act concerning the introduction 
 of negroes and nndattoes into this territory," as authorized the 
 bringing of negroes and mulattoes into the territoiy and inden- 
 turing tliem as slaves. The preamble declares the law to "intend 
 to introduce and tolerate slavery under the pretense of voluntary 
 servitude in contravention of the ])ernuinent law of the land," 
 and " contrary to the ordinance of 1787." But the veto power of 
 the territorial goveriu^r was absolute, aiul his Excellency Go^er- 
 nor Edwards hesitated not to exercise it, assigning reasons at 
 considerable length, as was his wont: "I conscientiously believe 
 that the legislature was competent to pass the law— of which 
 opinion were also the judges with whom I was associated" in the 
 adoption of the law, " previous to the organization of our general 
 assembly." lie held that congress couhl not violate the stipula- 
 tions in the deed of cessioii from Virginia, "there was and still is 
 slavery in the territory, notwithstanding the article in the ordi- 
 nance ;" but " waiving the question whether congress ever had any 
 right to impose the sixth article of the ordinance, or any more 
 restrain the people from purchasing additional slaves to clear and 
 culti\ate their lands, than horses to i>low them," he pioceeded to 
 argue the abstract right of "involuntary servitude." After finally 
 stating that " such indentures would be and ought to be sui)ported 
 upon principles of law as well as common honesty," and that 
 lie "can see no evil in allowing them to be made," he concluded: 
 " 1 am no advocate for slavery ; and if it dei)ended upon my vote 
 alone, it should never be admitted into any State or territory not 
 already cursed with so great an evil ;" and that his objection to 
 the repeal was, that there was no such law of Illinois as tluit of 
 September 17, 1807, described in the bill. In this he was tech- 
 nically right, because in 1807 Illinois was Indiana.* This veto 
 message was now (1823-4) made use of by the convention ]>aity, 
 seeking to graft slavery ui)on the constitution, as an electioneering 
 docTunent.t 
 
 The convention which framed the first constitution of the State, 
 evaded the full requirement of the ordinaiu-e of 1787. In article 
 VI, section I of that instrument, the further introduction of slaves 
 into the State was prohibited ; but it did not only not abolish slavery, 
 or liberate those in the State, but in section 3 of the same article, 
 provided that the "indentured servants" — slaves for 99 years in 
 most cases — should be held for the whole term specified in their 
 contracts of indenture, and even their children were to owe ser- 
 vice, the males till 21 and the females till 18 years of age ; and 
 this provision, as we have seen, the supreme court held as valid. 
 Thus slavery in Illinois, while it was steadily decreasing, was not 
 
 *Govei-nor Edwards was himself the owner of quite a number of indentured thives. 
 111. Intelligencer, St-pt. 6, 18:.'3. 
 
coles' administration. 317 
 
 •wholly abolislied until the adoption of the constitution of 1848, 
 which contained the followiujipiovi.siou : "There sliall be neitlier 
 slavery nor involuntary servitude in this State, except as a pun- 
 ishment for crime," etc. 
 
 The'-^Blaclv Laws.^^ — After the adoption of the coustitution of 
 1818 and the admission of the State into the Union, the first gen- 
 eral assend)l5', notwithstanding- the small number of negroes as 
 compared with the white inluibitants, re-enacted, March 30, bSl'J, 
 the old stringent, not to say barbarous law "res])ecting' free ne- 
 groes, mulattoes, servants and slaves," with only such slight revi- 
 sion as became necessary by the transition from the territorial to 
 the State government. Of course the territorial law whicli author- 
 ized the introduction of slaves from slavehoUling States and terri- 
 tories was omitted, in obedience to article VI section 1 of tlie con- 
 stitution. Perhaps no severer law was to be found in any slave 
 State, even where the blacks outnumbered the whites. There was 
 no adequate cause for this : it doubtless resulted from the early 
 associations of our law makers, who at that time were men not only 
 mostly born and bred in the midst of slaves, but who lo(»ked for- 
 ward to the nudging of Illinois a slave State. 
 
 No negro or mulatto, by himself or with his family, was i)ermit- 
 ted to reside or settle in the State, until he had first produced a cer- 
 tificate of freedom under seal of a court of record, which, togethi^r 
 with a description of the x><?i'^on producing it, and his family, if 
 any, was to be entered of record in the county he proposed settling- 
 in and so duly endorsed ; but the overseers of the pooiwerenotwith- 
 standing emi>owered to exi)elsuch fanuly in their discretion. Any 
 person coming to theState to emancipate his slaves, was recjuiied to 
 execute to the county a bond in $1000 as guaranty that the eman- 
 cipated person should not become a piiblic charge ; for neglect or 
 refusal of which he was liable to a fine of $L*00 ; all resident 
 negroes or mulattoes, except slaves, before the 1st of Juneensning, 
 were to enter their names and every member of their families, 
 with the circuit clerk, together with their evidences of freedom to 
 be certified by the clerk, but which should not bar the owners to 
 reclaim them. No person was to employ any negro or mulatto 
 without such certificate, under a i)enalty of $1.50 for each day em- 
 ployed, recoverable before a justice, one third going to the inform- 
 er, the rest to the owner or the county. To harbor any slave or 
 servant, or hinder the owner in retaking a slave, was declared a 
 felony, punishable by restitution, or a tine of two-fold value and 
 whipping not to exceed 30 stripes. Every black or mulatto not 
 having a i^roper certificate was deemed a runaway slave, subject 
 to arrest and commitment by a justice, then to be described and 
 advertised for G weeks by the sheriff, when, if not reclaimed or his 
 freedom established, he was to be sold for one year, at the end of 
 which time he was entitled to a certificate, except as against his 
 owner. No person was to sell to, buy of or trade with any ser^•ant 
 or slave, without the consent of his master, under penalty of for- 
 feiting to the master 4 times in value the amount of such transac- 
 tion. Any slave or servant found ten miles from home without 
 permit was liable to arrest and 35 stripes on the orderof a justice ; 
 or if he appeared at any dwelling or plantation without leave of 
 his master, the owner of the place was entitled to administer, or 
 have it done, 10 lashes on the bare back; for being lazy, disorderly 
 
318 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 or misbehaving' to his master or family, ou the order of ajustice, 
 he was to be coirected with stripes, and for every day he refused 
 to woik he was to ser\e two. 
 
 Eiots, routs, unlawful asseuiblies, trespass, seditious speeches 
 ])y slaves or servants, were punishable with stripes not exceeding 
 39 ; persons suffering 3 or more slaves or servants to assemble ou 
 their premises for dancing, reveling, &c., were liable to a fine of 
 $20, recoverable by qui tarn action, it was made the duty of all cor- 
 onei's, sheriff's, judges, and justices of the peace, on view or knowl- 
 edge of such assenddages, to have the offenders conunitted to jail, 
 and upon judgment to order 39 strii)es. In all cases where fi'ee 
 l)ersons were i)unisliable by fine, slaves or servants, were to be 
 chastised by whipping, at the rate of 20 lashes for every $8 of 
 fine, not to exceed 40 stripes at any one time. Thus was the free 
 State of Illinois ju-ovided with a com])lete sla\'e (;ode. 
 
 In 1817, the convention which revised the constitution, in arti- 
 cle XIV, required of the general assembly at its first session under 
 the amended constitution, to pass such hiws as would effectually 
 prohibit free ])ersons of color from imnd grating to or settling in 
 this State and prevent the owners of slaves from bringing them in- 
 to the State for the purpose of setting them free. 
 
 In pursuance of this lU'ovision, the legislatiue passed an act of 
 Feb. 12, 18.53, which provided that if any negro or mulatto, bond 
 oi free, came into this State and remained ten days, with the 
 evident intention of residing therein, he should he deemed guil- 
 ty of a high misdemeanor, and for the first offence should be fined 
 $50, and if the fine was not forthwith paid he was to be committed 
 to the custody of the sheriff', to be ad\'ertised ten days and then 
 sold to any person who would pay the tine and costs for the short- 
 est period, the purchaser being empowered to hold and work the 
 culprit during the tiuje. One case under this act was taken up to 
 the supreme court from Hancock county, and decided in 1804* 
 The court held the law to be valid ; that the ]>unishment was not 
 slavery, because the person was sold only for a limited period; it was 
 only a species of apprenticeship ; and that the State might define 
 offences and jnescribe the lainishnu^nt. and the exercise of such 
 powers could uot be inquired into by the court. 
 
 The '-black laws," as they were f(U' a long time known, were 
 continued, with slight modification, in all the revisions of the laws 
 from 1819 down to 1805, when by act of Feb. 7th, they were re- 
 pealed. Diuing that time, however, efforts were repeatedly made 
 to abolish them. l>ut they had ceased to be enforced for numy 
 years previously, and, except the act of 3 853, were regarded as a 
 dead letter. The obstinacy with which they were retained was 
 owing in great part to the Abolition excitement of modern times, 
 ^\hich in a manner constituted them tests of party fealty. 
 
 Kidnapping. — But the most odious feature of the act of March 
 30, 1819, "respecting free negroes, mulattoes, servants and 
 slaves," was one of omission, or the inadequate i)rovision nmde for 
 the punishment of the crime of kidnapping. It provided, "section 
 9, and he it further enacted, that any person or i)ersons, who 
 shall forcibly take and carry out of this State any negro or mulatto 
 (slaves excepted by their owners), owing service or labor to any 
 person in this State, or who shall forcibly take out of this State 
 
 *See Nelson vs. The People, &c. 
 
coles' administration. 319 
 
 any free negro or mulatto having gained a legal settlement in this 
 State, shall forfeit and pay for every such offence the sum of $1(»0() 
 to the party injured, to be recovered in the name of the people of 
 the State of iniiu)is, by action of debt in any court luiving cogui- 
 ziiuce of the same.'" By a proviso it was added, that this should not 
 apply to the recapture of fugitive slaves. 
 
 The liiu', it will be ol)serve(l, was for the party injured, who 
 might have been successfully carried to so remote a section in the 
 south and there sold into bondage, as to preclude the possibility of 
 his return. Xo share of it was to go to a i)rosecutor. It in effect 
 provi*led a })remium for the successful kidnapper who would steal 
 the remedy with the person. The remedy was civil ; no provision 
 occiirs in the law for any other }>unishment if the culi^rit was 
 vrorthless in visible worldly effects upon which to levy an execu- 
 tion, and this doubtless was the condition of the kidnapping 
 scoundrels in 1)1) cases out of every 100. The law reads : who 
 "sball forcibly take and carry out of this State" &c; but in the 
 majority of cases the poor ignorant blacks, by fraud and deceit, 
 were inveigled into atrip south on a Hat boat, or otlier errand, and 
 at some pre-arranged point on the river they would be turned 
 over to confederates, forcibly and rapidly taken to the interior and 
 there sold into slavery, the original parties often leaving the 
 impression ujion their black dupes that they hnd no hand in the 
 outrage. Against such enticements the law cited nuule no provi- 
 sion, and they were perpetrated with impunity. Another mode was 
 to seize a black and forcibly convey him to a rendezvous either on 
 the Ohio or Mississippi, but not out of the State, where a confede- 
 rate would ap])ear and carry him beyond. 'Nov were the blacks 
 allowed their oaths agaiust whites,, aud hence it was generally 
 impossible to convict. 
 
 The crime of seizing free blacks, running them south and selling 
 them into slavery from this State, for a long time was quite com- 
 mon. The poor ignorant colored (;rea tares, against whom was not 
 only the law but apparently every man's hand, were hampered in 
 the south l)y all the contrivances of ingenicms slave codes to pre- 
 vent, their escape, while the weary years of unrequited toil 
 rolled slowly around, ever embittered by heart longings to returu 
 to home and kindred. Tlie same may be said of the affectionate 
 ones left at home. ISTo crime can be greater than this. Portions 
 of southern Illinois for many years afforded a safe retreat to these 
 kidnapi)ing outlaws. We cannot cite the numerous cases of kid- 
 impping. An early conviction for this crime was that of Jeptha 
 Lambkins, at the term of the IMadison county circuit court, Novem- 
 ber, 1822. We have not the particulars. On the night of ]May 2o, 
 1823, a free colored man nanunl Jackson Butler, his wife and 6 
 children, residing in Illinois a few miles from Vincennes, were kid- 
 napped by a band of villians from Lawrence county in this State. 
 Butler had been purchased by Gov. Harrison in Kentucky, 
 brought to Indiana, indentured, and had served out his term 
 faithfully. His wife was born free, which rendered the children 
 also free. They were taken down the Wabash to the Ohio, thence 
 south. Harrison learning of the outrage, offered a reward of $300 
 for the apprehension of the kidnappers. The name of Harrison 
 gave it wide circulation, and in September folio whig, news came 
 
320 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 that the Butler family had been rescued at New Orleans, just as 
 they were about to be shipi^ed to Cuba,* 
 
 In the first message to the general assembly, December, 5, 
 1822, Gov. Coles called special attentiou to the subject of kidnap- 
 ping ; that crime, he was sorry to say, was too often committed in 
 tlie State with impunity ; urged that the duty of society as well as 
 every benevolent feeling demanded better i)rotection for the free 
 blacks, while they remained in the State ; that the peculiar situa- 
 tion of the State, bordering on three rivers conuuunicating with 
 the country' where there was always a demand for shines, afforded a 
 great temptation and facility to the lawless and inhuman to eflgage 
 in this crime, and that more efficient laws were required to prevent 
 the kidnapping of free bla(;ks. 
 
 This i)art of the message, with the subject of slavery, was refer- 
 red to a special committee consisting of Messrs. Will, Emmit and 
 Moore, who reported Dec. 12, 1822, as follows : "Your coiinuittee 
 have carefully examijied the laws upon the subject, and with deej) 
 regret annouuce their incai)ability of devising a more effectual plan 
 than the one already prescribed by law for the suppression of such 
 infamous crimes. It is believed that the benevolent views of the 
 executive and the benign purposes of the statutes can only be 
 realized by the redoubled diligence of our grand juries and our 
 magistrates, aided by the well directed supi)ort of all just and 
 good men." 
 
 The legislature was politically oi)posed to the governor, and the 
 language of the coiumittee, "benign statute," was the baldest of 
 irony. These gentlemen however were quite capable of devising 
 a schejue how to introduce slavery iuto the State, which they 
 reported at the same time, and to which we will now direct our 
 inquiry. 
 
 [In 1851 an attempted murder, growing out of the business of kidnapping-,was curious- 
 ly developed. It sliows also the modus operandi and the desperate characters connec- 
 ted with this crime. A Mrs. Prathcr, deceased, of AVeakley covmty, Tennessee, had 
 some years before emancipated her slaves, and they removed to Gallatin county, 
 Illinois. Hero they were followed by parties from their former home, who conspired 
 to arrest them as fug:itive slaves. The U. S. district court, Judge Pope presiding-, de- 
 cided upon full proof that they had not a shadow of claim to them. With the con- 
 spirators was connected a shrewd bad man by the name of Newton E. Wright, residing 
 in Kentucky, back of Wolf Island, who had long been engaged in kidnapping. While 
 here atxempting to reclaim the Prather negroes as slaves, he formed the acquaintance 
 of a notorious kidnapper of Hamilton county, named Joe O'Neal, with whom was 
 associated a disreputable character by the name of Abe Thomas. Subsequently 
 O'Neal stole three likel.y childi-en from an old negro named Scott, in Hamilton county, 
 Illinois, and ran them off and sold them partly on credit to Wright, who resold them at 
 New Madrid to one Phillips. When O'Neal's note matured he sent Thomas to collect 
 it, telling him further that Wright had business of a particular nature for him, for 
 which he would be well paid. Thomas proceeded by steamer to Wright's. There he 
 undertook for $150 to kill a Dr Swayne, at Hicco, Tennessee, who had sued Wright on a 
 note of $8000. If the doctor could be killed, Wright, by means of nicely forged receipts, 
 could successfully defend the suit. 
 
 In May, 1850, a man calling himself Stewart, rode up to the house of Dr. Swayne, de- 
 siring him to visit his father, a little way off, alleged to have been taken suddenly ill 
 on his return from Texas. The doctor invited the stranger to dinner, just ready ; 
 that attended to, the two rode away to seethe sick man After proceeding some dis- 
 tance, Stewart, falling a little behind, drew a pistol and shot the do tor, the ball lodg- 
 ing in his arm, fracturing it badly. The cry of murder was raised, but Stewart made 
 his escape. Pursuit was made, and every effort to ferret out the assassin ; suspected 
 
 Sarties were followed even to Texas ; much money was expended, but without avail, 
 •r. Swayne recovered. 
 
 But now unexpectedly a clue was gained. Two citizens of White county, Illinois- 
 John Eubanks and son. Shannon, took a lot of horses to Tennessee for sale, and while 
 in the neighborhood of Dr. Swayne's, heard him relate the particulars of the attempt 
 to assassinate him, giving also a minute description of his assailant, whose nose was 
 flat at the base, projecting forward like a hawk's bill. Shannon knew the description 
 fitted Abe Thomas, and no other living man, who was then stopping at JoeO.Neal's, 
 in Hamilton county, Illinois. Further description as too size, complexion, &c., tallied 
 exactly. A short time after, Thomas was seized by same Tennesseeans, and carried 
 to that State for trial. (Shawneetown Mercury 1851.] 
 
 *I11. Intelligencer, 1823. 
 
coles' administration. 321 
 
 The Convention question of 1824 — The TJfjfort to make Illinois a 
 Slave State. — It has doubtles.s been noted that the voice of the peo- 
 l)\e of the territory, as it found exi)ression from time to time, was 
 strongly in favor of shivery. By canvassing the names of lead- 
 ing- convention advocates in 1823-1, and from other circnmstances, 
 it may be asserted with entire safety that the constitutional con- 
 vention of 1818, left unrestrained by the ordinance of 1787. or the 
 enabling act to form a constitution, would have established 
 slavery. As it was, that convention in a manner evaded the full 
 requirement of the acts of congres.s by declaring (article VI. sec. I.). 
 "Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall hereafter be intro- 
 duced into this State ;" and by the 3d section of the same article 
 they gave to indentured slavery the oidy validity it ever had. 
 The feeling in favor of slavery was still strong after the admission 
 of the State. The liiiancial embarrassuu'nts of the peoj»le, to 
 Avhich we have adverted in the preceding chapt^'r, coupled with 
 the golden pictur(»s of pros[»erity which that institution would 
 bring to the (country, as they were wont to regard it, did not al)ate 
 their longings. Tlie subject was further kept astir by the frenzied 
 agitation of the slavery (pn^stion as connected with the admission 
 of Missouri, which convulsed the entire nation and threatened 
 a dissolution of the Union. 
 
 It had also the effect to e^stensively advertise that new State, 
 and stimulate emigration thither, as the crowds of immigrants 
 from the southern States to Missouri, consisting in grent part of 
 the wealthiest ami best educated classes, passed through southern 
 Illinois, where immigration had been for some tinu' stagnant, and 
 the want of which was seriously felt. "]\Iany of onr i)eople who 
 had land and farms to sell, looked upon the good fortune of ]\Iis- 
 souri with envy; whilst the lordly immigrant, as he passed along 
 with his 7noney and droves of negroes, took a malicious pleasure 
 in increasing it, by pretending to regret the short-sighted ])()licy 
 of Illinois, which excluded him tVonr settling with his slaves 
 among us, and from purchasing the lands of our people."* 
 
 Into the election of August, 1822, as we have noted, the ques- 
 tion of slavery entered to a large extent, and while it was not 
 generally sharply defined, it was well known that Coles was a 
 zealous opponent of the institution of human chattels ; so also was 
 Gen. Moore ; and for these reasons the partisans of freedom rallied 
 with little division for Coles. His aggregate vote was 2810, that 
 of .^Loore o22, total 3332. The vote of Phillips was 2700 and that 
 of Brown 2513, total 5303 — being a majority, so far as this ex- 
 pression was a criterion, of about 2000 in favor of the introduction 
 of slavery. But personal considerations at that day entered more 
 largely into election contests than princi]>les. 
 
 Edward Coles, the governor elect of Illinois, was born in Vir- 
 ginia, Dec. 15, 1786, and was among the youngest of ten children. 
 His father was a planter, owning many slaves. Inuring college 
 life the question of property in man first i)resente(l itself to 
 Ed\\ ard's mind, and he returned home impressed with its moral 
 wrongfulness and political impolicy, and the resolution that when 
 he should become the owner of his portion of his lather's slaves he 
 would emanciiiate them. Apprehending that these sentiments 
 
 'Ford's History. 
 
 21 
 
322 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 would meet with uo countenance at home he kejit them sacred to 
 himself. Upon the death of his father in 1808, he became entitled 
 to 25 negroes and 1,000 acres of land. His father had taken no 
 share in public life, but his home had been the resort of nearly all 
 the great statesmen of the day. Edward became the private 
 secretary of President Madison. In person Coles was tall and 
 graceful, with face of the Grecian style. To a bene^'olent dis- 
 position lie added a wide fund of information, social tact and 
 conversational i^owers. By the judicious exercise of these be is 
 said to Lave brougbtiuto new bonds of friendship j\Ir. Madison and 
 Mr. Monroe, and Mr. Adams and JNIr. Jefferson, who had resjiec- 
 tively been somewhat estranged. In 1816 he was sent in the sloop 
 of war "Promethious" on a special mission to Russia, as tlie bearer 
 of important dispatches to the American embassadors at St. 
 Petersburg. Before his return he made the tour of Europe. 
 After his arrival iiome lie shortly determined to go west. He si)ent 
 the summer of 1818 in Illinois, and witnessed the labors of the 
 c(mvention at Kaskaskia to enact the first constitution. In the 
 following spring, 1810, he removed witli his slaves to Illinois. On 
 the trip hither, made mostly on flat boats down the Ohio, the 
 negroes, being ignorant of their destination, were one clear moon- 
 light evening in June, while calmly floating down the i)lacid 
 stream, called together, and by their master addressed in a plain, 
 short speech in whi(;h he pronounced them all free. Their grati- 
 tude was so profound that they tendered him one year's service at 
 their new home. But being much touched at this manifestation 
 of their attachment, he refused their offer. He gave, besides, to 
 each head of a family 100 acres of land in Illinois, in the neigh- 
 borhood of Edwardsville, aided them with money, and for many 
 years exercised i)aternal care over them.* 
 
 In 18o3, at the age of 47, he removed to Philadelphia, and was 
 married to Miss Sallie Logan Koberts, by whom he had one 
 daughter and two sons. He died July 7, 1808, in the 82d year of 
 his age. On coming to Illinois, Coles received the api)<)intment 
 of register of the land oftice at Edwardsville, from Mr. Crawford, 
 secretary of the treasury, who was an aspirant to the piesidency. 
 Coles, it was suj)posed, was sent out to counteract the intluence of 
 Gov. Edwards, who favored Cahoun.f 
 
 The partisans of slavery, although beaten for governor in 1822, 
 by a schisnL in their own ranks, had carried both houses of the 
 general jissembly, and the lieutenant-governor, and throughout the 
 first half of his term, the governor experienced a want of accord 
 
 *Tbc law of 1819 respecting free negroes required the emancipator to give bond that 
 they should not become a county charge Having provided them amply witli lands, 
 Coles neglected to do this, whereby he incurred a liability to a fine of $200 for eacii 
 negro, wliich might be sued tor by the county in which tliey were settled. During 
 the heat of the convention struggle the county commissioners of Madison wei'c insti- 
 gated to bring suit against the Governor for this penalty, resulting, in September, 1824, 
 in a verdict of $2,000 for setting at liberty negroes without giving bond Pending 
 a motion for a new trial, in January 1825, the legislature released all penalties incurred 
 under the act, including those of Coles. At the next term of court he plead this re- 
 lease in bar of judgment against him. But Judge McRoberts decided that the legisla- 
 ture had no power to take from a municipal corporation its vested right in a fine, any 
 more than from an individual, and rendered judgment on the verdict. This decision, 
 believed to have been influenced by the feelings growing out of the slavery contest the 
 year before, caused no little popular e-xcitement. The case was taken to the supreme 
 court and reversed, the power of the legislature being held to be ample in the premises- 
 The opinion of the court, by Wilson, chief justice, says : "It is said the king cannot 
 remit an informer's interest in a popular action after suit brought ; this is no doubt 
 true, but it is equally true that the Parliament can. It is not pretended that tlie exe- 
 cutive could remit the penalty in this case, but that the legislature may." 
 
 tFord's History of Illinois. 
 
coles' administration. 323 
 
 with that body. Governor Coles directed attention to the subject 
 of shivery, and in clear and forcible lan<;uage urged the emanci- 
 pation of the J^^rench slaves, recomniended a revision of the black 
 laws in accordance with the dictates of humanity, and the enact- 
 ment of more adequate laws to rei)ress the frequent crime of kid- 
 na])pint'', as we have noticed. This was enough to ininuMliately 
 fan into tlanie the smouldering embers of the slavery question. 
 The ])urpose was now to make a strong effort to introduce slavery 
 into Illinois, which could only be done by amending the constitu- 
 tion, which reipiired a two-tliirds vote in each house to pass the 
 proposition snl»mitting the question to a vote of the people. So 
 much of the message as related to the abrogation of slavery, was 
 referred to a select comnuttee, consisting of JMessrs. Beaird,l>oon, 
 Ladd, Kinney and Whit<', who in a few days re]>orted as follows: 
 After giving a historical resume of the establishment of slavery 
 in Illinois, denu)nstrating its legal existence and claiming that the 
 provision in the deed of cession from Virginia, viz : that the inhabi- 
 tants of the territory who professed themselves to have been citi- 
 zens of Virginia previous to the cession, should "have their 
 possessions and titles contirmed to them, and be ])rotected in the 
 enjoyment of their riglits and liberties," could not be overridden 
 and set aside by the sidtsequent act of congress, which provided 
 that "there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in 
 the said territory ;" that tlie language in the deed of cession was 
 too ])lain and forcible to be misunderstood or evaded; that the con- 
 stitution, in obedience to the behests of congress, for the purpose 
 of having the State adnntted, was careful to avoid any interfer- 
 ence with this species of projx'rty, and left it in the sauie state of 
 security that the ordimmce had placed it ; that thus the constitu- 
 tion of Illinois was ratified, no doubt upon the ground that no 
 condition of the ordinance had been violated, and that the consti- 
 tution left the right to proi)erty acquired under the compact 
 with Virginia, entire. 
 
 They concluded their n^port by saying: "Your committee have 
 now arrived at the period when Illinois Avas admitted into the 
 Union upon an ecpial footing with the original States in all respects 
 whatever; and whatever causes of regret were experienced by the 
 restrictions im[)osed upon the first convention, your committee are 
 clearly of the opinion that the people of Illinois have now the same 
 right to alter their constitution as the people of the State of Vir- 
 ginia, or any other of the original States, and may make any dis- 
 position of negro slaves they choose, without any breach of faith 
 or violation of compact, ordinances or a(;ts of congress; and if 
 the reasoning employed be correct, there is no other course left by 
 which to accomi»lish the object of this portion of the g<)^•ernor's 
 message, than to call a conventiini to alter the constitution." 
 
 And they recommended the adoption of the following resolu- 
 tion : " Eesolved, That the general assembly of the State of Illi- 
 nois (two-thirds thereof concurring therein), do recommend to the 
 electors, at the next election for members to the general assend)ly, 
 to vote for or against a convention, agreeably to the 7th article 
 of the constitution." 
 
 •SeeUl. Intelligencer, Dec. 14, 1822. 
 
324 HISTORY OF ILLENfOIS. 
 
 On luotioii of Micliael Jones, the report was concnrred in. A 
 miiiorty rei)ort was made by Eisden Moore and John Emraett, 
 strongly and ably nrging the abolition of slavery, the amelioration 
 of the black huvs, and greater stringency regarding the pnnish- 
 meiit of kidnapping-. Mr. Will made a separate report, of a milk 
 and water character. 
 
 In the senate, it was speedily ascertained that the reqnisite two- 
 thirds vote to pass the resolntion for the call of a convention to 
 amend the constitntion, conld be obtained, and to spare; bnt in 
 the house the case stood otherwise — they needed one vote. At 
 first it was strennonsly argued that the two-thirds vote required by 
 the constitution to pass the convention resolution, meant two- 
 thirds of tbe two houses in joint session. But the opi)onents 
 were too powerful in argument upon this point. Tbe majority was 
 not to be foiled in their purpose, however. Another mode pre- 
 sented itself — all that was required was courage to perpetrate a 
 gross outrage upon a recalcitrant member. 
 
 There had been a contested election case from Pike county, 
 which then included all the country between the Illinois and Mis- 
 sissipiji rivers, north to the boundary of the State. The sitting 
 member, decided by the house to be entitled to the seat, was 
 Nicholas Hanson, and the contestant, John Shaw. Hanson's vote 
 had been obtained for the re-election of Jesse B. Thomas, strongly 
 pro-slavery, to the United States senate, but farther than this he 
 would not go. Shaw, who favored the convention project, was 
 now discoveied to be justly entitled to the seat ! A motion was 
 thereui)on made to reconsider the adndssion of Hanson, which 
 prevailed. It was next further moved to strike out the name of 
 Hanson and insert that of Shaw. During the pendency of the 
 resokition, a tumultuous crowd assembled in the evening at the 
 state house, and after the delivei-y of a number of incendiary 
 speeches, inflaming the minds of the people against Hanson, they 
 proceeded through the town with his eltigy in a blaze, accompa- 
 nied by the beating of drums, the sounds of bugles, and shouts 
 of " Convention or death." 
 
 The motion to expel Hanson and admit Shaw was adopted, and 
 the latter rewarded the majority by voting for the convention res- 
 olution, which thus barely passed by his aid on the night follow- 
 ing. A number of the members of both houses entered their 
 solemn protest against this glaring outrage of unseating Hanson, 
 both as to the object intended and the manner of perpetrating it. 
 Many reflecting men, earnest in their support of the convention 
 question, condemned it ; and it proved a powerful lever before the 
 people in the <lefeat of the slavery scheme. 
 
 The i)assage of the convention resolution was regarded as tanta- 
 mount to its carriage at the i^olls. The pro-slavery party cele- 
 brated their triumph by an illumination of the town and a 
 procession, accompanied by all the horrid parai)hernalia and dis- 
 cordant music of achivarai, marched to the residence of Governor 
 Coles and the quarters of the chief oi)ponents of the measure, 
 where they i)erformed their demoniac nnisic to annoy and insult 
 them. The procession is said to have been headed by such digna- 
 taries as ex-judge and late gubernatorial canidate, Joseph Phil- 
 lips ; the newly chosen chief-justice, Thomas Reynolds, afterwards 
 governor of Missouri; associate supreme judge, Smith; pros- 
 
coles' administration. 325 
 
 pective lientenant-jiovernor Kinney, etc., followed by many of 
 the honorable meinbei's of the le<iislature, tlie lobbyists — some of 
 tlieni strangers from adjoining- slave States — the rabble, etc. The 
 rejoicings of the convention party also found exjtression in pub- 
 lic dinners, ajid of tlie toasts there given we subjoin a few: The 
 convention : The means of introducing and s])reading the African 
 family — three cheers. The enemies of the con\ ention : May they 
 ride a porcupine saddle on a hard trotting horse, a long journey 
 M'itliout money or friends. May those individuals who are o])i)osed 
 to our cause, before the next election, abandon the State of Illi- 
 nois. The State of Illinois : the ground is good — prairies in 
 abundance,- give us })lenty of negroes, a little industry and she 
 will distribute her treasure 
 
 ]>ut these brut;il proceedings, intended to intimidate, only 
 recoiled upon the p('rj)etrators. The anti-convention i»arty was 
 insj>ired with renewed courage and determination to defeat the 
 call Ix^fore the ]»eople. That indeedwastheoidyhoj)e for the liberty 
 of all men in Illinois. At this period, the apportionment of the 
 State into representative and senatorial districts was jieculiarly 
 uncipial, the strongholds of the convention advocates being m 
 the counties near the Ohio and the old French settlements, whiie 
 the rai)id progress of population northward was numerically far 
 in advance of its just ratio of representation. If the convention 
 should be ordered by the [>rople, it was demonstrated that by 
 reason of this unequal representatioji, one-fourth of the v^)ters 
 could, in a certain contingency, (that of the delegates being made 
 to correspond to the number of representatives), elect a nmjority 
 of the members, who might fasten slavery n])on the State. It be- 
 came, therefore, the paramount object of the friends of freedom 
 to defeat the convention call before the i)eople. 
 
 The canvass now opened aixl for nearly IS months raged with 
 unequaled \'io]ence throughout the State, j^ever was such canxass 
 made in the State before. The young" and old, without regard to 
 sex entered the arena of party strife ; families and neighborhoods 
 became divided and surrendered themselves up to the bitter war- 
 fare. Detraction an<l personal abuse reigned sujirenu^, while 
 cond)ats were not infrcfpuuit. The whole country seemed on the 
 verge of a resort to physical foice to settle the angry question.* 
 The )>ress, both tor and against, teemed with incendiary publica- 
 tions on the subject. Both anti and i)ro-convention newspapers 
 were established : of the former "T//e >)>6'cfrttor," at Edwardsville, 
 edited by Hooper Warren ; one at Shawneetown, edited by Henry 
 Eddy; the Illinois Intellu/cmcer. located at Vandalia, which', at tirst 
 pro-convention, was subsecpu'iitly purchased by David IMackwell. 
 secretary of State, and then ably conducted in opj)osition to the 
 conventi<m schenu'. T(» these papers there were also a number of 
 able ami steady contributors, ])rin(*ipal among whom may be men- 
 tione<l, his excellency the govei-uor ; .Morris IJirbeck, the able Eng- 
 lish coh)nist, in Edwards county ; Judge Lockwood, Thonuis Lip- 
 piiK'ott. (Jeorge Churchill, &(-. Pam[)hlets were published and ex- 
 tensively circulated, containing statistics and observations re- 
 gardi)ig the working' of slavery in other countries. Gov. (Joles 
 freely resigiu'd thesalary of his entire term, $-1000, asa contribution 
 t;0 the cause. Through the eflbrts nminlv of the Kev. Dr. J. M. 
 
 "Keynold's "Own Times. 
 
323 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Peck, anti-slavery societies ^-ere organized by the "friends of 
 freedom," which rauiitied more or less throngliout tlie State, to the 
 number of 14, with headquarters in St. Clair county, and which 
 were active during the ca-uvass. The ministers of the gospel were 
 enlisted in the cause, and they met together in large numbers to 
 devise ways to avert tlie imi)ending evil. Denominational ques- 
 tions, ordinarily nuich more birter in those time;-; than at the 
 present, were liiid aside for the time, and the i)ulpit now thunder- 
 ed its anathemas against s[)reading the great sin. All the means 
 known to civilization to impart ideas of the enormity of slavery 
 were made available. To the distribution of i)amphlets and news- 
 paper writings, were added tracts and handbills of a most 
 incendiary tone. The Rev. Dr. Peck, who, in his vocation of dis- 
 tributing bibles, had the opportunity to observe the management 
 of the campaign on the part of the opposition, shaped his ends 
 with the tact and skill of a general, to meet them at everj^ hand. 
 Political meetings were called, and almost every stump resounded 
 with the declamations of indignant orators, both pro and con. 
 The rank and tile of the peo])le, no less excited, wrangled and 
 argued with each other wherever they met. Much time was con- 
 sumed, and industry was at a stand. 
 
 In the meantime, the i)ro-slavery piirty was not idle, and 
 adopted the same means to reach the ])ublic mind. Elias Kent 
 Kane ; Thomas lieynolds, the chief justice ; Judge Theoi>hilus W. 
 Smith, of the supreme court ; Judge S;imuel Mclloberts, Emanuel 
 J. West, A. P. Field, Joseph A. l^aird, George Forquer and 
 others, were their prominent writers; while among their chief 
 orators, besides some of these, may be njentioned E. M. Yoinig, 
 John McLean, Jesse E. Thomas, ex Gov. Eond, (running for con- 
 gress against D. P. Cook, at this time). Judge Philli])s, and many 
 others. The memb«?is of the legislitture in favor of tlie conven- 
 tion, before they disi)ersed in the si)ring of lSi!3, levied a contri- 
 bution upon each other by which they raised about $l()dO for 
 their side of the cause. AVilliam Kinney, afterward lieutenant 
 governor, to his vocation as a ])ro-slavery politician added that of 
 a baptist preacher, mingling the two with much freedom, traveled 
 constantly over the State, acting with zeal and energy in arousing 
 the people to the blessings of the institution of slavery. Emissa- 
 ries of both parties ranged the State in every direction during the 
 canvass, with bitter partisan tracts, and all manner of intianuitory 
 appeals, to arouse the passions of the people, and awakened them 
 to the duty of the hour. Tlie princii)al newsi)ai)ers of the pro- 
 slavery party were located at Kaskaskia and Edwardsville. 
 
 In looking over the array of i)rominent names, it has been 
 thought the most talented and intluential i)ublic nuMi were on the 
 side of the convention i)arty,* but in energy and zeal, which grew 
 Avith the progress of the campaign, the o{)p(>siti()n were better or- 
 ganized. Their attacks were, besides, direct u})on the subject in- 
 volving the merits of slavery ; while the other side showed signs of 
 avoiding the direct issue. The latter argued that the constitution 
 needed amendment in many ])articulars ; that the convention 
 would not probably interfere in behalf of slavery, and if it did, it 
 Avould establisli it oidy for a. limited period, or i>rovide for inden- 
 turing and gradual enuin(;i[)ation. Ent the opponents were not to 
 ♦Ford's History. 
 
coles' administration. 327 
 
 be lioodwiuked in this manner ; indeed as the people took a very 
 absorbing interest in tlie subject, and as the canvass was exten- 
 ded for a period of 18 inoiiths, they came to thoroughly ai)pre- 
 ciate all there was in it by the day of election. The (;outest was 
 not devoid of extraneous pro-slavery inflnences from l)ey()nd the 
 borders of the State, as might well be expected, but such imperte- 
 nence was promptly met as it deserved. 
 
 When the day of election finally arrived, the utmost exertions at 
 the polls throughout the State werensed by both sides to bring out 
 a full vote. The aged, the crippled, the chronic in vahds, all that 
 could be conveyed Avith their bodily infirmities, were brouglit out 
 and cast their votes, either for against the call. The result was 
 that the convention scheme was defeated by some 1800 majority. 
 This was a wonderful victory to achieve, showing a gain for the 
 anti-slavery canse, exceeding 3500 votes since the gubernatorial 
 contest of two years before. The aggregate vote was 11,(512; 
 4,972 for, and 0,040 against. This was a large vote; at the presi- 
 dential election in ISTovendjer following, the aggregate vote of the 
 State was 4,707. 
 
 And thus ended the most important, excited, and angry election 
 that took idace at that early day in Illinois. All feeling, however, 
 speedily subsided, and in (} months after, is it said, a. ]>olitician 
 who favored the introdnction of slavery was a rara avis. The 
 victory was decisive of the question for all time. 
 
Chapter XXYIII. 
 1824-G— MISCELLANEOUS MATTERS. 
 
 Legislation — Reorganization of the Judiciary — Chief Justice Wil- 
 son — Hubhard as Governor ad interim — Po])ulation of 1825 — 
 Visit of LaFayette. 
 
 Tlie conventiou struggle over, other affairs claim our attention. 
 And first as to the legislature, which was anti-convention in 
 its political sentiments. The members chosen simultaneously with 
 the defeat of the convention call, constituted in a sense the first 
 ever elected in Illinois upon other than persoiuil considerations. 
 Permanent party i)rin('iples and organizations had been, as yet, 
 foreign to the virgin soil of Illinois. To laud one and defame the 
 other candidate Avas, \\\} to that time, the only recognized mode of 
 conducting a political canvass, and the campaigns were usually 
 short. Governor Coles, in his message, congratulated the people 
 upon the resiQt over the slavery question, and again recom- 
 mended the abolition of the remnant of African slavery still exist- 
 ing, as an anomaly in this free State. But the legislature, 
 notwithstanding its anti-convention majority, was not abolition, 
 and it paid little heed to his reconnnendation. Two United States 
 senators, four supreme judges, and five circuit judges, besides a 
 crowd of other otticials, \Yere to be elected at this session ; but the 
 majority proved itself of quite a forgiving disposition toward its 
 recent bitter opponents, and the convention question was not 
 made a test in the choice of the numerous officers during the ses- 
 sion. John McLean, a leading pro-conveutiou orator, was elected 
 United States senator over Governor Edwards, who was not 
 closely identified with the angry contest, being absent in Wash- 
 ington. It was at this tiuie that he became involved in his unfor- 
 tunate quarrel with Mr. Crawford, secretary of the treasury, 
 which caused him to give up the Mexican mission to which he 
 had been appointed. One week later, Elias Kent Kane was also 
 elected to the United States senate. He defeated for the position such 
 X3rominent anti-convention men as Governor Coles and Samuel I). 
 Lockwood. Kane was perhaps the ablest writer that the conven- 
 tion party had during the contest, although a northern man by 
 birth and education. Two leading i:)ro-convention men were thus 
 honored by an anti-convention legislature with the two highest 
 offices in their gift. 
 
 By the constitution, the terms of office of supreme judges were 
 to expire with the close of the year 1824. The legislature re-or- 
 ganized the judiciary by (treating both circuit and supreme courts. 
 The State was divided into five judicial circuits, providing two 
 terms of court annually in each county. The salaries of the cir- 
 
 328 
 
coles' administration. 329 
 
 cuit judges were fixed at $(300. Tlie following chcuit judges were 
 clioseu: John Y. Sawyer, Sanuiel Mclloberts, lllchard M. Young, 
 James Hall and John O, Wattles, named in the order of their 
 respective circuits. Tlie supreme court was relieved of circuit 
 duties and made a court of ai)pellate jurisdiction. It was to be 
 lield twice a year at the seat of government, and as before, com- 
 posed of four judges, but now commissioned (luring good behavior. 
 Their salaries were cut down from $1000 to $800. Decend)er oO, 
 1824, the two houses met in joint session to elect one chief jus- 
 tice and three associate justices. On the first ballot, William 
 Wilson received 3o votes, Thomas lleynolds, chief justice u}) to 
 that time, 19. Wilson having received a majority of the whole 
 number of votes cast, was duly declared chief justice of the 
 State of Illinois. 
 
 For associate justices there were six candidates: Thonnis C 
 Brown, Samuel D. Lockwood, Theophilus W. Smith, l)avi<l 
 Blackwell, Tliomas Kcyuolds and John Iteynolds, In the course 
 of five ballotings, the first three named were chosen. James 
 Turney was elected attorney-general. The two Eeynolds, Thouuis 
 and John, uncle and nephew, who were rejected, had been on 
 the supreme bench up to that time, ami the former had been a 
 conspicuous convention man. 
 
 William Wilson, at the time of his elevation to the high and 
 honorable position of chief justice of Illinois, was but 29 years old, 
 and had been already five years on thesu])reme bench as associate 
 justice. He was born in Loudon county, Virginia, in 1795* When 
 quite young his father died, leaving his widow with two sons and 
 an embarrassed estate. At an early age, his mother obtained for 
 him a situation in a store. But the young man discovered no apti- 
 tude for the business of merchandizing, and young as he was, 
 developed an unusual greed for books, reading every one attaina- 
 ble, to the almost total neglect of his duties in the store. At the 
 age of 18 he was placed in a law ofiice under the tuition of the 
 Hon. John Cook, who ranked high as a lawyer at the bar of Vir- 
 ginia, and who also served his country with honor and distinction 
 abroad as minister to the court of France. In 1817, young 
 Wilson came to Illinois to look for a home, and such was his 
 personal bearing and })repossessing appearance, that one year 
 later, at the inauguration of the State government, his mime was 
 brought before tlie legislature for associate sui)reme judge, ami 
 he came within (} votes of an election. Within a year, as we have 
 seen, he was chosen in the place of Foster. For five years he 
 served the peoi)le so acceptably n])on the bench as to be at this 
 time chosen to the first position by a large majinity over the 
 former chief justice, Reynolds. This was the more a mark of 
 approbation, because Judge \Mlson was totally de\'oi(l of, and 
 never in his life could wield, any of the arts of the politician or 
 party schemer. As regards i)olitical intrigue, he was as inno- 
 cent as acliild. He was singularly })ure in all his convictions of duty, 
 and in his long public career of nearly 30 years as a supreme judge 
 of Illinois, he commanded the full res])ect, confidence and 
 esteem of the jteople for the jnobity of his official acts and 
 his upright conduct as a citizen and a man. His education 
 was such as he had acquired by diligent reading and self culture. 
 As a writer his diction was pui-e, clear and elegant, as may be seen 
 
330 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 by reference to his published opinions in the supreme court reports. 
 With a mind of rare analytical power, his judiiuient as a lawyer 
 was discriminating and sound, and upon the bench his learning 
 and impartiality commanded resi)ect, while his own dignified 
 deportment inspired decorum in others. By the members of the 
 bar he was greatly esteemed ; no new^ beginner was ever without 
 the protection of almost a fatherly hand in his court, against the 
 arts and powers of an older opponent. In politics, upon the form- 
 ation of the Whig and Democratic parties, he associated liimself 
 with the former. He w as an amiable and accomplished gentleman 
 in private life, with manners most engaging and friendships strong. 
 His hospitality was of the old Virginia style. Seldom did a sum- 
 mer season pass at his [)leasant country seat, about two miles 
 from Carmi, on the banks of the Little Wabash, that troo})s of 
 friends, relatives and distinguished official visitors did not sojourn 
 with him. His official career was terminated \\'ith the going into 
 effect of the new constitution, December 4,1848, when he retired 
 to inivate life. He died at his home, in the rii)eness of age and 
 the consciousness of a life well spent, April 29, 1857, in his 63d 
 year. 
 
 The legislature of 1824 was an important and able body. 
 Throughout its session, harmony and cordiality obtained among 
 the members. The men who were promoted or elevated to office, 
 and charged with important res])onsibilities, were generally well 
 know^n to the people for their character, merit and ability, and 
 failed not to give satisfaction, l^eventy thousand dollars of the 
 State bank currency were committed to the Hames in the presence 
 of the governor, suin:eme judges and directors of the jaincipal 
 bank, according to the recjuireinents of the law. 
 
 In the summer of 1825, immigration revived consideraV)ly. A 
 great tide set in toward the central i)arts of the State. Through 
 Vandalia alone, 250 wagons were counted in three weeks time, all 
 going northward. Destined for Sangamon county alone, 80 
 wagons and 400 people were couided in two Mceks time. Sanga- 
 mon county was, at that time, without doubt the most populous 
 county in tne State. All the northern counties were most dispro- 
 l)roportionately represented in the general assembly. While such 
 counties as Kaudoljdi and White had each a senator and three rep- 
 resentatives, Sangamon had one representative and one senator 
 only. 
 
 It happened at this time, that Governor Coles was temporarily 
 .absent ona visit to Virginia, and Lieutenant-governor Hubbard was 
 the acting governer. His Excellency ad interim, struck" with the in- 
 justice of this unequal representation, issued his i)r()clanmtion for 
 an extra session of thelegislatuie, to convene at the seat of gov- 
 ernment on the first JMonday in January, 1820, for the i)urpose of 
 ai)portioiiing the State, and for business generally. He was 
 not loth to claim power. Governor Coles returned on the last 
 day of October and resunu'd his office, but the acting governor 
 was not inclined to yeild it up, claiming he had superseded the 
 former and to be governor de jure under section IS, article III 
 of the constitution, which read : 
 
 " In case of an impeachment of the governor, his removal from office, 
 death, refusal to qualify, resignation or absence from the State, the 
 lieutenant-governor shall exercise all the power and authority apper- 
 
coles' ADMINISTKATION. 331 
 
 taining to the office of governor, until the time pointed out by the con- 
 stitution for the election of a governor, shall arrive, unless tlie general 
 assembly shall otherwise provide by law for tbe election of a governor 
 to fill such vacancy." 
 
 After tlie iiiTival of Coles, Iluhbaid, as a test, issued a- eoininis- 
 sion to W. L. D. Ewin.ii- as ])ayniaster ijeiieral of the State militia, 
 which was presented to the secretary of State, Georiue Foripiei', 
 for his signature, who refused to sign and aflix the oiticial seal 
 thereto. In December following', the sui)reme court l)eiiig in ses- 
 sion, Ewing applied for a- rule on the secretary to sliow cause why 
 a maiidauuis should not be awarded requiring him to countersign 
 and aflix tlie seal of the State to liis commission issued ami signed 
 by Adoli)hus Frederick llub))ard, governor of Illiiuiis. Tlie iiile 
 being granted, the secretary answered, stating- tlie facts, wliereby 
 the whole (juestion was brought before the <;ourt and argued at 
 length with nmch ability by talented counsel for both sides. Tlie 
 judges, aftermuch deliberation, delivered sei)arate o^nnions of great 
 learning and research, but all agreed in the judgment i)ron()unced, 
 that the rule must be discharged. Hubbard was still irrepressible, 
 and next memorialized the legislature in reference to his grievance. 
 But the senate decided that tlie subject was a judicial one, inex- 
 l^edient to legislate upon, and the house laid his memorial upon the 
 table. 
 
 The census of 1<SL';") returned a ]>o[)u]ation of 71*, 817, being con- 
 siderably less than the sanguine expectations of many led them 
 to lio})e for. The State was didy ajjportioued an(MV at the special 
 session in January, IcSL'O, witli referense totlie distril>ution of i)opu- 
 latioii. The question was also nu)oted at this session of repealing 
 the circuit court system, not that the court did not subserve a great 
 public need, but that politicians in their disappointment in obtain- 
 ing office the winter preceding, sought to redress their grievances 
 first by depriving the circuit judges altogetlier of ottice, and next 
 by loading' the supreme judges with additional labor by remaiulinj.^ 
 them to circuit duty. Tiie latter, being life members, could not 
 be otherwise reached as objects of tlieir vengeance, wherefore they 
 were charged with lun ing too easy a life as a court of ai)peals 
 for a. State so embarrassed as Illinois. The house, however, 
 struck out of the bill to repeal all after the enacting clause aiul 
 as a piece of pleasantry, inserted a section torex)eal the wolf-scalp 
 law, in wliich tlie senate did not concur.* 
 
 "the nation's guest." 
 
 Visit of the Marquis dc LaFayette to IIli))ois. — A pleasant e])isode 
 in the spring of 1825, to vary the monotony of western life, and 
 per adventure the iiages of this book, was the visit to Illinois of 
 General LaFayette, our able and oi)portune ally in the war of the 
 Kevolntion, and now after the lapse of near a half century tlie 
 honored guest of the nation. Having learned of his arrival in 
 America, the general assenibly of this State, early in its session 
 of 1821-5, adopted an ekxpient address of welcome to him, couche<l 
 in "terms of glowing admiration for his patriotic services, and 
 
 *In March succeed intr, within 5 miles of where the legislature had sat. a five year old 
 child of Daniel Hufman, which had wandered from home into the woods a mile or 
 so, was attacked and killed by a wolf The animal was seen leaving- its mangled and 
 partly consumed booy by the neighbors In search of it ou the following- day. 
 
332 HISTORY OF LLT.INOIS. 
 
 earnestly inviting liiiu to extend, his western visit to Illinois. On 
 the 9th of December the address, with an affectionatelj' written 
 letter from Gov. Coles, who had formed his personal acquaintance 
 in France in 1817, were transuutted to Gen. LaFayette. Under 
 date of Washington, Jan. 16, 181*5, he expressed his gratification 
 for the honor done him by Illinois, adding: "It has ever been my 
 eager desire, and it is noAV my earnest intention, to ^isit the western 
 States and particularly the State of Illinois. The feelings which 
 your distant welcome could not fail to excite, have in- 
 creased that patriotic eagerness to admire on that blessed 
 spot, the happy and rapid results of republican institu- 
 tions, i)ublic and domestic A'irtues. I shall, after the celebration 
 of the 22d of February anniversary day, leave this place for a 
 journey to the southern, and from New Orleans to the western 
 states, so as to return to Boston on the 14th of June, when the 
 corner stone of the Bunker's Hill monument is to be laid; a cere- 
 mony sacred to the whole Union, .iiid in which 1 have been engaged 
 to act a peculiar and honorable ])art." 
 
 On the 28th of April, 1825, the steamboat Nachez, with General 
 LaFayette and suit on board, anchored below St. Louis at the old 
 French village of Carondolet. On the following morning gov- 
 ernors Clark of Missouri, and Coles of Illinois, Col. Benton, and 
 oiliers, repaired thither to escort the distinguished visitor up to the 
 city. During the forenoon the boat with the entire party steamed 
 up to St. Louis, where, upon the wharf, "an immense concourse of 
 people had assembled to gi-eet and honor the patriot hero. He 
 landed amidst the booming of cannon and the animated cheers of 
 the vast multitude. He was acconii)anied by his son, named 
 George Washington LaFayette, and his secretary. Col. LeVassear; 
 by a de]3utation from Louisiana consisting of Col. IMorse, aid to the 
 governor, Mr. LeClair, his private secretary, and Mr. I*rier, re- 
 corder of New Orleans, and Col. Ducros; by Col. Scott from the 
 State of Mississippi, and by Maj. Gen. Gibbs, Maj. Kutledge, i\lr. 
 Bolcli and Mr. Stewart, of Tenn. Addresses of welcome and 
 responses were made, when the entire concourse moved to the 
 elegant nninsion of Pierre Choteau, where a reception was held. 
 Supper was had, followed by a number of toasts and api)ropriate 
 speeches, and in the evening a splendid ball at IMassie's hotel, 
 attended by General LaFayette, his suit, and all the dignitaries. 
 
 In person LaFayette was about six feet tall, inclining to corpu- 
 lency, and a tlorid complexion. He limped upon his left leg, the 
 result of a wound. He spoke the English language fluently and 
 had a ready command of appro] niate expression. 
 
 On Saturday, Ai)ril 30, 1825, Gen. LaFayette and suit, attended 
 by a large delegation of prominent citizens of Missouri, made a 
 visit by the steamer Natchez to the ancient town of Kaskaskia. No 
 military parade was attemi»ted, but a great multitude of i)atriotic 
 citizens bade him welcome. A reception was held at the elegant 
 residence of Mr. Edgar. Gov. Coles*, on behalf of the i)eo])le of 
 Illinois, delivered a glowing address of welcome to the illustrious 
 guest, to Avhich LaFayette replied in a nu)st feeling and happy 
 vein, expressive of his exquisite gratification for the honor done 
 him u})on that occasion. 
 
 After this a general introduction of the citizens and hand-shaking 
 followed, when a most touching scene was presented. A few old 
 
coles' administration. 333 
 
 revoliiiitionary soldiers collected around the General, who had 
 ■fought under his eye at Brandywine and Yorktown, and 
 who all recollected him and uow greeted him most heartily. 
 Although tlie general did not personally recollect them, the occa- 
 sion was to him ;ind all i)resent most affecting. This meeting in 
 the winter of their lives seemed to awaken youthful feeling and 
 carry back these old soldier patriots to the eventful ix'riod 
 when they were associated in arms and fighting the battles of 
 liberty. 
 
 The entire comi)any of distinguished guests, visitors, and citi- 
 zens next proceeded to the tavern kept by Col. Sweet, where an 
 ample dinner had been pre])ined. The patri<>tic ladies had deco- 
 rated the dining hall with laurel wreaths in a most tastefid and 
 ap[>ropriate manner, and over the table where the hero and honored 
 guests were seated a beautitid rainbow of roses and flowers was 
 spanned. 
 
 AVe can only give a very few of the after dinner toasts that were 
 drank: 
 
 By LaFayette — Kaskaskia and Illinois; may their joint pi-os- 
 perity more and nu>re evince the blessings of congenial industry 
 and freedom. 
 
 By Gov. C'o/e.s —The inmates of LaCrranges [LaFayette'shome]: 
 let them not be anxi<^)us; for though their father is 1,000 miles 
 ill the interior of America, he is yet in the midst of his affectionate 
 children. [Very good]. 
 
 By 0. W. LaFayette — The grateful confidence of my father's 
 children and grand-children, in the kindness of his American family 
 towards him. 
 
 By Gov. Bond — General LaFayette; may he live to see that 
 liberty established in his native country which he heli)ed to estab- 
 lish in his adopted country. When this toast was given the 
 general arose and observed that he would drink the latter part of 
 the toast — the liberty of his ado}»ted country — standing. 
 
 After dinner the distinguished party repaired to the Iarg(> 
 and commodious house of Win. ]M()rrisoii, Sr., Esq., where a grand 
 ball was given for their delectation. Here during the night (|uite 
 an interesting interview took jdace bet\\ ecu tlie renowned General 
 and an Indian squaw whose father had served under him in the 
 Ivcvolutionary war. The squaw, learning that the great White 
 Chief was to be at Kaskaskia on that night, had ridden all day from 
 early dawn till some time in the night, from her distant home, to 
 see the man whose name had been so often upon her father''s tongue 
 and with which she was so familiar. In identification of her 
 claim to his distinguished acquaiiitam^e, she brought with her an 
 old worn letter wliich the general had written to her father, and 
 which the Indian chief had preserved with great care, and finally 
 bequeathed on his death bed to his daughter as the most precious 
 legacy he had to leave her. 
 
 By lii o'clock at night, G(mi. LaFayette returned to the steam- 
 boat, and started on his route to ]SJ^ashville, Gov. Coles accompany- 
 ing him, the boat being chartered by the State. 
 
 He returned from ^Nashville on the steamboat Mechanic. On 
 the 14th of May, 1825, when the boat appeared in sight at Shaw- 
 nectown, a deputation of the citizens waited on the general, and ap- 
 prised him of the reception in waiting for him. As the boat 
 
334 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 approached the landing-, a sahite of 24 rounds was fired. Tlie peo- 
 ple of the town and surrounding country had turned out en niasso 
 to greet the loved hero. Two lines were formed, extending from 
 B-awling's hotel to the river. Down this ])assed the conunittees 
 of reception, town oflicials, and other dignitaries, and received the 
 nation's guest, who with the distinguished party accomi)anying 
 him, passed up the line, the citizens standing uncovered in per- 
 fect silence, until his arrival at the door of the hotel, where a large 
 number of ladies were assend)led. Here an address of affectionate 
 welcome was delivered by Judge James Hall. LaFayette replied 
 Avithout preparation, in a voi(;e tremulous with emotion, thanking 
 the ]ieo])le for this evidence of their love and gratitude. A colla- 
 tion was then i)artaken of, followed by a number of toasts suitable 
 to the occasion. After spending a few hours in pleasant converse, 
 the general was conducted back to the steamer, when he took a 
 most affectionate leave. A salute was tired at the departure. 
 The general appeared much worn with the fatigue of Ids trip. 
 Governor Coles quitted him at Shawneetown, and proceeded by 
 land to Vaudalia. 
 
CnAPTER xxrx. 
 
 1826-30— ADMINISTEATIOX OF GOVERNOR EDWARDS. 
 
 Campaign of 1820 — The uhernatorial Candiilafes — Contest heticeen 
 Daniel P. Cool: and Joseph Dunean for Congress — Charaeter of 
 Gov. Edwards'' speeches — His charges against the IState Banlc officers 
 and result of the inquiry into their conduct — Repeal of the Circuit 
 Court si/steni — Oow Ednxirds claims for the State title to all pub- 
 lic lands within Iter limits. 
 
 At the jionoral election of An,2;u.st, 1820, tliere were three gnber- 
 Datoi'ial candidates in the tield : Ninian F^dwards, Thomas C. Sloe, 
 and Adoli»lius Frederick Hubbard. The latter was at the time 
 lieiiteuaut-goveruor. That he was ambitious to become governor, 
 we have seen in his attempt to superede Gov. Coles, failing- in 
 which he now sought that distinction, as was more becoming, 
 directly from the hands of the people. "As a picture of the 
 times," Gov. Coles gives the following morceau, from Hubbard's 
 speeches to his constitutents : "Fellow citizens, I offer myself as 
 a candidate before you, for the office of governor. I do not pre- 
 tend to be a num of extraordinary talents ; nor do I claim to be 
 equal to Julius Caesar or IS'apoleon IJonaparte, nor yet to be as 
 great a man as my opponent. Gov. Edwards. Nevertheless, I 
 think I can govern you pretty well. I do not think it will recpdre 
 a very extraordinary smart man to govern you; for to tell you 
 the truth, fellow-citizens, I do not think you will be xevy hard to 
 govern, no how." He A\as an oddity. 
 
 The contest lay between Sloe and Edwards. Sloe was a gen- 
 tleman of good sense and capacity, whos(^ business was mei'chan- 
 dising. He had been much in ])ublic life, and as ameiuber of the 
 legislature, time and again had wielded a large influence as a 
 pracrtical worker in that body. In deportment, he was diguilied 
 aiul urbane, but had not cultivated the art of public speaking, 
 in which Edwards, an Apollo Belvedere in form and Titan in 
 intellect, had quite the advantage of him. 
 
 " Edwards," says Gov. Ford, " was a large, well made man, with 
 a noble, princely api)earance," who "never condescended to the 
 common low arts of electioneering. Whenever he went out among 
 the people he arrayed himself in the style of a gentleman of the 
 olden time, dressed in tine broadcloth, with short breeches, long 
 stockings, and high, fair-toi)ped boots; was diawn in a fine car- 
 riage driven l)y a negro; and for success he relied upon his 
 speeches, which were delivered with great pomp ami in a style 
 of diffuse and florid eloquence. When he was inaugurated in 
 
 335 
 
336 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 1826, he appeared before the general assembly wearing a golden 
 hiced cloak, and with great pomp he i^ronounced liis first mes- 
 sage to the houses of the legislature." 
 
 For theoflice of lientenant-governor there were but two <'andi- 
 dates — Hubbard beiug without an associate. They were William 
 Kinney and Samuel H. Thompson, and what may api)ear a little 
 singular at this day, both were ministers of tlie gospel, the former 
 a Baptist, the latter a JMetliodist. Kinney was one of tlie old 
 pioneers, having emigrated to Illinois with his father in 1797. 
 
 He possessed naturally a good mind, l»ut had recieved no educa- 
 tion, until after marriage, when his wife taught him its rudiments. 
 He had been much in public life, and was an efficient and untir- 
 ing canvasser. lu the convention contest, he had been unceas- 
 ing in his elforts to render it a success. He was wealthy, and iu 
 a political canvass the duties of his holy calling were not a 
 stumbling block in his way. The Eev. Mr. Thom})son, his oppo- 
 nent, while he was his superior in scholastic attainments, had not 
 his knowledge of men, nor his political art. This was his virgin 
 effort to attain honors which perish. His character was irre- 
 inoachable and forbade him to engage in any electioneering con- 
 duct to sully it. His candulacy was distasteful to him. The re- 
 sult of the secular contest between these two of the sacred (;loth, 
 was the reverse of that for governor. The Eev. Mr. Kinney, 
 although running on the Sloe ticket, which failed, was electe<l by 
 a small majority. 
 
 There was however, a more imi)ortant contest connected with 
 the election of 1826, in a political point of view, than that for the 
 oflice of governor. We allude to the race for congress between 
 Daniel P. Cook and Joseph Duncan, which marked the begin- 
 ning of party principles, instead of mere local, personal scram- 
 bles for ofiice. To help our -understanding we must take a short 
 view of national affairs. 
 
 Out of the presidential contest of 1824, grew the parties known 
 afterwards as the whig and democratic. The election had failed 
 before the people, and the house of representatives, in disregard 
 of the will of the people, chose the one who had received next to 
 the highest nund>er of electoral votes, Mr. Adams. Mr. Clay 
 accepted the highest position in the cabinet, but Mr. Crawford 
 refused office under the new administration. Some bitterness of 
 feeling sprang up between Mr. Clay and Gen. Jackson, the former 
 having written a letter in which he deprecated the election of a 
 "military chieftian" to the high office of president, which was 
 thought to reflect ui)on the latter. A coalition of the Clay ami 
 Adams men followed, and as Jackson had recei>'ed a plurality of 
 electoral votes, more than double those of Crawford, and as he 
 further, through the nomination of the legislature of Tennessee, 
 directly became a candidate agahifor the same position, it became 
 evident at an early day, that the next contest would lie between 
 him and Mr. Adams. The friends of Mr. Crawford, therefore 
 gave in their adhesion to the Jackson party, as by so doing, was 
 there any hope of defeating Adams. Party princijiles did not as 
 yet obtain; indeed Jackson had voted, while in the senate, with 
 Adams and Clay, and supported affirmatively 8 different bills 
 providing for internal improvements by the general government, 
 and also the tariff of 1824, founded on the principle of protection. 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION. 337 
 
 Party divisions involved personal considerations only which 
 were very acrimonious. 
 
 Daniel P. Cook, in the election of 1824, ran aj;ainst Gov. Bond 
 for congress, and was elected. Daring the campaign, the proba- 
 bility of the presidential election going into the house was not 
 unforseen, and he had pledged himself in such contingency, "to 
 vote, as a representative, in accordance with the <;learely ex[)i'ess- 
 ed sense of a majority of those wliose will he shouhl be called upon 
 to express." The total i)opular vote of Illinois, which voted by 
 districts, was 4,707, of which 1541 were cast for the electors of 
 Adams, 1273 for Jackson, 104(5 for Clay, 218 for Crn wford, and 
 620 for James Turney, elector for Clay and Jackson jointly. If half 
 of these latter votes had been adde<l to Jackson's, it would have 
 given him a pluraliy but not a majority. The electoral college 
 of Illinois, in December following, dro|)]>ing Clay and Crawford, 
 gave to Jackson two vcttcs, and to Adams one; but when the elec- 
 tion of president came betbre the house of representatives in con- 
 gress, ]Mr. Cook cast the vote of Illinois for Mr. Adams, as it was 
 su[)iK)sed l>y the people (who probably made no distinction between 
 tlie highest popular vote and majority) in viohition of his express- 
 ed pledges; and they believed that Gen. Jackson had been gross- 
 ly cheated, by their representative.* 
 
 And now JNIr. Cook was again a candidate for congress. Prior 
 to his voting for Adams, he was the most popular man in the 
 Sta.te. This was attributable in great part to his social qualities, 
 being gifted with a natural charm of inanner almost irresistible, 
 and a ready adaptability to surroundings, which were to iiini a 
 great aid in his electioneering intercourse with the }>eople, and 
 which enabled him to accommodate himself with acceptability to 
 every circumstance and condition of western life, t Thus, 
 with nothing against him but his vote for Adams, did he 
 start into the cami>aign of 1820. Ilis fornun- opponents, John 
 MclA'an, Elias Kent Kane, and ex Gov. I>ond had l)een beaten so 
 badly and not appreciating the public resentnuMit, they even now 
 feared to again essay the race, and Joseph Duncan, afterward 
 governor, then but little known in the State, had the temerity to 
 come out against him. At that time Duncan was an original Jack- 
 
 ♦Reynold's Life and Times, page 254. 
 
 [+Diiring- the convention campaign, in 1824, when Mr. Cook runningr for congress, was 
 opposed by ex-Gov. Bond, he had occasion to stop over nifrht with a farmer in the 
 southern part of the State. In conversation Cook inquired the news, to which the 
 fanner replied "tliere was none, except they were afraid that that d— d little Yankee, 
 Cook, would be re-elected to congress." The conversation continued during tlie 
 evening on various topics ; in the morning when Mr. Coolc was about to taiic liis 
 departure, the farmer, pleased with his agreeable and intelligent guest, inquired his 
 name. Mr. Cook replied, that he was "that d — d little Yankee Cook," he had alluded 
 to the evening previous! The farmer becfime his devoted supporter. (Edwards' life 
 of Edwards.) In stature Mr. Cook was below the medium hight, slender and erect, 
 weighing not exceeding 120 pounds ; his v-oice was solt and melodious, and his speech 
 ready and fluent. He was born in Scott county, Kentucky, and was a .self made man, 
 having few educational advantages in his youth. In official life he exhil)ited an exten- 
 sive and varied knowledge of public affairs. He settled in Illinois in 181,5, was the first 
 attorney general of the State, and the second congressman, beating .John McLean in 
 1819, and was bi-ennially thereafter re elected up to 1826 In congress he stood high ; 
 in l,S2.')-t) he was transferred from the committee on public lands, to that of ways and 
 means, and, owing to the absence of tiie chairman, acted in that laborious and responsi- 
 ble capaeit3- most of the time. During his last term in congress he procured tlie 
 very iinimrtant grant of near 300,000 acres of land in this State for the construction 
 oi tlu> Illinois and Michigan canal. Mr. Cook's health having been feeble for some 
 time, at the close of the session in the Spring of 1827, he made a visit to Cuba, but 
 soon returned. He died of consumption, at the home of his nativity, October Ki, 1827, 
 at the early age of .34. He was the son-in-law of Gov. Edwards, and left one child, 
 Gen. John Cook, now of Springfield. The county of Cook, was named appropriately 
 in his honor.] 
 
 22 
 
338 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 son mail, attaclied to his political fortune in admiration of the 
 glory of Lis military achievements. He had been an ensi.yH vmder 
 the danntless Croghan at Lo\yer Sandusky and acquitted hiuiself 
 with credit. In the Illinois legislature he had served as a senator 
 from Jackson county. His (;lian(;es of success against Cook were 
 regarded as hopeless; but he entered u^^on the campaign un- 
 daunted; his speeches, devoid of ornament, though short, were full 
 of good sense. He made a diligent canvass of the State, Mr. 
 Cook being much hiiulered by the state of his health. The most 
 that was expected of Duncan, however, was that he would get a 
 respectable vote — not the defeat of Cook. Both friends and foes 
 were struck with surprise and amazement at the result. The vio- 
 lence of party feeling smouldering in the breasts of tlu^ peoi)le on 
 account of the defeat of Jackson, was not duly api)reciated until 
 the defeat of Cook and the election of Duiu;an by a majority of 
 641 — the vote standing G,3lil for Duncan to 5,080 for Cook. Aside 
 from the convention struggle in 1824, none other than mere local and 
 personal considerations had ever before controlled the result of an 
 election in Illinois. 
 
 In the gubernatorial contest the party lines were not so closely 
 drawn. Sloe was the undoubted Jacicson (candidate, but Edwards, 
 too, x)rofessed adherence to the political fortunes of the "military 
 chieftain." But the burden of his S])eeches related to State affairs and 
 particularly the wasteful administration of the State finances, and 
 other abuses. He characterized in fitting terms the wretched legis- 
 lation which had first saddled the State with the bank whose worth, 
 less issues it was bound to redeem in gold and silver by 1831; whose 
 notes it was bound to receive at par for taxes and other indebted- 
 ness, and which were paid out again, or auditor's warrants as their 
 equivalent, at $3 for $1 ; showed the loss from this policy nnist neces- 
 sarily be $2 for $1 received; that a debt of $150,000 had been 
 imposed u}>on the State yearly when the ordinary current expenses 
 should have been but about $25,000; that these losses must event- 
 ually be wrung out of the people by treble taxation; that no 
 State, however great its energies or resources, could long withstand 
 so enormous a draft upon them ; that it tended to check immigra- 
 tion; emigrants as a class were "neither the most able nor the most 
 willing to pay high taxes;" that while the annual State revenue 
 amounted to between $40,000 and $50,000, being nearly double the 
 current expenses of the government, these deplorable delicits and 
 depreciation of currency were taking place, humiliating to our pride 
 and disreputable to our character abroad. He inveighed against 
 the unjust discrimination whereby residents were compelled to pay 
 taxes yearly and non-residents semi-annually; that as the State 
 revenue was chiefly derived from the latter, human ingenuity 
 could not have devised a more effectual scheme to produce an annual 
 dt^ticit in the State treasury. This it was that created the demand 
 for new issues of floods of auditor's warrants which depreciated 
 thecnurency and afforded the opportunity for sii)ecuIators to riot on 
 the necessities of the i^eople; but for tiiis unfair advantage the 
 further emission of these warrants would cease. "But then," he 
 exclaimed to his auditory, "this would have Avithered, if not anni- 
 hilate<l, that speculation which has so long been luxuriating u[)on 
 the resources of the State and the honest earnings of the s\^ eat 
 of your brows. Such impositions as these, upon a free, highminded 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION. 339 
 
 iuid independent people, I boldly assert, have no i)arallel in the 
 annals of free government, and tliey are oidy to be borne by that 
 eliaritv which hopeth all things, believeth all things, and endureth 
 all things."* 
 
 Edwards fonght his campaign battles single-handed, and solely 
 n]ion the gronnds of liscal ivform as affecting the welfare of the 
 State, irrespective of party atliliations. This bronglit him in array 
 against nearly every pnblic man of any prominence in the State, 
 while many of his friends stood aloof, deeming it hazardous to be 
 identified with him. But from iiis triumph it may well be dedu(ied 
 that his forcible and instructive addresses gained the ear of the 
 people. The legislature was, however, largely against him. His 
 campaign si)eeclies having produced a good eft'ect npon the peo[)le, 
 as evinced l>y their sustaining him, and encouraged by his remark- 
 able triumph, he now attempted to go further. In his inaugural 
 message he alluded to the delinquencies of the Shawneetown 
 branch of the State ba,nk, as reported by the committee of investiga- 
 tion, stating that "its concerns had been loosely and irregularly 
 conducted;" that the deranged state of its accounts did not 
 exhibit the amount of debts due, and that money had been loaned 
 Avithout secui'ity, contrary to the requirenu'iits of the law, sworn 
 by all its olhcers to execute faithfully the injunction, "I will 
 not permit money to be loaned to any individual without security." 
 From whicli he deduced not only fraud and imposition, but the 
 clearest moral perjuiy, voluntarily and deliberately committed. f 
 
 And now followed in shoi't or<ler several messages from him to 
 the house, charging specific acts of corrn})tion, jtarticularly n])on 
 the officers of tiie Edwardsville branch of the State ba]d<. A loan 
 of $2,050 had been obtained by a mortgage ui)on real estate, which 
 on execution Avas valued at $737.7.") and whicli actually sold for 
 oidy $401.83; another loan of |G,025 was effected npon realty 
 valued at $3,140.71, when the sworn duty of the ofticers was to 
 exact real estate security in double value of the loan, and to loan 
 but $1,000 on such security at one time to one man. Tliree days 
 later, in another message, he charged that these loans were to 
 Thos. J. McGuire, Emanuel J. West, and Theophilus W. Smith, 
 to establish a press at Edwardsville. intemled to ])romote the intro- 
 duction of slavery into the State; that lieutenant-governor Kinney 
 president of the bank, advanced the moiu\v to buy the press, that 
 McGuire was the printer who obtained the loan with West as 
 security, and that Smith the cashi(^r, became the editor; that no 
 entries on the minute book showed when the loan was jnade, &c. 
 These details were perhaps indiscn^te, as they gave color to the 
 charge that his excellency was actuated by so)nething more than 
 feelings ])urely of reform. 
 
 HaAing obtained further information, the governor, on the 25th 
 of January, siibmitted to the house of re])resentatives, as the 
 grand inquest of the State, cliarges of grave and serious import 
 against the officers and board of directors of the branch bank at 
 Edwardsville, alleged to be inedicated upon the books, accounts, 
 and i)apers, delivered by the late cashier, T, W. Snn'th, to his suc- 
 cessor, Mr. Miller: 1st, for making loans of more than $1000 npon 
 real estate security to various individuals; 2d, making loans of 
 
 ♦Edward's Life, by his son N. W. 
 
 +See House Journal, session of 1826-7. 
 
340 IIISTOr.Y OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 more than $100 upou personal security — that the president him- 
 self had two several loans of $1000 eaeh on personal secnrity, 
 made, too, out of the 10 per cent fund which was never to be put 
 into circuhition ; 3d, loaning- on real estate not free from incum- 
 brances; 4th, loaning- on insufficient security; 5th, culpable neg- 
 lect of duty in not protesting overdue paper and proceeding to 
 the collection thereof; all in violation of the positive require- 
 ments of the law; stating that among the batch of promissorj^ 
 notes due and unrenewed, running ba(;k for three years, and 
 handed over by T. W. Smith (late cashier) to his successor, there 
 were eleven forgeries detected as early as IS'22, yet no efl'ort had 
 been made to bring the olfender to punishment; that in 1824, 
 Thomas J. McGuire had obtained a loan of $100 on a mortgage 
 improi)erly executed and without relinquishing- dower (he being 
 married), on a ])iece of property not worth $300; the same to 
 Emanuel J. West on land valued on execution at $301 18; that 
 by the law, all loans, before made, were to be passed upon by two- 
 thirds of the board, yet T. W. Smith had obtained a loan without 
 being- so sanctioned, because at the time the president was absent 
 from the State, two of the four directors w^ere attending- the legis- 
 lature as senators, aiid Smith himself, one of the supreme judges, 
 was also there in attendance. The governor further adroitly de- 
 clared that he fully appreciated the formidable combinations that 
 had grown out of the banhing interest in the State, but as the 
 crisis had arrived he proposed meeting it, notwithstanding men- 
 aces to intimidate him had been made. He would shrink from no 
 danger, but fearlessly discharge the high trust reposed in him by 
 the people. The message and accompanying documents were re- 
 ferred to a sele{;t committee of seven, composed of Henry J. 
 Mills, George Churchill, Thomas lieynolds, William Sim, W. 
 Cavarly and Conrad Will, with power to send for persons and 
 papers. 
 
 Four days later, the governor, having embarked in the under- 
 taking- of ferreting out tiscal corruptions, boldly and circumstan- 
 tially brought forward nine distinctive charges against the cashier 
 of the i)rincipal bank at Vandalia, J. M.Duncan, mostly relating to 
 withholding- the required information as to the condition of the 
 bank, failing to make out descriptive lists of the burnt notes, and 
 failing to lay before the legislature his half yearly report as to the 
 condition of the branches, all of which the hnv required, and 
 in all which particulars the law had been violated. This mes- 
 sage, too, was referred to a committee. Still again he charged 
 that Theophilns W. Smith did, when acting as cashier, misapply 
 and ai)pro})riate to his own use a large amount of funds of the 
 bank, which he still withhehl, and as he presided over the circuit 
 court in the county of his residence, he asked that provision be 
 made for instituting- suit against him ontvside of his own circuit. 
 
 And now there was intense excitement at the capital. The gov- 
 ernor had, single handed, to deal with adroit and sagacious politi- 
 cians of the dominant party, some high in ofhce, before a 
 legislature with whom he was in a party minority. The cry was 
 raised that the charges " emanated from a base and malignant 
 determination, on the part of the governor, to ])rostrate every in- 
 dividual who had dared to oppose his election,"* Governor Ford 
 
 *SeeJ. M. Duncan's letter, House Journal, January 29,1827. 
 
EDWARDS' AD3I1NISTKATI0N. 341 
 
 says : "A powerful coml)inatioii of iiitlueiitial men was thus formed 
 to thwart the investigation. Tlie governor was openly and boldly 
 charged with base motives ; and that kind of stigma was attempted 
 to be cast on him which is apt to tix itself upon a common informer. 
 His charges against Mr. Crawford ^^ ere remembered, and he was 
 now charged with being intluenced by hostility towards Judge 
 Smith, who had been a fiiend toMr. Crawford's election." 
 
 The charges against J. M. Duncan were speedily disposed of. 
 The committee, Feluuary 8tli, reported, "exculi)ating the (cashier 
 of the princii)a] 1>a.nk from all censure," and that there was "not 
 the least send>lanc(5 of the violation of his duty," in any of the 
 cliarges jncferred by his Excellency; and as to the misapphcation 
 of the baidv funds by Judge KSmith, while cashier, they reported 
 that it was not the i)ro\ince of the general assenil)ly to decide 
 upon the validity of tlie claims between the bank and its ohicers ; 
 the question was a Judicial one; that a law already existed provid- 
 ing for a change of venue, Avhere the judge of a court was inter- 
 ested iu a suit.* 
 
 The committee of 7, which Governor Ford says w'as " packed" 
 against the go\'ernor, ga\e the subject a long and apparently care- 
 ful investigation, their pioceedings being taken down in writing 
 and fully rejiorted to the house. + Many of the charges, ap[)arently 
 hastily made, were satisfactorily ex}>lained, yet much irregularity 
 in tlieconduct and managementof the bank also appeared, chief of 
 which was iu connection with the insufticiency of the real estate 
 security required. But tliis was partly explained in that val- 
 uations were made after the depreciation of the ]>ank notes, iu 
 ac('or(laii(;e witli the real value of the money received, while the 
 hard times incident to that ))eriod also caused a very great depre- 
 ciation of pr<^»perty generally. The loans exceeding JfilOOO, made to 
 directors and ofticers. it a])[>eai'ed, wei'e authorized by section 18 of 
 the law, whicli allowed thein to borrow $750 " in addition to the 
 amount which as in<livi(lnals they might be entitled to." The law 
 was further construed that they w'cre entitled to borrow on ])er- 
 sonal security beyond the $100 allowed to individuals, which had 
 been sanctioned by the governor himself in the case of Daniel 
 Parkinson, a director from Sangajnon, who had borrowed $850, 
 August 1), 1821, on a note, with N. Edwards as personal security. 
 It a}>peared further that this same I'arkinson had ]>resented and 
 drawn the money on the eleven $100 notes alleged by the gover- 
 nor to be forged. The notes pui{)orted to be from a nund>cr of 
 parties, but "ai)})eared to have been signed in the handwriting o±" 
 the director from Sangamon. On inquiry. Parkinson said he was 
 not personally ac(piainte(l with the makers of the notes, but he 
 liad heard that they were good, and ii\('d down on Indian creek. 
 T.W.Smith made afiidavit that he had been iul'ornu'd by the 
 sheriff and clerk of Sangamon county, \\ ho had nuide diligent 
 search for them in order to serve them with ])rocess at the suit of 
 the baidv, that no such persons ever resided in the county to their 
 knowledge and belief. The charge that money had been re-loaned 
 out of the 10 per cent fuiul, the governor took oc(!asi(m to retnict.l 
 The house of rei)resentatives, iu committee of the Avhole, after 
 
 *See House Journar 18^6-7, 416-4(56, 
 
 tlbid, f)04 to 595 
 
 ISee House Journal, p. 454, 
 
342 HISTORY OF LLLINOIS. 
 
 cousidering the report of tlie special committee, reported for 
 adoption: ^^ Resolved, Tluit uotbiug lias been proved against the 
 late president, directois and cashier of the branch bank at Ed- 
 wardsville, to-wit: AVilliani Kinney, Joseph A. Beaird, Tliojinis 
 Carlin, Abraham Prickett, Elijah lies and T]ieoi)hilns W. Smith, 
 which wonld jnstify the belief that they had acted corruptly and 
 in bad faith in tlie management of tlie affairs of said bank ;" 
 which was adopted by the house. Thus did the attempt of the 
 governor to impeach the managers of the old State Bank prove a 
 complete failure. 
 
 As illustrative both of the cordiality existing between two of 
 the co-ordinate branches of government and the relative dignity 
 of the same, we give the following: Some joint resolutions, 
 addressed to congress, were passed by the legislature in favor of 
 amending the constitution according to jMr. Benton's idea, to allow 
 the people to vote directly for president and vice president. The gov- 
 ernor was required to transmit a copy of the resolutions to the execu- 
 tives of the several States, with the request that they be laid before 
 the legislatures thereof, and also to our senators and representatives 
 in congress. But he returned them to the house with an indignant 
 letter, x>i"otesting against the '*uui)recedented language of the 
 resolutions requiring him to transmit" them ; that it implied an au- 
 thority over a co-ordinate branch of the government, and was an 
 assumption of power not granted to the two houses under the con- 
 stitution; that such "language was violative of their relative inde- 
 pendence," and that he " declined obedience to a command so 
 unwarranted ;" he would, however, comply with a "request" to that 
 effect.* The offensive word was changed ! 
 
 One of the most exciting measures i)assed at this session, was 
 the repeal of the circuit court system, established 2 years before. 
 During that time deniagogues, well knowing liow to create i)olit- 
 ical capital by inference in the absence of facts, charged extrava- 
 gance and a prodigal waste of the i)eoi)le's money in sustaining a 
 judiciary, and virtually pensioiiing the supreme court, which 
 might well perform all the circuit duty. A good deal of o})posi- 
 tion had been stirred up anu)ng thei)eo})](^ by the governor during 
 his canvass, and he also urged the rei»eal in his inaugural message. 
 Upon the other hand, all the nine judges, circuit and supieme, 
 opposed it. But in this measure the governor was aided by some 
 of his worstenemies, who had failed in their judicial aspirations two 
 years before when the court was re-organized, and the bill i)re- 
 vailed. The State was divided into live circuits, assigning one of 
 the supreme judges to each of four, to hold two terms of court iii 
 each county yearly. One of the circuit judges, the Hon. 11. M. 
 Young, was retained on a circuit in the military district. But one 
 yearly term of the suprente ccmrt was ])rovided. The salaries of 
 the judges were increased from $800 to $1000. The salaries of the 
 five circuit judges were $(500 each. Thus wjis saved to the State 
 treasury aniuially a total of $2400 from this source, at an incal- 
 culable delay and vexation to suitors in both the sujueme and cir- 
 cuit courts, liut the mere (juestion of ex})ense, and the i)etty re- 
 venge of sore as2)irarits, were not the only things which conspired 
 to tliis repeal. One of the cii'cuit judges was to be punished for 
 "proscription," it was said. The cii'cuit judges had power to appoint 
 
 ■"See House Jourual, p. 45-i. 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION. 343 
 
 circuit clerks, but tluit from this as a corollaiy followed the power 
 of removal, was not so clear. Judge McKoberts so viewed it, and. 
 liad exercised both powers, proscriptively, it was thought. He 
 had removed from that office, iu Madisou county, eToseph Conway, 
 a political oi)ponent, and appointed in his stead, Emanuel J. West, 
 his i'riend. Conway, being well known and i)opular, was elected 
 to the State senate, and after riding' into ofhce on his grievance 
 before the people, in the legislature he brongiit it to ])i'ar against 
 the entire system, and coiu]>leted his revenge against McK'oberts 
 by repealing all the judges but one out of office. Ju<lge Mciioh- 
 erts, intellectnaJy one of the tirst men of the State, was also un- 
 popular on account of arbitrarily entering up judgnnMit against 
 Governor Coles, after he had been released by an act of the legis- 
 lature from tine ju duancipating his negroes withtmt giving bond 
 that they should not become a charge upon the county. 
 
 The supreme judges ap[)ointed a,t the session of 1824—5 to revise 
 the statutes, submitted the result of their labor so far as com- 
 pleted. Appreciating tha magnitude of such a work, iVaught 
 with such great interests, to the perfection of which great and 
 uninterrupted re-search should be brought, they had not com- 
 l)leted many chapters. A joint committee from both houses was 
 appointed, which went earnestly at work to finish up the revision, 
 emijloying as assistants the circuit judges in attendance at the 
 seat of government. The revision endmiced all the various laws 
 relating to the right of property, contracts and civil actions, and 
 the rights of persons ami society, and the mod(\s of redress. Jus- 
 tices of the peace were at this session made ele('tive by the peo- 
 ple. 
 
 182S-9 — Early in the session of 1S20-7, the legislature had un- 
 der consideration some resolutions memorializing congress to 
 reduce the pri<;e of ]>ubli(; lands, aiid for a- grant to the State of 
 all the public lands lying therein, ui)on such ])rin<'iples as might 
 be deemed just and equitable. JNfr. IMackwell olfered an annMid- 
 ment — "on condition that the State at all times grant to actual 
 settlers each m)t less than a quarter section, to be o(;cni)ied and 
 improved." In a communication to the house, the governor re- 
 commended that our delegates in congress be instrncte<l 'Mo 
 contract with the government for a surrender of the i)ublic lands 
 within the State, on the following' terms : the State to be at. all 
 the expenses of selling- them at a i)rice not exceeding 25 cents per 
 acre; to keep an office constantly open for that pur] )ose, and to 
 pay to the general government annually 25 cents i)er acre for 
 all that shall have been sold." Later, the comndttee to which 
 the governor's communication had been referred, rei)oi(e;l, and 
 taking a ste[> in advance, required from congress a suriciider 
 of the public lands '•unconditionally, snbject to such <lisj>()sition 
 as tlie people of the State, by their re])resentatives, nuiy deem 
 most conducive to their ])rosperity and liapjiiness." 
 
 1'his ])roi)osition threw the governor's effe<'tually in the shade, 
 and lie was not heard from again during tiu' session ui)on the sub- 
 ject, liut by the meeting of the legislature in 1<S2S. he had had 
 anqde time to work this subject up to its largest ])roi)ortions. He 
 now eclipsed the bold demand of the committee, by broadly 
 claiming iu his message of extraordinary length, evincing uuusu- 
 
344 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 al legal research and acumen, that the public lands within the 
 limits of Illinois belonged already to the State. He showed that 
 the articles of confederation not onl} affirmed the right of every 
 State to all the lands within its limits, but expressly declared that 
 "no State shall be deprived of territory for the beneiit of the 
 United States." He argued that the United States, by the terms 
 of the constitution, could not acquire or hold any land, in any 
 original State, even with its own consent, except what may be 
 necessary "for the erection of forts, magazines, arsenals, dock 
 yards, and other needful buildings ; " that as this State had been 
 admitted on an ecpial footing with the original States, the United 
 States could hold no more land than for these purposes within its 
 limits, and for anything more the general government had to 
 obtain "the consent of the legislatnre of the State ;" that till 
 the admission of the State into the Union, it had no rights as a 
 State under the constitution, and consequently no competency to 
 act in that character ; it was like a minor, not within the age of 
 consent ; that the State coidd not therefore be bound by the acts 
 of the territory, in consenting for the United States to hold lands 
 within her limits; that if the federal government enjoyed this 
 privilege of dominion over the public lands during "its political 
 minority, it ceased on the admission of the State into the Union, 
 having thence forward the same rights of sovereignty, freedom, 
 and independence as the other States; that the sovereignty of a 
 State includes the right to exercise supreme and exclusive control 
 over all lands within it ; that the freedom of a State is the right 
 to do whatever may be done by any nation, and includes the 
 right to dispose of all the public lands within its limits, according 
 to its own will and i)Ieasure; that the independence of a State 
 includes an exemption from all control by any other State or 
 nation over its will or action, within its own teriitory. The gover- 
 nor seems to have been deei)ly in earnest. 
 
 Beyond this broad claim it was impossible for the legislatnre to 
 go. They did therefore the next best thing, which was, to divide 
 the credit and honors of the grand discovery with his excellency. 
 The committee uho had considered the subject, reported : That 
 from a careful examination of the goxernor's argument and aided 
 l)y the best lights they could get, they believed the position 
 assumed in the message to be correct. They close recommending* 
 the adoption of resolutions by the Senate and House of Represen- 
 tatives of the State of Illinois; that this State possesses the 
 exclusive sovereignty over all lands within its limits ; that the 
 United States possesses no right of jurisdiction over any lauds 
 within the limits of Illinois; that the United States cannot hold 
 any right of soil within the limits of the State but for the erection 
 of forts, magazines, arsemds, dock-yards and other needful build- 
 ings, and that this State possesses the right of soil of all the ])ublic 
 laiids within its limits. The resolutions were passed, and it was 
 further provided, that they be signed by the speakers of both 
 houses and copies thereof sent to our senators and representa- 
 tives in congress, with instructions to lay them before that body. 
 Copies were also to be transmitted to the governors of the several 
 States of the Union. "Having thus laid a broad foundation to 
 enrich the State with the public lands, the members retui-ned to 
 
EDWAEDS' ADMINISTRATION. 345 
 
 their constituents swelling with importance and liigli expectations 
 of future favor. But tlie people were not such big fools as was 
 tliougbt, for many laughed at their representatives in very scorn 
 of their pretensions."* Tlie splendid bantling fell still-born upon 
 the public, and nothing more was heard of it afterward. 
 
 'Ford's History. 
 
K 
 
 Chapter XXX. 
 
 1830— A EETROSPECT. 
 
 Advance of the Settlements — N'ote: Galena, its Early Hist<mi ; Orujin 
 of the term '■'■ iSuclier f Bouylas'' Humorous Account of it — Trials 
 and Troubles of Pioneers in Kew Counties — European Colonies — 
 Mtiancial Condition of the State — Trade and Commerce — Early 
 Mail Routes, Xewspajiers, and Literati — Politics of the People — 
 Militia System. 
 
 The population of tlie State in 1820 was ] 57,447, Ijaving- nearly 
 trebled itst^ll' (luring- the preceding decade. There were at this 
 time 56 counties organized, but those in the northern portion of the 
 State were mere skek^tons and unwieJdIy in size. A tliird of tlie 
 State, or more, lying- between Galena and Cldcago, extending south- 
 ward to the Kaskaskia, the headwaters of the Vermilion, along- 
 tlie Eock Itiver and far down into the nulitary tract, constituting- 
 at present the most densely settled and best imi»r(>ved portions, 
 >Yas a trackless prairie waste, overrun by the Sa(; and Fox, Winne- 
 bago, and Potawattomie Indians. Much of the interior of the 
 south part, and the country bordering the Ihnbarrass, the Sang- 
 amon and their tributaries, had ceased to be a wilderness. Into 
 the country of the Sangamon immigration had for some time 
 thronged. Along the Illinois to Chicago, then just beginning to 
 attract attention, there were scattered a few settlements long dis- 
 tances apart. For some years after, the settleis, either in clusters 
 or separately, continued to hug- the outskirts of the timber border- 
 ing the rivers and creeks, or the edge of groves, scarcely any 
 venturing- out on the oi)en prairies. Along- the ]Mississip])i, 
 settlements were scattered at distant intervals, culminating- at the 
 lead mines on Fever river, where had ga.thered a heterogenous 
 population from numy i)arts of the world, nund)ering- about 1,000 
 souls, nine-tenths being men eng-aged in mining.* 
 
 *In 1804, Governor Harrison bought from the Sac and Fox tribes a tract of land at 
 the month of the Fever river (Meeapiasipo) 15 miles square. Lead had been mined for 
 many years on tlie Iowa side and was iinown to exist on tlie Illinois siile The tirst 
 white settler at the mines on Fever river, was a Frenchman named Boutilier, in 1819. 
 Shortly after, Jesse Sliull, a trader, occupied an island there in the river, and Deing 
 informed that the Indians had discovered lead near where Galena now stands, moved 
 thither. This proved to be the noted " buck lead.'' A.. P. Van Metre soon joined, and 
 "all took to themselves wives of the daughters of the land, and were traders for their 
 brethren." Later, Dr Samuel Mure also married to a squaw, and was associate of the 
 well known Indian trader, Davenport, of Koak Island, located there. He gave to Ga- 
 lena its name (from tiie Greek, Galan;is, a species of lead ore) In 18-30, Colonel J. John- 
 son, authorized by the war department, arrived and assumed almost exclusive control 
 of the mining. He was followed by a few others the same year, and more in 1833-4. 
 Float or gravel mineral was extensively sown, some prospects sold, and thus by fraud, 
 parties went further out, and some splendid ' ' leads" were discovered. 
 
 In 1835, the 15 mile boundary was overleaped, and the country of the Winnebagos 
 first trenched upon. The "Shullsburg," " East Fork" and ''New Diggings" were found 
 
 34G 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION. 347 
 
 ^Vs tlierc was doubtless iiiucli samoiR'ss in the early settlement 
 of new (iouiities, parti(;ularly in the central and northern portions 
 of the State, the details of whieli would probably prove both dull 
 and iiuprolitable to the gviicral i-(>a(ler; and as sueh early data 
 ha.ve, except in a few ca.ses, ,^-enera.lly been so uuconspieuons as to 
 cause tlieui not to be preserved, and are now either h)st or beconie 
 traditional, we subjoin the following- aecount by Nathan Dillon, 
 pic-turinuthe condition of two counties after their tirst oi^ganization, 
 which .yives perhaps the fair averai;e experience of many an ohl 
 settler,and (ionveyvS to us their trials, privations and diliiculties: 
 
 "As early as 1821, a few lo:^ cal)his were ab'eady built in Hauf^union 
 county, which at that date embraced all the northern part of tlie IState. 
 
 and developed, and the number of miners had increased to 1600. In 1826, acne horse 
 mail was established from Vandalia to Galena, once every 3 weets. 
 
 In 182T, the frovernment first surveyed the town, permittinfi' parties to occupy and 
 iiiil>n)ve lots, on condition that tliey vacate them on 30 days notice. This was all the ti- 
 tle any occupant had up to 18d8. The next neig-hbors of the Galenians, south, were 
 the Peorians ; and between the two places lay a vast wilderness of luiinliabited terri- 
 tory. In 182.5, Mr. Kelloy' started his "trail" from Peoria to Galena, rnssin^;- Kock 
 river a few miles above the present Dixon, thence by the West Grove to Galena. The 
 Winnebago.'^ a-^sisted in ferrying Kock river. Two canoes placed side by side formed 
 the ferry boat, the wheels of one side of a wagon in one, and those of the opposite 
 in the other canoe. The hores swam. The next .year, ■'B:illes Trail" was establishe(l. 
 The ri\'er was ferried at DixoU; where the Illinois Central railroad bridge now crosses. 
 This was more direct, and became shortly the main route of travel to the lead mines. 
 In the sijrlii'j- of 1827, the travel was so great that in a very few days 200 teams ))assod 
 at this point. There were also other "trails" farther to the west, 'Ihe "Lewiston 
 trail" crossed Kock river a little above Prophetstowu, Whiteside county. (From the 
 History of Ogle county.) 
 
 The low cognomen of 'sucker," as applied to Illinoisans, is said to have had its origin 
 at the lead mines. Says George Brunii, of Sangamon : Late in the fall of 1826, 1 was 
 Stan irigonthe levee of what is now Galena, watching a number of our Illinois boys go 
 on board of a steamboat bound down the river, when a man from Missouri slepi^ed Vtp 
 and iisked^"Boys, where are you going ?" The answer was, "home." '■Well.' 5ie re- 
 plied, ''you put me in mind of suckers; up in the spring, spawn, and all return in the 
 iall." The appellation stuck to the Illinoisans ; and when .Judge Sawyer came up to 
 the mines on his circuit duty, he was styled "King of the Suckers " These who stayed 
 over winter, mostly from Wisconsin, weie called Badgers. The following spring the Mi.sou- 
 rijuis iMiured intn the mining regicm in such miniher.s that the State wa.s said to"bave taken a 
 puke, anil thit olfcnsive a]ip(ll;'.tion of " Pukes" was thenceforward .applied to all Missourians. 
 l?ut the fi)lli)wing is a more tasteful origin of the appellation of "Sucker" : 
 
 On r)cc,:isi(m of a i)lea^aut entertainment at Petersburg, Virginia, Judge Douglas gave the 
 following humorous account of the origin of the term "flackers" as applied to Illinoisans; the 
 account is valuable further, and confers a proud distinction upon Illinois, in that it cle;irs up 
 all doubt reg:uiling the discovery of that important and inspiring beverage called "mint 
 .julep," a momentous ((ue.stion luTetofore covered with obscurity and beset with many doulits, 
 hut now in the light of these facts, hapiiily placed at rest. It is not improbable that a gla.ss 
 of the animating beverage served to quicken the memory of the honorable senator on the 
 occasion. 
 
 ': About the year 1777, George Rogei-s Clark applied to the governor of Virginia, and sug- 
 gested to him tliat as peace might he dcchuiMl at any time between Gnat Ibitaiu ami (he col- 
 ouie.s, it would be well for us to he in possession of the northwest territory, so lliat when the 
 cimnnissioners came to negotiate a treaty, we might act on the wi'll known principle of uti 
 jjo.s.sV/ct/.s, each party holding all they had in jiosscssion. He suggested to the governor to per- 
 mit him to go out to the northwest, conquer tins country, and hold it until the treaty of 
 ])ea(e, when wo would bccomo po.ssessed of it. The governor consented and sent him across 
 the mi)uiilains to Pittsburgh. From there ho and his companions floated down the Ohio on 
 rafts to tlie falls, where Louisville now is. After remaining there a short time, they again 
 took to their rafts and floated down to the salines, just below the present Shawneetown in Illi- 
 nois, Here they took up their march acro.S8 the country to Kaskaskia. where the French had 
 an old sit tlcmcnt, iind Uy the aid of a guide they reached the Oquaw river, and encamped 
 near I'ctcr .Mcnard'.s house, some little distance fnmi the town. You see. I am well a(;(juiiinted 
 with the locidity. [Laughter.] Next morning, Clark gothis little army of lagamutlins tojiclher 
 (for they had no army wagons with 8upi)lieH, no sutler, and no stores, ami by this time looked 
 ragged euDujih), and lookup his line of maich for the little French town of Kaskaskia. It 
 wa-, sunnuer and a vi'i'v hot day, and as he entered the town he saw the F'renchmeu sitting 
 quietly on tlieir little vtiandahs, in front of their houses, .sucking their.juleps through straws, 
 lie lashed upon thom, crying, "surrender, you suckers, you !" [Great laughter.] The 
 Ficnclunen surrendered, anil from that day to this, Illinoi.sana have been known as "Suckers." 
 [.Vpplause.] 
 
 ' i'li;U was the origin of our cognomen, and when George Rogers Clarke returned to Vir- 
 ginia lie introduceil (he.juleps here. [Laughter.] Now, I want to give V^irginians fair notice, 
 that when they claim tlie honor of a Jelj'erson, of a Madison, of a Marshall, and of as manj- 
 other distinguisluHl sages and p.atriots as the world ever saw, wo yield; when you claim the 
 glory you achieved on thefield of b.attle, we yield; when you claim credit forthe cession of the 
 northwestern territory, that out of it sovereign States might be created, we yield ; when you 
 claim the ghn-y of never having podeda vote against the Democratic party, we yield ; but 
 when ymi claim the glorv of the mint julep, hands off ; Illinois wants that. [Shouts of laughter 
 and applause.]— 111. Keg." Sept. 19, 1860. 
 
348 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The cabins were filled to overflowing with the families, the pioneers of 
 the county, my family being among the number. I was present at the 
 election, August 1822, held at Springfield (the election precinct extending 
 many miles east and west, and north to the State line), and saw all the 
 voters who could come to vote in that wide scope of uninhabited 
 country. Most of the voters residing in the precinct attended the 
 election, though many of them had miles of wild country to travel in 
 order to do so. 
 
 The voters were mostly immigrants from the east and south, though a 
 large portion of the men pi'esent were Indians and darkies, they of 
 course not being allowed the right of suffrage. The voting portion of 
 the community were then called the Yankees and white men. Three 
 men named Kinney, Parkinson, and Edwards, had along bench ranged 
 along side of the court house, on which they set tlieir liquors. The 
 polls were held in the interior. We all got plenty to drink. The white 
 men sang songs, the Indians and darkeys danced, and a general frolic 
 occurred ; but what has sur^jrised me as I have reflected upon these 
 early days, we had no fighting. The great evil was, that every candidate 
 had' to fill his portmanteau with whiskey, and go around and see and 
 treat every voter and his wife and family with the poisonous stuff, or 
 stand a chance of being defeated. John Reynolds was our circuit 
 judge. He held his court at Springfield, in a cabin built of round logs, 
 the walls of which were only 6 feet high ; it was also destitute of a floor ; 
 yet we continued to get along very well. The jury had to retire to the 
 jail, another such building as I have described. Such is the outline of 
 those happy days. 
 
 In the winter of 1823, I emigrated to what is now called Dillon settle- 
 ment, in this county, 10 miles from Pekin, and 17 from Peoria, where I 
 sjient the season in quietude ; my nearest neighbors living in Peoria, 
 except one by the name of Avery, who had raised his cabin at Funk's 
 hill. But things did not remain in this condition long ; for during the 
 same winter the legislature made a new county, with Peoria for the 
 county seat, embracing all the country north of Sangamon county. 
 Phelps, Stephen French and myself were appointed justices of the 
 peace for the new county, which extended east as far as Bloomington, 
 and north and west to the State line. We sent our summonses to Chica- 
 go and Galena, and they were promptly returned by our constable. 
 
 March, 1824, we held an election at Avery's, Wm. Holland, Joseph 
 Smith and myself were elected county commissioners. The whole 
 county was embraced in one election district. The number of votes 
 poiled was 20 ; had some whiskey on the occasion, but it was well tem- 
 pered, having been imported a long way by water; and we did not suc- 
 ceed in getting on as great a spree as we did at Springfield. 
 
 In those days when we could not get the store room of Hamlin or 
 Allen, or the dwelling house of John Dixon, we held our courts on the 
 river bank ; not being as wealthy or strong handed as in Sangamon, we 
 had to do without a court house ; Judge Sawyer was our circuit judge, 
 and it was some time before we could scare up a jury. At that date 
 there was not a cabin on the site of the city of Pekin, and perogues were 
 the only crafts w e had to freight our whiskey, salt, and iron from the 
 State to Peoria. 
 
 Now let me tell you how we got along about mills. There were 3 or 4 
 horse mills in Sangamon, at 40 or 45 miles distance. Sometimes we went 
 to them ; sometimes to Southwick's, situated at a distance of 60 
 miles; we did not mind the journey much, unless the streams were 
 swollen with rains, in which case the task of going to mill was severe, 
 as there were no bridges and ferries in those days. By and by, to remedy 
 our wants, Samuel Tutter erected a small horse mill in the neighbor- 
 hood of Peoria; and a few years after, William Eds put up one at Elm 
 Grove ; a public improvement which made us feel quite rich. In those 
 early times, we only took corn to mill, paying one-sixth and one bit per 
 bushel, for grinding. The meal obtained was of an inferior quality 
 when compared with what we now have. Our millers were good, hon- 
 est fellows, and the somewhat heavy tariffs they laid on their customers 
 not at all wrong, for their income was small. 
 
EDWARDS' ADMIOTSTRATION. 349 
 
 Times are changed. The reader who now looks at the fertile prairies 
 of Illinois, what does he behold. Large cities and flourishing towns! 
 Behold the prairies, then wild and untrodden, now covered with fine 
 farms and dwellings, behold the travel of our railroads and rivers, visit 
 our county fairs and become acciuainted with our intelligent farmers, 
 and tlie vast and valuable amount of products derived from thesoil they 
 till; behold on every hand our numerous churches and school houses, 
 our court houses and seats of justice, spread all over the wide territory 
 which French, Philips and myself early governed as humble justices ; 
 and tell me, has not the changed improvement been great and reuuirk- 
 able."* 
 
 European Colonists. — It has been stated that tlie early settlers 
 were mostly from the sontheru states. There Avere also some 
 foreign colonists located in Illinois at an early date. The lirst 
 were a few Irish families, under the leadership of Samuel O'.Mel- 
 vany, a popular pioneer, who located on the Ohio river about 
 180i 
 
 Shortly after the war of 1812, Morris Birbeek, an Enjilishmaii 
 imbued with republican principles, visited Illinois with a view to 
 locating a colony of his eouutrynien. Being a jnan of i'luc 
 scholarly attainments, he wrote home for publication a number of 
 letters faithfully re|)resenting the advantages of this country, which 
 received a wide circulation and proved of great benefit to Illinois 
 abroad. In a short time after, he and George Flower, both meu 
 of wealth brotight out from England a large colony consisting 
 of several hundred families, re})resenting almost every industrial 
 pursuit. They located in Edwards county. Tlu' town of Albi(»n, 
 the present county seat, was started by Mr. Flower, and about a 
 mile west of it anoth«'r by Mr. Birbeek, called Waniu)ck, which 
 proved a failure. There was some rivalry. There was nuK-li 
 wealth and retinement in the colony, aside from that in the posses- 
 sion of the fouiulers. A few of the first settlers are still living, 
 their desccMulents are quite numerous in and about Albion. t 
 
 About 1815, two German families, by the name of Markee and 
 Germain, first settled in a gorge of the JNIississippi bluff in St. 
 Clair county, known from that circumstance as Dutch Hollow. 
 These families became the nucleus of the present large Gernuiii 
 po[)ulation of St. Clair and adjacent counties. Another English 
 colony, Koinan Catholic in belief, composed of 15 or 20 families 
 from Lancashier, settled in Prairie du Long Creek, Monroe county, 
 in 1817. Thonuis Winstanly, Bamber, Threlfall and IsTewsham 
 were the founders. They became a thrifty settlement. Numerous 
 English immigrants also settled in Green county in 1820. 
 
 In 1819 Ferdiuaml Ernst, a gentleuR'n of wealth, education and 
 literary taste, from the kingdom of Hanover, cnuie to Vandulia., 
 then just selected as the seat of government, and located a, (iernuin 
 colony consisting of 25 or 30 families. In 1822 Bernard Steiuer 
 settled a suudi Swiss colony of 8 or 10 families in the southeastern 
 ])art of St. Clair county. Their location Avas on a beautiful and 
 
 *Sr>p TIHiiois State Joumal June 30 1854. 
 
 +An-. Flowor lust his fortune by the lirealving of the United States bant, and afterwards re- 
 moved to Alt. A'enion, Indiana, but some of his de.scendents still live in the 15oltenhr)use 
 ])rairie. Jh-. Birbeek was secretary of State under Gov. Coles, ni the convention contest of 
 IB'^i, he contributed more by his writings tlian perhaps any one else to defeat the schemes of 
 the cohorts of slavery. Ho was unfortunately clrowned in a bayou of the jrreat Waba.sh. caled 
 Fos river, swollen by lieavy rains. He. accompanied by his. son was on his way home from 
 New Harmony, Indiana, then in charge of the Robert Owen communists, whither they had 
 made a visit. In nttempting to cross the stream, the rapid current swept their horse-; out of 
 their course, and Air. Birbeek and both horses perished. His son barely escaped tlie same fate. 
 His untimely death was a gi-eat loss to the State. 
 
350 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 commaiuliiig eminence called Dutch Hill. It was added to by sub- 
 sequent iniuiigrants until it formed a large settlement.* 
 
 Financial Gondifion of the State. — When the State government 
 went into oi)eration, in 1S18, the total revenue reported in the 
 treasury, ;nid to become due on the 1st of December, was 
 |7,310.i(); it now amounted for the years 1820-30 to $78,938, 
 of which .S70,-!37 was derived solely from taxes on non-residents' 
 lands, $i*,787 from tlie Oliio saJiiies, $2,800 from the sale of Van- 
 dalia lots, and $3,084 collected by sheriffs. The biennial 
 State expenses vrere estimated by the treasuier, for salaries and 
 to support the contingent fund, at $25000, and for a session of the 
 general assembly at $15,000, total $10,000, or $20,000 annually, 
 lea\'ing at the lowest estiuiate a sur[)lus revenue of $30,000 every 
 two years. That was a good healthy condition of the State's fiscal 
 affairs. Go\'. Edwards was greatly instrumental in bringing about 
 this highly creditable condition of the State treasury, which he 
 found 1 years before empty, and auditor's warrants at a discount 
 of 50 per cent. At the ])resent writing we have a population 10 
 times as large, to-wit, 2,553,000; we have no jiublic debt of conse- 
 quence, and our gain of i)ro])erty is proportionately larger than 
 our ratio of increase in po[)ulati()n, yet our State expenses are 
 50 limes greater, as every tax payer yearly feels. 
 
 During the period over which we are now casting a retrospe(!t, 
 the treasuries of the State and (bounties, and suitors at law in- 
 dividually, were subjected to serious losses by <]efaulting sheriffs, 
 for taxes (collected and moneys received on execution. If the sheriif 
 was an aspirant for re-election, the State or county woidd not 
 suffer much the first term, because he could not be commissioned 
 for a second term without a certificate of settlement for all public; 
 funds placed in his hands; but to exhibit such a clearance, the 
 jnoney collected on executions and belonging to individuals would 
 be used; Avhile with the people generally, who i'elt little concern 
 in these private affairs, and among whom his official duties con- 
 stantly called him, he was in the condition to contradict rumors, 
 and in the face of his dereliction enabled to make friends and 
 secure a renewed lease of power.f No official who handles large 
 sums of the people's money, or is so closely identified with all our 
 pro]>erty rights, either corporate or individual, as a sheritf or 
 treasurer, ought bylaw to be allowed to become his own successor 
 in office. We can but regard this as a bad feature in the constitu- 
 tion of 1870. 
 
 Trade and Commerce. — Internal improvements to facilitate trade 
 and commennal intercourse, consisted, up to that time, mostly iu 
 acts of the legislature declaring certain streams navigal)ie. In 
 thesedechirations that honorable body was not the least parsimo- 
 iniMis, but dealt them out to almost every rivulet with a prodigal 
 hand; and a stranger, in looking over the old statutes, ante-dating, 
 say, 1840, woidd inevitably conclude that the State of Illinois was 
 intersected by navigable streams in every direction as abundantly 
 as could i)ossibly be desired by the most commercial people. To 
 tlie Illinois and Michigan canal there was as yet nothing done 
 
 *ReynoM's Life and Times 
 tFoi-d'g History. 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION 351 
 
 except some very imperfect siTrveys, thonjili it bad been the tlieme 
 of recommeiidation l)y every governor, and its grant of land was 
 procured from congress. 
 
 Tlie progress of commerce from 1S18 to 1S30 was jostled but 
 little from its beaten track by the improved facilities of (piick con- 
 veyance offered by the introduction of steam. Steamboats uj)ou 
 the Ohio and iMississii)pi had become frequent, but the older 
 settlers were not stirred from their drowsy condition of nmkiiig 
 simi)ly enough to live on by the new life, and the recent settlers, 
 if they desired, were not in n condition to raise anything beyond 
 their present needs — the condition of all newcomers. The Illinois 
 river was not visited by the lu^wly proi)elled craft, except small 
 ones which ascended to Beardstowu and occasionally to Peoria 
 and above, as required. Gren. Joseph Street, writing from Peoria 
 under date of jMarch oO, 1827, says: "There is nothing doing on 
 laiul and less on water. * * The harbor and town site are the 
 best, I presunu', in all the western country; but not one sail 
 enlivens the monotonous prospect or one oai" di[)s in the dark 
 blue waves of the fairy lake from one years' end to another — if 
 you wiirex(;ept the feiry boat, with now and then the canoe of a 
 few miserable saAages in quest of a dram." Keel-boat transi)orta- 
 tion luid been sn[>erseded, it is true, but the scanty comnu'rce and 
 feeble trade made no demands for nn^re extensive carrying facib- 
 ties than we have mentioned. In development and wealth the 
 State was in its merest infancy. 
 
 Merchandizing during this period consisted in the bare retailing 
 of a few dry goods and groceries. None of the products of the 
 country were taken in exchange, except peltries, beeswax* and 
 tallow. Tlie peophNs' chief supply of money came from immigrants 
 who bought of their grain, stock or produce, and often enqjloyed 
 their labor besides. The money went out again into the hands 
 of the nu^rchants who sent it abroad in payment for goods, and 
 thus the country was kept drained of anything like a sufticient 
 currency. When credit was obtained at tlie stores, in default of 
 payment and to gain time, mortgages would often be given, these 
 foreclosed, the nunvhant would in time hnd himself the possessor 
 of perhaps a mnnberof fai-ms, retire from business on a com})e- 
 tency and dream away his life in village idleness, without ever 
 benetiting the country in the least, but ruining perha])s a number 
 of its citizens. For a long tinu'. there was no class of merchants 
 who did a, barter business. They were unwilling to exchange 
 goods for produce and incur the responsibility of ownership until 
 shipments to distant nnirlvCts and sales could be ellected. There 
 was the risk of a Huctuating market in the interim; their (;a[)ital 
 as a rule was snudl, and a loss on produce might render them 
 
 ••'Fifty years ago, or in the svimmer of 1821," writes Clias. Robertson ofArnzville, 
 underdateof Feb. 8, 18T2, to the Chicago Journal, 'there was not abushel of corn to be 
 had in Central Illinois. My father settled in that year 23 miles west of Sprino:field. 
 We had to live for a time on venison, blackberries and milk, while the men were t>one 
 to Egypt to harvest and procure breadstuffs. The land wc improved was surveyed 
 that summer, and afterward bought of the government by sending beeswax down the 
 Illinois river to St. Louis in an Uidian canoe. Dressed deer skins and tanned hides 
 were then in use, and we made one piece of cloth out of nettles instead of fla.x. 
 Cotton matured well for a decade, until the deep snow," in 1830. 
 
 The southevn part of the State, known as Egypt, received this appellation, as here 
 iudicateu, because being older, better Si ttled and cultivated, it "gathered corn as the 
 sand of the sea," ana the immigrants of the central part of the State, afterthe manner 
 of the children of Israel, in their wants went "thither to buy and bring from thence 
 that they might live and not die. 
 
352 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 insolvent; no bnsiness connections with commission lionses had 
 been establislied; added to these was often a limited (japacity. A 
 few years later, it seems, merchants were forced into barter by the 
 refnsalof the United States bank at St. Lonis to extend accommo- 
 dations to them, in meeting' their matnred contracts for goods 
 bonght in the east. Then the grain, beef, and i)ork of the conntry 
 were pnrchased and shipjied forwaid in payment thereof, and not 
 nnfre(inently, it was found, a double i)rolit was realized, one on 
 the goods sold at retail and another on the produce forwarded.* 
 
 It was no uncommon in^actice in early times for farmers to be- 
 come their own carriers and merchants ; the practice obtained to 
 within quite a recent period in nniny i)arts of southern llliiiois. 
 A flat-boat would be built on the banks of a suitable stream, 
 launched, loaded with the produce of the year — the flour, bacon, 
 corn, etc., of perhaps a neighborhood — manned, and with the tirst 
 rise of the waters, cut loose and floated down to ISTew Orleans. 
 After a tedious and often hazardous voyage, on arrival at the 
 distant market a total stranger, it was not unfrequently the case 
 that the farmer-merchant would ftdl into the clutches of sharpers 
 who took advantage of his want of acquaintance with commercial 
 transactions and fleeced him of his cargo. But these ventures 
 proved at times exceedingly profitable. Before the day of steam 
 the journey home was long, toilsonui and weary, either on foot 
 through the country inhabited by savages, or by keel-boats, labo- 
 riously pushed with poles, or eordelhd — towed with long roi)es — 
 against the strong curreids of the rivers. An entire season would 
 thus often be wasted, a crt)p lost, and the faim abandoned to neg- 
 lect, on account of the long absence of the proprietor.! 
 
 Early Mail Facilities. — The first mail route crossing the Alle- 
 ghany nionntiiins, was oi)ened from lMiiladeii>hia to Pittsburgh in 
 1788, and, at intervals of six years, was extended, in 17*J4, to 
 Louisville, and in 1800 to Vincennes. From the latter place, routes 
 were extended, in 1805, to Cahokia, and in 1800, to Shawneetown. 
 In 1810, mail routes were established by act of congress from Vin- 
 cennes to St. Louis, via Kaskaskia, Prairie du Eocher and Cahokia, 
 and from the tbrmer place to Ca|)e Girardeau, via St. Genevieve, 
 and also from Louisville to Shawneetown ; in 1814, to Johnson 
 Court-house (Johnson county, Illinois), and in 1818, to Belleville. 
 In 1822, Edwardsville, Springfield and Peoria were connected by 
 a mail route; and in 1823, Carrollton, Boss Settlement and ISTew 
 Atlas, in Pike county. In 1821, there was a direct mail route 
 from Vandalia to Springfield. The first route from the central 
 part of the State to Chicago, was established in 1832, from Shel- 
 by ville, via Decatur and Fox river; and in the same year, a route 
 from Clncago to UanVille, and to Green Bay. Direct routes from 
 Chicago to Galena, and to Springfield, were opened in 1820. In 
 1827-8, four-horse coaches were put on the line from Vincennes to 
 St. Louis. The difficulties and dangers encountered by the early 
 mail carriers, in time of Indian troubles, were very serious. The 
 bravery and ingenious devices of Harry Wilton (subsequently 
 United States marshal), who, when a boy, in 1812, conveyed the 
 
 ♦Ford's History. 
 fFord's History, 
 
EDAVAEDS' ADMINISTRATION. 353 
 
 iTiail on a wild French pony, over swollen streams, and tlirongli 
 tlu' " enemy's conntry," from Shawneetown to St. Louis, are men- 
 tioned with special commendation. Stacy McDonald, of Ean- 
 doli>h county, an old pioneer, who Avas at St. Clair's Defeat, and 
 under Wayne in 1704, was the government mail contractor on that 
 line. So infrequent and irregular were the communications by 
 nniil a great part of the time, tliat to-day, the remotest part of the 
 United States is unable to appreciate it by exami)le.* 
 
 EayJy Xeicfipapcrfi. — The first newspaper published north of 
 the Ohio, and west of Cincinnati, was the Vincennes aS'm«, in 1803, 
 edited by Elihu Stout. The next in the west was the Missonri 
 Gazette., established at St. Louis, in 1808, by Joseph Charless, and 
 continued ever since, but subsequently merged in the Bepiihlican. 
 The next in the west, and the first within the limits of the State, 
 was the lUivois Herahly established at Kaskaskia, by Matthew 
 Duncan, brother of the subsequent governor. There is some 
 variance as to the exact time of its establislunent. Wm. IL 
 Brown, afterward editor of the same paper at Vandalia, umler the 
 )iame of Intelligencer., and in after years president of the Chicago 
 historical society, says, "at or before 1811." Gov. lieynolds says, 
 1800. Hooper Warren explains the latter statement by saying, 
 "the ])ress brought by Mr. Duncan was for years only used for the 
 public printing." Matthew Duncan sold out to Kobert Blackwell 
 and Daniel P. Cook in 1815. The former succeeded ^Mr. Duncan, 
 as public printer, and was, moreover, the territorial auditor of 
 public accounts. In the latter oftice he was succeeded, in the fall 
 of 1817, by Elijah C. Berry, who also succeeded to the same ofti(;e 
 under the State government in 1818, and who became a co-editor 
 of the Herald. In the hands of Blackwell and Berry the name of 
 the paper was changed to lUiuois Tntellitjeneer, and upon the 
 renuival of the seat of government to Vandalia in 1820, the 
 Intelligencer establishment followed it. Mr. Berry relinquished 
 his interest in the concern, and his place was taken by a brother 
 and Wm. H. Brown. In the convention contest of 18L'4, differing 
 with his associates, Mr. Brown withdrew. The Intelligencer was 
 long an ably conducted pa])er, j\Ir. Blackwell, a well kno\\n law- 
 yer, being for many years its editor. 
 
 The Illinois Emigrant., the second newspaper printed in Illinois, 
 was established at Shawneetown by Henry Eddy and Singleton 
 H. Kinimel, in the fall of 1818, when the State was admitted to 
 the Union. James Hall succeeded Mr. Kimmel. Through this 
 paper Mr. Eddy, a clear and vigorous writer, in the convention 
 struggle of ]82i, dealt herculean blows in oi)[)Osition to slavery. 
 The name had been changed to Illinois Gazette. 
 
 The third newspaper established in Illinois, was founded by 
 Hooper Warren, at Edwardsville, in 1810, (;alled the Spectator. 
 The first year he had the assistance of the afterward Hon. 
 George Chr.rchill, a practical printer and experienced writer, 
 whom he met at St. Louis. Mr. Churchill retired at the end of a 
 year to his farm near Edwardsville, Mhere he lived until quite 
 recH'ntly. Hooper Warren was a bold, able, and vigorous writer, 
 and did much to defeat the slavery schemes in 1821. In 1825, he 
 
 •Paper read before the Chicago Hist. Society, by W. H. Brown in 1860 
 
 23 
 
354 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sold out to the ^ev. Thomas Lij)piiicott and Jerreraiah Abbot. 
 Mr. Warren afterward started newspapers in various places in 
 the State, but never with the success that his ability promised. 
 
 In !Sei)ten)ber, 182L*, the "*S'to>- of the Wesf^ was started by a 
 Mr. Miller aiul sons, also at Edwardsville. They had just come 
 from Pennsylvania with a press and material, seeking a location. 
 At Edwardsville, while stopping- over night, they were persuaded 
 by the oi)i)onents of Mr. Warren, to unload and set up their press. 
 He remarks, "we had a lively rime for a few months, when the 
 ">S'tor" went down." They sold in April, 1823, to Tlionnis J. Mc- 
 Guire & Co., who changed the name to lUinois Repuhlivan. Judge 
 Tlieopliilus W. Smith and Emanuel J. West were the leading- 
 editors during the convention contest, in counteractiug the intlu- 
 enceof the 8i)ectator. It was discontinued with the close of that 
 campaign, the last number being issued Saturday preceding the 
 election in August, 1824: 
 
 In January, 1823, E. K. Fleming commenced to j^ublish the 
 Bepuhlk-an Advocate, at Kaskaskia, which was the organ of the 
 jn'O-convention party during the contest. 
 
 In 182(!, at Galena, on the ith of July, was issued the first num- 
 ber of the Miners'' Journal, by James Jones. In 1832, he sold to 
 Dr. Phillio, when its imme was changed to Galeiiian. 
 
 In the winter of 1820-7, Hooper Warren established the Smi- 
 gamo Spectator at Springfield. Mr. Warren says (letter to the old 
 settlers' meeting of Sangamon county, October, 1859), "it was but 
 a small affair, 'a medium sheet, worked by myself alone most of 
 the time." It was transferred to S. 0. Merredith in 1828. In the 
 latter year was started at Edwardsville, tha lUinois Corrector, and 
 at Kaskaskia, the EepuhUcan. In 1829 was establishedthe Galena 
 Advertiser, by Newhall, Phillio & Co. The Alton Spectator was 
 established about 1830, by Edward Breath. The Telegraph was 
 established by Parks and Treadway, the latter transferring his 
 interest in a short time to Mr. Eailhache, who was its principal 
 editor for many years. In 1831, Simeon Francis established at 
 Springfield, the Sangamo Journal, which he continued to edit 
 until 1855, when he sold to Bailhache and Baker. In Chicago, on 
 the 20th of November, 1833, was issued the first number of the 
 Bemocrat, published by John Calhoun, which was the first uews- 
 pai)er there. 
 
 Literature and Literati. — The literature of Illinois, prior to 1830, 
 aside from mere political articles in the newsi)ai>ers, often well 
 and forcibly written, was confined to few hands. We will here 
 mention the prominent early literati of Illinois. Morris Birheclc, 
 an Englislnnan, whom we have noted as settling a colony in Ed- 
 wards county, in 1855, wrote home sketches of considerable merit 
 regarding the advantages of Illinois, which received a wide pub- 
 lication and were afterwards collected in book form. He acquired 
 consideial)le celebrity as an author. Dr. Jjems C. Becl< wrote the 
 valuable and well known Gazetteer of Missouri and Illinois, which 
 in 1823, was published in book form. Judge James Hall was a 
 Phihulelphian, born 1793. He settled in liliiu>is about 1818. He 
 had be(m a soldier in the war of 1812, having i)articii)ated under 
 Scott in the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Fort Erie, and been 
 with Commodore Decatur to Algiers. At Pittsburgh, in 1817, he 
 
EDWAEDS' ADMINISTRATION. 
 
 completed his law studies, resigned his commission in the regular 
 army, floated down the Oliio and settled at Shawneetown. He 
 had already devoted much time to literary composition. Here he 
 became a co-editor with Heiiry Eddy on tlie Gazttee. He also 
 soon attained office at the hands of the legislature, being- succes- 
 sively prosecuting- attorney, circuit judge and State treasurer. In 
 the iirst named position he became w(^ll accpiainted with the 
 operations of the gangs of vidians, counterfeiters and freebooters, 
 wliich then infested the shoi'es of the Ohio and j\Iississi})pi, in 
 sonthern Illinois, and wliicli doubtless furnished him numy an 
 incident out of \Ahi('h to weave his -'Border Tales." At Vandalia 
 he started the Illhiois Magazine. He also at that time edited the 
 Wcfiterii t^onrcnir^ [)ublished at Cincinnati, whither he removed in 
 1833, and became connected with banking, bat he pursued his 
 literary labors until his death in LSGS. Throughout life his pen 
 was constantly active. He wrote with great facility, and his 
 voluminous woi-ks evince a high degree of literary merit. He 
 early becann^ distinguished as a scholar ami author throughout 
 the United States. As a poet, too, he was rarely gifted. Among 
 his works best known are perhaps, "Legends of the West." 
 ''Harpe's Head," "Jiorder Tales," ''Life of Gen. Harrison," "Tales 
 of the Wigwam and War path," &c. He has also left an elabo- 
 rate " flistory of the Xorth American Indians." 
 
 Bci\ John M. Fec% D. J). This distingnished Baptist divine, 
 pio7ieer and historian of Illinois, resided for uear 40 years on his 
 farm at Belleville, known as "Hock Spring." He (fame to Illinois 
 about 181*0. There was no man in all the Avest who traveled, lec- 
 tured or wrote so nnudi as he, during his loug life, throughout 
 which he was also a constant, faithful and able preacher of the 
 gosi)el. He was the founder in 1827, of the "Bock Sprijig theo- 
 logical seminary and high school," and became its professor of 
 christian theolc-gy. John Messinger was pi'ofessor of mathematics 
 and natural philosophy, and Bev. Joshua Bradly i)rincipal. It 
 opened with 100 students. In LS.'U it was transferred to Alton, 
 and became the foundation for Shurtlett" college. Dr. Peck 
 wielded a prolitic pen. Among- his voluminous works we mention, 
 without order, The Emigrants Guide, Illinois Gazetteer, maps 
 &c.. Life of Bev. John Claik, The Iiulian Cai)tive, Life of Bev. 
 John Tanner, Moral Progress of the Mississi])pi Valley, Life of 
 Rev. Jeremiah Vordeman, &c. ; but the work which will transmit 
 his imme to posterity the longest is his revision ami eulargemeut 
 of the "Anuals of the West," by Jas. H. Perkins. It evim'cs 
 much research and contains a very accurate history of the north- 
 west. We are considerably indebted to it in the preparation of 
 this work. 
 
 John Eussell, a native of Vermont, after marriage in 1811), 
 removed west, and a few years later settled in Green county, at 
 Bluff Dale, a beautiful and ronmutic site not far from the Illinois 
 river. Much of his life was spent as a professor in xarions 
 colleges in the west. He was a professor at an early day in 
 Shurtleff college, a profound scholar and chaste and elegant 
 writer, but his i)i-oductions were m)t voluminous. Like many 
 authors before him, he was unobtrusive with his talents. He led 
 a quiet and retired life in his western home, but was ever an inde- 
 
35G HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 fat i gable student. His literary morceaus were often set afloat 
 without the author's name. 
 
 Dr. Peck sold a manuscript for him in the east, a magazine 
 article calUnl "The Legend of the Piasa," representing a terrible 
 bird of prey, wlii(;h feasted on the Indians, under an injunction 
 not to disclose the writer's name. It attracted considerable atten- 
 tion, and was afterwards translated into French, as original. Dr. 
 Peck exposed the plagiarism, to the great mortification of the 
 Frenchman, who resided in America. One of Prof. Eussel's 
 fugitive pieces, called the "Venomous Worm," gained a wide cele- 
 brity, being transalated into many languages. It conveys a deep 
 moral lesson in allegory on intemperance, and became a standard 
 piece in our earlier school books.* 
 
 [Note] -To anticiputea few years, we find Pegasus also bestrode upon the level plains 
 of Illinois, several refiions having their loc-al poets. Kane county had one apparently 
 enamored of the solid advantag-es which the State of his adoption afforded. He sang 
 as follows: 
 
 "The timber here is very good— 
 
 The forest dense of sturdy wood ; 
 
 The maple tree its sweets affords 
 
 And walnut it is sawn to boards; 
 
 The giant oak the axman hails 
 
 Its massive trunk is torn to rails. 
 
 And game is plenty in the State, 
 
 Which makes the hunter's chances great — 
 
 The prairie wolf infests the land, 
 
 And the wild cats all bristling stand.' 
 
 To show the comparative excellence of our rivers, he sang further : 
 " I've gazed upon the wild Scioto, 
 And wondered where its waters go to;' 
 
 But the Illinois, 
 
 "Rattling onward in its course. 
 Doth seek the Mississippi's source" — 
 
 afforded him no such misgivings, for it will be perceived that by a poeticlicense, per- 
 haps, but in defiance of natural law, he runs its waters up tLe Mississippi. 
 
 Politics of the People — Manner of conducting Campaigns — In- 
 trigues of Politicians. — Regarding the political sentiments of the 
 people, it is not flattering to our republican pride to read from an 
 accurate observer of the period : " Up to the year 1840, I can say 
 with perfect truth, that considerations of mere party, men's con- 
 descensions, agreeable carriage and professions of friendship, had 
 more influence with the great body of the people, than the most 
 important public services."! But it is more humiliating to confess 
 that these considerations play to-day no less a part than they did 
 40 and 50 years ago; and they probably always will be formidable 
 agencies in politics, however we may boast the intelligence of the 
 masses. 
 
 The masses did not expect that, nor did the public servants 
 think or studj' how, government might be made conducive to the 
 elevation of the i)eople. To advance the civil condition and hap- 
 piness of society was an object foreign to the purposes of legisla- 
 tion. Government was tolerated, and its forms and requirements 
 acquiesced in, by the masses, from a feeling of habit, so long as its 
 administration did not clash with or encroach ui^on their inter- 
 ests, enjoyments, or personal freedom too much.| 
 
 ♦Reynolds Life and Times. +Ford's Hist 
 
 $An anecdote, related by Robert S. Blackwell Esq., at a New England supper on 
 Pilgrim's day in Chicago, December 31,1853, may serve to illustrate this characteris- 
 tic of the old pioneers : " They wore preat bee-hunters and had a custom ot appropri- 
 ating to the finder all bee trees, on whose land soever they happened to be growing. 
 When they discovered a bee tree- without leave or license, they entered upon the 
 land and cut it down, and made themselves masters of the hcney. The owner seldom 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION. 357 
 
 Among- the pioneers weie also many adventurers; and nearly 
 all immiiirants sought the new country for an. easier lift^ or the 
 aecuniulatiou of i»r()i)erty. Upon governmental affairs but little 
 thought was bestowed. When aroused to the exercise of the great 
 l)rivilege of the citizen — the elective franchise — by interested dem- 
 agogues, no other consideration entered into the act than, to either 
 favor a friend or punish an enemy. This iudifterence, so unworthy 
 of the citizen, redounded to tlie advantage of the active and dili- 
 gent place hunters, in that it permitted them, without molestation 
 or exposure, to perfect their " pipe laying" for the partition of 
 governmental patronage. There were no great political questions 
 to divide the people prior to 1832-3. I'olitics were personal, and 
 suffrage was bestowed, not with regard to pubhc welfare, but as a 
 matter of i)ersoiuil fa\'or. In such elections, the ballot system, 
 which in denser po])ulations affords the, greatest independence to 
 the voter in eliciting his true intent, was here prostituted to 
 double-dealing and dissinudation. Out of it grew what was known 
 as the "keep "dark Boon" system, in which were sacrificed on the 
 part of both office seekers and, to a certain extent, the people, all 
 priucii>les of honor and sincerity, by mutual deceptions of every 
 grade and character, from which the most adroit intriguer emerged 
 with the greatest success. Promises of snpport would be vio- 
 lated as freely as they were made. To cure the evil, the legislature 
 repealed the nnxle of voting- by ballot at the session of 18i:8-9 
 
 The use of ardent spirits was almost a universal custom with 
 the people, and "treating," as it was called, during a political can- 
 vass, was a sine qua non to success. Not unfrequently candidates 
 for office would give orders to liquor saloons to treat freely whoso- 
 ever would drink at their expense, on certain' days, usually every 
 Saturday and other days of public occasion, for weeks before rhe 
 day of election. At such i)laces the \oters would congregate from 
 alf parts of the surrounding- neighborhoods on " treating days" 
 during the campaign, riding in to gather the news, and not unfre- 
 quently get drunk and engage in rough and tumble fights. The 
 candidates, too, would often nuike it apoint to be there on these 
 days, either themselves or by proxy, and harangue the " sover- 
 eigns" upon the issues of the campaign, in a convenient shady 
 grove, the auditors, not unfre(piently interspersed with ladies, 
 seated about on the green sward. The orators would thunder 
 forth their claims to office, mounted on convenient wagons, logs, 
 or stumi)s of trees, hence the phrase of "stump speech." The 
 " vital questions of the <lay," discussed at these meetings, were 
 not measures but men, and consisted in bitter personal ariaign- 
 ments of opponents, often of little general concern. Toward 
 evening the crowd would disperse, mounted on their diminutive 
 
 ventured to complain, and when he did. the juries were sure to punish his presump- 
 tion with the costs of the suit. 
 
 "Well, one of the old settlers, to whom I allude, came to my ofBoo one daj-, stated 
 that he had felled a bee tree upon his neiyhlior's land, alluded to the old custom of 
 conferriutr title by discover.v, and thai a suit was threatened, anil re(iur'.«ie(l my ad- 
 vice ill the pn^mises. I replied that he had committed a trespass and aavised him to 
 compromise the affair. Jle left the oflico in hi^rh dudiieon, sayiny as he was departing, 
 '• this co\mtry is yettina food— d civilized for me; ril make tracks for Oregon, orsome 
 Other country, where the old pioneer can gret .iustice." Mr. Hlackwell was, with other 
 works, the author of "niackwell on Ta.x Titles," an e.Ycellent standard treatise, held 
 in hifih esteem throughout the United States. He was a native Tlliuoisa!) and self 
 made man, endowed with Hue intellectual powers. He died at (^hicatto, in ISiiti, at the 
 early ag-e of 38 years. His early life was an exatnplc to the youns;- a d aspirinur— his 
 middle afre a monument to self hiade g-lory, and his early deal ha warning- to all, —Chi- 
 cago Journal.^ 
 
358 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 liorses, galloi^ing tlirough the town, perhaps reeling from the iii- 
 flueuce of M(iuor, hiizzahing and yelling for their favorite candi- 
 dates, and groaning, cnrsing and berating the oi)i)Osition.* 
 
 The pioneers in all parts of the State exercised a great influ- 
 ence at tlie elections. They were here hist, claimed snperior priv- 
 ilege on that account, wliich was mostly accorded to them, and 
 knew well every subsequent comer. Tiiey were unhutunateiy in 
 some instances not only extremely ignorant, but governed besides 
 by passionate prejudices, and opposed every x>ublic policy which 
 looked to the elevation of society; and their descendants in numy 
 cases at an early day, were no improvement on their prototypes. 
 They were, as a rule, brave iii personal cond)ats and brawls, and had 
 apropensity to indulge inthem. Theyarrayed themselves in buck- 
 skin breeches, leather moccasins, raccoon caps and red huntiug 
 sliirts belted at the waist, in which they carried a large knife, 
 whence they were denominated "Butcher Coys." When proclaim- 
 ing their bravery, a proceeding of wliich they were not chary, 
 they would swear that they were "half horse and half alligator," 
 meaning that it was impossible to overcome them in combat. The 
 ii'tiuence of this class was much courted by candidates, and with 
 these and their peculiar characteristics thrown in the scale, success 
 was no doubtful i-esult.f 
 
 " Like i)eo])le, like priest" — i)ublic servants under any form of 
 government ultimately reilect the character of the people, for they 
 are of the people. In the legislature, while the general interests 
 of the people re(;eived but little attention, all manner of com- 
 binations for the parceling out and creation of oftices were 
 formed. Fat jobs were engineered for the benefit of friends; to 
 " ring legislation," so rife in modern times, they were not stran- 
 gers; the "good things" were ai)portioned by disreputable bar- 
 gains made in a<lvaiu'.e — indeed, it was very much as it is at 
 present — " the cohesive power of public plunder" was niost potent; 
 and the possessor of the greatest cai)acity for tact, blandishuu^nts, 
 and intrigue generally carried otf the lion's shai<'. Governor Ford 
 relates of Samuel Crozier, senator fromliandolph, " a remarkable 
 example of pure, kind and single-hearted honesty, after serving 
 two sessions, and after he had ttecji bought and sold a huiulred 
 times without knowing it, said he 'really did believe that some in- 
 trigue had been gt»ing on.' So little are honest men aware of the 
 necessity of keeping their eyes open, in sleepless watchfulness, or 
 otherwise, a few Mill monopolize all the advantages of govern- 
 ment, and it will be done in the most unfair and corrupt manner." 
 Good laws badly administered with the tacit acquiesence of the 
 people, cannot reform any government. The virtue of the people 
 should both demand and enforce them. 
 
 Militia. — The militia s\'stem was an important feature of the 
 early times in Illinois, both during its territorial and State organi- 
 zations. IVIilitia. duties, viewed from a modern stand point, doubt- 
 less apj)ear droll, if not uninteresting, yet at tlie tinu> when tlie 
 system Avas fully in vogue, they were important and onerous. 
 During the long peace Avhich the country enjoyed between the 
 war of 1812 and that with Mexico in 184G, it is not to be won- 
 
 *Ford's Hist. 
 +Fora's Hist. 
 
EDWARDS' ADMINISTRATION. 350 
 
 dered, as the system also became the common target of miicli wit- 
 ticism and ridicule, that it fell under reproac'h and nltimatcly into 
 disuse. Yet it is not unreasonable to assert, that if a vigorous 
 militia system had all the time been nuiintained up to the break- 
 ing- out of the late rebellion, perhaps many of the headlong hascos 
 of the Union forces in the early part of that war wouhl liave been 
 avoided, and probably a year of the war — expended in perfecting 
 and drilling the soldiery — saved besides. The military system of 
 Prussia, which in the late war with France has brought that 
 country forward as the very first military power of the woihl, is 
 nothing but the militia system in its perfection. Wliih; tlic sys- 
 tem of that country has demonstrated it to be the best, it is also 
 by far the cheapest mode of maintaining a standing army, for 
 wliich it becomes to a great extent a substitute. Jbit notwith- 
 standing its perfection in that country, Americans could ne\er be 
 brought fully to submit to its dependent and oiu'rons duties, 
 and it will, perha[)s, never ol)tain any considerable foothold where 
 the government is not strongly centralized. 
 
 During the territorial existence of Illinois the militia ]troved a 
 valuable auxiliary to the defence of the country, in rei)elling hos- 
 tile savages and affording protection to the frontier settlements. 
 The law was substantially the same as that of 1819, from which 
 we sid)join a syno))sis. It contained equitable provisions for draft- 
 ing or conscription — a drafted militia-man was known as a "forced 
 volunteer." From the militia sprung, it may be said, the mounted 
 rangers of that period. An early law passed at YiniuMines, im- 
 IJorted for Illinois by the governor and judges, and subseqiu'iitly 
 adopted by the territorial legislature, i)rohibited all conimisioned 
 officers, except justices of the peace and ndlitia olticers, iVom 
 serving in either house of the legislature. This placed the road 
 to i)olitical preferment in a nmnner in the hands of the militia, ren- 
 dering it very obnoxious to other office-holding aspirants.- 
 
 All free white inhabitants resident in the State, of tiie age of 
 18 years and under 45, except as hereinafter exce]>ted, shall be 
 enrolled in the militia by the commanding officer of the coniiiany 
 within whose bounds such person shall reside, within ten days 
 next after he shall be informed of such residence; and at all times 
 thereafter in like manner, shall be enrolled those who may from 
 time to time arrive at the age of IS, or come to reside in tiu' dis- 
 trict, being of that age and under 45. Such enrolled person was 
 to be notified of his enrollment by an officer of the company, and 
 within six months thereafter he was to provide himself with a good 
 musket and bayonet, fusee or ritie, knapsack, blanket, canteen, 
 two spare Hints, cartridge-box to contain not less than 2i car- 
 tridges with powder and ball suited to the bore of his nuisket or 
 fusee, or pouch ami ])Owder-liorn with 1-4 lb. jiowder, and 24 balls 
 suited to the bore of his ritle; and every enrolled person wlien 
 called on shall so appear armed, accoutered and ])iovided, except 
 when called to exercise by conipaiues, battalion or regiment, when 
 he may appear without knajtsack or blanket. Field and staff 
 officers, ranking as commissioned officers, shall be armed with 
 sword or hanger and a pair of pistols. Company oflic(^rs with 
 sufficient sword or hanger. Officers were to furnish their res[)ec- 
 tive commands as follows: The colonel to each battalion a staml 
 
3G0 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 division inscribed tLereou. The captain was to furnish his com- 
 pany, with drum and fife; regimental drum and fife-majors 
 to furnish themselves, with instruments of music. The 
 officers were to be re-imbursed for these articles out of 
 tlie regimental fuml (tines and penalties) upon the order of 
 the regimental board — a slemler chance. The entire militia 
 of the State was apportioned into divisions, brigades, regi- 
 ments, battalions and companies ; all to take rank when in the 
 field, agreably to the date of the commissions of the olficers in 
 command. Each di\ision was entitled to its major-general, with 
 di\'ision inspector and aids ; each brigade to a brigadier-general, 
 major, and aid-de-camp who was also judge advocate and quarter- 
 master; each regiment to a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, major, sur- 
 geon, surgeon's unite, adjutant (ex-officio clerk), quartermaster, ser- 
 geant, drum-nnyor and tife-major. The superior officers appointed 
 their subordinates, and their rauks were defined according to the 
 U. S. army regulations. The companies elected their cai)tains and 
 lieutenants, and these appointed their subalterns. 
 
 The officers must be citizeus of the U. S. and this State, and 
 take an oath to sui>i)ort theconstitutious of both. The regiments, 
 battalions and com[»anie;5 elected their respective superior officers, 
 who were commissioned by the governor. The governor, by virtue 
 of his office, was comiuauder-in-chief. Provision was made for 
 one comx)any of artillery and one of cavalry or troop of horse to 
 each regiment, by voluntary enrollment. In the same manner a 
 company of rifieuien, grenadiers or light infantry, might be raised 
 in the battalions; all of which were to equip and uniform them- 
 selves in manner fully pointed out. They were to appoint tlieir 
 officers in a manner similar to the first-mentioned. Companies 
 Avere required to muster four times yearl}', on the first Saturdays 
 of April, June, August and October ; and also the first battalions 
 of each first regiment, on the first Mondays in April ; the 2d ou 
 the succeeding Wednesdays; the 1st battalion of the 2d regiments 
 on the succeeding Fiidays ; and the 2d battalion of the 2d regi. 
 inents on the succeeding Mondays in each and every year. liegi- 
 mental musters were provided for similarly to the above, in Sei)tem- 
 ber of each year. The evolutions and exercises were to be con- 
 ducted agreeably to the military discipline of the armies of the 
 U. S. In addition to these times the commanders of regiments, 
 battalions or companies, were empowered to call their respective 
 commands out to muster, as " in their opinions the exigency of 
 the case may require." The brigadier-generals were required to 
 call together for drill or exercise all the commissioned officers in 
 Ai>ril and Septeuiber of each year. 
 
 These reiJcated musters, it will be perceived, were no light duties. 
 Every officer and soldier must appear at the places of muster, 
 armed and equii)ped as the law directed, at the proper time. T'he 
 roll was to be called and delimpients, either as to absence or im- 
 pio[)er equipments, were to be dujy noted, for which fines and for- 
 feitures were to be assessed by courts-martial, ranging as follows: 
 pri\ ates from 50 cents to $1 50 ; commanders of divisions for neg- 
 lect of any duties enjoined, from $20 to !^200 ; commanders of brig- 
 ades, for disobedience of orders or any duties enjoiued by law, 
 from $15 to $150; of regiments from $10 to $100; of battalions 
 from $8 to $80 ; of comx)anies from $5 to $50. Eathers were hable 
 
EDWAliDS' ADMINISTRATION. 301 
 
 for the fines of tlieir minor sons, f;n;ir(Ilans for tlieir wards, and 
 masters for their apprentices. Execntion was to issne npon the 
 findings of tlie eonrts-niartial, directed to the hands of constabh'S 
 to be levied as in other cases. 
 
 The lieutenant-governor, judges of the sui»renie and ciicuit 
 courts, attorney-general, licensed ministers of the Gospel, and 
 jailors, were, in addition to those by the laws of the U. S. ex- 
 empted from militia duty. From time to time acts were also 
 passed for the relief of Dunkards, Quakers, and other religious 
 persons conscientiously scrupulous against bearing arms. By act 
 of Jan. 21, 1821, such persons were relieved by paying $o each to the 
 sheriff, and the entry of their names with a statement of their 
 scrnples, with the assessor of the county. But when detachments 
 of militia for actual service were required, they lilce others, y\n-Q, 
 not exemi)t from the tours of duty, bat might respoml by substi- 
 tute like others. 
 
 Tiie militia was liable to be called into actual service at any time 
 for the space of three months on tlie re(juisition of the Executive 
 of the U. S. in actual or threatened invasion of this or neighbor- 
 ing States or territories; for which i)urpose the nund)er recpiired 
 were to be distributed among the classes (into which companies 
 were to be formed), one nuiu to be furnished by volunteering or 
 draft out of each class ; classes might furnish substitutes. The 
 governor could exem}>t the nulitia from a call into acjtual service, 
 in such frontier settlements as in liis opinion their safety required de- 
 fem;e, aud make sucli further provision as the emei'gency demanded. 
 While in actual serxice the militia was to be subject to the same 
 rules and regulations as the armies of the IT. S., and to recei\e 
 the same pay, rations and forage; but their transgressions were 
 to be tried and determined by a court-martial of militia officers 
 only. 
 
 This is but a very brief outline of some of the main features of 
 the militia system of Illinois. The law contains many sections 
 and is a very long one. 
 
 AYhile the requirements of the militia system in times of i)rofound 
 peace, without the stinnilant of a common danger to aid in the dis- 
 charge of its onerous duties, were ])erhaj)s dull and irksome, it 
 nevertheless afforded to many a budding ambition for tfie "bub- 
 ble reputation at the cannon's mouth," "that swelling of the 
 heart you ne'er can feel again, while with fearless hearts though 
 tired ]ind)s, [they] fought the mimic fray." The nnlitary titles 
 of general, colonel, &c., of many of our public men of the period, 
 from 1812 to 1810, were mostly of militia origin, and had little 
 other significance. 
 
 The militia system was much the same in all the States ; and to 
 come down to a later period the peoi»le abhorred it. But legisla- 
 tures were unwilling to disturb the tinu' honored law, which in 
 many instances had been the nu'ans to originally bring them i)er- 
 haps into prominence. But the shafts of wit and ridicule were 
 hurled at it with such effect as to make it eventually succund). 
 The memorable attack of Tom Corwin in the Ohio legislatnic, by 
 his cele rated " water mellon speech," is familiar to every school- 
 boy. H w it fell into disuse all over Illinois, we do not prerend 
 to recount, but we glean the followhig account of the means used 
 
362 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 to briug it iuto couteinpt in one place, from a speech of Mr. Lin- 
 coln : 
 
 " A number of years ago the militia laws of this state required 
 that the militia should train at stated intervals. These trainings 
 became a great bore to the peoi)le, and CAcry i)erson uearly was 
 for puttiug- them down; but the law required them to train and 
 they could not get it repealed. So they tried another way, and 
 that was to burlesque thein. And hence they elected old Tim 
 Laiigwell, the greatest drunkard and blackguard, for colonel over 
 the best men of the country. But this did not succeed altogether. 
 So they raised a coml)an,^' and elected Gordon Abranis comman- 
 der. He was dressed in pe(;uliar style, one part of his pants were 
 of one collor and material, and the other different. He wore a 
 pasteboard cap about feet long, resembling an inverted ox-yoke. 
 Tlie shanks of his spins were about 8 inches long', with rowels 
 about the circumference of counnon saucers. He carried a sword 
 made of pine wood, 9 feet long. They also had 'rules and regu- 
 lations,' one of which was, ' That no officer should wear more than 
 20 lbs, of codfish for epaulets, nor more than 30 yards of Bologna 
 sausage for a sash ; and on the banner was born aloft these words: 
 ' We'll fight tni Ave run and run till we die.' This succeeded to a 
 demonstration. They were the last company that trained in 
 Springfield." 
 
Chapter XXXI. 
 
 lS;',0-4— ADMIXISTRATIOX OF GOVEKXOR liEYNOLDS. 
 
 The GuhernaforidJ Caudidates^ their Lives and Chdracto's — The Cam- 
 paifjn — The Wi(i(jin,s Loan — Impeachment of tSiipreme Judge 
 Smith — W. L. I). Ewing Governor for 15 days. 
 
 In Au,iinst, 1S30, anotlior gubernatorial election was to take place. 
 The candidates -weve William Kinney, then lieutenant governor, 
 and John Iveynolds, formerly one ot the associate justices of the 
 supreme court, both of the doniiiuint party. Since 1820, the 
 Jackson party had been regnant in both houses of the general 
 assembly. The o})])osition, or anti-Jackson men, brought forward 
 no candidate for gov(U'nor at this election; they were in a hope- 
 less minority. In Illinois i)arty ])rincii»Ies had not taken deep 
 root, nor were they as yet well detined anywhere by the position 
 of president Jackson. Those who were ardently and nnconii)ro- 
 niisingly attaclied to the fortunes of Gen. Jackson, were denomina- 
 ted, in the political slang of the period, "whole hog men." Mr. 
 Kinney was a strong exam])le of the thorough-going Jackson 
 men Of those who nomhnilly espoused the cause of Jackson, 
 not unmixed with policy perha|)s, as that party was so largely in 
 the majority, while at the same time, the supi)oi't of the anti- 
 Jackson men was not unacceptable, was Mr. IJeynolds, who, it 
 should be added, however, had always consistently acted with the 
 Jackson party. The oi)position, intlueiu'ed no^so much by any 
 clearly detined ])ai'ty'])rinciples, as a dislike to the strong, arbi- 
 trary and i)ersonal chai'acteristics of Gen. Jackson, came to the 
 support of Iveynolds, not on account of love for the latter, but of 
 their hatred towai'd the former. Kinney had been to Wasliington 
 and witnessed the inauguration of president Jackson, and was 
 thought to have mucii agency in directing j-emovals from federal 
 oi'tices in Illinois. It was reported he said, in his ]>eculiar graphic 
 manner, that the wliigs ouglit to be whipped out of ottice '"like 
 dogs out of a meat house."'"^ 
 
 Mr. Kinney was born 1781, in Kentucky, and emigrated to 
 Illinois, in 1793. As has before been stated, he acquired his edu- 
 cation after marriage, being taught its rudiments by his wife. J>y 
 unwearied application he became remarkable for intelligence and 
 business capacity. Shortly after his early marriage, contra(;te(l 
 with a most estimable lady, he removed to a farm a short distance 
 northeast of Belleville, and before long Mr. VonPhul, of St. Louis, 
 induced him to engage in merchandizing. He brought his first 
 
 "Keynolds' Life and Times. 
 
 3G3 
 
3G4 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 stock of goods from St. Louis, at one load on liorse-back. He pros- 
 pered as a merchant, became an extensive trader, and accumula- 
 ted a fortune. Firmly impressed with religious convictions, he 
 early became a^ member of the baptist church, and afterward 
 forcibly preached the faith of that denomination of christians. 
 He frequently had the honor of a seat in the legislature where he 
 was noted for close attention to business. He was of a social dis- 
 position, and had gathered a wonderful store of pithy anecdotes, 
 Avhich served him a good purpose in electioneering. He Avas 
 regarded as one of the best political canvassers in the State, pos- 
 sessing unbounded energy and great ambition. With his strong 
 partisan bias he associated a rare jovial and witty i)leasantry, 
 which made him very acce|)table in his intercourse with the peo- 
 I)le. jS^otwithstauding his clerical catling, which he did not lay 
 aside while in quest of office, he availed himself fully of the 
 worldly practice of those days in elections, by "treating" with 
 intoxicating liquors, as did all other candidates. It was wittily 
 remarked of liim that he was invincible, because he went forth to 
 the contest "armed with the sword of the Lord and the spirit." 
 Yet with all these favorable traits, he A\as not sufficiently guarded 
 during the canvass in his sarcastic utterances, which were caught 
 up and distorted by his enemies, to his disadvantage. His strong 
 denominational prejudices and clerical calling, induced him oc- 
 casic)nall3' to berate other churches, which he discovered from the 
 drift of things to be arrayed against him, often from no other than 
 sectarian motives. He also arrayed himself in opposition to the 
 canal, then much before the public, not on account of its intrinsic 
 or jniblic value, but because that great im})rovement would send 
 a tide of "Yankee" emigrants to the State, which he and his ultra 
 partisans affected to despise ever since the defeat of the proposi- 
 tion to introduce slavery into the State six years before. These 
 sentiments, inconsiderately expressed, did him nuich injury in the 
 campaign. 
 
 His opponent, John Keynolds, was born in Pennsylvania, in 
 1788, of Irish parents, who removed to Tennessee while he was an 
 infant, and to IlUnois in 1800. In early manhood young Keynolds 
 returned to Tennessee, where he received a "classical education," 
 as he asserts in his "Life and Times," but for this assertion no 
 one would ever have suspected it, either from his conversation, 
 public addresses, or writings. He was reared among a frontier 
 X)eople, and indnbed their characteristics of manners, customs, 
 and speech — disliked polish, contemned fashion, and was addicted 
 to inordinate profanity, all of which attached to him thiough life, 
 of none of Avhich he took any pains to divest himself, and much 
 of which is said to have been affected, which we doubt. These, 
 garnished by his varied reading, a native shrewdness, and a won- 
 derful faculty of garrulity, make him, considering the high oflices 
 to which he attained, one of the public oddities in the annals of 
 Illinois. His imagination was fertile, but his ideas were ]>oured 
 forth regardless of logical sequence, evidencing his Milesian 
 blood. He had an extraordinary, disconnected sort of nu'inory, 
 and possessed a large fund of detaciied facts relative to the early 
 settlement of St. Clair and liandolph counties, which are end)o(l- 
 ied by him in a work entitled the " Pioneer History of Illinois," 
 
REYNOLDS' ADMINISTRATION. 365 
 
 and are iu the main correct and valuable, thongli badly arran}>ed.* 
 He was tall of stature; liis face long', bony and deei)ly furrowed, 
 and under Lis liigli, narrow iorehead rolled his eyes, large and 
 liquid, expressive of volubility. His nose projected well down- 
 ward to his aini)le mouth. He was kindly by nature, treasured 
 few resentments, and was ever ready to do a favor. His 
 thoroughly democratic uumners, social disposition and talkative 
 habit caused him to nungle readily with the people and enjoy 
 their contidence. He was much in public life. We have noted 
 him as a judge; he served three terms in congress, was afterward 
 commissioned (most unwisely) one of the State tinancinl ag<'nts 
 to negotiate large loans to carry on tlie State internal iiiii)rove- 
 ments, visiting Europe in tliis capacity; still again we liud him in 
 the legislature. He always claimed the stauuchest adhesion to 
 the democratic i)arty. In IS.jS, however, he refnsed to follow the 
 lead of Douglas, but sided with ['resident Ibichanan in his effort 
 to fasten slavery ui)on Kansas by the Lecompton constitution, and 
 his hatred of Douglas was such that he preferred Mr. Lincoln for 
 the seuitte. In 18(50, old and intirni, he attended the Charleston 
 convention as an anti-Douglas delegate. Owing to his age, his 
 extreme pro-slavery view^s nnd loquaciousness, no man from the 
 north received more attention from the southeiii delegates than 
 he. He supported Ibeck in ridge for the presidency. After the 
 elections of October, in Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania, had 
 foreshadowed the success of ]\Ir. Lincoln, he however jtublished 
 an address urging democrats to rally to the support of Douglas, 
 that the election might be throAvn into congress, where Breck- 
 inridge would succeed. Immediately preceding, and during the 
 Avar of the rebellion, his corrcs[)()ndence with extra-Billy Smith 
 of Virginia, and his letter to his brother-in-law, J. L. Wilson of 
 Alabama, which was widely circulated, evinced a clear sympa- 
 thy for the treason of the south. About the 1st of March, 1<S<)1, 
 he urged upon Buchanan otlicials the seizure of the treasure 
 and arms in the custcnn-house and arsenal at St. Louis. He died 
 at Belleville, May, 18G5. He left no Avill, and his fine i)roi»erty 
 des(;en(led to his wife, who survived him but a few months. He 
 had no children by either of his Avives. 
 
 During the political campaign, Ileynolds professed great admi- 
 ration for tlie character of Jackson, though he was not accounted 
 ultra enough by the real Jackson men who denounced him as an 
 "outsider." He and his competitor made a thorough cauA^ass of 
 the State, and party excitement ran exceedingly high. IVIuch 
 persoiuUity entered into it, and bitter reproaches Avere indulged l)y 
 the partisans of the respective candidates. The press was loaded 
 Avith abusiAC articles on both sides, and hand-bills Avere scattered 
 broadcast, containing distorted reports of the si)eeches of the can- 
 didates, and all sorts of scandalous charges. After a Avearisoma 
 campaign of near 18 months, lieynolds Avas elected goA'ernor. 
 
 But Avith regard to the election for lieutenant goA'ernor, the 
 same result did not obtain ; it Avas the same as four years before. 
 Eigdon B. Slocumb was on the ticket with lieynolds, and Zadt^ck 
 Casey A\ith Mr. Kinney. Both candidates for lieutenant goAcriujr 
 
 *He -writes : "In the year 1794, the Morrison family emigrated to Illinois. They 
 were talented, industrious, and became very wealthy. In the same year the horse 
 flies were very bad, and of these the green headed fly was the worst." 
 
366 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 were gentlemen of sterling* worth, character and ability. Slocuinb 
 was unused to the not uncommon accomplishment of the Ameri- 
 can politician, public speaking; nor did he electioneer much, it is 
 said, in any other manner. Xot so however with Casey; he was 
 gifted with the power of charming oratory. Although laclving in 
 thorough early education, by compreliensive reading he had stor- 
 ed his mind, naturally strong, with varied kuowledge. He had 
 fieipiently been a member of the legislature, and his tine personal 
 appearance and large public experience gave him distinction 
 throughout the State. Like his colleague, he, too, occupied tlie 
 pulpit occasionally. The clerical ticket was somewhat injured by 
 the fact that the people could not brook the worldly aspirations of 
 men engaged in a calling so militant to honors that perish; but 
 this objection did not extend to both gentlemen, for Casey was 
 elected. Governor (Jasey possessed in an enunent degree the com- 
 manding tnctof presiding over a deliberative body. 
 
 In his message. Governor lleynolds invited attention to the sub- 
 ject of edncation, internal imi)rovement and the canal; urged 
 that congress be memorialized to improve Chicago harbor; recom- 
 mended three public highways, commencing respectively at 
 Cairo, Shawneetown, and on the lower Wabash, all to terminate at 
 the lead mines: the completion of the penitentiary; Minding up of 
 the old State bank; and, inocculated with his predecessor's theory, 
 stated he was "satisfied that this State, in right of its sovereignty 
 and independence, [was] the rightful owner of the soil within its 
 limits." But His Excellency advocated no hobby, and his admin- 
 istration was not strongly personal. 
 
 The governor was not in political accord with a majority of the 
 senate, and the usual conflicts between that body and the executive 
 obtained. The senate desired the removal of A. P. Field, secretary 
 of State, and with that view passed a resolution requesting his 
 reiiomination — that they might reject him.* But the governor 
 refused compliance, and would neither remove nov renominate him. 
 He renominated Henry Eddy, Sidney Breese, Thomas Ford, and 
 Alfred Cowles, who liad been efficient and acceptable ]>rosccuting 
 attorneys, but as they had opposed the election of Kinney, the 
 senate rejected them and turned all out of office, except Thomas 
 Ford. They were again nominated and again rcvjected; but after 
 the adjournment of the legislature, the governor rea])poiided 
 them. He succeeded in having his choice of treasurer, John De- 
 ment, confirmed by the senate. Dement was an ultra Jackson 
 man, but had sui)ported Reynolds. The incund)ent Judge James 
 Hall, desired to be retained in the office; and although an anti- 
 Jackson man, he had, as editor of the IJlinois InteUigeuccrj with 
 much power, supported Kinney; but this failed to avail him. That 
 curious political posture would indicate both aspirants to the treas- 
 urership to have been governed in their course more by the hope 
 of office than by party principles. But that is a weakness not 
 l)eculiar to those days alone.+ 
 
 Among the measuivs passed at the first legislative session of 
 Beynolds' jijilministration may be noted the adaptation of the crim- 
 inal code to the penitentiary system. But the most notable measure 
 of this session was the passage of the act providing for the 
 
 •Reynolds' Life and Times. 
 
 tHull, as Treasurer, was in arrears with ic State. 
 
EEYNOLDS' ADinNISTRATION. 367 
 
 redemption of the notes of the old State bank, which wonkl 
 mature during- the cmrent year. Tlie notorious "Wiggins h):in" 
 of $100,000 was autliorized, and if that proved insutticient to 
 redeem the out-stauding notes, the residue was to be refunded by 
 issuing State stocks bearing per centum annual interest. This 
 speedily raised the credit of the State and advanced its currency 
 to par. But while the financial standing of the State was tluis 
 })rcscrved, the honorable members who actively authorized it, it is 
 said, sunk beueatli the waves of popular indignntion, never to rise 
 again as politicians. The value of a financial character for the 
 young' State, or tlie disgrace of repudiation, was not duly api)re- 
 ciated by the people. Dcmogogues availed themselves of this and 
 proclaimed to the people that their representatives had coriuptly 
 betrayed their interests, and sold Out them and the State to Wig- 
 gins for generations to come. The members (juailed before the Ih'st 
 onset of ])ublic indiguiition as if stricken with the enormity of their 
 wrong. Truth Avas crushed to earth never to rise again, in the 
 case of these politicians. A blight swept over the Stnte nnd laid 
 low many promising' buds of incipient statesmen. It is left for us 
 at this day, who look l)ack with swelling pride to the fact that our 
 State has emerged from every impending financial crisis with her 
 garments unsullied, to api)reci;ite the merits of their act, only 
 regretting- that they did not I)ol(lly defend their course and hold 
 up to i)ul)lic scorn the unprincipled demagogues Avho intlanu'd the 
 peo]»]e to the contrary.* 
 
 The United States census returns of 1830 showed a population 
 for Illinois of 157,445, and in accordance therewith the State was 
 apportioned into three congressional districts. Up to this time the 
 State had had but one repre3entative in the lower h(mse of congress. 
 A special election for one congressman was(n"dered for August 1831, 
 at which Joseph Duncan was elected; but for the general election of 
 August 1832, and every two years thereafter — it being' provided 
 that congressmen should be elected one year and overprior to taking 
 their seats — three menibers were to be elected. Josepli Duncan, 
 Zadoc'k Casey (the lieutenant governor,) and Charles Slade were 
 elected. 
 
 In his message to the session of the general assembly of 1832-3, 
 governor Reynolds stated the ordinary receipts into the treasury 
 for the two years ending November 30th, 1832, to be in round 
 numbers, $102,000; the current expenses of the State government 
 for the same period, were, in round nund)ers, $!)0.000. This indi- 
 cated a healthy condition of the State finaiu'cs, when it is 
 considered that the Black Hawk war occurred during this period. 
 The expenses of that war amounting to some two million doIlars,t 
 were however assumed by the general government. At this 
 session the first earnest efforts were made to build railroads ; 
 several charters were granted incor])orating railroad com])anies, 
 but no stock, it is said, was ever subscribed to any of them. It 
 was proposed to build a railroad from Lake Michigan to the Illinois 
 river in place of the canal ; survevs for the N^orthern Cross road 
 (uow the T. W. & W.,) and for the Central, from Peru to Cairo, 
 were also proposed. 
 
 •Ford's Historj-. 
 tBrown's Illinois, 355. 
 
308 HISTOTIY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 But the most absorbing- topic of tliis session was the impeach- 
 ment trial of Theophihis AV. Smith, one of tlie associate judges 
 of the supreme court. Petitions numerously signed were received 
 by the house cliarging him witli misdemeanors in ottlce. The 
 house voted seven articles of impeachment, which were trans- 
 mitted to the senate for trial. The first three related to the corrupt 
 sales of circuit clerkshii)s; he had authorized his son, a minor, to 
 bargaiu oft" the ofitice in Madison county, by hiring one George 
 Ivelly at $25 i)er month, reserving tlie fees and enu)luments to 
 himself; he did the same — r(^serving■ the fees and emoluments — 
 till his son became of age; and to subject said office to his will, he 
 Lad made appointments three several times without requiring 
 boiuls from the appointees. He was also charged with being a 
 co-plaintiff in several vexatious suits for an alleged trespass, com- 
 menced by affidavit in a court where he himself presided, holding 
 the defendants illegally to excessive bail ui»on a trifling inetext, 
 to 0])press and injure them, and continuing the suits from term to 
 term to harrass and perse(;ute them. Tlie oth article charged him 
 with arbitrarily suspending John S. Greathouse, a lawyer, from 
 practice for advising his client to apply for a change of venue to a 
 circuit where his honor did not preside; Gtli, for tyranically com- 
 mitting to jail, in Montgomery county, a Quaker who entertained 
 conscientious scruples against removing his hat in open court; Tth, 
 for deciding an agreed case between the sheriff and treasurer of 
 JMiulisou county without process or pleading, to the prejudice of the 
 county, rendering appeal to the supreme court necessary. The 
 senate resolved itself info a high court of impeachment and a 
 solemn trial was had, which lasted from Jaimary {)th to February 
 Tth, 1833. The prosecution was conducted by a committee of man- 
 agers from the house, consisting of Benjamin Mills, Murray 
 McConnel, John T. Stuart, James Semple, and John Dougherty. 
 The defendant was represented by Sidney Breese, li. M. Young, 
 and Thomas Ford, subsequently governor. The array of talent on 
 both sides, the exalted position of the accused, and the excitement 
 thereby caused in political circles, gave to the trial unusual public 
 attraction throughout the State, and during its protracted pendency 
 little else was transacted by the legislature. 
 
 The trial was conducted throughout by marked ability and learn- 
 ing. A great number of witnesses were examined and much 
 documentary evidence introduced. The arguments of counsel 
 were of the highest order; and in the final summing up for the 
 lirosecution, the chairman of the house committee, Mr. Mills, one 
 of the most brilliant orators of the time, spoke for three days in a 
 strain of unsurpassed eloquence. Pending the trial, the defemlant, 
 after each adjournment, had the desks of senators carefully 
 searched for scraps of paper containing scribbling concerning their 
 status upon the respective charges. Being thus advised, his 
 counsel enjoyed peculiar advantages in the management of the 
 defence. The constitution required that "no person shall be con- 
 victed without the concurrence of two-thirds of all the senators 
 l)resent." When the vote was finally taken upon each article 
 separately, 22 senators were present, 4 absent or excused. It 
 required 15 to convict, 12 voted "guilty" on some of the charges^ 
 10 were in favor of acquittal, and 15 "voted him guilty of one or 
 other of the specifications, but as 12 was the highest vote on any 
 
REYNOLDS' ADMINISTRATION. 369 
 
 one of them, he was acquitted."* Thereupon the house of repre- 
 sentatives, well convinced of his guilt, inunediately passed a 
 resolution by a two-thirds vote undej' the constitution to remove 
 hnu from office by address; but this, too, when reported to the 
 senate, failed in that body, and Judge Smith retained his seat 
 upon the supreme bench of Illinois until he died about ten years 
 afterward.t 
 
 When Lieutenant Governor Zadock Casey was elected to con- 
 gress in 1S33 he resigned his office and Gen. W. Lee D. Ewiug, a 
 senator, was chosen to preside over the senate. At the August 
 election of 1834, governor Keynolds was also elected to congress, 
 more than a year ahead, as was then the law, to succeed Mr. Slade; 
 but shortly after, the incumbent died, when Reynolds was also 
 chosen to serve out his unexpired term. Accordingly he set out 
 for Washington in N^ovember of that year to take his seat in con- 
 gress, and Gen. Ewing, by virtue of his office as president of the 
 senate, became governor of this State for just 15 days, when, upon 
 the meeting of the legislature, to which he sent his message as 
 acting governor, he was relieved of his exalted station by the 
 governor elect, Duncan, being sworn into office. This is the only 
 time that such a conjuncture has happened in the history of the 
 State. 
 
 'Ford's History- 
 
 tSee Senate Journals 1833, appendix, for full pi-oceedings of this trial. 
 
 24 
 
Chapter XXXII. 
 1827-1831— BLACK HAWK WAE. 
 
 1. Winnebago Hostilities — Indians unable to Resist the Encroach- 
 ments of the Miners — Coalition with the Sioux — Attack on a 
 Steamboat — Compelled to sue for Peace. 
 
 2. Saxis and Foxes — Black Hawk — Keokuk — Sac Villages — Inva- 
 sion of the State — Militia and Regulars brought into Requisition 
 — March to the Scene of Danger — Black Haivk compelled to en- 
 ter into a Treaty of Peace. 
 
 The most frequent cause of the difficulties which from time to 
 time have disturbed the peaceful relations of the white and red. 
 men, has resulted from a desire of the former to possess the hunt- 
 ing- grounds of the latter. Intrusions upon Indian territory, led 
 to the war with Pontiac and that of King Phillip, 11 years after- 
 ward, and at a later date, and farther westward, to the san- 
 guinary contest with Tecumseh. The original emigrants from 
 Europe and then- descendants, lequiring lands for cultivation, 
 purchased large tracts from the Indians. As fast as these became 
 populated others were required, till the savages, seeing their for- 
 ests and hunting grounds rapidly disappearing, endeavored to 
 re-possess them. The Europeans met them in arms, and as the 
 result, they have been driven from river to river and from forest 
 to forest till scarcely an abiding place is left them. The last effort 
 to resist encroachments of this kind, was made by the Winneba- 
 goes and the Sacs and. Foxes, within the limits of IlHnois. 
 
 Winnebago War. — During the latter i)art of Governor Edwards' 
 administration, the Indians on the northwestern frontier manifested 
 symptons of discontent. The dissatisfaction increased, and in the 
 summer of 1827, culminated in what the writers of the time style 
 the Winnebago war, an affray of no great magnitude but the 
 precm^sor of the hostilities under Black Hawk, which filled the na- 
 tion with alarm. This sudden ebulition of savage animosity, was 
 the unjust occupation of their lands by the miners of Galena. At 
 this ijcriod large number of adventurers from different States, 
 wei'e hastening to the lead mines, and in passing through the coun- 
 try of tlie AVinnebagoes, purposely exasijerated them with the iu- 
 tention of ])rovoking hostilities and securing their lands by way of 
 re}>risal. The right of this tribe to the lands in question, was, how- 
 ever, in\ olved in doubt. By the treaty of 1801, the Sacs and Foxes 
 
 370 
 
BLACK HAWK WAK. 371 
 
 coded to tlie United States all the land between the mouths of 
 the Illinois and Wisconsin rivers. In 181(», that portion of the 
 territority lying north of a line drawn west from the southern ex- 
 tremity of Lake Michigan, was retrocededby the government to the 
 Ottawas, Chippewas and Potawattomies, the Winuebagoes not 
 being included in the grant. Subsequently, however, a war broke 
 out anu)ng these tribes in regard to their respective boundaries, 
 and in 1825 the commissioners of the United States interposed as 
 mediators to re-adjust them and terminate hostilities. In the new 
 arrangement, the right of the AViniiebngoes to the land in the vi- 
 cinity of the lead mines, seems to have been admitted, although 
 they were not recognized in the i)receding treaty. 
 
 But wai\'ing the question of tith', they had been in possession 
 of the country for years, and belie\ ing it belonged to them, re- 
 garded the intrusion of the whites with the same intense jealousy 
 and ill-will manifested by civilized men on similar occasions. Kich 
 deposits of lead ore had been found in their territory, and Mr. 
 Thomas, the agent at Galena, gave permission to the miners to 
 procure large quantities of mineral, despite tlie remonstrances of 
 tlie Winuebagoes. The savages at length, findingtheir comi)laints 
 unheeded, attempted to eject the trespassers by force, but were 
 themselves rei)elled and greatly exasperated at being unable to 
 protect their proi)erty. Assistance from others was now their 
 only alternati\e, and for this pur])ose they sent a delegation to ask 
 the advice of their [)rincipal chiefs nortli of Prairie du Oliien. An- 
 other object of their visit was to secure the co-operation of the 
 Sioux, who had also become offended at the Americans and oidy 
 waited an o])portunity to wreak their vengeance upon tlui objects of 
 their ill-will. Some of theircountrymen had not long before sur])ris- 
 ed and murdered a numl)er of the riii})pewasin the vicinity of Fort 
 Siielling, and the commandant imnu'diately caused their arrest 
 and had themdeliveied up to the injured tri))e for merited }>nnish- 
 ment. The interposition of the American officer was prompted 
 only by a sense of justice, yet KedBird, the chief of thetril)e, be- 
 came greatly offended and secretly resolved to form a coalition with 
 the Winuebagoes. Both tribes, therefore, had grievances to redress, 
 and each found the other ready to strike a united blow against 
 the common enemy. 
 
 Accordingly, while the Winuebagoes were in consultation with 
 their chiefs, they were visited by a messenger of the Sioux, who 
 after detailing the wrongs of his own tribe, resorted to falsehood 
 to farther exasperate his auditoi-s against the Americans. He 
 informed them that two Winm^bago piisoners confined at 
 Fort Snelling, had recently beim cruelly mnrdertMl by the whites, 
 luider circumstances which deman(le<l in)mediate and bloody 
 retaliation. Notwithstanding the utter menchu'ity of tliis state- 
 ment, the Winuebagoes, smarting under their treatment at the 
 hands of the mineis, were easily persuaded it was true, and 
 resolved upon revenge, while the visitor assured them that as 
 soon as they struck the fii-st blow, his own tril)e would. assist 
 them. They accordingly killed - white men, and a more justifi- 
 able jn-etextwas not long wanting for them to strike another blow. 
 On tlie ."'Othof July 1827, 2 keel boats, laden with supplies for Fort 
 Snelling, landed at a large Winnebago encampment a short dis- 
 tance above Prairie du Ohien. While here the Indians collected 
 
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 about the boats, doubtless for the purpose of plunder but were 
 foiled iu their designs. In the absence of other weapons the 
 whites made them drunk, and taking advantage of their helpless 
 condition, captured several squaws, and took them aboard for a 
 purpose too base to mentiou. Before their intoxicated husbands 
 became aware of the injury they had sustained, the boats and 
 their squaws were too far up the river for piu\suit, yet several 
 hundred infuriate warriors now assembled with the determinatiou 
 of meeting out to the aggressors the most severe i)unishment 
 when they returned. In due time, the boats were seen descend- 
 ing the river, but the crews aware that their misdeeds deserved 
 castigation, had made preparation for defence. One of the boats 
 passed by unobserved during the night, but the other, less fortu- 
 nate, was assailed by an overwhelming force of savages, who 
 fought with a determination only equalled by their passion for 
 vengeance. The boat became grounded, and for a time the meu 
 on board seemed doomed. l)irectly in the face of a galling tire, 
 the savages succeeded in lashing some of their canoes to the 
 unmanageable craft, but when they attempted to board her. they 
 were beaten back into the river, and tinally retired from the con- 
 test. During the engagement the squaws escaped, and no doubt 
 with the hearty consent of the boatmen, provided it might be the 
 means of drawing after them their infuriate lords. Two of the 
 Americans were killed, and so many others wounded, it was with 
 difficulty that Captain Lindsey, who had charge of the boat, rau 
 down to Galena, iind made known the hostile attack. Dire alarm 
 at the reception of the news spread among the njiners, and in a 
 short time not less than 3000 men, women and children tied to 
 Galena for protection. Exaggerated reports spread rapidly over 
 the country, and most of the settlements in the northern i)art of 
 the State partook of the fear and excitement incident to an 
 actual invasion. At Galena a committee of safety was formed, 
 temporary defenses were erected, and in pursuance of an order 
 from Gov. Edwards, the miners were formed into conii)anies and 
 equipped for action. A regiment was also raised in Sangamou 
 and Morgan counties, and uiuler the command of T. M. Neale, 
 marched to the scene of danger. On his arrival, however, he 
 found the war virtually at an end. Gen. Atkinson with 600 regu- 
 lars and the Galena militia, under Gen. Dodge, had penetrated the 
 enemy's country, as far as the portage of the Fox and Wisconsin, 
 and compelled the hostile savages to sue for peace. The army 
 returned from Prairie du Chien, with 7 of their principal men, 
 among whom were Red Bird the chief of the Sioux, and Black 
 Hawk who shortly afterward became the instigator of other and 
 greater disturbances. They were all thrown into prison as 
 abettors of the murderous attack on the boat, and suffered a long 
 continement before they Avere tried. As the result of the tardy 
 trial, some were aijquitted, and others convicted, and more than a 
 year after their incarceration executed on the gallows. • 
 
 In the meantime, Bed Bird whose proud spirit could not endure 
 the humiliation of continement, sickened and <lied in prison. 
 There was associated with the latter days of his life a romantic 
 ami melancholy interest, different from tlie usual phases of Indian 
 character. He had always been the favorite of his own people 
 and up to this illicit connection witli the Whmebagoes the 
 
BLACK HAWK WAE. 
 
 ardent and unalterable friend of the whites. Unlike other vSava^e 
 leaders, when his allies were ])r('ssed with a victorious force, he 
 refused to desert them, and vohiiitarily liave himself up to suffer 
 not only for his own misih^eds, but for the commou offense of the 
 tribe. Clad in a robe of skins, and beariiij;- awhile tla<i', he rode 
 into camp, and with dauntless coura,ue and an unclouded brow, 
 placed himself in the hands of his cJUMiiy. Not «'\en the 
 restraints of prison life, although they impaired his health, could 
 obscure the native vigor of his mind, and when called on by white 
 men all the nobility of a great savage lit up his manly features. 
 Incensed at the Americans because they had delivered his coun- 
 trymen into the hands of their enemy, he was doubtless the secret 
 instigator and ruling spirit of the war, although the Winnebagoes 
 comiinttedthe overt acts. This tribenow completely humbled, in a 
 subsequent talk with the federal authorities abandoned all their 
 lands south of the Wisconsin river, to the insatiate grasp of the 
 conquerors. 
 
 Hardly had the disturbances of the vanquished tribe ceased be- 
 fore the frontier inhabitants became embroih'd in difticulties with 
 the Sacs and Foxes. Tiie tirst recognition of these Indians l)y 
 the United States, was in a treaty concluded at Fort Harnu'r, in 
 17<S7, by Gov. St. Clair, wherein the government guaranteed them 
 its protection. In 1801, Gov. W. H, Harrison was instructed by 
 president .Jefferson to institute negotiations with them for the 
 purchas(^ of lands, and shortly afterward a. treaty was ratitied 
 with them, by which their beautiful country on liock river was 
 divested of the Indian title. Again in 1830, a third treaty was 
 entered into, by the terms of which they were to remove from the 
 lauds which they had sold to the United States, east of the Mis- 
 sissippi, and peaceably retire across the river. 
 
 At this time, Keokuk and Black Hawk were the two ])rincipal 
 chiefs of the nation. The latter was born at the princii»al 
 village of his tribe, on Rock river, in 17G7. Possessing no here- 
 ditary rank, his chieftainship was due to the native vigor of his 
 character, and great success in war. In early youth he distin- 
 guished himself as a bra\'e; and in the nuiny tierce c<nitlicts of his 
 subsequent life with the Osages and Cherokees, he never lost a 
 battle. When the war of 1812, broke out between the United 
 States and England, he offered his services to the Americans, 
 which from motives of humanity they declined. He however, 
 .soon found patrons among the British, who regardless of the bru- 
 tal attrocities of savage warfare, furnished his men with arms. 
 At the instance of their mercenary agents, he succeeded in colkMit- 
 ing UOO braves, aiul repaired to Green Bay, where he met Col. 
 Dixon and a large body of Indians assembled iVom the a*ljacent 
 tribes. Of the interview which foUowed between him and the 
 British ofticer, lie says: "He received me with a hearty shake of 
 the hand, and presented me to the other officers who shook my 
 hand cordially, and seemed much pleased with my men. After I 
 was seated. Col. Dixon said: 'Gen. Black Hawk, I sent for you to 
 explain what we are going to do, and the reasons that have 
 brought us here. Your English father has found out that the 
 Americans want to take your country from you, and has sent me 
 and his braves to drive them back. He has likewise sent a large 
 quantity of arms and ammunition, and we want your warriors to 
 
374 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 join us.' He then placed a medal around my neck, and gave me a 
 paper and a silk flag', saying, 'You are to command all the braves 
 which are to leave here day after tomorrow, to join onr braves 
 at Detroit.' Black Hawk fought in 2 eiigageineuts with his new 
 allies, and annually received payment for his services up to the 
 time of his own war against the Americans, li'rom this circum- 
 stance his force was designated the IJritisb band. 
 
 Keokuk, his rival, uidike him, remained tlie friend of the Amer- 
 icans. Notwithstanding the insatiate passion of the Sacs and 
 Foxes for war, and the belief that they had been injured by the 
 people of the United States, he drew after him a majoritv of the 
 nation, and thus weakened the efforts of Black Hawk. In dijilo- 
 macy and judgment he was nK)re tlian a match for his brother 
 chieftain, and as we shall see, through the influence of the United 
 States whose cause he had espoused, he became the sole chief of 
 his people. 
 
 In accordance with the treaty stipulations, Keokidc and his fol- 
 lowers remained on the west side of the river. Black Hawk, how- 
 ever, actuated no doubt partly by patriotism, but nH)stly by the 
 ill will he entertained toward the Americans dechired all the 
 previous treaties void, and in the Si)ring of 1831 recrossed the Mis- 
 sissii)i)i with his Avomen and children and 300 warriors. Every 
 argument had been used by his nn)st prudent advisers, to deter 
 him from embarking in this hazar<l(>us eiderprise, and even the 
 authorities of Canada, with whom he had consulted, counseled 
 him to leave his village if he had sold it. The government of the 
 United States, desirous of preventing bloodsiied, bore witli him a 
 long time, hoping after due reflection he would abandon his rash 
 design. This, hoAvever, being construed as weakness, he was 
 induced to believe that the government either could not or would 
 not attempt his removal. He also affected to believe it Avas an act 
 of coAvardice to abandon his village, and thus leave the graves of 
 his fathers, to be ruthlessly plowed u}) by strangers, whose rights 
 to the soil Av^as of doubtful authority. 
 
 This celebrated Indian town was romantically situated on a proui- 
 ontory formed by the junction of the 3Iissi«sippi and Bock rivers, and 
 the great beauty and fertility of the adja;.'ent conntry made it the 
 centre of attraction for emigrants from all parts of the country. 
 The Aillage Avas caj)able of sheltering a ]ini;ulation 0,000 or 7,000 
 inhabitants. The houses consisted of poles Avrought into frames 
 and covered with bark, previously ]>re])ared by drying to adai)t it 
 to the walls of these structures. ScAcn hundred such lodges of 
 various dimensions, the largest of Avhich did not perhaps exceed 
 100 feet in length and 50 in breadth, constituted the dwellings of 
 the A'illagers. About 700 acres of the adjacent prairie Avas snr- 
 rounded by a fence, and the enclosed soil cultivated by the Indian 
 women in corn, beans, peas and squashes. The i>lace was said to 
 be 150 years old, and had for 00 or 70 a ears been the inincipal vil- 
 lage of the Sac Xation. On the one hand flashed the broad Ava- 
 ters of the Mississii>pi in the rays of the evening sun, on the other 
 the rii)pling stream of Bock river struggled between the dark 
 forest-clad islands Avhich obstructed its channel. Hardly an ii»- 
 dividnal could be found who did not have friends and relations 
 Avhose ashes Avere reposing in the adjacent graA'e yards. Hither, 
 in accordance Avith an immemorial custom of the nation, bereaved 
 
BLACK HAWK WAE. 
 
 mothers, wives and sisters performed aniiiuil piljirimages to pay 
 a tribute of respects to their departed relatives. On tliese melan- 
 choly occasions they carefully removed the growinj;- vegetation 
 from the mounds and addressed words of endearment to the dead, 
 in(juiring how they fared in the land of spirits and who performed 
 the kindly ofdce of mother, sister or Avife. The depositing of food 
 on the grave concluded these time-honored religious services. 
 
 As is usually the case with rival factions brought in contact, the 
 conduct of both whites and Indians admitted of censure. Tlie 
 7th article of the treaty of 1804 provided that as long as the lands 
 which are now ceded to the U. S. shall renuiin their jnoperty the 
 said Indians shall enjoy the privilege of living and hunting on 
 them. These lands were not brought into nuirket till the year 
 1829, and consequently all who had previously settled on them 
 were trespassers, having violated the laws of congress and th*' pre- 
 existing treaties. The most advanced settlenu'iits at that time did 
 not ap[)roach nearer than 50 or 00 miles of Rock ri\"er, and the 
 lands for even a greater distance had not l)een offered for sale, 
 yet the government disi)osed of a few quartcn- sections at the mouth 
 of this stream, embracing the site of the village and tields cultiva- 
 ted by the inhabitants. The manifest object of this advnnced 
 movement upon the Indian settlements was to evade the provis- 
 ions of the treaty, by having the governmental title to the lands 
 pass into the hainls of individuals and thus obtain a pretext for 
 removing its owners west of the ^Nlississii)})!. The white inhal)i- 
 tants thus introduced, commenced de])redations by destroying the 
 corn of the Indians, killing their donu'stic animals, and in some 
 instances whipping their women and children. They carried with 
 them as articles of trafdc intoxicating liquors, and by frequently 
 selling them in violation of law, introduced scenes of drunkenness 
 and disorder. Some of the chiefs renK)nstrated against these out- 
 rages and even visited the house of a white settler and emptied 
 the contents of his whiskey barrels on the ground, to prevent their 
 people from becoming intoxicated and murdering the white inhab- 
 itants. The Americans, on the other hand, preferred grave 
 charges against the Indians, many of which were true. Notwith- 
 stamling,"in 1816 Black Hawk had recognized the treaty of 1801, 
 and to use his own expression, he touched the goose quill to this 
 paper in its confirmation, he endeavored to deceive his tribe with 
 statements that their lands were inalienabh-. and that the previous 
 cessions and treaties were fraudulent and voi<l. Again, wiien the 
 government surveyed and sold the site of their vilhige, although 
 the object which induced the purchaseis to i)ass over such lai-ge 
 scope of unoccupied territory was hardly justifiable, yei, when the 
 title of the government became vested in individuals the right of 
 the Indians ceased and they should have peaceably retired. Fur- 
 thermore, Black HaM k and his band, when they crossed the river, 
 notified the whites that they must depart from the village, and the 
 latter refusing to comply with their demand, their i)roperty was 
 destroyed and they suffered in person various indignities at the 
 Lands of the savages. A petition signed by 40 i>ers(ms, was sent 
 on the 30th of April, IS.'U, to the executive of Illinois, represent- 
 ing that the previous fall the Black Hawk band of Indians de- 
 stroyed most of the crops and made several attempts ui)on the 
 lives of the owners when they endeavored to prevent the depre- 
 
37G HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 datious ; that uow tliey act in a more outrageous aud meuaciug 
 mauuer aud their number, which amouuts to 000 or 700, 
 is to be further augmented if necessary, by the Potawuitto- 
 mies aud Winuebagoes. A few days after another petition was 
 sent, which after detaihng similar outrages committed by tlie sav- 
 ages, states that if rehef does not arrive the inhabitants will be 
 compelled to leave their crops and homes. Several depositious 
 were also presented to the governor, corroborating the above evi- 
 dence. B. F. Pike stated under oath that the number of warriors 
 was about 300 ; that they had in various instauces done much 
 damage to the white iidjabitants by throwiug down their fences, 
 destroying their fall graiu, pulling off the roofs of their houses 
 and positively asserting that if the Americans did not leave they 
 would kill them. 
 
 G()\ernor lleynolds, thus informed in regard to the state of affairs 
 at the mouth of Kock Kiver and believiug that Black Hawk and 
 his baud were determined to retain possession of the couutry by 
 force, resolved to effect their expulsion. A call was accordingly 
 made for volunteers, and when it became known the whole uorth- 
 westerii part of the State resounded with the clamor of war. 
 Many of the old citizens, who 20 years before had fought these 
 Indians in the war with Great Britain, still survived and urged 
 their sons to appear on the tented lield against the same enemy. 
 The exigencies of the situation denuinded that troops should 
 reach the scene of action in the shortest time i^racticable, and 
 therefore the 10th of June was appointed as the time, and Beards- 
 town as the place for the assembling of the forces, j^o county 
 south of St. Clair and east of Sangamon was included in the call, 
 it being imi)ossible for trooi)s lioni the remote i)arts of the State 
 to meet, organize and reach the place of reudez^'ous in the brief 
 interval of 14 or 15 days, the allotted time. The governor circu- 
 lated documents among the people and made speeches showing 
 that the defence of the northwestern frontier i-equired prompt aud 
 energetic action. Notwithstanding it was the most busy season 
 of the year, hnndreds abandoned their plows aud corntields, and 
 more than twice the number called for volunteered. It was easier 
 to obtain men than provide means of sustenance. Cols. Enoch C. 
 March and Samuel C. Christy were appointed quartermasters, who, 
 being extensive merchants, possessed snperior facilities for obtain- 
 ing suijplies. These gentlemen were successful in the discharge 
 of their duties aud provisions were in readiness at the appointed 
 time for the expedition to march. 
 
 The governor, aware that General Clark, the superintendent of 
 Indian affairs stationed at St. Louis, had great intluence with the 
 Sac and Fox tribes, on the 27th of May, 1831, the day on which he 
 made the call for volunteers, addressed a letter to him requesting 
 his co-operation. lu this letter he states: "I have called out 
 about 700 militia to protect the citizens near Rock Island from 
 Indian depredations. I consider it due the general government to 
 state that in about 15 days a suiffcient force will ajipear before the 
 hostile Indians to remove them dead or alive west of the Missis- 
 sippi, but perhaps a request from you would induce them to leave 
 without the necessity of resorting to arms." On the 28th another 
 letter was sent to General Gaines at Jefferson Bairacks, in which 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 
 
 he also stated: "I Lave recei^'ed undoubted iuforraatiou that the 
 section of the State near Ivock Island is actnally invaded by hostile 
 bands of Indians headed by IJliU'k Ilawk, and in order to repel 
 the invasion and protect the citizens of the State, I have, under the 
 provisions of tlie constitution of tin'- Lhiitcd States and the laws 
 of this State, called ont the militia to the number of TOO men, who 
 will be monnted and ready for service in a very short time. I con- 
 sider it my duty to lay before you the above infornuitiou that you 
 may adopt such measnres as you deem just and pro})er." Both 
 generals Gaines and Clark considered the precaution of raising 
 troops pursued by governor Keynolds unnecessary, believing that 
 the forces of the regular army were sufticient to i)rotect the frontier 
 settlements. On the 2d of June, general Gaines replied to His 
 Excellency that he had ordered 10 comi)anies to Eock Island, 
 from Jefferson Barracks ami 4 from Prairie du Chien, which he 
 deemed sulticient for the protection of the frontiers, that if the 
 entire Sac and Fox nation and other tribes united Avith the band 
 of Black Hawk, he would call on him for additional forces to 
 repel the invasion, but did not regard it necessary at that time. 
 
 Accompanied by six companies from the barracks, Gen. Gaines 
 passed up the river in a steamboat to Fort Armstrong, sitnated on 
 Eock Island, and on the 7th of June a council was held with the 
 Indians. Black Hawk, Keoknk, Wapelh*, and a number of other 
 chiefs and braves were i)resent. Gen. Gaines stated in conncil 
 that the President was dis[)lease<l because the Sacs on Eock jiver 
 refused to de2)art, that their great father only required that which 
 was reasomible when he insisted that they should renu)ve west of 
 the river. Black Hawk re[)lied by asserting that they had never sold 
 their land and they were determined never to abandon them. Gen. 
 Gaines thereupon inquired, "Who is Black Hawk? is he a chief, 
 and why does he sit in council?" Black Hawk then arose from his 
 seat, and gathering his blanket arouiul him stalked out of the room 
 without deigning a reply. AVhen the council recon\'ened on the 
 following morning Black Hawk was again present and said: ''^ly 
 father, you inquired yesterday who is Black Hawk, ami why does 
 he sit ann)ng the chiefs. I will tell you who I am. I am a Sac. My 
 father was a Sac. I am a warrior and so was my father. Ask those 
 young braves who have followed nu' to battle and they will tell you 
 who lilack Hawk is. Provoke our people to war and von will learn 
 who Black Hawk is." 
 
 The result of the conference was that Black Hawk refused to 
 leave, and Gen. Gaines infonned him that if he and his band were 
 not on the west side of the Mississippi in a sh(nt time he would be 
 compelled to remove him by force. The American commander 
 also wrote to governor Eeynolds requesting the assistance of the 
 volunteers and uitimating that it might be necessary to (iall for 
 more troops as Black Hawk was endeavoring to secure the co- 
 operation of the m^igh boring tribes. It was hoped that by this 
 augnK'ntation of the forces the Indians might be intimidated, and 
 thus prevent the effusion of blood, and in case of actual conflict 
 the army would be enabled to act with greater efticiency. 
 
 Great enthusiasm was exhibited by the ])e()ple in resi)onding to 
 the call for troops, and instead of 70(>, 1000 men offered their ser- 
 vices. All were eager to enlist having made arrangements on 
 leaving home to remain and take a part in the expedition. The 
 
378 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 entire number could be provisioned and equipped, and it was deemed 
 folly to appear on the Held witliout a force sufliciently large when 
 one more imposing and adequate could be secured. Among tbe 
 volunteers were nuiny of the best and most euergetic citizens of the 
 State, a number of whom afterward attained celebrity and still live 
 to enjoy the respect of their countrymen. The whole force consisted 
 of one brigade, subdivided into two regiments, and a spj' and odd 
 battalion. The governor, who accompanied the expedition, appointed 
 Joseph Duncan, then a member of congress, brigadier general to 
 command the entire brigade, and Samuel Whitesides a major to 
 command the spy battalion. The other ofUcers, not being regarded 
 so essential to the success of the campaign, were elected by the 
 volunteers. 
 
 Col. James D. Henry was chosen to command the first regiment. 
 Col. Daniel Lieb the second, and major Nathaniel Buckmaster the 
 odd battalion. Thus organized and furnished with the necessary 
 supplies, the brigade left their encani])ment near liushville on the 
 15th of June for the seat of the Indian disturbances. Although 
 not highly disciplined, it was the largest nnlitary force that had 
 ever assembled in the State, and nmdea very iu)posing appearance 
 in its nnxrch over the then broad ex])anse of jnairie wilderness. 
 Eager for a fray with the Indians the utmost vigilance Avas re- 
 quired on the part of the olticers, to keep the men fiom indiscrimi- 
 luitely killing every straggling savage they encountered in their 
 pleasant journey of four days to the Mississi})i)i. A halt was made 
 on its banks eight miles below the old Sac village, where they were 
 met by a steamboat containing provisions, in charge of gemnal 
 Gaines, who received them into the service of the United States. 
 A beautiful site was selected for an encampment, and as a battle 
 was considered imminent, the greatest watchfulness was exercised 
 during the night to guard against surprise, but no disturbance 
 occured. Here generals Duncan and Gaines concerted measures 
 ot attack; the latter officer having been in the vicinity of the 
 Indian town for some time, thus became acquainted with the topo- 
 grai)hy of the place. Previous to the arrival of the volunteers he 
 had possessed and fortitied with cannon a commanding bluff in 
 range of the village, and in another direction had posted a strong 
 force of regulars to aid if necessary in the conflict. In accord- 
 ance with the plan adopted, on the following morning General 
 Gaines with a force of regulars and cannon steamed up the river 
 in the boat, while the volunteers marched across the country, both 
 forming a junction at Woodruff's Islauds in the channel of the 
 river opi)osite the Sac village. The boat having come within 
 range of the island, fired sevei'al rounds of grape and canister into 
 the dense growth of timber and thickets to test the presence of the 
 Indians, who it was feared might be concealed among them, to 
 intercept the passage of the volunteers across the stream. The 
 spy battalion, followed by the main body of the forces in three 
 columns, passed over a slough to the island, when it was discovered 
 that the ra|)id elevation of the land from the water had i)revented 
 the shot taking effect more than lUO yards from the shore. Owing 
 to this circumstance the Indians migiit have been concealed in full 
 force without being discovered. Fortunately no enemy was found, 
 for the voliuiteers became so conqtlctely bewildered in the tangled 
 thickets as to dis(]ualil'y them for effective resistance, and in case 
 
BLACK HAWK WAK. 379 
 
 of an attack tlie artillery looking down from tlie bluffs on what 
 wonhl Inive been the biittle Held, was too far away to distingnisii 
 friends from foes. On arriving- at the river between the island and 
 town, it i)roved to be a dee]), bold stream at that point unfordable, 
 and hence the i)rogress of the troops was delayed till scows conld 
 be ])rocured to ferry them over. When the town was finally entered 
 it was found deserted, the inhabitants having the pre\ions night 
 crosse<l to the west side of the Mississipi»i, It was sui)pt)sed that 
 Generals Duncan and Gaines, before leaving camp, believed that 
 the Indians would abandon their village, ami now that such was 
 the case, it served to exi)lain the apparent neglect in ascertaining 
 the presence of Indians and the seemingly TUii'av(nable disposition 
 of the forces. General Gaines appears to have been an efficient 
 officer, anxious to settle the <litt1culties without the eff'usion of 
 bh)od, and great credit was undoubtedly due Governor Keynolds 
 and General Duncan for the pr<nn})tness with whi<;h the troops 
 were called out, organized ami marched to the seat of war. 
 
 The number of warriors who lied across the Alississippi could 
 never be definitely ascertained. Many of the straggling and 
 disaffected Winnebagoes, and Potawattoinies, doubtless united 
 with tlie band of Black Hawk, and perhaps the number amounted 
 to from 400 to GOO. The Indians ha\ing escaped without injurj^, 
 the volujiteers took vengeance on the village by burning it to the 
 ground, although the dwellings would have sheltered them from 
 tin' incessant i-ains which prevailed during the day. •' Thus 
 l)ei-ished this ancient village which had been the delightful honu; 
 of t)0!>0 or 7000 Indians, where generation after generation had 
 been born, had died and been buried, where the old men had 
 taught wisdom to the youth, whence the Indian youth had often 
 gone out in parties to hunt or to war, and returned in triumph to 
 dance around the spoils of the forest or the scal[)s of the enemy, 
 and where the dark-eyed Indian nuiidens, by their presence and 
 chaiins, had made it a scene of delightful enchantment to many 
 an admiring warrior."* 
 
 lUai'kllawk andhis warriors ha\ing(lei)arted the night preceding 
 the destruction of their village, encamped on the west bank of the 
 Mississippi, while the Americans took a position 12 miles above 
 Avhere Kock Island now stands. Gen. Gaines sent an order to 
 Black Hawk, requiring him and his baml to return and enter into 
 a treaty of peace, or he would nu)ve on them with all the troops 
 under his command. Several days afterward some of the chiefs 
 made their appearance, but Black Hawk and the nnijcnity of them 
 refusing to come, a more perem])tory demand was nuide, which 
 had the desired effect. He and about 30 chiefs of the British 
 band of the vSacs, now came and in full council with Gen. (Jaines, 
 and Gov. Keynolds, on the 30tli of Juiu', 1831, signed an agree- 
 ment of whi(;h the following is the first article. 
 
 "The British baml of the Sac Indians, are required peaceably to 
 submit to the authority of the friendly chiefs and braves of the 
 united Sac and Fox nations, and at all times hereafter to reside 
 and hunt with them ui)on their own lands, west of the jMississippi 
 river, and to be obedient to their laws ami treaties, and no one or 
 more shall ever be ])ermitted to recross said river, to the usual 
 place of residence, nor any part of their old hunting grounds east 
 
 •Ford's History. 
 
380 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of the Mississii)pi, without permission of the president of the 
 United States or governor of the State of Illinois." 
 
 The truism that the brave are merciful, was well illustrated by 
 the treatment extended by Gen. Gaines and Gov. Eeynolds to the 
 vanquished and unfortumite Indians, after the conelusion of the 
 treaty. The larger part of the invading force had been deluded 
 by listening to the bad counsel of Black Hawk and other leaders, 
 and as a consequence, their helpless women and children, were then 
 destitute of food and clothing. Gov. Reynolds in a conversation 
 on the subject reuuirked, "I presume this is the last time the gov- 
 ernment will have any trouble with these Indians ; the women and 
 children are not so much to blame, and a support for them one 
 summer, will be nothing to the United States. The government 
 has i)ossessed their fine country, and I (cannot rest satisfied to 
 leave them in a starving condition." Provisions were accordingly 
 distributed among them at stated periods, exceeding in amount 
 the (piantity they would have raised. The volunteers seeing this 
 exhibition of charity, ridiculed the adjustment of the ludian dif- 
 ficulties by calling it a corn treaty, and saying, "we give them 
 bread, when we ought to give them lead." 
 
 The enemy being ai)parently humbled and quiet restored, the 
 army was disbanded and returned home in the best of spirits, not 
 a single person, by disease, accident or otherwise, having lost his 
 Ufe. 
 
Chapter XXX II I 
 1S32— SECOXD CAMPAIGX OP THE Wx\R. 
 
 Blade Haiclc induced hy White Cloud to recross the Mi.s.sissippi — 
 Refuses to obey the order of Gen. Atlvinson to return — Htate Forces 
 re-organized — March to Rock River and unite with the Rer/ulars — 
 Army proceeds up the river in pursuit of the enemy — Battle of 
 Still man^s Run — Call for fresh troops — The old forces disbanded. 
 
 Prior to the expulsion of tlie Iiulian.s from their vilhige, Xaopope, 
 a chief of the British band and second in command to Black 
 Hawk, had started on a visit to Maiden to consult his En<;lish 
 father concernin,n- the right of the Indians to retake possession of 
 their lands on Bock river. According to his statement, he was 
 advise<l by the authorities at Maiden that the Americans, without 
 a previous purchase, could not take possession of their lands. On 
 his return he also visited Wa-bo-kies-shiek or White Cloud, the 
 prophet of the Winnebagoes. His home was a village bearing the 
 name of Proplietstown, situated on Bock river, 35 miles from its 
 mouth. Like the prophet of the Wabash, he liad great iutiucnc(5 
 with his countrymen. He was a stout, shrewd looking Indian, 
 about 40 years of age and claimed that one of his i)areuts was a 
 Sac and the other a Winnebago. A full and flowing suit of long' 
 hair graced his head, which was surmounted by a white head-dress 
 several inches in height, resembling a turban and emblamatic of 
 his profession. Sagacity and cunning were prominent traits of 
 his character and essential to the prophetic pretensions by which 
 he imposed on the credulity of his ignorant followers. 
 
 White Cloud informed his visitor that not only the British but 
 the Ottawas, Chippewas, Potawattomies and Winnebagoes would 
 assist his tribe in regaining their village and the lauds around it. 
 When Xaopope in tlie summer siux-eeding the treaty, returned to 
 his friends he communicated this information to Black Hawk who 
 affected to believe it, and immediately commenced recruiting to 
 increase the number of his braves. He also sent a messenger to 
 Keokuk api)rising him of the good news and requesting 
 his co-operation. The latter, however, was a chief of too much sa- 
 gacity to be misled by these promises of British and Iiuliau as- 
 sistance, and wisely admonished Black Hawk that he was deceived 
 and should therefore abstain from hostile demonstrations. The 
 latter, however, willing to credit any report that even faintly 
 promised an opportunity to wreak vengeance on his old adAcrsa- 
 ries the Americans, rejected this good counsel and jjersistently 
 
 381 
 
382 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 pursued his own plans. Having resolved to bid defiance to ilui 
 whites, in the winter of 1831-32, great efforts were made to obtain 
 recruits, and the number of his warriors embracing the chivahy 
 of the nation, was augmented to 500. His headquarters ^yere at 
 the site of old Fort Madison on the west side of the Mississippi, 
 whence he moved up the river, his Avarriors proceeding on horses 
 and his women and children and baggage ascending in canoes. A 
 halt was made opposite the site now occupied by Oquawka, where 
 they were met by White Cloud the prophet. His mission was to 
 furtlier strengthen Black Hawk's determination to recross the 
 Mississii»pi, by assuriug him that he might depend on the assist- 
 ance of other tribes. Naturally prone to mischief and enter- 
 tainiug a strong prejudice against the whites, he was at all times 
 ready to stir up strife without caring for the evils that uiight be 
 iiitlicted on those who listened to his advice. In a speech to the 
 warriors and braves, he told them that by following his advice they 
 had nothing to fear and nuich to gain ; that the American war 
 chief would not interfere with them if they refrained from hos- 
 tilities, and that strengthene<l by reinforcen)ents the time would 
 come when they woukl be able to pursue a different course. 
 Pleased with this advice, on the 0th of Aju'il, 1832, they proceeded 
 to the mouth of Eock river and the whole party crossed the Mis- 
 sissipju and commenced asceudiug the former stream, for the 
 avowed object of enteriug the teiiitory of the Wiiuiebagoes and 
 raising a croi> with them, when the real object was to secure them 
 as allies. After they had proceeded some distanc-e they were 
 overtaken by an order from General Atkinson, then in command 
 of the regulars at Fort Armstrong, recpiiriug them to recross 
 the Mississippi, which they refused to do, alleging that the general 
 had no right to make such a <lennind, as they were peaceably jour- 
 neying to the village of their friends for the purpose of raising 
 corn. Before tlie\ had reached their <lestination another courier 
 was sent in pursuit, who this time informed them uiiless they re- 
 turned force would be used to effect their exi>ulsion. The Indians 
 replied that thej' would not be driven back, but did not intend to 
 make the first attack u])ou the whites. Black Hawk on arriving 
 among the Potawattomies and Winnebagoes, readily obtained per- 
 mission to cultivate corn with them, but they refused to unite in 
 any acts of hostility against the United States, and denied having 
 given the i)roi)het any assurances of co-operation. 
 
 The refusal of Black Hawk and his warriors to comply with the 
 demand of General Atkinson, and the imposing character of his 
 military operations, created a general panic along the whole north- 
 ern frontier from the Mississii:)pi to Lake Michigan. Most of the 
 settlers abandoned their homes and moved into the interior, while 
 messengers were at the same time sent to inform Gov. lleyuolds 
 of the hostile attitude assumed by the Indians. The gover]K)r 
 understanding the belligerent character of the settlers and In- 
 dians, and knowing that the slightest indiscretion committed by 
 either party might involve the whole frontier in a bloody war, de- 
 termined, on the 10th of Ai)ril, to call out a large body of volun- 
 teers as the best means of averting such a calannty or meeting it 
 in case of its actual occurrence. Gen. Atkinson in com- 
 mand of the regular forces near the scene of the threatened hos- 
 tilities, at the same time, made a requisition for troops, stating 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 383 
 
 the frontier was in great danger and that the force under his com- 
 mand was insufficient for its defence. Banger being imniiiieiit the 
 22d was made the time for meeting, which gave oidy (hiys for 
 the troops to meet at Beardstown, again selet-ted as tlie phice of 
 rendezvous. The governor, with great promptness, sent influen- 
 tial messengers to the northwestern counties of tlie State, in wliich 
 levies were to be made and a(Ulressed the following letter to the 
 citizens: "Fellow-citizens: Your country recpiires your service. 
 The Indians have assumed a hostile attitude and invaded the 
 State, in violation of the treaty of last summer. The British biuid 
 of Sacs and other hostile Indians are in possession of the country 
 on Bock river, to the great terror of the frontier inhabitants, and 
 I consider the settlers in imminent danger. Under these circum- 
 stances I have not hesitated what conrse I should [nirsne. No 
 citizen ought to remain inactive when his country is invaded and 
 the helpless part of community is in danger. I have called out a 
 strong detacluncnt ot militia to rendezvous at Beardstown on the 
 22d inst. Provisions for the men aiul food for the horses will be 
 furnished in abnndance. I hope my countrynuMi will realize my 
 exi)ectations and offer their services as heretofore Avith prompti- 
 tude and cheerfulness in defence of their country." 
 
 Daily accounts respecting the operations of the Indians were 
 received. Judge Young, Col. Strode and Benjamin ]\Iills wrote 
 to the governor urging the speedy protection of the frontiers as 
 the Potawattomies and Winnebagoes had joined Black Hawk and 
 the inhabitants were in great danger. On the receipt of this in- 
 telligence 200 men under the command of Major Stillman were 
 ordered to guard the frontier near the Mississippi, and 200 un- 
 under Major Bailey the frontier between the Mississippi, and the 
 settlements on the Illinois. Such was the threatening asi)ect of 
 affairs; the call of troops was now extended to every portion of the 
 State, for the puipose of raising a reserve force of 5,000 men to be 
 ready in case ot emergency. Various causes operated to retard 
 the progress of the campaign, and this i)recaution proved highly 
 advantageous in the closing stages of the war. As in the prece- 
 ding year, many of the most conspicuous men of the State volun- 
 teered, their prominence in i)ublic life giving them elegibility for 
 potions in the organization of the forces. 
 
 Eighteen hundred men met at the place rendezvous and were 
 divided into four regiments, an odd and a spy battalion. An elec- 
 tion being held for field officers, Col. DeWitt was chosen com- 
 mander of the first regiment; Col. Fry of the 2d ; Col. Thomas of 
 the 3d, Col. Thompson of the 4th, and ]\Iajor James of the odd bat- 
 talion. The governor, who partici[)ated in the (!ampaign, placed 
 Gen. VVhitesides in command of the brigade, and Col. elanies I). 
 Henry in command of the spy battalion. He also appointed 
 Colonels Enoch C. March and Samuel C. Christy to procure 
 supplies; as brigade quartermaster, William Thomas; as staff 
 officers, James B. Stapp and Josepli M. Chadwick ; as pay- 
 master, James Turney : as adjutant general, Vital Jarrot, and 
 as ordnance officer, Cyrus Edwards. On the 27th of April 
 the army started from their encampment, a few miles north 
 of Kushville, for Oquawka on the Mississipi river, with only 
 a few days' rations, while Col. March Avas dispatched to St. Louis 
 for additional supplies which were to be sent up the river to the 
 
384 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 same place. After the arrangement liad been made a letter came 
 by express from from Gen. Atkinson, informing the governor that 
 the hostile Indians had gone up liock river, but the intelligence 
 came too late. Had it been received one day eai'lier the l)ro^■is- 
 ions might have been ordered to Peoria in greater proximity to 
 the enemy, and had the army marched to the same point it might 
 have ended the contest without giving the Indians an opportunity 
 to escjipe. Eains had recently prevailed aiul the progress 
 of the troops was retarded by the muddy jirairies and swollen 
 streams. On arriving at Oquawka they hoped to find Colonel 
 March and the supplies from St. Louis, but they had not made 
 their appearance. The evening of the same day Captain Warren 
 and two companies from Shelby county also arrived and were 
 greeted with loud cheers for the energy which they exhibited in 
 swimming streams and overcoming other formidable obstacles en- 
 countered in their route. Great anxiety was now felt for the 
 safety of the supplies. A considerable advance had been nuide 
 into the wilderness and any accident which prevented or prolonged 
 the coming of the boat might necessitate the disbanding of the 
 army. On the oth day the provisions were exhausted, and mur- 
 nuiring being heard among the men, the Governor engaged three 
 trusty persons to deliver a message to Gen. Atkinson informing 
 him of the destitute condition of the army, and requesting relief. 
 Although Eock Island was 50 miles distant, and it was necessary 
 to swim several streams in traversing the intervening country, the 
 journey was successfully accomplished and a boat load of i^rovis- 
 iouis arrived the next day. The succeeding moriung the steam- 
 boat William Wallace from St. Louis, also canu^. in and tlie army, 
 w hich a short time before was in a suffering condition, had now a 
 two-fold supply. 
 
 Immediately on the receipt of pro\asions rations were issued to 
 the men and baggage wagons were loaded prei)aratory to moving 
 to Dixon, where, according to the latest intelligence, the enemy 
 was posted. Spies had previously been sent to obtain informa- 
 tion of the Indians, but instead of returning with proi>er dispatch 
 they loitered with the ofticers of Fort Armstrong and finally re- 
 turned on theboat which brought the supplies. When the army was 
 ready to march, a letter was brought froniGen. Atkinson informing 
 the governor that Black Hawk and his band had descended Rock 
 river, and requesting him to march immediately Avith the troops to 
 Fort Armstrong. Bisai^pointment was felt at the reception of 
 this news, and perhaps the request would have been disregarded, 
 but according to the statement, the Indians had descended the 
 river, and it was folly to move up it to find them. Instead, liow- 
 ever, of going to the fort, the force was marched to the month of 
 Rock river where they were received into the service of the United 
 States, and General Atkinson assumed command. It was now as- 
 certained that the information in regard to the Indians was incor- 
 rect and the commanding general steamed up the river with an 
 armament of cannon and 400 regulars accompanied by the brig- 
 ade, which rode through the swamps in the vicinity of the stream. 
 
 As the expedition advanced, dogs immolated to apiiease the 
 Great Spirit were frequently found at the various Indian encamp- 
 ments. This relic of barbarism and superstition common among 
 the oriental nations of antiquity, was employed by these Indians 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 385 
 
 when tbe nation was threatened witli great calamity. The body 
 of the animal, in these instances liaving the vitals removed, Avas 
 fastened to a tree over a small lire with its head in the dirtiction 
 the Jndians were traveling. Instead of rendering any assistance 
 it only served to point ont their trail to the i)nrsning foe. 
 
 On the lOtli of May some spies sent in advance captnred near 
 Prophetstown, an Indian, from whom information was obtained 
 that Black Hawk and his warriors were oir liock river above the 
 town of Dixon. In accordance with this information the volnn- 
 teers moved n[) to the town, where it was as(;erfained from sconts 
 Avho liad sconred the country, that the Indians had dispersed and 
 it was determined to abandon the pursuit and await the airival 
 of Gen Atkinson with the steamboat and provisions. It was con- 
 jectured that ]>lack' Hawk and his band (contemplated residing on 
 the lands of the l^otawattomies, and as a- means of preventing the 
 cousumation of such a- design, an end)assy of h\e jx'rsons was sent 
 to confer with the chiefs of that nation ui)on the subject. In 
 consequence of cloudy weather the ])arty became bewildered, and 
 losing their way fell in Avith some of IMack Hawk's band, who very 
 adroitly endeavored to decoy them into the power of the i)riuci])al 
 Indian force. After much skillful maneuvering on luuseback the 
 savages retired and the Americans returned to Dixon greatly ex- 
 liausted, having been without food or rest for two days. 
 
 Majors Stillman and Bailey, who had previously been ordered to 
 protect the frontier were at I)ixon when the army arrived at that 
 l)lace, and having done but little seivice, they besought the 
 privilege of reconnoitering the country, and reporting the situation 
 of the enemy. It was rumored that a small party of Black Hawk's 
 force was encamped at the head of Old Man's creek 12 miles 
 above Dixon, and in aceordanee with their request, the governor 
 issued the following order: '• ^lajor Stillman: You will cause the 
 troops under your immediate (command, and the battalion under 
 Major Bailey, to proceed without delay to the head of Old Man's 
 creek, where it is supposed there are some hostile Indians, and 
 coerce them into submissicm." 
 
 On the following morning, the Major with 275 men started on 
 his mission, hoping to give a good account of himself when he 
 retui-iu'd. The expedition, after reaching Old Man's creek, 
 although unauthorized to pass beyond it, continued their march 
 15 miles higher up the stream to Sxcamore creek, where they dis- 
 mounted for the purpose of spending the night. 
 
 Here they were within a few miles of the main lodgment of Black 
 Hawk and a i^artof his braves, and while engaged in cam]) duties 
 3 unarnu'd Indians bearing a white tlag made their appearance. 
 The Indians giving themselves up, wenc taken into custody. 
 Shortly 5 other Indians were descried on horseback ui>on rising 
 ground about a mile distant. A party of Major Stillman's nuMi 
 immediatelj' started in pursuit, and others followed as fast as they 
 could nujuntj in a short time three-fourths of the whole detach- 
 ment were scattered pell mell over the intei'vening prairie. In this 
 iri'egular running fight, the troops at the camj) knowing that blood 
 had been shed, killed 1 of the 3 Iiulians who had been sent as 
 envoys under the white tlag, but the other 2 in the confusion escap- 
 ed. The Americans having the fastest horses, overtook and 
 killed 2 of the other party, and piu-sued the survivors to the edge 
 25 
 
386 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of the forest. At this juncture, Black Hawk and about 40 braves 
 rose up from their ambush, and with a terrific yell, rushed on the 
 assailants. Those who had just exhibited so much bravery in 
 jiursuit of the fleeing foe, now retreated with a corresponding- 
 swiftness. The frightful din attending the fugitives, who reached 
 cam[) about dark, caused the remainder of the force to think that 
 Black Hawk and his whole band were about to burst iipon them 
 like an avalanche. A panic ensued, and some witli only a saddle 
 or bridle, and others without either, mounted their horses and 
 joined their comrads in the inglorious flight, leaving their wagons, 
 ammunition and other pro]terty to the victors. Major Stillman 
 ordered his juen to retreat over the creelc and rally on more 
 elevated ground, but such was the consternation that no 
 elevated ground was found till they reached the forces at Dixon. 
 
 The principal resistance ofl'ered to the pursuing Indians, was at 
 Old Alan's creek, a small stream rising in Ogle county and falling 
 into Hock river at the town of P)loomingville. It has since been 
 called Stillman's Run, in commenoration of the battle, a result inci- 
 dent to the delay caused in crossing its muddy banks. After 
 passing the stream. Major Perkins, Captain Adams and about 15 
 other daring men made a stand, and by their heroic conduct 
 partially checked the career of the Indians and saved the lives ol 
 others, who nuist otherwise have fallen victims of savage ven- 
 geance. Captain Adams, however, in saving the lives of his friends, 
 sacrificed his own, his body being found the next day, near the 
 two Indians whom in a personal encounter he had slain. None of 
 the parties lived to tell the story of the terriiic struggle, but from 
 the evidence left behind it must have been of the most determined 
 character. Their guns were broken into fragments, and the 
 ghastly wounds inflicted by rifle balls, spears, butcher knives and 
 tomahawks were frightful proofs of the efforts that had been made. 
 The Americans greatly lamented the death of Captain A<huns, 
 and even the Indians, as a mark of respect for his bravery, neither 
 scalped nor otherwise mutilated his body. Near was dismounted 
 Major Hackleton, who had a severe encounter with with an Indian, 
 in which he killed his tawny antagonist, and afterward made his es- 
 cape to the camp at Dixon. Some others, in the confused and precip- 
 itate fight, occasionally fired on the pursuing savages, and as the 
 result of the conflict, about 11 whites and 7 Indians lost their 
 lives. The fugitives commenced arriving at Dixon about 12 o'clock 
 at night, and from that time till morning they continued to come 
 hi small sfjuads of I to 5 each, telling the most tragic stories of 
 the disaster. Every one seemed to be impressed Avith the idea that 
 his own party was all that escaped, and while telling the death of 
 a comrade he would arrive and contradicr the account. 
 
 During tlie night of the battle, which fully inaugurated the war. 
 Gov. Ileynolds made out a requisition for L'OOO men to be in readi- 
 ness for future operations, and orders were also prepared re(iuir- 
 ing Col. March to forward supplies for the men, and Miijor Adams 
 to procure provisions for the horses. Letters were also written to 
 (jiens. Atkinson and Dodge, api)rising the fonner, who had not 
 yet arri\'ed, that the army was without i)roivsions, and the latter, 
 that Stillmnn was defeated, and the frontiers of Wisconsin were 
 in danger. AYlien the news of the defeat reach<Hl the camp, the 
 officers were suuimoned to meet at the tent of Gen. Whitesides, 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 387 
 
 and it was deteriiiiiHHl to luarcli tlie next morning' to iho fatal 
 liold of the evening's disaster, Qnartennaster Tlionias anticipa- 
 ting the result of the council, obtained from Jolni Dixon, then the 
 oidy inhabitant in that part of the counti-y, 8 or TO oxen, as a 
 teni])orary su])i»ly for tlie expedition. The animals were slaught- 
 ered and distril»uted among the men, who partaking of theii' llcsh 
 without bread or salt, started foi- tlu^ battle Held. Arriving 
 thither, the bodies of their fallen comrades were found frightfully 
 mutilated, presenting a scene appalling to troops who had never 
 before witnessed such a spectacle. iSome were beheaded, some 
 had their hands and feet cut off, while their hearts and other 
 internal organs, were torn out and scattered over the prairie. The 
 mangled fragments were gathered together, and buiied in a com- 
 mon graA'e, over which a rude slab hewn from the trunk of a tree, 
 was erected to mark the jdace. The troops encamped on the 
 ground, and heavy guns being heard during the night, they were 
 sup[)Osed to be signals for collecting* the scattered warriors of 
 I>lack Hawk. The men rested in their saddles, expecting every 
 moment an attack, but the morning- dawned without the eneiuj^ 
 being S(H'n. Major Ifenry and his battalion were then ordered to 
 scour the surrounding country, but no traces of the foe being 
 detected the whole detachment fell back to Dixon. 
 
 Perhaps no better material for an army could be found than 
 Major Stillman and his men, and their defeat was not the lack of 
 bravery, but the want of exi»erience and discipline. No body of 
 men under similar circumstances, would have acted more 
 etticiently, yet for years afterward they were made the subjects of 
 thoughtless merriment and ridicule, as undeserving as their expe- 
 <litiou was disastrous.* Stillnuurs defeat spread consternation 
 throughout the State and nation. The innnber of Indian Avar- 
 riors was greatly exaggerated, and the name of P>lack Hawk 
 
 Note. — "It is sai<i that a big-, tall Ivfiitiiclviati, witli a very loud voice, who was 
 colonel of the militia, but private umkT Stillman, upon his arrival in camp iinvQ to 
 Gun. Whitesides and the wonderaii; multitude the I'ollowint's'lowiiig'and l:)oml)astic ac- 
 cou tot the battle: 'Sirs ' said tie, •ou r detachment was eiuiamped among' some scattering 
 timber on the north side of Old Man's ereelv. with the prairie on thenortli sientiy sloping 
 down to our encampn.ent. It was just after twilig-hl, in the gloanung- of the evening, 
 when we discovered RIaek Hawk's ari!;y coming- down upon iis in solid column; they 
 deployed in the form of a crescent ui)on the brow of the prairie, and such ac(;uracyand 
 precision of movements were never witnessed i)y man : they were equal to the best 
 troo|)sof Wpjlina-ton, ill Spiiin. I have said that the Imlians came down in solid column, 
 and de played in tlie form of a crescent ; and what was most wonderful, tliere were 
 lai-ge squares of cavalry resting- upon the points of tiie eur\c, which s(iuares wei-e sup- 
 ported again bv otlier "columns 15 deep, extending back t In-ough the woods and over a 
 swamp three-quartersof a mile, which again rested upon tlu- main body of iJlack Ilawlv's 
 army l)ivouached upon the banks of the Kiswakee. It was a tcrrililc and glorious 
 siglir, to see the tawny warriors us they rode along out- tlanUs attem|)tni.!r to outflank us, 
 with tiie glittering moonbeams glistening from their polishcil l)iades and burnished 
 spears. It was a slgiit well calculated to strike consternation into the stoutest heart, 
 anil a(;cor(iingly our men soon liegan to breiik in small squads, for tall timber. In a very 
 little tune the roiit(> became general; the Indians were upnn our flanks and threatened 
 the destruction of the entire detachment. About this tine^ Miijor St illman. Colonel 
 Stephenson, Major Perkins, Capl. Adams, Mr. Haekleton, and myselt with some others, 
 threw ourselves into the rear to rall\ the fiigitixcs an'd lu-otect the retreat. IJut mil 
 ehort time all my companions fell, bra\ el.\ lighting hand to hand with the .savage 
 enemy, and I alone was left up in the field ot battle. About this time 1 discovered 
 not far to the left a corps of hoisemen wliich seemed to be in tolerable order I im- 
 ine'liately deployed to tlie left, when leaningdown and plai-ing my body in a recumbent 
 posture upon the mane of my horse, so as to bring the heads of the horsennii l)etween 
 my eyeand the horizon, 1 discovered by the liuht of the moon that they were g-eiitle- 
 men who did not wear hats, by which token I knew tliey weri' no frinds of mine. I 
 tiiereffire made a retrograde linovement and t-eeo\-ered iiiy former position, where I re- 
 mained some time meditating what further I coul i do in the serviei; i>f my country, 
 when a random ball came whistling by my ear and pl-.iinly whi-;pered to me, 'Stranger, 
 you have no further business here." Upon hearing this. 1 followed the example of my 
 companions inarms, and broke for tall timber, and the way 1 ran was not u little."* 
 
 ♦Ford's History. 
 
388 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 came<l witli it associations of great military talent, savage 
 cunning and cruelty. Gen. Scott, with 1000 United States troops, 
 was sent to the northwest to superintend the future operations of 
 the campaign. 
 
 The new levies under the proclamation of Gov. Reynohls, were 
 to meet, some on the 3d of June, again at Beardstown, and others 
 on the 10th of the same month at Hennepin, and efticieut messen- 
 gers Mere sent to convey intelligence of the requisition to different 
 parts of the State. The greatest dispatch was required to eiuible 
 forces in the most distant counties to assemble and march more 
 than a hundred miles to the places of rendezvous in so sliort a 
 period of time. The previous organization of the volunteers, 
 however, greatly facilitated the labor of bringing the i^resent call 
 into the held. 
 
 The men in the service now asked to be discharged, urging that 
 they had enlisted at a moment's warning, for the protection of the 
 frontier, Avithout i)roviding' clothes for themselves or food 
 for their families at home, and both must suffer if the cam- 
 paign was protracted. The term of enlistment being un<letined, 
 they had a right to return home, but the governor appealing to 
 their patriotism, they agreed to remain 12 or 15 days longer. In 
 the meantime. Gen. Atkinson arrived at Dixon with provisions, 
 encamped on the northwest side of the river, and threw up 
 embankments for the i)rotection of his stores. The companies of 
 Capts. Bailey and Stillman, were organized asabrigade under the 
 command of Col. Johnson, and received into the service of the 
 United States, and one part ordered to Ottawa for the defence of 
 that place, while the other remained at Dixon to guard the stores. 
 
 On the loth of May, the whole army consisting of volunteers 
 and regulars, under the command of Gen. Atkinson, marched up 
 the river in pursuit of the enemy. Toward evening news was 
 received that se>'eral white families had been murdered by the 
 savages, on Indian creek, not far from Ottawa. The story of the 
 massacre is but a repetition of the bloody tragedies which always 
 characterize savage warfare. About 70 warriors made a descent 
 on the settlement, and in broad daylight stealthily entered a 
 house in whi(!h 3 families had assembled, and murdered 15 of the 
 inmates.* 
 
 On the receipt of the news, Gen. Atkinson ordered Gen. White- 
 sides and Gol. Taylor, afterwards president of the United States, 
 to continue the pursuit of the Indians with the volunteers, while 
 he with the regulars fell back to Dixon. After several days 
 march, the trail of Black Hawk led the army to a village of the 
 Potawattomies on Sycamore creek, where were discovered several 
 relics of the tragedy on Iiulian creek, and the battle of Stillman's 
 Run. The inhabitants luul tied, and the trail separating led in 
 different directions, a precaution doubtless taken to elude the pur- 
 suing force. It was the supi)osition that Black Hawk had visited 
 the town to secure the co-opertion of the Potawattomies, who were 
 perhaps deterred from rendering assistance by the overwhelming 
 
 ♦The fiends who perpetrated the butchery afterward related, with infernal p-lee, that 
 the women squawked like seese, as they were pierced with spears.or telt the keen edge 
 ot the tomahawk entering thei" heads The bodies of the victims were scalped and 
 otherwise mulilateii, the children were chopped to pieces with axes, and the women 
 suspended by tlicir feet to the walls of the houses, their clothes falling over their 
 heads, leaving tlieii' persons exposed to tlie public gaze. 
 
389 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 nuniher of the wliites. Wliile the armj^ lay at the village, a re- 
 coiiiioiteiiiig party was sent out to searcli for lost horses, and 
 returning in tlie night, they discovered a large Indian foree steal- 
 ing away in the dark, evidently to avoid the wliites, and to join 
 their comrades, a large hody of whom it was inferred Avas in the 
 vicinity. The trail of the Indians led north, while the homeward 
 route of the volunteers now about to return led south, and it there- 
 fore became necessary to determine whether to continue the pur- 
 suit or return home. Col. Taylor and Major Harney, of the 
 regular army, and Gov. lieynolds urged them to remain in the 
 service till the Indians could be overtaken and chastised. The 
 volunteers, however, expi-essed great reluctance to a continuance 
 of the pursuit. The prnate soldiers also were not only disi)leas- 
 ed with the coninianding genci-al, but they had left their business 
 in such condition as to re![iiire their presencie at home. Gen. 
 Whiteside, ujton whom the i»]iiu'i))al command devolved in the 
 absence of Gen Atkinson, although op[)osed to following the 
 eneni}', agieed to be go\erned by a majority of the officers, and the 
 question being submitted to a vote, one-lialf were for pursuing 
 the Indians and the other half for I'eturning home. Gov. liey- 
 nolds seeing the demoralizing condition, caused them to be march- 
 ed to Ottawa, and on the I'Ttli and L'.Stli of May they were 
 discharged and the campaign thus ejuled without effecting any 
 important results. 
 
Chapter XXXIV. 
 
 1832— THIRD CAMPAIGN OF THE WAR. 
 
 Bequmtion for Additional Troops— Attacli on Apple Creek Fort- 
 Captain Stephens' Encounter tvith the Indians— Organization of 
 the New Levies— Battle of Kello(fs Grove— Battle of the Wis- 
 consin. 
 
 Gen. Atkinson called upon the governor at the time these troops 
 were mustered out, and at his suggestion a call was made for 1000 
 additional meu to co-operate with tlie previous requisition and 1000 
 more to guard the frontiers. Tlie danger of exposed settlements 
 being very imminent, an appeal was made to the disbanded troops, 
 and a regiment raised to serve till the new levies could be made 
 available. After the election of Jacob Fry as colonel and James 
 D. Henry as lieutenant colonel, tlie diifereiit companies of which 
 it was composed were immediately dispatclied to the most exposed 
 localities. The regiment, after bravely guarding the imperded 
 frontier, was finally mustered out of service at Dixon, on the IDth 
 of June by Col. i'aylor. One of the companies under Captain 
 Snyder, had some severe sldrinishing with a, body of some seventy 
 Indians in the vicinity of Kellog's grove, in which 1 of tlie savages 
 and 2 or 3 of his own men were killed. The new levies arrived, 
 but before they could be organized or brought into the tield, the 
 Indians committed a number of murders in different parts ot the 
 country. . , ' 
 
 On the 6th of June Black Hawk and about loO warriors made 
 an attack on Apple liiver Fort, situated ;i quarter of a mile north 
 of the present village of Elizabeth and within 12 miles oi Galena. 
 The fort was a stockade liaAing strong block houses at the corners, 
 and had been erected for the benctit of a small village of miners, 
 who resided in their homes during the day and retired to the tort 
 for protection at night. Three messengers chanced to be on their 
 way from Galena to Dixon, and when within half a nnle ot the 
 viliaoc, were tired upon bv Indians lurking in ambush. One ot them 
 was Grounded, but bv the assistance of his two companions he 
 reached the fort without further injury. The inhabitants, as usual 
 during the day, were scattered abroad attending to business, when 
 the report of "guns apprised them of danger and they tied to the tort 
 in advance of'the enemy. The Indians came within tiring distance, 
 wlien the battle commenced and was continucHl with great fury 
 for 15 hours, during which several attempts were made to burn 
 and storm the fortitieations. The assailants took possession of the 
 dwellings in the village, and while some knocked holes in the 
 
BLACK HAWK WAH. 301 
 
 >Yalls throiigli wliicli in snfety tliey fired tipon the foit, others de- 
 stroyed provisions, broke ero(;kery, and witli devilish glee ripped 
 open beds and bestrewed the houses and yards with featheis. 
 There were only 25 men in the fort, but they fought with the im- 
 petuosity of desperation, deeming- it better if they eould not 
 repulse their adversaries to die in defence of their families, than 
 suffer capitulation and butchery afterward. The mothers and 
 children i)artook of the same inspiration, and by moulding bullets 
 and charging' guns greatly assisted in warding otf tlu' assaults of 
 tlu' enemy. The Indians at length, tiiuling they couhl not ])i'evail 
 against the garrison, raised the seige and departed, taking with 
 them horses, cattle, flour and other })ro\ isions. The Americans 
 sustained a loss of one man, that of the. Indians could never be 
 ascertained as their killed ami wounded Avere carried away in the 
 retreat. A messenger in the nunintime had hurried to Gah'iia for 
 assistance, and Col. vStrode of the militia marched to att'ord them 
 assistance, but the enemy had left befoic he anived. 
 
 On the lilth of June two men were killed near Fort Hamilton, 
 situated among the lead mines 4 or 5 miles east of Galena, (ien. 
 Dodge, of Wisconsin, who by chance visited the fort shortly after 
 the tragedy w'as committed, immediately followed the trail of the 
 saxages to the Pekatonica, where they took refuge un(h>r a high 
 baidv of the river. The brave commander and his ecpndly brave 
 men immediately rushed on the sheltered foe and killed the entire 
 number, having" three of their own men mortally wounded in the 
 assault. This action although small, exhibited the greatest daring 
 on the part of those engaged in it. 
 
 About the same time Ca[)t. kStephenson of Galena, and a^ ])orti()n 
 of his company fell in with a party of Indians between A]t])le 
 Eiver Fort an<l Ivellog's Grove, and pursued them till they took 
 refuge in a small grove in the midst of the prairie. The Ameri- 
 cans commenced a ran(h>m fire into the timber l)ut after the loss 
 of a few men retired. Notwithstanding this loss neithei- oflicei-s 
 nor men were yet willing- to abandon the contest, and the ])a)'ty in 
 a short time returned and charged into the grove, receiving the 
 galling fire of the savages, who were so efi'ectually protected by 
 the trees it was impossible to dislodge them. The charge was 
 renewed a second and a third time, and not until 3 additional men 
 were killed and the captain supposed to be mortally wounded ditl 
 the fighting cease. The Indians had greatly the ad\aiitage, and 
 the rashness of nmking an attack under the circumstances is 
 perhaps as much an object of censure as the lieroic deeds i)er- 
 formed are feats of admiration. 
 
 As previously arranged in the call for tioojts. the new le\ ies met 
 at l>ear(lstown and IIenne[>in, but were aftei-\\ai(l or(lere(l to I'^ort 
 AVilburn where a ])ermanent organization was etteeted.* A pro- 
 niiseuous multitude of several thousand persons had assembled at 
 this ])lace, and the great<'st ])atience and judgment was re(]nired 
 to form them into an army. As many of the most i)r()minent men 
 in the 8tate were i)reseut and wanted ])ositions, there was gicat 
 danger in the bestowal of oftices that dissatisfaction might 
 arise and thus seriously impair the efficiency of the army. It was 
 
 *This WMsasmaii forlification on fhp> south hsmk of the Illinois, about a mile almve 
 Pern, and had been erec-terl by Liout. Wilburn, tor tlie protection of the supiilios 
 eutrusted to his care by Col. March. 
 
393 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 liowever agreed in a cousultatiou between the governor and 
 captains of the various companies who Inid ah-eady been chosen, 
 that the principal officers shoukl be elected by the troops over 
 whom they were to act. Three brigades were organized, and on 
 the 16th of June Alexander Posey was elected general of the 
 first, Milton K. Alexander general of the second, and on the 18th, 
 James D. Henry general of the third. Gen. Atkinson received 
 them into the service of the United States and acted as coni- 
 niander-in-chief of the force thus organized, wliich amounted to 
 3U)'I uien. The governor appointed on his staff Beujamin F. 
 Hickman and Alex. F. Grant as aids, James Tnrney as adjutant 
 general, E. C. INIarch as quartermaster general. Besides the main 
 army 4* battalions were organized for special puri»oses, and com- 
 manded severally by jMajorsBogart and Baily, and Colonels Buck- 
 master and Dement. 
 
 In view of the disasters which threatened the northern frontier 
 of the State, the governor ordered a chain of forts to be erected 
 and garrisoned from the Mississippi to Chicago. Indian war 
 parties lurked in every defile, beset every solitary road, hovered 
 about every settlement, and woe to the traveler or unprotected 
 partN of white men who attempted to pass through the country. 
 Despite their vigilance their supremacy in the field was soon to 
 end ; beaten, hnnibled and bleeding tiiey were to be driven before 
 the conquerers, and their huntuig grounds were to know them no 
 
 more. 
 
 On the 17th of June, Col. Dement and his force were ordered to 
 report themselves to Cob Taylor at Dixon, while the main army 
 Avas to follow. Here Col. Dement was ordered to take a position 
 in Kellog's Grove, where on thel'otli of June he was visited by :Mr. 
 Funk of^McLean county, who came during the night from the lead 
 mines and informed hii'n that the trail of about ;iOU Indians lead- 
 ing southward, had been seen the previous day, and that there 
 was perhaps a large body of them in the neighborhood. A conn, 
 cil of war was held the same night, which decided that Col- 
 Dement and 50 picked men should reconnoitre the surrounding 
 country the next day, while the remainder were to remain in the 
 fort near the grove i)rei>ared for any emergency that might hap- 
 pen. This rude block house was an oblong building constructed 
 of logs, contained 3 rooms, and was furnished with doors of strong 
 materiak At daylight on the following morning the party sallied 
 forth, but the inore advanced portion of it had not jiroceeded 
 more than 300 yards, when several Indian spies were discovered 
 on the adjacent prairies. Col. Dement and Lieut. Gov. Zadock 
 Casey were mounting their horses i)reparatory to leaving the 
 fort, when a messeng'er returned to. nuike known the discovery. 
 The news was soon communicated to the whole battalion ; a 
 phrenzy to fight the redskins took i)ossession of the men, and 
 contrary to orders they mounted their horses and started after 
 them. At their approach the Indians fied, but Col. Dement sus- 
 pecting that their intent was to decoy the whites into an and)us- 
 cade, galloped after them to induce tliem to return and thus 
 prevent the occurrence of such a catastrophe. The excited volun- 
 teers, however, mistook his intentions, supposing he also was pursu- 
 ing the Indians to kill them, and the chase was continued till they 
 came near a bushy ravine in which Black Hawk and his men were 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 393 
 
 concealed. Tlie object coiiteni]>late<l by tlie hidden foe was now 
 cousununated, and no generalship of civilized warfare conld have 
 been better planned or mure successfully executed than this strateiiy 
 of the bookless men of the forest. Suddenly a war-whoop proceed- 
 ing from the throats of 300 naki'd savages, who had ])reviously 
 prepared for battle by divesting themselves of their clothes, star- 
 tled the Anunicans. Determined to profit by the sur])rise an<l the 
 advantage of numeri(;al strength, they ruslu'd with the fury of 
 demons u[»ou their adversaries. Col. Dement and several other 
 oflicers made several attempts to rally their panic-stricken men, 
 but the danger of being out-tlanked by sui)erior inunbers renderetl 
 their efforts futile. All subordination ceased, and each fugitive, 
 prompted by the instinct of self preservation, shai)ed his course 
 toward the fort with a speed equal to that with which a short time 
 before he had left it. In the hurried and confused retreat which 
 followed. 5 Americans who were Avithout horses were killed, while 
 the remainder reached the fort and dismounting entered it, closely 
 pursued by the enemy. The fort was vigorously attacked for near- 
 ly an hour, but the force within returned the tire of the assailants 
 with such rapidity and precision that they retired, leaving nine of 
 their comrades dead ou the field, and carrying otluns away with 
 them. jSTo one in the fort was killed but several were wouiuled 
 by bullets which occasionally entered through crevices in the 
 walls. Three balls [»assed through the apparel of Col. Dement, 
 all of them touching his i»erson, but none causing a Avound. 
 About oO horses Avere killed, and suddeidy swelling afterward it 
 was supposed they had been [>ierced with poisoned arrows. 
 
 With the retreat of the Indians, sentinels were sent out to Avatch 
 their moveuients, and work Avas commenced on the fort to get it 
 in readiness lV)r a night attack. The heaA'y timber of which it 
 was bivilt Avould withstand the effect of bullets better than that 
 of fire, and lest an attempt should be made to burn it, barrels of 
 water were provided, and a large number of Avet blankets were 
 hung on the walls. 
 
 At 8 o'clock in the morning Avheu the battle liad i)artially sub- 
 sided, Col. Dement sent five messengers to Dixon, a distance of 50 
 miles, for assistance, and toAvard sundoAvn Gen. Posey and liis 
 brigade made their appearance. Shortly after his arrival some 
 Indian spies were seen to emerge from the adjaceiit thicket, Avhere 
 they had been Avatchiug to seeif any additional troops came to 
 the relief of the fort, lletiring to theniain body of the enemy, a 
 consulation Avas held, and doubtless further attem]»ts upon the 
 fort Avere abandoned, in consequence of the tinu'ly arrival of (ien. 
 Posey. 
 
 Early the next morning an excavation Avas made with knives 
 and tomahaAvks near the grove, and in this lonely grave were 
 buried the mutilated remains of the five Auu'ricans kilU'd the 
 l)receding day. When the nudancholy task Avas ended Gen. Posey 
 started after the Indians, but soon discovering by the trail that 
 they had scattered, the i)ursuit Avas discontinued. Thus ternun- 
 ated this exi»edition. Nature had endowed in tlu^ highest degree 
 Avitli soldiery cpudities those engaged in it, and the only reason 
 theii- efforts were not more successful Avas the Avaut of discipline, a 
 disideratum Avhich the immediate demand for their services had 
 uot permitted them to acquire. 
 
394 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 After the battle of Kellog's Grove, the forces of Gen. Posey and 
 Col. Dement returned to Dixon, ^Ybere the regulars and most of 
 the volunteers were concentrated under the command of Gen. 
 Atkinson. To prevent the escai)e of the Indians if they attempt- 
 ed to recross the Mississippi, Gen. Alexander was ordered to the 
 country south of Galena, and Gen. Posey to Port Hamilton on the 
 Pekatonica. While the army was at Dixon, 3 Potawattomie chiefs, 
 Wapello, Billy Caldwell and Waubansee, came to Gen. Atkinson 
 asking some protection against Black Hawk. The ire of the old 
 Sac warrior was aroused because the tribe of these chiefs pro- 
 posed an alliaii(;e with the Americans, who <leemed it better to 
 secure tlieir co-operation than have them tight on the opi)0.site side. 
 Col. Fry and his regiment were accordingly sent in advance of 
 the main army to Sycamore creek to afford pi-otection, and to re- 
 ceive into the service 100 Potawattomie warriors, who had signi- 
 tied tlieir willingness to mute with the whites. Much was ex])ec- 
 ted from this accession to the army, bat they soon returned lu)me 
 and little was realized, although commaniled by Wabansee, a 
 veteran chief of the tribe. Gen. Atkinson having heurd that 
 Black Hawk had fortified a position on the four lakes in southern 
 Wisconsin, started thither for tlie piu-pose of bringing on u 
 general engagement and thus termiimting the war. Passing Syc- 
 amore creek he was joined bytlie Winnebago warriors, and on 
 the 30th of June, encami>ed near Turtle village, a considerable 
 town of the Winnebagoes, then deserted by its inhabitants. The 
 night following was one of continual alarms, the whole comnumd 
 was frequently i)araded in order of battle, but no enemy was seen 
 except a few prowling Indians. The next morning the march 
 was resumed, and on the Itli of July the army reached Luke 
 Kush-ka-nong an expansion of Kock river, where they formed a 
 junction with the forces of Col. Fry and Gen. Alexander. These 
 having scoured the whole of the a<lja('ent coiudry and not iinding 
 the enemy, the march of the mounted men was coidinued up the 
 east side of the Pock rivei' to Burnt village, another town of the 
 Winnebagoes situated on Wliitewater, a tributary of the first 
 mentioiu'd stream. Here they were joined by Gen. I'osey an«l a 
 battalion of 100 men under Major Dodge of Wisconsin. The 
 evening of their arrival at that phice, a company (tf scouts came 
 in and reported the main trail of the Imlians 3 miles higher up 
 the stream. Preparations were immediately made to follow it, 
 and at an early hour next day a <letachment proceeded up the 
 river a distance of 15 miles, but no trace of the enemy being de- 
 tected the detachment fell back to Burnt village.* 
 
 Eight weeks had now been spent in man-hing and counter- 
 marching to find the em^my, and the attainment of the object did 
 not seem any nearer at hand than when the campaign was com- 
 
 [NoTE — * "In this expedition the force catne upon the tremblinir lands, -vvhich are 
 immense flats of turt liom 6 to 12 inches thick, extendinsi' for miles in every direc- 
 tion and resting on beds of water and quicksand A troop or even a single horseman 
 riding over ihetn produced an undulatini? motion of the land from which it gets its 
 name. Although the surface is quiti^ dry yet there is no difficulty in procuring plenty 
 of water by ■cutting an oi)ening- through the stratum of turf. The horses would 
 sometimes force a foot through or full to the shoulders, ytt so great was the tenacity 
 of the surface in no instance was there any trouble in getting then: out. In some 
 pl-ices the weight of the earth forced a stream of water upward, which carrying with 
 it and deposiiing large quantities of sand lorined mounds. The mounds as they en- 
 larged increased the pressure on the water below presenting the novel sight of a foun- 
 tain on the prairie, throwing its stream down the sides of the hillock then to be ab- 
 sorbed by the sand and returned to the waters beneath."'] — Ford's Hist. 111. 
 
ELACK HAWK AVAH. 395 
 
 iiieuced. The i)rogTess of the army Avas necessarily sh)w, the 
 coiiiitry was eoinpaiatively an Tinex[)U)re(l wiMeiiiess of 
 prairie and forest, none of the eoiuiiiand liad Ixn'ii tlirougli 
 it, and it was tlierefore impossible to obtain reliable .guides. 
 A ]mniber of Wiiiiiebiigoes followed who from necessity 
 wero freqnently consulted, but tlicir lidelity was of a doubtful 
 character, and the information they communicated generally de- 
 lusive. The result was short inarches, freqiU'Ut delays, fruitless 
 exploi-ations, giving the enemy every o])[)ortunity to ascei'tain the 
 intentions and movements of the pursuing for(;eand thus elude it. 
 The efforts of the commanding- general were further r(^tarde<l by 
 the distance from the base of sui>i)lies, and the great dilli(;ulty of 
 trans})ortation, in consequence of which the troo})s were freipiently 
 without provisions and rarely had suHicient for pi-<»rracted ()|)er- 
 ations. Owing- to thisdifticulty, it now l)ecanie necessary to dis- 
 perse the army to obtain food. Accordingly Major Dodge and 
 Grenerals Henry and Alexander were sent to Fort Winnebago, 
 situate on the portiige between the Fox and Wiseonsin rivers, for 
 this purpose, while (ien. I'oscy marched to Fort Hamilton for the 
 protection of the adjacent frontier, the governor leturned to his 
 liome at Belleville and Gen. Atkinson fell back to hike Kush-ka- 
 nong. Here he erected a fort, which was called alter the name of 
 the lake, in which he ex}>eeted to ]-enmin till the volunteer genei-als 
 returned with supi)lies. 
 
 Fort Winnebago, a distance of 80 miles from the eucanq)nuMit 
 on the Stillwater, was reached in three days, but the nmrch thither 
 over the intervening* swampy country so crippled some of the 
 horses as to render them useless in the su(;ceeding- part of the 
 canq>aign. Another calamity also befell the horses sliortly after- 
 ward, which was worse tluin an ordiiuiry battle. About 1,000 
 were peaceably grazing on the prairie when a stampede occurred, 
 caus<'d, as was supjxjsed, by Indians attem})ting- to steal sonu^ of 
 them. The soldiers at the tiuu:'. were souiul asleej) in their tents, 
 which were closely i)itched together and the frightened animals 
 in their mad tiight rushed dire(;tly over the encampment, knock- 
 ing the tents down on the faces of the men and tranq>ling their 
 weapons and camp equipage into the gnnind. Then coursing- 
 northward with great rapidity, the sound of their feet produced 
 an ap[)alling- noise resend)ling- the roll of distant thunder. The 
 
 [* '* A view of the country from camp at Fort Winnebajro presented the most strik- 
 inar contrariety of features. Looliing toward tlie tort wliicli was a neat structure 
 anions: the sreen hills, two streams are seen, the Fox and Wisconsin, with sources sev- 
 eral liuiidred miles apart, tlie former in the east and the latter in the north, s'lidiiifi' as 
 if to ming-lc their waters, until within three miles of each other, when thej' sweep the 
 one to the northeast, and the other to the southwest, as if they had met to liid each 
 otlier a siallant adieu before partinjr, the Fox to minfile its sweet and limped waters in 
 the Gulf of St Lawrence, and the Wisconsin to contribute its stained and Itittcr Hoods 
 to the Gulf of Mexico.. The course of the Fox is short, crooked, narrow and deep, and 
 aboundsin the finest variety of tish, whilst the Wisconsin is larjre, wide and compara- 
 ti\ely straiifht, and is said to have no fish, owins perhai)s to its passaare throujrh cy- 
 pres'^ swamps which renders it unwholesome tor the finny tribes, and also causes the 
 (lisei)lnration of its waters Besides the rivers the face of the country is no less re- 
 marUable. The strip of land between the two rivers is low and marshy, with no other 
 firowth except a course variety of rush, and at high waters so ompletely inundated 
 as to convert all that part of the United States east of the Mississippi into a vast island. 
 A wisp of straw being' thrown into the flood where the twocurrents meet will separate 
 and one portion float into the northern and the other into tln^ southern sea. Eastof 
 the Fox river the land is frenerally undulatiny, prcsentiii"- an ciiual di-tribution of 
 prairie of the richest mould anrl timber of the finest Lrrowth. We*t of the Wisconsin 
 connnences th se frownini.' steppes ol'i-iijiyed barren rocks covired with black and brist- 
 ling pine and hemlock which toward the Mississii)pi terminates in a refrion mountuia- 
 ous, dreary, terriflo and truly Alpine in all its features." — Ford's History.] 
 
396 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 picket guards and seutiuels fled to the camp, supposing- an attack 
 had been made by tlie Indians, the bugles sounded to arms, but 
 many of tlie soldiers were temporarily injured and in the confusion 
 which prevailed could not find their broken and scattered 
 weapons. The Wisconsin river changed the direction of the stam- 
 pede but did not Stop its fury, for the frightened auinnds turned 
 about and again ran into the midst of the canip,and the soldiers now 
 aware of the situation, endeavored to arrest their headlong- course 
 but without success. It was supposed that most of them ran a 
 distance of 30 iidles before the alarm subsided. Some were fol- 
 lowed a distance of 50 miles before they were found, and about 
 100 were permanently disablied in the surrounding- swamps. 
 
 Two days were spent at the fort in regaining the horses, recruit- 
 ing the men and procuring necessary supplies, during which some 
 Winnebago chiefs said that Black Hawk and his force were 
 encani[)ed on Kock river, 35 miles above lake Kush-ka-nong, the 
 headipiarters of Gen. Atkinson. It was now evident that if the 
 army attempted to return to Gen. Atkinson the Indians aa-ouUI 
 perhaps escape to the Avest of the Mississippi, and the only ojypor- 
 tunity of closing the war with jtrotit to the country and honor to 
 the service would be lost. A council of war was convened and it 
 was the unanimous opinion of all the officers present that the 
 exigen(;y of the case demanded that they should disregard the 
 orders of Gen. Atkinson, by marching directly upon the enemy 
 with the intention of taking him by surprise or preventing his 
 retreat further northward. The 15th of July was accordingly 
 ai)pointed as the time of starting, and Gen. Henry at once com- 
 menced reorganizing his brigade, and disencund)ering- it of the 
 sick and dismounted urmi, who would retard the celerity of his 
 nuirch. , Before, however, the day of departure came around. 
 Gen. Alexander announced that his men becoming dissatislied 
 had determined n(jt to accompany the ex[»edition, and JMajor 
 Dodge reiK)rted that so many of his horses were disabled that he 
 could not mount a force sufticiently large to reiuler any valuable 
 assistance. At this junctuie Cai>t. Craig arrived with a tine com- 
 pany of mounted men from Galena and vicinity, which uniting 
 with the battalion of Major Dodge increased it to 1-JO effective 
 men. Gen. Henry's brigade was reduced to 000 men, and even 
 these associating with Alexander's malcontents, became so demor- 
 alized as to be at the point of open mutiny. A protest was handed 
 to the former, signed by all his subordinate ofticers excejjt the 
 colonel who jueseuted it, remonstrating against the enterprise as 
 a violation of Gen. Atkinson's orders. 
 
 This was tlu^ turning point on which hinged the fate of the cam- 
 l)aigu, and but for the prudence and determination of Gen. Henry 
 all would have been lost. He was i)eriiaps the only man in the 
 army who i)ossessed the rare faculty of successfully commanding 
 the nulitia by insi)iring- them with order and the honorable im- 
 l)ulses of his own noble nature. He could command with sternness 
 and not give offence, and while he excited the fear he always 
 won the love of the luost olxlurate soldier. In this enu'rgeiu'y he 
 knew he was right and ]»roniptly oi-ch-rcd all the olticers signing 
 the protest to be airestcd and marched to Gen. Atkinson, who he 
 knew would api)ro\-e his course when he became acquainted with 
 the circumstances. This decided comnumd from a aeneral whom 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR, 397 
 
 tbey kuew had the courage to execute it, caused the officers to 
 relent. The colonel who presented the shameful paper denied 
 knowing its contents, and all promised with the greatest contrition 
 that they would never again be guilty of insubordination. Gen. 
 Henry, who understood human nature and knew how to ])roflt by 
 it, spoke to them with dignity and kindness, wisely forgiving the 
 oifence and thus securing their faithful co-operation during the 
 remainder of tlie cami);ngu. 
 
 At the appointed time Gen. Henry and Major Dodge, with two 
 Winnebag:oes for guides, started in pursuit of the Indians, and 
 Gen. Alexander with ]>rovisions returned to Gen. Atkinson, The 
 former while on tlieir way to the infested region, were 
 frequently thrown from a direct course by iidervening swamps of 
 several nnles in extent, yet after three days hard nuirching they 
 again encamped on Kock river. Here information was received 
 that Black Hawk was entnMiched onC'ranberry lake, higher uj) tlie 
 river, and relying on this information Henry determined to make n 
 forced uuirch to that place the following day. Adjutants E. H. 
 Merryman and W. W. Woodbridge, accomi)anied by Little 
 Thunder, a Winnebago chief, as guide, were sent to Gen. Atkinson 
 to apprise him that they had discovered the situation of the enemy 
 and were making preparations to move against him. The mes- 
 sengers started about daik and after i)roceeding about 8 miles 
 southwest they struck the fresh trail of Black Hawk, who was 
 making toward the Wisconsin river, evidently to elude his ])ur- 
 suers by crossing it. Little Thunder, i»auic stricken at the sight 
 of the trail, without permission returned to the cam}) and revealed 
 the discovery to the two Lulian guides, who attempted to nuvke 
 their escape, but before their object was fully accomi)lished they 
 were arrested aiul brought to the tent of Gen, Henry, Confessing 
 that their motives for acting as guides was to give false informa- 
 tion and thus favor the escape of Black Hawk, they now 
 disclosed all they knew of his movements, with the hoi)e of 
 escaping the punishment which their pertidy deserved. General 
 Henry humanely spared their lives, and to prevent his men who 
 would have wreaked sumnniry vengeance on them for their 
 treachery, prudently kept it a secret. The messengers, when they 
 foniul themselves deserted by Little Thumler, also returned to the 
 camp, but just before reaching it one of them came near being 
 killed bv the tire of a sentinel. Early the next morning the same 
 messengers ami guide were again dispatched to Gen. Atkinson, 
 and the ai-my started in i)ursuit of the enemy, leaving all the heavy 
 baggage behind in the wilderness. Those who had previously lost 
 their horses, abandoned their blankets and all their (clothing 
 except what they wore, and carrying their guns, ammunition and 
 provisions on tlieir backs through thickets, swamps and prairie, 
 kept pace Avith their comiades on horseback. The riders on reach- 
 ing a slough through which their horses were unable to carry them, 
 disnmunted and waded across, driving their aninials before them. 
 The large fresh trail being strewn with various articles, belonging 
 to the Indians, gave animation to the pursuing force; there were 
 no more complaints among the men, ami even the horses seemed 
 to partake of the enthusiasm which prevailed. Towards evening 
 there arose one of those terrific thunder storms common to the 
 prairies, frightfully dark and accompanied by torients of rain and 
 
398 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 peals of thuiuler. The men, however, dashed on regardless of the 
 raging- elements, through Hoods, marshes, and almost imi)enetral)le 
 clumps of timber, the horsemen frequently dismounting- and 
 marching- afoot that the footmen might be relieved by riding- their 
 horses. The storm continued most of the night, and the exhausted 
 men threw themselves on the muddy earth to obtain a little rest, 
 lia^ing partaken of no supper except a little raw meat and some 
 dough, tiie result of the drenching rain on the flour they carried in 
 their sacks. A similar repast serving them for breakfast, by early 
 daylight they were again in motion and after a march as hard as 
 that of the i)'re\ious day, they encamped on one of the four lakes, 
 near where Black Hawk had "rested the previous night. The men 
 now eagerly embraced the opportunity which was olfered to huild 
 fires and cook their suppers, having marched 100 miles without 
 eating a,nything ex<'ept raw food. As soon as their hunger was 
 appeased, they again lay down to rest with nothing under them 
 but the naked earth, and nothing over them but the starry canoi)y, 
 and slept sweetly till aroused and called to arms. A sentinel who 
 during the night discovered an Indian stealthily ghding toward 
 the shore in a canoe, fired his gun which caused an alarm, but 
 nothing further occurred to indicate the presence of an enemy. 
 Early the following day the march was resumed with great vigor, 
 all being elated with thehoi)e of soon overtaking- the Indians and 
 terminating the war in a general battle^ Crossing the river be- 
 tween two of the lakes, the army ascended an eminence, whence 
 could be seen a panorama of wonderous beauty. Three of these 
 lovely sheets of water environed by wooded hills and rolling- 
 prairies were in full view. The hand of civilization had not 
 marred their primeval beauty and everything- was wild and still, 
 save the distant roar of the surging waters lashed by almost con- 
 stant winds. 
 
 The Indians, however, were only a few miles distantendeavoring 
 to escape, and the hin-ried inarch to overtake them gave but little 
 time to contemplate the surrounding scenery. The path of the 
 fugitives w^as strewn with all kinds of haggage highly valued by 
 the owners, which they were comi)elled to throw away to accelerate 
 their Hight. Some of the horses were found dead, the result of 
 exhaustion, and others were occasionally killed to aiford their 
 hungry riders the means of sustenance. About 12 o'clock on the 
 21st of July, 3 Indian spies A\ere overtaken and killed, and short- 
 ly afterward the rear guard began to nuike faint stands as if 
 desirous of bringing on a battle. It was, however, soon api)arent 
 that their object was to gain time, for after firing a few rounds 
 they would dash ahead while the pursuing force was forming for 
 battle, in this manner by 4 o'clock they gained the bluffs of 
 the Wisconsin, and as the vanguard of the Americans, consisting 
 of two battalions commanded by ]\Iaj(»rs Dodge and Ewing, came 
 ui> they weie tired upon by the Indians concealed in the tim])er 
 Avhich skirts the bluff of the stream. Gen. Henry soon ariived, 
 and the entire force waslbrnied in order of battle. Major Dodge's 
 battalion constituted the extreme right of the line; Vo\. Jones' 
 regiment the center, and Col. Collins' the left, while Major Ewing's 
 battalion was placed in front, and Col. Ery's regiment in the 
 rear as a reserve, A charge being ordered, Ewing's battalion and 
 the regiments of Cols, Jones and Collins made a gallant onset up- 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 399 
 
 on the enemy, causing liini to retire ol)liquely to tlie ri^lit and 
 concentrate in front of the battalion of Major I)o(l<»e, who was 
 then ordered to advance npon the foe, but considering- his forc^e 
 inadeciuate and requesting- assistance. Col. Fry's reg-iment w as sent 
 to his aid, when a vigorous charge was made from one end of the 
 line to the other. Fiy's regiment and Dodge's battalion entere<l 
 the timber and tall grass, exposed to the fi(»rce fire of the Indians, 
 who maintained their ground till their adversaries could reach 
 them with their bayonets, when they lied and took a new i»ositiou 
 in th(^ head of a ravine faither westward, and leading to the low- 
 lands of the river. Here they made a more stubborn resistance, 
 but a handsome charge by Collins' and Jones' regiments and 
 Ewing's battalion, foived some of them down the hollow, and 
 others farther west\\ard along the bluffs, whence they escai)ed to 
 the l)ottom boi'dering on the stream. This was about a mile wide 
 and next to the river, covered with heavy timber, while near the 
 bluff it. was swampy and overgrown with grass so tall as to be 
 ab()\'e the heads of the nnm on horseback. It was now near sun 
 down, andCien. lleiuy concluded it would be too hazardous to dis- 
 lodge the enemy during the night, and accordingly Remained on 
 the Ijattle ground. 
 
 The battle of the Winconsin was the first imi)ortant victory 
 obtained over the enemy during the war. The Indians ha<l witli 
 them their women and children, and fully alive to the disastrous 
 consccjuences which \vould attend defeat, Ibught with great deter- 
 mination. During the engagement ]s^aopo[»e, their commander, 
 posted himself on an elevation near his warriors and gave his 
 orders in a voice of thunder, which could be distinctly heard above 
 the din of battle. It was said that of all men he had the loudest 
 voice, but it ceased to be lu^iril when his braves were driven from 
 their position. Great praise was due the entire army, the officers 
 Laving discharged their duties with great efificiency and the i)ri- 
 vates exhibited unusual bra^'ery in the different charges made 
 niKin the enemy. Gen. Henry Avas young and inexi)erienced, yet 
 in his coolness and the judgment disi>layed in the disposition of 
 bis forces acted the jttart of a veteran commander. He now con- 
 cluded that if the Indians intended to continue the contest they 
 would juake an attack during the night, and as a precaution he 
 increased the strength of the guard and caused fires to be built in 
 front of the camp and kept burning till morning. Orders were 
 given that the mvu should sleep on their arms, and they had not 
 long been wrapt in slumber w hen they were aroused by the tramp- 
 ing of horses. It was su}>posed that the latter had been fright- 
 ened by the approaching enemy, and the men were ordered to hold 
 themselves during the renuunder of the night in readiness for an 
 attack. vVbout 'A o'clock in the morning Na<)pop(^ took a stand on 
 the same elevation he had occupied during the battle, and spoke 
 with a loud voice, in the Winn<d)ago tongue, which in the calm of 
 the night reverberated from hill to hill. It was ascertained when 
 the war was over that he was suing for peace. He stated that his 
 countrymen were in a starving condition and unable to fight the 
 Americans, and that if they were permitted to peaceably return 
 w^est of the Mississippi with their families they would do no fur- 
 ther mischief. As the Indian guides had fled at the commence- 
 ment of the battle there was no j)erson in the camp who under- 
 
400 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 stood his language, and it was supposed lie was giving conunands 
 to his warriors. The Ainericaus expecting every moment to be 
 attacked, Gen. Henry made a spirited speech in which he told 
 them they were about to meet the savages who had butchered in 
 cold blood so many of their helpless and unottending citizens, re- 
 min<ied them of the obstacles which tlu'y had encountered and 
 overcome during the campaign, and urged them not to tarnish the 
 reputation they liad gained in the battle of the preceding day. 
 Every man then took his position and renuiined in it till early 
 dawn, when Ewing's battalion i)roceeded to the top of the hill 
 whence the voice proceeded, but oidy found the foot-prints of a 
 few horsemen. The army then marclied to the river and discov- 
 ered that the Indians had crossed and made their escape among 
 the mountains between it and the Mississippi. One hundred and 
 sixty-eight of their fallen comrades were found dead on the held 
 of battle, and the number of the wounded was perhaps i)ropor- 
 tionately large, as 25 of them were subsequenly found dead along 
 the track of their departing trail. Gen. Henry had one man 
 killed and 8 wounded. The great disparity in the loss of the 
 Americans, and that of the enemy was accounted for on the sup- 
 position that the Indians had been taught to tire at men on horse- 
 back and consequently aimed too high to hit their adversaries, who 
 dismounted before entering battle. 
 
Chapter XXXV. 
 
 1832— CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 Pursuit of the Indians — Battle of Bad-Axe — Arrival of Gen. 
 Scott — Treaties with the Indians — Eastern Tour of the Prisoners — 
 Death of Blaclc HatvJc. 
 
 It will be remembered tlmt Adjutants Woodbridue and Merry- 
 man, piloted by Little Thunder, were sent tlie secoud tiiue to (leu. 
 Atkinson's headquarters. They arrived safely, and alter eonferr- 
 ing with him, they were ordered to return A\ith instruetious 
 authorizing Gen. Henry to pursue the trail of Black Hawk, an<l if 
 possible overtake and capture his ibree, and that wlien his i)rovis- 
 ious were exhausted he siiould goto the Blue Mounds for sui)])]ies, 
 where he and his army would meet him. The messengers reached 
 Gen. Henry during the recent battle, and the next day, as the 
 army was without food and the means of rendering the wounded 
 comfortable, it was determined to visit the Mounds for this pur- 
 pose and replenish their stores. Xo one in the brigade, however, 
 undeistood the topograi»hy of the country sufliciently well to act 
 as guide. They had now penetrated 100 miles into an unexplored 
 wilderness, and the A\l)inel)agoes who had accompained the 
 expedition tied at the commencement of the battle and had not 
 returned. A council was <'alled to consider the means of over- 
 coming the difHculty, and while in session a white tlag was seen 
 approaching, borne by a inimber of friendly Winnebagoes, who 
 agreed to act as guides. Litters were constructed for the wound- 
 ed, and on the 23d of July the army was again in motion, and 
 after encountering a number of muddy creeks and a large extent 
 of lough roads, they reached the Blue Mounds in safety. Here, 
 as they had been advised, they found Gen. Atkinson, with the 
 regular and volunteer forces under his immediate command, and a 
 number of inhabitants, whose kind treatment made the wounded 
 forget the hardships they had suffered in the journey thither. 
 
 It was now evident that Gen. xitkinson and other ofHcers of the 
 regular army were greatly mortified at the success ot Gen. Henry, 
 as they did not intend tliat the militia should acquire any renown 
 in the war. Gen. Atkinson relying mostly on the regulars, had 
 always kept them in front, but unexpectedly while they were 
 snugly ensconced at Lake Kushkanong, Gen. Henry discovered 
 and vanquished the enemy as effectually as if the veterans had 
 participated in the engagement. This unmanly jealousy was 
 further intensified by tlie fact, that the victory had been ol)tained 
 in opposition to the council and orders of those who arrogated to 
 26 401 
 
402 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 themselves superior courage aud knowledge in the practice and 
 art of war. 
 
 All the generals were now together, but not all the men. Gen. 
 Posey's brigade contained only 200 effective men ; Gen. Alexan- 
 der's 350, and Gen. Henry's being also greatly reduced, tlie 
 three brigades combined were not much strouger than'^one at 
 the commencement of the campaign. In addition ta tlie volun- 
 teer force, there were now 400 regulars under the command of 
 Geu. Brady and his subordinate officers. Col. Taylor and Majors 
 Eiley and ^Morgan. After spending 2 days at the Mounds, on the 
 25th of July the whole army, under direction of Gen. Atkinson, 
 again started after the Indians. The regulars marched in front, 
 Posey's and Alexander's brigades and Dodge's battalion came 
 next, and lastly Henry's brigade in charge of the baggage brought 
 up the rear. The position assigned Gen. Henry, the hero of the 
 battle of AV'isconsin, showed too plainly the ungenerous feeling that 
 rankled in the breast of the commanding general. The whole 
 army noticed the insult, and the brave men who were thus 
 degraded knew they deserved better treatment, and justly claim- 
 ed the i>ost of honor and of danger. It was now evident that if 
 other laurels were to be won they would decorate other brows. 
 Gen. Henry and his men, were too true to their duties as soldiers to 
 suffer this iujustice to interfere with the success of the expedition, 
 and therefore quietly trudged along in the rear, doing the drudg- 
 ery of the army and taking charge of the baggage. On the 2Gtli 
 they arrived at Helena, with a view to crossing the Wisconsin at 
 that place. 
 
 This village, formerly a promising town, was now abandoned by 
 its inhabitants, and the houses were pulled down and converted 
 into rafts on which to cross the river. During the construction of 
 the rafts, scouts were sent up the river to the battle ground to 
 ascertain if the Indians had returned thither as the course they 
 had taken in their flight after the battle. A day was spent ill 
 making explorations, but no trace of the enemy being discovered 
 the party returued. On the 2Stli the whole army had gained the 
 opposite bank of the river, and after marching a distance of 5 
 miles fell in with the trail of the retreating fugitives. Before the 
 discovery, the army was greatly disheartened, the distance to the 
 Mississippi was supposed to he 80 miles, and it was seriously 
 feared that ere the enemy could again be overtaken they would 
 make their escape west of this stream. The men had become 
 weary in hunting trails, but now it was found, the hope of again 
 falliugin with the Indians was revivipd and all murmurs ceased. The 
 trail at first followed the course of the river, but soon turned 
 northward auiong huge mountains, which never before had echoed 
 with the tread ot civilized men. Three weary days were consumed 
 in sealing these precipitous elevations and crossing the interven- 
 ing gorges, the one being covered with heavy timber and a dense 
 undergrowth of briers and vines, and theothW filled Avith swamps 
 of deep blitck mud. The men were well supplied with provisions, 
 aud bore their labors with ('heerfulness, but it was diflieult fVu- the 
 horses to iind grass, and many of them becoming deldlitated by 
 hunger were l(>lt to perish in these pastureless solitudes. The con- 
 dition of the Indians was extremely deplorable. They were com- 
 pelled to subsist on roots, bark and the flesh of horses, aud their 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 403 
 
 trail could be readily traced by blaidvcts, kettles and other articles 
 abandoned to hasten their tii.^ht. Death, too, had marked their 
 course with the bodies of those who had been wounded, most of 
 whom had died more for the want of proper medical treatment 
 than from the fatal nature of their injuries. 
 
 At 10 o'clock on the mornin<i- of the 2d of August, the army 
 reached the bluffs of the Mississippi, which at this i)oint were 
 some distance from the stream. The Indians having reached the 
 margin of the river some time before the arrival of the Americans, 
 were busily engaged in ]»rei);irations to cross. Some had already 
 reached the o])posite shore, :ind some of the women had been put 
 in c;inoes and started down to I'rairie du Chien, but part of the 
 latter were drowiUMl, and those who reached the town were found 
 in a starving condition. Wliile thusem])loyed they were attacked 
 by the steaml)oat AVarrior, which had been chartered for the pur- 
 pose of conveying su[>i)lies to the army. On the 1st of August 
 she was sent u}» the river to notify some friendly Indians that the 
 Sacs were approaching, and to take them down to I'rairie du 
 Chien. On his w^ay. Captain Throckmorton heard that Black 
 Ha\vk was already enc^ainjied on the banks of the river, and he 
 immediately made preparations for an attack. As the steand)oat 
 Reared the camp of the Indians, they raised a white flag, which 
 the captain affecting to believe was onl;y used as a mask to cover 
 their real designs, ordered them to send a canoe alongside his 
 boat. The order being declin<id, they were allowed 15 miiuites to 
 remove their w-omeii and children, wlien a six-poundcr, loaded 
 with caniuster, was discharged into their midst, l■oll()^^■ed by a 
 sexere tire of inusketry. The battle continued about an hour, 
 during which the enemy had 2.'> men killed and a proportionate 
 number wounded. The fuel of the steaujer now began to fail, 
 and night coming on, she fell down the river to Prairie du Chien, 
 intending to return the next day. 
 
 The captain of the Warrior, even if his surmises were correet 
 respecting the [)ertidy of the Indians, was still liable to censure 
 for the precipitancy with which he brought on the engagement. 
 He and his men were beyond the reach of harm, and conseciuently 
 both humanity and the rules of war required that he should have 
 taken more than 1.5 minutes to discover the real motive of the In- 
 dians in hoisting t\w symbol of peace. Black Hawk hhnself asserted 
 that he directed his braves not to fire on the Warrior, as he intended 
 going onboard in order to save his women and children, and that he 
 raised ai white Hag and called to the captiiin oi' the boat for the 
 puri)ose of effecting this object. His condition was now hopeless, 
 his warriors, reduced in numbers, were exhausted by fatigue and 
 hunger, while an overwhelming for(;e ready to move against hijn, 
 was just in his rear. It is therefore highly probable that he was 
 sincere and anxious to end the contest, in which so many of his 
 people had been slaughtered ; and had the captain of the AVar- 
 rior properly respetited the Hag <»f truce, which all ciAilized war- 
 fare holds sacred, the campaign would have terminated without 
 the further ett'usion of blood. 
 
 Before the Warrior could retnrn to the Indian encampment, 
 which was on the Mississippi below the mouth of the Bad Axe, 
 Gen. Atkinson arrived and commenced a general battle. Black 
 Hawk, aware that the American force was in close proximity, to 
 
404 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 gain time for crossing, with 20 warriors, went back to meet tliem, 
 iiis object being to make an attack and tlien retreat up tlie river 
 to decoy tlie Americans from the principal force. Accordingly, 
 when the army reached the bluffs of the Mississippi, it w^as tired 
 upon from behind trees by the Indians, the tall grass growing 
 among the timber greatly favoring tlieir design. The order of 
 battle being the same as at lirst : Major Dodge's battalion was in 
 fj out, next the regulars, then the brigades of Alexander and Posey 
 and lastly the command of Henry. At the first indications of op- 
 position. Gen. Atkinson rode to the scene of action and in person 
 <lirected the charge against the Indians, who of course fell back, 
 and were pursued up the river by the wliole army except the force 
 under the immediate connnand of Gen. Hemy and Major Ewing. 
 In the hurried pursuit he was called ou for one regiment to cover 
 the rear of the pursuing forces, and the rest were left witliout or- 
 ders. It now seemed that fortune was determined to distinguish 
 her favorite son, despite the intention to disgrace him. He who 
 during the whole marcli had been kept in the rear, now by the 
 strategy of a few untutored savages who had triumphed over the 
 science of the veteran general, was suddenly placed in front. 
 
 While Gen. Atkinson was ascending the river, the nuxin trail 
 leading directly to it was discovered by Major Ewing's men, who 
 were in front. Ilcniy being notified of the fact, followed to the foot 
 of the bluffs bordering the \'alley, where he left his horses and ar- 
 ranged his men for an attack. Eight men were sent forward as a. 
 forlorn hope to draw the fire of the enemy, and thus disclose their 
 situation in the drift wood and brush through which the trail led. 
 The men moved boldly forward till they came in sight of the river, 
 when they were fired uijon by about 50 Indians, who were in ad- 
 vance of the main force. Five of the eight instantly fell, either 
 killed or wounded, while the other three, protected by timber, re- 
 mained in their position till the army came to their rescue. Henry 
 innnediately oidered a charge, before which the Indians retreated 
 to the nuiin body, amounting to 300 warriors and fully equal to 
 the force contending against them. The whole force of the enemy 
 becoming involved, fought with great bravery and determination, 
 yet they had evidently been surprised and there was little concert 
 of action. Closely pressed they fell back from position to i)osi- 
 tion, until the baidv of the river was reached, where retreat being- 
 impossible a frightful carnage ensued. The bloody bayonet in the 
 hands of an excited soldiery, drove them into the water, when 
 some of the survivors endeavored to swim the river and others 
 sought refuge in a willow island 150 yards from the shore. 
 
 About this time Gen. Atkinson and that portion of the army 
 which had been decoyed up the river, made their appearance at 
 the scene of confiict. Henry had previously sent messengers to 
 inform him that he had discovered the main force of the enemy, 
 but the roar of battle apprised him of the situation before mes- 
 sengers had time to reach him. He came but found the battle 
 substantially over, the dead and dying xtrewn upon the fatal field, 
 disc-losing the stern work which had been done in his absence, 
 freeing the position of the enemy, he immediately ordered a descent 
 u)>on the island. A force consisting of the regulars, Ewing's and 
 Dodge's battalions and Ery's regiment, charged through the water 
 up to their arms, to dislodge them from their last refuge. When 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 405 
 
 tlie island Mas piined most of the enemy wlio liad tied thither 
 Aven^ killed or oa})tnred, those atteinptiug-to swim to the opposite 
 shore bein_i>- either shot in the Avater or drowned. Larye numbers 
 of women and cliiklren lost their lives, owing to the fact that they 
 were dressed so mncli like the men it was impossible to distinguish 
 them in tha high grass and weeds which obstructed the view. 
 Some of them plunged into the jMississippi ami were shot escaping 
 in the proniiscnous ciowd which was bufteting the waves in the 
 attempt to reach the o])[»osite shore.* 
 
 It is su])iK)setl that tlte entire Indian loss amounted to loO killed 
 and as many lost by drowning in the attempt to swim the river. 
 About 50, consisting mostly of women and children, were taken 
 l)risoners. The An)erican loss amounted to 17 killed. 
 
 tioon after tlie battle was over, the captain of the Warrior 
 steamed up the river and connuenced raking the island, thinking 
 that the Indians were still on it. The land forces hearing his 
 guns, sup[)osed he was tiring a salute in lionorof the victory, and 
 fired a volley in acknowledgment, ami it was not till she came to 
 hind that iiitelligencv was for the tirst time interchanged in regard 
 to the battles which had prevu)usly been fought by the respective 
 ibrces. 
 
 Gen. Atkinson considering the war virtually ended, on the 4th 
 of August, with the regulars, prisoners and wonnde<l, on board 
 the Warrior, fell dmvn the river to Prairie du Chien, and the 
 mounted men ujarched to the same place by land. The ]iews of 
 the battle liad [)receded the advent of the army, and when it 
 arrived the MenouKuiee Indians were expressing tlu^ir joy at the 
 defeat of the Sacs and Foxes l)y nuisic and dancing. Having 
 obtained several scalps from the squaws of the enemy, they pre- 
 sented them to their own women, whose relatives had been, 
 murdered the preceding year at Fort Crawford by the same tiibes. 
 These trophies, held alott on poles, constitute«l a prominent feature 
 of the dance, which was conducted in the following manner: the 
 men and women stood in two lines facing each other, while the 
 squaw.s holding the .scalps were situated between. The party w^as 
 furnished with a rudely constructed drum, and each one Avho 
 participated in the dance held in his hand a gourd partially tilled 
 with j>ebbles, which were ratth'd to keep tinu' with the drum. 
 Thus arranged, and equipped at the sound of the (hum the exercise 
 coiumeneed, each dancer moving around the cejitral grou]), sup- 
 poiting the Hcalps, and uttering a loud monotonous refrain, kei)t 
 time by stamping with his feet and shaking his gourd. As the 
 exercise was})rotractedthechantbecame louder and moreaninnited, 
 the ju]rq)ing correspiuidingiy higher and more boisterous, and the 
 scalps were twirled in the air with increased vehemence. During 
 
 [NoTK.— Many painful scenes of adventure and horror were crowded into the 3 hours' 
 coiitiiuiancoof tlie battle. A Sac woman, the sister of a warrior of some notoriety, 
 found hereeU' in the thickest of the flarht, but at length sueceeeded in reaching the river, 
 when keeping her infant child safe in its blankets by means of her teeth, she plunged into 
 the water, seized the tail of a horse with her hands whoso rider was swimming the 
 stream and was drawn safely across. A younsrsquaw during the t>at tie was standing iu the 
 grass ashort (iistance from the American line, holding her child, a little girl of 4 years, 
 in her arms. In this position a ball struck the i-iglit arm of the child and shattering the 
 lione, passed into the breast of tlie young mother and instantly killed her. She fell 
 upon the child and confiaed it to the ground till the Indians were driven from this part 
 of the held. Gen. Anderson of the United States army, hearing its cries went to the 
 spot and takuig it from under the dead body, carried it to the surgeons to have its 
 wound dressed The arm was amputated and during the operation the half starved 
 child did not cry. but sat quietly eating a hard piece of biscuit. It was sent to Prairie 
 du Chien and entirely recovered. 
 
40G HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the entire performance tbe bodies of tlie dancers were bent forward 
 bringiiio- their noses so -close together as freqnently to touch, and 
 when finally they became exhausted the exercise ended. 
 
 The 2d day after their arrival, Gen. Atkinson having- every 
 reason to believe that the Winnebago chiefs had been treacherous, 
 summoned them for the purpose of having a talk. He accused 
 them of deception and rendering assistance to the Sacs, and 
 Winnesheik, one of tlieir number, having connnanded the Indians 
 in the recent battle, and his sons who were subsequently brought 
 in wounded, were put in i)rison. Gen Street, the Indian agent, 
 Avho was present at the conferenix^, then told the chiefs that if they 
 would bring in Black Hawk and the pr(>i)het, it would be well with 
 them, and the government would hold them in future as friends. 
 At this declaration, Decori, Cheater, and two other chiefs, at the 
 bead of a small party of Sioux and Winnebagoes, started after 
 the two fugitives, who with 20 men, during the battle of the Bad 
 Axe fled up the river. The Sioux and the Sacs had been at war 
 for years, and the former eagerly embraced the oi)purtunity now 
 offered to avenge their wrongs by bringing them to i)unishment. 
 The Winnebagoes, although first symi»athizing with the lu»stile 
 band, like civilized man in the hour of adversity, when friendship 
 is mostly needed, proved unfaithful. As soon as warliad demon- 
 strated the comparative strength of the two belligerents, their 
 cringing and crafty nature commenced i)andering to the power 
 of the conquerors. 
 
 On the 7th of August, Gen. Scott who with 9 companies of 
 infantry had been sent from the eastern sea-board, arrived and 
 assumed connnand. He started from F(Utress Miniroe, lunl in 18 
 days 4 of the companies reached Chicago, <listaut 1800 miles, which 
 before the existence of the i)resent railroad facilities was an 
 uni)arelled feat of celeiity. The Mhole force A\as destined for 
 Chicago, but the virus of a disease more fatal than the sword 
 preyed upon their vitals, and prevented the accomplishment of 
 the object contemi>1ated. Tlie expedition, tilled with patriotic 
 ardor, arrived safe at Detioit, and while moored at its wharves 
 two cases of a strange disease made their appearance and created 
 unusual alarm. The army surgeons and local physicians were 
 immediately sumnnnied, but desi)ite all their efforts two soldiers 
 attacked Avere no more. The Asiatic Cholera, then a new disease 
 on the continent of America Avas raging in the Atlantic cities, 
 and had now broken out in the army, causing terror and gloom 
 forest (m every countenance. The expedition passed on to Fort 
 Gratiot, distant 40 miles, where 5 comjtanies, numbering 280 men, 
 who, either unwilling or unable to proceed further, were landed. 
 Sonu' of theui died in the hospitals, and (»the]s fleeing to avoid 
 the pestilence, wandeicd ho])elessly over the country, shunned by 
 the inhabitants, not through inhumanity, but the fear of contag- 
 ion, till natuH' becoming exhausted they laid down in the fields 
 and (■x])ired. The entire nund)er with the exception of 9 perished, 
 Avithout a frieiuliy hand to offer them assistance, or console them 
 in the last nnunents of existence. Of the other 4 companies oO 
 died on the Avay to Chicago, and as a sustitute for burial, Avere 
 lieaved into the watei-s of the lake. Arriving at Chicago on the 
 8th of July, Fort Dearborn was converted into a hospital, and 
 the families which had taken temporary refuge Avithin its Avails 
 
BLACK HA^VK WAR. 407 
 
 from the attacks of the ludiaiis, were turned roofless on the 
 prairie. lu 30 days 90 inmates of the ]ios})ital became victims of 
 tlie destroyer, and life was hardly extinct before they were cast, 
 unwept and uncoffined, into pits, to prevent the spread of the 
 epidemic* 
 
 After the disease had abated, the march was resumed, and finally 
 the remnant of the force which had started with such bri^lit 
 anticipations of glory, reached Fort Armstron<i;' on the Mississipi)i, 
 the latter jiart of Au.uust. Here not only many of the survivors 
 perished, but the Indians were also attacked, and lar^e numbers 
 of them swept away. Gen. Scott arrived only in tinui to i)artici- 
 pate in the negotiations which followed the war, but in his 
 humane exertions in behalf of the soldiers, lie won laurels far 
 transcending the glory of the most brilliant campaign against the 
 enemy. 
 
 The further imrsuit of the Indians being considered unnecessary, 
 on the arrival of Gen. Scott the volunteers started for Dixou 
 to be laustered out of service. Arriving thither on the 17th, they 
 were discharged, and each soldier now released from military life 
 returned to his home, kindred ami friends, pleased with the con- 
 gratulations which were ever extended, ami feeling honored in 
 having been instrumental in freeing the country from the lavages 
 of the merciless foe. 
 
 Many of the noted men of the State had been engaged in the 
 war, and many, at that time unknown to fame, afterward attained 
 the highest honors in the gift of the country which the\' risked 
 their lives to defend. Of the former class were Eeynolds and 
 Scott, men of State and national reputations. Of the latter, S. II. 
 Anderson becante lieutenant governor. James Turuey, attorney gen- 
 eral ; \V. L. I). Ewing, auditor of [>ub]ic accounts ; Sidney Iheese, 
 chief justice of the State; John Tliomas and John Dement, State 
 treasurers; Thonuis Ford ami Joseph Duncan, governors of the 
 State; Henry Dodge governor of AVisconsin, and General Taylor 
 and Abraham Lincoln presidents of the United States. Jefferson 
 Davis, the ri\'al of the latter, also participated in the Mar, but his 
 future career as the chief of the great rebellion, gave him a fame 
 in striking contrast with that which was won by the martyr of 
 liberty and the saxior of his country. 
 
 Among the many who distinguished themselves in the war, 
 there was no one more efticient as an officer, or mcu'e highly 
 respected by the people of Illinois, than Gen. James D. Henry. 
 His great sagacity and determination at Fort Winnebago, gave a 
 new direction to the campaign and enabled the army to overtake 
 the Indians. He was the cliief commander in the battle of the 
 Wisconsin, which followed tlie lirst decisive victory of the war, 
 and tiie Itattle of the Bad axe which closed it, was the result of 
 his generalshii> and not of the superior officers who endeavored to 
 prevent his sharing in its dangers and honors. 
 
 *'The burial of the dead was entrusteil to a serj^eant. who executed his duty with 
 military precisiou, as soon as life was extinct. On one occiision several were removed 
 from the hospital to be buried at once. The prave had already been dus-, and the 
 bodies wrapped in blankets were laid by its side, the last military honors had been paid, 
 and nothing' more remained to complete the service Init to tumble them one aftei* 
 another in, when a corpse appeared to move. A brother soldier resortingr thither, his 
 old messmate, ojiened his eyes and asked h Im for some water The serjreant said they 
 might take htm back, as he" was not yet ready for burial. The order was obeyed and 
 the soldier lived many years thereafter." Brown's History of Illinois. 
 
408 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 He was a native of Peimsylvauia, aud iu tlie year 1822 emigra- 
 ted to Illinois and located at Edwardsville. Born in poverty and 
 obscnrity, liis earlier years were entirely devoted to mannal toil, 
 and when lie attained' the age of manhood he was hardly able to 
 read or write. For some time after his arrival at Edwardsville, he 
 worked as a mechanic dnring the day, and at night attended 
 school for the purpose of improving his education. After leaving 
 school, and engaging for a short time in the mercantile business, 
 he removed in 1820 to Springfield, and was elected sheriff of San- 
 gamon county. The integrity and sound judgment exhibited iu 
 discharging the duties of this oftice, attracted the attention of 
 Gov. Reynolds, who at the breaking out of the war made him one 
 of his aids. He was exceedingly modest and retiring till his pas- 
 sions were fully aroused, and then he showed an intensity of 
 feeling and an iron will, Avhich was irresistible so far as he had 
 power to act. The fear of nothing except his maker ever entered 
 Ids breast, and he knew and cared as little for danger and death 
 as a marble statue. His extreme sensibility and diffidence never 
 permitted him to appear in the society of ladies. At the close of 
 the IMack Hawk war, the citizens of Springtield gave him a 
 splendid reception in honor of his services, but he never entered 
 the a])artments Avhere the ladies presided. At the close of the 
 war he was the most i)0[nilar man in Illinois, and had he lived 
 he could have been elected to any office in the gift of the jieople. 
 His health and constitution were originally good, but the hardships 
 of tlie war induced consumption, wliich caused his death, on the 
 4th of March, 1831, at IS^ew Orleans, whither he had gone for the 
 benetit of the clinuite and medical treatment. Such was his sin- 
 gular modesty, that during his sickness in the city, he never 
 mentioned his connection with the Black Hawk war, and no one 
 knew he was Gen. Henry until after his death. 
 
 AVliile Henry Avas duly appreciated at home, he never received 
 abroad the honors to which he was entitled. The news of the war 
 first made its appearance in The CiaJeiiian, a neAvspai)er printed 
 at Galena, and tlu' only sheet issued north of Springfield. I)r. 
 Philleo, the editor belonged to Dodge's battalion, and when from 
 time to time he chronicled the events of the war and sent them 
 home for i^ublication, he gave his own command a i)rominence in 
 the war to which it Avas not entitled. By a Avilful i)erversion of 
 facts, he never mentioned Henry except as a suboi'dniate officer, 
 while Major Dodge was spoken of as a general, thus creating the 
 impression that the former commanded a brigade, and the latter 
 a battalion, when the reverse Avas true. His letters Avere copied 
 in the news]>a}»ers throughout the TJ. S,, as authentic ncAvs, and in 
 a nund)er of cities it Avas asserted that Dodge Avas the principal 
 commander of the Avar, and the names of Henry, Atkinson and 
 Taylor, if mentioned at all. were only in connection with subordi- 
 nate i)ositions. This delusion Avas afterAvard of immense advan- 
 tage to Miijor Dodge, but independent of the prestige thus 
 a(;(piired, lie was a man of great popidarity and infiuence. 
 
 On the 27th of August, Decori and Cheaters, after an absence 
 of 20 days, returned with Black Hawk, the luophet, and a number 
 of other ])risoners. On handing them over to Gen. Street, Decori 
 said : "Father, Ave deliAer these men into your custody. We do 
 not entrust them even to your brother, the chief of the warriors, 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 409 
 
 but to you, because we kuow you, and we believe you are our 
 friend. We waut you to keep tlieui safe ; if tliey are to suffer we 
 do uot want to see it. Wait until we are ^one before it is done. 
 Father, numy little birds have been flying about our ears of late, 
 and we thought they whispered to us that there was evil intended 
 for us, and we now hope they will let us alone." Gen. Street 
 replied: "My children, you have done well. I told you to bring 
 these men to me, and you have done so. I assured Gen. Atkin- 
 son that if these men were in your country, you would lind them 
 and bring them to me, and now I can say nuich for your good. I 
 will go down to Ivock Island with the prisoners, and I wish you as 
 you have brought them, esi)ecially to go with me, with such other 
 chiefs and waii'iors as you may select." 
 
 In pursuance of the treaty to be entered into, on the 10th of 
 Se]»teniber lUack Hawk, his two sons, Wishick, Isaopope, the 
 pro})het, and a number of Winnebago chiefs, were sent down to 
 liock Island, where Keokuk and his warriors were to meet them. 
 Likewise the remnant of Black Hawk's band also followed him to 
 to the same i)lace. Such was their utter destitution that they 
 excited the compassion of all who saw them, and Gen. Scott, who 
 was as sympathetic as brave, kindly bestowed on them everything 
 that could supply their wants or relieve their suffering. On the 
 15th a treaty was made with the Winnebagoes, whereby they sold 
 to the United States all their lands east of the Mississip})i and 
 west of Green bay. As a consideration, the go\ernment agreed 
 to give them a large region of country west of the ri\'er, to i>ay 
 them $70,000 in ten annual installments, to maintain schools for 
 the education of tlieir children for a period of L'O years, and to in- 
 struct them in agriculture and furnish them with cattle and 
 imj)lements for its practical introduction among them. 
 
 To escape from the cholera, which was still raging at Rock Is- 
 land among the Indians and eastern troops. Gen. Scott and Gov. 
 lieynolds, with the princi[)al chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes, fell 
 down the river to Jefferson Barracks, where they entered into a 
 treaty with them also. They ceded to the government the tract 
 of laud embraced in tlie present limits of Iowa and a part of Wis- 
 consin, and received in return, besides some nunor considerations, 
 an anmiity of $20,000 for a period of 30 years. As a. reward to 
 Keokuk and his friendly band, a reservation of 40 miles square 
 was n)ade to them in Iowa, including their principal village. It 
 was also proposed to Keokuk to establisli schools for the benefit 
 of his tribe, but he rejected the i>roposition, alleging that it niiglit 
 do well enough for the whites, but he had observed that it made 
 Iiuliaiis worse to educate them. By these treaties the United 
 States obtained 00,000,000 acres of laml, at a cost truly insigniti- 
 cant compared Avith their real value. Such, however, is the 
 measures usually meted by the stronger to the weaker power, and 
 such is the fate of savage races when brought in contact with the 
 di})l()ma('y of civilized men. Viewed in the light of a commercial 
 transaction, such a disparity of \'alues seems monstrous: but when 
 we (consider the Earth is the comnuju heritage of the human 
 family, and that an advanced state of the arts and sciences is 
 essential toitsdevelopjuent, we become reconciled to it as anecessity 
 in the onward march of civilization. 
 
 The Indian prisoners who were to be retained diu'ing the pleasure 
 of the President, were confined in the barracks till the following 
 
410 HISTORY OF ILLESTOIS. 
 
 spring'. Of the himdreds who visited them during the winter, one 
 of them writes : 
 
 " We were immediately struck with admiration at the gigantic and 
 symmetrical figures of most of the warriors, who seemed as they re- 
 clined in their native ease and gracefulness, with their half naked bodies 
 exposed to view, rather like statues from some master hand than beings 
 of a race whom we had heard cliaracterized as degenerate and debased." 
 
 Keokuk visited them the following spring, and made great ex- 
 ertions for their release, offering to become responsible for their 
 future conduct, but a message was received by Gen. Atkinson 
 from the Secretary of War, ordering them to be sent to the 
 national capital. Under the escort of an ofiicer of the army on 
 the L'2d of April, 1833, they reached Washington, and had an 
 interview with the President. Black Hawk closed his speech, 
 delivered on this occasion, in the following words: "We did not 
 expect to conquer the whites — they have too many houses, too 
 many men. I took up the hatchet for my i>art. to revenge injuries 
 Avliich my people could no longer endure. Had I borne them 
 longer without striking, my people would have said Black HsiAvk 
 is a woman ; he is too old to be a chief; he is no Sac. These reflec- 
 tions caused me to raise the war-whoop. 1 say no more, it is 
 known to you. Keokuk once was here ; you took him by the 
 hand, and when he wished to return to his home, you were willing. 
 Black Hawk expects, like Keokuk, we shall be permitted to return, 
 too." The president informed tljem that they nuist go to Fortress 
 Monroe and remain there till the conduct of their i)eoi)le satistied 
 him that they intended to comply with the stipulations of the 
 treaty. He also assured them that their women and children, 
 for whom they expressed solicitude, should be protected from their 
 enemies. On the 2Gth of Ai)ril, they set off for the Fortress, 
 where they remained until the 4tli of July following, when an order 
 was received from the president directing their release and return 
 home. The kind treatment of Colonel Eustice, in command of the 
 prison, had so won thefrieiulship of the captives, that when about 
 to leave Black Hawk waited on the colonel and said: "The 
 memory of your friendship will remain till the Great Spirit says 
 it is tijne for Black Hawk to sing his death song." Presenting 
 him hith a hunting shirt and some eagle's feathers, he added : 
 "Accept these, my brother; 1 have given some like them to the 
 "White Beaver; accept them as a memorial of Black Hawk. When 
 he is faraway they will serve to remind you of him." 
 
 From Fortress Monroe they were taken to lialtimore, where they 
 liad another interview with the President, who informed them that 
 Gen. Atkinson and Keokuk their })rineii»al chief were anxious for 
 their retui ii home, and that he ha<l ordered Major Garland, who 
 would accompany them thither, lirst to coiubict them through 
 some of the i)riuei|)al cities, that they might witness the power ot 
 the United States and learn their owii inability to co]>e with them 
 in war. "Go back," said he, "and listen to the counsel of Keo- 
 kuk and other chiefs; bury the tomahawk and live in peace with 
 the fioiitiers, an<l 1 pray the Great Spirit to give a smooth path 
 and a fair sky for your return." 
 
 Leaving Jhdtiiuoie they reached Philadeljdiia onthelOth of 
 J.une, and renuiined long emnigh to see the princii)al objects of in- 
 terest in the city and exliil)ited themselves to the curious thou- 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 411 
 
 saixls who flocked to see them. Bhxck Hawk in n^feiTing' to his 
 conduct with the ITiiited States, said to the multitude about liim: 
 " ]My heart ^rew bitter against the whites and my hands strong. 
 I dug up the toinaliawk and led my warriors on to battle. I 
 fouglit hard and much blood was shed, but tire white men were 
 mighty; they were many and my people failed." On the morning 
 of the 14th they started for Xew York and arrived at the Battery, 
 in the midst of a- vast assemblage of people who had been drawn 
 together to witness the ascent of a balloon. This novel spec- 
 tacle greatly astonished the Endiaiis. and one of them asked 
 the ])rophet if the aeronaut was going to the Great Spirit, On 
 landing, the i»ress of the multitude winch crowded to see them was 
 so great that they could not reach the hotel till they were phiced 
 in carriages and committed to the care of the police. Wlnie in 
 the city they were treated with marked civility, being conducted 
 with ceremony to tlieatres, ])ul>lic gardens, and other places of iu- 
 terest, and receiving many handsonu; [trescnts. 
 
 Major Garland had been directed to conduct the prisoners as 
 far north as Boston, but while in ^e\v York he was ordered to as- 
 cend the Hudson and pioceed with them directly to their home in 
 the West. In pursuance of the arrangenu^its, on the 22d of June 
 the party started westward, to the. great disap])ointment of the 
 Bostonians, who wanted an opportunity to see and lionize the sav- 
 age disturbers of the Northwest. At Albany, Buffalo, Detroit, 
 and other i)laces along the route, the attentions paid them ren- 
 dered their progress through the country a triumphal procession, 
 instead of the custody of i)risoners in the hands of an officer. In 
 passing the site of the old Sac village at the mouth of Bock river, 
 Bhu'lc Jlawk l)ecanu^ melancholy and ex])ressed nuiny regrets at 
 the causes whicli comjx'lh'd him as an exile to leave it. The host 
 of warriors whom hedeliglited to lead to battle were now no more; 
 .his village was reduced to ashes, his family was dispersed anu)ng 
 strangers, and he a sui)p]iant for a home in a foreign country. 
 Finally, about the 1st of August, the i)arty reached Ivock Island, 
 wjiich had been selected by Major Garhind as a suitable place for 
 tlic liberation of the captives. The river at this place is a beau- 
 tiful sheet of clear, swift running water, a mile wide ami divided 
 near the centre by Eock Island, which rises to a considerable 
 height above the surface ami stretches several miles up and down 
 the river. It originally produced nuts and a variety of other wild 
 fruits, and being in the rapids, it was a favorite resort for Indian 
 fisherman who caught large quantities of excellent tish in the 
 swilt, pure waters that wash its rocky base. There was an Indian 
 tradition that the island was inhabited by a good spirit which 
 dwelt in a- cave among the rocks. It had a ])lumage white as 
 snow, wings much larger than those of the swan, an<l its voice in 
 the Sac language was the sweetest music. The good si)irit had 
 sent it to teach the Sacs and Foxes wisdom and goodness and as 
 a guardian divinity to preside over the destinies of the nation. In 
 former times it had fre(juently been seen, but alarmed at the 
 building of.Fcn't Armstrong and the wickedness of the white men, 
 it sprejul its snowy i)inions and was seen no more. 
 
 The white-washed walls of the fort loomed u]) from the high 
 bluffs at the lower extremity of the island, giving to the fortress 
 the appearance of an enchanted castle Avheu seen from a distance 
 
412 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 in the beauty of the surrounding- scenery. From its towers could 
 be seen tlie blue bills, wliicli rising by a gentle acclivity from tlie 
 river follow its meandering course and bound the valley through 
 which it flows. The valley is several miles in width, and at that 
 time was interspersed with groves of tindjer, which gave it a ver- 
 nal sweetness and beauty rarely equalled. Eock river could be 
 seen in the distance, forcing its pure waters over a rocky rapid 
 into the floods of the Mississippi. On the uorth bank of the Ibr- 
 mer was the site of the Sac village, and directly opposite, on the 
 west bank of the latter, that of the Foxes, which time had con- 
 secrated as the Jerusalem of these tribes. Ko other locality could 
 have awakened in the mind of Black Hawk so many painful 
 memories. Here he had gamboled away his youth in its wooded 
 haunts; for half a century it had witnessed his power and iuHu- 
 ence, and now it was to become the scene of his submission to a 
 hated rival. 
 
 Immediately after his arrival, JMaJor Garland sent out runners 
 to summon the neighboring Indians to meet him in council. Keo- 
 kuk iind his braves had been out on a butialo hnnt, and were al)out 
 20 miles below on their way to the fort in anticipation of meeting 
 the captives. He informed the messengers that he would be at 
 Kock Island at noon the following day, and accordingly, at the 
 ap[)ointed time his fleet was seen ascending the river, the wild 
 songs and shouts of his men echoing from shore to shore. A large 
 craft, covered with a spacious canoi)y and bearing the Anu'rican 
 flag, moved in the van, carrying Keokuk and his three wives. 
 About 20 more canoes in the rear, each containing several war- 
 riors, comjdeted the im})Osing pageant which gallantly moved 
 over the still waters. After ascending the stream some distance 
 above the fort and returning, a landing was effected on the east- 
 ern bank opposite the encampment of Black Hawk, where the 
 warriors s[)ent several hours in painting their faces and equiping 
 themselves with imi)lements of war. These preparations being 
 comi>leted, the party i)assed directly across the ri\er, and Keokuk 
 landing tiist turned to his warriors and said: '-The Great 8})irit 
 has sent our brother back to us, let us shake hands with him in 
 friendship. Then fully armed lie slowly ai)proached and saluted 
 Bhick Hawk, who was leaning on his stati' in front of his lodge. 
 His followers, in like manner, having taken the old man by the 
 hand, tlie])ipe was introduced, and after an hour of pleasant civ- 
 ilties, Keokuk and his braves arose and took leave of the captives, 
 piomising to see them again at the council. The fort in the mean- 
 time had been titted up for this purpose. A grand convocation of 
 In<lians assembled the next day to witness the liberation of the 
 prisoners. At ten o'clock in the morning Keokuk and 100 war- 
 riors proceeded to the fort and wi're shown seats in the coun- 
 cil rooms. Not long after the captives made their appearance, and 
 as they enteicd the room the chiefs who had preceded them ga\e 
 them a cordial greeting. Black Hawk and his son, who had pre- 
 viously objected to the council as unnecessary and i)ainful to their 
 feelings, seemed much dejected. In the midst of the profound 
 silence, which for a time prevailed in the hall, Major Garland arose 
 and said to the assembled chiefs that he was much pleased at the 
 fraternal feeling which they had extended to the i)risoners since 
 their arrival, and he trusted that this would continuCj and there- 
 
BLACK HAWK WaE. 413 
 
 after they would dwell tog'etlier iu liarnioiiy and peace. lie tlieii 
 caused a letter from the President to be read, adniouishing- the 
 captives to cultivate the friendship of their neighbors, to hunt and 
 sujiport their families, and threatening the severest penalties if 
 they again disturbed the frontiers. Keokuk rei)lied : " AVe re- 
 ceive our brothers in iriendsliii). Our hearts are good towards 
 them. They have listened to bad counsel; now tlieir ears are 
 closed. I give my hand to them; when they shake it they shake 
 the hands of all. 1 will shake hands with them and then 1 am 
 done." 
 
 Major Garland, to be more ex}>licit, again arose and stated that 
 it must be distinctly understood that tlje two bands of the 8acs 
 and Foxes must now be nu'rgcd into one; that Bhu-k Hawk must 
 listen to the council of Keokuk, and that the I'resident would 
 hereafter recognise the latter as tlie i)iincipal chief of the nation. 
 AVheu Black Hawk understood that he was required toconfoim to 
 the advice of his rival, he became deei»ly agitated and his excited 
 passions burst forth with uncontrollable violence. AVith intense in- 
 dignation of countenance and the vehemence which characterizes 
 the savage when roused to action, as soon as he could control his 
 feelings sufficient to articulate, he exclaimed : "1 am a nnm; 1 will 
 not conform to the counsel of any one. I will act for myself; no 
 one shall govern me. I am old ; my hair is gray. 1 once gave 
 counsel to my young men; am I now to conform to others ? 1 will 
 soon go the Great Spirit where I shall be at rest. What I said to 
 our great father in Wasliington I say again. I will always listen 
 to him. I am done." Keokuk apologized for his indiscretion, say- 
 ing: "Our brother who has come to us has spoken, but he did it 
 in w^rath; his tongue Avas double and his words were not lilce ii 
 Sac. He knew they were bad. He trembled like the oak wliose 
 roots have been wasted by many rains. He is old ; what he said 
 let us forget. He says he did not mean it; he Avishes it forgot- 
 ten. I have spoken for him. VN'hat I have said are his own words." 
 
 Major Garhmd now informed the humbled chieftain that he was 
 satistied that his conduct in the future would be acceptable to the 
 people of the United States, and that he and his fellow prisoners 
 might now consider themselves at liberty. The council then ad- 
 journed, and early the next morning the Indians crossed the Mis- 
 sissippi and dispersed to their resi)ective homes in the forest. 
 
 A violent war haviiig subsequently broken out between the 
 Sacs and Foxes and Sioux, in the autumn of 1837 Black Hawk 
 again visited Washington with a deputation of chiefs who had 
 been invited thither by the President, for the purpose of adjusting 
 their difficulties. After their return he settled iu what is now Lee 
 county, Iowa, where he spent the winter. In thesiuing of ]<So8 
 he moved his family to the Des :\b)ines, and built him a dwelling 
 near the village of his tribe, 20 miles above the mouth of the river. 
 He furnished his new wigwam after the manm^rof the Avliites, cul- 
 tivated a few acres in corn, melons and other vegetables, and 
 when visited by the Americans entertained them Avith true Indian 
 hospitality. The following autumn he visited an Indian trader, 
 near Burlington, and as the result of exj^osure, on his return he 
 contracted a disease Avhich terminated his life. His countrymen 
 with the reverential respect Avhich they had for the dead, assem- 
 
414 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 bled to bury tlie mortal remains of their departed chief. The 
 body dressed in a uniform wliich had been presented to him in one 
 of his eastern tours by the Secretary of War, was born to its last 
 resting place by four of his warriors. The graAC was an excavation 
 
 feet deep, and into this tlie body was (h^posited in an upright pos- 
 ture, with the right hand resting on a cauc \vhi(;h had be«m pre- 
 sented to him by Henry Clay. A mound several feet high was 
 thrown up over the grave, at the head of which was planted a 
 staff bearing the tlag of the United States, and at the foot a post 
 on wliich was carved in Indian characters, tlie age of the deceased. 
 Those in attendance at the funeral expressed their sorroAv after 
 the usual numner of the tribe, by sliaking hands and uttering 
 imiyers that the spirit of the chief miglit have a safe entrance 
 into the land prepared for tlie reception of souls. 
 
 Thus, after an ad\'enturous and shitting life of 72 years, Black 
 Hawk was gathered to his fathers. The banuer of war fell nerve- 
 less from his * grasp ; his voice at the council tire was heard no 
 jiiore, and his restless and)ition was stilled in the sleep of death. 
 AVhile the rustling October leaves, moved by the sighing winds, 
 chanted a requiem over his ashes, the liberated shade sped to 
 the happy hunting grounds beyond the setting sun, wliich, ac- 
 cording to Indian theology, only the good and the brave are per- 
 mitted to enter. 
 
 Perhaps no one of his race excelled Bhu^k Hawk in humanity 
 and love of country. He always repelled with indignation the 
 charge that he murdered women and children, or mistreated his 
 prisoners. His patriotism is seen in the last speech he ever made 
 in the presence of the Americans, who had driven him from the 
 ancestral seat of his tribe: "Eock river was a beautiful country. 
 
 1 like my towns, my cornfields, and the home of my people. I 
 fought for it f it is now yours; it will produce you good crops." 
 These sentiments were not only creditable to the heart of the 
 speaker, but essen4:ial in forming a just estinmte of his motives 
 in contesting the removal of his people from their mlti^'e land. 
 In his domestic relations, he was kind and effectionate, and unlike 
 other chiefs, never had but one wife.* After his cami)aign in the 
 British army, his first act was to visit his family. '•! have 
 started," says he, "to visit my wife and children. I found them 
 Avell, and my boys growing finely. It is not custonniry for us to 
 say nuich about our women, as they generally i)erform their part 
 cheerfully, and never interfere with the business belonging to the 
 men. This is the only wife I ever had, or ever will have; she is a 
 good woman, and teaches my boys to be brave." In his private 
 relations his integrity was not questioned, and when in a public 
 capacity he disregarded treaties, he was actuated rather by 
 
 *It is said, however, upon g-ood authority, that on a certain occasion, his vow of 
 exclusive rtovotion to one wile had weU nijjh lieen broken. While visiting a respec- 
 table frontier settler, many years since, he became pleased with the comely daus-hter 
 of his host, and huvinjj seriously contemplated the matter, decided in favor of the 
 expediency of adding- the inih-faced bcautv to the domestic circle of his wig-wam. He 
 accordingly expressed his wishes to the father of the youn? lady, and proffered to 
 pive hnn a horse in exchanue tor his daughter, but to his" surprise, the offer was declin- 
 ed. Some days afterward, he ret\irned and tendered two fine horses, but still the 
 father refused to iii;ike the arrangement. The old chief's love for the young: lady, 
 fi-rowiii!' striiiiyer, in proportion to the difficulty of gaining- her father's consent, sub- 
 sei|ueiitly he offered six hoi-ses for her, but even this munificent price was rejected by 
 the mercenary father. IJlaek Hawk now gave up the neg-otiation, not a little 
 surprised at the high value which the white men placed upon their daughters 
 
BLACK HAWK WAR. 415 
 
 wrongs whicli lie had suifered, than want of respect for his ohliga- 
 ions. A dispassionate view of the war and its causes, will show 
 that he had grievances, and when it was impossible to redress 
 them in a peaceable manner, appealed to arms as the only arbi- 
 trament. 
 
Chapter XXXVI. 
 1834-1838— ADMIXISTEATIOX OF GOVEEXOR DUXCAX. 
 
 The Campaign— Life and Character of Duncan— More State Banlcs 
 and what became of them— Slavery Agitation hij Lovejoy—His 
 Death. 
 
 At tlie general election of August 1834, Joseph Duncan was 
 elected governor of the State. His principal opponent was ex- 
 Lieut. Gov. Kinney, who was again an as])irant for guberiuitorial 
 honors. Duncan was elected by a handsome majority: 17,330 votes 
 to Kinney's 10,221 ; Robert McLaugldin received 1,320 and James 
 Adams 887 votes for tlie same oflice. The candidates for lieutenant- 
 goveruor were Alexander M. Jenkins, who received 13,705 votes; 
 James Evans, 8,000 ; William B. Arcljer, 8,573, and Samuel Web- 
 ster, 69. 
 
 Gov. Duncan was born at Paris, Kentucky, February 23d, 1794. 
 We have already noted his services in the war of 1812, under Col. 
 Croghan at Fort Stephenson, when he was yet quite young. In 
 Illinois he first a])peared in a public capacity as major-general of 
 the militia, a position which his military fame procured him. Sub- 
 sefiuently he became a State senator from Jackson county, and is 
 honorably mentioned for introducing the first bill providing for a 
 free school system. In 182(), as we have seen, he gained great 
 eclat by beating Daniel P. Cook for Congress, when in previous 
 contests with the latter, such men as John Mc'Lean, Elias K. 
 Kane, and Gov. Bond had met with disaster. From that time 
 down to his election as governor, Duncan retained his seat in Con- 
 gress. The tirst and bloodless year of the Black Hawk war he 
 was appointed by Gov. lleynolds brigadier-general of the volun- 
 unteers, and conducted his brigade to Eock Islaiul. Duncan was 
 a man of limited education, but with naturally tine abdities he 
 profited greatly by his various public services, and gathered a store 
 of knowledge regarding public affairs ■\^hich served him a ready 
 purpose. He possessed a clear judgement, decision, confidence in 
 himself and moral courage to carry out his convictions of right. 
 In his deportment he Avas well adapted to gain the admiration of 
 the people. His intercoui'sc with them was affable, courteous and 
 dignified. He inspired confidence and attached to himself un- 
 swerving friends.* 
 
 During the gubernatorial cami)aign Duncan was absent in Wash- 
 ington attending congress, and did not personally participate in 
 
 *His portrait at the Governor's mansion presents him with swarthy complexion, high 
 cheek bones, broad forehead, piercing black eyes and straight black hair. 
 
 416 
 
DUNCAI>)'S ADMINISTRATION. 417 
 
 it, but addressed eirculars to liis constituents. His election Avas 
 attributed to tlie circuiiistance of liis absence, because his estrano-- 
 nirut from Jackson — erst Ins political idol — and the Democracy, 
 laigely in ascendency in the State, was really complete ; but Avhile 
 his defection was well kiu)wn to his Win*:: friends, and also to 
 the leadin<i- Jackson men of this State, the latter were unable to 
 carry conviction of the fact to the masses. The dissemination of 
 [)!ii)]ic events was not then facilitated by means of the tele.uraph 
 and }>ress, as now. President Jackson had crushed tlieU. S. Bank 
 with an arbitrary if not tyranical hand; he had vetoed l>ills con- 
 tainiu}^' approi)riations for improving' the channel of the great 
 AVabash river and for the harbor at Chi(5ago. These were West- 
 ern measures which Duncan had greatly at heart, and hence he 
 refns<Ml to longer follow the dictatorial course of the "INIilitary 
 Chieftain. " His personal admii'ation of the old hero was changed 
 to hatred of his acts. This course, so far as his political for- 
 tune was concerned, was an error; but no one could say that 
 the step thus taken was not sincere. He had preferment to gain 
 by remaining attached to the donduant party, and nothing but 
 disMpi)ointment to look forward to in breaking with it. He com- 
 mitted the uni)ar(lonai)le sin in politics, and was charged with in- 
 consistency and betrayal of his former supporters.* 
 
 These will ever be the the fossilized views of men regarding- 
 party ties or aftlliations. Under such circumstances no concession 
 is made by old party associates for the changed condition of the 
 times ; for the death of foi'mui' issues or the obtrusion of live ones, 
 uiiriK-oiudered in i)ast strifes. No leniency for new public ques- 
 tions is extended between violent partizans ; every man isguaged 
 by a- party standard, irrespective of the principles he advocates, 
 liiincan stood bravely to his new colors and never regretted, it is 
 said, his change, nuuleupon careful and candid exandnation of the 
 J a c icsoi 1 m ea sures. 
 
 In his inaugural message, which was largely devoted to the dis- 
 cussion of natiomd politics, Duncan threw off the nuisk and took 
 a bold stand against the course of the President. iS^otwithstand- 
 ing his <iefection, ami the fact of a large majority in the legisla- 
 ture being" opposed to him, his recommendations relating to State 
 affairs were most fully seconded and carried out. The laying out 
 of }ud)lic highways while the State was unsettled and they could 
 be made straight between nu)stof the important points with little 
 expense or difficulty, as urged by him, was resi)onded to by the 
 enactment of laws not only giving authority to county comnns- 
 sioners for these purposes, but by granting 42 State roads be- 
 sides, and at the special session of the year following 40 more 
 were added. Eqnally liberal were they with reference to the canal 
 ami charters for railroads. 
 
 To the subject of baidcing he called attention as follows: 
 " IJanks may be made exceedingly useful in society, not oidy by 
 affording an opp(n'tunity to the widow, the orphan and aged, wlio 
 possess capital Avithout the capacity of employing it in ordinary 
 
 * Tt is related that an old constituent rebuked him as follows: "Now Gov. Duncan, 
 we Jackson men took you up when you was poor and friendless ; we put you in high 
 oHice and enableii you to make a fortune, and for all this you have deserted us and 
 frone to the Adams men. You was like a poor colt ; we cauglit you up out of a thicket, 
 fed you on the best, combed the burrs out of your mane and tail, and made a fine horse 
 of you : and now you have strayed away from your owners."— Ford's History. 
 
 27 
 
418 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 business, to invest it in such stocks ; but by its use tlie young and 
 eiiteii)i'ising- inecbanic, niercluint and tradesni:ni iiuiy be enabled 
 more successfully to cany on his business and improve the coun- 
 try." 
 
 To tliis the willing Legislature, taking no k\sson of the disas- 
 trous past, also responded by chartering a new State bank with a 
 capital of $l,oOO,()00, and the privilege to increase its stock 
 $1,00(>,«)00 more. Six branches were authorized; and tlie old ter- 
 ritorial Jjank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, which had suspended 
 business for upwards of 12 years, was revived with a capital of 
 $oOO,(>0(>. In lieu of all taxes whatsoever, the State bank Avas 
 to pay ^ of 1 per ceid. on capital actually paid in. 
 
 The legislature was not elected with reference to the creation of 
 a new bank. It was not dreamed of by the people, who witli much 
 unaninuty were averse to local banks, since the signal failure of 
 the bank of ISiJl, the winding uj) of whicli, at a heavy loss to the 
 State, had but four years before been provided for by the unp(»i)\i- 
 lar ^^'iggins'' loan. The chartering of these baidvs was the open- 
 ing of a l*and(U'a's box out of whieh rushed that nudtitude of 
 evil legislation which followed with a prompt ste]) in the next few 
 years, and which overwhelmed the State with debt and almost 
 financial ruin. President Jackson had vetoed the bill to re-char- 
 ter the U. S. Bank, which he regarded as "■ a permanent election- 
 eering machine." Its old charter was about to expire and an in- 
 adequate supply of currency was dreaded ; to meet w hich the 
 Se(aetary of tlie Treasury " had encouraged the State and local 
 banks liberally." This afforded to Democrats the i)retext tliat Tresi- 
 dent Jackson, while he opposed a concern of such magnitude and 
 "electioneering influence" as the U. S. bank, was really in favor of 
 nudtii>lying local banks. But the baidi: party was not without 
 other arts and plots to pass this measure. Every string of the 
 human heart was played upon. A bitter feeling existed among 
 the people in some portions of the State toward non-resident land 
 owners, who held their lands at exhorbitant prices, while every 
 improvement nuule in the vicinity added to their value. 
 
 The desire was to burden these lands with taxes and tV)rce them 
 into the nuirket at purchasable i)rices. The vote of an honcnable 
 senator, violently opposed to banks from principle, was obtained 
 in consideration of tiie passage of a law to levy a tax for road 
 purposes, in the udlitary tiact, where the great body of non-resi- 
 dent lands were located.* In the house, whfere the bank bill 
 passed by a bare majority — 27 yeas to 2(3 nays — a vote is said to 
 have been obtained from a member opposed, in consideration of 
 liis election to the ottice of State's attorney.^ Thus, says Gov. 
 Ford, the making of a State's attorney made a State bank, and it 
 
 *[NoTK —The f'eelinp of hostility toward non-residents found vent also, it is said, in 
 tresiiassos upon tlicir- lands lor timber, which was taken as if common property. The 
 agents of tlie owncis (the most unpopular men of the country) found no redressin the 
 law. bccuise with wit iksso*,, jurors, and the sytnpatliy of the court all on the same side, 
 the blind-folded u-oililtss of justice, in these casrs blinded with prejudice, was <if course 
 with them. In this strait the distant land owners adopted the missionary plan, and 
 sought to eradicate the sin of timber thieving-, and to conciliate the favor of the iico- 
 ple, tlirouL>-h the sentle ministrations of the {iospel, for which purpose preachers were 
 sent out, the c luntrv divided into circuits and duly assigned But the inhabitants were 
 incorriuihle. their feelinirs obdurate, and if they did not reject the grospel, they never- 
 theless continued to take the timber. To the land owners the grospel proved as ineffec- 
 tual a protection as the; law. — Ko-d's Hist] 
 
 •(■The .lournal shows that our late lieutenant governor, John Dougherty, was chosen 
 to that office on the following daj'. 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 410 
 
 may be added, the baidc was the incipient measure whicli led 
 to others, and bron.iiht nnnundjered woes ujion the people of the 
 State. The banks were not ori;Liinally i»arty measures. 
 
 One million four hundred tliousand doHars of the capital stock 
 of tlie State bank were to be subscribed by individuals, and $1(K),- 
 000 were rescived for the State to take in such amounts as the 
 legislature should at any time deem i)roper. Shares were -$100 
 eacih. 'The bank ha<l the usual power to receive <le])osits, deal in 
 bills, gold, and silver, etc., but was prohibited Irom dealing in real 
 estate or personal property, other than to dispose of siudi as it 
 might be compelled to buy or bid in at sales u])ou JudgnuMits. 
 JBut it had jiower to borrow a million dollars to loan out on real 
 estate mortgages for live years. This provision was to conciliate 
 farmers, ami extend to them long time accommodations. The 
 principal bank was located at Springheld. with a branch at Van- 
 dalia; other branches might be estal)lislic<l ami discontinued as 
 the orticers should determine, IJusiness was not to be comuu^iced 
 until >r'()0!),0(IO w:!s paid in in specie. Commissiomn-s to open sub- 
 scrii)tion l)Ooks for the ca])ital stock, were appointed all over the 
 State. Xine directors, one of whom was to be chosen president, 
 were to manage the affairs of the corporation. The circulation 
 was not to exceed two ami a half times the paid uj) ca]>ital stock. 
 Ko bills were to be issued of a less denomiiuition than -f 5. If the 
 baidc refused to redeem for ten days after denmnd, it was to be 
 closed and wound up. Such were some of the })r(»visions of its 
 charter, which, rightly carried out, were not so bad. 
 
 The stock was eagerly takeii, the subscrii)tions greatly exceed- 
 ing the limits of tlie charter. Shortly after the passage of the 
 bank act, Thomas Mather, of Kaskaskia, John Tillson, of Hillsboro, 
 Samuel Wiggins, of (,'incinnati, T. W. Smith, associate jiulge of the 
 supreme c(Uirt, ami Godfrey, Gilmaii & Co., of Alton, negotiated 
 for large sums of money in the east to invest in the stock. The 
 charter pro-\ide<l for the opening of the books in this State for 1*0 
 days before elsewhere, and to guard against undue influence from 
 large stockholders, as their inunber of shares increased, it propor- 
 tionately lesseiu'd their votes for directors. To preserve the full 
 vote of the stocks, therefore, it l)ecame desirable to ol)tain small 
 subscriptions by citizens of this State, while they had the exclusive 
 op])ortunity. With the view to engross enough stock to direct the 
 bank, these parties procured, through numberless agents scattered 
 over the State, powers of attorney, from any person disiiosed to 
 nuike them, empowering them resi)ectively to subscribe bank 
 stock for them and to absolutely manage it subsecpiently. Thus 
 there were many thousands of such subscnptions made by ])ersons 
 whom it never cost a cent to own bank stock, and who remained, 
 ])erhaps, ignorant of the fact they ever were bankers. The stock 
 ran up to a premium of I'A \)ev centum above par value.* 
 
 When the commissioners convened to award the stock, it was 
 moved that subscriptions nmde lor residents should have ])rece- 
 dence over those of non-residents, and that holders of proxies be 
 recpiired to make oath as to the actual residence of the i)rincipals. 
 This proposition was su])i»()rted by Judge T. W. Smith, between: 
 whom upon the one hand, and the rest of the parties named upon 
 the other, the contest for the control of the instttution obtained. 
 
 'Duncan's Message, 1830 
 
420 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 It is !»aid that be, of iinpeachment fame, was prepared to take 
 suck oath, and that he had in good faith paid for all his proxies 
 out of his own money; but tlie others could not thus swear. The 
 resolution therefore did not prevail; and ^Mather, Tillson, Godfrey, 
 Oilman «& (Jo., and Wiggins united against iSnnth, controlled the 
 bank, and elected a directory in their interest, with Mather as the 
 jiresident. The bank was in Whig control— just enough demo- 
 crats were chosen as directors to give a semblance of fahliess to 
 the proceedings. 
 
 At that time nearly the entire trade of the Upper Mississippi, 
 including that of the lead mines of Illinois, was controlled by St. 
 Louis. The ambition prevailed to build up Alton, within oiu- 
 own State, as the commercial rival of St. Louis. Altou, in 1834, 
 had been elected as the seat of government after the 20 years 
 linutation at Vandalia should expire; but this honor she now 
 readily yielded in consideration of becoming the great emporium 
 of the valley of the Mississippi. The Alton interest hi the new 
 bank was so large that, without a cond)ination of all the residue 
 of the stock, it possessed a controlling iutiuence. The bank 
 therefore loaned its aid to the biiilding up of Alton, and to the 
 diversion of the trade of the west to it. Godfrey, Gilman & Co., 
 merchants, were accommodated to the amount of $800,000 to con- 
 trol and divert to Alton the immense lead trade of the mines ou 
 Fever river. The j^rice of that commodity advanced directly 50 
 to 75 per cent., by reason of local competition alone. To exclude 
 further competition several hundred thousand dollars were prodi- 
 gally invested in mines and smelting establishments. The agent 
 of the tirm did not stop with this, but as if furnished with the 
 purse of Fortunatus, recklessly extended his investments to Galena 
 lots, which under the enchantment advanced in a short time, it is 
 said, 2000 per cent. But this lavish enterprise to secure the lead 
 trade for Alton failed to have a corresponding effect ui)on eastern 
 markets. After holding the lead a long time in store in the east 
 for an advance, sale had finally to be made under accumulated 
 charges at a ruinous sacritice. To Stone, Manning & Co., of 
 Alton, several hundred thousand dollars were advanced to operate 
 in produce; and Sloo & Co. received accommodations for like pur- 
 poses, all pro^'ing ecpially disastrous. It was estimated that the 
 bank lost by ^le Altou operations $1,000,000 ; but these reverses 
 were not generally known. 
 
 The legislature was convened in extraordinary session, Dec. 7, 
 18o5, and sat till Jan. 18th, following. In his message, among 
 other measures. Gov. Duncan called attention to the subject of 
 the banks, and reconnnended the subscription, by the State, of one 
 million dollars provided for in the second section of the bank act, 
 for \\]iich no stei)S had as yet been taken by the president and 
 directors, and no vested right had yet a(;crued to any one. His 
 Excellency, in his sanguine exi)ectations, stated that by so doing 
 the State treasury would realize |oOO,000 in premiums on the 
 $1,000,000; that the stock of the bank was then at a premium of 
 13 per centum and that it would speedily rise to 30. The legisla- 
 ture did not fully fall in with his extraordinary expectations, but 
 by act of Jan. 10, 1830, the $100,000 of the cap'ital stock reserved 
 for the State was authorized to be sold; additional branches 
 of discount and deposit, not more than three, were also authorized; 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 421 
 
 iiiid .")(( (lays in addition to the 10 were allowed for the redemption 
 (if notes. These [U'ovisions were not to take effect nntil the bank 
 lirst contracted with the governor to redeem the Wi^iitjins' loan. 
 ]>y anotlier act of the same date, the bank pai)er was anthorizedto 
 be received in payment of the revenne of the Htate, college, school 
 and seminary debts. 
 
 IJntthe following year the legislature did not hesitate. At this 
 session were authorized all those extravagant measnies of internal 
 iiiiprovement, which in a few yearsentailed upon the young State a 
 del>t so vast as 7iearly to bankrupt it. lint of tliis farther along. 
 H\ iiiit of ^larcli 4, 1837, the capital stock of the State bank was in- 
 creased .'i2,()(>(),(MM>, the whole to be subscribed for tlie State by 
 the fund eonimissioners, an executi\'e body of the interisal im- 
 ]iroven!(?nt system. The capital stock of the Baidc of ]!lin(tis, 
 located at Sha wiieetown, was in like nnmner aulhoiizcd lo be 
 increased .Sl,40().(MM>, $1,000,000 being reserved tor the Slate, and 
 $400,000 for private sahscri[(t!(Hi. Tlie consent of llie i»anks 
 was tirst to be obtained, bnt either might accept the State 
 subscription, to the amount antlujrized. In subscribing, the State 
 was to advance the same per centuni — $o a share — as originally 
 paid by private stockholders. The fund commissioners were 
 authorized to sell the State's certiticate of stock, and to nse tlie 
 sur}dus revenues of the United States from the sale of lands, as 
 money might be needed from time to timetV>r subscrii)tions. Five 
 additional directors for the State bank were also pro\ided, on be- 
 half of the State, to be elected by the legislatnre, which still left 
 a uiajority to private stockholders, although the State owned a 
 nuajoi'ity of the stock by exceeding 20 per centum. The same 
 was true of the Shavvneetown bank, which Av^as to have nine 
 directors. This bank was also authorized to establish three 
 bran(dies, one at Jacksonville, at Alton and at Lawrenceville, 
 with each such aniount of cajntal as the mother bank coiUd safely 
 sni>ply. The banks were designated as the places of deposit of 
 all the public revciuies, and the moneys borrowed by the fund 
 comnjissioiiers to carry on the internal im[>rovements of the State. 
 They were to render (piaiterly statements of their linancial comli- 
 tion to the C(HHmissioners, and the legislature might institute such 
 examinations into their affairs, frojn time to time, as miglit be 
 deensed reipusite. No charges foi' disbursetnents were to be nuule 
 by the State banks. The dividemls accruing u])on the State's 
 stock, were tirst to be a])idied in j)ayment of the interest u[)ou 
 loans; and the premium from State bomls, fondly expected to be 
 fit least 10 per centum, was to constitute a fund to be held iuAiola- 
 ble for the payment of interest on loans effected to carry on the 
 internal improvements- Many were tlie ingenious argiunents, 
 dednced from the fact that the first |1,500,000 had with great 
 avidity been taken in thu spring of 1835 — the i)remium rising- to 
 13 per centum — that thepicsent stock would readily command ten 
 per centuni, and that tlu' State's bank stock would yield a suffi- 
 cient dividend to pay all interest on the bank bonds and leave a 
 margin besides. When the State bonds were exposed in market 
 by tlie connitissioners, it was ibnnd that they would not oidy not 
 bring a ))remin)n, but could not be negotiated e\enat i)ar. In this 
 si rait the baidcs themselves came to the rescue, and, rather than the 
 schetne should fail, took the bonds at par, amounting to $2,005,000. 
 
422 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The Sluiwiieetowu bank effected a sale of its share ($900,000), but 
 the bahmce $1,705,000 taken by the State bank, was not (lis[)(),se<l 
 of; they however served the i)ur])ose of a capital for the bank, and 
 its business was aniplitied corresi»ondin<;ly. 
 
 The banks, throughout their career, met with persistent oi)])osi- 
 tion from intluential party managers. This was greatly augmen- 
 ted by the fact that their ofticers, the president, cashiers, and a 
 large majority of the directors, were wliigs, which aroused tiie 
 jealousy of democrats, causing them to charge that the banks 
 were political concerns, operated for the advancement of party 
 affairs. Jackson's expression respecting- the United States bank 
 — that it was a "gigantic electioneering nmchine" — was not forgot- 
 ton. Judge T. W. Smith, who had drafted the charter of the State 
 bank, and wtu'ked earnestly witli democrats for its passage in tlie 
 legislature, had ever since hiK defeat for its control, animated by 
 tliat spirit which if it cannot rule is bent upon runi, made war uj>- 
 ou it, and now hesitated not to pronounce its charter unconstitu- 
 tional. He was joined by many other sore party leaders. 
 
 By an act of congress, passed at the i)receding session, it was 
 provided 'that the surplus revenue of the United States, arising- 
 from the sale of public lands, &c., might be deposited with the 
 different States. The bank accordingly solicited the treasury 
 department at Washington to become the depository of the pub- 
 lic moneys, but the credit of the State had been stabbed in the 
 back, by its own disappointed citizens furnishing statements so 
 derogatory, that the secretary declined the request. Among the 
 more intluential opponeids of the banks was Jiulge Mcl{oV>erts, 
 then receiver of the pul)lic moneys at Danville. Party malice 
 and private resentments outweighed the public good. The bills 
 fell below par and from that time steadily depreciated. The notes 
 of the bank were gathered u]) and i»rcsented for si)ecie to enter 
 laud. Had the specie been re-deposited by the govemment, the 
 relief from this aiuioyance would have been very great. l>ut 
 this, through the vengeful nuichinations of disai)i)ointed paiti- 
 saus, was not to be. The bank, to retard the constant ebb of 
 specie from its vaults, had recourse to the i)lan of exchanging- 
 issues between the respective branches, and thus throwing the cir- 
 culation as far from the jjlace of iedemi)tion as possible. 
 
 Hardly were the banks in oi)eration, with their enormously 
 augmented capital stocks, when the disastrous linancial revulsion 
 of 18;37 occurred. In INIay the banks of Illinois suspended s])ecie 
 ])aynK'-uts. They were solvent, but the drain of specie at that 
 tinui could not be borne. The charters i)rovided that if redemp- 
 tion in s])ecie was refused for 00 days together, they were to be- 
 eonu; forfeited and the banks should go into liquidation. They 
 w'ere the depositories of the moneys raised by the sale of State 
 bonds; of tlic State revenue; in a word the tiscal agents of the 
 State, and their susi)ension would involve the State and all its 
 vS]>leiidid scheme of internal improvenumts in common ruin. In 
 this dilemiia, the gover])or was urged by the canal commissioners 
 to convene the legislature to legalize an indelinite susi)ensi()n of 
 specie payments by the banks. A special session was called 
 July 10th, 1837, and the bank sus])ensions were legalized. But to 
 his excellency's urgent appeal to repeal the i)ernicious system of 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTKATION. 423 
 
 internal ini])rovenu'iit8 by the State, and remit tlie same to private 
 enterprise duly encoura.i;ed, the le<;i.slature tnrned a deaf ear. 
 
 I'artie.s in Illinois became almost divided ni)On the su1>je('t of 
 the banks. Nearly all the leadini;' democrats opposed them and 
 tiie acts le,uali/inj;- their suspensions, althou<;h they were nuthor- 
 i/ed and their capital stocks were increased irrespective of party. 
 The whi<is were called bank-vassals and rag-ocracy, and charged 
 to be bought aiul owned by IJritish gold. The bank ofticers were 
 sarcastically denominated I'ag-barons; and the money was called 
 rags nnd printed lies. The whigs retorted that the democrats 
 were disloyal, and destructive of their own government ; th;it the 
 baidvs were the institution of the State, and to make war upon the 
 currency was to o[)pose its commerce and impede its growth and 
 develojuneut. Although parties were in a measure divided upon 
 the banks, with the democrats largely in the majority, this was 
 not without benetit to those institutions. It gave them unswerv- 
 ing friends. Besides, the merchants and business men of that 
 day were, with rare exceptions, whigs, who gave currency or not to 
 the money as they pleased. Partisan zeal led them to ])rofess 
 that the banks were not only solvent, but that they wei'e unduly 
 pursued, and that the 0[»position to them was nothing- but absurd 
 }>arty cry. 
 
 When the suspensions of the banks was legalized again in 
 1<S;'>9, it was to extend until the end of the next general or special 
 st'ssion of the general assembly. The legislature for 1840-41 Avas 
 <'onvened two wrecks before the commencement of the regular ses- 
 sion to provide means to pay the interest on the public debt, due 
 on the tirst of January following. The intluence and power of the 
 banks over members were very considerable. The democrats now, 
 howevei', thought that their time of triumph had arrived. It was 
 by them contended, that that portion of the session preceding the 
 time lixed for the regular session to begin, constituted a s})ecial 
 session, and if the suspension was in)t further extended, the banks 
 would be compelled to resume specie payment on the day the 
 regular session should begin or forfeit their charters and stop 
 busiiu'ss. Upon the other hand, it was contended that the Avhole 
 c()nstitute<l hut one sessi(>n. IMuch i)arty animosity was, besides, 
 nnmifested at this session. The late of the banks seemed to hang- 
 upon the motion i)ending- to adjourn the hrst part of the session 
 sine die. It was perceived that the motion would i)revail. To 
 defeat it in the House, the whigs now essayed to break the 
 quorum. But the doors were closed, a call of the House ordered, 
 and the sergeant at arms sent in quest of the abseidees. The 
 whigs, being thus cut off from the usual avenues of retreat, 
 bounded pell mell out of the windows, but without avail — enough 
 Mere held in dnrance to nuike a quorum, and the sine die adjourn- 
 ment was carried. Among- the members of the House we tind 
 the names of some of the most notable m(>n in the annals of Illin- 
 ois : John J. Hardin, ^Vbraliam Lincoln, Josiah Francis, &c., but 
 wiiether these whigs ])articipated in the wintlow esca])ade is not 
 delinitely known. The session was the first in Si)ringlield, and 
 the house occupied what is now the old 2n(l Presbyterian church, 
 north of the new edifii^'. occupied by the legislature in 1871. 
 
 The banks were now thought to be dead, and that nothing 
 remained to be done but to wind up their affairs. But their ene- 
 
424 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 mies reckoned without tlieir host. The splendid triumph of the 
 democrats proved a barren victory. Tlie reguhir session began 
 on the 1st Monday in December, with tlie same members, and 
 before the close of the month the banli:s obtained not only a 
 further lease of life, and license to suspend specie i)ayment, but 
 were authorized to issue one, two, and three dollar bills besides, to 
 effect change — silver having been driven out of circulation by the 
 depreciated paper. The debtors of the bank were again allowed 
 to give new notes by paying ten per cent, interest on their indebt- 
 edness. By what i)otency"these additional privileges were pro- 
 cured must be left to conjecture. The State bank was the 
 custodian of the public moneys and revenues of the State, as it 
 were, a substitute for the treasury. Auditor's warrants, at a dis- 
 count of 50 per cent, were drawn ui)on the bank and paid in its 
 currency, worth a good deal more than the warrants, both in and 
 outside of the State. All the State ofticers, including the mem- 
 •bers of the assembly, were for their ])ay in the power of the bank, 
 and if these would do nothing to upliold the credit of that insti- 
 tution — their own creature — the honorable gentlemen inight 
 return to their constituents without other in their pockets than 
 auditor's warrants ! This, together with such judicious and timely 
 accommodations to impecunious party leaders as the exigency 
 dictated, enabled the bank to render the glorious democratic 
 victory barren of results. 
 
 ]>ut^ the new lease of power did not last long. There were other 
 influences arising from the inevitable laws of linance, more potent 
 in their effects than acts of the legislature. When money is 
 abundant credit is extended without stint. With the vast system 
 of internal improvements and the large circulation of the banks, 
 this was the condition of Illinois. The people were largely in debt 
 on account of speculations which proved delusions, and also to 
 the merchants; the latter in turn had received either accommoda- 
 tions at the banks or owed for goods abroad; contracts matured 
 but nobody paid. The State revenues being inadequate to meet 
 its expenditures — the people averse to higher taxation, and the 
 legislators, with a temler regard to personal consequences, disin- 
 clined to impose them — the bank, to gain the favor of the legisla- 
 ture, taxed its resources to redeem the outstanding auditor's 
 warrants, amounting to near $300,000. Its bills had gradually 
 declined to 12 and 15 per cent, discount. Now came the bank 
 directors themselves, as contractors to build the Northern Cross 
 railroad, and added the last feather to the camel's back. For the 
 building of the railroad they were to receive in i)ayment (ianal 
 bonds, which were at that juncture not negotiable. To obtain 
 accommodations from the banks, these <lirectors defeated a pro- 
 jiosed order against expansion during the suspension.* Eeceiv- 
 ing loans for themselves to carry forward the public works on 
 their (;ontra(;ts, they, to be consistent, voted like favors to others. 
 The credit of the bank was put to its utmost tension. Its volume 
 of nuuiey, further swollen, sank to a lower discount. And in 
 Febuary 1842, the monster institution, with a circulation exceed- 
 ing $3,000,000, snapped its thread of life and passed into dissolu- 
 tion, spreading devastation upon every hand, far and wide. 
 
 *See Gov. Ford's mistake as to this in his History of Illinois, 223-4. 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 425 
 
 The l>auk of Illinois, at Sliawueetowu, was siinib'.rly iiivolv^id. 
 It loaned to the State, in tlie tirst place, $<SO,(IO() to eoiiiplete the 
 new State House at Sprlngtiekl ; early in the autuniu of 1839, u]>ou 
 the earnest solicitation of Gov. Carlin and his en^n.^enient to de- 
 posit as a pledge $r)00,(MH) in internal inii)rovenient bonds, the 
 bank advanced the Commissioners of Public Works .sLM)(»,()00. 
 The collateral deposit was, however, never made nor the sum bor- 
 rowed ever repaid. In Jane following, with a circulation of some 
 $1,7<K),(K)0, it also collapsed. The people were left destitute of an 
 adequate circulating medium, and were not supi)lied until the or- 
 dinary processes of their limited commerce brought in gold and 
 silver, and the bills of solvent banks from neighboring States, 
 which was tardy enough, there being but little emigration to Illi- 
 nois at that time. The baidcs and the State had been partners 
 in speculation and they were now partners in embarrassment. 
 The revenues were payable in the notes of these broken banks ; 
 the State paid no interest on her bonds, of which the banks held 
 a large amount, and thev were worth in market but 11: cents on the 
 dollar. 
 
 But the old firm of Banks and State was to be speedily dissolved. 
 By act of January 24, LSI,"},* to '■' diminish the State debt and put 
 tlie State Bank into liipndation," the baidc was given 4 years to 
 wind up its bnsiness, but it was recpiired to go into immediate 
 li<pii(lation and pay out all its specie ^jro m to to its bill holders 
 and d(;i)ositors, aiid issue to them certiticates of indebtedness for 
 the unpaid balances; $ir),0(H) in specie, being however tirst re- 
 served to the bank to p;iy the expenses of winding up its 
 atfairs. The new certificates were to be registered by the com- 
 missioner and made receivable in payment of any debt due the 
 bank, or for the redemption of lands purchased by the bank under 
 execution. The debtors of the bank upon paying instalments of 
 1-5 principal and interest, were authorized to execute new notes 
 from time to time for their indebtedness. The bank was to deliver 
 within five days to the Governor, State bonds, scrip and other e\i- 
 dcnces of debt equal to *2,or>(>,()00, he to surrender to the bank a 
 liice amount of State Baidc stock, 8."")(),00(> being reserved for the 
 linal winding up of the affairs of the bank. All its banking 
 privileges, other than those lu'cessary to wind up its business, were 
 to immediately cease ; no property of the bank was to be s(tld on 
 execution or otherwise, except for two-thirds of its appraised 
 value. The bank might reserve from its sale such real estate as 
 it deemed i>roper. Three days were allowed to tile its acceptance 
 with the Secretary of State. It was a very favorable act for the 
 bank and an administration measure strongly seconded by a few 
 leading Democrats, which caused it to prevail, as we shall see. 
 
 A somewhat similar bill, under the high sounding title of "An 
 act to reduce the public debt one million dollars aiul pnt the Bank 
 of Illinois into licjuidation," passed at the same session, in relation 
 to the Shawneetown baidc. It was to surrender State stocks orother 
 liabilities ofthe State equal on their laces to $1,000,000, half in five 
 days and half in 12 months, Avhen the governor was to assign 
 to it an equivalent of State Bank stock. The charter of the Cairo 
 bank was repealed. By these acts the immediate extinguishment 
 of $2,20<),000 was provided. But these acts were not passed with- 
 
 ""* "See House Reports, 1842-3, 203-4-5. ~~ 
 
426 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 out considerable opposition. The disposition on tlie part of niauy 
 was to crusli the banks, to whicli all the woe of the struiiglin-? 
 country was ascribed, with one fell blow by a direct repeal of their 
 charter, which they had frequently forfeited, however it might in- 
 volve the best interests of the State in their disaster. 
 
 Prior to this, and in anticipation of this compromise legislation 
 and the surrender by the State of her bank stock in exchange for 
 her bonds, after the failure of the Baidv of Illinois in 1842, the 
 whole concern was purchased as a speculation by a company of 
 sharpers, who elected themselves its ofticers. Some of the direc- 
 tors then secretly borrowed from the bank $100,000 in si)ecie, 
 which was transmitted to New York and purchased State scrip 
 and $333,000 of the $801,000 of interest bonds hypothecated with 
 Macallister and Stebbins in 1811 by Fund Comnussioner White- 
 sides, for $201,500, contrary to law. Under the law these bonds 
 were to be sold for what they would bring, but could uot be hy- 
 pothecated, as the recipients well knew. The favored directors, 
 by connivance of the board, first paid the specie borrowed from 
 the bank with $100,000 of these bonds, which cost them 30 cents 
 on the dollar. Their unpaid stock notes were similarly discharged. 
 A member of the legislature, herce in his denunciation of bank 
 corruption, availed himself of these bonds and paid a $10,000 
 note to the bank. After the bonds and scrip had ])assed into the 
 control of the bank, they were, in 1841, teiideredto Governor Ford 
 in payment of the half million dollars of the State's bank stock, 
 Avhicll was to be surrendered in 12 months after the passage of the 
 Bank Liquidation law of 1813. The goAcrmn- refused at first to 
 receive these bonds ; a law had been passed to settle with Macal- 
 lister and Stebbins by paying interest on the sum actually ad- 
 vanced by them, and their surrender of the hyi)othecated bonds, 
 making about 28 cents on the dollar; to have received a large 
 share of these bonds at their face value would have defeated the 
 law for this adjustment. Later it became patent, however, that 
 Macallister an(i Stebbins had parted with many more of the bonds 
 than the Bank of Illinois had received, and that they were unable 
 to couqily with the law if they had the Avill, and as the condition 
 of the bank became constantly more ho])eless and the president 
 intended to return these bonds to New York, the governor, in the 
 fall of 1814, received them conditionally, subiectto the approval 
 of the legislature. That body, unwilling to countemince the kna- 
 very of tlie bank officers, at lirst refused to ratify the contract of 
 tlie governor, but at the succeeding session, 1840-47, compro- 
 mised by receiving the bonds at 48 cents on the dollar.* 
 
 Subse(piently the State Bank of Missouri, jointly Avith several 
 other creditors, brought a chancery suit in the United States' 
 court for the district of Illinois against the Bank of Illinois, its 
 ollicers and agents. By the decree in the cause, three receivers were 
 ap[)ointed to take charge of the bank's assets, make sale and apply 
 the proceeds in ])ayment of the debts, the redemption of its issues, 
 and to setth^ its affairs generally. By agreement but one of these 
 trnstees, Albert G. (,'alwell. qnalified. Upon his death, soon after. 
 Judge AV. Thomas of Jacksonville, was appointed in his ])lace, 
 who acted in that capacity some 20 years. Early in the fall of 
 1871 he remitted to W. II.'Bradly, clerk of the U. S. district court 
 
 * This chapter has in great part been gathered from Ford's History. 
 
Duncan's administration. 427 
 
 at (Jliicaiio, the s])eci;il iiuditoi', abiitcli of notes and certiiicates of 
 $700 for cancellation. This it was sa])i)ose(I, woald be about the 
 last to be pivseiited for redemption, and tliat the trust would be 
 hually closed shortly after. 
 
 SLAVERY AGITATION — DEATH OF LOVE.TOY. 
 
 The year 1837 is iiieiiiora])le for the death of Illinois' tirst ni;irtyr 
 to liberty, Elijah P. Lovejoy. He was born at Albion, Keiiebec 
 county, Maine, Xov. 9, J. SOL*. At the uixv of 21 he entered W'ater- 
 A'ille college, and after graduatin.i;- with the first honors of his 
 class, removed to St. Louis and commenced tea(;hing'. A year or 
 two afterward he exchanged the occnjtation of a teacher for that 
 of the journalist, became the editor of the iSt. Louis Titiie.s, and 
 advocated the election of Henry Clay as president of the United 
 States. JNot long after he had entered this new field of labor, he 
 united with the Presbyterian church, and determined to aban<lou 
 it also for the clergical })rofession. Accordingly at the age of oO 
 he repaired to the theological school at I'rincetown, X. J., entered 
 Avith great ardor npon liis studies, and in 1S;>'> was licensed to 
 l)rea('h by the I'lvshytery of Philadelphia. The following summer 
 Avas spent in preaching in New])ort, Kliode Island, and at Spring 
 Church, N'. Y., after which he returiied to St. Louis. Here he 
 again assumed the editorial chair and issued the first nnndjer of the 
 ^t. Louis Obserre)\ a religious newspaper, Xov. 2lM, 1833. Soon 
 after lie incurred the ill-will of the Catholic Church, by character- 
 izing their jjroceeding's in laying the corner stone of a catheilral 
 on the Sabbath as a- desecration of the <lay, and charging that 
 the use of the United States artillery and cavalry, which were 
 brought in requisition to give prestige to the occasion, ., was a pros- 
 titution of the ])urposes for which they were intended. From the 
 clerical i-ancor excited by this out-si)oken expression of oi)inion, 
 he thought i)rocee<led the jtersecutions which he subsecjuently 
 encounte)-ed, though nuisked in the guise of .ibolition. The (pies- 
 tion of sla\ery even at that eai-ly day was one of absorbing 
 interest, and it was impossible for a i>erson with Lovejoy's vigorous 
 intellect and feai-less nuiiiner of speaking, not to become invohed 
 in its discussion and not incur the hatred of its advocates. The 
 subject ha\ ing arrested his attention he wrote an editorial on it, 
 ami left the city to attend a Presbyterian synod. During his 
 al)sence it imide its appearance in tlie columns of the Observer, 
 and such was the commotion it excited, tlnit the owners of the 
 l)ress were comp<'lled to publish a card to allay the excitement and 
 l)revent a- mob from destroying their proj>erty. On his return a 
 ]);i])er was presented him by a number of leading citizens and the 
 minister who received him into tlu; church, in which they ex[)ressed 
 the opinion thatslaveiy is sanctioned by the bible, and asked him 
 to desist from its further discussion. Though the authors of this 
 request re])resented the intelligeiu'e and morality of St. Louis, if 
 honest, how little they understood the ])ersonal rights of mankind, 
 and how little they su])posed this cpiestion was destined in less 
 than half a century to shake the continent with civil commotion. 
 This ])a|)er was inserted in the Observer and also a. reply from Mr. 
 Lov(^joy, in which he claimed the right to i)ublish his honest con- 
 Aictious. In answer to the biblical view given of slavery, he 
 
428 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 reminds bis ctuisors of tlie jiolden rule— make not slaves of others 
 if you do not wish to be made slaves of yourselves. His state- 
 ments, although eouched hi the most inoffensive language, again 
 exeit(^d the ire of the citizens, and the proprietors of the press 
 took possession of it to prevent a recurrence of the disturbance. 
 A friend, however, interposed and agreed to restore tlie press to 
 him, provided he would remove it to Alton, where he might use it 
 safely. The offer was accei)ted, but after he had gone thither to 
 make arrangements for publishing the paper, he Avas invited to 
 return to St. Louis. On going' back he resumed his editorial lai)()rs 
 and continued them until the summer of 1835, when he again be- 
 came involved in difticulties. 
 
 On the 23d of Apiil, the police arrested a negro by the name of 
 McFntosh, who, while on the way to prison, drew his knife and 
 killed one and badly wounded another of the ofiicers having him 
 in charge. In consequence of the murderous assault, a large 
 crowd surrounded the jail in whicili he was imprisoned, and taking 
 him thence they bound him to a stake and burnt him to death. 
 The community being largely in symi)athy with the per])etrators 
 of this unlawful and fiendish act, it was a long time before they 
 were brought to trial. When at length the matter was presented 
 to a grand jury, the judge, by the most gross pervei'sion of facts, 
 informed them thaf the Ofeerre/- had caused the uegro to murder 
 the policeman, and that there was no law for punishing them who 
 burnt him at the stake. A succeeding' number of this sheet 
 repelled the flagrant charge nuide by the judge, alluded to the 
 fact that he was a Catholic, and intinmted tluit his views respect- 
 ing the enforcement of the law could only result from Jesuitical 
 teaching. The editor, aware that the statement would be followed 
 by another outburst of indignation and an attempt to destroy the 
 press, immediately caused it to be shipped to Alton, whither it 
 arri\('d July 21st, 1S2G. The day being' the Sabbath, Mr. Lovcjoy 
 proposed to let it remain on the wharf till Monday, but the 
 ensuing' niglit it was secretly visited by a luimber of jjersons, who 
 broke it into pieces and threw it into the river. When this 
 dastardly act became known the next day, the people became 
 excited and the ensuing evening a large meeting' assembled in the 
 Presbyterian church, to listen to addresses by Mr. Lovejoy and 
 other speakers. The former stated that he had come to Alton to 
 establish a religious newspaper, that he was pleased with the town, 
 ami as most of his subscribers resi<led in Illinois, it would be best 
 for him to make it his future home; that he regretted his presence 
 had caused so nmch excitement, and the people must have a 
 Avi'ong appreciation of his object; that he was not an abolitionist, 
 and had be<'n frciinently denounced by Garrison and others as 
 being' pro-slaveiy because he was not in favor of their measnres; 
 that he was oi)])osed to slavery, ever had been and hoped he 
 always would be. This statement corresponds with his pre\ ions 
 declarations and position in regard to slavery. He always nnini- 
 fested a strong sym])athy for the oppressed, and in common with 
 a large and intelligent class of peisons at that time, in both the 
 m)rth and south, regarded colonization as the best means of free- 
 ing the country from the cnrse of slavery. With the ]>rogress of 
 events, this scheme, though it had enlisted the regard of statesmen 
 and philanthropists^ was abandoned for more practical views. Mr. 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 429 
 
 Lovejoy, wlio iicTer permitted hiniself to fall beliiml the iiiaicli of 
 iilea.s, also took a more advanced position. In tlie same meeting 
 lie also said that "he was now removed from slavery and could 
 publish a newspaper without discussing- it, and that it looked like 
 cowardice to tlee from the place where the evil existed and come 
 to a }»lace where it did not exist to oppose it." ^^'ith these decla- 
 rations, extorted to a gieat extent by the tyranical censorship of 
 the sla\e power, he no doubt after his arrival at Alton intended 
 to comply. Indeed he might justly have concluded that it was use- 
 less to waste his time an(l energy in endeavoring to beneht a 
 community which was endeavoring to exercise o\er him a bondage 
 Avorse than that which fettered the body of a shive. Yet, as the 
 contest between freedom and slavery grew warmer and earnest 
 cliami>ions wea'e needed to contend for the right, IMr. Lo\(joy 
 concluded that duty recpiired him to again enter the arena of 
 discussion. 
 
 As the result of the meeting, funds were raised, another i)ress 
 was sent for. and the tirst number of the Alton Ohaerver was issued 
 Sept. 8, 1830. Its editor, gifted with more than ordinary ability, 
 soon extended its circulation, its discussions at tirst being' mostly 
 contined to subjects of a moral and literary character. By and 
 by the question of slavery was also broached. ]\Ir. Lovejoy. no 
 doubt smarting' under the unjust surveillance to which he was 
 subjected at the starting of his paper, seenu'd now determined to 
 exercise his constitutiomd rights to free speech, being willing' 
 that the laws of his country, not the dictation of rufhans, should 
 decide as to whether he abused this i)ri\i]ege. 
 
 in the issue of June 21>, 1837, at tlie instance of the American 
 Anti-slavery Society, he faxored the circulation of ajjetition for the 
 abolition of slavery in the District of Columbia, and in the suc- 
 ceeding number he speaks of the importance of organizing an anti- 
 slavery society for the State of Illinois. In the same pa])er he also 
 indulged the following retlections, suggested by the 4th of -Inly: 
 " This day reproaches us for our sloth and inactivity. It is tlie 
 day of our nation's birth. Even as we write crowds are hurrying" 
 past our window in eager anticipation to the appointed bower, to 
 listen to the declaration that 'AH men are created equal;' to hear 
 the ehxiuent orator denounce, in strains of manly indignation, the 
 attemi)t of England to lay a yoke on the shoulders of our fathers 
 Avhich neither they no)- their children could bear, Alas what bit- 
 ter mockery is this. AVe assemble to thank God for our own free- 
 dom, aud to eat with joy and ghulness of heart while our feet are 
 on the necks of nearly 3, ((()(», 000 of our fellow-men. Is^ot all our 
 shouts of self- congratulation can drown their groans; even that 
 very flag which waves over our head is formed from material cul- 
 tivated by slaves, on a soil moistened by their blood, drawn from 
 them by the whip of a republican task-nnister." As soon as this 
 was read, the pro-slavery men assem.l)led in the market house and 
 passed a number of resolutions, in which, with strange incongruity, 
 they claim the right of free speech for themselves, while they 
 plot to deprive another of the same i)rivilege. A committee was 
 appointed to inform Mr. Lovejoy that he must cease agitating the 
 question of slavery, and they accordingly dropped a letter in the 
 post-oftice, containing a dema.nd to that etiect. The editor replied 
 to the communication, by denying" their right to dictate to him 
 
430 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 what it was i)roper to discuss, and at tlie same time tendered them 
 the use of bis paper to refute his opinions if they were wrong-. 
 They, however, chose a more summary manner for ending the con- 
 troversy. On the niglit of the I'oth of August a mob imide an as- 
 sault on the oftice of the Ob.serre)\ with stones and briclcbats, and 
 after driving out the emph)yes entered and completely demolislied 
 the press. Mr. Lovejoy himself was afterward surrounded in the 
 street by a number of riiftians, it was believed, for the purpose of 
 offering him vioh-nce. These outrages were boldly committed, 
 without any attempt being made by the city oflicials to bring the 
 rioters to justice. The anti-slavery party of the town, of course, 
 were justly incensed at this wanton outrage and willful disregard 
 of individual rights, but being largely in the minority, all tiiey 
 could do was to quietly submit and send for a new press. This, 
 however, the proscribed editor was never to see. Leaving Alton 
 shortly after to attend a presbytery, the press arrived Sei)tem- 
 ber 2ist, and in his absence it was demolished and, like its ])rede- 
 cessor, thrown into the Mississi])pi. These unlawful proceedings 
 had now been perpetrated so often in St. Louis and Alton with 
 impunity, that not only these localities but other places were rap- 
 idly becoming denn^ralized. Not long after the destruction of the 
 third press Mr. Lovejoy visited his mother-in-law at St. Charles, 
 Mo. Here he w^as violently assailed by a crowd of rufiHans, with 
 the avowed object of taking his life, and it was oidy at the inter- 
 position of his heroic and devoted wife that he escaped their mur- 
 derous intent. 
 
 In the meantime the friends of IMr. Lovejoy sent for a. fourth 
 press, and it was in connection with this that the tragedy occurred 
 which cost him his life. Li anticipation of its arrival a series of 
 meetings were held in wdiich both the friends of freedom and sla- 
 very were represented. The object of the latter was to effect a 
 compromise, but it was om^, in which liberty was to make conces- 
 sions to opi)ression ; in Avhich the ])roprietors of the Observer were 
 to forego the legitimate use of their property to appease an igno- 
 rant mob, and in which right and modern progress were required to 
 submit to injustice and the exi)loded ideas of the past. Mr. Ilogan, 
 the Methodist minister, endeavored to ])rove frcmi the Lible the 
 inexpediency of the course pursued by Mr. Lovejoy and his friends, 
 in which he remarked: " The great apostle had said all things 
 are lawful for him, but all things are not expedient; if Paul yielded 
 to the law of expediency would it be wrong for Mr. Lovejoy to fol- 
 low liis exami)le "l The spirit of God did not pursue Paul to his 
 destruction for thus acting, but on the contrary commended his 
 course ; Paul had never taken uj) arms to propagate the re- 
 ligion of his nmster, nor to defend himself from the attacks of his 
 enemies; the i)eople of Damascus were op])osed to Paul, but did 
 he argue with the populace the question of his legal right; did he 
 say 1 am a minister of ('hrist and must not leave the work of my 
 master to He(! before the face of a mob." 
 
 This was stiange advice to come from the abettor of a faction, 
 first to inaugurate violence, and at that very time conspiring 
 against the life of one who was legally void of' offense. The rev- 
 erend gentleman seemed to think the aggi'ieved should exercise 
 forbearam-e, while the mob might insult and destroy with 
 impunity. Mr. Beecher, president of Illinois Colleg'e, was 
 
duncan'.s administration. 431 
 
 present and delivered addresses, in wliieh lie took a i)osition 
 almost as objectionable as that of ^Ir. Ilogan. He believed that 
 shivery Avas morally wroni^', and shonld not be tolerated for a 
 moment. He contended, that if the constitution traiictioned 
 iniquity, it was also wron^', and could not be binding' upon the 
 peoi>le, that for his part he did not a('kiu)\\ied<j,e olx'dience to the 
 constitution, and as long as it tolerated slax'ery, he could not. 
 But when he caine to urge the rights of his friends to frccflom of 
 speech and the pcniceable use of their ].)roi)erty, h*> invoked nil 
 t-lu^. guaranties of the constitution and go\einnicid to i)rotect 
 them in the enjoynuud. of these })rivileges. He would now ha\'e 
 others to submit to the law, whik', he was unwilling to do it him- 
 self. Mr. Lovejoy, who was more consist(Md than either of these 
 gentlemen, contended only for his undoubted rights, and express- 
 ed, in a conciliatory manner his unalterable determination to main- 
 tain them. "Mr. Chairnnm," said he, ''what have t to compronuse ? 
 If freely to forgive those Avho have so greatly injiued me; if to 
 pray for their tem|)oral and eternal Iiap])iness; if still to wish for 
 the prosperity of your city and State, notwithstanding the 
 indiginties I have sutfered in them ; if this be the coin]»romi.se 
 intended, then do I willingly make it. I do not admit that it is 
 the business of any body of men to say, whether I shall or 
 shall not ]uiblish a paper in this city. That right was given to 
 me by my Creatoi-, an<l is solemnly guaraideed by the constitutions 
 of the United States and this State. But if by compromise is im^ant 
 that I shall cease from that which duty requires of me, I cannot 
 make it, and the reason is, that I fear God more than man. It is 
 also a very different ({uestion, whether I shall vohudarily, or at 
 the request of my friends, yield u[) my i)osition, or whether I shall 
 forsake it at the denumd of a nn)b. The former I am ready at all 
 times to do when the circumstances reipiire it, as I will never jint 
 my ]>ersonal wishes or interests in conq)etition with the cause of 
 that master whose minister I am. But the latter, be assured I 
 never will do. You have, as the lawyers say, nnxde a false issue. 
 There are no two parties between whom there can be a comprom- 
 ise. I plant myself down on my unquestionable rights, and the 
 question to l>e decided is, whetlier I shall be protected in those 
 rights ? that is the question. You nniy hang me, as the nu^b hung' 
 the individuals at Vicksbnrg. You ma.y burn me at the Stake, as 
 they <lid old 3IcIutosh at St. I^ouis, or you nniy tar and feather 
 me, or throw me into the Mississippi, as you have threatened to 
 do, but you cannot disgrace ine. I, and 1 alone, can disgrace my- 
 self, and the deei)est of all disgrace would be at a tinu^ liki^ this 
 to deny my Maker by forsaking his cause. He died for me, and I 
 were most unworthy to bear his mime should I refnse, if need be, 
 to die for him. 
 
 The boat having the obnoxious press on board arrived early in 
 the morning, Kov. 7th, bSo7, and the latter was immediately 
 removed to the stone warehouse of Godfrey, Gilnuui & Co. The 
 proprietors and their friends now assend)led with arms to defend 
 it. No violence was offered till the ensuing night, when a mob of 
 about 30 persons came from the drinking: saloons and demanded 
 the press. This insolent and unjust dennind was of course 
 refused, when the assailants, with stones, bri(;kbats and guns', 
 commenced an attack on the building. Those within, among 
 
432 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 wlioni was Mr. Lovejoy, returned the fire, by which one of 
 the inob was kilk-d and several others wounded. This wnrui 
 reception caused them to retire, some to bear away the dying 
 man, others to summon reinforcements, but the most of them 
 visited the adjacent grog-shops for the purpose of reviving their 
 courage. Soon after, the bells of the city were rung, horns were 
 blown, and an excited multitude came rushing to the Avarehouse, 
 some urging on the drunken and imbiuted mob, and others per- 
 suading them to desist. Ladders were placed against the side of 
 the building, without windows, where there was no danger from 
 within, and several persons ascended to fire the roof. Mr. Lovejoy 
 and some others on learning their danger, rushed out and firing 
 upon the incendiaries drove them away. After returning to the 
 inside and reloading their pieces, Mr. Lovt^oy, with two or three 
 companions, not seeing any foe on the south side, again stepped 
 out to look after the roof. Concealed assassins were watching, 
 and simultaneously firing, five bullets entered his body, when he 
 exclaimed, ''My God! I am shot," and expired. With the fall of 
 the master spirit, the defenders of the i>ress surrendered it to the 
 mob, who broke it into fragments and threw them into the river. 
 
 The following day a grave was dug on a high bluff, in the 
 southern part of the city, and the body, without ceremony, was 
 thrown into it and covered u}). Some years afterward, the same 
 elevation was chosen as the site of a cemetery, and in laying out 
 the grounds, the main avenue chanced to pass over the grave of 
 Lovejoy. To obviate the difticulty, his ashes Avere interred in a 
 new locality, and within a few years past, a simple monument was 
 erected over the spot, bearing the inscription: Hicjacet Lovejoy; 
 jam parce sepulto. 
 
 Of those who participated in this infamous crime, it mny be 
 mentioned that the leader of the outlaws finally became a prisoner 
 in the Ohio penitentiary ; the person most instrumental in com- 
 mitting the nnirder was killed in a brawl in Kew Orleans, while 
 many others, it is said, ended their lives in violence and dis- 
 grace. 
 
 The aggressive life and tragic death of Mr. Lovejoy, furnishes a 
 subject for profitable refiection. In common with all true 
 reformers, he possessed a grasp of intellect which enabled him to 
 see and act in advance of his time, and hence was unappreciated 
 by his less gifted cotemporaries. The worhl has often murdered 
 the authors of its progress, and it is not strange that he lost his 
 life. Every considerable advance in theology has had its persecu- 
 tions and martyrs. The maf/na chartaof English liberty was wrung 
 from the grasp of tyranny by the death of jjatriots. France has 
 battled and bled for republican government, yet her object is only 
 half attained. The cause for which Lovejoy died finally 
 triumi)hed, yet it cost one of the most bloody civil wars known to 
 history. Such has been in general the past history of reform. 
 
Chapter XXXVII. 
 STATE INTERXAL IMPROVEMEXT SYSTEM. 
 
 In liis message to the legislature at tlie special session begun 
 December 7, 1835, Gov. Duncan said: "When we look abroad 
 and see the extensive lines ot inter-communication penetrating 
 almost every section of our sister States — when we see the canal- 
 boat and the locomotive bearing, with seeming triumph, the rich 
 l^roductions of the interior to the rivers, lakes and ocean, almost 
 anniliilating time, burthen and S}>ace, what patriot bosom does not 
 beat high with a laudable ambition to give to Illinois her full 
 share of those advantages which are adorning her sister States, 
 and which a magnitlcent Providence seems to invite by the won- 
 derful adaptation of our whole country to such improvements." 
 Pennsylvania and other States were at the time engaged m exten- 
 sive works of internal improvement. The legislature responded 
 to the ardent words of the governor in a liberal nmnner, Ijy char- 
 tering- a great number of railroads, almost checkering the map of 
 the State, and pledghig its faith for $500,000 of the canal loan; 
 but further than this they did not go; the supreme folly of the 
 period being left for their successors to enact. After the adjourn- 
 ment, when the i)eople contem}>lated the i)roject of a vast system 
 of internal improvements, as portrayed by His Excellency, they 
 were fired with an inordinate desire to have it speedily in successful 
 operation. 
 
 They were already inoculated with the fever of speculation, 
 then rife throughoutthe west. Chicago, a mere trading post in 1830, 
 Lad in a few years grown into a city of several thousand inhabi- 
 tants. This remarkable city had now started upon her wonderful 
 career of improvement, unsurpassed by individual effort in the 
 annals of the world, steadily maintained to tins day; and at 
 present, after her terrible visitation by the tire fiend, also unsur- 
 passed in the annals of the world for the magnitude of its 
 destructiveness, since the days of Sodom and Gomorrah, she bids 
 fair to eclipse all her former rapidity of growth. The story of 
 speedy fortunes made in Chicago, which excited wonder and adven- 
 ture 36 years ago, is still fraught with nmrvels. Early reports 
 of the rapid advance of property in Chicago, spread to the east. 
 Every vessel came crowded with immigrants, bringing their 
 money, enterprise and industry to the enchanted spot of sudden 
 opulence. They have not been disai)pointed. The rapid develop- 
 ment of the town inspired emulation. Throughout the State, 
 towns, and additi<Mis were plotted with the hope of profiting by 
 the infiux of emigrants. In some cases maps of splendidly situated 
 towns would be taken to Chicago, to attract the attention of the 
 28 433 
 
434 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 emigrant, and auction sales of lots would be made far from the 
 place of location. Others were sent east. It was said at the 
 time that the staple articles of Illinois export were town plots, and 
 that there was danger of crowding the State with towns to the 
 exclnsion of land for agriculture.* During the year 1830, hinds 
 to the amount of $5,00(),()00 were entered in Illinois. From this 
 it was not unreasonably deduced that an extraordinary tide of 
 emigration would speedily set into this State. Even the sober 
 judgment of careful business men and staid fanners tluctuatcd, 
 iiud they became fired with the idea of leaping into sudden fortune. 
 The genius of speculation overspread the State with her golden 
 wings, casting dazzling beams of bright }u-omise across the paths 
 of our people, beyond which it was difticult to .see. They invested 
 to the utmost of their credit, which at that time of bank exi)an- 
 sion, was almost unlimited. To prevent their extensive purchases 
 from becoming a drug upon their hands, and to further invite 
 immigration and place the prosperity of the State upon a lirm 
 basis, by developing its resources — bringing its interior within the 
 range of markets; settling it up ; building up its towns and cities; 
 having the muscle to Avring from its vigorous soil the products of 
 wealth, and enhance the price of ])roperty, was a great, a grand 
 disideratum. xVll this could be accomi)]islied, it was ingeniously 
 argued, and doubtless demonstrated to nuiny, by a general system 
 of internal improvements, based on the faith and credit of the 
 State. A new legishiture was to be elected in August of th.it 
 year, 1836. The dazzling scheme was now vigorously agitated. 
 Tlie press espoused the project. Public meetings were held all 
 over the State, and resolutions, as the exi»ressions of the people 
 in favor of the scheme, were adoi)ted. The subject was kept 
 alive. The great natural surface advantages of the State for the 
 building of railroads were dilated upon ; the State which already 
 possessed every elenieut of greatness — extent of territory, ri(di- 
 ness of soil, variety of climate, almost bounded by uaviga))le 
 waters — lacked only these improvements to reach and develope its 
 vast and ina(;cessible interior. Its broad and fertile prairies lay 
 ready prepared, awaiting only |)oi»ulation and the hand of industry 
 to respond with abunclant pro(lucts, to freight these aA enues of 
 commerce connecting them with the markets of the world. That 
 these views were in the nuiin correct has by this time, with our 
 7000 miles of completed railroads, been denu^nstrated ; but that 
 the State should carry forward the herculean project was most 
 vissionary, and proved most disastrous. 
 
 Tlu' ](>gislature elected August 1836, was supplemented by an 
 intermd imi)rovement convention, composed of many of the ablest 
 men of the State, which was to meet at the seat of government 
 sinndtaneously with the legislature. It is probable that the more 
 zealous advocates of the project entertained doubts regarding the 
 stamina of the honorable members of the legislature, when the 
 vast project should be fully In'ought forward for action. The con- 
 vention devised a general system of iuternal improvements, the 
 leading characteristics of which was ''that it should be commen- 
 surate with the wants of the people." It was an irresponsible 
 body, determined to succeed in its one object, regardless of con- 
 sexpiences. The wildest reasoning was indulged. Every theory 
 
 ♦Ford's History. ~ 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 435 
 
 that the teeiniiig;- brain of man coukl sng-g:est was brought into 
 reqnisition to further the suecess of the .scheme. Possibihties 
 were argiKMl into probabilities, and tlie hitter into infalibilities. 
 Doubts regardinij tlic advantages of the systeni were scouted; 
 the resources of the State magnitied a hundred fold, and the ulti- 
 mate ability of the works to meet all their liabilities without det- 
 riment to the State, predicted with a positiveness as if inspired 
 by the gift of prophecy. (Tovernor Duncan in his message reiter- 
 ated his recommendation to establish a general aiulnniform sys- 
 tem of internal imi)rovements, in which the State might take a 
 third or half interest to hasten the works to comi)letion, which 
 would secure to her ai lasting and abundant revenue, to be ap- 
 plie«l ui»on the principles of the plan proi>osed, "until the whole 
 country shall be intersected by canals and railroads, and our 
 beautiful ]»rairies eidivened by thousands of steam engines, draw- 
 ing after tlKMU lengtheiut'd trains, freighted with the abundant 
 productions of our fertile soil." The production of the conven- 
 tion was c(uitided to the hands of Kdwa.rd Suiith, of NVabash, chair- 
 man of the committee on internal improvements in the legislature, 
 who, after the introduction of a setof r(\solutions covering the same 
 ground, on the 0th of January, 1837, nnule a report on the memo- 
 rial and the governor's message relating to the same subject, 
 which it may safely be asserted is one of the most assuring, ex- 
 pectant, and hopeful pajjcrs to be found among the archives of 
 Illinois. It occupies some 12 pages, and is replete with specious 
 reasoning. The committee argued that public expectation, both 
 athouieand abroad, would be greatly disappointed if some system 
 of internal improvement, was not adopt(Ml at the present ses- 
 sion ; tliat the internal trade of a country was the greatest 
 lever of its prosperity ; that it was the legislator's duty, by his ex- 
 ample, to calm the apprehension ot the timorous and meet the 
 attacks of calculating o]i)posers of measures which would multi- 
 ply the i^opidation and wealth of the State; that the surface of 
 the State was peculiarly adapted to the construction of railroads, 
 and that the ]»racticability of renuning obstructions to the navi- 
 gation of oui- rivers could not be doubted ; that a general systein 
 of internal improvements was then within the policy and means 
 of the State, deman<led by the people as expressed by their highly 
 talented delegates, lately assembled in convention, and also looked 
 forward to by the people abroad who had purchased laiuls here 
 with a view to settlement, and whose expectations ought not to be 
 disappointed by over cautious legislation, which would divert emi- 
 gration to other States ; that the cost of buihling railroads, from 
 the uniforuiity of the country, and by analogy with similar works 
 in other States, could be calculated with the utmost ])recision 
 without previous surveys, ($S,(K)0 per mile being the estimate); 
 than an internal improvement fund should l)e constituted of all 
 moneys arising from loans, sale of stocks, tolls, rents of land and 
 hydraulic powers, interest on stocks, sale of State lands enteredfor 
 the works, a portion of the deposits received from the national 
 treasury, ainl portions of the annual land tax; that with the ex- 
 ])iratiou of the go\'ernmenr e\'emi)tion in five years time, there 
 would be 1L*,(>*'(>.(KH> acres of land to tax; that by the disbursements 
 of large sums of money, means would speedily be ])laced in the 
 hands of the people to enable them to purchase their homes ; 
 
430 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tliat tlie railroads as fast as completed botli ways from tlie cross- 
 ings of rivers and important towns, would yield the interests on 
 their costs ; that in the advance of the routes of improvements the 
 State should enter lands to re-sell at an enhanced price; that a 
 board of fund commissioners should be elected, to consist of such 
 eminent financiers as to retlect great credit upon the State, and 
 thus add to its financial resources ; and that with these active 
 resources at command no great financial skill was required of fu- 
 ture legislatures to ])rovide the ways and means to carry to com- 
 pletion" the public works without burthening the people with taxa- 
 tion. The works recommended, together with the estimated costs, 
 were as follows : 
 
 1st. Improvemeut-of the Great Wabash river - - $100,000 
 
 od " <' Illinois river - - - 100,000 
 
 3d. " " Rock river . - - - 100,000 
 
 4th " " Kaskaskia river - - 50,000 
 
 5tb' " " Little Wabash river - - 50,000 
 
 6th. " " Great Western Mail Route - 100,000 
 
 7th' " " Central Railroad from mouth of the 
 
 Ohio to Galena - - 3,500,000 
 
 8th. " " Southern Cross railroad - 1,600,000 
 
 9th. " " Northern Cross railroad - 1,850,000 
 
 $7,450,000 
 
 A bill covering these provisions was submitted by the commit- 
 tee, who coucluded : 
 
 " The maxim is well understood by political economists, that the 
 wealth of a country does not consist so much in the abundance of its 
 coffers as in the number and general prosperity of its citizens. In the 
 present situation of the country, the products of the interior by reason 
 of their remoteness from market, are left upon the hands of the produ- 
 cer, or sold barely at the price of the labor necessary to raise and prepare 
 them for sale. But if the contemplated system should be carried into 
 effect, these fertile and healthy districts which now languish for the 
 want of ready markets for their productions, would find a demand at 
 home for them during the progress of the works, and after their comple- 
 tion would have the advantage of a cheap transit to a choice of markets 
 on the various navigable streams. These would inevitably tend to build 
 towns and cities alqng the routes and at the terminal points of the re- 
 spective railroads." 
 
 The legislature, in adopting "An act to establish and maintain 
 a general system of internal improvement," approved February 
 27, 1837, not only came fully up to the requirements of the con- 
 vention, as rei)<>rted by the committee, but went over two million 
 aiul a quarter beyond — $10,230,000, as follows: Toward the im- 
 provement of the Great Wabash, $100,000; the Illinois river, 
 $100,000; Rock river, $100,000; Kaskaskia, $50,000; Little Wa- 
 bash, $50,000 ; (Ireat Western Mail Route from Vincennes to St. 
 Louis, $250,000, as follows: on the Purgatory swamp, opposite 
 Vincennes, $;iO,000, Little Wabash river bottoms, $15,000. on the 
 American bottom oi)posite St. Louis, $30,000, the balance on 
 bridges and rcpaii's; for the Central railroad from Cairo to the 
 Illinois and iMichigan canal and railroads from Alton to Mt. Car- 
 inel (Southern cross-road) and Alton to Shawneetown, $1,000,000; 
 N(n'thern cross-railroad from Quincy to Indiana State line (present 
 T. W. & W^), $1,S00,000; a branch of the Central from Hillsboro' 
 via Shelbyvine and Charleston to Terre Haute, $050,000; from 
 Peoria via McComb and Carthage to Warsaw, $700,000; from 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 437 
 
 Alton to Hillsboro, and the Central railroad, .$(500,000; from 
 Belleville via Lebanon to intersect the Southern eross-railroad, 
 $150,000; from Bloomington to Mackinaw in Tazewill county, 
 thence a briinch to Pekin, $350,000; and tinally, of the first 
 moneys obtained, $1*00,000 were to be distributed aniony those 
 counties throu.iih which no roads or improvements were projected. 
 
 A board of fund commissioners was provided to consist of three 
 members, who should " be practical and experienced tinanciers," 
 " who were to contract for and negotiate all loans authoiized by 
 the legislature on the faith and credit of the State for ttbjects of 
 intermil improvements on the best and most favorable terms," 
 sign and execute bonds or certiticates of stocks, receive, manage, 
 deposit and ap])ly all moiU'y'S arisingfrom said loans; make quar- 
 terly reports, &c., and keej) a complete record of all their fiscal 
 transactions. The commissioners chosen at this session by joint 
 vote of both houses, were: CUiarles Oakley, M. M. Kawlings, and 
 Tluunas blather. Their trust was enormous, and while they han- 
 dled millions of the peo[>le's money, a bond was exacted of only 
 $,■50,000. They were allowed a secretary and a per diem compen- 
 sation of $5. For the })ur])ose of promoting and uniting the va- 
 rious branches of improvement, a board of " Commissioners of 
 Public Works" was created, consisting of seven members, one 
 from each judicial district, to be elected biennially by joint vote of 
 the General Assend)ly, and to continue in oltice Ibr two years. 
 An oath of office and a bond of twenty thousand dollars was re- 
 quired of each; no commissioner was permitted to retain in his 
 bands more than $liO,000 at any one time. Both commis- 
 sioners and engineers were required to take an oath to keep 
 secret, for the benefit of the State, all iufoimation they nnght le- 
 ceive relating to lands or choice town sites, that other i)ersoiis 
 might not enter or purchase them to the detriment of the State. 
 A violation of this jirovisiou was to be deemed a misdemeanor, 
 punishable by fine not exceediug $5,000 and inca})acity of hold- 
 ing office. The commissioners were authorized to locate, su- 
 perintend, ami construct all the ])ublic works for the State, except 
 thecauaL They were to organize and meet semi-annually at the 
 seat of government, at which times the general outlines of the 
 oi)erations were to be determined; examine and audit the ex- 
 penditures of moneys ou the works; make estimates of {uobable 
 costs; serve authenticated copies on the fund commissioners, and 
 make out a report of their proceedings for the governor to lay be- 
 foie the legislature. Certain duties or divisions of the work might 
 be assigned among themselves ; they were to cause examinations 
 and surveys of rivers to be made, aud generally to let the works to 
 the lowest bidders, for which due notice was to be published and 
 sealed proposals recei\ed ; contracts were to pro\ide for forfeiture 
 in case of non-compliance, abandonment, &c., by contractors ; no 
 sub-letting was permitted. 
 
 Any vacant lands lying within 5 miles of any probable routes of 
 the works were to be entered for the State. The raib'oads were to 
 be built on the nn)st direct and eligible routes between their speci- 
 fied termini. Individuals or ]nivate companies might connect 
 any railroads or biaiiches with the State works. Finally the 
 board of public works were empowered to adopt and enforce all 
 
438 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 such rules and regulations as tliey miglit deem necessary and 
 expedient, to carryinto full effect rhe objects of the act. 
 
 Tlie K^ortheru Cross railroad, from Jacksonville to Springfield, 
 Tvas to be immediately constructed ; but with regard to the other 
 railroads, it was provided in section 25 of the act, that the work 
 ishould be commenced sinudtaneously at each end, at important 
 trading towns, and at their iidersections with navigable streams, 
 to be thence built in both directions. This i)rovision, which has 
 been called the crowning folly of the entire system, was the result 
 of those jealous cojnbinations, emanating from the fear that 
 advantages might accrue to one section over another in the com- 
 mencement and completion of the works, which evince, both the 
 weakness and short-sightedness of luunan nature. We can appre- 
 ciate the magnitude and enornnty of the "grand system" better 
 perhaps, by ai)i)lying facts and figures to it. The cens^is taken iu 
 1835, returned the population of the State 271,727 ; in 1S70 it is 
 2,539,891, or nearly ten times greater. The ratio of increase iu 
 the wealth of the State as fully as great.* The debt authorized 
 for these improvements in the first instance was $10,230,000. 
 But it Mas shortly found, that the estimates of the cost of the 
 works were too low by half. We may Avith certainty assert, there- 
 fore, that the State was committed to a liability of $20,000,000, 
 equivalent to $200,000,000 at the present time, with ten tinies the 
 l)opulation, and nuire than ten times the wealth. Yet what would 
 be the indignation of the i)eople, if any legislature should now 
 dare to impose the enormous lial)ility of $200,000,000, or even 
 half that sum, upon the State, notwithstanding its great wealth 
 and resources ? 
 
 The bill did not meet the approbation of the council of revision. 
 It was assigned as a reason, ''that such works can only be made 
 safely and econonncally in a free government, by citizens or by 
 independeut corporations, aided or authorized by government." 
 Allusions was also made to the undue inlliience over legislation that, 
 such vast public works would exercise. Notwithstanding these 
 objections the bill was again i)assed by the constitutional major- 
 ity and became a law. Messrs. E. 1>.' Webb and John McCo'wn, 
 njembers of the House from White county, entered their solemn 
 protest againt its i)assage, setting forth their reasons at large, 
 which were s])rcad ui)on the journal. 
 
 Various combinations, or what is in modern parlence termed 
 "rings," were forme<l in the legislature to effect the passage of 
 the act. rrevi<ms to this all estimates of the cost of the canal, 
 then in course of construction, were ui»on too low a scale. Its 
 completion was very much desired by a large portion of the })eo- 
 ple, and it had been regarded as a \vork of great publii- utility 
 with much ujmnimity among ])ublic men, but now farther aid was 
 menaced to bewithheld if other portions of the State were refused 
 the improvements which their situations demanded. The canal 
 was thei-elbre connected with the general system, and a i)rovision 
 inade ])ledging the faith of the State for a, loan of $500,0U0 toward 
 it. The canal is not yet done playing an important part in obtain- 
 ing appropriations from the State treasury. To enlist the requis- 
 ite number of members for its i)assage of the bill, provision was 
 
 *The taxable wealtli ol the State in 18^9 was only 558,889,525, now it exceeds $500,000,- 
 
DUNCAN'S ADMINISTRATION. 439 
 
 made for impiovenieiits in almost every part of tlie State, and 
 those out-of-tlie-w;iy comities which could not be reached, were to 
 share in a fund of ■*-*)(), 000, first to be raised. Alton, then muni- 
 ficently supplied with millions by the State bank to build her up 
 as the mercantile center and metropolis of the west, would not be 
 satisfied with less than the termini of thi-ee railroads. In 1834, 
 she had received the hi<ihest number of votes as the seat of 
 government, after the 20 years limitation at Vandalia should ex- 
 pire ; but upon this she did not now insist — she pr<'ferre(l rail- 
 roads. Several efforts were made to cut down the schemc'to less 
 dimensions, with failures each time, and not unfrequently more 
 works added. Although the internal improvement convention 
 had long since adjourned, there was still a powerful N)bby busily 
 engaged applying the pressure to pliant members of the legislature. 
 The lobbies witnessed many oratorical efforts of ingenious and 
 logical argument. The manifest destiny of government was pro- 
 trayed in glowing colors; deductions from similar systems in i)ro- 
 gress in other States were made a])})licable to Illinois, and their 
 certiun success driven home and clinched with i)redictions ; and 
 who (^an argue against p]'o[>hecy ? The subsequent i'acts of signal 
 and disastrous failure, were then hidden in the womb of time. 
 What a])pears ridiculous and absurd now, was then by nniny 
 confidently believed, because there were no facts to gainsay it, but 
 much positive asservation that it would be a success. 
 
 The question of removing the seat of government from Vandalia, 
 the "20 years limitation under the constitution having nearly ex- 
 pired, played no inconsiderable part in the i)ass;ige of this 
 measure. Sangamon county, then the most populous in the State, 
 was represented by two senators and seven representatixes, 
 familiarly knoAvn as the "long niiie," all whigs but one. Says 
 Gov. Ford: 
 
 "Amongst them were some dexterous jugglers and managers in 
 polities, whose wliole object was to obtain the seat of govennnent for 
 Springfield. This delegation, from the beginning of the sef^^sion, llirew 
 itself as a unit in support of, or opposition to, every local nuasure of 
 interest, but never witlK)Ut a bargain for votes in return on tlie seat of 
 government question. INIost of tlie other counties were small, having 
 but one representative, and many of them with but one for the whole 
 district ; and this gave iSangamon county a decided i)reponderance in the 
 log-rolling system of those days. It is worthy of examination wliether 
 any just and equal legislation can ever be sustained where some of the 
 counties are great and powerful and others feeble. But by sucli means 
 'the long nine' rolled along like a snow l)all, uathering accessions of 
 strength at every turn, until they swelleil up a considerable iiarty for 
 Springfield, which party they managed to take almost as a unit in favor 
 of the internal improvement system, in return for wliich the active sup- 
 porters of that .system were to vote for Springfield to be the seat of gov- 
 ernment. Thus it was made to cost the State about. *?(>, 0(10,(100, to remove 
 the seatof government from Vandalia to Springfield, lialf of whicli svim 
 would have purchased all the real estate in that town at three prices; and 
 thus by log-rolliug on the canal measure, by multi])lyiug raih'oads, by 
 terminating three railroads at Alton, that Alton migl'it become a great 
 city in opposition to St. Louis, by distributing money to some of the 
 counties, to be wasted by the county commissioners, aud by giving the 
 seat of government to Springfield, was the whole State Ijought up and 
 bribed, to api)rove the most senseless and disastrous policy which ever 
 crippled the energies of a growing countr3\" 
 
 The first board of conimissioners of jutblic works, consisted of 
 Murray McConnell, William Kinney, Elijah Willard, Milton K. 
 
440 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Alexaucler, Joel Wright, James W. Steplieuson, and Ebeiiezer 
 Peck. An effort was made to elect members of the legislature to 
 this important place of trust. To evade the provision of the con- 
 stitution, that '-no senator or representative shall, during the time 
 for which he shall have been elected, be appointed to nuj civil 
 ofiice under this State," and also the determination of Governor 
 Duncan not to commission any member who might be chosen, a 
 law was endeavored to be passed to over-ride the constitution and 
 do away with a commission, notwithstanding- the requirement 
 that all civil officers shall be commissioned. In the light of a late 
 decision of the supreme court, however, a commissioner is not an 
 officer. Still, at the joint meeting of the two houses an effort was 
 made to elect members as commissioners, but there were some 
 scruples in the way ; an adjournment for a day was had, when 
 men were chosen, not members of either house. 
 
 It was now fondly hoped by those whose heads were not entirely 
 turned that the fund commissioners would be unable to negotiate 
 the bonds of the State. But this was soon swept away. Through 
 the aid of the United States bank, then trading in State stocks, 
 which served to bankrupt it, loans were effected in the summer 
 of 1837; work was commenced at many different points before 
 the end of the year. Throughout the State public expectation 
 was wrought to the highest pitch over the scheme. Money became 
 abundant by reason of local expenditures and in payments for 
 estimates upon works. It had been confidently believed that the 
 bonds of the State Avould bring' ten per centum premium in 
 market. Gov. Duncan had disposed of $100,000 in canal bonds 
 the summer preceding at 5 per centum premium, which he con- 
 sidered too low and declined a larger sum at that rate. But now 
 the commissioners could effect loans in this country only at par ; 
 London was tried with worse effect, "those in Europe were at 1> 
 per cent discount. The bankers paid 00 cents on the dollar to the 
 State, and, as is alleged, 1 per cent, to the fund commissioners, 
 for brokerage."* Besides which a heavy contract was given for 
 railroad iron at a most exorbitant price. Labor progressed 
 meanwhile upon all the works. 
 
 *Ford's History. 
 
Chapter XXXVIIL 
 1838-1842— ADMIXISTKATION OF GOVERNOR CARLIN. 
 
 Continuation of the Subject of Internal Improvement — Collapse of 
 the Grand System — Hard Times — Reorganization of the Judiciary 
 in 1811. 
 
 While the umvieUly internal iiiiprovenient .system of the State 
 was in full operation, with all its exi»ensive niachiiiery, amidst 
 bank suspensions throughout the United States, a great stringem-y 
 in the money nuirket everywhere, and Illinois bonds forced to sale 
 at a heavy discouut, the general election of 1838 was approach- 
 ing. Discreet men who had cherished the hope of a speedy sub- 
 sidence of the public infatuation, met with disappointment. A 
 governor and legislature were to be elected, and these were now 
 looked forward to for a repeal of the ruinous State policy. But 
 the grand scheme had not yet lost its dazzling iuHuence ujxm the 
 minds of the i)eople. Time* and experience had not demonstrated 
 its utter absurdity. Hence the question of arresting its career 
 of protiigate expenditures did not become a leading one with the 
 dominant party during th<* cam])aign, aiul nu)st of the ohl members 
 of the legislature were returned at this election. 
 
 Of the gubernatorial candidates, Cyrus Edwards (brother t)f the 
 late governor,) whig, came out strongly for the system; while 
 Thonuis Carlin, the denu)cratic nonnnee, well aj^prised of the pultlic 
 infatuatiou not yet sobered, failed to declare an emphatic opinion 
 either for or against. This was the first time that the two i)olitical 
 parties had the tield to themselves in a gubernatorial cami)aign, 
 unembarrassed by other tickets. In December preceding, the 
 Democratic State convention had nominated James W. Stephen- 
 son for governor, and John S. liacker for lieutenant governor. In 
 April following, Hacker withdrew from the contest, and Ste]»lien- 
 son, who was charged with being a defaulter, also witlnbew, 
 a sacritice to the demands of party interests. The convention was 
 recalled and met June 4th, wlien Thomas Carlin was nominated 
 for governor, and S. H. Anderson for lieutenant governor. Carlin 
 was elected, receiving- 3r>,o73 votes to Edwards LM),(!21). Anderson 
 received 30,335 votes, to W. H. Davidson, the whig- nominee for 
 lieutenant governor, 28,710. 
 
 Gov. Carlin was born in Kentucky, near Frankfort, July 18th, 
 178!». His father was an Irishman. The educaticm of youngs 
 Carlin was meagre. In early manhood he applied himself to 
 remedy this deficiency, being his own tutor, lie was fond of 
 reading through life. In 1803 his father removed to IVlissouri, 
 then Spanish, "where he died in 1810. In 1812 the subject of our 
 
 441 
 
442 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sketch came to Illinois and participated in all the "raiigiug" ser- 
 vice incident to the war of that period, i^roNing himself a soldier 
 of iindannted l)ra\ ery. He was married to Rebeca Huitt in 1814, 
 and lived on the bank of the Mississip[)i opposite the month of the 
 Missouri 4 years, when he removed to Greene connty. He located 
 the town site of Carrollton, and njade a liberal donation of land 
 for county building' ])urposes in 1825. He was the first sheriff of 
 Greene county, and afterward was twice elected a senator to the 
 legislature. In the Black Hawk war he commanded a spy 
 battalion, a jjost of considerable danger. In 1834 he was ap[)<)inted 
 by President Jackson receiver of public moneys and removed to 
 Quincy. After the close of his gul)ernatorial term he remo\ed 
 back to his old home at Carrollton, where he si)entthe remainder 
 of his life, as before his elevation to oftlce, in agricultural pursuits. 
 In 184!) he served out the unexpired term of J. D. Fry in the 
 lower house of the legislature. He died Feb. 14, 1852, leaving 
 surviving him his wife and seven children, out of thirteen born to 
 them.* 
 
 Gov. Carlju was a man of remarkable physical energy and 
 capacit3\ In stature he was above the medium height; light com- 
 plexioned, a spare looking face, high forehead, long nose, and thin 
 lips, giving to his mouth a compressed ai)pearance. He was un- 
 yielding if not obstinate in disi)osition, ])ossessed in private life 
 an unblemished character, and was a democrat of the straightest 
 sect. While he did not seek preferment, he did not reject oltice. 
 Mentally he was not without vigor. His messages are smoothly 
 and rather well written, but he did not attempt public sx)eaking. 
 
 The lieutenant governor elect, Antlerson, was a native of 
 Tennessee. He proved an efficient officer, and attached to himself 
 numy warm friends through life. He resided in Jefferson county. 
 After the expiration of his term of office, he received from Pies^- 
 dent Folk the office of United States JMarshal. In politics, it }s 
 needless to add, he was a democrat. 
 
 Ul)ou. the meeting of the legislature, 1839, the retiring governor, 
 Dnncan, in his message spoke in eniphatic terms of the impolicy 
 of the internal improvement system by the State; presaged the evils 
 threatened by that measure, which exi)erience had already suffici- 
 ently shown would have a most deleterious effect u^ton the i)ro})erty 
 of the State; and urged that to correct the mistake, without too 
 great a sacrifice of public or private interests, should occupy the 
 most Serious and patriotic delibei'ation of the legislature. But the 
 incoming governor, contrary to the hope of many wise and discrete 
 men, while he strongly assailed, in true Jacksonian style, the 
 banks and their sus})ensions, which had been legalized, lield the 
 following language on the sid)ject of internal improvements: 
 
 "The signal success which has attended our sister States in the con- 
 struction of their extensive systems of improvements can leave no doubt 
 of the wise policy and utility of such worlds. They open new channels 
 of commerce and trade, furnish the farmer and mechanic the means of 
 transporting the prockicts of their labor to market, develope the natural 
 and iiidden resour(,'es of the country, and t^timidate the enterprise and 
 industry of the i)eople. *' * In the princiiiles and policy of tiiis plan, 
 contrasted with tliat of joint stock companies antl private "corporations, I 
 entirely concur. Had I occupied my present situation at the establish- 
 
 ♦Froin a memoir by bis daughter, Mrs. E. C . Woodward. 
 
carlin's administration. 443 
 
 meiit of the system, I would have recommeiuled its adoption on a less 
 extensive scale, and the construction of the most important works first. 
 Under the present plan of proceeding, however, near two million dollars 
 have been expended, and whatever diversity of oi)inion may now exist 
 as to the expediency of the system as originally projected, all must 
 admit that the character and credit of the State forbid its abandonment." 
 
 It was, therefore, to be exi)ecte(l that those who saw the folly of 
 the State in the prosecution of this system, and had du^rished the 
 ho])e of a chaiii;e, would be disa|>{)ointed. The new legislature 
 not oidy did not repeal oi' modify the ex])ensive i)roJe(rt, but made 
 further speeitic api)ropriations and autliori/ed additional worlcs, 
 involvino' an outday of neai' a million dollars: .$50, ()()() for the im- 
 provement of liock river; .i5l5(),()()() to improve the navi. nation of 
 the Little Wabash; .$LM),(HH> on the western mail i-oute;* sS5lOi>,(HK) 
 for a new railroad Ironi liushville to Erie, on the bank of the Illinois 
 river; $20,000 to improve the navii;ation of the Kudtarras ]'i\'er; 
 $1:0,000 for the r,i,u- .^luddy; and $10,000 for a road from Cabokia 
 Creek to Kaskaskia. Besi(les these s])ecitie amounts, the improve- 
 ment of the navii;iition of the Illinois river was directed to be 
 extended to Ottawa, (which according to modern experience would 
 have taken many nullions more) and a lateral branch railroad from 
 some eligible point on the xVlton ami Slielby\ille railroad between 
 Hillsboro and Alton to run to Caiiinville. The governor was ako 
 authorized to negotiate a loan of $4,000,000 to prosecnte the work 
 on the canal. The lands ami pnblic works of the State were ex- 
 emi)ted from taxation. So thoroughly was the legislature still 
 ind)ued with the idea of the Stateexclusively owning all the public 
 works, that the (;hairma-n of the Comnuttee on Internal Improve- 
 ment, Mr. Smith, of Wabash, in reporting adversely ui)on a. bill 
 for "an act to incor})orate tlie Albion and Grayville liailroad 
 Company," at this session, said: '-In tlie opinion of the com- 
 mittee, it is inexpedient for tlie legislature to authorize corporations 
 or individuals to construct railioads or canals calculated to come 
 in competition with sindhir works m)W in course of construction 
 under the State system of internal iin])rovements." 
 
 Here let us stop. and speculate over tlie probable future of our 
 State, had this remarkable 31r. Edward Smith live<l. As chairnnm 
 of the committee on internal improvements, he drafted that glow- 
 ing report of the committee which so tired the honorable members 
 upon the subject of develo})ing the resources of the State as to 
 cause them to vie with each other in actually doing more than 
 that not very modest document asked; and who, apparently, 
 possessed the nnignetic; power to bring the nuMubers squarely u}) 
 to the support of these improvement measures, like a skillful 
 general marshaling his hosts for victory. He seemed to be born to 
 command in this particular held of enterprise. Unfortunately, 
 before the next session, .Air. Smith died, when the si>lendid system 
 collapsed. Had he remained in life, with the peculiai' force that 
 characterized him in ])ushing through these measures, the linal 
 result of this herculean undertaking of the State becomes a sub- 
 ject of curious contem}>lation. It nuist have either bankrupted 
 the State beyond all hoi)e of redemption, or made In^r treasui\y the 
 rcci[>ient of all the many nullions of aiimial earinngs of the vast 
 net-work of nearly 7,000 miles of completed railroads at the i)resent 
 time, which now find their way into the coffers of piivate cori)ora- 
 
444 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 tioiis, enriching them to au unlimited and uncontrollable extent. 
 With such an enormous income by the State, the burthen of taxa- 
 tion would be entirely removed; we would be enabled doubtless 
 to ship our produce to market for half of the present rates, which 
 would double the value of crops and farms, and incidentally all 
 other real and personal property; the cheapening of travel in a 
 corresponding ratio would double the amount of it; we would 
 visit our distant friends oftener, cultivate an extensive social inter- 
 course by rail — indeed the whole country would be much as a city 
 now is with its street railroads ; promote harmony and good fellow- 
 ship throughout the length and breadth of the State — in a word, 
 have a very millenium in Illinois! 
 
 We have noted the fact that of the governor being authorized 
 at the session of 1838-9 to negotiate a further loan of $4,000,000 
 for the canal. Money wus stringent at the time both in Europe 
 and America. The fiscal negotiations of the fund commissioners, 
 made in Europe prior to this, were anything but satisfactory. 
 Gov. Carlin, therefore, unwilling to put the new canal loan in the 
 hands of these agents, and ambitious doubtless for the glory of his 
 administration, commissioned ex-Governor Eeynolds, the very last 
 public man in the State, perhaps, for a duty so responsible and 
 delicate, requiring an extensive and accurate knowledge of 
 domestic and foreign fiscal affairs. The latter urged the associa- 
 tion with himself of II. M. Young, then a senator in congress, to 
 which the governor ultimately acceded. In tlieir over-weening 
 desire to raise money to carry forward the i)ublic works, lioth the 
 fund commissioners and Gov. Carlin's financial agents made some 
 verv ill-advised and bungling loans, attended with heavy losses to 
 the' State. 
 
 lleynolds hurried immediately forward to ISIew York, where he 
 met and obtained the advice and assistance of Mr. Eawlings, one 
 of the fund commissioners. They sold to Mr. Delalield, of X. Y^., 
 April 23, 1830, 300 bonds of |1,000 each, bearing per cent, 
 interest, payable half-yearly at I'hiladelphia and New Y^ork — the 
 prin<;ipal becoming due in 1800. In this the law was exceeded, 
 because it provided only for annual interest. The whole of the 300 
 bonds were delivered, and payment was sti])ulated as follows : 
 $50,000 within 15 days into the bank of the New York Banking 
 Company, thence to be drawn out on not less than ten days sight 
 drafts, in forty different installments; the next payment of $50,- 
 000 was not to be made till the 1st of August, 183*9, in the notes 
 of some bank or banking association of New York city, of a 
 denomination not exceeding $10; and in like manner the remainder, 
 commencing October 1st, in monthly installents of $50,000 each. 
 Here was a sale of interest-bearing bonds nuide in April, the 
 bonds all immediately delivered, and yet they were not filially to 
 be paid for until the following January, 1840.' 
 
 April 29, 1839, the same gentlemen contracted with Thomas 
 Hnnlap (whose performance Avas guaranteed by the United States 
 bank of Pennsvlvaiiia,) to sell him 10 00 bonds due in 1870 of 
 £225 each, animal interest per cent.; and both principal and 
 interest ])ayal)le in London, ''at the rate of 4s. Od. sterling to the 
 dollar." rayment for the bonds sold Avas to be made in ten equal 
 monthly installments of $100,000 each, without interest, in $10 
 notes. This million dollars it was estimated by the house com- 
 
carlin's administration. 445 
 
 mittee of the Illinois assembly, could be redeemed with 250,185 
 sovereigns, lis. 2d., instead of £2-25.0()(), realizing a gain of 18,- 
 314 sovereigns, 8s. lOd. to the pundiasers, ecjual to a loss of 
 $91,250.34 to the State of Illinois. The contract was, besides, a 
 glaring departure of the law, because the commissioners bound 
 the State to pay in British coin £225,000, instead of .*|1 ,000,000 ; 
 and while the State was paying intei-est on her bonds she not only 
 did without the money for ten nn)nths but got no interest for that 
 time. The money was to be [)aid in bills of the United Slates 
 bank, but before the State actually received it, it became depre- 
 ciated 10 per cent., making a loss of $100,000 on the amount. 
 The total loss of this one transaction was near $200,000. Tlie 
 law required ready payment in cash for all bonds sold. 
 
 These transactions with Delaliehl and Dunlap, amounting to 
 $1,300,000 in IlHuois bonds, becanu^ in part the basis for start- 
 ing into operation the N^ew York free banking system, about that 
 time autliorized, which required a deposit of State stocks, in 
 double value of the circulation, tog<'ther with a small percentage 
 of specie in the bank vaults. Our timmciers thus eimble several 
 of the "wild-cat" institutions to start business, by furnishing tlieni 
 Illinois bomls on credit, and receiving in payment the nn)ney — 
 after proper exchange with other baidcs doubtless — issued in 
 pursuance of the charters, Illinois meanwhile paying interest for 
 the privilege of advancing their bonded capital! 
 
 After the negotiations in New York and riiiladelphia, the gov- 
 ernor's .agents, ex-Gov. Reynolds, and two of the fund commis- 
 sioners, Gen. Rawlings and Col. OakU'y, in May, 1830, rei)aired to 
 Europe to effect further loans for the State. Judge E. M. Young, 
 the other agent of Gov. Carlin, in custody of the bonds, subse- 
 quently joined them in London. The money nnirket in Europe 
 was tight, but the comnnssioners, whom the law required to be 
 "experienced and skilled in hnance," were not to be baffled. After 
 coiisiderable delay, ^fessrs. Young and Keynolds, on October 30th, 
 1839, deposited with John Wright & Co., of London, 1,000 ])oiids, 
 representing $1,000,000, to be again reckoned in British coin of 
 £225 each, authorizing them to sell or negotiate the tionds af a 
 rate of not less than £91 for the £100. If more than 91 per cent, 
 could be obtained for them, the suri)lus, not exceeding 4 per cent, 
 was to be retained by Wright & C'o. as commissioners; an 3' exces.s 
 beyond 95 per cent, for said bonds, was to be (Mpially divided be- 
 tween the State and the said l)rokers. On tliis contract the 
 brokers agreed to aihance £30,000. 
 
 The law under whi<;h the flmincial agents acted, we will reiterate, 
 expressly required ready ]iayment in cash for all bonds negotiated, 
 and that none shouhl be sold for less than par. Although the 
 bonds might be hypothecated, yet when th<i agents authorized 
 Messrs. Wright & Co. to sell them at 91 per cent., they acted 
 without warrant of law. The brokers sold about half a million 
 dollars worth of the bomls, when they failed, with both the ju'o- 
 ceeds of these sales and the remainder of the bonds in their 
 hands. The unsold bonds, being the property of the State, Avere 
 afterward returned by the receivers, but the money received on 
 those sold was adjudged as assets of the firm, in wiiich the State 
 was com])elled to share prorata with other creditors, amounting to 
 a few shillings on the pound. 
 
446 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Tlie Hon. E. B. Webb, from the bouse judieiary committee, to 
 wboin tbe accounts for tbe sales of bonds were referred, reported 
 Jan. 29, 1840, saying: "Tbe anxiety of tbe agents to procure 
 money for tlie State,"or tlieir eagerness to succeed in effecting 
 sales \vbere otbers bad failed, induced tliein to enter into contracts 
 injurious to tbe best interests of tbe State, derogatory to ber dig- 
 nity, and in every way calculated to depreciate ber securities." 
 Kcsolutions were' adopted by tbe bouse, disapproving of tbese 
 transactions, wberci.y tbe State was required to receive in pay- 
 ment local bank bills, as under tbe contracts witb Delatield and 
 Dunlap, and tbe sides made on credit; condemning, as in contra- 
 veidion of law, tbe bypotbecation of bonds witb Jobn Wrigbt & 
 (Jo., to be sold at 91 per cent. ; declaring tbat tbe agents bad tran- 
 scended tbe powers vested in tbem, and tbat tbeir London nego- 
 tiation was void, copies were to be transmitted to J. Wrigbt & Co., 
 Covent Garden, London. By tbis time it bad become patent tbat 
 no more loans could be effected at par, as tbe law required. 
 Tbe dark cloud of infatuation wbicb obscured tbe vision of tbe 
 people began also to be dissipated, and as glimmers of ligbt sbone 
 tbrougb tbey became clamorous against tbe large extent in wbich 
 tbe works were feebly prosecuted simultaneously at all points. 
 The ideas of Governor Carlin, in one sbort year's time, underwent 
 a total revolution witb regard to tbe gj-and system of internal im- 
 proxcment. He now found from correct data, tliat tbe State would 
 S]>ecdi]y inq)ose upon berself a debt of not less tban $21,740,444, 
 at an annual interest of $1,310,770, witb a revenue of less tban 
 one sixtb tbat amount— $200,000 ; tbat tbe tben debt of tbe State 
 excee(UMl already $14,000,000, wbicb rested upon a community of 
 less tban balf million souls, remote from markets, and witb little 
 commerce to bring in money. Tbe giddy magnitude of tbe idea 
 became a[)palling to bis ex(!ellency, and lie convoked tbe legisla- 
 ture in extraordinary session for J)ecend)er 9tb, 1839. 
 
 In bis message, after alluding to tbe spirit of speculation so 
 rife in 1830, whereby not only individuals but deliberative bodies 
 were lured from tbe paths of prudence and economy by tbis over- 
 weening delusion, be says: 
 
 " At tbis critical and most important crisis, a bill was introduced into 
 tbe legislature, providing for a general system of internal improve- 
 ments by tbe construction of nearly 1,300 miles of railroad, and the 
 improvement of various rivers; and such was the zeal with which it 
 was urged, and so numerous and powerful were its friends, that it passed 
 tlirougii liotii houses hy large majorities. No fear seemed to be enter- 
 tained by its advocates, but the ability and resoui'cesof the State would 
 prove ecjual to the accomplishment of such a herculean task, and tliey 
 pointed with pride and exultation to that bigh rank in the scale of 
 wealth to whicii the measure would hnally elevate us." 
 
 His excellency, now discovering impending ruin and disbonor, 
 in\'okcd the legislature to tbe exercise of wisdom and unity of 
 action in tbe a(lo]»tion of sucb measures of reform as would best 
 subserve tbe j)ublic welfare and save tbe State from bankruptcy 
 and degradation. 
 
 The legislature, whose rutbless band was destined to destroy 
 tbe stui)emloiis system, was composed in the main of tbe same 
 mend)ers who bad origimilly passed it; who bad but one sbort year 
 before sui)]»leinented and endorsed it by tbe addition of works in- 
 volving a further expenditureof $1,000,000, now by tbeir delib- 
 
CAELIN'S ADMINISTRATION. 447 
 
 erate action to place the seal of condemnation npon their clier- 
 ished off>;prino-, was (certainly most humiliating-, and they hesitated 
 in their course. If they could liave wiped the system out, leaving 
 no debtor menioi'v of it behind, it wonld not have been so disa- 
 greeable, but when they reflected that their folly would cost the 
 people $150,000 for every member, the politicians Avere smitten 
 with fear regarding the futniv of their preferments, l^ut thanks, 
 the unpalatable task was performed. By the two acts ot February 
 1840, it was [)rovided that the board of fund commissioners and 
 cOunnissioners of public works be abolished; one fund com- 
 missioner was [)ro\'ided to perform the same duties as before re- 
 quired of the board, "except that he shall not be authorized to 
 sell State bonds or borrow money on behalf of the State." He 
 was to receive and take charge of the railroad iron purchased in 
 Europe and pay the duty on it; receive back all bonds from per- 
 sons failing to comi)ly with their contracts, and register and burn 
 the same; to audit and settle the accounts of the late board of 
 fund commissioners and the late board of public works, and bring 
 suit against each member in arrears in the Sangamon circuit court, 
 for which purpose jurisdiction was given it to any county. Three 
 instead of seven commissioners of pid)lic works were now provi- 
 ded who were to settle and adjust all liabilities under the internal 
 improvement system, and give drafts for the amounts due (;on- 
 tractors on the Fund Commissioners, whereu])on such contracts 
 were to be regarded as cancelled. If the drafts could not be 
 wholly cashed, the amount }>aid was to be endorsed, and the resi- 
 due to draw interest. All engineers and agents whose services 
 were not indispcnsible to ascertain the amounts due contractors, 
 were to be immediately discharged. The board was to secure and 
 operate such roads or parts of roads as were completed, fix and 
 establish tolls, and provide for their collection and payment over 
 to the fund commissioners. 
 
 The progress of the work on the canal was not arrested ; but 
 of tlie remainder of the works of the grand system (with the 
 exception of a part of the Northern Cross railroad) sinniltaiieous- 
 ly begun in various parts of the State, nothing was ever done, 
 except in detached parcels on every road, where excavations and 
 embankments may even yet be seen— memorials of supreme legis- 
 lative folly. That ]>ortion of the Northern Cross Kailroad from 
 Meredosia to Springfield, was afterwards finished at a cost to the 
 State of $1,000,000; its income i)roved insufticient to keej) it in 
 repair and it was subsecpu'idly sold for $100,000 in State indebt- 
 edness. Of this road some 8 miles of track was laid in 18.')8, from 
 Meredosia east, the tirst rail being laid May 0th. The first 
 locomotive that ever turned a. wheel in the great valley of the 
 Mississippi was put on the track of this road at ]\[eredosia, Nov. 
 8th, 1838. George W. Plant, afterward a pronnnent business 
 man of St. Louis, was the engineer. The locomotive ran over 
 the track 8 miles and ba(?k, carrying Gov. Duncan, Murray Mc- 
 Connel, one of the commissioners of the pul)lic works, James 
 Dunlap and Thos. I. January, contractors, Charles Collins and 
 Miron Leslie of St. Louis, and the chief engineer, Geo. P. Plant. 
 Twelve years before only, 1820, the. first railroad in the United 
 States was built, connecting Albany and Schenectady, in New 
 York. Her eager desire in the race of empire now gave to Illinois 
 
448 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 a clieck for 12 yesirs before another railroad was built. Tliis 
 was the Chicago and Galena, finished as far a.s Elgin in 1850. 
 Then dawned Tipon the State the great railroad era which has 
 sinee (covered her surface with a net-work of these iron arteries of 
 commerce, affording rapid and easy connnuincation with ahnost 
 every county. 
 
 Tlnis, in 1840, after a short but eventful life of less than three 
 years, fell by the hands of its creator the most stujiendous, 
 extravagant and almost ruinous folly of a grand system of inter- 
 ]ud improvements, that any civil community, perhaps, ever engag- 
 ed in, leaving a debt of $14,237,o48. While great disai)])ointment 
 Ijervaded the people at the failnre of the splendid scheme, they were 
 not surprised nor crushed with tlie news of its repeal. Indeed, 
 their sobered senses had for some time taught them that to this 
 extremity it must come at last, and they felt that sort of relief a 
 man feels at the loss of half his fortune — he has learned his fate 
 and is thankful it is no worse; possildy he learns a profitable 
 lesson at the same time. While they felt chagrined, there was no 
 one to blame in great part but themselves, for in many cases their 
 rei)resentatives had but obeyed the ^oice of the peoi)le, as the 
 voice of God. IM^ny names since prominent, honored and great, 
 are recorded in favor of the original passage of the measure, as 
 may be seen by reference to the journal of the assembly of 1837. 
 
 Illinois was not the only State which eml)arked in these wild 
 schemes of State undertakings, Indiana, in 1837, pursued the 
 same course. Her bonds to upward $11,000,000 were disposed of, 
 and after expending the proceeds improvidently, extraAagantly, 
 and doubtless fraudulently, there remained nothing' to show for it 
 but 40 miles of railroad, pieces of canal, and scnne unfinished 
 turnpikes. Pennsylvania had taken the lead in like schemes of 
 developing the State, for which she at one time owed a debt of 
 $40,000,000, part of which was paid by the sale of the works. 
 The same held good with Ohio ; and Missouri, more recently, for 
 the purpose of building lailroads and other works of internal 
 improvement, on the breaking out of the rebellion, found herself 
 loaded with a debt exceeding a score of millions of dollars. 
 
 Hard Times. — With the collapse of the great internal improve- 
 ment system, the suspension of banks and a depreciated currency, 
 hard times obtained. The total debt of the State was as 
 follows : 
 
 For bank stock, - . . . . $5,614,196 94 
 
 On account of internal improvements, - - 5,614,196 94 
 
 Canal debt, --.... 4,338,907 71 
 
 State house, ---.._ 116,000 00 
 
 School, college and seminary fund (borrowed) - 808,085 00 
 
 Due State bank for auditor's warrants, - - 294,190 00 
 
 Annualinterest upon this amount ($13,836,377,65) - 830,188 77 
 
 Total, $14,666,562 42 
 
 To meet this debt, outside of taxation, the State owned 42,000 
 acres of land, bought under requirements of the internal improve- 
 ment law ; 230,407 acres of canal donation remained undisposed of, 
 besides 3,401 town lots in Ottawa, Chicago, and other places 
 along the Hue of the canal ; the State obtained shortly after by 
 the distribution act of congress of 1841, 210,000 acres of laud 
 
carlin's administration. 449 
 
 more from tliut source. . These, together with tlie ill-advised 
 EuroiK'iiii purchase of railroad iron, and the various pieces of 
 uiitiiiislied raih'oads in different parts of the State, almost worth- 
 less, constituted the resources of the State to dischar<;-e a debt, 
 which, considerini;' our i)oi)ulation (4SS.*>L'1> in 1S4(>), as one-sixth 
 of wiiiit it is now, (mr wealth, ($3.S,7r)L*, KiS in ]S40), iis one-eijihth 
 of wiiat it is now, and the value of money then and now at a 
 dilfcrence of 1(10 per cent, which, owiuji' to the lar.i;e yields from 
 the California, Australia, and other mines since, is an estimate 
 perhaps not out of the way, was e(pial to a debt upon the State 
 at the present of at least !igir)(>,()()(M)()(). This was indeed a heavy 
 burden. The annual revenues — $117,821, in 1840 — were no more 
 thai*i would meet the ordinary expense of the State government, 
 leaving a deticit annually to the amount of the interest on the 
 debt — $8;30,18i>, — to further yearly augment the debt. The 
 State hiid sold and hyi)othecated its bonds until its credit was 
 well nigh exh;iusted ; the i)eo[)le were both unable and unwilling 
 to i):iy Idgher taxes, and they were besides largely indebted to the 
 merchants; the merchants to the banks, or f(»r goods i)urchased 
 abroad ; while the banks, on account of sus))en(ling specie pay- 
 ment, owed every Ixxly wlio carried one of their rags in his pocket. 
 None could pay in ]niv funds, for they were not to be had. 
 
 lu this condition of the State, it required great unanimity 
 of action and harnioiiy in counsel to carry it safely over the 
 financial crisis. This did not wholly obtain. The character and 
 genious of the people were very incongruons. Wide differences, 
 social ami political, of the two great geographical sections 
 of the State, have prevailed even down to this day. The disparity 
 in wealth between the north and south, the rapid settlement of 
 the tbrmer after the close of the Black Hawk war, were not with 
 without jealousy, of which public men partook and carri ed into 
 the counsels of the State. This mutual misunderstanding of 
 character and purposes was a stund)ling blo(4v in the way of 
 united and harmonious action in the adoj)tion of the wisest meas- 
 ures for public relief. The canal, as it afterward jiroved, afforded 
 the best and only avenue leading out of the financial embarras- 
 ments, and toward restoring the credit of the State. It stood 
 inde})endent, to a certain extent, of the other works of internal 
 improvement, u])on a landed capital of its own, the gift of the 
 nation, and when the latter were abandoned, the work ui)on it 
 was still more or less ])rosecuted. I>ut the canal, from the want 
 of unity in the sentiments of the people, now became the sub- 
 ject of bitter attack, for no other reason that it Avas in the north- 
 ern part of the State. 
 
 Besides, there did not obtain with the peoi)le a clear conception 
 of State i)olicy. Men were elected to the legislature with refer- 
 ence to their national politics, greatly intensified by the excit- 
 ing contest of 1840, and not with regard to the affairs of the 
 State, then of deepest concern to the welfare of the peoi)le. 
 Politicians were better acquainted with the devious ways of 
 obtaining office than qualities to discharge its duties in accord- 
 ance with enlarged principles of statesmanship. This is too much 
 the case at the i)resent time; people in the election of officers are 
 actuated by a desire to confer favor upon the nnin, rather than 
 choosing" a servant who is to perform a service for them and the 
 29 
 
450 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 public ;it large with wisdom and impartiality. It was therefore 
 difhcult to make the questions of present embarrassment ami 
 fature State prosperity paramount, in a broad view, to all other 
 considerations. 
 
 By various expedients, means were provided to meet the accru- 
 ing interest of 1841, on canal loans in iSTew York and London, bat 
 not so with regard to the interest on the State debt generally. 
 The fund commissioner, in liis re})ort, stated the difliculty of 
 meeting that which would fall due January 1st, 1811; the legisla- 
 ture, elected in August previous, was convoked some weeks earlier 
 than the time of the regular session, for the express purpose of 
 devisiug means to this end. This was the session by the sine die 
 adjouriuneiit of which it was attemi)ted to crush the State baid^s, 
 or c()mi>el theiu to resume s})ecie payments — a thing impossible 
 for them to do. ]Much conflict of opinion obtained among mem- 
 bers and found expression in a Hood of resolutions, as usual at tlie 
 outset of a session. The questions of difference were as to not 
 paying interest at all, or withholding it only on bonds for which, 
 by the mismamigmeut of the tlnancial agents, the State had either 
 received less than par, or, as in some cases, nothing. To the 
 credit of the State it is to be recorded, that no idea of re})utlia- 
 tion obtained among a large nnijority of the members. On the 
 contrary, the desperate remedy was i)roposed of issuing more 
 bonds and hypothecating them for what they would fetch in 
 market. The course pursued by the financial agents of the State 
 in disposing of bonds contrary to law, at less than par value on 
 credit, was severely animadverted, and that the State should ])ay 
 interest only on what money she had actually received on her 
 bonds was strenuously insisted upon. The op[>onents of this view 
 contended that bonds were articles of commerce, against whi(*hno 
 equities could arise while in the hands of innocent i>uvchasers ; 
 that the State must be held responsible for the conduct of its 
 agents; that the legislature in the selection of the fund commis- 
 sioners, and the governor in the api)oiiitment of Messrs. Yonng 
 and Keynolds, had fully committed the credit of the State to their 
 hands, and if they blundered, the State was bound nevertheless 
 by their acts — she should have chosen agents more "skilled in 
 finance." In this conflict of views, legislation was well-nigh de- 
 feated altogether. Alfred W. Cavarly, of Green, now discovered 
 the happy exi)edient by which to extricate the legislature from its 
 dilemna. lie prepared a bill of two sections, whii-h became a law 
 Dec. KJth, 1840, emi)owering the fund comnnssioner to hyitothe- 
 cate not exceeding $;>00,000 of the State internal improvement 
 bonds, to raise a sufticient sum of money to pay the interest which 
 would le<i(dl}i fall due on the internal improvement debt in 
 January 1811 ; the bonds were to be redeemed any time before 
 1813, and not to draw interest unless forfeited. Thus was the 
 question of contention taken out of the halls of legislation, and 
 the decision of the Jcf/aliti/ of the loans inqxtsed upon the commis- 
 sioners — not an unfre(|uent e.\'i)edient of deliberative bodies. The 
 legislature further autliorized the issuance of State interest bonds, 
 to be sold in market lor what they would bring, the proceeds to 
 be applied to the payment of interest and the redenq)tion of hypo- 
 thecated bonds — a most execrable measure. By another act, Feb. 
 27th, 1841, an additional tax of 10 cents on the $100 worth of 
 
CAELIN'S ADMINISTRATION. 451 
 
 property was imposed, to be set apart exclusively as au "interest 
 iniid," plediied to pay the interest on tliese bonds; and the niini- 
 niuni assessiueut of all lands was to be $3 per acre. The fnnd 
 eoninussioner, Mr. Barrett, by hypotheeatiny internal iin[>rove- 
 nient bonds, paid off the January interest, 1841; but by the time 
 the July interest was to be raised, Illinois storks had depreciated 
 in market so that Mr. J. 1). Wliitesides, the U(nv fund commis- 
 sioner, liypothecated witli Macallister and Stebbins, of New York, 
 .$S04,(K)0 in interest bonds for $.'>21. (>()(), as was promised him, but 
 of wliich amount only $li()l,4(!() was ever by them paid. This was 
 the origin of the notorious 'Olacallister and Stebbins bonds," of 
 wliich more hereafter. Another law, showing the extremity to 
 which this legislation went, was that of Feb. L'Ttli, 1841, regula- 
 ting- the sale of pro[)erty under execution. This serves to illus- 
 trate both the Jiard times and the inconsiderate and unjust 
 legislatiiui to afford relief to the debtor class at the expense of 
 the creditor. It provided that property levied upon should be 
 valued as in "ordinary times," to be made by three householders 
 summoned by the oliicers, of whom the creditor, <lebtor, and 
 ofticer should each choose one — placing it in the power of the 
 oflicer to favor either ])arty at his option ; the property was not to 
 sell unless it brought two-thirds of tlu'ir valuation ; no way was 
 provided by which the creditor, if two-thirds of the valuation was 
 not bid, could h<»ld his lien — forcing him to stay collection or suffer 
 a disconiit of oo^ per cent. The law was made applicable to all 
 judgments rendered and contracts accruing j)rioi- to the 1st of 
 May, without reference to the l(\gal obligations of the time when 
 contracts were entered into — being in violation of that clause of 
 the constitution of the United States, declaring that "no hiw shall 
 be passed imparing the obligations of contracts." In the case of 
 McCracken vs. Howard, the suprenu^ court of the United States 
 subsequently held the law to be unconstitutional.* The law in the 
 meantime had been instrumental, by various arrangements between 
 parties, in extinguishing nuiny debts. But this species of legisla- 
 tion seldom effects the benetits intended. It is apt to be harrass- 
 ing and vexations to both debtor and creditor, while experience 
 teaches it to be distructive of all confidence between men in busi- 
 ness, requiring' promi)t compliance with contracts ; ami it tends 
 further to a.ttect inimically the trade and commerce of the State. 
 These views were enlarged upon in a solemn protest against its 
 passage, sigiu'd by such names as John J. Hardin, D. M. Wood- 
 son, Lyman Trumbull, and many others. f 
 
 After July, 1841, no further effort was made to pay interest on 
 tbe debt of the State. Her bonds declined I'apidly in market to 
 14 cents on the dollar. In a lew nu)nths, Feb. 1842, from prox- 
 imate causes already stated, the State ba'nk, with a circulation 
 exceeding $.'5, 0(10, 000, finally went down ; in Jiuiethe Illinois hank 
 at Shawneetown, with a circulation exceeding Sl,r)00,000, also 
 broke, thus rendering worthless about the only money there had 
 been for some time in the country, and added nuiterially to the 
 pressure of the times. The baidcs had managed to keep up the 
 value of their circulation far al)o\'e the bonds of the State, but to 
 conciliate an unfriendlv leuislatnre bv advances on auditor's war- 
 
 *See 2d, Howard, 608. 
 tSec House Journal, 1841. 
 
452 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 rants, for the State house then buikliiig-, and to carry forward tlie 
 public wt)rk.s, an unwarranted expansion snapped their threads of 
 life, spreading- disaster round about them. The condition of this 
 fair State, with her calamities thus augmented, was truly distress- 
 ing. Abroiid, her name was freely associated with dishonor; em- 
 igrants, dreading high taxation, gave it a wide berth, unless it 
 were those who, having no character of their own, cared little 
 for that of the State of their adoption ; while the i^eople here 
 with rare exceptions were anxious to sell out and flee a country 
 which presented no alternative but dishohor or exhorbitant taxa- 
 tion. The chances to sell were, however, in inverse ratio to the 
 desire, ami while impending financial ruin, disgrace, and the fear 
 of taxation kei»t the State from gaining population as rapidly as 
 had been her wont, the impracticability of effecting sales saved her 
 against loss. In the meantime, an utter dearth and stagnation in 
 all kinds of business i)revailed. The notes of the banks were 
 receivable in payment of taxes for which purpose they had been 
 to a small extent hoarded by the people ; but now the governor, 
 auditor and treasurer, forbade their receipt by the collectors of 
 the State reveiuie, except at specie rates — 50 cents on the dollar. 
 This step was unwarranted by the law, and condemned by tlie 
 press and people in public meetings, irrespective of party until 
 such a breeze was raised about the ears of the "officers of State" 
 that they were fain to retract their pretentious proclamation, and 
 taking the other extreme, suspended the collection of the taxes 
 till the meeting of the legislature. 
 
 At this crisis in the fair fame of our State, there were not Avant- 
 ing men, in position to aid in moulding public opinion, who 
 favored repudiation, both by the plan of omission and by directly 
 declaring this purpose, and "setting the moral sense of mankind 
 at defiance." Gov. Ford says : 
 
 "It is my solemn belief that when I came into office, I had the power 
 to make Illinois a repudiating State. It is true I was not the leader of 
 any party ; but my position as governor would have given me leader- 
 ship enough to liave carried the democratic party, except in a few coun- 
 ties in the north, in favor of repudiation. If I had merely stood still 
 and done nothing, the result would have been the same. In that case a 
 majority of both parties would have led to either active or passive repu- 
 diation. The politicians on neither side, without a bold lead to the 
 contrary, by some higli in office, would never have dared to risk their 
 popularity by being the first to advocate an increase of taxes to be paid 
 by a tax-liating people." 
 
 Again he says : 
 
 "The people of Bond county, as soon as the internal improve- 
 ment system passed, had declared in a public meeting that the 
 system must lead to taxation and utter ruin ; that the people were not 
 bound to pay any of the" debt to be contracted for it; and that Bond 
 county would never assist in paying a cent of it. Accordingly, tliey re- 
 fused to pay taxes for several years. When the system went down, and 
 had left the State in the ruinous condition predicted by the Bond county 
 meeting, mauy people remembered that there might be a question 
 raised as to the obligation of payment. Public men everywhere, of all 
 parties, stood in awe of this question ; there was a kind of general silence 
 as to wliat would be popular or unpopular. The two great political 
 parties were watching eacli other with eagle eyes, to see that no one 
 should get the advautage of the other. The wbigs, driven to despe- 
 ration by repeated ill-success in elections, were many of them in favor of 
 reijudiating, as a means of bettering their party. The Sangamon Journal 
 
caelin's administration. 453 
 
 and the Alton TehcjnipU., the two leading whig newspapers of the State, 
 boldly took grountl that the debt never could and never would be paid, 
 and that there was no use to say anytliing about it.* Very many demo- 
 cratM were in favor of the same course, for fear of losing the power the 
 tlemoei-atic party alrefulj' possessed. 
 
 It was thought to be a very dangerous subject to meddle with. At a 
 democratic convention wliich nominated Mr. Snyder for governor, a 
 resolution against repudiation oftered by Mr. Arnold of Chicago, was 
 laid on the table by an overwhelming vote of the convention, so as not 
 to commit the party one way or the other. It was evident that this was 
 to be a troublesome question, and a great many of the politicians on 
 both sides were as ready to take one side of it as the other, and their 
 choice depended u^xin which might finally appear to be most powerful 
 The whigs were afraid, if they advocated the debt-paying policy, the 
 democrats would take the other side, and leave the whigs no chance of 
 ever coming into a majority ; and the democrats feared that if they 
 advocated a correct policy, the other side might be more popular, and 
 might be taken by the whigs. I speak only of the leaders of parties, 
 amongst whom on all sides there was a strong suspicion that rei^udiation 
 might be more popular than taxation." 
 
 EEORGANIZATION OF THE JUDICIARY. 
 
 TarimDh Malice and IteroUttioaary Gon.duet. — liy act of Feb. 10, 
 1841, the Icijfi.shitiire re[)cale(l out of office the then U circuit judges, 
 jucreased tlie junuher of .sn[)reiiie judges froui 4 to 1), and, in 
 addition to tlieir duties as a suiu-enie courtaiul their functions astlie 
 <'(.mjjcil of revision, imposed U{)()u tlieni all tlie circuit court luisi- 
 Kics.s in the Sta,te. Since I8;i.> the su})renie judges, relieved of 
 circuit duty, had acted solely as a court of ai»j)eals, errors and 
 revisif)n. The present cliauge was a bitter partisan nieasur<', in 
 tiie language of Gov. Ford, "coufe;ssedly violent and soniewluit 
 rev<dutionary." 
 
 TJjree of the four supreme judges were of the whig party — the 
 sxinority party of the Htate— while Judge Smitli was a, democrat. 
 Gov. Ford says: "It is .lue to trutli here to .say, tliat Wilson and 
 Lockwood were in erery resj»ect aiinable and a.cconi]>lis]iedgeutIe- 
 ineij ij) private life, au<l conimandt'd tlui esteem and r('S})ect of all 
 g()o<l men for the ))urity of their conduct and tjjcir prol)ity iu 
 otlicial station. Wilson was a Vii'giuiau of the ohl sort, a man 
 of good edru-atioji, sound judgment, and an elt'gant writer, as his 
 publisbed opinions will show. Lockwood was a New Yorker. He 
 ^\ as au excellent lawyer, a man of sound judgment, ami his face 
 judicated unconunon i)uriry, modesty, aud intelligence, togetiier 
 witlt energy and stnuig determination. His face was the true 
 audi'x of his character. IJrown was a line, larg;e, affable, ami good 
 Jooking man, had a tolerable share of tact Jind good sense, a com- 
 plimentary, smiling and langhing a<blres.s to all men, and had 
 been elected and continued in office u))on the ground that he was 
 believed to be a clever fellow." 
 
 The State, iu the exciting party struggle of 1840, had gone for 
 Van Biu-en and both houses of the legislature were lai-gely demo- 
 cratic, llie supreme court had two years before offended the 
 
 *Ait<-r the iHibiieation of Gov. Fords history, in T8;M. more than throe yrars after 
 lii-;« -iitli, hotl> t!i<_' -l/fon 'Vdc^tra pli -AnA IlliiKiiK SVrtte Joutiial, foiiiicrly the Satmamon 
 .'(viriwl. (iiMMed li:ivinir fiivoivd icpuiliatiou, either directly or iifliroetly ; that they 
 uiiitortnly npiK^ed it with zeal, and always advocated the liii'nidation of the entire pub- 
 lie dt-bt at as e u-ly a diiy :is the means of the State would justify.— See Illinois State 
 Journal, 31arch 7, 1855. 
 
454 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sense of supremacy of tlie domiuaiit party, in deciding a case of 
 appointment to oftice by tbe governor. Pending before the same 
 tribunal tliere was still another case fraught with political conse- 
 quences far graver, which it was thence surmised would also be 
 decided against the party in power. When men are themselves 
 actuated by party feelings and prejudices in everything, they are 
 apt to think others are similarly intluenced, no matter what their 
 position or how exalted in public life. 
 
 • Alexander P. Field was and had been secretary of State, since 
 his api)ointment by Gov. Edwards, having served through both 
 the administrations of Govs, lieynolds and Duncan. In politics he 
 was a whig, though originally, like Duncan, he had been a violent 
 Jackson man. When Gov. Carlin came into office in 1838, he 
 clainicd the x>ower of appointing a new secretary of State without 
 a vacancy existing in that office. The claim was based ui»on the 
 idea that a secretary of State under our hrst constitution, like a 
 cabinet officer in the national government, was a contidential 
 adviser of the governor, and for purposes of harmony in such 
 relation, should be of the same political i)arty with his excellency. 
 The governor nominated John A. McClernand, then of Gallatin, 
 to the senate for that office. P>ut the senate, although democratic, 
 by a vote of 22 to 18 passed a resolution, "That the executive 
 does not possess the power to nominate to theseiuite a secretary of 
 State, except in case of vacancy in that office, and that, inasnnich 
 as the senate has not been advised of any vacancy in that office, 
 thenominationof John A. McClernand be not advised and consented 
 to by the senate." They were further of opinion that the 
 tenure of office might be limited by the legislature; which hail not 
 been done, however. Daring the session, the governor sent to 
 the senate several other names for that office, but all were 
 rejected. 
 
 After the adjournment, he again ap]iointed McClernand seci'e- 
 tary of State, who thereupon demanded i)ossession of the office 
 from the whig incumbent, Mr. Field, but was refused. JVIcCler- 
 iiand then laid an information in the nature of a quo warranto 
 before Judge Breese, in the circuit court of Fayette county, and 
 upon hearing, that court decided in favor of the com})lainant. 
 Fiehl took an ai)peal to the sui)reine court, where the cause was 
 reversed. The (pu'stion decided by the court, aside from the polit- 
 ical or partisan bent given to it, derived importance frou\ the fun- 
 danuMital princii)le of government involved, (^uite an array of 
 able counsel api)eared on either side. For the a])pellant Field, 
 there were Cyrus Walker, Justin Buttertield and Levi Davis ; and 
 for the api»ellee McClernand, S. A. Douglas, Jas. Shields and 
 Wi(;kliflte Kitcheli, attorney general. Three separate opinions 
 were written by the judges, Wilson and Lockwood concurring, 
 Smith dissenting, and IJrown, being connected l)y affinity, with 
 the relator, declined sitting in the cause.* Chief Justice Wilson 
 rendered the decision of the court in language clear, cogent and 
 elegant, whi(;h is both exhaustive of the subject and convincing 
 in its conclusions. The court decided that the governor had not 
 the constitutional power at his will and i)leasure, to remove from 
 office the Secretaiy of State; that Avhen that functionary was 
 once appointed, the power of appointment was suspended until a 
 
 *See 2d Scam., 111. reports, p 70. 
 
carlin's administration. 455 
 
 vacancy occurred ; tliat when tlie constitution created an office? 
 an<l left tlie tenure inidetined, tlie ofiicer lield during' good be- 
 havior, or until the legislature by law limited the tenure or author- 
 ized soiue functiouaiy of the government to remove the othcer at 
 will. The constitutiou was the charter of the governor's authority. 
 All the i)o\vers delegated to him, or in accordance with that in- 
 strument, he was entitled to exercise and no other. While it was 
 a liuiitation ui>on the i)o\vers of the legislative department, it was 
 to be regarde<l as a grant of jtowers to the others. Neither the 
 executive nor the judiciary, therefore, could exercise any authority 
 or power, except such as was clearly granted by the constitution. 
 In Eugland the king was the source of power, and all rights and 
 prerogatives not granted were adjudged to hi)n, but here the 
 theory is that the people are sovereign and the source of power, 
 and that the executive could exercise only those powers specially 
 delegated to him ; and as it was not even pretended that any ex- 
 press grant of this character was to be found in the constitution, 
 it must be denied. A grant l)y imjtlication could not be main- 
 tained, because the enumeration of the powers of a dei)artment of 
 government ojterated as a restriction and limitation of a general 
 grant. " The executive power of the State shall be vested in a 
 governor," was a mere declaration of a general rule. Besides, the 
 power of appointnu'ut in case a vacancy existed, was given to 
 the governor conjointly with the senate ; and a nomination would 
 not confer office without ai)})roval by the senate. 
 
 The decision caused a great partisan outcry against the " whig 
 court," as it was called. The democrats, largely in the ascend- 
 ancy ill the State, were yet debarred from exercising uncontrolled 
 l)Ower and the enjoyment of all the benefits and emoluments of 
 oftice to which their ascendancy entitled them, by this decision, 
 which proclaimed in their teeth, asit were, the existence of office 
 for life incumbents. 
 
 But the other tiuestiou, still pending and far more iini)ortant, 
 was liaught not only with preclusion from the secret;! rN's office, 
 but with the danger of losing i»olitical control of the State, and 
 eons<Mpu'ntly all power and jtatronage. This was the celebrated 
 (bdena alien case. The alien vote wiis nine-tenths democratic, 
 and sufficient in strength — about I(>,()()(> — that if i)rechuled from 
 the i>olls to <letermine the ele<'tion in faAor of the whigs at the 
 approa<'hing }>residential election of IHM). As the McClernand- 
 Fiehl <-ase was by the nnscru]»ulous boldly chiirged to be partisan, 
 it was now <loubtless believed by many that the court in this cnse 
 was prepared to violate a ]>lain provision of the constitution. The 
 constitution provided that "in all elections, all white niaU^ inhabi- 
 tants above the age of 21 years, having resided in the State six 
 months next preceding' the election, shall enjoy the right of an 
 elector." 
 
 The id<'a had gained currency that suffrage and citizenshii) were 
 concomitant and indispensable qualifications to constitute a man 
 an elect(U-, an<l therefore the i)rovision above quoted, if brought 
 to the test bcfoie the i>roi)er tribunal, would be declared null and 
 void. An agreed case had been made iit (bden;), where there was 
 a large alien vote concentrated in and about the mining region, 
 between two whigs, one of whom sued the other, who had acted 
 as judge at the August election of 1838, and in that capacity re- 
 
456 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ceived the vote of au alien, to recover $100 under the election law 
 of 1829, for the use of the county, which it was supposed would 
 present the constitutional question fairly. The suit was brought 
 in the circuit court at Galena, Judge Ban. Stone, presiding; and 
 as the case was adndtted, he, without hearing argument, or prob- 
 bly giving the question much examination, decided that an alien, 
 unlike a citizen, was not entitled to exercise the election frau- 
 chise. The decision, when it became public, produced great iip- 
 prehension in the ranks of the democracy, and steps were imme- 
 diately taken to bring the case before the supreme court. 
 
 In view of the decision in the McClernand-Field case, it was 
 further imagined that that tribunal wonld aftirm the decision be- 
 low, and that the remedy A^as the re\'olutionary one to reform the 
 supreme court by adding a sufficient nmnber of democratic mem- 
 bers to change its political comi)lexion, and thus either avoid the 
 fearful contingency of such a decision, or, if too late for that, to 
 have it overruled. This precedent is not without a tolerably close 
 modern parallel in luxtional atiairs. 
 
 The case was ably argued in the supreme court at the Decem- 
 ber term, 1839, upon its merits and continued to the June term, 
 1840. This was during the heat of the presidential canvass of 
 that year. If the case was now decided adversely to the aliens 
 the State might be lost to the democracy. There was a general 
 api)rehension that such would be the decision. And now Judge 
 Smith, the only democrat on the supreme bench, sharing in tlie 
 ai»preliension, clandestinely pointed out to counsel a defect in the 
 record, consisting in a clerical error. A motion to dismiss was 
 tliereupon founded, because it appeared by the record that the case 
 argued was alleged to have occurred at a time when by the laws 
 of the State, as the court must judicially take notice, no general 
 election could be held,to-wit, on the 0th of August, 1839, the year 
 meant being 1838. For the purpose of correcting the record a 
 continuance was granted to the December term, which put it be- 
 jond the presidential election in November, 1840. The achieve- 
 nu'nt of discovering the flaw in the record was accounted a re- 
 nun kable stroke of legal acumen. 
 
 When the csise came up tinally for decision at the December 
 term, 1840, it was fouiul that the constitutional question ujjon 
 Avhicli it was expected the case should turn, was not really before 
 the court, but simply a question under the election law of 18i;9: 
 If any judge <^>f election shall knowingly adnnt any i)ersou to 
 vote, not (puililied according to law, he shall forfeit and pay to the 
 C(mnty the sum of $100; ami any person presenting himself to 
 vote, and his qualillcation be suspected, he shall swear that he is 
 a resident of the county; has resided in the Stute sixnu)nths next 
 preceding the election ; is 21 years old and has not before voted 
 at that election. The court held that, as it was admitted that one 
 Kyle, upon the reception of whose vote the question was made, 
 possessed all the qualilications required by theatlidavit, under the 
 law of 1829, it would ha\e simply been sui)erogatory either to 
 challenge him or to have administered the oath to him ; and there- 
 fore the court below, in fining the judges of election, erred, and 
 the case was reversed. The broad and important question of alien 
 suifrage under the constitution, did not arise in the case, an<l no 
 opinion of the court was expressed upon it. Judge Smith, how- 
 
carlin's administration. 457 
 
 ever, not to disappoint partisan expectation, took occasion, in a 
 sei)arate opinion elaborated at j^reat lenjitli, to arjiue the consti- 
 tntiona] (jnestion, qnotin;^' freely Ironi a si)eeeli of, James Bucliauau 
 made in Congress ou tlie admission of JMicliij^an as a State.* 
 
 Meanwlnle the bill to reorj^anize the Sni)reme court was pend- 
 ing' before the legislature, and with the ren<lition of this decision 
 by the court, it was cir(;ulated about by the politicians, and boldly 
 charged by Douglas, in a speech made in the lobby of the house, 
 that the main question had been purposely evaded by the court 
 to allay the apprehensions of democrats as to the alien vote, and 
 to conciliate their favor, with, the object of defeating the bill. 
 
 " Douglas," says Gov. Ford, " had been one of the counsel for the 
 aliens, and it appeared from his speech, that he and Judge Suuth had 
 been in constant comniunieation in relation to the progress of tlie case. 
 Judge Smith, (I regret to say it of a man who is no more), was an ac- 
 tive, bustling, ambitious and turbulent member of the Democratic party. 
 He had for a long time aimed to be elected to the U. S. Senate: his de- 
 vices and intrigues to this end had been innumerable. In fact he never 
 hicked a plot to advance himself, or blow up some other person. He 
 was a laborious and ingenious schemer in ijolitics, but his plans were 
 always too complex and ranutied for his power to execute them. Being 
 always unsuccessful himself, he was delighted witli the misha])s alike 
 of friends and enemies, and was ever chuckling over the defeat or blasted 
 hopes of some one. In this case he sought to gain credit with the lead- 
 ing democrats, by the part he took, and atfected to take, in the alien case 
 as he had before in the case of the secretary of State. He it was who 
 privately suggested to counsel the defect in the record which resulted in 
 the continuance in June 1840, and during the whole time the case was 
 pending, with the same view, be was giving out to Douglas and others, 
 the probal)le opinion of the court. He affirmed that the judges at one 
 time all had their opinions written ready to deliver, and all but himself 
 decided against the aliens; and that the case \^ ouldliavebeen decided if 
 he had not discovered the aforesaid defect in the record. Upon his 
 authority Douglas denounced the court and brought all these charges 
 against the whig judges, and endeavored to make it appear that they 
 had now onlyevaded a decision for the time being, in the vain hope of 
 stopping the career of the legislature. The judges on their i^art, deined 
 all these charges; and Judge Smith uniting Avitli the AVhig judges, pub- 
 lished their denial in the ^Sangamon Journal newspaper, published at 
 Si)ringfield." Gov. Ford further adds, "and there is now no doubt that 
 the whole of it was false." 
 
 In this connection we subjoin the following- correspondence: 
 
 " House of Representatia'es, Springfield, January 26, 1841. 
 "7\) Wi/liiaii Wilsov, Theoph'ihts W. Smith, Thomas C. Broivn and Samud D. Lock- 
 wood, Judges of the Supremfi Court of the State of lU'inois: 
 
 " Mr. McClernand, a member of this house, (who is now speaking) 
 has made the following statements, in substance, in his speech in favor 
 of the bill to reorganize the judiciary of this State. 'I am authorized to 
 say, and I do say on my own responsibibty, if any such resixnisibility is 
 needed, that the judges of the supreme court preimred an opinion against 
 the rigiit of foreigners to vote at the last June term of that court; but 
 on account of objections made by counsel to a nnstake in the record, 
 they witldield their opinions, but did so most reluctantly. 
 
 "'i'he opinion has gone abroad that these judges have made the decision 
 recently tlelivered on the subject of the right of foreigners to vote, in 
 order to defeat the bill under consideration and to prevent these judges 
 from going on tiie circuit. 
 
 "This eommunication is made to call your attention to the statements, 
 and I think it but due to yourselves that an answer should be made to 
 
 ' See case of Thomtis Spragins v. H. H. Hoiij;liton in tlie )il. S. C. iii orts. 
 
458 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 these [statements], as deductions may and will be made from silence 
 which would seem to imply an acquiescence in the truth of these state- 
 ments. 
 
 "Desiring to know whether these allegations are true, I trust an 
 answer will be given. Yours, 
 
 " JOHN J. HARDIN." 
 
 "Springfield, January 26, 1841. 
 
 "Jb/wi /. Hardin, Esq. 
 
 "Dear Sir: Your letter of to-day has just been received, and wepx'O- 
 ceed to answer it without hesitation. 
 
 "In doing so, we cannot, however, but express our great astonishment 
 at the character of the statement to which you refer. You say that Mr. 
 McClernand, a member of the house of representatives, has asserted in 
 debate, in sustance [here follows a quotation of the language as given by 
 Hardin.] 
 
 " To this statement we give the most unqualified denial in all its parts; 
 neitlier of the members of the court having ever prepared or written 
 any opinion against the right of aliens to vote at elections. 
 
 "In reference to the mistake in the record, the error alluded to was 
 discovered by one of the judges, and suggested to the counsel in the cause, 
 as interposing a supposed difficulty in coming to a decision, which, with 
 a subsequent motion made by counsel for the plaintiff in error to dismiss 
 the cause for that reason, and for the further reason, that the cause was a 
 feigned and not a real one, produced the continuance of the cause, as 
 will be seen by a copy of the motion herewith enclosed. 
 
 "As to the insinuation that the decision was made at this time to defeat 
 the judiciary bill, we reply that it is in all its parts equally unjust, and 
 without a pretence for its justificaUou. Having been repeatetlly urued 
 to come to a decision of the cause, and having been moreover assured 
 that individuals were industriously engaged in circulating reimrts that 
 the judges had opinions written against the right of aliens to vote, and 
 that as soon as the judiciary bill before the legislature was defeated, these 
 opinions would be delivered. To refute these groundless assertions, on 
 this subject, we concluded to decide the case without further delay, 
 having no other means of refuting these aspersions. 
 
 "We have thus promptly complied with your request, and we cannot 
 close this communication without remarking on the great injustice done 
 to ourselves, not only by the statements referred to, but numerous other 
 slanders which, in our situation, we have no means of repelling. 
 We have the liouorto be, respectfully. 
 Your obedient servants, 
 
 THOS. W. SMITH, 
 SAMUEL D. LOCKWOOD, 
 WM. WILSON, 
 THOMAS C. BROWN." 
 
 With this contradiction, MeC'leriiniid, under date of January 
 *29, called niton liits inl'oniiant, INIr. lJou<ihis, to sustain him — in- 
 viting immediate attention to the subject. Besides Douglas, six 
 otlier gcntleincn, viz: A. li. Dodge, V. Hickox, J. H. italston, 
 Joliii Pearson, M. McConnell, and J. A. McDongal, all of wliom 
 derived their information from Judge Sniitli alone, furnished 
 letters, some of which state positively tliat Smith had informed 
 them distinctly tliat all the judges had their opinions written out 
 and ready to deliver at the June term, and others that they under- 
 stood from him that he (Smith) was thus i>rc] tared.* There is now 
 lU) doubt that Smith made the former statement, nor is there any 
 doubt that it was false. 
 
 "As to Judge Smith," says Gov. Ford, "he made nothing by all 
 Lis intrigues. By ojtposing the reform bill, he fell out and qnar- 
 
 •See Illinois State Register, Feb. 5. 1841. 
 
caklin's administration. 459 
 
 relied with tlie leaders ol" liis party. He lost the credit he had 
 gained by being the democratic chaiii})ioii on the bench, and failed 
 to be elected to the United States Senate; and was pnt back to 
 the laborious duty of holding circuit courts." 
 
 The judiciary bill ])roduced much excitement and party 
 animosity at the capital, both among members and the goading, 
 insatiate lobby vultures. It was no easy task for the dominant 
 party to rally its force to the blind supi)ort of a measure so ]»ur(']y 
 one of revenge. A great deal of opi)osition came from the friends 
 and interests of the circuit court judges, every one of whom 
 would be rei)ealed out of office and the majarity of whom were 
 democrats. However, the bill linally passed both houses. The 
 council of revision returned it with their objections, urged at 
 length. 
 
 The council regarded the requirement that the supreme court, 
 uith five additional judges, hold circuit courts in all the counties 
 of the State; attend at the seat of government, aiul act as coun- 
 cil of revision during the sessions of the legislature, and i)reside 
 in the supreme court until all the business of that tribunal was 
 disi)osed of, as physically ini])ossible. Owing to the magnitude 
 of the circuit court business, the nine circuit judges, for no fault 
 of theirs, had been unable to attend to it and fully subserve the 
 interests of the i>ublic. To thrust all this business u])on the hands 
 of the supreme judges, in addition to their other duties, Avoukl 
 result in srn-h delay in the administration of justice as to be equiv- 
 alent to a denial of it. The law would i)rejudice the rights of 
 citizens and the cluiracter of the State. 
 
 The bill, however, was re-passed, notwithstanding the objections 
 of the council, in the senate, by a large inajority, but in the house 
 by barely one. A solemn jirotest by the undersigned members, 
 many of whom have since attaiiuMl imperishable renown, was 
 spread upon the journal, Febiiiaiy L'(!, 1841. After stating their 
 objections at length, they sum up as follows : 
 
 1st. The bill violates the frreat principles ot government by subject- 
 ing the judiciary to the legislature. 
 
 2(1. It is a fatal blow at the independence of the judges, and the cou- 
 stitutional term of their oftiee. 
 
 3d. It is a measure not a^l-ced tV)r, or wished by the j^eople. 
 
 4th. It will gieatly increase the expenses of our courts or greatly di- 
 minish their utility. 
 
 otii. It will give the courts a political and partisan character, thereby 
 inqtairing pul)lie confidence in their decisions. 
 
 (Itli. It will inqiair our standing in the opinion of other States and 
 the world. 
 
 7th. It is a party measure for party jnuposes, from which no practi- 
 cal good to the people can jjossilily arise, hut winch may be tlie source of 
 innumerable evils. * * The blow had already fallen, but tliey felt ini- 
 l)elled to point out the danger of the measure, its inqjolicy aiul its usur- 
 pation, in order at least that the desjiotism of a momentary majority 
 may not become a precedent for succeeding enormities, or future crimes. 
 We liave struggled ineffectually to guard tlie principles of our govern- 
 ment from unhallowed innovation, and contended for the sujiremacy of 
 the constitution. 
 
 (Signed): Joseph Gillespie, John J. Brown, Leander Munsell, Wil- 
 liam"!?. Archer, John F. Cluirles, Isaac Funk, Alden Hull, .John Dar- 
 nielle, Geo. W^ Waters, Cyrus Fdwards, James T. Cunningham, John 
 Bennett, Tlios. Threlkeld. A. Lincoln, J. M. McLean, H. W. Thornton, 
 Wm. A. ^Marshal, James JNI. Bradford John .1. Hardin, Jeremiah Cox, 
 Peter Menard, jr., W. H. Henderson, James Reynolds, W. W. Bailey, 
 
460 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 D. M. Woodson, E. B. Webb, John Denny, Isaac Fromaii, Jas. A. Beal, 
 Josiah Francis, Daniel Gray, James Parkinson, John Canady, Alexan- 
 der Phillips, James N. Brown. 
 
 The live additional supieiue judges elected by the legislature 
 under this law were, Thomas Ford, (subsequently gov.) Sidney 
 Breese, Walter B. Scates, Samuel H. Treat, and Steplien A. 
 Douglas,* all democrats. By this means all apprehension Mas 
 allayed in the democratic breast regarding the continued support 
 of tlie alien vote, so far as any interference from the sui>reme 
 court was concerned. ISTor did the majority of that court now 
 question the right of the executive to appoint his own secretary of 
 State ; and had the question been now presented to the court, the 
 McClernand-Field decision would have been overruled. Such is 
 l)arty intluence upon the judiciary. One of the newly appointed 
 judges, writing of this reorganization of the court says : The high- 
 est courts are but indifferent tribunals for the settlement of great 
 political question ; * * when any great political question ou 
 which parties are are arrayed comes up for decision, the utmost 
 which can be expected of them is, an able and learned argu- 
 ment iu favor of their own party, whose views they nuist 
 naturally favor.t The court, however, as newly organized, ])roved 
 not entirely acceptable to the dominant party; the judges gener- 
 ally enjoyed great personal popularity, but the bench became the 
 subject of frequent malevolent assaults by the legislature. That 
 body, fresh from an exultant constituency, imbued often with ex- 
 treme partisan views, could illy brook any independence in the 
 other departments of government.| 
 
 At this session of 1844-5, the legislature, ostensibly as a meas- 
 ure of retrenchment, passed resolutions drafted by INIr. Trumbull, 
 A^•ho was not a member though an aspirant for the ermine, calling 
 
 *Thc last named gentlcmaa had been of counsel for the aliens, had derived his inloi-- 
 mation of how the case was going to be decided in June preceding from Juage Smith, 
 had obtained the continuance then on the defect in the record as jjointed out bj' him, 
 had made a violent attack upon the old judges by a characteristic speech in the lobby, 
 and had furnished McClernand the data upon which the latter denounced the court ; 
 In view of all of wiiich, it seems strange that he had sought and obtained a position 
 side by side with the gentleman he had traduced and attempted so much to bring in- 
 to disrepute. Partisan scheming and the cravings of office could not well go 
 further. 
 
 The new judges were charged with partisan conduct, by the whig press of the 
 period, iu the secret appointment of a clerk of the supreme court. Ebenezer Peck, 
 it seems, as a member of the legislature had orit^iiially (ii)iiiised the judiciary bill ; but 
 his position became suddenly changed, and the bill jiassed the House by one majority 
 over the objections of the council. After taking their seats, the new members of the 
 court had no consultation with the old judges on the subject of the clerkship, and not 
 a word was said in open court about removing the incumbant, Duncan, Indeed, one 
 of them had given out that to avoid the imputation of being a partisan court, the 
 clerkship was not to be disturbed. The public astonishment was not inconsiderable, 
 therefore, when shortly after its adjourement, Peck announced himself as the clerk 
 by apijointmentof the majority of the court.— Sa iKjaimm. Journal. 
 
 tFord's History. 
 
 :i:At the session of 1843-43, there was an effort made to remove Judge Brown, on the 
 ground of incompetencj'. This gentleman, whose home was at Shawneetown, upon 
 the reorganization of that court, had been assigned to the remote Galena circuit, with 
 the view to render his position uncomfortable and irksome, and worry him into a 
 resignation. This failing, four lawj'crs from his circuit, viz : C. S. Hempstead, Thoinns 
 Drunimond. Thompson (^unpbell, ana A. L. Holnii's, Hied their siiecflficatidn^ chaigip.g 
 that he had not thai nat\iral strength of intellect, and lacked tli(> legal and literai-y 
 learning, requisite and indispensable to a proper discharge of the high and responsible 
 duties devolvinu- upon him as a judge of the supreme court; that his opinions deli\- 
 er(<l in that couit were written and revised by others, and that his decisions \ipon the 
 circ'uit had been the mere echo of some favorite attorney ; and that by naturi', educa- 
 tion and hahit, he was wholly unlit for his high position. 1'heir stinging language 
 indicated something more than a purpose to solelj' subserve the public good. The 
 S'uate de<'lined to participate in the examination of the charges. The house in com- 
 mittee of the wh' le went several times into the investigation of them, but finally ask- 
 ed to be discharged from their further consideration and so the iliatter ended and 
 Judge Brown retained his seat.— House Journal, session 1842-43. 
 
carlin's administration, 4G1 
 
 on the judges and oovenior to relinquish a portion of their .sala- 
 ries. This wiis refused, on the ground of the prineii)le invohed 
 as to the right of tlie legislature to make sueh a recjuest. It im- 
 plied a control to a certain extent, of a co-ordinate dei)artment of 
 government, however the recjuest coupled with it the consent of 
 the incumbents. Although tlieir salaries were fixed, coercion was 
 in this manner sought through the fear of losing public fjivor, 
 interest, and popularity. It was an unworthy means, and <les- 
 trnctiveof the first great piinciple of free constitutional govern- 
 ment — the independence of the co-ordinate branches to each oth- 
 er. The supreme court, as constituted under the act of Feb. lOth, 
 1841, was finally dissolved l)y o])eratioii of the constitution of 
 1848, the judges going out of oliice December 4th, that year. 
 
Chapter XXXIX. 
 1842— 1846— ADMIXISTKATIOX OF GOVEEXOE FORD. 
 
 The Campaign — Life and Character of Gov. Ford — Lieut Gov. 
 Moore— Means of Belief from the Financial Fmbarrassments — 
 The State at the Turnimj Point — Restoration of her Credit. 
 
 As early as December, 1841, tlie State democratic convention 
 met at Springtield, and nominated Adam W. Snyder, of St. Clair, 
 and John JMoore, of McLean, ;us tlieir candidates for governor and 
 lientenant governor at the election of Angnst 1842. In the spring 
 following, ex-Gov. Josei>h Dnncan and W. H. Henderson became 
 the candidates of the whig piirty for the same ottices. Charles 
 W. Hunter and Frederick Collins were also, respectively, candi- 
 dates for the same i)ositions. Mr. Snyder was an effective speaker 
 and possessed an ostentations and i)lausable address. He had 
 been a member of congress and state senator, and in the latter 
 capacity, to gain the favor of the ^lormons, who wei'c looming np 
 in the State as a considerable jiolitical jtower by reason of their 
 unity, had been largely iiistriimeiital in the passage of the 
 obnoxious " Mormon charters," by which that modern sect were 
 placed abo\e and l)eyond the laws of the State — constituted a 
 l^etty sovereignty within their cor])orate limits, whence they issued 
 forth, committed the'r depredations upon the neighborhoods out- 
 side, retired to their legal citadel of Xauvoo, and detied the process 
 of any court of the county to follow them. 
 
 The JMormons, driven from Missouri by a democratic governor, 
 denied protectictn by a democratic })resident, but in congress coun- 
 tenanced by Messrs. Clay and ,lohn T. Stuart, in 1840 had given 
 their support to the Avhigs. IJut now Joe Smith, their proi)het, 
 issued his procl*imation exhorting his followers in favor of Mr. 
 Snyder, and " declaring Judge Douglas to be a master spirit." 
 This jnandate showed the wliigs that the democracy had, by the 
 extension of these very liberal charters, woed the Mormons with 
 success. But the odium of this sect was already rajjidly spread- 
 ing over the entire State; and of this circumstance, Gov. Duncan 
 as the whig (candidate, who was not concerned in the })assage of 
 the obnoxious charters, sought to take advantage, and more than 
 retrieve fronj the peojile the whig loss by the Mormon defection. 
 Imleed things bon^ a \ery piomising look in that direction, lint 
 at this Juncture Mr. Snydersickened and died, and the newchoice 
 as the standard bearer of the democracy for governor, fell npou 
 the Hon. Thomas Ford, who, although well known as a 
 jurist, was in no wise prominently connected with politics, 
 
ford's administration. 4G3 
 
 and ceitaiiily not with tlio passage of tlie obnoxious Mormon 
 cliarters. The democracy appieliending' the drift of public opinion, 
 placed Jud<ie Ford in the position made vacant by by the death 
 of JMr. Snyder, because of his aAailabiJiry. It is doubtful whether 
 any of the democratic leaders, in the then temper of the people 
 toward the Mormons, could have been elected over so adroit and 
 conraiicous a coiui)etit«)r as Duncan. The death of Snyder proved 
 the triumph of the <lemocracy. 
 
 l)<*sides the odious ^lormon charters and the alleged intrigues 
 and cf)rrupt Itargains between certain politicians and the pro}>het, 
 the other public (pu'stions of the day were, a revival of the work 
 on the canal, repeal of the bank charters, and the claim of Wis- 
 consin to 14 of our northern counties. The i)osition of the new 
 democratic candidate ui)on the questions was variously and 
 oppositely reported in the public i)ress of different sections of 
 the State, to be everywhere in harmony with the varying, but pre- 
 vailing, sentiments of the people. Much allowance ought to be 
 made, however, for the statements of the iiress during a heated 
 political campaign, l^uncan charged Ford during the canvass 
 with concealiii!^' his opinions on all these questions. 
 
 The folliMving arc the nuiuber of votes cast for governor in 1842: 
 For Thomas Ford, 4(i,l)()l ; Josei)li ])uncan, 08,084; Charles W. 
 Huuter, 1)09. For lieutenant governor: John Moore, io/jiil ; W. 
 H. Henderson, 38,420; Frederick Collins, DOo. 
 
 Thomas Ford was born at Uniontown, Pa., in the year 1800. Tie 
 was a half-brother to George Fonjuer, his senior by six years. 
 Their mother, after the death of her tirst husband, nnirri(Ml liobt, 
 Foi'd, who, in 1802 was killed in the mountains of rennsylvania 
 by Indians. She was left in indigent circumstances, with a large 
 family, mostly girls. With a view to better her condition, she, in 
 1804, removed to Missouri, where it had been customary by the 
 Spanish government to give land to actual settlers, but upon her 
 arrival at St. Louis she found the country ceded to the United 
 States, and this liberal policy, unlike as at present, changed by the 
 new ownership. After some sickness to herself and family she 
 finally removed to Illinois, and settled some three miles south of 
 Waterloo, but the foHowing year jiioved closer to the Mississii)pi 
 blurt's. Here the boys received their first schooling under the 
 instructions of Mr. Humphrey, for which they walked three 
 miles. 
 
 Their mother, though lacking in a thorough education, was a 
 wonuui of superior mental endowments, joined to energy and 
 determination of character. She inculcated in her children those 
 high-toned moral i)rinciples which distinguished her sons in public 
 life. She exercised a rigid economy to provide her children an 
 education, but George Forquer, her oldest son, at an early age had 
 to quit school, to aid by his labor in the support of the family. 
 He acquired the trade of a house-joiner, afterwards became a 
 merchant, failed, and studied law, which his vigorous intellect 
 eiuibled him to readily master in s])ite of a defective early educa- 
 tion. He was determined and and)itious, had a good voice and 
 became a fluent and elegant speaker. He filled many public 
 offices ; was a member of the legislature from Monroe, secretary 
 of state under Gov. Coles, attorney general, senator from Sanga- 
 mon, subsequently register of the land office at Springfield, and 
 
464 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 but for his early death avouUI probably have been elected to the 
 TJuited States senate. Joined to his other intellectual qualities 
 was rare merit as a writer. He was of an amiable and generous 
 dis])osition, and was successful in accumulating a considerable 
 estate.* 
 
 The younger brother, Thomas Ford, with somewhat better oppor- 
 tunities, received a better, though limited common school, educa- 
 tion. His luind gave etirly promise of superior endo\Yments, with 
 an inclination for mathematics. His proficiency attracted the 
 attention of the Hon. Daniel P. Cook, in whom young Ford found 
 an efticient patron and friend. The grateful heart of the protege 
 did not forget its beuefactor. On ])age. To of his History of 
 Illinois, Ford pays that gentlenmn surh unwonted compliments 
 as no other of all his public coteuqxiraries receives at his hand. 
 Through Cook, young Ford turned liis atteution to the law, but 
 Fonjuer, then merchandisiug, regarding liis education defe(;tive, 
 sent him to the Transylvania University, Avhere he renniined, 
 however, but one term, owing to Forquer's failure in business. 
 On his return he alternated his laAV reading with teaching school 
 for support. In 1829 Gov. Edwards appointed him prosecuting 
 attorney; in 1831 he was reappointed by Gov. Keynolds; after that 
 he was four times elected a judge, by the legislature, without o]>po- 
 sition; twice as circuit judge, judge of Chicago, and as associate 
 judge of the supreme court, when, in 1841, that tribunal through 
 partisan nmlice was reorganized by the addition of live judges, all 
 denu)crats. Ford was assigned to the 9th judicial circuit, and at 
 the time of his nomination for governor was holding court in Ogle 
 county. He immediately resigned his office, accepted the nomina- 
 tion and entered ui)on the canvass. In August he was elected 
 governor. The offices which he held, although perhaps he was 
 willing enough to have them, were unsolicited. He received them 
 upon the true Jefferson principle, never to ask and never to refuse 
 office. 
 
 As a lawyer. Gov. Ford stood deservedly high, but his cast of 
 intellect fitted liim rather for a writer upon law than a practicing 
 advocate in the courts. In the latter ca, pacify he was void of the 
 moving power of eloquence, so necessary to success. As a judge 
 his written opinions are sound, lucid and able expositions of the 
 law. He was a stranger, in practice, to the tact, skill and insinu- 
 ating address of the politician ; but, as we may well infer from his 
 hist(n\v, no man of his time had a clearer percei)tion of the wiles 
 and sinuosities of that devious class than he. Yet despite this 
 appreciation, his confidence in the honest i)urposes of others, 
 joined to indecision or hesitation perhai)s, enabled the unscrupu- 
 lous to deceive him, and in the nondescript Mormon war cause 
 him unwonted trouble and vexation. 
 
 As a man, Governor Ford was plain in his demeanor.f He 
 lacked that sanguine and determined boldness and decision of 
 character requisite to fit one for a great political leader. For 
 
 •Reynold's Pioneer History. 
 
 [+ It is relivted that after the expfratidn of his term of office, upon the occasion of 
 the asseniblinK of thi- Icaislature, which always collected a horde of greedy seekers 
 for siibdrdiiiatc i)()siiuitis at the capitol, a wafr pointed him out to a certain "ring" as a 
 formiilMhlc ;\si)iniiit for door-kfopei- of the house. He was hunted up in his room at 
 the hotel, in the siniill hours of the night, and approached fora bargain or combination. 
 On discovery the ''ring" felt mortified and the ex-governor perhaps not highly flat- 
 tered.] 
 
ford's ADMliSflSTRATION. 465 
 
 money getting' lie cared little more than wonld affoi d liiiri a decent 
 8ui»i)ort, and wcar(;ely that. He accnniuhited no wealth and ni)oii 
 his retirement from the gnbernatorial chair he resumed tlie practice 
 of tlie law. G-ov. Ford was small of atature, slender, dark com- 
 plexioned, with a i)rofusion of black hair, sharp features, deep set 
 eyes, a pointed, acquiline nose, with a decided twist to one side, 
 aiid liad a small nnjuth. His appearance was said to be somewhat 
 cyni<'al and he was, perhaps, not witliout vindictixenesis. He was 
 by nature a student, and the traits of his mind tilted him for close 
 thouglit,' though he lacked in imagery, the gilt of genius. He 
 had ills weak trait; one besetting sin into which his convivial na- 
 ture betrayed him, and which contributed to his early death. 
 
 As an author he deserves our special consideration. He has 
 left to the State in which he was reared, trusted and lionored with 
 the highest office in the gitt of the people, and which he dearly 
 loved, a legacy in the form of a history, which, though but a frag- 
 ment comprising' his own time, and not topically arranged, will be 
 more and more ai»[)reciated with the advance of years. 
 
 His writings show a natural (low of compact and forcible thought, 
 never failing to convey the nicest sense. In tracing with his trench- 
 ant pen the devious operations of the professional politician, 
 in which he is inimitable, his text is open perhaps to the objec- 
 tions that all his cotemporaries, nuiny of whom liave since luul 
 their names written high on the scroll of national fame, were mere 
 })oliticians, and that he fails to discover little else in aJl their a(;ts 
 and deeds than the seltish prom})tings for place, ])o\ver, or some 
 local benetit. It has been inferred — indeed his book is somewhat 
 calculated to to leave such an impression ui>on the mind of the 
 reader — that it was dictated by spleen, and his enemies have 
 charged it to be the jealous bile of disappointed ambition. 15ut 
 except, perhaps, as to his own administration this is a mistaken 
 view. That he was an accurate observer of his own times, aud 
 that he relates events truly and describes men correctly, may aside 
 from the iuteriud conviction which his book produces, be inferred 
 from the fact that he wrote concerning those who survived him, 
 but who have never contradicted him. 
 
 The lieutenant-governor elect, John Moore, was born Septem- 
 ber 8, 179o, in Lincolnshire, England. Bereft of parents at the 
 age of 20 he enngrated to America. Sojourning for a while in Vir- 
 ginia, he located in Hamilton county, Ohio, and about l^oO re- 
 mo\ed to lllhiois, settling permanently at l\andol])h (irove, 
 McLean county, where he pursued his vocation of wheelright, a 
 trade which he had learned in England. His force of character 
 was such that he speedily rose from obscurity. In 1831 he ^vas 
 elected a justice of the peace; twice afterward to the lower house 
 of the legislature and in 1839 to the State senate. His sterling 
 qualities of head and heart gained him distinction throughout the 
 State, causing his party to designate him as its standard bearer 
 for lieutenant-governor in 1812. On the breaking out of the Mexi- 
 can war, animated by an ardent patriotisnx for the cause of his 
 adopted country, he volunteered in the ranks, was chosen lieut. 
 colonel of the 4tli regiment, and participated in all its active ser- 
 vices. After that, by the partiality of the peo})le, he was twice 
 elected State treasurer, and in that capacity earned the hor.ored 
 soubriquet of " Honest Johu Moore." He was long and favora- 
 30 
 
466 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 bly known in the State as a consistent leader of tlie democracy, 
 and died Sept. 23d, 1863. 
 
 With the advent of Governor Ford's administration, lie sums 
 up the condition of the State as follows : 
 
 " The domestic treasury of the State was indebted for the ordinary 
 expenses of government to the amount of about $313,000. Auditor's 
 warrants on the treasury were selling at 50 per cent, discount, and there 
 was no money in the treasury whatever; not even to pay postage on " 
 letters. The annual revenues applicable to the payment of ordinary 
 expenses amounted to about $130,000. The treasury was bankru])t ; the 
 revenues were insufficient; tlie people were unable and unwilling to 
 pay high taxes; and the Htate had borrowed itself out of all credit; a 
 debt of near $10,000,"000 had been contracted for the canal, railroads and 
 other purposes. The currency of the State had been annihilated ; there 
 was not oyer $200,000 or $300,000 in good money in the pockets of tlie 
 whole people, which occasioned a general inability to pay taxes. The 
 whole peo]>le were indebted to the merchants, nearly all of whom were 
 indebted to the banks or foreign merchants ; and the banks owed every- 
 body, and none were able to pay." 
 
 In his message, the governor says : 
 
 "We have suffered all. the evils of a depreciated paper circulation ; 
 the first of which is a great and sudden scarcity of money. The specie, 
 which ought to be in circulation, is locked up in the banks; a large 
 amount of the depreciated jiaper has been purchased up and held on 
 si)eculatiou, and the residue has just been sufficient to keep money of a 
 better character from coming among us. Consequently, we have been 
 left without money, property has fallen unusually low in jjrice, and the 
 products of the farmer have been almost unsaleable. Twt) courses have 
 operated to prevent an increase of population for a year or two past; one 
 is the prevalent fear of exorbitant taxes ; the other the reproach to 
 which we are subject abroad. The remedy for this is obvious. Let 
 it be known in the tirst place that no oppiessive and exterminating taxa- 
 tion is to be resorted to ; in the second, we must convince our creditors 
 and the M'orld that the disgrace of repudiation is not countenanced 
 among us — that we are honest and mean to pay as soon as we are able." 
 
 In the legislature, which came into power simultaneously with 
 Governor Ford, there was no party in favor of taxation to i)ny 
 interest on the public debt. Some wanted to make no effort for 
 live or ten years, but await he influx of immigrants, trusting- that 
 the future might develope something laAorable; all would gladly 
 yield up to the holders of the internal iniprovenjent boiuls the 
 l)ublic works as far as completed, and the lands, railroad iron and 
 other property ])urchased to carry forward the system, in liquida- 
 tion of the indebtedness, if they would finish the canal, but this 
 was imi)racticable for obvious reasons. The great majority were 
 neither willing to tax nor yet to repudiate. Governor Ford, in his 
 message, said: "Although the elections in August last weie con- 
 ducted Avith warmth on the part of Ihe candidates and people, not 
 more than one or two individuals were found Avilling to offer their 
 services upon principles of repudiation, and they were unsuccess- 
 ful." The majority (piieted their consciences by the adoption of 
 resolutions recognizing both the moral and legal obligations to 
 l)ay interest and prin<'i])al, but that the present ability to do so 
 was out of the (lucstion. Outside there were not wanting many 
 Avho were outs[)oken in favor of repudiation, contending that 
 neither the legislature nor the State financial agents possessed the 
 power to legally obligate the people to the payment of debts in- 
 curred in a scheuu'. of such gross and reckless infatuation as that 
 of the internal improvement system of the State. 
 
ford's administration. 467 
 
 Another source of anxiety and trouble to tliouglitful and con- 
 servative men, wastlu^ piostrate banks. They liad been for along 
 time odious to tlie peoph' on account of tlieir oft infirmities. Any 
 extremity pursued toward tliem would meet tlie liearty ap]>roba- 
 tion of the peoi»le, howexer such course might be detrimental to 
 the country. Ib'iice politicians, who looked only to poi)ularity 
 with their constituents, were clamorous for -the repeal of the bank 
 charters, lllniois bonds in market were worth oidy 14 cents on. 
 the dollar at the tinu^. The State owned hank stock to tlu' amount 
 of $3,100,000, which it was urged by tlie re])udiating i)arty should 
 be returned to the banks in exchange for State bonds held as col- 
 lateral ; that the latter should be force<l upon the market as assets, 
 and with the proceeds pay the debts of the banks. This woiihl 
 liave further depressed Illinois bonds. The bank stock was nuich 
 more valuable than State boiuls,the bills of the bank being worth 
 about 50 cents on the dollar, yet the madness of the hour de- 
 manded a surrender and even exchange. 
 
 These were some of the obstacles in the way of harmonious de- 
 liberation for the best interests of the State. l>ut fertile brains 
 were immersed in thought to devise ways out of the em- 
 ban^assing circumstances under which the State labored. The 
 canal, upon which work had been longer continued than the other 
 public works, was greatly advanced, requiring only some $3,000,- 
 000 more to tinisli it u]»on the tirst magnificent plan. It was now 
 pro}tosed to make of this work a. fulcrum by which to raise the 
 credit of the State out of its slough of despond. And as some 
 sort of canal was better than none, it was further proposed to lin- 
 ish the remainder of it by abandoning the deep cut for the shallow, 
 which could be accomplished at about half the price, or $1,000,- 
 000. Tlie completion of the canal would inspire confidence abroad, 
 invite emigration, and revive the drooi)ing energies of the peoi)le 
 at home. The plan was to induce the caiuil bondholders to ad- 
 vance this amount on the pledge of the canal, its lands and reve- 
 nues, as a first mortgage, postponing all creditors who should 
 refuse to contribute until" the former were reind)ursed. It seems 
 that Justin Butterfield, an eminent lawyer of Chicago, was entitled 
 to the credit of suggesting this plan, which, altera brief delay, 
 proved successful. He first mentioned it to Arthur Uronson, a 
 heavy operator in Illinois stocks, and a large landholder in the 
 northern part of the State, who was on a visit to Chicago, in the 
 summer of 1S4LJ, looking after his interests. Mr. liutterlield fur- 
 ther iml)ued Mr. Michael Ilyan with this idea, and the latter, when 
 shortly after in New York, enlisted Mr. David Leavitt, Mr. Bron- 
 son, and other operators in Illinois stocks, both in London and 
 New York, in the scheme. The plan received definite sha]X> from 
 these financiers, and upon the meeting of the legislature, Decem- 
 ber, 1842, awaited the sanction of that body. 
 
 But the more absorbing question of repealing the baidv charters 
 and winding uj) those institutions, boded evil to the success of 
 the new canal loan, even if the bill to convey the canal in trust 
 for the advance of $1,000,000, did become a law. The financial 
 embarrassments of the State would probably become involved iu 
 an inextricable coil, to disentangle which would consume years of 
 time. There was a question of law as to the vested rights of the 
 banks under their charters, which they asserted their determiua- 
 
468 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tioii to coiit(vsts Avitli all the law's delay that tLe United States 
 courts aUtbrded, if forcible liquidation was attempted. In the 
 meantime, their assest would be absorbed in litigation or squan- 
 dered by villainous oflflcials. It would, besides, produce mistrust 
 and a want of confidence in the minds of capitalists abroad, upon 
 Avhom we depended for the new loan to complete the canal. If 
 the bank charters could be repealed and banking corporations 
 arbitrarily crushed, what guarrantee was there that a succeeding- 
 legislature would not treat the new canal company the same 
 ■way ? 
 
 Gov. Ford, for the best interests of the State, determined upon 
 a just compromise with the baidis, and labored earnestly to tbat 
 end. But with the convening of the legislature, the retiring- 
 executive. Gov Carlin, (says Ford), "recommended repeal in his 
 valedictory message. When he fiist came to the seat of govern 
 ment he showed me his message, recommending' wise, just, and 
 honorable measures to the baidvs. He also showed me what he 
 had ])repared on the subject of repeal, assuring me that he had 
 decided not to i)ut it in. But sliortly afterwards, some of the 
 ultraists got a hold of him, and induced him to alter his message, 
 by recommending repeal. This reccmimendation embarrassed me 
 then, and has embarrassed me ever since. Here was a respecta- 
 ble recommendation of something more ultra than I thought was 
 warranted by the best interests of the State. It gave counteiumce 
 to the ultraists ; they could rally around it, win a character for 
 stern and inttexable democrats. It at once put them ahead of the 
 new governor and his frieiuls," As a further source of opposition 
 to the banks, Gov. Ford continues: "There w'as quite a party 
 out of the legislature, expecitauts of oflflce and others, who 
 hoped that if the banks were repealed out of existence and 
 jjut into forcible liquidation, some of them mrght be ai)i)oint- 
 ed commissioners and put in charge of their specie and effects. 
 It was known that if the bardc debts were paid pro rata, a large 
 amount of specie would renmin on hand for a year or more, the 
 use of which could be made profitable in the meantime. Then 
 there were to be bank attorneys and agents in collecting and 
 securing' debts ; and the whole would furnish a handsome picking' 
 for the buzzards and vultuies who hang about lobl)ies and sur- 
 round legislatures. As for myself, I decided .at once in favor of a 
 comi)romise ; and I gave notice to all these greedy expectants of 
 oflice, who were hanging' arouml with eyes straining to devour 
 their substance, that if the banks were repealed, and the appoint- 
 ment of commissioners was vested in me, none of them could 
 exi)ect an a])pointment. This I know cooled some of them." 
 
 The g'overno]', who lalioied under a greater apprehension in re- 
 gard to the power of the idtra anti-bank party than there was 
 jierhaps any call for, drafted the bank bill himself, giving' it 
 rather a higlier sounding title than its provisions deserved or its 
 effects wonld warrant, namely "an act to diminish the State debt 
 and put the State bank into li(iuidati()n." The ofticers of the bank 
 were wh^H a])i)rised of its provisions and had agreed to them. "It 
 w\as then," says the governor, "shown to Mr. McClernand, chair- 
 man of the finance committee. Gen. Shields, Judge Douglas, and 
 myself, were invited to be present at the meeting." I was desirous 
 of having the bill introduced as a democratic measure, and 
 
FORD'S ADMINISTRATION. 469 
 
 for this reason tlie wLigs of the committee were not invited 
 to be present. The project was stated to the committee, and all 
 the members agreed to it but one, and he was soon argued out of 
 his objections by Judge Douglas. The next day it was introduced 
 into tlie lower house as a report from the finance committee. 
 This circumstance put Mr. IMcClermind in the position of being 
 its i>rincipal advocate ; and it was soon known to be a favorite 
 measure of tlie new administration." It met with geiu'ral favor 
 among the members. 
 
 Th(M)pposition to it came luainly I'rom the outside expectants 
 of ottice in winding u^) the concern. Says Ford : "Lyman Trum- 
 bull, secretary of State, ]uit himself at the head of this oi)position. 
 In taking this ground, JMr. Trumbull was [irobably less influenced 
 by a hope of pecuniary advantages to himself, than Dy a desire to 
 serve his friends, to be considered a thoroughgoing [)arty man, 
 and by a hatred of McClernand and Shiekls, who both favorecl 
 the measure.* 
 
 "As soon as McClernand took his position on the bank question, 
 Trumbull arrayed himself in o[tposition. He pretended that 
 McClernajul's measure was not sufliciently democratic ; in fact, 
 that nothing could be democratic in relation to the banks but to 
 tear tliem up ami destroy them root and branch, and he ho[)ed to 
 fasten upon McClermuid the imi)utation of being a "milk aiul 
 water democrat,' and thus lower him in the estinuition of the party. 
 At the instance of Ebenezer I'eck, clerk of the su])reme court, and 
 others, he put up a notice that he would address the lol>by on the 
 subject, in the evening after the legislature had adjourned. Most 
 of the members attended to hear his discourse. 
 "The next day McCIernainl, who possessed a kind of bold aiul 
 denunciatory eloquence, came down upon Trunil)ull and his con- 
 federates in a speech in the house, which for argument, eloquence, 
 and statesiJKiiisliip was far superior to TnunbuU's. This speech 
 silenced all opposition thereafter to the bill in the house. The out- 
 door opposition, after this, forseeing signal defeat in the house, 
 turned their attention to the s'enate. "-■ * * Trund)ull took his 
 «tand in the lobby and sent in amendments of every sort, to be 
 proposed by Orain, of Washington, Catlin, of St. Clair, and others. 
 The mode of attack was to load it down with obnoxious amend- 
 iuents, so as to make it odious to its authors ; and Trund)ull ojtenlj' 
 boasted that the bill would be so altered and amended in the sen- 
 ate that the framers in the house would not know their own bant- 
 ling when it came back to them. From this monu'utl determined 
 
 [■" "HisquarreJ with McClernand spriiiiiJ' out of his appointment to the office of sec- 
 retary of State two years before. MeClernand was a nieinlier of the leg'islature in 
 1848, but not beiiijran applicant then, Juiifie Doiierlas was appointed at the hefiinninsr 
 of tlie session without opposition. ]5ut when Douglas was elected a judge of the su- 
 preme court, toward the end of the session, McClernand incited his friends to g-et up 
 in his favor a strong recomniemiiition from the members of the ieyislature for the va- 
 cant office. * « ♦ Gov-. Oarlin had already allowed the uKMiibers of the legisla- 
 ture and his political friends to dictate to him the appointment of .McClernand on a 
 former occasion He had lately yielded to similar dictation in the appointment of 
 Doiiu-las in opposition to his own wishes, for he had previously promised the office to 
 Isaac N Morris, of Quincy. [He] subsequently use<i his inliuence with the legislature 
 to get Morris elected to the office of president of the board of canal commissioners. 
 Hut this contest between McClernand and Trumbull tooli place at the close of the ses- 
 sion, when the governor had nothing more to hope or fear from tuat legislature. * * 
 Trumbull was nominated to the senate: and McClernand and Shielfls as inijncdiately 
 went to work in that body to procure the rejection of his appointment. They came 
 within a vote or two of defeating his nomination. Ever since then there has b>jeu no 
 good feeling between McClernand and Trumbull."— Ford's History. 
 
470 IIISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 to remove Tiuiiibull from the office of secietaiy of State, [which 
 was done]. Tiie obnoxious amendments were rejected, and the 
 bill passed by a hirge majority, and was a])i)roved by the council 
 of revision. Judge JJoughis, notwithstanding he had a<lvised the 
 measure before the finance committee, voted against it in coujicil. 
 [The bill passed the house by 107 for to 4 against.] A bill 
 somewhat similar, passed in relation to the Shawneetown bank. 
 By these two bills the domestic- treasury of the State was at once 
 relieved, and another debt of !i;2,."'<"^^**^' '^^'^'^ extinguished imme- 
 diately. 
 
 ''The legislature at this session also passed laws for the sale of 
 State lands and property; for the reception of the distributive 
 share of the State in the proceeds of the sales of the public lands ; 
 for the redemi)tion of interest bonds hypothecated to Macalister 
 and Stebbins, and for a loan of il,()(!0,()()0 to com})lete the Illinois 
 and Micliigan canal. By these various laws provision was made 
 for the reduction of the State debt to the anu)unt of eight or nine 
 millions of dollars. * * From this moment the aflairs of the 
 State began to brighten and impiove. x\uditoi''s warrants rose to 
 85 and 90 per cent. State bonds rose from 14 to 20, 30 and 40 
 per cent. The banks began to pay out their specie, and within 
 three months time the currency was restored, conlidwice was in- 
 creased in the prospects of the State, and the tide of emigration 
 was once more directed to Illinois."* 
 
 But the new canal loan of $1,000,000 met with delay in its ne- 
 gotiation. European capitalists were well disposed toward it, but 
 there was no reliable evidence placed before then) as to the value 
 of the canal ; nor were they willing to take the loan witlK)ut 
 some evidence of public faith and recognition of the obligation of 
 the State, and some legislation for taxation to make at least a be- 
 ginning to pay interest on t)»e i)ublic debt. 
 
 In his message to the legislature of 1844-5, tliei'efore, Gov. 
 Ford recommended taxation. In September ])receding, however, 
 Mr. William S. Wait, of Bond county, through his published let- 
 ter to the governor against taxation, had already afforded him an 
 opi)ortunity to make known his views in a i)ublic letter written iu 
 reply, which did great (;redit to his sentiments of honor and ca- 
 pacity as a sagacious statesman. It gained a wide circulation and 
 produced so favorable an effect in Euroj)e as to immediately cause 
 the completion of the subscrii)tion to the loan. Tlie State revenue 
 was derived from a land tax, a i)ortion of which had been in 181i7 
 diverted to tlu^ counties then generally in debt, to aid them towaitl 
 the erection of court-houses and jails, which had long since been 
 built, and the go\'ernor in his message says: 
 
 " This land tax ougiit to be resumed to the State treasury. Frequent 
 attempts have been made to elFect this, Init witliout success. The objec- 
 tion has always been that tliere was more land taxable in the old than 
 in the new part of the State, and that the measure would be unequal. 
 [Fuder the compact witii congress in the enal)ling act of 1818, lands 
 w^ere not to be taxed till five years after their eulry.] 1 would recom- 
 mend tluit tlie additional revenue thus derived, and such additional 
 tax as tiie legislature in its wistlom will ]»rovide for, be formed into a 
 fund, tlie proceeds aiul increase of which sliall he sacred and (kMUcated 
 to the extinction of a portion, however small at first, of the interest on 
 the public del)t. Whatever we do in this way, ought to liave the great- 
 
 *Foi'd's History. 
 
ford's administration. 471 
 
 est permanency. * * And thus by setting a limit to the fears and 
 imaginations of men in relation to the huge phantom of expected taxes, 
 we might reasonably calculate to restore ourselves in the estimation of 
 mankind, turn the tide of emigration again into our country, accom- 
 panied by wealth and intelligence." 
 
 But from various causes quite an opposition liad been raised to 
 the adniiiiistration. This yxew out of the "Monnan war," and 
 the jealousies of political aspirants. Two bank conunissiouers, a 
 secretary of state, three judges of the su})renie court, and a U. S. 
 seiuitor had been appointed. For these oftices tliere Avere many 
 a]>i)HcaHts, and tlie disapixnnted ones joined their intiuence to oj)- 
 pose the administration measures. Many chari^es were brou<iht 
 against the administration and an investigating committee was 
 appointed, wliich, while it made a thorougli in(j|uisition of tlie ex- 
 ecutive otlices and found nothing amiss, still did not possess the 
 magnanimity to make any report at all — "the newest way of dis- 
 crediting an administration," which ouglit to be jiatented, says his 
 excellency. 
 
 The ujain a<bniuistration measure at this session was a sujjple- 
 menta] canal bill, and to pro\ide lor paying a portion of the inter- 
 est on the State debt. It provi<le<l for a transfer of 1 mill from 
 the county to the State tax, so as to make the State tax 3 mills, 
 the latter to remain permanent, and together with all suiplus 
 moneys in the treasury constitute an " Interest Fund," to be sa- 
 credly set apart for the payment of interest on the public debt. 
 The bill giving to the foreign bondlntldcrs two canal trustees and 
 to the State but one, afterwards divided and ]»assed in two laws, 
 was ])repaTed in accordance with the i)ropositi()ns of the foreign 
 creditors, as made by the Boston committee. Governor Davis, of 
 Massachusetts, and Mr. Leavitt, of ifew York, being i>resent 
 during the latter part of the session. 
 
 Besides disaffected democrats, a strenuous effort was made 
 to array the whig party in opi)osition to this measure. To this 
 end a secret meeting of the whig leaders was called to form a 
 coalition with the southern democrats. But to these intrigues, 
 fraught with mischief to the credit ami prosi)erity of the State, 
 Judge Stephen T. Logan, of Springtield, N. I). Strong, of Alton, 
 and other whigs, set their faces as steel ; and in the house these 
 juachinations met with signal defeat, the bill passing by some 20 
 majority. In the senate, altera suhstitue offered by Edwards and 
 amemlments by Worthington and Constable, (whigs,) all tending 
 toirs defeat, were voted down, that body refused to order the bill 
 to a third reading — 19 to 22. Now followed nuuli i)arliamentary 
 manueA'ering, and charges of bribery and corruption were fjcely 
 made. 
 
 "The vote on the bill in the senate l)eing reconsideicd. it was 
 referred to a select comnnttee, together Avith another bill ol' an 
 important character, which had already passed the house of icp- 
 resentatives. It was known that one senator would not vote r(U' 
 the tax and the canal both in the same bill. By their conneetioji 
 the tax was made to ai)pear as a local measure, intended only for 
 the benefit of the north. The committee, therefore, divided the 
 bill. They struck out of the canal bill all tlnit related to a tax, 
 and they struck out all of the bill referred with it, and inserted 
 the taxing part in that. And these two bills being now reported 
 
472 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 back to the senate, the senate concuiTed in their passage as tlms 
 amended. They were sent back to the house the same hour for 
 concurrence, which was given ; and thus tliese important meas- 
 ures passed into laws ; or rather ihey wabbled through the legis- 
 lature. To Thomas M. Kilpatrick, senator from Scott, is due the 
 honor of the good numagement in the senate, in dividing and 
 amending the measure, and thus securing its passage. I give the 
 facts, curious as they may appear, to illustrate the fertile genius of 
 western men, and as a specimen of the modes of legislation in a 
 new country."* 
 
 Thus was shown a recognition of our obligation to i)ay the pub- 
 lic debt, and a willingness to contribute to do so as far as lay in 
 our i)o\ver. This, too, at a period of sore trial to the peoi)le of the 
 State. For the two i)rece(ling seasons the crops had been a par- 
 tial failure; the uni)recedented freshets of the Mississipi>i, the 
 Illinois and many other streams in the State, in 1844, had de- 
 stroyed a large amount of pro])erty, and laid waste many a home- 
 stead ; and an unusual amount of sickness had not only followed 
 in the wake of the floods, but generally pervaded the country. 
 
 Another "Hard Times" measure, adopted at this session, was 
 the reduction of interest to per- cent. During the Hush tin)es^ 
 prior to 1840, when money was abundant and unlimited, the peo- 
 ple overtraded themselves, and, tinally, on settlement, gave their 
 pnsmissory notes, bearing 12 per cent, interest, which they did 
 rather than be sued and lia^s e their i)roperty sold under execution. 
 Tile reader will have noticed that for tweuty-tive years the ten- 
 dency of legislation in Illinois, and indeed all western states, a 
 tendency not yet arrested, was to faAor the debtor classes. 
 
 At the close of Gov. Ford's administration,! we lind the domes- 
 tic debt for the ordinary exi)enses of the State government to be 
 only 131,212, iiistead of $ol3,000 as when he came into ofticej 
 now, without the sum due from the general government to the 
 school fund being j)aid, there was in the treasury $9,2(j0, when at 
 that time it did not contain enough to pay postage on a letter ; now, 
 auditor's warrants were worth over 90 cents on the dollar, then, 
 not 50 ; now, people were in the nniin out of debt, then they were 
 overwhelmed with jnivate liabilities. The baidvs had been put 
 into li<juidation and gradually wound uj), their dei)reciated circu- 
 lation retired and replaced by a reasonable abundance of specie 
 and the issues of solvent banks from other States. By exchang- 
 ing the bank stock of the St a t£'. fVu- the bonds, and the sale of 
 pul)lic property, about $3,000,000 of the i)ublic debt had been 
 extinguished ; aiui by the canal, then promising to be completed 
 within the next year, some $5,000,000 more were effectually pro- 
 vided for in the enhanced value of the canal i>ro]ierty, aiul the 
 fact of its conveyance in trust to the foreigii canal bondholders; 
 being a reduction of some $8,000,000, extinguished and provided 
 for, during Gov. Fords' administration, notwithstanding itsbegin- 
 ing under cinnnnstances the most adverse and unpromising. The 
 State, which for years before had been overwhelmed with debt; 
 which had not for 4 years paid even interest on its bonds, and 
 loth to even recognize its ]>ul)lic debt; which was on the brink of 
 rei)udiation — discredited throughout the civilized world, had diu-- 
 
 *l Forcrs History. 
 
 *See his message, Dec. 1846. 
 
FOED^S ADMINISTRATION. 473 
 
 iiiji-liis ndiiiiiiistratioii its credit greatly restored, and wa« enabled 
 to borrow $1,()()0,(>()0 to complete tlie canal. It now had a popu- 
 lation of about 7()(>,<!(l(), and tlie H niill tax to be exchi- 
 sively api>lied as interest on the public debt, would yield for the 
 year^ 184(), $12o,(J()0. With the dissipation of the clouds of 
 threatening' dishonor, emigration, ^vith an increasing tide, again 
 sought our lands for homes, and i>opulation was augmenting" 
 faster than any previous time. The list of taxable property, and 
 the aggregate wealth of the State, was rapidly on the im-rease. 
 From the i>eople here, erst so anxious to sell out and depart the 
 State, the terrors of high taxation had been removed, and now 
 when opportunity tosell and leave was almost daily presente<l, 
 they were content to remain. The reputation of Illinois before 
 the civilized world, now stoo<l forth almost without spot or blem- 
 ish, the peer in Innior and credit of any in the sisterhood of 
 States. The year 1845 was the turning point in her financial em- 
 barrassments, and marks the beginning of her since unabated 
 pros])erity and march to greatness. 
 
 "We may date the commencement of onr returning ]>ros]terity 
 to the passage of that law" — the law reijniring the l)anks of this 
 State to ])ut their affairs in process of gradual liquidation — says 
 Gov. French in his inaugural nu'ssage. This law, we have seen, 
 was conceived by the brain an<l drafted by the hand of Gov. 
 Ford himself; through his admirable lettei' in re|)ly to W. S. 
 Wait, of JJond comity, onr foreign creditors took heart and sub- 
 scribed the money for the conii)letion of the canal ; he had the 
 courage to recommend taxation, and suggested the permanant 
 tax or "hiterest fund-' bill, which after a severe struggle became a 
 law. We see thus the directing finger of Gov. Ford in every im- 
 portaid measure which aided in restoring the credit of the State, 
 and snatching it from the jaws of repudiation and dishoiuu-. 
 And this was done, not with the united supjjort of his own party 
 friends, but in the face of their many intrigues, jealousies and 
 l>arty machinations. Illinois was most fortunate in securing his 
 services for its helm of State at this critical juncture other finan- 
 cial career; and ])osterity will ever owe a debt of gratitude to liim 
 for his clear insight into the condition of her affaii's, the meas- 
 ures which his genius brought Ibrward for her extrication, and the 
 fidelity with which he discharged the liigh trust reposed in him at 
 this crisis in her history. In his valedictory message he says: 
 "Without having indulged in wasteful or extravagant habits of 
 living, I retire fiom oifice poorer tlian I came in ; and go to i»ri- 
 vate life with a full determination not to seek again any place in 
 the government." Gov. Ford died, Nov. 2d, 1850, at Peoria, in 
 very indigent circumstances. 
 
Chapter XL. 
 THE ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 
 
 Trials and Troubles Incident to its Construction. 
 
 The importance of a canal coiniectin<i' tlie waters of Lake Micli- 
 igaii and those of the Illinois river, and thence by other navigable 
 streams hundred miles in extent to the Gulf of Mexico, was at a 
 A^ery early time appreciated, and its consuinmatio]i fondly cherished. 
 The French traders and voyageurs in their exi)l()rati()ns of the 
 west, between one and two centuries since, i)assed with their boats 
 from Lake Michigan into the Des Plaines at some seasons of the 
 year, via the Calumet river and lake. The portage between the 
 south branch of the Chicago river aiul the Des Plaines was oidy 
 some live or six miles. Until the artiUcial connection between the 
 waters of Lake Michigan and the Illinois river ^\ as practically 
 essayed, it was regarded as of easy iiccom}>lishment; but the facts 
 lia\'c shown the contrary. The canal, which in 18-5 and prior was 
 estimated at $010,000, has iirst and last, including the Chicago 
 dee[)eiiing for sanitary purposes, cost near twenty times that 
 sum. 
 
 During the war of 1812, with the massacre at tlie mouth of the 
 (3hicag<), and the retreat of the savages westward, national atten- 
 tion A\as tirst directed to the importance of this work, and the 
 jnesident in his message in 1814 brought the subject to the atten- 
 of congress, and a select committee repented it as "the great ^^•ork 
 of the age," for both military and comn)ercial purposes. ''In 
 181(i," says Gov. Edwards, who was one of the commissioners, "a 
 tract of land bounded on Lake Michigan, including Chicago and 
 -extemling to the Illinois river, was obtained from the Indians, for 
 the pni'pose of opening a canal c(nnnninication between the lake 
 ami the river. * * I peisonally know that the Inibans were 
 induced to believe that the opening of the canal would be very 
 adxantageous to them, and that, under authoiized expectations 
 that this would be done, they ceded the land fov a tritle.' * In 
 1817, Major Long made a I'cport to congress that "a canal, uniting 
 the watt'rs of the Illinois river with those of Lake Michigan, nury 
 be considered the Iirst in im]»ortance of any in this quarter of the 
 country, and the construction would be attended with very little 
 exjiense compared with the nnignitude of the object." Another 
 rcpoi't i'avorabh^ to the canal was at that time made by Ivichard 
 Graham and Chief Justice Phillips, of this State.t In' 1810, Mr. 
 Calhoun, secretary of war, directed tlie attention of congress to the 
 
 •Ed war Is' Life of Edwards. 
 +I"uid 
 
 474 
 
ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 475 
 
 canal on account of its importance for military pui'poses,* lu 
 1822 conj;ress autliorized this State to construct the canal tlirou^uli 
 tlie public lands, <;Tantin,t;- for the purpose a strip of ground 90 
 feet in width on both sides of it, and reserving the lands through 
 which it might i>ass from sale until further direction. It was to be 
 commenced within three and completed within twelve years. To 
 the State was given the privilege of taking from the government 
 land, materia] for its construction. Upon this slender beginning- 
 congress subsecpuudly enlarged considerably. 
 
 In 1818, (iov. Uond, in his message, strongly recommciKU'd the 
 construction of the canal ; Governor Coles, four years later, did the 
 same, and every governor of the State espoused its cause. No 
 secitional question was made of it for many years. The legislature, 
 at the sessiou of 1822-3, appointed a board of canal commissouers 
 "to UKxke or cause to be nuide, estinuites, etc., for com])letingsaid 
 canal," and report to the next general assembly. Enmnuel J. 
 West, E]-astus Brown, Theopilus W. Smith, Thomas Sloe, jr., and 
 Samuel Alexander were ai)pointed commissioners. The board 
 emitloyed licne Paul, of St. Lous, and Justine Post, as engineers 
 to survey the route and nuike out the estimates. They reported 
 the route highly practicable and estimated the cost of the work at 
 from $(]1(),(H)0 to not exceeding .$710,110.71, which has proven to 
 be very wide of the nuirk. The ex.innimtiou was superlicial ami 
 no idea was fonned of the anu)unt of rock excavation which 
 afterwards })rovod so formidable. These preliminary steps cost the 
 State $10,580.87.t 
 
 By a(^t of .Ian. 10, 1825, the "Illinois nud ]\Iieliig;in Canal Asso- 
 cintion," with a capital of -$1,000,000 was iucorpoi'iited. The com- 
 pany was to build and com[>lete the caual within 10 year's time; 
 to re(;eive for its own use and benetit all the i)ublic lands which the 
 United States, States, or individuals might donate in aid of the 
 undertaking, and the tolls for 50 years after its completion; at the 
 expiration of which time the canal and all its unsold lands were to 
 be turned over to the State and the total sum expended in its con- 
 struction, with () per cent interest, was to be paid. 
 
 The act, after its passage, incurred the strenuous opposition of 
 the Hon. Daniel 1\ Cook, our only mend)er in congress. A grant 
 of land for the construcrion of the canal, ui)on the ground of its 
 national character, was then with sonu' degree of confidence hook- 
 ed forwiird to during the administration of i\lr. Adams. The 
 House conunittee, through IMr. Cook, had made a favorable re- 
 l)ort ui)()n it. But the act of the legislature, by which any bonus 
 to aid the work, Avas in advance turned over to a cori)oration of 
 pri\at(i individunls, would ju-obitbly defeat the measure in con- 
 gress. Mr. Cook published a long address to his constituents, 
 under date of Oct. 28, 1825, forcibly attacking the canal ]»olicy of 
 tlu^ State; urging the legislature to resume its i)ossession and re- 
 l)eal the charter before any work was commenced, and the claim 
 of vested rights should be set up. He demamied ''that the rich 
 harvest which it was destined to yield, should go into the treas- 
 ure of the State;" and declared "that in less than 30 years it 
 would relieve tlie people from the payment of taxer., and even 
 leave a suiplus to be a])i)lied to other works of public utility." 
 
 *Vol. 4 Pul). Doc. 15 ConuTC'SS. 2d sossion. 
 
 iSee Report of George Forquer, Senate Journal, session 183-t-5. 
 
470 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 These hopeful predictions have not been fulfilled. So sanj;uine 
 was he, that to raise capital to bnild the canal, he was ready to 
 sell or pledge a million acres of the school lands to carry forward 
 the work. But no sto(;k was ever snbscribed by the ''canal asso- 
 ciatiou;" the incorporators voluntarily surrendered their charter 
 and tlie act was repealed. 
 
 This obstacle out of the way, the legislature, at the special ses- 
 sion of January, 1820, called by acting Gov. Hubbard, transmitted 
 to congress a very able memorial, drafted by ^Ir. linssell, of Bond, 
 l)raying- aid for the canal. We quote two sentences: "The con- 
 struction of the canal, uniting the waters of Lake Michigan with 
 the Illinois river, will form an important addition to the great con- 
 necting links in the chain of internal na\agation, which will 
 effectually secure the indissoluble union of the confederate mem- 
 bers of this great and i)owerful republic. By the completion of 
 this great and valuable work, the connection between the north 
 and south, the east and west, would be strengthened by the ties 
 of coiumercial intercourse and social neighborhood, and the union 
 of States bid defiance to interim! comiuotion, sectional jealous}', 
 and foreign invasion." 
 
 Tim memorial, together with the efforts of our delegation in 
 congress, Cook (in tiie house,) and Kane and Thomas (in the sen- 
 ate), but notably the first named, whose genial influence and un- 
 tiring labors in this behalf have placed the State, and particidary 
 Chicago, under lastiug obligation to his memory, ])roduced a 
 favorable effect, aud congress by act of March 2d, 1827, grant- 
 e<l to the State of Illinois "for the puri»ose of aiding her in 
 0[)eiiiug a canal to connect the waters of the Illinois ri\'er with 
 those of Lake Michigan," the alternate sections of the public 
 lands on either side of the canal for five miles, along its entire 
 route, which when set ai)art by the i)resident were found to contain 
 224,.')22 acres. The lands Avere subject to the disposal of the legis- 
 lature "for the purposes aforesaid, an.d no other." The canal a\ as 
 regarded as of national utility ; it was to be commenced within 5 
 years thereafter and completed within 20 ; and if not so comple- 
 ted, the State was to jjay the general government for all lands 
 sold up to that time, and the renuiiinler were to revert. This 
 grant was the beginning of those enormous landed subsidies to 
 western railroads which have become so frequent of late, but it 
 will be noticed that this and the next, also in Illinois, for tlie con- 
 stiuctiou of the Central railroad, were made to the State, where- 
 as latterly the grants are to private corixjrations directly. It is a 
 curious fact that the largely democratic State of Illinois obtained 
 both these grants, by which she was more materially ])enefited 
 than all else ever(h)ne for hei', from whig administrations. 
 
 In 1829 the legislature organized a new board of canal commis- 
 sioners, "to exi)lore, exanune, fix and determim' the route of the 
 canal," dis[)ose by sale of the lands and lots and commence the 
 work. Governor Edwards a])pointed Charles Dunn, afterwaids 
 U. S. judge of Wisconsin Territoiy, Dr. Gersham Jayne and Ed- 
 mond JJoberts, both of S[)ringfield, as commissioners. For lack 
 of funds little or nothing was done; times were rather haid, 
 owing to the financial end)arrassments caused by the old State 
 bank of 1821. Feb. 15, 1831, an act amemlatory "of that of 1821>, 
 was passed. Under the provisions of these tw'o acts, the board 
 
ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 477 
 
 laid out the towns of Cliica^io and Ottawa, the map of the foiuier, 
 jjiepared by James Tlioiiii)soii, who made tlie svciveys, bearing' 
 date August 4, 1830. When Thompson began his suivcvs of 
 Chieago, in 1820, only 7 families li^■ed outside of Fort Deaiboiii. 
 Town lots and eanal lands were sold to the amount of $18,Ul.'4,S3, 
 and a re-examination and re-snr^■ey of the entire route of the canal 
 were nuide, the engineer this time being ^Ir. lUieklin, whose esti- 
 mate ran the work into millions instead of hundrt-ds of thousaiuls. 
 The question of building a railroad over the route, instead of the 
 canal was also considered. The commissioners rept)rted their 
 estinuite to the legislature at the session of l8oo, the cost ol' the 
 canal at $4,04o,38(>,r)U— still too low by about half — and the cost 
 of a railroad at $1,().")13, 488,19. The expenses of these examina- 
 tions and surveys was $10,1)74,80. The board of canal commis- 
 sioners, by act of March 1, 183o, was abolished. The incund»ents 
 were required to pay o\er all moneys, ami deliver uj) all papers, 
 vouchers, &c., of their transactions, to the State treasurer, and 
 if upon examination any of the ofticers aforesaid had not faifli- 
 fully and fairly accounted for all moneys &c., suit was directed to 
 be commenced ui)on their oflicial bonds," for which purpose, .juiis- 
 diction Avas given to the Fayette circuit court, its process running 
 to any county in the State. 
 
 Meanwhile there were various projects of turning the constiuc- 
 tion of the canal and all its ])r()perty gifts over to a company, and 
 of building a railr<)a<l instead between Chicago and I'eru. The 
 distance was about 100 jniles and the cost of a railroad was esti- 
 mated at about $10,000 per mile. At the time, considering the 
 expedition with which railroads are built, and the delay which has 
 attended the comi>letion of the canal, the former would doubtless 
 have served the country more accei)tably. A railroad woidd have 
 been fully adequate to all the wants of the country and for pas- 
 senger travel it is far i^referable, while for the transi)ortation of 
 freight it offers the advantage of carrying in winter as mcII as 
 summer. The consent of congress to divert so nuich of the avails 
 of the canal lands as might be needed for this object was readily 
 obtained. By act of March 2d, 18;)3, the State was authorized to 
 use the lands granted for the canal, in buildiiig either a railroad 
 or canal, as the legislature might elect; and the time for com- 
 mencing either was extended live years. 
 
 In LSof) the governor ^\ as authorized to negotiate a loan not ex- 
 ceeding $500,000, "solely on the pledge of the canal lands and 
 tolls," for the construction of the caiial. The stock Avas to be 
 called "Illinois and Michigan canal stock," and in no case to be 
 sold for less than par. Governor Duncan told the legislature such 
 was the universal estimate of the importance of the canal by all 
 men of intelligence, that he had no hesitation in believing ample 
 funds could be procured for its speedy completion. But the efl'ort 
 to obtain the loan proved a failure. Ex-Gov. Coles, residing at 
 Philadelphia, was deputed to negotiate the loan for the full sum 
 authorized. Under date of April 28, 1835, he wrote that capital- 
 ists were unwilling to take it because the bonds were not based uj)- 
 on the faith of the State. Kor were any funds for the paymentol 
 either principal or interest i)rovided, excei)t such as might arise 
 from the lands a]id net revenues of the canal. 
 
478 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 To ineet these objections, the act of Jan. 9, 1S3G, was passed, 
 whicli repealed the foniier act and anthoiized the same loan of 
 $500,000 on the credit and faith of the iState, irrevocably pledged 
 for the payment of the canal stock and its accrning- interest. 
 James M. Strode, a senator then representing' all the country north 
 of and inclnding Peoria, introduced this bill, which served as an 
 entering wedge to the State treasury, and became the nu^del for 
 subsequent like legislation. The mojiey borrowed, premiums on 
 sales ot stock, the proceeds of the canal lands and lots, and all 
 other moneys arising from the canal, were to constitute a fund 
 sacred to the canal till it was completed, except to pay interest on 
 the stocks. Tlie board of canal comnussioners was constituted a, 
 body })olitic and corporate, subject to the control of the governor, 
 one was to be the acting commissioner and general sui)erinten- 
 dent of the work, who was to report to the board. They were to 
 hold till January following, wlien commissioners were Jiuide elec- 
 tive biennially. The salary of the acting commissioner was 
 $1,200, and the comi>ensation of the other two $3 i)er day m hen 
 en![>loyed. Moneys from sale of stock or other sources were to be 
 dei)osited in the State banks, to be thence drawn as needed by 
 warrants on the treasurer. Immediate steps were to be taken for 
 the (tonstruction of the canal, the contracts to be let to the lowest 
 bidder. JNiaterials for the canal were exempted from execution. 
 Town sites. were to be located and lots sold at auction. A sale of 
 Ottawa lots, and the fractional section No. 15, adjoining Chicago, 
 was nnule June 20^ 1846 ; the latter under the extraordinary nuniia 
 of speculation Then rife regarding Chicago,* is said to have 
 brought $1,503,495. The dimensions of the canal were to be not 
 less than 45 feet at the surface, 35 at the base, and a navigable 
 depth of at least 4 feet of water. Quarterly rei)orts were to be 
 made to the go\ ernor. The commissioners aj)pointed by Gov. 
 ])uncan were William F. Thornton (acting commissioner), Gurdon 
 S. Hubbard and \N'illiam IJ. Archer, all whigs. The canal was to 
 extend from Chicago to the mouth of the Little Vermilion, work 
 to be begun at its northern terminus. Of the loan no^^ author- 
 ized. Governor Duncan negotiated $100,000 in New York at a jn^e- 
 mium of 5 per cent., which he deemed too lov imd declined a 
 larger amount at that rate. Subsequent ex])erience showed that 
 he should have taken more. The survey and estbnate made at this 
 time by chief engineer Goodwin, w as $8,(594,33.51 — a hundred per 
 cent higher than that of liucklin — $80,000 per mile, being 4 times 
 the cost of the Erie canal. The estimate was based upon a sur- 
 fa(;e width of GO feet, 40 at the bottom, and depth of water (to 
 tlow from the lake) of G feet. These dimensions were larger than 
 the Erie, and would have made it one of the most splendid works 
 of internal imi»rovement anywhere to be found. Eut for such a 
 work the estimate was yet too low. Contracts were let, and on the 
 4th of July, JS3G, ground was iirst broken for the canal. The 
 occasion was publicly celebrated at Chicago, by reading the 
 Declaration of Indei)endence, and the delivery of an able and 
 appiopriate address by Dr. Egan, picturing in glowing colors the 
 I'utui'c of Chicago and of the State of Illinois. Those glowing 
 colors have been already dininit'd by the reality. 
 
 • See Brown's History IJlinois, p. 417. Note— Evidently a mistake. 
 
ILLINOIS AND iMICIIIGAiSf CANAL. 479 
 
 Much of the route of tlie canal lay tluougli marshy ground, 
 inundated in the spring and fall, rendering it difiicult of access. 
 Forty thousand dollars was expended the first year upon roads 
 leading to the work. The country l)ordering uixui its route was 
 but scatteringly settled, affording neither provisions nor shelter for 
 laborers. Supplies had to be gathered from abroad. The work 
 preceded the local demands of the country', other thau those cou- 
 ceived in the brilliant imaginations of "corner" or "water lot" 
 si)eculators in Chicago. Labor and provisions were high. The 
 foanier from |20 to $oO per month and board. I'ork at Oliicago 
 was from .$L*U to |oO per barrel; flour $9 to $12; salt $12 to .$15 ; 
 oats and potato(\s 75 cents per bushel; and other articles of con- 
 sum])tionin ratio. 
 
 To give a further idea of the difficulty of this great work, we 
 repro<luce from an exhaustive legislative report, made by the lion. 
 Newton Cloud in 1837, the following. The canal is treated in three 
 divisions: The first, comprising a high level from Chicago to 
 where it runs out (Lockport) distance 28 miles. On this, from 
 Chi(;ago river to Point of Oaks, a cut of 18 feet was requiied, to 
 allow the waters of Lake Michigan to flow througii. Half of the 
 excavation for the entire 28 miles consisted of stratified and solid 
 rock. The whole of this summit division was described as a sunken 
 plain^ largely underlaid with rock, the waters of the Des Plaines, 
 Portage Lake, and the Sagaiuiskee swamp extending over it ami 
 forming at times a continuous lake; 15 or 16 feet of the canal cut, 
 on this division, lay below the surface of the Des Plaines and con- 
 tiguous to it; and as drainage was impracticable, the .difficulties 
 and expense to be encountered from this ol)ject alone baffled the 
 power of calculation. Besides, as the line was many feet below 
 the river and the surface of the lake, subterraneous veins or foun- 
 tains of water might be expected. Li the rock cutting, nuich would 
 depend upon the compactn<>ss of the rock and its capacity' to ex- 
 clude the suberincumbent water from the prism of the canal. If 
 fissures, peculiar to lime stone regions, shoidd be met with the 
 work would be exceedingly slow, enormously expensive at any 
 time of the year, and impracticable during rainy seasons. An 
 abstract of the engineers estimate i)ut the total cost of this 
 division at $5,897,701.13; but the legislative committee, by 
 referring to contracts already let, (which they cite) found that 
 solid rock excavation per cubic yard would cost $2.50, instead of 
 $1.54; earth excavation 40 cents, instead of 33; contingencies 
 and superintendance 15 i)er cent, instead of 3, &c., »&c.; whence 
 they deduced that the sun)mit level would cost $10,192.4()1, a 
 ditfereiu^.e against the engineer's estimate exceeding $4,250,000. 
 These obstacles led to the consideration of the high le\'el or 
 shallow cut plan, as run by engineer Lucklin, ten feet abo^ e Lake 
 Michigan, using the Calumet or I^es l*lai)ies rivers for feeders. 
 They estimated thatu])on this plan the summit division, including 
 the necessary feeders, might be constructed for one-fourth the cost, 
 or $2,500,000. The Calumet was preferred for a feeder, because 
 of its coiniecting 80 miles of navigation with the canal from the then 
 contemi)lated internal im])rovements of the State of Indiana in that 
 region. The middle division of 37 miles Avas estimated at $1,510,957; 
 and the western division at $1,272,055— total $5,283,012. They 
 further reported that by connecting the canal with the river at lake 
 
4S0 ni.sToiJY OF lLL^^■olS. 
 
 Juliet, 60 miles would be saved ; that the river could be locked aud 
 daniiiied thence to l*eru atacot^l of.i^.jTOjdG.j, reduciii.ii' the cost of the 
 entire work tooidy $o,551,(J05 — the improvements of the i-ivergiving- 
 to the State, besides, a hydraulic power capable of running' TOO pair 
 of mill stones, yielding an annual rental of $210,000. None of 
 these suggestions were adopted ; though tlie State was, from 
 financial embarrassments, afterwards forced into the adoption of 
 the shallow cut i)lan. 
 
 By act of March 2d, 1S37, supplemental to the law of Jan, 9, 
 183(), the canal commissioners were rendered inde])endent of the 
 governor. Besides an acting commissioner, one was to be presi- 
 dent of the board and the other treasurer, the latter to give 
 additional bond for the safe keeping and disbursement of the funds. 
 In the al)sence of the acting commissioner, the others were to 
 perform his duties. They wei'e to, A^ithout delay, prosecute the 
 canal to final completion upon the plan of 1830. A new survey 
 and estimates, on tlje established route, were to be nuide under 
 oath, with the view to ascertain if sufticient water could be 
 obtained to feed the canal on the summit level. A route diverging 
 from the nmin trunk was to be surveyed through the Aug-sag- 
 nash-ge-ke swamp and Grassy lake to intersect the Calumet river, 
 estinuites to be made, and tlie canal built Avhenever the State of 
 Indiana should undertake a corresponding work connecting 
 therewith. A navigable feeder, from the best practicable point on 
 Fox river to Ottawa, was to be constructed, and at the latter 
 idace, basins or a lateral canal connecting with the Illinois river 
 Avere also to be built. Sales of Chicago lots to the amount of 
 '$1,000,000 were oidered ; the governor was to borrow $500,000 
 upon the credit of the State, to be expended on the canal in 1838; 
 to i)romote competition between contractors, no bond should be 
 required, but a certain percentage on estinuites reserved until the 
 final completion of their jobs. JSTotwithstanding congiess had 
 nmny years before given license to the State to takenniterials from 
 the i)ublic lands for the construction of the camd, the legislature 
 now authorized the circuit courts to ai>point men to appraise all 
 danuiges arising to settlers upon them from the construction of the 
 canal. Many claims were presented and allowed, costing the 
 State many thousands of dollars. But at this time the canal had 
 become connected with the great internal imi>rovement system, 
 and with the then inflated notions pervading the public mind 
 nobody' doubted either the credit or ability of the State to compass 
 all these grand works, and suchajiower could not afitbrd to be 
 niggard to individuals with claims. 
 
 Up to January 1, 1839, the gross expenditures on the canal, 
 derived from the various sources of loans, lot and land, amounted 
 to $1,100,000. All of it, but about 23 miles between Dresden and 
 Marseilles, was contracted, ami the jobs let were roughly estimated 
 at $7,500,000. The legislature, still infatuated with the huge 
 State internal im])rovement system, af the session of 1838-9, 
 encouraged the canal by directing the fund commissioners to loan 
 to its fund $300,000, and authorizing the governor to make a 
 further loan for it by the sale of $4,000,000 of State bonds. This 
 was the canal loan, to negotiate which. Gov. Carlin, unwilling to 
 put it into the hands of the fund commissioners, employed ]\Iessrs. 
 Young and Eeynolds, who made a very bungling job of it, entail- 
 
ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 481 
 
 ing upon the State a loss of several huiidred tlionsaiid dollars, by 
 their various transactions with Dnnhip, of Philadelphia, Delatield, 
 of New York, and Wrii^ht & Co., of London. The latter, for a 
 million dollars, except the advance of £oO,0()0, proved almost a 
 total failure; Delath^ld became unable to pay his installments, and 
 was unwilling to sui-render the bonds; and that t)f Dunlap was 
 jiaid in such dribs of depreciated currency as to be of little avail 
 in carrying" forward the work. 
 
 In the meantime it became apj^arent that no more loans could 
 be effected for the State without heavy sacrifice; the great system 
 of internal improvements showed symptoms of a speedy collapse, 
 and in February, 1840, the legislature put a period to its wild and 
 reckless career. The work upon the canal was not interrupted by 
 legislative action; provision was made to meet the liabilities oi 
 the State to contractors by issuing to them checks for the amounts 
 found due on estimates, to bear interest at the rate of per cent. 
 The contractors had taken their jobs during the flush times 
 (for Illinois) of 18o(»-7, when prices ruled much higher than iu 
 1840. They couhl afford to lose 25 per cent, on them and still do 
 well ; and as the State hesitated to sell her boiuls much below par, 
 they engaged to receive them on tlieir estimates at par. $1,000,000 
 were iu that manner paid to them. Gen. Thornton, canal com- 
 missioner, was deputed to go to London with the bonds, where 
 lie effected a sale of .$1,000,000 at Si) cents on the dollar, the con- 
 tractors suffering the discount — being ten per cent, better than 
 liis instructions. By this expedient life was kept in the canal, 
 though work on every other internal improvement had long since 
 been abandoned. With the completion of their jobs some of the 
 contractors proposed to receive, in like manner, the residue of their 
 estimates, and $197,000 more was i^aid to them, when, with the 
 final breaking of the State bank in February, 1842, an extraor- 
 dinary depreciation of Illinois stocks in market took place, which 
 put a period to this character of payments. After that no fur- 
 ther payment was made to contractors for over two years, when 
 the canal passed into the hamls of the foreign bondholders, though 
 work was not wholly intermitted upon many of the jobs during 
 this tune. The new board of canal commissioners, elected by the 
 legislature at the session of 1841, were : Isaac N. Morris, presi- 
 dent; Jacob Fry, acting commissioner, and Newton (Jloud, treas- 
 urer. 
 
 After July, 1841, no further efforts were made to pay interest on 
 the public debt. The financial embarrassments of the State be- 
 came alarming. To add to the distress of the peo])le, the State 
 banks, earlj- in 1842, broke down completely. The governor, 
 auditor, and treasm^er issued their circular, stating that the notes 
 of these institutions would not be received in payment of taxes — 
 nothing but gold and silver. The treasury was empty. There 
 X)revailed a dearth in trade and business amounting to stagnation; 
 values declined; many despaired of the State's ability to ever pay 
 off its enormous debt, exceeding $14,000,000, and equal to a pres- 
 ent debt of at least $150,000,000, counting the lessened value of 
 money and increased population, resources and capacity of the 
 State. The people were unwilling to submit to higher taxation. 
 Eepudiation was openly agitated by not a few at home and abroad, 
 and the fair name of Illinois became freely associated with dishonor. 
 31 
 
483 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 lu tliis crisis, besides the compromise legislation with the banks, 
 the canal afforded the only practicable avenne out of the diffi- 
 culty; its completion, it was thought, would give a new and pow- 
 erful impulse to every department of business and industry 
 throughout the State ; and the advantages and facilities to be 
 afforded by it would cause tides of emigrauts and floods of 
 wealth to pour into the State. The want of money and anxiety 
 to have auy sort of caual, now caused an advocacy of the high 
 level or shallow cut, which could be completed at half the cost of 
 the deep cut. The idea was to induce tlie holders of canal bonds 
 to advance the money for its completion, upon a pledge of tlie canal, 
 its lands and revenues in the nature of a first mortgage, and thus 
 infuse life into a work now dormant, wliich would quicken every- 
 thing else. Justin Butterfield, of Chicago, first suggested this idea; 
 Michael Ryan, a caual engineer and State senator, in the summer 
 of 184-5, met Messrs. Bronson, Leavitt and other large canal bond- 
 holders in ISTew York, and devised a plan for raising $1,(J00,()00 to 
 finish the canal on the shallow cut; and Gov. Ford recommended 
 it in his first message. 
 
 In accordance with the above plan, the act of February 21, 1843, 
 was x>assed authorizing the governor to negotiate a loan of $1,G00, 
 000, solely on the credit and pledge of the canal property, its 
 revenues and tolls for a term of years at 6 i)er cent, interest. 
 payable out of the first moneys realized. The holders of the canal 
 bonds and other evidences of canal indebtedness, were first enti- 
 tled to subscribe the loan. A board of 3 trustees was established, 
 1 to be ap])ointed by the governor and 2 by the subscribers of the 
 loan — one vote for every $1,000 of stock. The former were to ap- 
 portion their duties among themselves. The canal proi)erty was 
 to be conveyed by .the governor in trust, and to be managed by 
 the trustees much in the nninner of former proceedings. They 
 might adopt such alterations of the original plan as they deemed 
 advisalde, Avithout materially changing the location, having due 
 regard to economy, permanancy of the work and an adequate sup- 
 ply of water. It was to be conq)leted in a good, substantial, work- 
 manlike numner, ready for use, if practicable, in two and a half 
 years time. On payment of all debts the canal was to revert to 
 the State. In the interest of economy, by another act, the num- 
 ber of canal officers were greatly reduced. 
 
 And now, when there appeared every favorable prospect for the 
 speedy completion of the canal, it became involved in the meshes 
 of national politics. Col. Charles Oakley and senator Michael 
 Ryan were by the governor appointed agents to negotiate the new 
 loan of $1,(500,000. The treasury was "empty; to give them au 
 outiit $3,000 of the school fund was borrowed, which became the 
 subject of attack upon Goa-. Ford by ]\Ir. Trumbull,* the lately re- 
 nujved secretary of State. The agents proceeded to New York ; but 
 with a view to the making of political c;ipital, letter writers at home 
 and })artisan editors abroad attacked the canal policy of the State, 
 in the hope that a measure so fraught with good should not re- 
 dound to the credit of the dominant party. The action of the 
 legislature was misrepresented, the party in power charged with 
 disrcgard-ngthe interests of the people, and the State creditors 
 advised that if they advanced further funds, the succeeding legis- 
 
 *Ford's History- '~~ 
 
ILLINOIS AND IVnCHIGAN CANAL. 483 
 
 lature would bi^ea.k fiiitli with tlieiu and repeal tlieir fraucliise. 
 But these publications i)rodueedthe opposite eifect intended. The 
 financial agents, with truth on their side, employed the public 
 l>ress in a series of aiticles in reply. The real condition of the 
 State, tlie legislation adopted to reduce its debts, and its future 
 ])rosi)ects, were candidly and ably brought before the public, and 
 the result was that the State stocks advanced in a Meek from 14 
 to 20 cents on the dollar, and in a sliort time doubled on that. 
 Tiirough the aid of David Leavitt, president of the American 
 Exchange Bank of I'Tew York, which owned $l*.3(),U()0 canal bonds, 
 the American creditors were called together, who resolved to 
 subscribe their ratio of the new loan. 
 
 Thus assured, Messrs. Oakley and Eyan hastened to Europe 
 with letters of these proceedings to Baring Brothers, of London, 
 Hope & Co., of Amsterdam, and to Magniac, Jardine & Co., all 
 wealthy bankers and creditors of the State. But these houses 
 disapi)ointed the ardent hopes of the State agents. They de- 
 manded something more substantial than ne\vsi>aper articles, which 
 had raised the spirits of the Is^ew York bond-holders. They 
 wanted accui-ate data of the sufficiency of the canal property as 
 security for both tlie i)resent loan, and ultimately the payment of 
 the entire canal del>t, some Ao.lKKMJOO more; and further, some 
 legislative effort at taxation and submission of the people thereto, 
 in paynuiut of interest on the i)ublic debt. It was tinally ar- 
 ranged tliat Abbott Lawrence, Thomas W. War<l, and William 
 Stnrgis, of Boston, shoidd designate two competent men to exam- 
 ine the canal and its pro})erty, estimate the value thereof, ascer- 
 tain the total debt and report the whole; that .$40<),(K)() should be 
 subscribed in America toward prosecuting the work; and that the 
 governor recommend taxation in his next message to the legisla- 
 ture; whereupon the agents returned home in November, 1843. 
 Ex-(xOV. John Davis, of Mass., and W. H. Swift, a reputable en- 
 gineer and a captain in the U. S. army, were selected l)y the Bos- 
 ton committee to examine the canal, its property and debts. This 
 excited the political jeah)usy of the eastern press to a renewed in- 
 terference with the domestic affairs of Illinois. 
 
 Gov. Davis' imme was at the time mentioned in connection with 
 the vice-i)residency on the whig ticket in 1844. Tlie (J lobe news- 
 pai>er at Washington, the great organ of the democracy, boldly 
 charged that Gov. Davis liad been selected for this m (U'k with the 
 view to intiuence the peoi)le of Illinois toward the su])p(U't of the 
 Avhig ticket, and in favor of the policy of the general government 
 assuming the State debts. Senator Byan came again to the res- 
 cue and published a nuuited and vigorous reply, in which Gov. 
 Davis, the foreign bond-holders, and the people of Illinois, were 
 ably defended, and the editor of the Globe deservedly rebuked for 
 his impertinence. 
 
 The careful examination, of the canal and elaborate report of 
 Messrs. Davis and Swift, confirmed substantially the representa- 
 tions of Messrs. Eyan and Oakley, and they recommended the 
 loan as a safe investment. Gov. Eord promised to recommend to 
 the legislature increased taxation toward paying interest on the 
 public debt. Thus armed, the sanguine financial agents again re- 
 paired to Europe, only to meet again with failure. The subscrip- 
 tion of $400,000 was wanting. The foreign bond holders refused 
 
484 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 to perfect the new loan, alleging that the legislature and people 
 should take some steps in good faith toward a recognition of their 
 obligations to their creditors. Gov. Davis was sent for in the 
 meantime, to proceed to London for fulh^r explanations of the de- 
 tails of the work and inspire greater confidence for the subscrip- 
 tions. Thus the summer of 184:4 passed ; in December, the Illi- 
 nois legislature would nieet, and further effort was suspended to 
 await the action of that body, of which Kyan was a senator. 
 Ryan, chagrined at this failure, now yielded to the unworthy 
 weakness of attempting to cast the blame ujion Gov. Davis, from 
 political motives. Through the public press of new New York, he 
 reiterated the calumnies of the Washington Globe, against that 
 gentlenian, which he himself had formerly so ably refuted; and 
 further charged him with causing the delay of the loan pending 
 the presidential election. Messrs. Baring Bros, of London, took 
 occasion, in an open letter addressed to Mr. Eyan, in a very plain 
 manner to deny the charges.* 
 
 In the fall of 1844, after the election of the mem1)ers of the 
 legislature, but prior to their meeting, William S. Wait, of Bond, 
 addressed a long letter to Gov. Ford through the public press, 
 reviewing the illegal action of the State's financial agents in dis- 
 posing of bonds, and bitterly inveighing against taxation to pay 
 the public debt. The object was to elicit an expression from the 
 governor as to repudiation or taxation. Now this was the very 
 pretext the governor wanted, and he embraced it with alacrity. 
 Although his excellency well knew the nnpopidarity of an advoca- 
 cy of increased taxation, he replied in a very able letter, remarka- 
 ble not oidy as a literary production of rare merit, but for its 
 clear exposition of the embarrassed condition of the State, from 
 which there was no hope of honorably escaping, excei)t by taxa- 
 tion ; and while it was replete with broad, common sense and 
 sagacious views, it characterized in fitting terms the disgrace of 
 repudiation, breathing a noble spirit of self-abnegation and 
 patriotism. The governor's reply was extensively re-published in 
 newspapers, and elicited general commendation for its high tone. 
 Mr. Leavitt, of the American Exchange Bank of New York, which 
 lield largely of the canal stock, was greatly encouraged, and after 
 procuring subscriptions to the new loan in New York, joined Col. 
 Oakley, who was still in that city, and early in the winter of 1844- 
 45 they returned to Europe. The governor's letter had preceded 
 them, and caused a marked change in the views of our London 
 creditors, who now, without hesitation, subscribed liberally to the 
 new loan, each more than originally intended. Thus, alter many 
 delays, (such are the vexations incident to a ruined credit) did the 
 new loan of $1,600,000 become an accomplished fact, and the com- 
 pletion of the canal assured. 
 
 Mr. Leavitt and Col. Oakley, on their return home, joined by 
 Gov. Davis, hastened to Illinois before the adjournment of the 
 legislature. They arrived iu S[)ringfteld the middle of February, 
 1845, where they became directly the curious objects of attraction 
 as the envoys of Illinois' creditors. A prejudice was attempted to 
 be excited against the administration policy of taxation, and these 
 gentlemen were slyly denounced as moneyed kings, aristocrats, 
 
 *Letter of Baring Bros to Michael Hyan, in Ford's History. 
 
ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 485 
 
 etc.* But by their kindly and pleasant intercourse with the 
 members, all prejudice a^aiust them was speedily dissipated. 
 They reported the proposition of the foreign bond holders through 
 the executive, and the linance committee broun'ht in a bill, to 
 which we have made allusion in the preceding chai)ter, Avhich 
 provided for raising by taxation an "interest fund" to be sacredly 
 set apart for the payment of interest on the State debt ; and as 
 suplemental to the camil act of 1843, that the goverm)r should 
 execute and deliver, under the seal of the State, a, de(Ml of trust to 
 the camil trustees, of all the canal }uoperty both real and i)erson- 
 al, as the first mortgage, the subscribers of the new loan to have 
 priority in the payment of their advances for both interest and 
 principal, out of the proceeds of said trust proi»erty. The bill in 
 its present form, met with decided t)pposition ; it passed tlie 
 house, but was defeated in the senate. 
 
 The expedient was now resorted to of dividing the measure, 
 l^utting the pro\ision for taxation and that relating to the canal 
 into two separate bills. It was taking two bites at one cherry, 
 for both bills became laws." The opponents, after the adjourn- 
 ment, took their departure in ill-humor, threatening that the 
 southern part of the State should be thoroughly canvassed to 
 arouse the people against the enormity of these nu'asures. But 
 when they fouud the friends of the measures as ready as them- 
 selves to enter the iield, to ex[)Ose their machinations and dema- 
 goguery, the purpose was abondoned. During the summer fol- 
 lowing, two conventions in that portion of the State, one at 
 Marion and one at Fairlield, ])assed resolutions both in favor of 
 the canal and of taxation to pay the public debt. In these 
 measures of the legislature, the hydra of repudiation met its final 
 quietus. 
 
 The canal, its lands and appurtenances were coiiveyed by the 
 governor to the trustees, the bond holders under the act of 1S43, 
 having elected two, jMessrs. William H. Swift and DaAid Leavitt, 
 the State trustee being Jacob Fry; the new loan was i)erfected in 
 June, 1845 ; the new board was organized, the canal was accurately 
 examined and careful estimates of its cost made; jobs were let 
 and work was resumed in September, 1845. Thus, much of the 
 working season was gone, the autunui proving uni)roi)itious on 
 account of sickness in the valley of the Illinois, and but little 
 progress was made. The people were impatient at this tar-, 
 diness. They were next promised that the canal slioidd be in 
 navigable order by Jidy 4th, 1847, only to be again disap- 
 pointed. Meanwhile a host of canal officials were drawing 
 their large salaries with unerring fidelity. The foreign trustees 
 received $2,500 each, the engineer the same, secretary §2.000, 
 &c. There were a dozen or more subordinate oflicials. These 
 were large salaries for the period, exceeding those of our State 
 officials at the time by nearlj!^ 100 per cent. Estimates of work 
 were made quarterly, but by the time they were a]^])ro^'cd by the 
 foreign trustees, residing in AVashington and New York, and the 
 money sent on and paid out to the contractors aiul hands, weeks 
 weie consumed. Much dissatisfaction and public clamor pre- 
 vailed. Even the eastern press commented with severity upou 
 the delay, while the money on deposit was drawing interest. 
 
 •Ford's History. 
 
486 HISTOHY OF ELLINOIS. 
 
 Filially, by tlie opeuiiig season of 1848, the Illinois and Miclii<;an 
 Canal, a stni)endous public work, urged for 30 years, and in 
 course of actual construction for 12, after many struggles with 
 adverse circumstances, ^^■as completed. It was finished on the 
 shallow cut plan, the datum line on the summit level being 12 
 feet above Lake Michigan. On this level, extending from the 
 Chicago river to Locki)ort, the water was supplied by pumping.* 
 
 The success attending its first season's operations, yielding, as 
 it did during that of 1848, $87,890 87 in tolls, seenjed an earnest 
 to the hopes of its warmest friends. For the first season its 
 capacity for business was comparatively but slightly taxed, and 
 its promises of revenues for the future li'om a largely increased 
 business were undoubted. The law required that the lands and 
 lots, constituting part of the canal fund, should within a very 
 short time after its comi)letion, be appraised and offered for sale, 
 A sale was accordingly had in September, 1848, at Chicago and 
 other towns, which yielded 8780,758 87, less $11,060, on which 
 payment was not made ; which sum exceeded the original valua- 
 tion of all the canal lands by 2 per cent., and was an excess over 
 the appraisal of $40,724 87. The appraisal of all the canal lan<ls 
 and lots, before the sale, was 82,126,o55 09 ; but if the remainder 
 brought as great an advance over the ai)praisement as this sale, 
 $3,500,000 would be obtained from this source ; a most encourag- 
 ing prospect, as this property would go far toAvard liquidating the 
 canal debt, aside from its tolls. 
 
 The aggregate amount ultimately realized from the congres- 
 sional grant of land to the canal, from 1830 to J 869, when the 
 selling ceased, was $5,337,554. The total receipts for tolls, from 
 the opening of the canal, in 184S, to the close of 1868, 21 seasons, 
 were $3,997,281 22. The total expenditures on the canal, under 
 the act of 1836, were $4,979,903 ; under the act of 1843, $1,429,- 
 606— total cost $6,409,509. The entire canal debt at this time 
 (1848) was some $6,000,000.t 
 
 *We have seen that Mr. Leiivitt, early in xha winter of 1844-5, returned to Europe, 
 and the Governor's letter to Wait having- preceded him, the foreign canal bono holders 
 readily subscribed the new loan of SI, (jU0,t.UO. This agency of 31r. Lea\itt, Gov. Ford 
 said, "• was entirely voluntary, and [he was] not advised that any compensation was 
 expected." But in 1849 Mr. Leavitt-brought'lorward a claim of 5;40,OOu for negotiating- 
 the loan. As the foreifi-ii bondholders were disinclined to allow it, Mr.L renounced his 
 demand and was re elt-eteri trustee Subsequently the claim was variously referred, 
 but not decided. In 1854 he obtainr-d the certihoates of a number of bankers and 
 .prominent citizens of this State, stating' that the-Jo i^-r cent, was a reasonable charge. 
 Gov. Matteson, after some hesitation, approved the claim, and certified it to the Ci^nal 
 trustees. Josiali McRobt its. State trustee, drew a check for the amount, hut with- 
 held it till the claim was tirst approved b^- the board, which had to be done by mail, as 
 the members resi<Ud ajiart. Capt Svi'lfl, the other member besides Leavitt, objected 
 tojhe allowance, and MeUoberts did not act luither. Thus the rontter rested until 
 the administration of Gov. Bis.'rell, Avli^ n C. R. liay.ol the Chicago 'J libune. relieved 
 McKoberts. The Governor appro^•eri the claim and Kay paid It ctit of tlie eanal fund. 
 Swift entering a vigorous protest against it. Ray was furiously assailed for his action 
 by the press of Illinois, and suit was brought against him and Leavitt to recover the 
 amount. By agret-ment the matter was referred to Hon. B. F, Thomas, of Boston, and 
 Edwin Bartlett, New York, as arbitrators. In 1859, the matter became the subject of 
 investigation by our legislature, which reported auainst the allowance. An award 
 was tiniill.v iiiadi' b.\ the arbitrators by which Leavitt wasallowed !gli ,(h 0, and after en- 
 joying- the money for ti years, he disgorged 5py^',f'63 'JO, the costs of suit and iiJl.OOO as 
 compensation to the arbitrators. 
 
 +It is a curious tact that the early growth of Chicago was greatly in accord with the 
 progress of the canal. The eanal may be said to have made Chicago. When the sur- 
 vey of the site was commenced and platted, by order of the canal commissioners, in 
 18:2i», there resided upon its site only about a half dozen families outside the palisades 
 of Fort Dearborn ; but with the pif)spect of the inauguration of this great work, pop- 
 ulation began to pour in freely. The Black Hawk war perhaps checked it a little, but 
 with theremoval of thf fiulians. the tide oi iiiiiiii,<j)-i:ti' n wasresumed. AVhen, iul8;J5, 
 the lirst canal loiiii ot 3^50(l,(i(iO was authorized, a new inipiilse was given to the settle- 
 ment of the town, and with the additional legishition of Januaiy, 1836, her population, 
 swollen to about 4,000, the extraordinary fcvcj- for speculating in town lots still rife, 
 
ILLINOIS AND MICHIGAN CANAL. 487 
 
 111 1857 tlie arreariiges of interest on tlie public debt, including 
 that of the canal, were funded by the act of that year. The new 
 loan of |1, 000,000 and interest were tlnally paid off in 1858, and 
 the same year the trustees couinienced paying- off" the principal of 
 the registered canal debt, the State aiding to the amount of $000,- 
 000. But the incumbrances were not tiually removed until Aug., 
 1871, Avhen the trustees, after a faithful service of L'5 years, turned 
 over the canal to the State witli a surplus of $92,009JJ]. 
 
 The legislature, by act of 1805, sui)plemented in 1807, authorized 
 the city of Chicago to deepen that portion of the canal known as 
 the summit level, a herculean feat which has been accomplished. 
 The city was impelled by sanitary reasons tocut down the channel, 
 turn the pure waters of the lake into the disease breeding Chicago 
 river, reverse its current, allow it to course through the deepened 
 canal into the Illinois in order to cleanse it. For this most necessary 
 work to the city the State gave her a lien ui)on the canal revenues, 
 after its old indebtedness was discharged, for a sum not exceeding* 
 $2,500,000, from which redemption might however at any time be 
 made. The annual net revenues of the canal averaged only about 
 $110,000, not near i)aying the interest on the outlay of the city. 
 The canal, contrary to the ardent hopes of its early friends, who 
 predicted for it a source of unfailing revenue suflicient to defraj' 
 the expenses of the State goverinnent, utterly disapi)ointed these 
 fond expectations. The more there was exi)ended upon it the 
 more was demanded, and neither Cliicag'o nor the State wanted it as 
 a financial investment. But when on the 9th of October, 1871, the 
 great metropolis was overwhelmed by the tire lieiid and prostrated 
 in ashes and want, the State, unal)le by the terms of the constitu- 
 tion to directly render the aid and succor that charity and the 
 exigency demanded, through her legislature at the extraordinary 
 session of October loth, indirectly extended a noble bounty 
 bv redeeming the non-paying canal from her lieu of some $3,000,- 
 000. 
 
 There is a further history of the canal, as connected with the 
 various efforts to obtain government aid to enlarge it to the 
 dimensions of a ship-canal; the river improvements; the lock at 
 Henry ; and the repeated struggles in the legislature to i>i<><^'iii'e 
 appro])riations; but the dettiils would be voluminous, nnd unin- 
 teresting. We will only add that the year 1853 was the first to 
 obtrude upon public recognition the disagreeable fact that the 
 Illinois river recjuired nrtiiicial aid to render it navigaltle through 
 the boating season. That of 1853 lasted from JMarch to December, 
 9 months; but from the lirst of July on, the river for its greater 
 length was uselessfor craft of any considerable toniuige, curtailing 
 the through carrying trade of the canal very greatly. 
 
 and the actual commenecniriit of the work, we flnd the prosperity of thiit period to 
 culminate. Shortly after tame the great revulsion of 18:57, which, with the collapse 
 of the visionary internal improve nient system of the State, two and a half years later, 
 would have utterly prostrated Chica.a-o but (or the persistency with which tiic work on 
 the canal was sustained. As it was her prosperity was checked materially for 7 years. 
 In ISW the taxable valuation of her real estate was 55:.'3(),84::;, but in 1840' it lap.«ed to 
 §94,437 ; and in the covirse of the next two years real estate was offered at less than 5 
 per cent of the price paid during the period of inflation in 1836 By 1848 the wi.rk on 
 the canal, not having been entirely suspended, the population had" slowly increased 
 to 7.5.S;) hut with the resumption of work, in 184.5, we find her inhabitants in that year 
 speedily swollen to the number of of 12.088, and a corresponding increase in the value 
 of taxable real estate ; and in 1848, with the completion of the canal, they had veacbed 
 the number of 20,923 souls.— His. Chicago. 
 
488 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Had tlje uavigatioii of the river during' tbat long season not 
 been iuterrnpted, the tolls of the canal, it was estimated, would 
 liave reached $300,000 instead of $173,327. The fact is recognized 
 all over the State, that as the country becomes settled many tribu- 
 taries of the larger rivers become almost drj' every season, and in 
 all, by the removal of obstructions, the water runs speedily to a low 
 stage. Surface water generally has fallen many feet in the past 
 few years. Wells, which formerly afforded a bounteous supply at 
 a depth of 16 to 20 feet, have gone dry and 25 to 40 feet are now 
 required to reach water. Springs that have become historic and 
 lakes that dotted our maps have disappeared, and while the health 
 of the country has been materially improved, the scarcity of water 
 is a very general complaint. To render the Illinois river perma- 
 nently navigable during the forwarding season, there is no 
 alteinative but to thoroughly improve it by dredging and by locks 
 and dams. 
 
Chapter XLI. 
 
 1840-4— MOEMONS OR LATTER DAY SAINTS. 
 
 Joe Smith — Proxilieiic Mission — FoUoivers Bemove to Missouri — Ex- 
 pidsion from the State — Settlement in lUinois — Obnoxious Kanvoo 
 Charter and Ordinances — Arrest and Acquittal of Smith — His 
 Assassination. 
 
 Ill tlie spring of 1840, a relisiious sect styled Moinioiis or Latter 
 Daj' Saints, made its advent in Illinois, and located on the east 
 bank of the Mississippi, in the county of Hancock. This strange 
 people had previously resided in Missouri, but having been guilty 
 of larceny and other crimes, they sought refuge in Illinois to 
 escape the indignation of the inhabitants and the penalties of 
 outraged law. They purchased a considerable tract of laud 
 and commenced building a city, which they called Nauvoo, a 
 name signifying peaceable or pleasant. Joseph Smith, thelbunder 
 and pretended prophet of the religion, was born at Sharon, Wind- 
 sor county, Vermout, Dec, L'od, 1805. His parents being in humble 
 circumstances, the prov)het's opportunities for acquiring knowl- 
 edge in early life were limited, and when to the want iiunins is ad- 
 ded the want of capacity, it is not strange that he lived and died a 
 jierson of ordinary attainments. 
 
 Ill 1815 his father left Vermont, and settled on a farm near 
 Palmyra, Wayne county, New York, where young Smith began to 
 exhibit the traits which distinguished his subsequent life. Both 
 he and his father became famous as water wizzards, professing to 
 discover the presence of water in the earth from the movements 
 of a green rod, and offering their services to point out suitable 
 localities for the digging of wells. Many anecdotes formerly 
 existed, respecting the vagrant habits of the son, who spent most 
 of his time wandering in the woods, dreaming of hidden treasures, 
 and endeavoring to find them l)y the use of charms. Such 
 was the character of the young profligate when he made the 
 acquaintance of Sidney Rigdon, a person of some intelligence and 
 natural abiUty, who had (;onceived the design of starting a new 
 religion. A religious romance, written by a I'resbyteriaii clergy- 
 man of Ohio, who was then dead, falling into the hands of Rig- 
 don, suggested this idea, and finding in Smith the requisite dupli- 
 city and cunning to reduce it to practice, it was agreed that he 
 should act in the capacity of prophet. They then devised the 
 story that Smith had discoAcred golden plates buried in the 
 earth, near Palmyra, containing a record engraved in unknown 
 characters, and that this romance was a translation of the 
 inscription. 
 
 489 
 
490 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The tictiou puri^orts to be a history of the ten lost tribes of 
 Israel, giving an account of their ^vanderiugs in Asia and subse- 
 quent emigration to America, where they flourished as a nation, 
 and where Christ in due time appeared and established his relig- 
 ion as he had done among the Jews. It also contained the histo- 
 ry of the American christians for seveial hundred years after- 
 ward, when in consequence of their wickedness, judgments were 
 visited upon them and they were destioyed. According to the 
 account several powerful nations inhabiting the continent were en- 
 gaged in war, and at lasta^ decisive battle was fought, between the 
 Lamanites or heathen, and the Kephites or Christian, and the lat- 
 ter were defeated. This mighty contest, called the btittle of Cum- 
 orah, was fought at Palmyra, New York ; hundreds of thousands 
 were killed on both sides, and all the Nephites, except a few who 
 fled to the southern part of the continent, were exterminated. 
 Among the survivors were Mormon and his son Moroni, who were 
 righteous men, and who were directed by God to engrave the his- 
 tory of these important e^'ents on plates of gold and deposit them 
 in the earth for the benelit of future generations. 
 
 Smith pretends that when he arrived at the age of fifteen he 
 began to reflect on the necessity of i)reparing for a future state 
 of existence, but the nature of the preparation A^as an unsettled 
 question in his mind. He regarded this a consideration of infi- 
 nite importance, for if he did not understand the way it was im- 
 possible to walk in it, and the thought of resting his soul's salva- 
 tion on uncertainties was more than he could endure. If he sought 
 information of the different sects of religion, they all claimed to be 
 right, but as their doctrines were in many respects in diret^t con- 
 flict, it is impossible for most of them to be true. Tlie vital issue 
 to be determined was, if any of the conflicting systems of theolo- 
 gy lu'eva lent in the world are correct, which one is it; and until 
 this question was decided he could not rest content. Under these 
 circumstances he concluded to study the scriptures, and soon be- 
 came convinced that if he sought wisdom of God he would be 
 eiuibled to judge Avhich of the opposing creeds conformed to the 
 teachings of Christ. He therefore retired to a grove, in the 
 vicinity of his father's house, and kneeling down, commenced call- 
 ing on the Lord. At first the powers of darkness endeavored to 
 overcome him, but continuing in prayer the darkness fled away, 
 and he Avas enabled to ask for knowledge with great faith and 
 fervency of spirit. While thus pouring out his soul in supplica- 
 tion, theie ai)peared in the Ijeavens above a bright and glorious 
 light, which, as it drew near the tops of the trees increased in 
 splendor and magnitude, the whole wilderness glowed Avith the 
 most brilliant illumination. He expected to see the foliage of the 
 trees consumed, but not perceiving any effect produced, he was 
 encouraged to hope that he also would be able to abide its pres- 
 ence, and (piickly he Avas enveloi)ed in the midst of it Avithout sus- 
 taining any injury. The natural objects about him soon vanished 
 and he was caught away in a heavenly vision, in Avhich two glori- 
 ous personages appeared and informed him that his sins were 
 forgiven, and that none of the existing eclesiastical organizations 
 Avere ac(!ei)ted by God as his church ami kingdom. After being 
 especially informed not to go after them, and promised that in 
 
THE MORMONS. 401 
 
 the fullness of time tlie true gospel should be uuide kuowu to 
 liiin, the vision disa|)i)eare(l. 
 
 Notwitlistauding this glorious ainiouiiceinent, he afterward be- 
 came entangled in tlie vanities of the world, hut seeing the error 
 of his way, and truly repenting, it pleased God to again hear his 
 prayers. On the 21st of Sept., 1823, he retired to rest as usual, 
 whi'U his soul was tilled witli a desire to comuume with some mes- 
 senger who eonld make known the jirineiples of the true ehurch 
 and his aeeeptanee with God as i»rumised in the former vision. 
 Wliile in this state of mind, suddenly a si)lendor, purer and more 
 glorious than the liglit of day, burst iuto the room and the entire 
 building was illumiiKited as if tilled with a eonsuming tire. The 
 unexpeeted appearaiiee of a light so brilliaut, eaused in his whole 
 system a shoek whieh was soou followed by ])eaee of mind and 
 oVerwhelming raptures of joy. In the midst of this happiness a 
 personage stood before him, whose stature was above the ordinary 
 height of man, whose garments were perfectly white and without 
 seam. ITotwithstanding the glare whieh filled the room, the glory 
 which accompanied him enhanced its brightness, and though his 
 countenance was as lightning, the benignity of its expression ban- 
 ishi^d all fear.. This glorious being informed him that he was an 
 angel sent from God to declare the joyful tidings that the cove- 
 nant which had been made with ancient Israel concerning their 
 posterity, was about to be fulfilled, and that the second coming of 
 the Messiah was at hand, when the Gospel would be i>reached in 
 its purity and a ])eople prepared for the millennial reign of uni- 
 versal peace and joy. lie was also informed that tlu^ American 
 Indians were a remnantof the ancient IIeb]-ews, who had come 
 to the country ; that ibr several hundred years after their arri- 
 val they enjoyed a knowledge of the true God, and that their 
 sacred writings contain an account of the princii)al events that 
 transpired among them during this interval. AVhen, however, 
 they neglected the religion of their fathers most of them perished 
 in battle, but at the command of God, their sacred oracles were 
 entrusted to a surviving proi)het who buried them in the earth to 
 prevent their falling into the hands of the wicked, who sought to 
 destroy them. He was then told if he continued faithful he would 
 be the highly favored instrument of bringing these important 
 documents to light, but it must be done for the glory of God and 
 none could be entrusted with them who would use them for sel- 
 fish })urposes. After giving- him many instructions concerning 
 the past and future, the heavenly messenger disai)peared ami the 
 gloiT of God withdrew, leaving the nund of the prophet in per- 
 fect peace. Not many days thereafter, the vision was renewed and 
 the angel appearing, pointed out the place where the records were 
 deposited, and directed him to go immediately and view them. 
 
 According to the Mormon account they were deposited in a stone 
 box, buried in the side of a hill, 3 miles from the village of Man- 
 chester, New York. When Smith first visited the depository, 
 September 22d, 1823, the crowning stone was visible above the 
 surface and a slight eftbrt brought the contents to view. The 
 words were beautifully engraved in Egyptian characters, on both 
 sides of plates, eight inches long and seven inches wide, having 
 the thickness of tin and the appearance of gold. Three rings 
 passing through the edges of the plates united them iu the form 
 
492 IIISTOliY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ol-' a book about 8ix inches in tliiclcness. Besides the plates the 
 box contiiiiied two triinsparei)t stones, clear as crystal, the Urim 
 and Thuniinim of ancient seers, by which they obtained revela- 
 tions of tilings past and future. 
 
 While contemplating the sacred treasure the heavens were 
 opened, the glory of God shone about him, and he was tilled with 
 the Holy Ghost. The heaACidy messenger who had visited him 
 on previous occasions, again stood in his presence and said, look; 
 and as he spake he beheld the power of darkness with an im- 
 mense retinue of associates tlee away. The angel instructing him 
 declared that it was then inipossible to possess the records, that 
 they could oidy be obtained by i)rayer and faithfulness in serving- 
 God who had preserved them, not for the temporal but the spirit- 
 ual welfare of the world. In them is contained the Gospel of 
 Christ as it was delivered to his people of this land, and when 
 brought forth by the power of God it shall be preached to the 
 nations; the Gentiles receiving will be saved and Israel obeying 
 it will be brought into the fold of the liedeemer. After it is known 
 that the Lord has shown you these things the wicked will en- 
 deavor by falsehoods to destroy your reputation ; nay, they will 
 even attempt your life, but yon observe the commandments, and 
 in due time you shall bring them forth. When interpreted the 
 Lord will appoint a holy i»riesthood, who will proclaim the Gos- 
 pel, bai)tize with water, and have poAver to confer the Holy 
 Ghost by the laying on of hands. In due time the ten tribes of 
 Israel sludl be revealed in the north country, where they for a 
 long time have resided. The knowledge of the Lord shall be 
 greatly extended, and your name shall be known among the na- 
 tions by the works which shall be wrought by your hand. 
 
 On the 2LM of September, 1827, after a probation of four years, 
 during which he was frequently counseled by the angel, the re- 
 cords were delivered into his hands. When it was known among 
 the inhabitants of the surrounding country that the prophet 
 had seen visions and discovered the records, he was not only- 
 ridiculed and slandered but waylaid and assaulted, for the pur- 
 l^ose of destroying the plates. These persecutions increased to 
 such an extent that the house in which he lived was frequently 
 beset by mobs, and finding his life thus exposed to constant dan- 
 ger he concluded to leave the place and go to Pennsylvania. Dur- 
 ing the journey thither he was twice overtaken by officers with 
 search-warrants for the plates, but they failed ir. the accomplish- 
 ment oi" their designs. After arriving in the northern part of Penn- 
 sylvania, where his father-in-law resided, by the aid of the Urim 
 and Tliuinmim, he made the translation of the plates known as the 
 book of Mormon. This translation is from an abridgment com- 
 posed by Mormon from the sacred writings of his forefathers, with 
 additions subsequently made by his son Maroni, who survived 
 him. The latter, in his continuation of the narrative, informs us 
 that the Lamonites destroyed all the Kephites who esca])ed the 
 battle of Curmorah, exce])t such as forsook their religion, and that 
 he, for the preservation of his own life, was compelled to hide him- 
 self. 
 
 This story, in its pretended miracles, visions and prophecies, is 
 like other forgeries of the kind, which at different times have been 
 imposed on the credulity of mankind. As dishonesty and igno- 
 
THE MORMONS. 493 
 
 raiice will always exist, it may yet flourish and exert upon the fu- 
 ture of the race an influence as controlinji' as that of other sys- 
 tems which have preceded it in the past. While the holiest affec- 
 tions of the heart cluster about the religious element of man's 
 nature, there is also a weakness connected with it which in all 
 ages of the world has subjected him to the grossest impositions. 
 In his social and ])olitical relations he exhibits a sagacity which, 
 if it does not always i)r<)tect him against abuse, is at least divested 
 of the superstition which beclouds his religious aspirations and 
 so frequently nmkcshim the dui)e of falsehood. He insists in his 
 secular investigations upon the most rigid inductions, theories are 
 subjected to the most searching analysis, and no doctrine can ob- 
 tain credence unless sustained by indubitable facts; but in theol- 
 ogy vague conjecture is substituted for })ositive knowledge, and 
 errors which outrage the character of Deity and imbruit the intel- 
 lect of man are accepted without even questioning their authen- 
 ticity. To this inflrmity of human nature, and the cupidity of de- 
 signing men, Mormonism and other similar delusions owe their 
 origin. If the parties who originate and manage them are iiitel- 
 ligent they give them plausibility, but this is not important, for 
 no system can be devised so al)surd that fools will not believe it, 
 and that knaves will not be found to profit by their ignorance. 
 
 According to the statements of the saints, after the book of 
 Mormon was translated, the Lord raised uj) witnesses totestify to its 
 truth. Oliver Cowdry, Daniel Whitmore and Martin Harris thus 
 affirm : "We certify that we have seen tlie i)lates which contain the 
 records ; that they were translated by the gift and power of God, 
 for his voice hath declared it unto us, wherefore we know that the 
 work is true, and declare with words of soberness that an angel 
 of God came down from heaven and laid the plates before our 
 eyes, and we saw the engravings on them." Eight other witnesses 
 also declare : "Jose])h Smith, the translator of this work, hath 
 shown us the plates herein spoken of, which have the appearance 
 of gold, and as many of the leaves as the said Smith hath trans- 
 lated we have handled with our hands, and we also saw the en- 
 gravings thereon, all of which had theai»pearance of ancient and 
 curious workmanship," The i»arties connected with these certifi- 
 cates were no doubt accomplices in the fraud, for if humanity 
 could furnish a spawn base enough to originate the deception, 
 plenty of men could bo found sufticiently degraded to assist in its 
 promulgation. 
 
 Another statement is given respecting the plates, by those in 
 the confidence of the prophet, which does not coincide with the 
 above certificates. It is said that the early followers of the 
 prophet were desirous of seeing the plates, and imi)ortuning him 
 for the privilege, he told them that they could not be seen by the 
 carnal eye, that they must obtain a lively faith by fasting and 
 prayer if they would have their holy curiosity gratified. Acting 
 upon his suggestion, they engaged in continuous sup[»lica- 
 tious that the hidden things of God might be made manifest, and 
 when finally becoming impatient, Smith produced the box con- 
 taining the treasure and opened it in their midst. Not seeing 
 anything in it, they said, "Brother Joseph, we do not see the 
 plates." The prophet answering said "Oh ye of little faith, how 
 long will God bear with a wicked and perverse generation ? I)o\\ti 
 
494 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 on jour kuees, brethren, every oue of you, and pray God for the 
 forgiveness of your sius and for the liviug faith which conies 
 down from heaven." As commanded they fell upon their knees, 
 and beseeching- God with great earnestness for more than two 
 hours for faith and spiritnal discernment, they again looked and 
 the plates were visible. In this case it has been suggested that 
 the parties, operated upon by a fanatical enthusiasm, may per- 
 hai)shave imagined they saw the plates, but it is far more proba- 
 ble that they had sellish ends to accomplish and wilfully misrep- 
 resented to impose on the ignorant. 
 
 On the Gth of April, 1830, the church of the Latter Day Saints 
 was organized at Manchester, New York. Their numbers now 
 rapidly increased, and with a view to securing a permanent loca- 
 tion, in 1833, they moved to Missouri. i>urchased land in Jax^kson 
 county, and cojinnenced building the town of Independence. 
 There the commission of petty crimes, and their arrogant pre- 
 sumptions that as saints of tlie Lord tliey had a right to the whole 
 country, incensed the neighboring ])eople against them. After 
 some of their nund)er had been ducked in the river, some tarred 
 and feathered, and others killed, the whole community removed to 
 Clay county, on the opposite side of the ^lissouri river. Kemainiag 
 in this place oidy a short time, most of them went eastward, and 
 located at Kirtland, Ohio, twenty miles from Cleveland, and com- 
 menced building a tenii)le. In 1836 a large convocation of their 
 elders met, and according to their reports, the work of the Lord 
 had greatly increased in America, Europe and the islands of the 
 sea. 
 
 About this time a financial institution, styled the Kirtland Sav- 
 ings Lank, was organized, and Smith appointed lu'esident. For 
 the want of capital and integrity among the managers, it soon 
 failed, under circumstances of more than ordinary depravity. 
 Property to a large amount was purchased with the bills, andafter 
 the title became vested in the saints, the bank failed and its notes 
 were never redeemed. Thus swiiulled, the people of the adja- 
 cent country, as at other places, became exasperated and a 
 third hegira became necessary. Accordingly thei)rophet, apostles, 
 elders and a great body of the saints, shaking the dust from their 
 feet as a testimony against Oliio, started for Missouri, and this 
 time settled in Davis and Calhoun counties. There they also pur- 
 chased land of the United States, and built the town of Far West 
 and other small villages. Still exhibiting the same conduct that 
 at other places had involved them in difficulties, it was not long 
 till they were accused of every possible crime. The breach thus 
 opened between the saints and gentiles continued to widen, and 
 in a few years both i^arties became so embittered that a resort to 
 physical force was the only alternative by which the quarrel could 
 be adjusted. The Mormon leaders declared that they would no 
 longer submit to to the government of Missouri. Joe Smith, as 
 he was generally called, ordered the circuit clerk, who was a disci- 
 ple, not to issue any more writs againts the saints, and one of the 
 elders, in a sermon, informed his people that henceforth they were 
 not amenable to the laws of the State. Armed parties of ]\ror- 
 mons commenced patroling the country and i)lundering the pro- 
 perty of the iidiabitants, mIio assend)led in arms to protect them- 
 selves and drive the felons from the State. A company, under 
 
THE MOKMONS. 495 
 
 Major Bogart, wlio liad formerly commanded a battalion of rangers 
 in tlie Black Hawk war, met one of these marauding parties, and 
 a battle ensuing, tlie Mormons were routed after they had burnt 
 two towns and ravaged a large extent of country. Gov. Boggs 
 called out the militia for the i>uri)ose of either exterminat- 
 ing the plunderers or driving them from the country. A 
 large force, commanded by Gen. Lucas aiul Brigadier Gen. Doni-' 
 phau, surrounded them in the toMU of Far West, and although 
 armed with the determination of resisting to the last extremity, 
 they surrendered without an engagement. A large part of the 
 stolen property was recovered, and, with the exception of the 
 leailers, the Mormons were dismissed under promise to leave 
 the State. Smith and other principal men were tried before a 
 court martial and sentenced to be shot. The criminals would 
 doubtless have been executed had not Gen. Doniphan, who con- 
 sidered the proceedings against them illegal, interfered and saved 
 their lives. They were next arraigned before a civil tribunal, and 
 indictments being found against them for murder, treason, rob- 
 bery and other crimes, they were committed to jail, but l)efore 
 y^eir trials came on they escaped from prison, and tied the State. 
 y In the years 1839-40 the whole body of saints arri\ed in Illinois, 
 and, according to their own account, the cruel treatment of their 
 enemies, and their i)erils by held and llood, would make a story 
 without a parallel in the annals of suffering. Bepresenting that 
 they had been i^ersecuted in Missouri on account of their leligion^ 
 and being the vanquished party, they soon excited the sympathj" 
 of our i)eoi)le. The inhabitants of Illinois have always been 
 justly esteemed for their eidightened spirit of toleration, and the 
 Mormons were kindly received as sufferers in the cause of reli- 
 gion. Several comnmnities even vied with each other in offers of 
 hospitality and efforts to induce the persecuted strangers to settle 
 among them. As already stated, they finally located on the east 
 bank of the Mississippi, in the county of Hancock, where they 
 commenced building the city of Xauvoo, which they desigiu-d 
 shoidd be the center of their future operations in the conversion 
 of the world to the new religion. 
 
 On their arrival in the State the effort of politicians to get their 
 patronage soon brought them into iiotice. As they were already 
 lUTuierous and rapidly increasing in numbers, it was sui)i)Osed 
 that at no distant day they would exert a controling influence in 
 the elections. Knowing their jiower in this resi)ect, and intimat- 
 ing that they would support the men and measures most likely to 
 I)romote their own welfare, both parties by acts of kindness and 
 promises of help endeavored to win their sui)port. In jMissouri 
 they had always sustained the democratic party, but having been 
 expelled from the State by a democ.ratic governor, and having 
 afterwards been refused relief by Van Buren, a democratic presi- 
 dent, in a spirit of retaliation, they voted for a time with the 
 whigs. When, however, the legislature met in 1840, Avishing to 
 obtain the passage of several bills for the incorporation of Kau- 
 voo and other purposes, they flattered both parties in order to 
 secure their joint influence. W^itli these objects in view Dr. John 
 C. Bennett, a Mormon by profession andoneof themostjuofligate 
 men in the State, was sent as their agent to the seat of govern- 
 ment to operate as a lobbyist. Arriving in Siiriugfield, he aj)plied 
 
496 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 to Mr. Little, tlie whig senator from Hancock, and to Mr. Donglas, 
 the democratic secretary of state, wlio both promised liim their 
 influence, and wlien an act incorporating the city of IsTanvoo was 
 presented to tlie legislature, although in many respects in the 
 higliest degree objectionable, such was the dexterity with which 
 these politicians managed their resi)ective parties that it passed 
 both houses without discussion or opposition. In the lower house 
 it is said it was not even read, each party being afraid to oppose 
 it for fear of losing the Mormon vote, and each in sustaining it 
 verily believed it would secure their favor. 
 
 This act, which is a perfect anomaly in legislation, made the 
 original boundaries of Nauvoo not only equal to the limits of some 
 of the larger cities, but also provided for their indeflnite exten- 
 sion. It reads: "Whenever any tract of land adjoining Kauvoo 
 shall have been laid out into town lots, and duly recorded accord- 
 ing to law, the same shall form a part of the city." The 
 corporation was also empowered to deal in real and personal 
 l>roperty for speculative puri)oses, a privilege not at that 
 time conferred upon any other cities of the State by legisla- 
 tive enactment. One section of the law gave to the city council 
 the extraordinary power to enact any ordinance not repugnant to 
 the State and national constitutions, whereby they could nullify 
 at pleasure the statutes of the State within the corporate limits 
 of the city and over as much of the adjacent county as they could 
 extend them. A mayor's couit was established, Avith exclusive 
 jurisdiction ot all cases arising under the city ordinances, but sub- 
 ject to the right of appeal to the nninicipal court. The nuiyor and 
 four aldermen as associates composed the municipal court, which 
 was clothed with power to issue writs of habeas corpus, and had 
 jurisdiction of appeals from the mayor's court, subject again to 
 appeal to the circuit coui t of Hancock county. It made the Nauvoo 
 legion, with the exception of being subject to the governor, 
 independent of the military organization of the State, and 
 its commissioned officers a perpetual court martial, having 
 authority to enact such regulations as should be considered neces- 
 sary for its welfare. The legion was made subservient to the 
 mayor in executing the laws of the city, was entitled to its propor- 
 tion of the State arms, and by subsequent enactments of the 
 legislature any citizen of Hancock county might unite with it, 
 whether he lived in the city or out of it. A bill was also passed 
 incorporating the ISTauvoo House, in which Joe Smith and his 
 heirs were to have a suite of rooms in i)erpetual succession. By 
 this unusual legislation the courts had little dependence on the 
 constitutional judiciary, and the military establishment, empow- 
 ered to regulate itself, was indei)endent of the laws of the State. 
 The diflerent departments of the city government were blended 
 into one, whereby the same public functionary could be entrusted 
 with the discharge of legislative, executive, judicial and military 
 duties at the same time, and such instances frequently occurred 
 as the events which immediately followed prove. 
 
 In the year 1841, the Mormons organized a city government and 
 Smith was elected mayor; presiding in the council as a legislator 
 he assisted in making laws for the government of the city, and as 
 mayor it was his duty to see that the laws were faithfully executed. 
 By virtue of his office he was judge of the mayor's court and chief 
 
THE MORMONS. 497 
 
 justice of the municipal court, in which situation he was the ex- 
 pounder and enforcer of tlie hiws wljich lie had assisted to make. 
 In the organization of the Xauvoo legion it ^vas made to consist 
 of divisions, brigades, and cohorts, each of wliich had a general 
 and over the whole as comnumder-in-chief Smith presided as 
 lieutenant general. If to these multiform duties we add his call- 
 ing as a real estate agent and his anticipated ])ositiou as tavern 
 'keeper, the list of his vocations will he complete. 
 / It has already been said that Smith and other leading jNformons 
 escaped from jail in Missouri, and hence in the autumn of 1841, 
 the governor of that State made a demand on (ioverrior Carlin of 
 Illinois for the arrest and delivery of the fugitives. A warrant 
 was accordingly issued l>y which Smith was arrested and brought 
 before Judge Douglas, wlio, at that time was holding couit in 
 Hancock and adjoining counties. In the trial which ensued, Smith 
 Mas discharged on the ])lea that the Avrit by which he had been 
 arrested was defective. The pro])het, not being well enough 
 versed in law to understand the legal nature of the question, 
 regarded his acquittal as a great favor from the democratic party. 
 In consequence of this decision the Monnons once more renewed 
 their allegiance with that political organization and to strengthen 
 the alliance, Bennett, who was then an aldennan in Xauvoo and 
 the inajor general of the legion, was made masti'r in chancery and 
 adjutant general of the State militia. At these signal marks of 
 favor, Smith issued a ])roclamation exhorting his followers to unite 
 with the democratic party, and the whigs on seeing themselves 
 outgeneraled in this manner, commenced a tirade of denunciations 
 against the IMormons, their pajiers teeming with the enormities of 
 Nauvoo and the wickedness of the party which would consent to 
 receive the supi)ort of such miscreants. 
 
 As soon as the machinery of the government of Kauvoo was 
 properly put in motion, ordinances Avere enacted in conflict with 
 the laws of the State. The Mormons, believing that another 
 attempt would be nuide by the governor of Missouii for the arrest 
 of their leaders, declared that the public mind in that State was 
 so i^rejudiced against them that a fair trial there was impossible, 
 and should any of their fraternity be taken thither, if they could 
 not be legally convicted and punished, they would l)e murdered by 
 a mob before they C(mld get out of the State. Determined to 
 guard against any future demands of this kind, they commenced de- 
 vising a scheme whereby they could protect themselves through 
 the instrumentality of the city ordinances. A law was therefore 
 passed by the common council virtually declaring that the muni- 
 cipal coin^t should have jurisdiction whatever might be the nature 
 of the offense, thus giving a latitudinarian construction to the 
 charter, which was oidy intended to grant the right of adminis- 
 tering justice in cases where imprisonment resulted from a breach 
 of the city ordinances. Smith was afterward arrested by a writ 
 from the governor, but it is unknown whether he was rescued bj' 
 his followers or discharged in consequence of this ordinance. 
 
 A combination of circumstances now concurred in rendering the 
 Mormons unpo[)ular. Besides impolitic enactments, they were 
 furnished by the State with three pieces of cannon and 2~A) stands 
 of small arms, which jealousy and popular rumor increased to 30 
 cannons and 5,000 or 0,000 muskets. Many thought they euter- 
 32 
 
498 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tained tlie treasonable design of overturning the government, 
 driving out the original inhabitants and substituting tlieir own 
 popnhition in their stead, as the chiklren of Israel had done in the I 
 land of Canaan. I 
 
 In 1842, the Mormon population of Hancock county had in- 
 creased to about 10,000, and several thousand more were scattered 
 over various parts of the United States and Europe. Mr. Henry 
 Caswel, an English gentleman of talent and respectability, 
 ascending the Mississippi in a steamboat, gives the following 
 graphic account of his observations respecting the Saints at that 
 time : 
 
 "Having been told that three hundred English emigrants were on 
 board to join the prophet at Nauvoo, I walked to that part of the vessel 
 appropriated to the poorer classes of travelers, and beheld my countrymen 
 crowded together in a comfortless manner. I addressed them and touiid 
 they were from the neighborhood of Preston, in Lancaster ; they were 
 decent looking people and by no means of the lower class. I took the 
 liberty of (questioning them concerning their plans, and found they were 
 the dupes of Mormon missionaries. Early on Sunday morning I was 
 landed opposite Nauvoo, and crossing the river in a large canoe, filled 
 with Mormons going to church, in a few minutes I found myself in this 
 extraordinary city. It is built on a grand phm, accommodated to the site 
 of the temple and the bend of the river. The view of the winding 
 Mississippi from the elevation where the temple stands is truly magnifi- 
 cent. The temple being unfinished, about half past ten o'clock a con- 
 gregation of perhaps 2,000 i^ersous assembled in a grove, within a short 
 distance from the sanctuary. Their appearance was quite resi)ectable 
 and fully equal to that exhibited at the meetings of other denominations 
 in the western country. Many gray-headed old men were there and 
 many well dressed females. Their sturdy forms, clear complexions, and 
 heavy movements, strongly contrasted with the slight figure, the 
 sallow visage, and the elastic step of the Americans. There, too, were the 
 bright and unconscious looks of little childreu, who born among the 
 privileges of England's churches baptized with her consecrated waters 
 and taught to lisp her prayers and repeat lier catechisms, had now been 
 led into this clan of heresy, to listen to the ravings of a false prophet 
 and to imbibe the principles of a semi-pagan delusion. Two elders 
 shortly came forward and one of them having made a few common-place 
 remarks on the nature of prayer, and dwelt for a considerable time on 
 the character and perfections of the Almighty, proceeded in the follow- 
 ing strain : 'We thank thee, O Lord, that thou hast in these latter days 
 restored the gifts of prophecy of revelation, ami of great signs and 
 wonders as in the daj^s of old. We thank thee that thou didst formerly 
 raise up thy servant Joseph to deliver his brethren in Egypt, so hast 
 thou raised up another Joseph to save his brethren from bondage of 
 sectarian delusion, and to bring them into this great and good land, 
 flowing with milk and honey, which is the glory of all lands, and which 
 thou didst promise to be an inheritance for the seed of Jacob for ever- 
 more. We pray for this servant and prophet, Joseph, that thou wouldst 
 prosper and bless him ; that although the archers have sorely grieved 
 him, and shot at him, and hated him, his bow may abide in strength, 
 and the arms of his hands may be made strong 'by the hand of the 
 Almighty God of Jacob. We pray, also, for thy temple that the nations 
 of the earth may bring gold and incense, that the sons of strangers may 
 build up its walls and fly to it as a cloud and as doves to their windows. 
 We pray thee, also, to hasten the ingatiieriug of thy peo^jle, every man 
 to his lieritage and every man to his land. We pray that as thou hast 
 set up this place as an ensign for the nations, so thou wouldst continue to 
 assemble here the outcasts, and trather together the dispersed from the 
 four corners of the earth. May eveiy valltV be exalted and every moun- 
 tain and hill be made low and crooked places be made straight'and the 
 rough places plain, and may the glory of the Lord be revealed and all 
 the flesh in it together. Bring thy sons from afar and thy daughters 
 
THE MORMONS. 499 
 
 from the ends of the earth, and let them briug their gold and silver with 
 them.' 
 
 " After prayer the otlier elder commenced a discourse on the necessity 
 of a revelation for America as well as Asia, and on the probability of 
 continued revelations. At its close a hymn was sung, and a third 
 elder came forward and observed that his offic-e required liini to speak 
 of business, and esi^ecially of the Nauvoo House, and among other 
 things said, 'the Lord had commanded this work and it must be done ; 
 yes it shall be done, it will be done ; that a small amount of the stock 
 had hitherto been taken, that the committee had gone on borrowing and 
 borrf)wing till they could borrow no longer; that mechanics had beeu 
 employed on the house, that they wanted their pay and the committee 
 are nf)t able to pay them; that he came there with seven thousand 
 dollars and now had but two thousand, having expended five thousand, 
 on the work of the Lord;' that he therefore called upon the brethren to 
 obey God's command and take stock. The address being com^luded, 
 others followed in the same strain, and appeared as familiar with wordly 
 business and operations of finance as witli prophecies and the book of 
 Mormon. None, however, came forward to take stock, and one of the 
 elders thereupon remarked, that as they had not made up tneir minds as 
 to the amount of stock they would take, he wished them to come to his 
 house on the next day lor that purpose. The public exercises l)eing closed, 
 accompanied by a prominent member of the church, I next visited the 
 temple. Its position is commanding, and designed to be one of the best 
 edifices in the country. It is one hundred and twenty feet by one hun- 
 dred, and when completed will be fifty feet up to the eaves. Its exjiense 
 is estimated at three hundred thousand dollars. The baptismal fount is 
 finished. It is a capacipus laver, above twenty feet square, rests on the 
 backs of twelve oxen, well sculptured, and as large as life. The laver 
 and oxen are of wood painted, but are to be gilded. Here baptisms 
 for the dead are celebrated as well as baptisms for the healing of disease. 
 Baptisms for the remission of sins are performed in the Mississippi. I 
 was next introduced to the prophet, and had the honor of an interview 
 witli him. He is a coarse, plebeian person in aspect, and his countenance 
 exhibits a curious mixture of the knave and clown. His hands are large 
 and fat, and on one of his fingers he wears a massive gold ring with some 
 inscription upon it. His dress was of coarse country manufacture, and 
 Ids white hat was enveloped in a piece of black crape, being in mourning 
 for a brother. I had no opportunity of observing the eyes of Smith, he 
 appearing deficient in that open, staid-fixed look which characterizes an 
 honest man. The Mormon system, mad as it is, had method in its 
 madness, and many shrewd bands are at work in its maintaiuance and 
 propagation, and whatever may befall its originators, it has the elements 
 of increase and endurance. Mormon missionaries have been sent forth 
 and are now at work in almost every country in Christendom. They 
 have recently gone to Russia with letters of credence from the Mormon 
 prophet. Their numbers in England, we have no doubt, are increasing 
 rapidly, aiid it remains for christains of the present day to determine 
 whether Mormonism shall work to the level of those fanatical sects, 
 which like new stars have blazed for a little while and then sunk into 
 obscurity, or whether like asecond Mahomedanism it shall extend itself, 
 sword in hand, till Christianity is leveled in the dust." 
 
 Ill 1842, Dr. John C. Bennett was expelled from the Mormon 
 cliurcli, and thereafter traveled tlirougli different parts of the 
 country, avowing', in lectures and publications, that the Mormons 
 entertained tresisonable designs against the government. One of 
 Bennett's principal objects was to induce the authorities of jNIissonri 
 to bring another indictment against Smith for an alleged attempt 
 to murder Gov. Boggs. Being succcssftd in his endeavors, June 
 T), 1S4.'5, an indictment was found against the proi)het and another 
 prominent Mormon, and sliortly afterwards a messenger i)resen- 
 ted himself to Gov. Foi-d with a new demand for their arrest. In 
 l)iirsnance of the laws of the United States, the writ was given to 
 
500 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 a constable in Hancock county forexecntion. Tbe Missouri agent 
 and a constable hastened to Nauvoo for the purpose of serving- 
 it, but finding on their arrival that Smith was on a visit to Hock 
 river, they repaired thither, and made the arrest in Palestine 
 grove, in the county of Lee. The prisoner was then left in the 
 custody of the agent, who set off with him to Missouri, but had 
 not proceeded far, when he was met and captured by an armed 
 body of Mormons, who released the prophet and conducted him 
 in triumph to Nauvoo. A writ of habeas corpus was sued out iu 
 the numicipal court of that city, and Cyrus Walker, the whig can- 
 didate for congress, appeared as attoiney for the accused. In a 
 labored effort of great length, he endeavored to show that this 
 court, which was composed of Smith and his friends, had juris- 
 diction to issue the writ, and proceed in the defense of the prison- 
 er, under the ordinances of the city, and he accordingly was 
 acquitted. Mr. Hodge, the democratic candidate, was visiting 
 Nauvoo at the time of the trial, and both he and Walker were 
 called on in a political convention to give their opinion relative to 
 the city ordinance, empowering the municipal court to issue writs 
 of habeas corpus in all cases of imprisonment, and both solemnly 
 declared that they considered it valid. It is hardly necessary to 
 state that this advice was given for the purpose of obtaining 
 votes, as both candidates knew it was false. Instead of being 
 actuated by that integrity which combats and coirects public 
 opinion when wrong ,the only true passport to ofticial position, 
 both willfully sanctioned an error for the accomplishment of selfish 
 ends. 
 
 The Mormons, on the other hand, in consequence of stupidity 
 and ignorance, were ever ready to be duped and brought in 
 antagonism to the laws of the State, by the chicanery of party. 
 If the action of the government bore hard upon them, however 
 justly it might be administered, they regarded it as wantonly 
 oppressive, or if judicious advice was given them, it was rejected 
 with scorn whenever opposed to their favorite schemes. Un- 
 scrupulous x)oliticians becoming aware of this characteristic, 
 would first learn their predelictions and advise them accordingly, 
 whereby they became the sport of party and the victims of the 
 most corrupt men in the country. 
 
 On the release of Smith, the Missouri agent applietl to Gov. 
 Ford for a military force to assist in arresting him, but the 
 application was refused. Smith having once been arrested, and 
 the Avrit returned as fully executed, the governor had no further 
 cognizance of the case except to issue a new wairant, provided 
 another requisition should be made for his re-arrest by the execu- 
 tive of Missouri. While it was readily admitted that Smith had 
 been forcibly rescued and suffered to go unpunished by a court 
 transcending its authority, yet it would have been an illegal and 
 perhaps dangerous expedient to attempt to call out the militia to 
 correct or reverse the decision. 
 
 The Mormons, emboldened by success in this trial, in the winter 
 of 1843-4, passed another ordinance to further protect their 
 leaders. TLey enacted a law providing that no writ issued from 
 any other place except ISTauvoo for the arrest of any person in the 
 city, should be executed without an approval endorsed thereon 
 by the mayor; that if any public ofticer, by virtue of any foreign 
 
THE MORMONS. 501 
 
 writ, sliouW attempt to make an arrest in the city without such an 
 approval of his i»rocess, he shoukl be subject to imprisonment for 
 life, and the governor of the State shouhl not have the power of 
 l)arclouing' the offender without the consent of the mayor. 
 
 The passage of this ordinance created great astonisliment, and in- 
 duced many to believe that there was a reality in the accusations 
 Avhich had been made against them, respecting the establishment 
 of an independent government. After this law went into opera- 
 tion, if robberies were committed in the adjoining country, 
 the thieves woidd tiee into Nauvoo, and if the plundered 
 parties followed them, they were tined by the Mormon courts for 
 daring to seek after their }>roperty in the holy city. The 
 Mormons themselves were fretpiently the guilty parties, and by 
 this means sought both to retain the stolen goods and escape 
 the just punishment of their crimes. 
 
 The most positive evidence that they con tern ])! a ted the organi- 
 zation of a separate government, was based on the fact that about 
 this time they sent a petition to congress, asking for the estab- 
 lishment of a territorial government, of which Nauvoo was to be 
 the center. Another act characteristic of their vanity, was the 
 announcement of Smith, in the spring of 1844, as a candidate for 
 the presidency oi the United States. His followers, sanguine of suc- 
 cess, sent from two to three thousand missionaries into the field 
 to convert tlie people, and laboi- for the election of the prophet. It 
 was stated by dissenters in the ^Mormon church, that Smith 
 also entertained the idea of making himself the temi)oral as well 
 as the spiritual leader of his peojtle, and that, for thisiuirpose, he 
 instituted a new order of church dignitaries, the mend)ers of 
 which were to be both kings and priests. 
 
 He next caused himself to be annointed king and priest, but of a 
 liigher order than the others, who were to be his nobility, and to 
 whom as the upholders of his throne he administered the oath of 
 allegiance. To give character to his pretensions he declared his 
 lineage in an unln-oken line from Josei)h the son of Jaco)), and 
 that of his wife from sonu* other important i)ersonage of the 
 ancient Hebrews. To strengthen his })olitical pow<'r he also in- 
 stituted a body of police styled the Danite band, who were sworn 
 io protect his person and to obey his orders as the commands of 
 God. A female order previously existing in the church., called 
 spiritual wives, was modified so as to suit the licentiousness of 
 the prophet. A doctrine was revealed that it was imi)ossil)le for 
 a woman to get to heaven except as the wife of a Mornn>n elder; 
 that each elder might marry as many women as he could main- 
 tain, and that any female might be sealed to eternal life by 
 becoming: their concubine. This licentiousness, the origin of 
 l^olygamy in the cliurch, they endeavored to justify by an appeal 
 to Abraham, Jacob and other favorites of God in a former age 
 of the world. 
 
 After the establishment of these institutions, Smith began to 
 play the tyrant over his people, as all persons of inferior intel 
 lect and unduly develoiied passions always do when others 
 become subject to their will One of his first attempts to abuse 
 the power with which he was intrusted, was an ettbrt to take the 
 wife of AVilliam Law, one of his most talented and respectable 
 followers, and make her a spiritual wife. Without the sanction 
 
502 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of law lie established offices iii Kauvoo for recording" property titles 
 and issuing n)arriage licences, whereby he sought to monopolize 
 the traffic in real estate*^ and control the marital relations of his 
 peojile. The despotism thus practiced soon caused a si)irit of in- 
 subordination and disaffection in the Mormon church and com- 
 munity. Law and tlie other leaders determined to resist the en- 
 croachments of Smith, and for the purpose of exposing the abuses 
 growing out of the new institutions, they procured a press and 
 commenced the publication of a ne\vs]»aper. Thti appearance of 
 the paper was the signal for o])position, and before the second 
 number could be issued, by an order of the council, the heretical 
 press was demolished, and the i)ublishers ejected from the church. 
 It is difficult to decide whether this trial, which is one of the 
 most singular instances of adjudication to be found on record, 
 was the result of insanity or depravity. The i)roceedings were 
 instituted against the press instead of tlie owiiers, who were not 
 notilied to attend. ]S^o jury was called, the witnesses were not 
 required to testify under oath, and the evidence was all furnished 
 by the jdaintifts in the absence of the dt.'fendants. It was not 
 difficult, under these circumstances, to prove that the publish- 
 ers of the pai)er were the vilest of sinners, and that the press was 
 the greatest nuisance, hence the order to have it abated. 
 
 The holy city becoming a dangerous place of residence for the 
 seceding Mormons, they retired to Carthage, the county seat, and 
 obtained warrants for the arrest of Smith and the members of 
 the city council and others connected with the destructi»)n of the 
 press. Some of the i)arties having been arrested and discharged 
 by the authorities in Xauvoo, a convention of citizens assembled 
 at Carthage, and appointed a coniinittee to wait on the governoi 
 for the purpose of pro(;uring military assistance to enforce the ex- 
 ecution of the law in the city. The governor, on learning the 
 position of affairs, determined to visit the comity aiul inquire into 
 the nature of the conii)laints before he gave his official sanction to 
 any particular course of action. When he arrived a message was 
 sent to the mayor and common council informing them of the com- 
 plaints made against them, and requiring that a committee might 
 be sent to answer the charge. A number of x>ersons were accord- 
 ingly sent, and in the examination which ensued, it became evi- 
 dent that the whole proceedings of the mayor and common 
 council were irregular and illegal. Though such proceedings could 
 not be tolerated in a country claiming to be governed by law and 
 order, yet they were excusable to some extent in consequence of 
 undue statements frequently made to the ISTauvoo officials by 
 
 *The Mormons maije no efforts to conceal their design of monopolizinij: the lands in 
 the vicinity of Nfiuvoo to the exclusion of those who had welcomed them with such 
 genuine sympathy, when banished fi'om Missouri. It is said, when they wished to 
 possess the property of a gentile thej^ ollcred what they considered a reasonable 
 price for it, and in case of refusal they proceeded to enforce acce))tance by various 
 intolerable annoyances Whittling was resorttd to as one method of vexation. For 
 this purpose throe persons were appointed who, armed with sticks and jack-knives, 
 tooka position in frontof tlie obdurate owner's residence and commenced whittling-. 
 If he went to church, the post otiice, market or other place of business, the.v followed 
 him whittling- If he expostulated, became angry, threatened or swore, they ans- 
 wered by wluttling-. If idle boys laugheu and jeered the victim, his tormentors de- 
 murely whittled AVhen he returned home the whittlers followed and again tcok their 
 places in front of his house and continued their annoyance frorri early dawn till late 
 at nig-ht. The irritated owner could not look from a window without encountering- the 
 insolent stare of his jicrsecutois, wlio were still whittling Generally a single day, it 
 is said, was sufficient to make him submit, very rarely he held out two days, but never 
 ■was able to endure more than three days of this ludicrous yet insufferable martyrdom. 
 
THE MORMONS. 503 
 
 some of the bCvSt lawyers in tlie State wbo, as eaudidates for 
 oftice, sought their support by purposely exaggeratiug the extent 
 of their authority. 
 
 The destruetion of the press was a bh^w dealt agaiust ci\il lib- 
 erty, and hence among a repul)liean peoi)le jealous of their rights, 
 it was well calculated to raise a tlauie of excitement. The 
 Moriuon leaders, if honest, little understood the fact that a well 
 conducted press is essential to a free governuient, and tluit a 
 profligate one, by venality and falseboud, is sure to h),se its influ- 
 ence and thus defeat the iiuproper object it seeks to accomplish. 
 Attempts to interfere with the freedom of the press causes the 
 suppression of information ^hich should be dessiminated among 
 the people, and are always attended with a greater loss to ci\ il 
 liberty than can possibly result from the temporary indiscretions 
 of a few imprudent publishers. Besides, when calumnies are cir- 
 culated in this manner the authors are amenable to the law, which 
 is the proper means of redress, and not the wanton destruction of 
 property. 
 
 In the investigations made by the governor while at Carthage, 
 it was proved that Smith sent a number of his followers to Mis- 
 souri for the i)uri)ose of kidnapping two witnesses against a mem- 
 ber of the church, soon to be tried for larceny; that he had as- 
 sailed and brutally beaten an oflicer of the county for an alleged 
 non -performance of duty, when in conse(juence of sickness he 
 Avas not able to attend to it ; that he stood indicted for perjury, hav- 
 ing falsely sworn to an accusation of nuirder against a real estate 
 agent, that he might be expelled from the city, and not interfere 
 with his monopoly as a land speculator; and tliat the municii>al 
 court of which he was chief justice, had frequently discharged 
 Mormons accused of crimes conunitted in various parts of the 
 county, thus obstructing the administration of justice and making 
 the common council of Nauvoo independent of the State govern- ] 
 /ment. 1 
 
 // In addition to these actual infringements of law, other causes ; 
 
 ^'' served to increase the tide of opposition now turned against the \ 
 saints. The extJ'avagance of their theological i)retensions had ' 
 incurred the ill will of other denominations of religion, while the 
 ettbrt to elect their prophet to the i)residency brought them in con- ■ 
 flict with the zealots and bigots of both [)olitical jtartics an.d cov- 
 ered them with ridicule. A IVuittul cause of hostile feeling grew 
 out of the fact that at several pieceding elections they cast their 
 vote as a, unit, whereby it was evident that no one in the country 
 could obtain oftlcial position without flrst securing their su])[)ort. 
 It was believed that Smith instructed the Danite band, which he 
 had chosen as the ministers of his vengeance, and the instruments 
 of the intolerable tyranny which he exercised over his peo])le, that 
 no blood, except that of the church, was to be regarded sacred if 
 it contravened the accomplishment of his object. It was asserted 
 that he inculcated the legality of perjury and other crimes, if com- 
 mitted to advance the cause of the true believers; that God had 
 giA'cn the world and all that it contained to his saints, and since 
 they were kept out of their rightful inheritance by force, it was no 
 moral offense to get possession of it by stealing. It was rei)orted 
 that an establishmeiit existed in ISTauvoo for the manufacture of 
 counterfeit money, and that a set of outlaws were maintained 
 
504 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 there for the purpose of putting it in circulatiou. Statements 
 were circulated to tlie eifect that a reward had been offered for tlie 
 destruction of tlie Warsaw Signalj a newspaper published at 
 Warsaw, in opposition to Mormon interests, and that Mormons 
 dispersed over the country threatened all persons who offered to 
 assist the constable in the execution of the law, with the destruc- 
 tion of their property and the murder of their families. There 
 were rumois also afloat that an alliance had been formed with the 
 Western Indians, and in case of war they would be used in mur- 
 dering their enemies. In short, if only one-half of these reports 
 were true the Mormons must have been the most infamous peo])le 
 that ever existed, aud if one half of them were false they must 
 have been the worst slandered. 
 
 Previous to the arrival of the governor the whole body of the 
 militia in Schuyler and jMcDouough counties had been called 
 out, and armed forces commenced assembling in Carthage and 
 Warsaw to enibrce the service of civil j^rociess. After the forces 
 had appointed their officers, the governor, apprehensive that the 
 Mormon leaders might be made the victims of i)oi)ular fury, ex- 
 acted a pledge trom both officers and men that in the discliai-ge 
 of their duties they Avould, under all circumstances, keep within 
 the pale of the law. All signified their willingness to co-o})erate 
 with him in preserving order, i)romised to pursue a strictly legal 
 course and protect the persons of the accused in case of violence. 
 The constable and ten men were then sent to make the arrest, 
 being instructed to inform the accused that if they i)eaceabl3' 
 submitted they would be protected, but if not, they must receive 
 the consequences, as the whole force of the State, if necessary, 
 would be called out to enforce submission. 
 
 In the meantime. Smith had declared martial law ; his followers 
 residing the country, were summoned to his assistaiice; the 
 legion was assembled and underarms, and the entire city was one 
 great military encami)ment, no ingress or egress being permitted 
 except on the strictest examination. However, on the arrival of 
 the constable and his escort, the mayor and members of the com- 
 Qion council at once signiiied their willingness to surrender, and 
 accompany them on the following morning to Carthage. Failing 
 to make their ap])earance at the appointed time, the constable 
 hastened away without attemi)ting to make the arrest. It was 
 subsequently ascertained that the cause of the hurried dei)arture 
 was the fear that the Mormons would submit and thus entitle 
 themselves to the protection of the law. There were daring and 
 active men traversing the country and making inflamatory si>ceches, 
 with the hope that a po])ular movement might be inaugurated for 
 the exi)ulsion of t\w, Mormons from the State. The constable 
 aud those who accompanied him were in the conspiracy, and en- 
 deavored, by the partial performance of their duty, to create a 
 necessity for calling out an overwhehnning force to effect this 
 object. The artifice was, however, soon detected by the governor, 
 and another opportunity given the accused to surrender. A requi- 
 sition was also made on tlieui for the return of the State arms, be- 
 cause the legion to which they had been entrusted had used them 
 illegally in the destruction of the press, and the enforcement of 
 martial law as a means of preventing civil process. On thel*4th of 
 June, 1815, in obedieuce to the last summons, Joe Smith, his brother 
 
THE MORMONS. 505 
 
 Hiram, the iiieuibers of the city council and others, went to 
 Carthage, and .surrendered themselves prisoners to the constable, 
 on the charge of riot. All euteied into recognizance before ii 
 justice of the peace to appear at court, and were discharged. A 
 new writ was, however, inunediately issued and served on the two 
 Smiths, and both were arrested and thrown into prison. The 
 prophet, it is said, whether desirous of courting martyrdom or 
 alarmed at the i)oi)ular storm which threatened him, seemed to 
 have a presentiment that he never would return to Nauvoo alive. 
 According to the statement at Carthage, he reunirked, "1 am 
 going like a lamb to the slaughter, but I have a conscience void 
 of otfence toward God and man." 
 
 The jail in which the jjrisoners were confined, was a stone 
 building of considerable size, furnished with a suite of rooms for 
 the jailer, cells for the close continement of convicts, and a large 
 apartment not so strong but more comfortable than the cells. The 
 prisoners were first contined in the cells by the jailor, but at the 
 remonstrance of the Mormons, and the advice of the governor, 
 they were afterwards transferred to the large apartment, where 
 they were more pleasantly situated, and where they renuuned till 
 the occurrence of the tragedy in which they lost their lives. No 
 serious apprehensions were entertained of an attack on the jail, 
 nor was it su[)posed that the Smiths would make an effort to es- 
 cape. At the time the prisoners were incarcerated, the forces at 
 Carthage and Warsaw, amounted to 1700 nu'n,most of whom were 
 anxious to be led into NauMX) to destroy the ap])aratiis with 
 which it was said the Mormons manuiactnaed counterleit money. 
 It was also belie\'ed by the governor, that if an imi)Osing demon- 
 stration of the State forces should be nuule, it might overaw the 
 IMormons and exert a salutary infiuence in pre^ enting the nuuders, 
 robberies and burnings appreheiuled as the result of the proceed- 
 ings against their prophet. In accordance with this view, ar- 
 rangements were made for the marching of the trooi)s on the -7, 
 of June, and Golden's l*oint near the ]Mississippi, and midway 
 between Warsaw and ]S^auvoo,was selected as the ]»lace of ren- 
 dezvous. Before, however, the movement was fully inaugurated, 
 the governor discovered his mistake, and immediately counter- 
 manded his previous orders for the assembling of the forces. 
 
 It Mas ob.served, as the preparations for marching advanced, 
 the excitement prevadiiig the i>ublic mind correspondingly 
 increased, and threats were occassionally nuide to destroy the city 
 and exi)el the inhabitants from the State. Subsequent develop- 
 ments rendered it e\"ident that an agreement had been made by 
 some of the most daring and reckless spirits, to fire on the forces 
 of the State when they arrived in jSTauvoo, and afterwards attiib 
 ute it to the Mormons, as a means of bringing on a general 
 engagement. The city at that time contained a population of 
 12,000 to 15,000 inhabitants, many of whom were helpless women 
 and children, and humanity shudders at the wanton destruction 
 of life and property thatnuist have resulted froni such blind and 
 obdurate fury. Besides, if the disposition had existed to i)recipi- 
 tate upon the city a calamity of this kind, the forces of the State 
 were iiuulequate to afford such i)rotection to the adjacent country 
 as would have been necessary. After the surrender of the 
 Smiths, at their request, Captain Singleton with a company from 
 
500 HIST OK Y OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Brown county, was sent to take command of the Nauvoo legion and 
 guard tlie city. According to bisre})ort, when the legion was called 
 out for inspection, they assembled 2000 strong and were fully equip- 
 ped with arms. This was after the public arms had been taken 
 away, and now they were prepared Avith weajjons of their own for 
 any emergency. The State forces had three pieces of cannon, lliOO 
 muskets and rations for two days, afcer which tliey would 
 have been compelled to discontinue operations for the want of 
 subsistence. It was therefore deemed advisable to abandon the 
 enterprise as imi)racticable, and the forces with the exception 
 of three companies were accordingly disbanded. Two of these 
 were selected to guard the jail, and the remaining- one was retain- 
 ed as an escort for the governor, who jtroposed to visit ISiauvoo 
 for the ])urpose of inquiring into the charges preferred against 
 the inhabitants, and to warn them tliat if any secret violence 
 should be committed by them on the persons or ))roperty of 
 those who had assisted in the execution of the law, it would 
 inevitably be followed by the most summary retribution. 
 
 Leaving- Gen. Denniingin command of the guards, on the 27t]i, 
 of June, the governor accompanied by Col. Buckmaster, and 
 Captain Davis' dragoons, departed for Nauvoo, eighteen miles 
 distant. Before proceeding far, Col. Bucknuister informed the 
 governor that while at Carthage some circumstances of a susi>ic- 
 ious character induced him to believe that an attack upon the jail 
 was meditated. The latter, however was incredulous. It was 
 notorious that he had gone to Nauvoo, and it was not probable 
 that while there any outrage would be committed on the Smiths^ 
 which would endanger his own safety and that of his comi)an- 
 ions. Nevertheless, to guard against all possible contingencies, a 
 messenger was sent back to inform the guard of danger, and to 
 insist on their defending the jail at the iteril of their lives, till 
 the governor returned. It was also decide<l, to defer to some 
 future time the examination of the misdemeanors alleged agahist 
 the Mormons, that the company might immediately return and 
 render assistance, in case tlie jail shouldbe assavdted. 
 
 The parties arrived in Nauvoo about 4 o'clock on the 27th of 
 June, and as soon as notice could be given, a large number of the 
 inhabitants convened to hear a dis(!ourse from the governor. In 
 the address deli\ ered, the illegal action of their public functiona- 
 ries was explained ; they were advised of the infanu)us rejjorts 
 rife in all the country respecting- their conduct, and the conse- 
 quent i)rejudice an<l liostility engendered in tlie pulilic mind, and 
 admonislied that in future they would have to act with great cir- 
 cumspection, or their lives aiul the safety of their city would fall 
 a sacrifice to poi)ular indignation. During- the delivery of the 
 speech, some impatience and excitement was exhibited by the 
 auditors at the various allegations made against them, which they 
 persistently denied as untrue. They claimed to be a hiw abiding- 
 people, and carefully observed its provisions, that the;y- might in 
 turn have the benetitof its protection. After the conclusion of 
 tlie address, the qnestion, as to whether they would conform to the 
 laws of the State, in opi)osition to the advice of their leaders, was 
 submitted to a vote, which resulted unanimously in favor of the 
 proposition. Their subsequent conduct, however, proved that 
 
THE MORMONS. 507 
 
 Avhen yuilty of the fji'eatest extrava.naiiees, tliey would make the 
 loudest pvoCessious of attaelnneiit to law aud order. 
 
 The party left the city a short tiuie before suudowu, and had 
 not .youe far before they met two niesseuyers, who informed them 
 tliat the Smiths had been assassinated about five o'eloek that 
 afternoon. All were astounded at the reeeption of this intelli- 
 iHenee, aud fearful aitprehensions Mere entertaini'd respeetin.i;- the 
 cousequenees likely to ensue from the massaere. The ^Mormons 
 were an infatuated, fanatical jx'ople, not likely to be inllneiu'ed by 
 the motiA'es Mhieh ordinarily govern the conduct of men, and a 
 desultory war nnyiit be the result. To prevent the news reaching- 
 Xauvoo the messengers were ordered into custody, and the g'o\- 
 eruor hastened to Carthage to be in readiness for the outburst of ex- 
 citemeut and lawlessness that might foilowthedissemiuatiou of the 
 iutelligeuce. A courier was also desi)atched to Carthage to inform 
 the citizens of the tragedy. The}', however, a])peared to umler- 
 staud the matter better tlum the messenger, and before hisarri\'al 
 bad commenced renu)viug their families across the river to guard 
 against impending danger. The ensuing night the}' sent a com- 
 mittee to Quiiu'y for heli», aud at an early hour ou the following 
 morniug a. large concourse of the citizens assembled to devise 
 means of defense. At the meeting it was reported that the ]\Ior- 
 mons had attemi)ted to rescue the Smiths: that a party of Mis- 
 sourians aud others had killed them to prevent their escape ; that 
 the governor and his cortege, who were in Xauvoo at the time, 
 had been attacked by the legion and forced to take refuge iu a 
 house, aud that if assistauce was not furnished withiu two days 
 he would fall a victim to Mormou vengeance. A force of some 
 250 meu was immediately raised, and by teu o'clock the same 
 morning they embarked on a boat and steamed down to jSTauvoo 
 to assist iu rescuing the governor. On arriving at the city the 
 whole story proved a fabrication originated to iuteusify the excite- 
 ment and cause a collision between the 3Iormons and State forces. 
 Subsequent evidence also rendered it highly i)rol)able that the 
 conspirators connected with the assassination contemplated 
 inx'ohing the governor in the same misfortune. Circumstan- 
 ces warranted tlie conclusion that the assassins had arranged 
 that the nuirder should occur while the governor was in 
 ISTaux oo ; that the Mormons on hearing the catastrophe would 
 sus])ect him as an accomi)lice, and at the tirst outburst of indig- 
 nation put him to death as a means of retaliation. The nH)tive 
 for this treacherous attem])t against the executive ofticer of the 
 State was to arouse a spirit of opposition, aud cause the exter- 
 mination of the Mormons. 
 
 The governor arrived in Carthage about ten o'clock, aud found 
 the citizens in a state of consternation, some having left and 
 others ])reparing to follow. One of the companies which had 
 been left to guard the jail, departed before the attack Avas made, 
 and many of the others left shortly afterwtird. General Deming, 
 who was absent when the murder occurred, volunteered to remain 
 and giuird the town with the snuxll force Avliich remained, unless 
 compelled to retire before superior numbers. The governor retired 
 to (^uincy and imme<liately issue<l orders for provisionally raising 
 and equipping an imposing force, in case they should be needed. 
 
Chapter XLII. 
 
 1844-6— MOEMOK WAE. 
 
 Manner of SmitJi's Death — Character of the Mormons — Apostles 
 Assume the Government of the Church — Trial and Acquittal of 
 the Assassins — Saints Driven from the Vicinity of Lima and 
 Green Plains — Leading Mormons Retire Across the Mississippi — 
 Battle at Nauroo — Expulsion of the Lnhahitants. 
 
 When the assassination of the Mormons became known, it ap 
 peared that the force at Kauvoo, agreeably to orders, had marched 
 on the morning' of the 27th in the direction of GoUlen's Point to 
 form a connection with troo])s at that phice, but after they had 
 advanced about 8 miles they were met by a messenger from 
 Carthage Avitli an order to disb;ind and return home ; the gover- 
 nor, who issued it, fearing he could not control the intlannnable 
 material he was collecting, determined to scatter it. About loO 
 of the men, instead of complying with the order, blackened 
 their faces witli powder, hurriedly started for Carthage and en- 
 camped some distance from the village. Here they learned tluit 
 one of the companies left to guard the Smiths, had gone home 
 and that the other, the Carthage Grays, was stationed in the 
 square, 150 yards distant, and that Sergeant Franklin A. Worrel, 
 with only 8 men, was detailed to watch the prisoners. As soon 
 as messages could be interchanged it was agreed among the con- 
 spirators that the guns of the guard should be charged with 
 blank cartridges and tired on the assailants, when they should 
 attempt to enter the jail. 
 
 Gen. Deming, who had been left in command, discovering the 
 l)lot to assassinatethe Smiths, and having been deserted by the prin- 
 cipal i)art ot the troops, retired from the village, lest an attempt 
 should be made on his own life. After perfecting their scheme of 
 murder, the assailants scaled the slight fence enclosing the jail, 
 and immediately disarming the guards, who according to agree- 
 nuMit discharged their pieces, they ascended the flight of 
 stairs leading to the room containing the prisoners. At the time 
 the assault was made, two other Mormons, Kichards and Tailor 
 as visitors, were in the large apartment with the Smiths. Hearing 
 the rush on the stairs, the imi)erilled men instinctively held the 
 door by pressing their weight against it. The attacking party 
 thus denied entrance, fired ui)on the door, and the bullets passing 
 through it, killed Hiram Smith, who falling, exclaimed "lama 
 dead man." Tailor receiving 4 wounds, retreated under the 
 bed, and Eichards, after the door was burst open, secreted himself 
 
 508 
 
MORMON WAR. 509 
 
 beliind it, tliongh afterward in relating tlie niimler, lie claiined 
 tliat he .stood in the uiid.st of danger, warding- off the balls ^\ith 
 a consecrated wand. The prophet, armed with a six barrelled pis- 
 tol which had been furnished by his friends, fought bravely in 
 defence of his life, and wounded four of his antag(»nists before he 
 was killed. At length when his pistol was exhausted, severely 
 wounded, he ran to the window, and partly leaped and partly fell 
 into the yard below; there with his last dying energies he gath- 
 ered himself up in a sitting posture, but his disabled condition 
 and vague, wandering glances excited no conii>assion in tlie in- 
 furiated mob, thirsting for his bluod. The broils which had so 
 long distracted the country, infused into the avengers the s[)irit 
 of demons, and the shootuig of Snnth was not considered any ; 
 more criminal than taking the life of a wolf or tiger. AVhile in f 
 this position a l)arty of Missourians discharged their guns at him, 
 and he fell crying out "Oh Lord my God." Four balls had 
 pierced his body and before the smoke cleared away the Mormon 
 prophet was no nK)re.* 
 
 When the tragedy was over horror succeeded the frenzied rage 
 which had possessed the assassins, and in silence they hurried 
 across the dusty prairies to WarsaAv, IS miles distant. 
 The murder occurred at half-past five, and at a quarter before 
 eight the fugitives dragged their weary limbs along the streets 
 of Warsaw, at such an astounding rate had the lash of a guilty 
 conscience driven them. An outburst of vengeance on the part of 
 the Mormons Avas anticipated, but nothing of the kind occurred. 
 The appalling disaster which had thus befallen the church was 
 not followed by revenge, and it was a long time before they re- 
 covered from the stupor and despair attending it. A delegation 
 repaired to Carthage for their dead, and on returning to Nauvoo 
 they were buried with the honors belonging to the geneial of the 
 legion. 
 
 "Thus fell Joe Smith, the most successful impostor of modern 
 times. A man who, though ignorant and coarse, had some great 
 natural i)arts which fitted him for temijorary success, but which 
 were so obscured and counteracted by the iidierent corruption and 
 vices of his nature that he could never succeed in establishing a 
 system of policy which looked to permanent success in the future. 
 His lusts, his love of money and power, always set him to study- 
 ing present gratification and convenience, rather than the remote 
 consequences of his plans. It seems that no power of intellect 
 can save a corrupt man from this error. The strong cravings of 
 the aninud nature will never give iair play to a fine understanding; 
 the judgment is never allowed to choose that good which is far 
 away, in preference to enticing evil near at hand. And this may 
 be considered a wise ordinance of Providence, by which the coun- 
 sels of talented but coirupt men are defeated in the very act which 
 promised success. 
 
 " It must not be supposed that the pretended prophet practiced 
 the tricks of a common imi)ostor; that he was a dark and gloomy 
 person, with a long beard and grave and severe asi)ect, and a re- 
 served and saintly carriage ; on the contrary he was full of levity, 
 even to boyish romping, dressed like a dandy and at times drank 
 
 * John Hay in the Atlantic Monthly of December, 1869 
 
510 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 like a isailor and swore like a pirate. He could, as occasion re- 
 quired, be exceedingly meek in liis deportment, and then again, 
 r<mgli and boisterous as a Ligliway robber, being always able to 
 satisfy liis followers of tlie propriety of his conduct. He always 
 quailed before power, and was arrogant to weakness. At times 
 lie could put on the air of a penitent, as if feeling the deepest liu- 
 miliation for liis sins, snfteriiig unutterable anguish and the most 
 gloomy forebodings of eternal woe. At such times he would call 
 for the prayers of the brethren in his behalf with a wild and fear- 
 ful energy and earnestness. He was full six feet high, strongly 
 built and uncommonly well muscled. ]*^o doubt he was as much 
 indebted for his iutlnence over an ignorant people to the superi- 
 ority of liis physical ^•igor as to his cunning' and intellect.*" 
 
 The M(u-moii church at this time, consisted of two classes, the 
 rulers and the ruled, knavery in Ihe one and credulity in the 
 other being the heterogeneous characteristics which kept them 
 together. The former consisted of unprincipled men of talent, 
 who, abandoned in character and bankrupt in fortune, espoused 
 the cause of Mornionism for speculative purposes, knowing it was 
 an adventure in which they had nothing to lose, while it might be 
 the means of retrieving their fortunes. Having neither respect 
 for God nor man, and not reverencing- any religion, they proposed, 
 like Mahomet and others, to found a new system of theology, and 
 if they could impose it on the credulity of mankind and live on 
 the labor of their dupes, they had no higher object to accomphsh. 
 They i'ormed a nucleus which attracted to Nauvoo adventurers 
 and ack'pts in every species of crime, while the extraordinary 
 powers which had been conferred on the city authorities enabled 
 them to screen the guilty from the penalties of the laws they habit- 
 ually violated. At their social entertainments, where music and 
 dancing constituted the principal pastime, great attention was 
 l)aid to dress, while little prudence was exercised in the selection 
 <.)f their company. There were in the same gay assemblage the 
 braz(m-faced desperado who despised the law, and the venal mag- 
 istrate who protected him in his crimes, the wanton wife and the 
 truant husband on an equal footing with those who respected the 
 sanctity of marriage, the reckless adventurer in search of fortune, 
 and the successful impostor in possession of ecclesiastical emolu- 
 ments and honors. ]3iscordant and incongruous in nature, they 
 managed to keep time to the same music, and to forget minor dif- 
 ferences, provided their principal objects, sensual pleasure and 
 public plunder, were subserved. 
 
 The lay members of the church, on the other hand, were gener- 
 ally honest and industrious but ignorant, and the dupes of an 
 artful delusion. In devotion to the ])rinci])les which they pro- 
 fessed, they were not suri»assed by the believers of other creeds, 
 for humanity exhibits little difference in this respect, whatever 
 may be the system of religion. If the system is crude, the intel- 
 ligent devotee rejects it, but if his want of knowledge allows him 
 to belie\(' it he will adhere to its dogmas with a tenacity equal to 
 that exhibited by the enlightened advocate of a lational theology. 
 A\'ith the great majority of tiie IMormons their religious belief 
 amount e<l almost to infatuaticui, and they were, therefore, more 
 
 *Ford's History. 
 
MORMON WAR. 511 
 
 proi)ei'ly objects of compassion tliaii persecution. Certainly no 
 greater calamity can befall a member of the liuman family than 
 to have the adoration which he offers the Ueity per\erted by the 
 vagaries of such a monstrous su]>erstition. 
 
 Mormouism, instead of i)erishing by the death of Smith, received 
 a new impetus fnmi his nmrtyrdom. His followers now regarded 
 him as a saint ; his words on going to Carthage were adduced 
 as fresh proof of his prophetic character, and a thousand stories 
 were circulated respecting the meekness with which he met death. 
 Proi)hecies were published that in imitation of Christ he would 
 raise from the dead, ^lany contidently expected the fullillment 
 of these i)redictious, aiul in due time it was rei>orted he was seen, 
 attended by a celestial army, coursing his way through the heavens 
 on a great white horse. 
 
 The principle that the death of the martyr is the seed of the 
 church, prined true in regard to ^Mormonism. Smith, though well 
 cpialitied to originate a movement of this kind, was unable to 
 safely direct it through the comi)lication of perils which always 
 besets religious innovation. By dying henmde room forr.righam 
 Young, the present head of the church, who, by his superior ad- 
 ministrative ability, perhaps, saved the Mormon theocracy from 
 disorganization and its subjects from dispersion. Cunning and 
 duplicity nuiy be used by the founders of a sect, but great pru- 
 dence and judgment best befits him who would afterwards har- 
 monize its jarring elements and shape its future career. 
 
 The church, as originally organized, eontained 3 presidents, 
 Joseph Smith, Hiram Smith and Sidney lligdon, and VJ, apos- 
 tles. The latter were abroad, and till they could return home the 
 saints were in doubt as to the future government of the church. 
 Eigdon, being the only surviAing member of the i>residency, 
 claimed the government, and fortified his })retensions by declaring 
 that the will of the prophet was in his favor, and that he had re- 
 ceived several new revelations to the sameett'ect. One of his rev- 
 elations, requiring the wealthy to dis])oseof their possessions and 
 follow him to l*ennsylvania, rendered him uni)opular, the rich 
 being reluctant to i>art with their property, and the i>oor un- 
 willing to be deserted by those whose patronage enabled them to 
 live. When the apostles returned a fierce conflict arose between 
 them and Eigdon for suprenmcy, which resulted in the expulsion 
 of the latter from the church. 
 
 He afterwards retired with a small fragment of the saints, and 
 established a little delusion of his own near Pittsbuigh, while the 
 larger part submitted to the apostles, with Brigham Young, a 
 talented but dishonest ami licentious man, as their leader. 
 
 Missionaries to the number of 3,000 were now sent abroad 
 to preach in the name of the martyred Joseph, and ^lor- 
 monism increased more rai)idly than it had at any time in its i)ast 
 history. In their wild enthusiasm they were williiig to c()mi)ass 
 sea and land to make a single concert, and everywhere the^' went 
 they found the ignorant and credulousready to become infatuated 
 with their strange fanaticism. Xo other religion promised such 
 great spiritual and temporal advantage with such little self-denial, 
 and not only dupes but sharpers united with the church, and it 
 is said that within 14 years after its organization it numbered 200,- 
 000 members. The missionaries always informed their wondering- 
 
512 HISTORY OF TLLINOIS. 
 
 ami deluded converts that it was necessary to repair to tbe place of 
 oatlierinji' where the sublime fullness of the gospel alone could be 
 fully revealed and enjoyed. When removed thither, by seeing 
 and hearing nothing but Mormonism, and associating with those 
 who placed implicit confidence in its dogmas, they ultinmtely be- 
 came so dehuled as to believe the greatest extravagances and 
 submit to the most intolerable despotism. Many by this system 
 of training became devoted disciples, who would have simrned 
 the empty pretensions and licentiousness of their religion, had it 
 at first been presented to them in its real deformity. 
 
 About a year after the apostles had assumed the reins of gov- 
 ernment, they concluded to suspend for a tin)e their eftbrts to 
 convert the world, and accordingly their missionaries and all 
 others connected with the church were called home. In a short 
 time Mormons commenced pouring into Kauvoo from all parts of 
 the world, and the infuriated elders, instead of expounding the 
 gospel to the congregations which weie regularly called together, 
 indulged in a tirade of abuse against the gentiles, curses on the 
 government and all who were not of i he Mormon church or its 
 tools. Xor were the anti-Mormons or those Avho opposed them 
 idle. The death of the Smiths had not ai>peased' their desire 
 for vengeance, and more determined than ever to expel their 
 adversaries from the country, they frequently called on the gov- 
 ernor for aid. The IMoimons also invoked the assistance of the 
 executive in punishing the murderers of their prophet, and both 
 parties were thoroughly disgusted with the constitutional provisons 
 which imposed restraint on the summary attainment of their 
 unlawful designs. The elections coming off in August, 18-44, for 
 members of the legislature and congress, ajid another pending 
 for the presidency of the United State, further complicated the 
 difficulties and enmities of the parties. Tlie whig politicians, 
 who were unable to secure their sujiport, uniting with the anti- 
 Mormons, sent invitations to the militia cai)tains of Hancock and 
 all the adjoining counties of Illinois, Missouri and Iowa to ren- 
 dezvous with their companies in the vicinity of ISauvoo, prepara- 
 tory to engaging in a wolf hunt, it being understood that the 
 Mormons were the game to be hunted. Prei)arations were made 
 for raising several thousand men; the anti-Mormons commenced 
 anew the most exaggerated accounts of Moimon outrages, the 
 whig press in every part of the United States came to their assist- 
 ance, and the i)ublications of the opposite party, which had hith- 
 erty been friendly, now quailed under the tempest which followed, 
 leaving the denunciated and discredited sheet at ]S^auvoo alone to 
 correct public opinion. Prominent ])oliticians who had received 
 theMormon vote, were now unwilling to risk their reputation in 
 defending them, so great was the cowardice of the one and the 
 odious character of the other. 
 
 In the meantime, the anti-Mormon force, which had been sum- 
 moned to meet in the guise of hunters, commenced assembling for 
 the purpose of assaulting Nauvoo, and driving its inhabitants out 
 of the country. To avert the blow, the governor, assisted by Gen. 
 J. J. Hardin, and Cols. Baker and Merriman, raised a force of 500 
 men and nuirched to the scene of the threatened outbreak. When 
 he ariiVed a large part of the malcontents tied across the river into 
 Missouri. Flight, however, was unnecessary, for the State forces 
 
MORMON WAR. 513 
 
 liad not been long in the disaffected district beioie tliey espoused the 
 cause of the rioters, and instead of driving tlieni out as enemies, 
 were disposed to receive them as friends. Despite his demor- 
 alized forces, the governor, whose sense of justice seems to have been 
 in i)art sliarpened by political motives, determined to follow the 
 fugiti^■es and arrest three of their leaders, against whom writs had 
 been issued for the mur<ler of the Smiths. Uoats were procured 
 and secretly landed a mile above Warsaw, and the troojts marched 
 to the same place, prei)aratory to crossing the river and seizing the 
 accuse<l. 
 
 In the meantime, however, Colonel Baker visited the encamp- 
 ment and effected arrangements for the surrender of the alleged 
 assassins, and the further prosecution of the expedition was 
 abandoned. Two of the suspected persons accordingly recrossed 
 the river and surrendered themselves i)ris()ners, it having been 
 agreed that they should be taken to (^uincy Ibr examination -, that 
 the attornej' for the people should be advised to admit them to 
 bail, and that they should be tried at the next term of the Carthage 
 court. The faith of the governor had been ijledged for the protection 
 of the Smiths, and he deemed it especially im[)ortant that their 
 assassins should be punished as a means of vindicating the honor 
 of the State, restoring the supremacy of the law and i»reventing 
 the recurrence of such infamous crimes in the future. Able 
 lawyers were therefore secured to prosecute the prisoners, and the 
 trial came off' in the siunmer of 1845. The i)anel of jurors 
 selected by the Mormon officials of the county was re'iected,in con- 
 sequence of being effected l)y prejudice, and two elisors were 
 chosen, one a Mormon and the other an anti-Mormon, to select a 
 new one. Ninety-six i>ersons were ]>resented, before any 
 could be found sufficiently ignorant and indifferent to administer 
 justice. They all swore they had never formed nor expressed au 
 opinion as to the guilt or innocence of the prisoners, although 
 at the same time they belonged to a military mob, which to the 
 nund)er of 1,000 men was in attendance with arms to overawe the 
 IMormons and extort from the court the verdict in favor of the 
 accused. The principal Mormon witnesses were Brackenbury, 
 Daniels, and a Miss (Jraham. The tirst two had accompanied the 
 expedition from Warsaw to Carthage, had witnessed the killing 
 of the Smiths, and were able to identify the uuirderers. From 
 Carthage they went to Nauvoo, where they united with the 
 church and were boarded by the Mormons to secure their evidence 
 at the trial. While here Brackenbury secured the services of a 
 sign painter who executed the death and ascension of Smith, 
 which he exhibited ostensibility for the spiritual edification of the 
 saints, but more for the augmentation of his own private resources. 
 Daniels, not to be outdone by his associate, wrote an account of 
 the death of Smith, in which, among a great many other absurd- 
 ities, he says he beheld descending fjom heaven and resting on the 
 head of Smith, a bright light, which struck some of his uuirderers 
 with blindness, and that he heard celestial voices confirming his 
 mission asaprophet. Owing to these fictions, the evidence both of 
 the showman and scribbler was rejected as invalid. Miss Graham 
 was present and assisted in feeding the hungry mob at the War- 
 saw House, after it came straggling in from Carthage. Her 
 nervous and sensitive organization, however, had been so wrought 
 33 
 
514 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 upon by tlieMormou delusion, tliatshe"vras unable to distinguish ber 
 suspicions and fancies from actual facts, and so blended tlieni in 
 lier evidence tliat it was contended she proved nothing except 
 her own honest but insane zeal. Other witnessess were examined 
 who knew all the facts, but under the dominating intluence of a 
 faction they refused to divulge them. The judge was held in 
 duress by an armed mob, which filled the court house, and stamped 
 applause or hissed defiance, according as they approved or disap- 
 proved the jiroceedings. The trial closed and though there was 
 not a man in the jmy, court house, or county, that did not know 
 the prisoners had committed the murder, yet nothing could be/ 
 proved and the^' were accordingly acquitted. 
 
 At a subsequent term of the court the Mormons, were tried for 
 the destruction of the heretical press. The tribunal in this case 
 consisted of a Mormon coui't, a ]M()rmon slierift" and a Mormon 
 jury, selected on acconnt of their partiality for the accused, as in 
 the previous trial, yet all swore that they knew nothing of the 
 gnilt or innocence of the defendants, who of course were ac- 
 quitted. No leading man of eitiier faction could now be arrested 
 without the aid of an army, and when thus secured, neitlier party 
 would permit an impartial trial in tlieir own comity, and since a 
 change of venue to a disinterested locality could not be effected 
 without the consent of the accused, it was impossible to convict 
 any one of a partisan crime. The administration of the criminal 
 law was impossible, civil government was at an end, and the en- 
 tire community was in a frightful state of anarchy. 
 
 During the summer and fall of 1S45, several occurrences trans- 
 pired, calculated to increase the irritation existing between the 
 Mormons and their neighbors. A suit was instituted in the cir- 
 cuit court of the United States against one of the apostles to le- 
 cover a note given in Ohio, and a marshal was sent to sunnnon 
 the defendants, but they refused to be served with the process. 
 Indignation meetings were held by the saints, intlamatory speech- 
 es delivered by their principal men, and the marshal threatened 
 for attempting to serve the writs, while it was agreed that no 
 further attempts of that kind should be made in Kauvoo. About 
 the same time an anti-Mormon made an assault upon Gen. 
 Beming the sheriff of the court, and was killed by the latter in 
 repelling the attack. The vanquished part}' had many friends, 
 and his death occasioned a fresh outburst of passion. To allay 
 the storm, the officer who was believed to be friendly to the Mor- 
 mons was held to bail, although he had acted strictly in self- 
 defence, and was therefore not guilty. It was also discovered in 
 trying the right of property at Lima, in Adams county, that^he 
 Mormons had an institution connected with their church to secure 
 their effe(;ts from execution. It was an association of five persons, 
 any of whom was to own all the proi^erty, and in the avent of its 
 being levied on for debt, they could refer the ownership to such a 
 niend)er of the firm as Avould defeat the execution. Incensed at 
 this action, the anti-jMornu)ns of Lima and Green Plains, held a 
 meeting to devise means for the expulsion of the ]\tormons from 
 that part of the country. It was accordingly arranged that a 
 number of theii' own party should fire on the building in which 
 the.y were assembled, in such a manner as not to injure any one, 
 and then report that the Mormons had commenced the work of 
 
MORMON WAR. 515 
 
 plniider and death. Tliis i>lot was <lu]y executed, and the start- 
 hiiii intelMgeiiee soon called together a mob, which threatened the 
 Mormons with fire and sword if they did not immediately leave 
 the neighborhood. The Mormons ot' this locality had previously 
 annoyed the inhabitants by petty larcenies, and now refusing- to 
 dei»art, the mob at once executed their threats by burning 125 
 houses and forcing the inmates to flee for their lives. The fugitives 
 arrived in Xauvoo in the midst of the sickly season, carrying with 
 them the infirm, whose pitiable condition excited the ntnu)Stindig'- 
 luition among the inhabitants. 
 
 As soon as the intelligence of these events reached Si)ringfield, 
 the governor ordered Gen. Hardin to raise a body of men sufficient 
 to enfoice the law, but before it was ready to march, the sheriff 
 of the county took the matter in his own hands. Gen. Deming, 
 the former sheriff, was dead, and J. B. Backinstos, his successor 
 and a prominent Mormon, owing to unpopularity ^vas unable to 
 get assistance from the anti-]\Iormons, although many of them 
 were strongly opposed to the riotous i)roceedings. He, therefore, 
 hastened to Xauvoo auvl armed several hundred Mormons, estab- 
 lislu'd a permanent guard at Carthage, and swept over other 
 parts of the county in search of the incendiaries. The guilty 
 parties fleeing to the neighboring counties of Illinois, Iowa and 
 Missouri, he was unable to bring them to battle or make any 
 arrests. One man,, however, was killed Mithout provoca.tion, 
 another attempting to escape was shot, and afterwards hacked and 
 mutilated as if he had been murdered by Indians, and Franklin A. 
 \\'oiTel, who had command of the jail, and betrayed his trust iu 
 consenting to the assassination of the Smiths, lost his life from 
 the effect of a rifle ball discharged by some unknown i)erson con- 
 cealed for that purpose in a thicket. The anti-Mormons also com- 
 mitted one muider. A party of them set fire to a quantity of 
 straw near the barn of an old JMormon ninety years of age, and 
 when he appeared to extinguish the flames, he was shot and 
 killed. The perpetrators of this cold blooded nnirder were after- 
 wai'ds examined before an anti-Mormon justice of the peace and 
 discharged, though their guilt was sufficiently apparent. 
 
 The Anti-Mormons having left their proi)erty exi)osed in their 
 precipitate retreat trom the county, those who had been burnt out 
 of their homes sallied forth from Nauvoo and plundered the whole 
 country, taking whatever they could carry or drive away. Gen. 
 Hardin finally succeeded in raising a force of ooO men, and nmrch- 
 ing to Carthage dispersed the guard Avhich had been stationed at 
 that place by the sheriff, checked the Mormon ravages, and re- 
 called the fugitive anti-Mormons home. 
 
 While he was here a convention, consisting of delegates from 
 eight of the adjoining counties, assembled to concert measures for 
 the expulsion of the Mormons from the State. The peoi)le of these 
 counties became fearful that Hancock would be deserted hy the 
 original inhabitants, and that their own homes and property would 
 thereb}' become exposed to the depredations of the common 
 enemy. The Mormons, on the other hand, believing the times 
 forboded a series of fresh disasters, seriously contemplated emi- 
 gration westward, having dispaired of establishing their religion 
 in the midst of a people whose opinions and prejudices were hos- 
 tile to its teachings. At this juncture they were advised by the 
 
516 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 governor and other j)roniinent iiieu tliat a witlidrawal from the 
 State ^Yas the only possible alternative lor escaping the impending 
 calamities and Gen. Hardin being sent withinstrnctious for eflectiug 
 this pnrpose, was successfnl in negotiating arrangements for their 
 removal. It was agreed that the greater part of the jNIormons 
 shonld retire from the State dnring the following spring; that no 
 arrests should be made by either hostile party for crimes pre- 
 viously committed, and that a military for(;e should remain iu the 
 county to preserve the peace. A small force was accordingly left 
 in command of Major Warren, who discharged his duties with 
 such etticiency that the turbulent spirit of faction was kept in 
 subjection. 
 
 During the winter of 1845-0, the most stupendous preparations 
 were made by the Mormons for removal; all the principal dwellings 
 and even the temple was converted into workshoi)s, and before 
 spring 12,000 wagons were in readiness. Previous to the depar- 
 ture indictments had been found against most of the apostles for 
 counterfeiting the coin of the United States, and an application 
 was made to the governor for a sufficient force to arrest them, 
 but iu pursuance of the amnesty agreed on for old oifeuces, the 
 appbcation was dismissed. It was deemed impolitic to arrest the 
 leaders and thus terminate the preparations for removal when it 
 was notorious that they could command witnesses and evidence 
 sufficient to render conviction impossible. With a view, however, 
 to hasten their departure, the impression was made that a portion 
 of the regular army would be ordered to Nauvoo as soon as navi- 
 gation opened, to enforce the writs, and hence the leaders, on the 
 15th of February, with 2,000 of their followers, crossed the river 
 on the ice and started westward in advance of the others. By the 
 middle of May it was estimated 1,400 more, with their flocks, their 
 wives and little ones, followed the former band, to seek a ne^v 
 home in the mountain fastnesses of the western wilderness. 
 
 Xanvoo, before the Mormon exodus, contained a population of 
 17,000 souls. Its buildings, commencing at the margin of the 
 river and spreading over the upland, si)arsely covered an area of 
 6 square miles. The temple, rising high above the adjacent ob- 
 jects, was built of compact polished limestone, obtained in the 
 limits of the city. Ko order of architecture was observed in its 
 erection, and the Mormons claimed that it was commenced with- 
 out a plan and built in accordance with instructions received 
 directly from heaven as the work advanced. It w^as 128 feet 
 long, 88 feet wide, 05 feet to the top of the cornice, and 105 to the 
 toi> of the cu]»ol;i. The basement was a large, imperfectly venti- 
 lated room, containing a baptistry, supported by 12 oxen, hewn 
 out of limestone. In the main story was the audience room used 
 for public worship. At the end of this large apartment were 4 
 seats, reguhirly elevated one above the other, on which were sta- 
 tioned, according to their respective rank, the elders who ad- 
 dressed the i)eop]e. The second story also contained an audience 
 room, and the third a large hall for educational purposes. 
 Besides the large apartments there were in all the stories rooms 
 connected with the ecclesiastical and governmental interests of 
 the people. From the toj) of the cupola a scene of enchanting- 
 beauty met the eye, from which few could turn away with indiffer- 
 ence. Woodlanils and prairies, diversitied with gentle nndula- 
 
MORMON WAR. 517 
 
 tioiis and covered Avitli farm houses, herds of c;»tth», fields of 
 waving grain and otlier evidences of agricultnial tlirift, could be 
 seen for a distance of 20 miles. Through tliis extensive land- 
 scape glided the Father of AVaters, in whose Hoods repose a great 
 luimber of islands, all in the range of vision, and captivating the 
 eye of the beholder by their surpassing loveliness, 
 ' A small remnant of about 1,0U0, unable to dispose of their pro- 
 l)erty, remained behind. These were sufticient, however, to con- 
 trol the vote of the county, and lest they should endeavor to 
 make the attempt, their opponents discovered a pretext for new 
 broils. For this pur]>ose a party of Mormons who had been sent 
 to harvest some wheatlields in the vicinity of Nauvoo, were 
 severely whipped, the perpetrators declaring that they had dis- 
 turbed* the neighborhood by their boisterous conduct. Writs 
 were sworn out in the city against those who had inflicted the 
 castigation, and they were arrested and kei)t under strict guard 
 until they could give bail. The anti Mormons in turn jnocured 
 writs for the arrest of the constable and posse who had served 
 the first writs. The JMormons, believing that instead of being 
 tried they would be murdered, refused to be taken, whereupon 
 several hundred anti-Mormons assend)led to enforce the process. 
 The difficulty was, however, adjusted without making the arrest. 
 A committee having been sent to Nauvoo reported the Mormons 
 had agreed not to vote in the ensuing election, and that they were 
 making every possible preparation for remoAal, and ]>roceedings 
 against them were suspended. Notwithstanding this agreement, 
 aWicu the election came oft' they all voted the democratic ticket, 
 and so determined were they that their support should be ef(l('ient, 
 all voted three or four tiiaes for each mendjcrof congress. Their 
 excuse for violating their pledge was that the president of 
 the United States had permitted tlieir friends to temi)orari]y oc- 
 cupy the Indian lands on the Missouri river, and for this favor 
 they felt under obligations to support his administiation. The 
 want of good faith in this respect greatly incensed the whigs, 
 and the certainty that many designing men were endeavoring to 
 induce them to remain i)ermanently in the country, revived the 
 general opi)osition which i)re\iously i)revailed against them. 
 Writs were again issued for the arrest of i)rominent JMoriiions, 
 and to create a pretext for assendiling a large force toexecure them, 
 it was asserted by the constable that if the ac(;used were taken 
 an<l carried out of the city they would be murdered. Under these 
 circumstances they refused to be arrested, and the posse sum- 
 nu)ned to enforce the law soon amounted to several hundred men. 
 The Mormons in like manner obtained writs for the arrest of prom- 
 inent anti-Mormons, and under the pretense of executing them 
 called out a [)Osse of their own people, and hence constable was 
 arrayed against constable, law against law and posse against 
 posse. 
 
 While the hostile parties were assembling their ibrces, the new 
 citizens of Nau\(>o, who had pur(;hased property of the Mormons 
 at the time of their exodus, ai)plied to the governor for sufilicient 
 force to restore order and contidence. ]\lajor Parker^ a whig, Mas 
 accordingly sent, it being sui)posed, in consequence of his poli- 
 tics, he would have more inhuence with the malcontents, who were 
 mostly of his party. When, however, he arri\ed the anti-Mor- 
 
518 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 niou constable refused to be superseded by bini,ai)d declared that 
 he cared little for tbe arrests, thereby evideiiciug that his faction 
 was only using the process of the hiw as a- })retext for accomplish- 
 ing their real object, the ex])ulsion of the jMornions. The anti- 
 Mormon faction continued to increase till it numbered 800 men, and 
 while they were i)reparing to march on Nanvoo the inhabitants 
 were preparing for a vigorous defense, a i)ortion of the new citi- 
 zens uniting with them, and some assisting their enemies. At 
 this stage of the proceedingsMason Brayman, a citizen of Spring- 
 field, was sent by the governor to inquire into and report tlie 
 nature of the difticulties. When he arrived an attempt was made 
 to effect a reconciliation. It Avas agreed by the leaders of both 
 factions that the Mormons should remove from the State in two 
 months, and that their arms iji the meantime should be i)laced in 
 the custody of a i^erson aiipointed to receive and redeliver thenj 
 to the owners at the time of their departure. When this 
 agreement was submitted for ratification to the anti -Mormon 
 forces it was rejected. Gen. Singleton a^id Col. Cliittenden, their 
 commanders, then withdrew and the governor was inforuied by 
 Mr. Brayman that the better portion of the anti-Mormons would 
 abandon the enterprise and return honie. Subsequent events^ how- 
 ever, proved that Mr. Brayman was u)istaken in his conjectures. 
 When Gen. Singleton retired, Thonms S. Brocknum, a dislioijcst 
 and vulgar man, bigoted and bitter in his })rejudices against the Mor- 
 mons, was put in command. Brockman immediately marched 
 his forces to ISTauvooand commenced skirmishing with the inliabi- 
 tants, while Mr. Brayman, owing to the threatening aspect of 
 affairs, hastened to Springtield to obtain further assistance for 
 the defense of the city. In this emergency, troops could not be 
 called from a distance in time to be made available, and hence an 
 effort was made to })rocure them in the neighborhood of the con- 
 flict. Orders were issued to Major William T. Flood, commander 
 of the militia of the adjoining populous county of Adams, author- 
 izing him to raise a volunteer force suflicient to rest»)re the ob- 
 servance of law. Tlie excitement by this time had sjuead through 
 Adams and all the adjoining counties, and it was e^ ideut that if 
 the State attemi)ted to laise a force a much larger one would 
 march to the assistance of the insurgents, and hence this ofticer 
 declined nuUdng any effort. 
 
 To meet this contingency he had previously been insfructed, in 
 case he failed to raise the required force, to hand over liis com- 
 mand to some one who would projierly execute it. Major Flood, 
 liowevex, without immediately authorizing any one to act iii his 
 stead, hastened to Nauvoo to use his inliuence -with the antago- 
 nistic factions for the restoration of peace. Failing in his media- 
 tion, he entrusted his authority to the Mormons, who selected 
 Major CliftVnd to command them. 
 
 The foi'ces under Brockman numbered 800, and were armed 
 with muskets and five pie<;es of small (cannon, belonging to 
 the State, given them by indeixqident militia ('()m[)anies in the ad- 
 jacent counties. The Mormon forces, including a portion of the 
 new citizens, at first amounted to 2~A) men, but before 
 any decisive fighting commenced, were dinunished by de- 
 sertion to 150, Their weapons consisted of sixteen-shoot- 
 ing rifles, common musketSj and five pieces of cannon, 
 
MORMON WAR. 519 
 
 hastily and riulely coiistriicted by themselves from the shaft of a 
 steamboat. Acting on the defensive they took a position in the 
 subnrbs of the city, a mile east of the temple, and threw up bieast 
 works for the protection of their artillery. The attacking force 
 was sufticiently numerous to have simultaneously marched on 
 both flanks of the besieged, beyoiul the range of their battery, 
 and thus have taken the city without tiring a single gun. Brock- 
 man, however, approaching directly in front, stationed his ineu 
 about half a mile from the battery, and ea(;h party commenced a 
 lire from their cannon, while s(mie of the combatants with sjuall 
 arms occasionally approaclied closer, but uever sufticiently near 
 to do any damage. 
 
 The contest was thus continued at a great distance, with little 
 skill till the amnuinition of the besiegers was exhausted, Mhen 
 they retiied to their camp to await a fresh supply. In a few days 
 ammunition was ])rought from Quincy, and the conflict again re- 
 sumed, and kept up several days, during which the jMoriuoiis ad- 
 mitted a loss of one nuin killed and 9 wounded, and the anti-JMor- 
 mons of 3 killed and 4 wounded. It was estimated that some 800 
 cannon balls were fired on each side, and the small number killed 
 can only be accounted for on the supposition that the belligerents 
 either ke[)t at a safe distance, or were very unskillful in the use of 
 arms. The contest was finally ended by the interposition of an 
 anti-Mormon committee from Quincy. According to the terms of 
 €a]>itulation dictated by the superior force of the besiegers, the 
 Mormons were to surrender their arms to the committee. All, 
 with the exception of trustees for the sale of their propeity, were 
 to renu)ve out of the city, and the anti-jMormon i)osse was to march 
 in and have a sufticient force there to guarantee the performance 
 of the stipulations. The posse with l>rockman at its head, ac- 
 cordingly started on its mission, followed by several liundred 
 spectators, who had come from all the surrounding country to see 
 the once i>roud city of Nauvoo humbled and delivered into tlie 
 hands of its enemies. 
 
 As soon as they got possession of the city Brockman, whose 
 vulgar soul became intoxicated with success, commenced acting 
 the ])art of a tyrant. Arrogating to himself the right to <leci(le 
 who should remain aiul \\ho should be driven away, he summoned 
 the inhabitants to his presence, and at his dictum most of them 
 were compelled to leave tlieir homes in a few' hours in a destitute 
 condition. It was stipulated that only JMormons were to be ex- 
 l)atriated, yet at his behests armed ruffians commenced expelling 
 the new citizens, ducking sonu^ of them in the river, and ibi-cing 
 others to cross it at the point of the bayonet. In a fcAv days the 
 entire Mormon population and the new citizens who had co-op- 
 erated with them in resisting the mob, were expelled. The latter 
 class had strong claims to be treated with more generosity by the 
 con(pierors. Having been attracted to ISI^auvoo from various i)arts 
 of the United States by the low price of property, and knowing 
 but little of the i)revious ditflculties, it was but natural that they 
 should offer their services to defend the town from mob violence 
 and their property from destruction. They saw that the Mormons 
 were industriously preparing to leave, and therefore considered 
 the effort to expel them not only unnecessary but unjust ami cruel. 
 
520 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The mob, however, uuder the influence of passion, could see no 
 merit in this portion of their adversaries, and in tiie flush of ^'ic- 
 tory dealt out indiscriminate brutality to all. 
 
 Brockman having sufficiently glutted his vengeance, returned 
 home, leaving 100 of the lowest and most violent of his followers 
 to prevent the return of those who had been driven into exile. 
 This temnant of the mob continued its acts of violence and 
 oppression till they heard that a force was moving against them 
 from the seat of government, when they also dei)arted. 
 
 In the meantime, the Mormons were thrown houseless on the 
 Iowa shoi'e, without provisions and means to procure them, and 
 were in a starving condition. It was also the height of the sickly 
 season, and many had been hurried away while suflering with 
 disease to die from exposure and privation. Without food, med- 
 icine or clothing, the mother Avatched her sick babe till it died, and 
 then became herself a victim to the epidemic, flnding the grave a 
 refuge from perse(;ution and a balm for her sufferings. After this 
 distress became known all parties hastened to their assistance, the 
 anti-Mormons vicing with the Monnons in furnishing relief. The 
 people of the State at first looked with indifference upon these 
 outrages, but the hardships attending them at length began to 
 cause reflection. They had seen a large tract of country com- 
 pelled to submit to tlie domination of a self-constituted i)ower, 
 the legitimate government trampled mider foot and a reign of 
 terror substituted in its place. 
 
 With this change of sentiment, a force was raised in and near 
 Springfield, of 120 men, and the governor ])roceeded with it to the 
 scene of the disturbance. The piincipal object the expedition was 
 to restore the exiled citizens to their new homes and proi)erty, a 
 large part of the latter having been stolen in their absence. When 
 the force arrived the riotous pojtulation was greatly incensed at 
 the governor and could hardly find language sufficiently strong to 
 express their astonishment that he and the peo])le of other 
 counties should interfere iu the domestic affairs of Hancock. 
 Public meetings were held in Nauvoo and Carthage, at which it 
 was resolved to again drive out the citizens as soon as the State 
 forces should be withdrawn. 
 
 Writs were also again sworn out against some officers of the 
 State forces, with a view" to calling out a i)0sse and expelling them 
 from the county, but the mob failed to eidistmore than 200 or 300 
 men, and these hesitated and finally abandoned their design of 
 making the arrests or resorting to violence. To i)revent further 
 outbreaks a small forces was left in the county till the assembling 
 of the legislature on the 15th of December, 1S4G, when the cohl 
 weather put an end to the agitntion and they were withdrawn. 
 The western march of the Mormons who left the State the pre- 
 ceding spring, was attended with greater suffering than had been 
 endured in their banishment from Missouri. On the 15th of Feb., 
 1840, the leaders crossed the Mississii)pi and sojourned at 
 JVIontrose, Iowa, till the latter part of March, in consequence 
 of the deep snow which obstructed the v/ay. 
 
 When finally the journey Avas resumed, the fugitiA^es taking the 
 road through Missouri, Avere forcibly ejected from the State and 
 compelled to moA'C indirectly through Iowa. After innumerable 
 hardships, the advance guard of emigration reached the Missouri 
 
MORMON WAR. 521 
 
 river, at Council Blnffis, Avlieu a United States oftieer presented a 
 requisition for oOO men to serve in the Mar against Mexico. Com- 
 pliance with this order so diminished the number of effective 
 men, that the expedition was a<iain delayed and the remainder, 
 consistinji' mostly of old men, women and children, hastily i)re- 
 pared habitations for winter. Their rudely constructed tents were 
 hardly completed before winter set in with great severity, the 
 bleak prairies being incessantly swept by piercing Avinds. 
 While here cholera, fever and other diseases, aggravated by the 
 previous hardships which they had endured, the want of comfort- 
 able quarters and nunlical treatment, hurried many of them to 
 premature graves Yet, under the intiuence of religious fervor and 
 fanaticism, they looked death in the face with resignation and 
 cheerfulness, and even exhibited a gayety which manifested itself 
 in nmsic and dancnig during the saddest hours of this sad winter. 
 At length welcome spring made its appearance; by April, the peo- 
 ple were again organized for the Journey, and a pioneer party, 
 consisting of I>righam Young and 140 others, was sent in advance 
 to locate a home for the colonists. ( )n the 21st of July, 1847, a day 
 memorable in Mormon aniuds, tlie vanguard reached the valley of 
 Great Salt Lake, having been directed thither, according to their 
 accounts, by the haiul of the Almighty. Here, in a destitute wil- 
 derness, midway between the settlements of the east and the 
 Pacific, and at that time a thousand miles from the utmost verge 
 of civilization, they commenced preparations for founding a 
 colony. Those who were left behind arrived at diflerent times 
 afterward, in companies sufficiently large to preserve discipline 
 and guard against the attacks of the Indians who continuously 
 hovered about them for purposes of i)lunder. At first they endur- 
 ed great sufferings for the want of food; immense numbers of 
 grasshoppers having come down from the mountains and consum- 
 ed a great portion of their crops. Ac<;ording to the Mornutu 
 historian, the whole would have been destroyed had not the 
 Almighty sent great flocks of gulls which devoured the grasshop- 
 pers and thus saved the people from famine and death. The 
 lands, as soon as they were properly irrigated, produced abund- 
 antly all the necessaries of life ; and at length i)lenty alle^"iated 
 the privations of hunger, and peace followed the fierce persecutions 
 w hich had attended them in their former place of residence. iSTew 
 settlements were made as fresh conqtanies of emigrants arrived, 
 aiul in a short time the s])ace occui)ied by the colonists extended 
 nearly a hundred nnles north and south, and Salt Lake City, the 
 present capital of the territory, became a populous city. Nestled 
 ill a sea of verdure, at the base of the surrounding mountains, 
 washed on the west by the Jordan, and connnanding a view 25 
 miles southward, over a luxuriant i)lain silvered with fertilizing 
 streams, it is now one of the most romantically situated cities on 
 the continent. So jiicturesque is the valley, and its metropolis 
 especially, when decked in the beauty of spring, that the 
 traveler when he crosses the desert, imitating the enthusiasm of 
 the saints, is wont to liken it to the New Jerusalem, surrounded 
 by green pastures, and fountains of living water. 
 
Chapter XLIII. 
 1846— ILLi:^OIS m THE MEXICAN WAE. 
 
 We cannot enter into details regarding all the causes of tbis 
 war. Proximately, it grew out of the annexation of Texas. In 
 1836 the American settlers in that country defeated the Mexican 
 forces at San Jacinto, captured Santa Anna, the dictator of all 
 Mexico, and under duress wrung from hiin a treaty acknowledg- 
 ing the independence of Texas. But this treaty the republic of 
 Mexico ever rex)udiated. From 1836 on, overtures were frequent- 
 ly made to the United States by the "lione Star," for admission 
 into the Union. Mexico took occasion several times to inform the 
 government of the United States that the annexation of Texas 
 ^vould be regarded as a casus hdli. The question entered into the 
 presidential contest of 1844, and the election of l^olk was construed 
 into a popular ajjproval of the step. Congress no longer hesitated, 
 and on the 1st of March, 1845, gave its assent to the admission of 
 Texas into the Union. Mexico immediately broke off diplomatic 
 intercourse with the U. S. In July the army of occupation, under 
 Gen. Zachariah Taylor, was ordered to Corpus Christi. During 
 the following winter, while Mexico was in the throes of revolu- 
 tion, during which Parades came to the surface as president, and 
 while the administration sought an adjnstment of the questions of 
 boundary, through an envoy (Mr. Sliilell), it ordered the army of 
 occupation to a i)oint opposite Matamoras, to take possession of 
 the territory h)ng in disi)ute, lying between the Xuces and theEio 
 Grande. This was a repetition of the (1ii)]()macy of Frederick the 
 Great in Silesia. The Mexicans occupied the territory at the time 
 with a military force stationed at Ib'azos Santiago, which, on the 
 approach of Taylor to Point Isal)e], withdrew west of the Kio 
 Grande. Many outrages and robberies u[)<)n our citizens residing 
 in jMexico had also been i)erpetrated through official sanction, 
 with losses amounting to several million dollars, which our govern- 
 ment had labored to have adjusted, but with very tardy ])rogress. 
 
 On the 28th of March, 184(5, Taylor's army of some 4000 troops 
 took position on the left bank of the llio Gi-ande within cannon 
 shot of Matamoras, opposite. On the -;4th of April Gen. Arista 
 assumed command of the Mexican forces. On the same day Gen. 
 Taylor, having learned that a large body of JNIexicans had crossed 
 the liio Grande 20 miles above, detached a force of 60 men, umler 
 Captains Thoni])son and Hardee, to reconnoitre the enemy. They 
 fell in with what they supposed was a scouting ])aity, but which 
 proved to be the advance guard of a strong body of the enemy 
 posted in thechapparal. The Ameri(;an commanders, contrary to 
 the advice of their Mexican guide, charged and pursued the 
 
 522 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 523 
 
 guard across a clearing', and in an instant tlicir forces were sur- 
 rounded by the, niain body of the Mexicans, wlio fired n])on tlieni, 
 killing 16 and taking pi'isoiiers the remainder. A wounded soldier 
 was sent into Taylor's camp by the Mexican commander, with a 
 message that he had no tra\'eling hospital to render him the needed 
 medical aid. 
 
 Thus were hostilities actually commenced. ^STotwithstanding it 
 was reasonably well known that war was almost inevitable from 
 the advance of the army of occupation, which was al)out all the 
 army the country had, all military preparation to meet su<-h a. ca- 
 lamity was cahnly avoided. This ga^•e it the ai)pearance of a sur- 
 2)rise. Eeports of this disastrous engagement reached ^Vashing- 
 ton May 9rh, together with manj- painful rumors that Taylor was 
 surrounde<l and cut off from his base of supplies at I'oint Isabel. 
 Consternation was rife; the president sent into congress an ex- 
 traordinary message, declaring that IVIexico had "at last invaded 
 our territory, and shed the blood of our fellow citizens on our owu 
 soil." Congress, with an alacrity unusual, two days after, passed 
 an act declaring that "by the act of the rei)ublic of Mexico a .state 
 of war exists between that government and the United States ;" 
 authorized the [)resident to accept the services of 50,000 volunteers, 
 and ai>propriated $10,000,000 to cany on the war. The intent 
 was tt) con(]uer a peaci.' in slioit order with an over})Owering force. 
 
 All this was in the midst of the i>ublic excitement incident to 
 the Oregon boundary question — "54 40 or tight," being 
 our motto. Mr. I'olk had been elected with the understanding 
 that he would insist u})on the line. The notice terminating the 
 joint occupation of Oregon had passed congress, Ai)ril 2.')d. But 
 now happily with one war on our hands a collision with Great 
 Britain was avoided by adopting the 49.th i)arallel of north lati- 
 tude, and sacriticing all that vast region of the northwest, equal 
 to several States: but we gained largely in the southwest. 
 
 The call for volunteers was aj)i)ortioned mostly to the western 
 and southern States. The requisition upon Illinois was for "three 
 regiments of infantry or ritiemen." Th<^ i)ay was $8 per month, 
 but with commutations it amounted to $15.50. The enlistments 
 were ibr 12 months from the time of mustering into service at the 
 place of rendezvous. The men were to unilorm themselves, for 
 which they would be allowed. The selection of oflicers was left 
 to the \olunteers, in accordance with the militia laws of the State 
 wlnnice they were taken. The luunber of i)rivates were limited 
 to 80 men in each company. Under date of May 25th, Gov. Ford, 
 commander-in-chief of the militia of the State, issued his general 
 order calling upon the major and brigadier generals and other 
 militia otticers to aid in I'aising and organizing the three regiments. 
 As the militia had for a long time been in a disorganized state, it 
 was further ordered that the sheriffs convene the regiments or old 
 battalions e» wrtAv^c, and enroll such volunteers as might offer in 
 their respective counties. The governor proposed to receive the 
 first full companies that offered. The company officers were to 
 act under tlieir certificates of election until commissioned. And 
 now many portions of the State seemed alive with the zeal of 
 patriotism. The animating strains of nuirtial music were wafted 
 upon the air, everywhere inspiring the soldierly im])ulse. Our 
 public men rallied the people with spirited, patriotic and effective 
 
524 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 appeals. The militia generals issued tbeir orders convening their 
 brigades, and exhorted them to volunteer and "maintain their 
 honorable position on the jjresent occasion." We note the first of 
 these orders as by the gallant J. J. Hardin, who "enrolled himself 
 as the first volunteer Ironi Illinois."* The responses to the demands 
 of patriotism were prompt, eager, and overwhelming. It was 
 esteemed an honor to be permitted to contribute to the nation's 
 call. In 10 days time 35 companies duly organized were ofiicially 
 reported to the governor, while tlie busy notes of i)reparation still 
 resounded from all parts of the State. By the middle of June 
 the requisition was exceeded by more than 40 companies. The 
 ladies, too, aninnited by the patriotism of their brothers, with a free 
 will formed sewing societies and made uniforms and garments for 
 the volunt(^ers. 
 
 The place of rendezvous was appointed at Alton. Brigad'er 
 General James Shieldst was by the governor designated to inspect 
 and muster into service the Illinois Aolunteers; this was not his 
 excellency's province, however, and the war de})artment sent out 
 Col. S. Churchill, Inspector General of the United States Arjny, to 
 supervise the mustering in. This gentleman entertained through- 
 out the war an affectionate regard for the Illinois troops. From 
 the governor's office the 30 full comi)anies were ordered, by letters 
 addressed to their respective captains, to repair to the place of 
 rendezvous as fast as uniformed. Of course, out of the more than 
 75 companies, some fragmentary and others reidete tooverfiowing, 
 more than half were disappointed. Much fault was now found 
 with Governor Ford, here and there over the State, by the disap- 
 IJointed ones, who, in their chagrin, charged him with partiality, 
 favoritism and dishonorable conduct, in the acceptance of compa- 
 nies, using language anything but temperate.^ 
 
 The first regiment of Illinois volunteers was organized July 2d, 
 as follows : The first battalion consisted of companies commanded 
 by Captains J. D. Morgan, of Adams ; Elisha Wells, of Cook ; 
 Noah Fry, of Greene; J. S. Roberts, of Morgan ; and W. A. Eich- 
 ardson, of Schuyler. The 2d battalion consisted of com]>anies 
 mider the command of Captains Lyman IMowers, of Cook ; T. Lyle 
 Dickey, of LaSalle ; A. W. Crow, of Jo Daviess; William Weath- 
 erford, of Morgan ; and Samuel Montgomery, of Scott. Gen. Jolm 
 J. Hardin was elected colonel with great unanimity ; Captain 
 William Weatherford was elected lieutenant coloiu'l, and W. B. 
 Warren, major — all three of Morgan county. B. M. I'rentiss was 
 ai)pointed adjutant, John Scanlan commissary, S. M. Farsons 
 
 *See Illinois Stutc Heaistt-r, May 29, 1846. 
 
 tNoTK.— .Judtie Shii'Ids, who resided at Washington, as Commissioner of the Genei-al 
 Land Offlee, on the outhreakinfr of the war, ever full of the martial spirit, promptly 
 repaired to Illinois and labored ctliciently to rouse the patriotic sentiments of the peo- 
 ple, bringing with him the I'resid.iu's (ironiise of a briiiadier-generalship, the Illinois 
 reuimetits to constitute his bri^iade. KunKjrs in advance of the fact of hisappointment 
 reached Illinois and consideralde dissatisfaction grew out of it at home, but the Presi- 
 dent nominated him and he was confirmed . Criticisms and sneers at his military qual- 
 ifications were freely indulged, but when his gallant behavior at Cei-ro Gordo, and his 
 great servicesatCliur\iluiseoandChei>ultepec were heralded over the country, together 
 with the well deserved iiraisesof his superior commanders, it appeared that a better 
 choice from civil life could not well have been made, and his own State rewarded him 
 with the highest office a foreigner can hold. 
 
 •.|:See Capt. G. W. Aiken's letter dated Benton, .lune ^Oth, in Illinois State Kegister of 
 •Tuly 10, 1840. See also proceedings of the Clark County Company at a public meeting 
 in Marshall, July 6th, published in Illinois State Register, July 1", 1846. 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 525 
 
 quarteim aster, E. A.Giller sergeaiit-iiiiijor, A. W.Fiy drum-major, 
 Dr. White surgeon, and Dr. Zabriskie* assistant surgeon. W. J. 
 Wvatt was also a captain in this regiment. 
 
 The 2d regiment was organized on the same day. It consisted 
 of companies ujider the command of Captains Peter Goff, of Mad- 
 ison county; J. L. D. Morrison, of St. Clair; Erastus Wheeler, of 
 Madison ; A. Dodge, of Kendall, Jersey and Madison counties; 
 W. H. Bissell, of St. Clair; E. C. Colfee, of Washington; II. T. 
 Trail, of Monroe ; John S, Hacker, of Union ; L. (1. Jones, of I'erry ; 
 and II. L. Webb, of rulaski. Captain Wm. II. Bissell was elected 
 colonel by 807 votes against ti, one of the latter being in his own com- 
 pany and 5 in Cai)tain Morrison's. Capt. J. L. D. Morrison was 
 elected lieutenant colonel, and V:\\*t. H. E. Trail nnijor. Lieut. A. 
 Whitesides was appointed adjutant, and Lewis J. Clawson sutler. 
 Julius liaith, Joseph Lemon and Madison JMiller were also cai>tains 
 in this regiment. 
 
 The od regiment was composed of the following companies : 
 Captains Ferris Eorman, of Eayette county ; J. C. McAdams, of 
 Bond; M. K. Lawler, of Gallatin ; Theo. McGinnis, of roi)e ; W. 
 W. Wiley, of Bond ; J. A. Campbell, of Wayne ; W. W. Bishop, 
 of Coles; S. G. Hicks, of Jefferson ; James Ereeman, of Shelby ; 
 and J. P. Hardy, of Hamilton. Capt. Eorman, of Eayette, was 
 elected colonel ; W. W. AViley, of Bond, lieutenant colonel, and 
 Samuel D. Marshall of Gallatin, nnijor. Lieut. J. T. B. Stapp was 
 appointed adjutant. Philip Stout and B. S. Sellers were also cap- 
 tains in this regintent. Col. Churchill, of theU. S. army, inspcctc'd 
 and mustered it into service. The 1st numbered S77 men, rank 
 and file ; the 2d 8J>2, and the 3d 9()G. The insi)ecting ofticer pro- 
 nounced them as fine a body of men as ever he saw mustered. It 
 was a sid^ject of remark how little intoxication there Avas among 
 the volunteers. 
 
 In the meantime the Hon. E. D. P>aker, then a member of con- 
 gress from the Sangamon distiict, had received authoiity from the 
 secretary of war to raise an additional regiment of Illinois volun- 
 teers. Gov. Eord issued his order of approval under <late of June 
 oth, and authorized companies raised, or to be raised, to join this 
 regiment by permission of Mr. Baker. He also authorized him to 
 appoint the time and place of rendezvous for the regiment, and to 
 provide for its sustenance, equii)ment and transportation. The 
 following conjpanies constituted this regiment : Captains Pugh, 
 of Macon county; Elkin, of McLean ; iioberts, of Sangamon; 
 Harris, of Menard ; Morris, of Sangamon ; Kewcomb, of L)eWitt; 
 Hurt, of Logan ; Jones, of Tazewell ; McKonkey, of Edgar — 9 
 companies. The lOth company did not join until after its arrival 
 at the place of rendezvous, Alton. It was at first expected that 
 this would be either Captain Garrett's, of Chicago, or that of Cap- 
 tain Eagan, of LaSalle ; but these failing to arrive in time, C'ap- 
 taiu Mtirphy's, of Perry, formed the 10th company. The regimen- 
 tal officers elected were : E. D. Baker, colonel ; ex-Lieut. Gov. 
 John Moore, of McLean, lieutenant colonel ; and Capt. T. L. 
 Harris, of Menard, major. The regiment lacked a few privates of 
 being full ; but Illinois had raised a larger number of volunteers 
 
 *Capt. Roberts resigned at Alton, and the brave Zabriskie, who fell by the side of 
 the noble Hardin at Buena Vista, was chosen in his place. 
 
526 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tliau any other State in the Union. Lewis W. Eoss and A. W. 
 Wright were also captains in this regiment. 
 
 Iniinediately after the arrival of the 4th regiment at Alton, a 
 question of rank arose between its colonel, Baker, and Col. John 
 J. Hardin, of the 1st regiment. Col. Baker had been elected at 
 Springfield, and his commission ante-dated that of the other col- 
 onels, whence he claimed seiuority. This was resisted by Colonel 
 Hardin, who charged such irregularity in Baker's choice as to be 
 no election at all by the regiment, first, because the governor had 
 never ordered the election ; second, because there were but seven 
 companies present to participate in the election ; therefore the im- 
 proper issuance of the commission could not give priority to Col. 
 Baker. Tlu^ matter was referred to a court of inquiry, consisting 
 of Captains Bishop, Dickey, Crow, Jones. Elkin, Hicks, IMcAdams, 
 Wiley, Coffee, Kobcrts and Morgan, with G. T. JM. Uavis as clerk. 
 Alter due investigation Col. Hardin was declared the senior ofticer* 
 At a meeting of the oflicers of the 3 first regiments, subsequently, 
 a formal jtrotest was signed and forwarded to the })resident 
 against the a])pointnuMit of officers on the I'ecommendation of mem- 
 bei's of congress. t The 4tli regiment passed on to Jefferson Bar- 
 racks. 
 
 After the disaster to Captain Thompson's reconnoitering party 
 on the 24tli of April, and before the news reached Washington, 
 the important battles of Palo Alto and Resaca de la Palma, May 
 8th and 9th, were fought and won by Taylor's forces, on the route 
 between his camj) and Point Isabel, his de])Ot of sui)i)lies, which 
 the Mexicans sought to cut off'. They had also bondtarded Tay- 
 lor's camp opposite Matamoras, called I'^cut Brown, but the siege 
 was lai'sed by the arri\al of the victorious army on the 10th of 
 May, and Mahnnoras was surrendered without a further struggle. 
 Thencelbrward the liio Grande was assumed as the base of military 
 operations, and the Mexican villages at the mouth of the San Juan 
 having also snrrendered, Comargo, 180 miles above the mouth of 
 the Bio Graiule, was selected as the depot of supplies for Gen. 
 Taylor's army. Thither the various Aolunteer reginu'nts which 
 were to reinforce Taylor's army were to be sent. 
 
 But while Gen. Taylor was passing the Rio Grande and direct- 
 ing his columns toward the interior of Mexico, the cabinet at Wash- 
 ington formed the plan of moving acorps on Santa Fe, and another 
 to march on the capital of Chihuahua, believed to be the centre of 
 much wealth and strength — a gross mistake. It was also sup- 
 l)osed that the northern States of Mexico were ready for revolt. 
 The former, called the army of the west, was assembled at Fort 
 Leavenworth and placed under the comnumd of Gen. Kearney ; 
 and the latter, under Brig. Gen. John E. Wool, was called tlie 
 army of the centre, the trooi)s for which were ordered by the war 
 departnu^nt to assend)le at Antonio de Baxar, on the San Antonio 
 river, whence they were to proceed westward to Chihuahna. The 
 troo]>s for these expeditions were the volunteers, scattered at the 
 time in different jtaits of the U. S., strangers to the vicissitudes 
 of war, and remote from the points of rendezvous. But the celer- 
 ity of their assend)ling, their luodigious marches and cvpni du 
 corps are among the wonderful incidents of that war. 
 
 • Illinois State Reg. July 10, 1846. " 
 
 t See Mo. Republican July, 1846. 
 
MEXICAIN' WAR. 527 
 
 The Illinois regiments were not all formed into one brigade, as 
 many liad fondly hoped. The 1st and 2d were assigned to the 
 army of the centre, and the destination of the 3d and 4th was 
 Comargo. They proceeded by water, The 1st and 2d left Alton, 
 July 17th, ISth and 19th, on board the steamers Convoy, Missouri 
 and Hannibal; w^ere transhi]>ped at New Orleans, and finally 
 debarked at Levacca, on Matagorda Bay, July 29th. Gen. Wool 
 accompanied them from Alton. They arrived at Pallida creelc, 12 
 miles from Levacca, August 7th, and commenced their march 4 
 days later. The route to San Antonio de Bexar was over an arid 
 prairie under a tropical sun, whose rays were cooled but little by 
 the frequent showers. At the crossings of the head streams of 
 the Antonio and the Guadaloupe, the parched and weary volun- 
 teers of the north found the only good water to quench their 
 thirst, or shade for rest. An Illinois soldier wrote: "Heat — 
 heat — heat; rain — rain — rain; mud — mud — nnid, intermingled 
 with spots of sand gravel, form the i)i'incipal features of the route 
 from Levacca to San Antonio. Loaded wagons, of course, moved 
 slowly over the roads, and our troops moreover were scourged on 
 the route by themumi)s and measles.''* On the 23d, the 1st and 
 2d Illinois regiments were encami)ed on the San^ntonio, 2 miles 
 below the Alamo, at Camp Crocket. 
 
 The 3d regiment (Col. Forman's) took its departure from Alton, 
 July 22d, on board the steamers Glencoe and John Aull. On the 
 next day the steamers Sultana and Eclipse took on board the 4th 
 regiment (Col. Baker's) at Jetlerson Barracks. It came first to 
 St. Louis and made a parade through some of the streets, and 
 in front of the Planters' Hotel executed with nice precision its 
 evolutions and drill. It was handsomely uniformed and was much 
 admired. The boats got oft' the same evening, and the troops, 
 after considerable detention at the mouth of tlie Bio Grande and 
 Matamoras, arrived at Comargo toward the close of Septeml)er. 
 
 Our northern troops reached the enervating southern clinuite 
 in the very heat of summer ; they were used to a more bracing air, 
 a ^■ariety of Avholesome food, well cooked, good water, cleanliness 
 of clothing and body, comf<u-table bedding and regularity of 
 work and rest. All this was changed in their new life of the sol- 
 dier, with its irregularities, its excitements, its unrest and its 
 restraints. The food was new and untried, its quality often infe- 
 rior, and its pre])aration unskillful. The residt Avas a percentage 
 of sickness unprecedented, and a death rate extraordinary. The 
 suftering of our once hale, yet brave young men, in this re- 
 spect, was fearful. The burden of messages home was sickness — 
 measles, diarrhoea, ague — the first named very fatal. 
 
 Gen. Taylor's army, reinforced by volunteers, had gradually 
 concentrated at Comargo, and about the first of September began 
 to march up the valley of the San Juan, towards the important 
 city of Monterey, whither the Mexicans, after evacuating Mata- 
 moras, had retreated. Taylor's force, after leaving a strong gar- 
 rison behind, consisted of about 7,000 eft'ective men. On the 19th 
 of September, Monterey was reached. Gen. Ampudia was in 
 comnuind of the city with an army of 0,000, and some raw re- 
 cruits, though up to the tinu' of attack Gen. Taylor supposed it 
 to consist of only about 3,000. The defences of the city, both 
 
 •'•Rondenac" to Nat. Intel. Nlles Regis. 71—9 
 
528 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 natural and artificial, were very strong; and Gen. Ampudia for 3 
 days made a vigorous resistance. On the 24th he sent a flag to 
 the American commander requesting a cessation of firing. After 
 negotiation, terms of cai)itu]ation -were entei-ed into by wliich the 
 Mexicans evacuated ami surrendered the city, and retired beyond 
 a line formed by the pass of the llinconada, the city of Linares 
 and San Fernando de Presas, beyond which the Ibrces of the 
 United States were not to advance during a period of 8 weeks, or 
 until the orders of their respective governments could be receive<l. 
 The war department disapproved the armistice, and under date 
 of October 13th, directed Gen. Taylor to give notice that it should 
 cease. By the middle of November, Saltillo^\as occupied by Gen. 
 Worth's corps. 
 
 The army of the centre under Gen. Wool, some 3,000 strong, 
 began its march westward Septend)er 2")th. Its declared object 
 was to aid in establishing tlieindepemlence of the northern States 
 of Mexico. Its route hiy over a great barren region of country, 
 rendering its subsistence extraordinarily ex])ensive. With it were 
 the 1st and 2d Illinois regiments. The 3d and Itli regiments on 
 the Eio Grande, did not reach Comargo in time to participate in 
 the movements of Taylor's army up the pleasant valley of the San 
 Juan and the reduction of Monterey. On the Eio Grande a great 
 dearth in army movements i)revailed, rendering the volunteer oflti- 
 cers, eagerly seeking the ''bubble repntation at the cannon's 
 mouth," extremely impatient. Gen. Shields Avas now, however, 
 detached from his brigade, consisting of the 3d and 4th Illinois 
 regiments, and ordered to join the moving column under 
 Gen. Wool. In addition to his staff. Gen. Shields called upon 
 Gen. Patterson, in connnand of all the forces at Comargo, for an 
 escort, for which he received from the 1st battalion of the 4th Illi- 
 nois, 18 privates, a lieutenant, sergeant and corporal. They were 
 mounted and had 6 pack mules. Their destination was the Presi- 
 dio, where they arrived before the mi<ld]e of October, the 1st and 
 2d Illinois being now assigned to Shields' brigade. At the time (Oct. 
 14th) Bissells' regiment, which had not started with the advance, 
 was a week behind. After the detachment of Gen. Shields from 
 his brigade on the Rio Grande, the question of rank or seniority, 
 which, as we have before noted, had its origin in Illinois, (;ameup 
 between Colonels Formau and Baker, of the 3d and 4th regiments. 
 The order to Gen. Patterson was to assign the senior colonel to 
 the command of the brigade. The question, however, was left 
 open for the present. Baker, taking the temporary command. Gen. 
 Shields remained in his new position but a short time, when he 
 was again detached and returned to Matamoras. An entire change 
 in the conduct of the war had been i)lanned at Washington. This 
 consisted in an attack on Tampico, (which invited deliverance 
 from Mexican misrule), the invasion of Tamaulipas, and most im- 
 portant, the descent on Vera Cruz. In November Gen. Scott was 
 assigned with full power to the conduct of the expedition against 
 Vera Cruz. Gen. Taylor had been instructed to organize a force 
 in acco)"dance with these plans, for which i)ur])ose Generals Twiggs, 
 Quitman and Pillow were ordered from JMonterey, and Gen. Pat- 
 terson from Matamoras, to march by way of Victoiia and concen- 
 trate at Tampico. This was a hard and ap])arently needless march 
 for Gen. Patterson's division, to which the 3d and 4th Illinois regi- 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 529 
 
 iiieiit.s beloiigod. It sliould liavc gone by water, as was first intended. 
 The troops did not get finally started till in ])eceniber. Gen. 
 Shields in the meantime had ])reeeded his brigade by water and 
 on Deeember 19th he took formal eommand of Tampieo. On the 
 2l'<l he issued his jioliee regulations, whieli were of a i-igid char- 
 acter. Tami)ico liad been captured by Commodore I'erry, but was 
 garrisoned by land forces.* 
 
 We iJroposc first now to follow and sketcli tlie career of tlie 1st 
 and iM Illinois reginu'nts. They were in Gen. Wool's exiiedition, 
 phmned by the eabiiu't at Washington, to march to Chilmaliua and 
 to promote the revolt of the northern States of JMc.xico. The 
 army, some 3,(KH> strong, l)r()ke camp near San Antonio, Texas, 
 September 2(>, ]84(!. Two months later it crossed the Kio Grande 
 at San Juan, lietter known as the Piesidio, an old Mexican town, 
 containing- many Jesuit ruins, distant 182 miles. Thence their 
 route lay over a level but now desolate plain, through the dilapi- 
 dated t(nvn of Nava, in the midst of it, by the Grove of the Angels, 
 to San Fernando de Eosas. This ])lace was eml)OSomed appa- 
 rently in an artificial groxe, surrounded on 3 sides by a fine stream 
 of clear water, an<l stretching off in every direction were fertile 
 plains. It contained some 4,000 inhabitants, was neatly built up 
 in the JNIexican \style of architecture, the material being- stone and 
 adobe. It was a perfect oasis in the long and weary marches of 
 the arjny. The army thence traversed over si)urs of mountains, 
 througirrugged defiles, to the valley of the Santarita, and enu-rged 
 by a tortuous gorge u])on the broad ])lain of San Jose, stretching 
 30 miles away before them. Through it fiowed two rivers, 4 or 5 
 feet deep, Mith currents so swift tliat it -nas diflicnlt to hold a 
 footing- in fording-. But with considerably delay, by the aid of 
 ropes, all the forces, cannon, provision trains, &c., were i)assed 
 over. On the 24th of October, the army entered the city of Santa 
 liosa. The inhabitants, munbering some 3,000, offered no resis- 
 tance, but furnished the supplies reqnired. This place was situ- 
 ated at the base of the Sierra Gorda, a range of mountains rising 
 4,000 feet above the level of the plain. Through these they now 
 ascertained there were no defiles westward aftbrdingpassage toother 
 than nude trains. It was impossible to lead an army over them. It 
 became apparent that the nnutial and)ition of the War Depart- 
 ment exceeded its geograi)hical knowledge, which had thus been 
 obtained at a cost of many millions to the treasury of the luition. 
 The only alternative was to push hundreds of miles out of the way 
 south, to Monciova and Parras, and strike the great road from 
 Saltillo to Chihuahua. This course was decided upon, and the 
 army again took up its weary line of marcli f)ver the most rug- 
 ged, mountainous and sterile country it had yet i)assed, about 
 the only vegetation met with being the Mugney, celebrated as the 
 plant from which an intoxicating licpior, called mesmJ. is distilled. 
 
 After a short halt at the hacienda of Senor Miguel Blanco, they 
 finally emerged into the valley of Mcmclova; crossing Avhi(;h, (Jen. 
 Wool encamped his column before the city of that name. This 
 was in consequence of the formal protest of the prefect, the first 
 show of opposition with which the army liad met thus far on the 
 route. Gen. Wool immediately took possession of the town, 
 November 3d, and displayed the American flag from the top of the 
 
 * See letter from Secretary ot War to Gen. Taylor, Oct. 22, 1846. 
 
 34 
 
530 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 governor's palace on the principal plaza. In the meantinie, Gen. 
 Taylor had ordered Gen. Wool, with whom he had eoniiunnieated 
 several times, not to advance beyond Monclova until the termina- 
 tion of his armistice with Ampndia. Being now some 700 miles from 
 Lavacca, Gen. Wool determined to establish a depot of sni)i)lies at 
 Monolova, for which purpose he employed the time to collect large 
 quantities of stores and i)rovisions and in reconnoitering the coun- 
 try, while he also perfected the disci|>line of the troops. After the 
 delay of a month, the "Centre Division,^' except 2a0 men left to 
 guard the depot at Monclova, once more took up its line of march 
 for Parras, distant ISO miles. The route was sonth, and led 
 through a number of towns before reaching Parras, containing 
 about (5,000 inhabitants, located near the centre of the best grain 
 region o-f Mexico, at the base of the Bolson de Malpami, 100 miles 
 southwest from k^altillo and 300 miles from San Luis de Potosi. 
 
 This key to Chihuahua (distant 450 miles) was reached on the 
 5th of Deceml)er. By thistime the comiuest of Chihnahua had been 
 abandoned, and, as wehave seen, other plans of inoseciitingthe war 
 were in process of execution. Scott was in sui)reme command ; 
 the army of occupation had dispersed from Monterey, Taylor 
 being at Victoria, and Patterson ordered from Comargo to 
 Tampico. Santa Anna was collecting a- large force at San Luis 
 Potosi, threatening Monterey, the liio Grande, and all the con- 
 quests of Taylor's army. Gen. Wool therefore left Parras, after 
 12 days' stay, to throw himself across tlie i>robable route of Santa 
 Anna's advance, and on the 21st of December occupied Agua 
 Nueva, his movement culminating just two mouths later in the 
 severest and most important battle of the war, that of Buena 
 Yista. Thus was completed a fatiguing march of near a 1.000 
 miles, made in about G weeks time (deducting sto])pages at Mon- 
 clova and Parras), over a barren and desolate country, through 
 which supplies were trans])orted at an infinite exi)euse, which 
 proved utterly fruitless of results; and viewed at this day seems 
 to have been planned without consideration, if not conceived in 
 folly. Throughout the arduous and excessive marches the Illinois 
 troops conducted themselves as veterans. 
 
 Battle of Buena Yista. — It becoming more and more apparent 
 that Santa Anna meditated a descent upon Saltillo, and i)robably 
 the entire country over Avhich the army of occupation had fought, 
 Gen. Taylor, in January, 1847, left Victoria and established his 
 headquarters at Monterey. Directly, further information of Santa 
 Anna's purposes were discovered in the ca])ture of C. M. Clay, 
 and Majors Borland and Gains at Encarnacion. Leaving 1,500 
 men l)ehind, Taylor now advanced with all his available force to 
 Saltillo, distant 40 miles. After a short halt he proceeded forward 
 to the camp of Gen. Wool at Agna Nneva, the whole effective 
 forces concentrated there now being swollen to about 5,000 men, 
 all volunteers except 500. 
 
 Agua ISTueva was situated at the southeast corner of the elevated 
 and well watered valley of Eucantada, where the great road from 
 San Luis Potosi entered it. From thence north to Saltillo, a dis- 
 tance of 20 miles, the road followed the pass of Buena Vista, 
 which varied in width from 1^ to 4 miles, but at a point 6 miles 
 south of Saltillo contracted to the " Narrows" — La Augosturea. 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 531 
 
 Meaiuleriiig tlirougii the Pass was a small streivm of water, which 
 had washed out at the Narrows a net work of iiidlies 20 feet deep, 
 witli precipitous hanks. On the east side of the stream the ground 
 was elevated to the height of GO or 70 feet. Into this, at right 
 angles from the Narrows, extended 3 gorges of unequal length, 
 varying from perhaps a ^ to ^ mile, the southermost being the 
 longest and deepest. Between these were high ridges runnijig 
 back into a plateau, which extended to the mountain further east 
 about ^ a mile. Between the gullies and the taV)le hind thus cut 
 into ridges there was a narrow strip of ground for the road, down 
 on the lower level, leaving hardly room for two wagons to pass. 
 Back of the plateau a dee}) ravine ran up to the mountain, and to 
 the south of it there was also a ravine, broad, but not so dithcult to 
 cross. Precisely two months before the battle, Gen. Wool, on a 
 trip to Saltillo, pointed out tins detile as tlie spot of all others for 
 a snniU army to tight a large one. And it was in fact a perfect 
 TliermopyliC. 
 
 When, therefore, Santa Anna with his splendid army of 20,000, 
 poured into the valley at Agua Nueva, early on the morning of 
 the 22d of Febiuary, hoping to surprise Taylor, he found nothing 
 but destroyed dwellings, burning stacks of grain, and a small 
 mounted force, which gave him room without i)arley. Everything 
 indicated a hurried d<'i)arture, which his ready imagination con- 
 strued into a precipitate retreat. Thus deluded, after a bare 
 halt, he nnide pursuit, hoping to overtake the Americans and con- 
 vert their retreat into a rout. He urged forward his famished 
 and jaded forces 14 miles farther, without adequate rest or nour- 
 ishment, aiid when he did overtake the Americans it was at these 
 very "Narrows," wheie he could not recede without defeat or 
 avoid battle without dishonor. 
 
 Gen. Minon, who had hovered around Gen. Wool's forces for a 
 week, had been disi)atched Avith 2,000 cavalry by a circuitous 
 route to the east, to threaten Saltillo and cut off their retreat; 
 and Gen. Uri-ea, with 1,000 rancheros, had been sent by a circuit- 
 ous route to the west of the road. 
 
 The approach of the Mexicans thiough the Pass was made visi- 
 ble at a considerable distance by the clouds of dust raised. Our 
 troops had halted north of the Narrows, about 1.^ miles, at the 
 hanilet of Buena Vista. After refreshment on the nuuiiingof the 
 22(1. they were marched back and i>la<*ed in position on the field 
 by Gen. Wool. Gen. Taylor was away (! miles, at Saltillo, direct- 
 ing the defences of the depot of sujqdies. Capt. \\'asIiington's 
 battery of <S pieces was placed to occui)y the I'oad at the Narrows, 
 supported l)y the 1st Illinois regiment, Col. Hardin, i»osted t)n the 
 high road to the east of it. Still farther to the east, on the main 
 plateau, was the 2d Illinois regiment and one company of Texans 
 (Oapt. Conner's.) under Col. Bissell. Captains Morgan's and 
 Prentiss' companies of the 1st Illinois, and Cajjtains Hacker's 
 and Wheeler's of the 2d Illinois, were despatched under command 
 of Major Warren to Saltillo, to guard the train and depot against 
 attack from Gen. Minon. To the left of the 2d Illinois, near the 
 ba.s(^ of the mountain, were the moiuited Kentucky and Arkansas 
 regiments. Colonels Marshall ami Yell; and on the ridge to the 
 rear of the Illinois trooi)s. as a reserve, were placed the 2(1 and 
 3d Indiana regiments (Gen. Lane's brigade), the Mississippi rifles, 
 
532 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the 1st and 2d dragoons, and the light batteries of Captains Bragg 
 and Shenuan. The 2d Kentucky regiment (of foot), Col. McKee, 
 occupied a ridge, around which the road divided to the rear of 
 Washington's battei^y. 
 
 As the Mexican ca^•alry came clattering down the road, the first 
 intiiimtion they received of an enemy in the way was to behold 
 him thus stationed in battle array. Before they came witliin 
 rauge their bugles sounded a halt, and they directly wheeled to 
 the right behind a protecting elevation of ground. As those iu 
 the rear came up, the whole were formed into three columns, one 
 to carry Washington's battery and tlie others to turn our left 5 
 with still a large reserve. The enemy had 20 guns, among which 
 there were three 24-pounders, three 10, five 12, besides a 7-inch 
 howitzer. Before attacking, Santa Anna sent Gen. Taylor a fiag 
 of truce, assuring him he would be cut iu pieces, and summoning 
 him to surremler, which was promi)tly declined. It was now 3 
 p. m. In the meantime Gen. Wool had passed along the lines, 
 addressing a few spirited words to our troops. He reminded his 
 own column, mostly lllinoisang, of their jtrotracted and imi)atient 
 marches, but that every one would now have an oi)i)ortunity to 
 win all the distinction desired. In honor of the day the watch- 
 word was : "The memory of Washington." 
 
 The enemy oi)eued with a brisk cannonade upon our right and 
 centre, but he fought mainly to get possession of the two 
 slopes of the mountain rising from the plateau on the east, to 
 turn ourfiak. Tliis was met by the Kentucky and Arkansas reg- 
 iments (dismounted), and a portion of the Indiana brigade, armed 
 with ritles. A movement was also made on the west, to 3neet 
 whicdi Bragg's battery was sent across the stream on an eminence 
 opposite the Narrows, sup]>()rted by McKee's 2d Kentucky. A des- 
 ultory fight was kept uj) till nightfall, but the two arndes did not 
 become fully engaged. Gen. Taylor, who had returned, de]>arted 
 for Saltillo to look after the safety of the stores and the i)rotec- 
 tion of his rear. 
 
 During tlie day Col. Hardin's 1st Illinois threw up a parapet 
 along his whole front, cut a trench across the road to the brink 
 of the gullies, in front of Washington's battery, and covered his 
 position witlj an e])aidment, leaving an opening for the advance 
 of the battery choked with two wagons loaded with stones, their 
 wheels locked that the enemy should not profit by it. The troops 
 bivouacked on the field without fires, resting upon their arms. The 
 night was cold and dreary, with rain and gusts of wind, causing 
 them to suffer with cold. Santa Annamade a spirited address to his 
 troops, reciting in bnnnng words the wrongs heaped ui)on their 
 country by the barbarians of the north, their viva f> being distinctly 
 heard by the Americans. The delicious strains of his own band 
 till late in the night, playing the exquisite airs of the sunny 
 south, mellowed by distance, Avere fully audible to our troojjs. 
 But at last silence fell over the hosts that were to contend unto 
 death in that nar)ow ])ass oji the morrow. 
 
 The battle was resumed early on the morning of the 23d, and con- 
 tinued without intermission until the shades of night precluded 
 fuither effort. i^Teverdid armies contend more bravely, determin- 
 edly, stubboinly and arduously than these on this long and toil- 
 some day. It was again opened on the mountain slope to the east 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 533 
 
 of the i)lateau by Gen. Ampiidia's division of li.^lit infantry, lieav- 
 ily reinforced. At 2 a. m. tliey clambered np the monntain to 
 iiiink our riflemen, wlio had kindled tires, and atcUiwn the engage- 
 ment became general. Gen. Wool sent reinfor<;ements to our rifle- 
 men, under the command of Major Trail, of the lid Illinois, consist- 
 ing of Captains Lemon's and Woodward's comi)anies, and Captain 
 Conner's Texans, and a 12-i)ound howitzer and two guns under 
 Lieut. O'Brien, which did great execution upon the INlexicans, as 
 they poured upon our men in the number of eight to one. 
 
 About 8 a. m. the eneniy made a strong demonstration against 
 our centre, doubtless for a feint. His force was soon disi)ersed by 
 the well directed shots from Washington's battery ; but in the 
 meantime he was collecting a large force in tlie broad ra,vine south 
 of the main plateau, under Gen. Pacheco, while Gen. Lombardini's 
 division marched up the ridge (which hid the former) in plain view, 
 su))ported by dragoons and lancers, the whole in their splendid 
 uniforms presenting- a beautiful sight. The object was to form a 
 junction on the south side of the main plateau, and, that gained, 
 overwhelm our forces. Tlie plateau at the time was oc-cupied by 
 the 2d Illinois, Col. Bissell's, and the 2d Indiana, Col. Bowies', 
 the latter of Gen. Lane's brigade. Tlie object of the enemy was 
 perceived: and to i)revent the junction of his two divisions. Gen. 
 Lane ordered fcn-ward Lieut. O'Brien with three pieces of artillery 
 and the 2d Indiana in support. They proceeded between 200 and 
 'MH) yards in advance of all other troops, turning' down the ridge 
 up which Lombardini's division was advancing. No sooner had 
 they formed than the Mexicans opened upon them, the odds 
 against them being as ten to one. There, isolate<l, they stood and 
 fought the cohorts of Santa Anna with terrible eflect. But a Mex- 
 ican battery, south-east of them and somewhat to their rear, began 
 to play a murderous cross tire of grape and cannister upon them. 
 The unequal contest was maintained not less than 25 minutes : to 
 get out of the range of this battery Gen. Lane now ordered his 
 force still forward and to the right, 50 yards farther, which was 
 promptly done ; but at this juncture, perhaps from a misappre- 
 licHsiou of Gen. Lane's order, Col.Bowlescried out to his regiment, 
 *' cease firing, and retreat", which was obeyed not only with alac- 
 rity but precipitancy. It was sought to rally the men back to their 
 position, but without eflect The battery, with the loss of one 
 l»iece, got away. 
 
 Pachec^'s division, having by this time made the ravine, joined 
 Lombardini's, and the twop<Hiied upon the main plateau, so Ibrm- 
 idablo in lunnbers as to ai)i)ear irresistible. At this time the 2d 
 Illinois, Col. Bissell, six <'<)jnpanies, a squadron of cavalry, and 
 Lieutenants French and Thomas with their pieces of artillery, the 
 whole having already advanced to a closer iK)int, came handsomely 
 into action and gallantly received the concentrated tire of the en- 
 emy, which they returned with deliberate aim and terrible eflect; 
 every discharge of the artillery seeming to tear a bloody path 
 through the heavy columns of the enemy. Says a writer: ''The 
 ra[)i<l nuisketry of the gallant troops of Illinois poured a storm of 
 lead into their senied ranks, wiiich literally stiewed the ground 
 witli the dead and dying." But, notwithstanding his losses, the 
 enejny steadily advanced, throwing a large body b<'tween the left 
 of the Illinoisans and Shennan's battery, which had come up, so 
 
534 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 that our gallant regiment received a fire from three sides, front, 
 left flank and left rear; but tliey nmintained tbeir position for a 
 tiniewitli unflinching firmness against that immense host — to have 
 charged which would have been speedy and complete destruction. 
 At length, perceiving the danger of being enitirely surrounded, it 
 was determined to fall back to a ravine. Col. Bissell, with the cool- 
 ness as if on ordinary drill, ordered the signal '■'cease firing"" to be 
 made; he then, with the same deliberation, gave the command, 
 " Face to the rear ! Battalion, about face ; forward march !" — which 
 was executed by the lUinoisans with the regularity of veterans to 
 a point beyond the peril of being outflanked. Again, in obedience 
 to command, these intrei)id and su-bordinate men halted, faced 
 about, and, under a murderous tempest of bullets from the foe, re- 
 sumed with promi)tness and i)recision their well-directed tire on 
 his left, as he essayed to cross the i)lateau and gain their rear. The 
 conduct of no troops anywhere could have been more admirable. 
 Will it add any encomium to state that they liad never till tliat day 
 been under fire f — that in the space of less than half an hour tbey 
 had seen droj) by tlieir side their fellows to the nuujber of 80 — 
 ofHcers and menf How diflerent from the four companies of the 
 Arkansas regiment, which (dismounted) were ordered to the })la- 
 teau, but gave way and dispersed after delivering their first fire I 
 
 There now came to the aid of our struggling and shattered regi- 
 ment four companies from the 1st Illinois under the gallant Harclin 
 himself, the 2d Kentucky, Col. McKee, and Capt. Bragg, with two 
 jfieces of artillery. Hereon the plateau now the battle long in even 
 balance hung. In the meantime the enemy's left, 4,000 strong, 
 was repulsed by the iron tempest from Washington's battery. But 
 behind his serried ranks on the plateau, next to the base of the 
 luountain, his cavalry swept past, driving the Kentucky and Ar- 
 kansas mounted volunteers back. Seeing this, our riflemen a\»au- 
 doned their position with great loss under the pursuit of Ami)u- 
 dia's light infantry, who i»oured down in great masses on a sec- 
 tion of the plain half a. njile north of the plateau, completely turn- 
 ing our left. With the exception of Col. Hardin's i)arai)et, and 
 Washington's battery at the narroAvs, both hehland su])i)orted by 
 a portion of his regiment, our forces had now been driven i'roni 
 every first position on the field, and our loss was immense. Gen. 
 Wool had conducted the brilliant achievements of ourariny up to 
 this time ; but the demand for reinforcements was now imjjerative. 
 It was at this critical period that Gen. Taylor arrived from Saltillo, 
 accompanied by the Mississippi Eifles, Col. Jeflersou Davis, a 
 squadron of dragoons, Lieut. Col. May, two companies of infantry, 
 Cai)tains Pike and Preston, and a piece of artillery. This force, 
 tried in the storjning of Monterey, threw themselves with intrepid 
 gallantry against Ampudia's hordes as they came pouring down 
 the plain flushed ^^ith victory. Kiom their unerring rifles men 
 dropp<Hl as grass before the scythe. The tide of victory was 
 checked ; and the 3d Indiana coming to their support, the Mexi- 
 cans were driven beyond range. 
 
 In the meantime Santa Anna had, with infinite labor, brought 
 his battalion de San Patri(;io (deserted Irish soldiers Aom our 
 army) forward with a battery of 18 and 24-pounders, enfilading 
 with grape and cannister the whole plateau. But by a vigorous 
 sortie his heavy column was broken near its centre, a portion fly- 
 
MEXICAN "WAR. 535 
 
 iiig north towards Ampiidia; the otlier, with Sauta Anna in their 
 niidtst, (his horse shot,) pressing southward, and Hardin, ]>is- 
 sell and McKee, with their forces dashini;' in pursuit to a point 
 within close musket range, where they poured a ra|)id and most 
 destructive lire into his ranks till he gained the cover of the ra- 
 vine. His battery, however, held its position. Directly after. Gen. 
 Taylor ordered Bragg's and Sherman's batteries to another part of 
 tlie field, leaving but 4 ])ieces on the plateau. The 1st and I'd llli- 
 iu)is and the 2d Kentucky regiments, together with 4 pieces of ar- 
 tillery, were now stationed near the heads of the first and second 
 gorges, holding in check the enemy's Lst and 2d attacking columns 
 tilling the ravine next south of the plateau. For a long time the 
 contest was maintained without decided advantage to either side 
 on the plateau, the inain theatre of the battle. 
 
 We have not space to follow in detail all the gallant fighting 
 around on our left. Suffice it to say that the pieces of Bragg, 
 Slierman, lieynolds, and Kilburn, the Mississipi)i Eifies, the od 
 Induina and a fragment of the 2d, and Major Trail with two com- 
 panies of the 2d Illinois, and Ca])t. Conner's Texans, the 1st and 
 2(1 dragoons, and Colonels Marshall's and Yell's mounted Ken- 
 tucky and Arkansas volunteers, and others, with signal success, 
 beat back the enemy, cavah'y and infantry, from the hacienda de 
 Bueua Vista, around on our left under the base of the mountain. 
 
 I>ut now we have to relate the saddest, and for Illinois, the nu)st 
 mournful event of that battle-fatigued day. As the enemy on our 
 left was moving in retreat along the head of the plateau, our 
 artillery was advanced Avell within range, and opened a heavy fire 
 n])on him, Avhile 
 
 *' Colonels Hardin. Bissell and McKee, with their Illinois and Ken- 
 tucky troops, dashed gallantly forward in hot pursuit. A powerful re- 
 serve of tlie Mexican army was just then emerging from the ravine, 
 where it had been organized, and advanced on the plateau opposite the 
 head of the southermost gorge. Those who were giving way rallied 
 quickly upon it ; when the whole force, thus increased to over 12,0U0 
 men, came forward in a perfect blaze of fire. It was a single column, 
 composed of the best soldiers of the Republic, having for its advanced 
 battalions the veteran regiments. The Kentucky and Illinois troops 
 were soon obliged to give ground before it and seek shelter of tlie '2d 
 gorge, [The enemy pressed on, and] arriving opposite the liead of the 
 2d gorge, one half of the column sudilenly enveloped it, while the other 
 half pressed on across the plateau, having for the moment nothing to 
 resist them but the 3 guns in their trout. The portion that was inuue- 
 diately opposed to the Kentucky and Illinois troops, ran down along 
 each side of the gorge in which they had sought shelter, and also cir- 
 cled around its head, leaving no possible way of escape for them except 
 by its mouth, which opened uj^on the load. Its sides [wliicli] were 
 steep — at least an angle of 45 degrees — were covered with loose pebbles 
 and stones, and went to a point at the bottom. Down there were our 
 poor fellows, nearly 3 regiments of tliem [1st and 2d Illinois and 2d 
 Kentucky,] with butlittle opportunity to load or fire a gun, being hardly 
 able to keep their feet. Above the whole edge of the gorge, all the way 
 around, was darkened by the seried masses of the enemy, and was brist- 
 ling with muskets directed upon the crowd beneath. It was no time to 
 pause; those who were not immediately shot down, rushed on toward 
 the road, their numbei's growing less and less as they went; Kentuckians 
 and Illiuoisans, officers and men, all mixed up in confusion, and all 
 pressing on over the the loose pebbles and rolling stones of those slielv- 
 ing, precipitous banks, and having lines and lines of the enemj' firing 
 down from each side and rear, as they went. .lust then, the enemy's 
 cavalry, which had gone to the left of the reserve, had come over the 
 
536 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 spur that divides tlie mouth of the 2d gorge from tliat of the 3d, and 
 were now closing up the only door through which there was the least 
 shadow of a chance for their lives. Many of those ahead endeavored to 
 force their way out ; but few succeeded ; the lancers were fully 6 to 1, 
 and their long weapons were already reeking with blood. It was at this 
 time that those who were still back in that dreadful gorge heard, above 
 the din of the musketry and the shouts of the enemy around them, the 
 roar of Washington's Battery. No music could have been moi'e grate- 
 ful to their ears. A moment only, and the whole opening, where the lan- 
 cers were busy, rang with the re^jeated exjjlosions of spherical-case shot. 
 They gave way. The gate, as it were, was clear, and out upon the road 
 a stream of our poor fellows issued. They ran, panting down towards 
 the battery and directly under the flight of iron then passing over their 
 heads into the retreating cavalry. Hardin, McKee, Clay, Willis, Za- 
 briskie, Houghton — but why go on ? It would be a sad task indeed to 
 name over all who fell during this 20 minutes' slaughter. The whole 
 gorge, from the plateau to its mouth, was strewed with ourdead; all dead; 
 no wounded there, not a man ; for the infantry had rushed down the 
 sides and completed the work with tlie bayonet."*! 
 
 On the plateau our artillery did its utmost to hold at bay the 
 hordes of Mexicans while reinforcements pressed forward to this 
 the center of conliict. The enemy fought with a perfect aban- 
 don of life. The heavy battery steadily held its ground. The 
 remnants of the 2d. and 1st Illinois regiments, after issuing from 
 the fatal gorge, were reformed and again brought into action, the 
 former under the modest but intrepid Bissell, and the latter, after 
 the fall of the noble Hardin, under the eoniniaud of Lieutenant 
 Colonel Weatherford. The I'd regiment took a position to tlie 
 right of our batteries, and the 1st somewhat toward the left of 
 them. The enemy also brought reinforcements to the Held. A 
 brisk artillery duel was now steadily maintained ; but gradually, 
 with the setting of the orb of day, the cannonade and rattle of 
 small arms slackened, and when night si)read her i)all over the 
 Held of carnage, it ceased altogether, and the gloom of silence 
 succeeded. Both armies, after the long day's struggle, occupied 
 much the same positiou as in the nu)riiing; the enemy, Avith his 
 overwhelming )uinibers, having gained but little ground. Early 
 on the following morning the glad tidings spread rai)idly among" 
 our gallant troops that he had, luider the cover of darkness, re- 
 treated ; and victory once more ])erched ui)on the banners of the 
 Americans. 
 
 Our total loss was 740— killed, liOl ; that of the enemy, 2,500. 
 The loss of the 1st Illinois regiment was 4o^killed, 2*J ; of the 2d, 
 131 — killed, 62. This battle, as it Avas the heaviest and most stub- 
 born, proved also to be the turning jtoint of the war — like that of 
 Saratoga in the war of the revolution. It ended the campaign in 
 that i)art of Mexico. 
 
 ^ In the movement against Vera Cruz, the 3d and 4th Illinois 
 regiments, Colonels rornum and Baker, together with a New 
 Yorlv regiment, Col. Burnett, constituted the brigade of General 
 Shields. After reconnoitering the city by Gen. Scott, the spot 
 selected for the landing jilaceof the army was the main shore to 
 
 *Colton"s History of the Battle of Buena Vista ; to which, with Gen. Taylor's official 
 report, we arc largely indebted for our account of this battle. 
 
 •t-Col. Bissell in a speech subsequent Ij' made at Jacksonville (?), said that neither 
 Hardin nor any of the three Colonels had orders for their last furious charge made 
 upon the retreatinir armj' across the plateau, (Taylor being- away); that it arose by a 
 species of common (,'onsent between them, for as Hardin started, lie (Bissell) followed, 
 and McKee, witli his K'( ntuckians, fell in in siiiijiort of the movement. He stated 
 further that it was that terrible ciiarge which saved the fortunes of the day. 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 537 
 
 the west of the Island of Sacriticios, and soutli of the city. The 
 men were hmded March 9, 1847, by surf-boats, coni[)anies A, F 
 and G of the 4th Illinois, under the immediate command of J^ieut. 
 Col. John JMooie, being' among- the very first to participate in that 
 admirably executed achievement in which not a man was lost. 
 On landing', the troops of Shields' and Pillow's brigades were as- 
 signed to the advance, and they cleared hill after hill of the Mexi- 
 cans, wiio, with a feel)ie effort at resistance, took refuge in the 
 chaparral. The army, after experiencing very warm weather, 
 alternated with a " norther" — a cold and blinding sand storm — 
 and sleeping on sand banks at night, gradnallj' gained in its ap- 
 proaches upon the city, completing the investment in about 3 
 days' time. 
 
 Nearly two weeks later, after due sunmions and refusal to sur- 
 render, our artillery opened its terril)le fire of shot and shell upon 
 the city and the far-famed castle of San Juan de' Ulloa, re])uted 
 to be tlie strongest fortress on the continent. After a stubborn 
 resistance to the dreadful effects of our mortars, howitzers and 
 I'aixhan guns in the battery on shore, at a distance of SOU yards, 
 and the broadsides of our ships of war for 5 days, the city and castle 
 both, unable to cope with the advance in science Avhich American 
 artillery had nnule, surrendered. Our loss in men was very tri- 
 tling. J^uring the bombardment there were thrown into the 
 walled city 3,000 ten inch shells of 00 pounds each, 200 howitzer 
 shells, 1,000 Paixhan shot and 2,500 round shot — a half million 
 A\ eight of metal. The wreck of the city and its mouriung attested 
 botli the power and the sadness of war. 
 
 On the 8th of April the army began its forward movement on the 
 Jalapa road. Four days later it reached the Plan del liio at the Pass 
 of Cerro Gordo. Here a dee]) river breaks through the uujuntain, 
 whose sides tower aloft 1,000 feet. Winding along through this 
 gorge, on tlie north side of the river, ran the national road, the 
 only highway by which our army could gain the interior. On 
 these ramparts of nature, Saida Anna, by a series of rapid 
 inarches, after his defeat atJ>uem\ Vista, had concentrated an army 
 of 15,000 men, and had further fortifie<l the ]:)osition by entrench- 
 ments and the erection of batteries, which, one above another, com- 
 uiaiided a sweep of the road and frowned grindy upon our army 
 below. It was concluded, after a thorough reconnoisance by Gen. 
 Scott himself, that the position was impregnable. The plan was 
 next formed of cutting a new road througli the chapai-ral to the 
 north of and winding around the base of the mountain, thence 
 to ascend and unite with the national road in the rear of the 
 enemy's i)osition. The plan was feasible only with great toil and 
 labor, but our brave men were equal to the task. So well was 
 the enemy's attention employed by movements in his front, that 
 for 3 days he was not apprised of this work, when he assailed the 
 laborers with grape and musketry. Twiggs' division was there- 
 upon advanced along the new route, which was nearly completed, 
 and carried the eminence occui)ied by the enemy and protected 
 the working i)arties. During the darkness of the night following, 
 by almost su)>erhuman exertion, a 24-]tounder battery was silently 
 lifted hundreds of feet to the top of this height. This was done 
 by Gen. Shields' brigade, the 3d and 4th Illinois and the Xew York 
 regiment. It was a herculean labor gallantly performed. 
 
538 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Evervtbiiig- beiug ready, in accordance witli the order of battle, 
 Twiggs' divisiou, by a somewhat farther route, was to turu and 
 assail the x)ositioii of the enemy directly on his rear ; still beyond, 
 but iu supporting distance of him, were ordered the volunteer 
 regiments under Gen. Shields, the 3d and 4:th Illinois and the 
 New York, which were to carry a battery of the enemy's on 
 his extreme left (Santa Anna's), gain the national road and cutoff 
 his retreat by that route; Pillow's brigade was to attack his river 
 batteries in front. At a giveu signal the general attack on the 
 enemy's line was to begin. Pillow's assault was repulsed ; 
 Twiggs' men advanced from the rear with a plunging fire in their 
 front and a rolling one on either flank, climbed the rocky ascent, 
 and under the lead of Col. Harney, stormed the enemy's center, 
 carried the fortitications, routed his nuiin body, and turned his 
 guns upon the fugitives as they fled, while Shields' brigade as- 
 saulted and carried the enemy's battery oil the extreme left, dis- 
 persed its supporting infantry, gained the Jalapa road, cut off 
 his retreat in that direction and jnevented his rallying beyond. 
 In the storming of this battery, the heroic Shields received a 
 grape shot through his lungs. He fell apparently mortally 
 wounded ; his obituary was published in many newspai)ers 
 throughout the country ; he recovered, however, and is still iu 
 life. The command of his brigade devolved upon Colonel E. D. 
 Baker, of the 4th Illinois, from whose ofticial report we extract 
 the following : 
 
 "At daylight on the morning of the 18th the brigade was underarms, 
 and moved at an early hour to turn the Cerro Gordo and attack the ex- 
 treme left of the enemy's position, on tlie Jalapa road. Tliis was effected 
 over very difticult ground, tlirough tliick cliaparal, and under a gall- 
 ing fire of the enemy's guns on the heights. Upon approaching tlie 
 main road the enemy was found upon and near it, with a field battery of 
 six guns, supported by a large force of infantry and cavalry. Whilst 
 forming for tlie attack, and under a lieavy fire from the enemy's 
 guns, Brig. Gen. Sliields, wlio had gallantly led his command, fell, 
 severely, if not mortally, wounded. I then directed a company 
 to deploy as skirmishers on the right flank, and ordered a charge 
 upon the enemy's line, Avhich was accomplislied witli spirit and success 
 by those companies, which were enabled by tlie nature of the ground to 
 make the advance. They were promptly and gallantly supported by tlie 
 remainder of the 4tli regiment Illinois volunteers, under Major Hari'is. 
 The 3d regiment under Col. Forman, and the New York regiment, under 
 Col Burnett, being ordered by me to move to the right and left upon the 
 enemy, the rout became comj)lete at that point, and the enemy fled in 
 great confusion, leaving his guns and baggage, a large amount of specie, 
 provisions and camp equipjtage in our hands. Portions of the 3cl and 
 4th Illinois volunteers and several companies of the New York regi- 
 ment, all under the immediate command of Gen. Twiggs, pursued the 
 enemy on tlie Jalapa road as far as Encerro, when they were passed by 
 the dragoons and halted for the night."* 
 
 Ct)l. Baker further expressed his obligations to Cols. Forman 
 and Burnett, and to Majoi' Harris for the coolness, promi)tilude 
 and gallantry with which they carried into execution the several 
 dispositions of their commands; also to his regimental stafl' (the 
 4th), Capt. Post, A. C. S., and Adjutant Eondey ; and to the stuff 
 of the brigade, Lieuts. K. 1*. Hammond, 3d artillery A. A. A., and 
 
 *Col. Forman says that " Daker's report in the main is correct, except that the regi- 
 meuts fought under their own commanders— we knew what we had to do and did it." 
 
MEXICAN ^yAI^. 539 
 
 G. T. M. Davis, A. D. C, for tlieir assistance and tLeir prompt- 
 ness in the discliarge of tlieir duties. 
 
 His loss was: 4th rei;iiiieiit, ollicers, (2 being- killed — Lieuts. 
 Murphy and Cowordiu), and 42 non-eoiuniissioned oflieersand })ri- 
 vates ; 3(1, 1 officer and 15 n()n-coniniissii)ne(l officers and privates; 
 the Xew York regiment, 1 officer ami 5 privates — total of 70 in 
 the brigade. The loss of our army was 417 — killed, G4, and 
 wounded, 353. The enemy's loss in killed and wounded is not 
 known ; but we took 3,000 prisoners, 5,000 stands of arms and 43 
 pieces of artillery. 
 
 Gen. Twiggs in his report speaks in glowing and enthusiastic 
 terms of the conduct of the Illinois regiments, both in the'stornung 
 of Santa Anna's battery and in the i)ursuifc of the Hying enemy, 
 under his immediate command. The battle of Cerro Gordo, as it 
 was one of unsurpassed difficulty, proved also one of the most bril- 
 liant and important in the war. Its results were to lay oi)en the 
 road to the cai»ital, and pla(;e the empire of Mexico under the feet 
 of the coiupieror. The gallant troops of Illinois; shared to no in- 
 considerable extent in tin; dang<n's, toils and hardshi})S, as their 
 large ratio of losses attests ; and their heroic deeds have reflected 
 imi>erishable honor an<l glory ui»on our State. 
 
 The battle of Cerro Gordo was the last in the war with jMexico 
 in which any Illinois troo])s participated. At Jalajta, the year's 
 time for which they had been enlisted having nearly exi>ired, and 
 it being ascertained that the 3d and 4th regiments would not re- 
 enlist. Gen. Scott disbanded them ; the cami)Hign on the Kio 
 Grande having been virtually ended by the battle of Buena Vista, 
 the Lst and 2d regiments were disbanded at Comargo, and all our 
 troops of the first four Illinois reginumts returned home about the 
 same time, Lieut. Col. IVloore with companies B,G and K, of the 4th, 
 leaching Springticld .June 4th, and oOO men of the 1st arriving at 
 St. Louis May 31st, 1847. The latter brought home the remains 
 of their l)elovcd colonel, ILii'din ; and the people of ^lorgan county 
 invited the entire r<'giment to accompany them to their tinal rest- 
 ing place at Jacksonville. Tlie funeral (July 12th,) was one of 
 the largest and most imposing ever held in the State.* 
 
 The soldiers generally on their return home were received with 
 mark of affection, and tendered, as they well deserved, the enthu- 
 siastic welconu's of the i)e()ple. I'ublic dinners, com])limentar3' 
 toasts, flattering addresses and fulsome speeches were ])rofusely 
 showered upon them; the newspaper i)ress vied with the orators of 
 the period in praises of the heroic deeds of our voluideer sohlier\, 
 Mhile, as aspirants for offi(;e, all mere civilians had to stand aside 
 and leave the track for tlie juoud ])atrons of Mars, or be crushed 
 in the result. Mere ci\'il accomplishm(Mits or services will ever as 
 nothing be in the average i)opular mind comi)ared with the deeds 
 heralde<l by the pom}) and cii-cumstance of glorious war. The 
 Miexican war was such a wonderl'ul lever to office and political pre- 
 ferment that some envious Whigs, whose ])arty had oi)p()sed it, 
 took early occasion, it was said, to declare themselves in favor of 
 the next war, ^vhate^er it might be for! 
 
 *Cnl. Forninn brouoht liotiie and presented to tlie State a 6 pound gun, now in the 
 arsenal at Spriiiufiekl, as a ti-op'i.v Irom the Mexican battery In the battle of Cerro 
 Gordo, statidiied near Santa Anna's headquarters, which was taken bv the Illinois troops 
 shortly alter the lallot'Gen. Shields. 
 
540 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 More Volunteers. — In tlie meantime, the government liaving- de- 
 termined to raise 0,000 more troops, a call upon Illinois Lad been 
 made for ten additional companies of infantry, or one regiment 
 more, and one company of cavalry, ))y the secretary of war, W. 
 L. Marcy, under date of April IDtli, 1847. The enlistments were 
 to be during the war; the other terms were the same as under 
 previous calls ; Alton was again designated as the place of rendez- 
 vous. Under date of April L'Tth, the commander-in-chief (Gov. 
 French), by M. K.Anderson, adjutant general of the Illinois militia, 
 issued his general orders calling for volunteers. In less than two 
 weeks had not only the 11 companies reported and been accepted, 
 but 8 more were tendered, which had to be rejected. Emulation 
 never ran higher; expresses hurried to Springtield with the utmost 
 dispatch to secure places on the list before it should be tilled. The 
 disappointment to those who w^eie too late was most bitter. 
 
 The following were the accepted companies, which, under date 
 of Maj^ 10th, were ordered to march to the place of rendezvous : 
 
 Company A, Clinton county, Thomas Bond, captain, 
 Company B, Williamson county, J. M. Cunningham, captain. 
 Company C, Marion county, Van trump Turner, captain. 
 Company D, Brown county, Jolm C. Moses, captain. 
 Company E, St. Clair county, G. W. Hooli, captain. 
 Company F, Cook county, Thos. B. Kinney, captain. 
 Company G, LaSalle county, Henry J. Reed, captain. 
 Company H, Williamson county, James Hampton, captain. 
 Company I, Shelby county, R. Madison, captain. 
 Company K, Pike county, W. Kinmau, captain. 
 
 The cavalry company was from Schuyler county, Adams Dun- 
 lap being the captain. 
 
 The Mh Begiment of Illinois volunteers was organized of the 
 foregoing companies, at Alton, June 8th, 1847. E. W. B. Newby 
 of Brown county, was elected colonel; Henderson Boyakin, of 
 Marion, lieutenant-colonel; and J. B. Donaldson, of Pike, nuijor, 
 excellent selections. The regiment took its departure by steam- 
 boat 6 days later for Fort Leavenworth. Its destination was 
 Santa- Fe, whither it marched across the plains from Fort Leav- 
 enworth in the hottest part of the summer, the consequence being 
 an unusual amount of sickness, traceable in great part to this ex- 
 hausti\e march. While the days were extremely warm, the nights 
 were frequently very cold ; the troops greatly fatigued, would lie 
 down of nights with their blood heated beyond a healthy stand- 
 ard ; ere morning they would be chilled by the transition of the 
 atmosphere; besides several times on the journey they were over- 
 taken by severe storms, against which there was no shelter; thus 
 the sec<ls of disease were sown and its viiulence intensified. The 
 measles had already appeared among them at Fort Leavenworth. 
 By the first of Dccendter the loss of the battalion stationed at 
 Santa Fe was reported at 08, of which 42 were by death. 
 
 In October, at Santa Fe, the regiment was divided into two bat- 
 talions, the first, together with a battalion from a Missouii regi- 
 uicnt, tinder (Jol. Newby, the senior officer, being ordered to move 
 in an expedition south to El Paso. The LM battalion, umlcr Lieut. 
 Col. Boyakin, remained as a garrison at Santa Fe. The regiment 
 saw no service in conflict with the enemy, the war by that time 
 being virttudly over. We will note, however, that these Illinois- 
 
MEXICAN WAR. 541 
 
 aiis were the first to organize a lodge of the IMasoiiic order at the 
 remote post of Santa Fe. 
 
 (jfh Regiment of Illinois volunteers. We have noted the fact 
 that when in April a new c;ili ni)on Illinois for ten companies of 
 infantry and one of cavalry was made, thnt in less than two weeks 
 time \\) offered, and still more continued to offer, not knowing that 
 the oth regiment was fall. .Much disappointment was felt at their 
 rejection; but their hope was speedily revi\ed. Under date of 
 May 20th, the secretary of war wrote to Gov. French : "Yielding 
 to the earnest solicitations of the patriotic (dtizens of your State, 
 the I'resident has instructed me to reijuest that yoiir excellency 
 will cause to be raised and rendezxoused at Alton another regi- 
 ment of volanteer infantry." The enlistments were to be for the 
 same period, and have the same organization as those of the 5th 
 regiment, but its destination was Vera Cruz. 
 
 The organization of the surplus companies had been held intact 
 until the President's pleasure in the i)remises could be ascertained 
 Accordingly, when the recjuisition came to hand. Gov. French, on 
 the very same day (May l't>), notified the exi)ectant companies of 
 their acceptance; ordered them to the place of rendezvous to be 
 mustered in, and the war department, two days later, that the 
 comi)anies were all organized and ready to nuirch. 
 
 The following' are the companies of the Otli regiment: 
 
 Company A, of Madison county, Franklin Niles, captain 
 Company B, Madison county, Edward W. Dill, captain. 
 Company (3, Fayette county, Harvey Lee, jr., captain. - 
 
 Company D, Greene county, John Bristow, captain. 
 Company E, Macoupin county. Burred Tetrick, caiitaiu. 
 Company F, Cook county, James ]{. Ifuguuin, captain. 
 Conn^auy G, Booue county, William Shei^herd, captain. 
 Company H, Will and Iroquois counties, G. Jenkins, captain. 
 Company I, Jefferson county, James Bowman, captain. 
 Company K, Jo Daviess county, C. L. Wright, cax)tain. 
 
 Company A, Captain Kiles, was ordered into the 5th regiment, 
 and Capt. Collins' comi)any from Jo Daviess, took its place in the 
 Cth.* 
 
 For colonel of the Gth regiment, Capt. Collins, of Jo Daviess, was 
 elected, receiving 472 votes, to Capt. Wright of the same couidy .'i'U; 
 lieutenant-colonel, Cai)t. Hicks of Jefferson, received 44S, to Lieut. 
 Omlveny of Monroe, 379; for major, Lieut. Livington, of Jeffer- 
 son, received 340; Capt. Shepherd, of Boone, 220; Capt. Lee, of 
 Fayette, 142, and H. Hunter, 102. Lieut. Fitch, of Greene, was 
 appointed adjutant, W. G. Taylor qnarternuister, and J. B. Hines 
 sergeant-major. At New Orleans the 0th reginu'nt was divided, 
 the first battalion, companies A, D, E, F, H, being sent to Vera 
 Cruz under the Col. Collins, and the 2d in command of Lieut. 
 Col. Hicks, to Tampico. The division caused no little dissatisfiic- 
 tion among' the men. The 2d battalion saw no service other than 
 garrison duty. The 1st arrived at Vera Cruz, August 31st, and 
 after remaining in camp Bergara awhile, was ordered out on the 
 national road and stationed at the San Juan Bridge. Here a skir- 
 mish with guerrillas was had, in which one private was killed and 
 
 * XoTE. — Captains David C. nerry, .Tames Burns, Ed. E. Harney and John Ewing 
 also served in this regiment. The Koster in the Adjutant-General's Office, in giving 
 the regiments which served in the Mexican War is very imperfect and inaccurate. It 
 gives the 5th regiment as the 1st. W^e have collated our facts from the press of the 
 period. 
 
542 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 two wounded. Col. Collins was very sick nearly all the time; in- 
 deed, more than the usual amount ot sickness attended the whole 
 regiment. Keports were current in the i^ress that one-fifth of its 
 force, in five months after leaving' camp at Alton, found a grave 
 in Mexico, not from the foe, but by sickness. The 1st battalion 
 lost 7 out of its 20 oflicers ; and tlie battalion at Tampieo, while 
 it suffered as greatly in men, lost but one officer. 
 
 Under date of June 30, ISIT, the Hon. R. W. Young, commis- 
 sioner of the General Laiul Office at Washington, wrote that the 
 Secretary of War consented to accept two more companies of cav- 
 alry from Illinois, which had been raised. Cai»t. William Pren- 
 tice's to rendezvous as Gov. French direc^t, and Capt, W. B. Stapp's 
 of Warren county, to rendez\ous at Quincy, on horseback, and 
 proceed thence to St. Louis by st(*aniboat.* 
 
 The destination of these cavalry companies was Vera Cruz, to 
 operate against the enemy's guerrilla parties, and keep open the 
 roads from the gulf to the City of Mexico. Captain Lawler of 
 Shawneetown, also raise<l a cavalry conqiany; and to show the 
 troublesomeness of this arm of the service, we will state that, 
 owing to delays on the river— near 2 weeks being occupied in going 
 to Baton llouge — he was comiielled at that point to land, rest 
 and recruit his exhausted horses. 
 
 After his return, Col. E. D. Baker, in pursuance of his request, 
 was authorized to raise a battalion of five companies from the 
 veteran volunteers, recently returned. The battalion was not 
 raised ; the fall of the City of Mexico speedily followed, virtually 
 ending the war, although the treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo was not 
 made till February 2, 1848. 
 
 * See Illinois State Register, July 8, 1847. Josiah Little also raised a cavalry company. 
 He was commissioned Sept. 24, 1847. 
 
Chapter XLIV. 
 
 CONSTITUTIONAL CONTENTION OF 1847, AND SOME- 
 THING OF THE OIIGANIC LAW FEAMED BY IT. 
 
 After the violent political struggle of 1824 coiiceriiiiio- the admis- 
 sion of slavery into the State, the question of calling a convention 
 to revise or amend the tirst constitution was not again revived for 
 a period of 18 years. At this time such ^yas tlie hight of partisan 
 feeling aroused against tlie supreme court in deciding the McCler- 
 nand-Field case against the wishes of the dominant party, and 
 tlie unnecessary api)rehension that the Galena alien case would 
 also be decided against the wishes and interests of the democracy, 
 involving a possible loss of its political supremacy in the State, 
 that the legislature, at its session of 1810-1, passed a resolution 
 recommending to the electors at the general election of 1812 to 
 vote tor or against the calling of a constitutional convention. But 
 in the meantime the judiciary was reorganized by the addition of 
 five judges to the supreme court, all democrats, to overbalance 
 the whig judges. The democracy having by this act secured their 
 X^olitical supremacy in every branch of the government, had no 
 further use for a convention to reiuodel the constitution, and at 
 the August election the resolution failed to carry, though the whig 
 j)arty, against whom it was originally aimed, ardently supported 
 the call. 
 
 Still the insulTicient limitations of the old constitution became 
 more apparent from year to year, and in 1845 the legislature again 
 passed a resolution reconunending to the electors to vote for or 
 against a constitutional convention at the ensuing general election 
 of August, 184(5. The democratic press this time urged the people 
 to vote for the call of the convention, publishing the resolution to 
 be voted for as a standing advertisement and i)art of the regular 
 democratic ticket ; luit the whig i)ress, if not opposed to the call, 
 deeming, perluips,- that its espousal of the question might tend to 
 defeat it, was totally silent upon the subject, and did not once 
 direct the attention of the peo]»le to the importance of the measure. 
 Being thus a democratic measure, the call prevailed. 
 
 In the passage of the act to provide for the meeting of the con- 
 vention, the main question over Avhich there was any considerable 
 contest, was whether it should consist of as many members of the 
 then general assend)ly, apportioned upon the population of 1840 
 (476,18,3), or whetlun' the number should correspond to the new 
 api)ortionnient act of that session, based upon the census of 1845 
 (002,125). The contest was between the north and south parts of 
 the State; the former, which had been benefited most by the immi- 
 
 543 
 
544 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 gration of the iirecediiig years, was in favor of a representation 
 based npon the census of 1845. The constitution reads: "The 
 general assembly shall, at the next session, call a couvention to 
 consist of as many members as there maybe in the general assem- 
 bly." Mr. Dougherty, since lieutenant governor, introduced a bill 
 fixing the number of delegates to correspond -with the number of 
 members of the then two houses, and Mr. IST. B. Judd, of Cook, of- 
 fered a substitute based upon the census of 1845, which finally pre- 
 vailed and became a law. 
 
 A special election of delegates was fixed for the 3d Monday of 
 April, 1847, who were to meet in convention at Springfield on the 
 first Monday of June following. During the canvass the Avliig 
 l)ress in the strong democratic districts argued plausibly and truly 
 that for a duty so important as the framing of a new organic law 
 for the State, which was to afl'ect not only the jtresent but per- 
 haps future generations, when present political questions might 
 be classed with the things that were, the ablest talent of the iState 
 should be called ui)on, irrespective of party x>i'ede]ictions ; but at 
 the same time good care was taken by them to bring out and sup- 
 port none but tlieir own jiartisans. The demociatic press, having 
 the utmost faith in the permanency and well-being of democratic 
 principles, came squarely out and urged its party to rally as one 
 man and secure such a majority in the convention as Avould insure 
 the infusion of i)ure democratic principles into the instrument 
 which was to be the guide for future legislation ; to attain which 
 care should be taken to select candidates whose democracy was 
 unimpeachable. The election resulted in a return of a greater pro- 
 portion of whig delegates than was to be expected from the rela- 
 tive strength of the two parties, although the democracy had a 
 considerable m ajori ty. 
 
 The democracy required the convention, as paramount to all 
 other considerations, 1st, to abolish all life offices or long tenures, 
 and to provide for an elective judiciary, fiom the supreme court 
 down; 2d, to prohibit the legislature from ever again creating a 
 bank — all the financial evils which had ever afflicted the peoi)le 
 of Illinois, it was charged, had proceeded froin the oi)inessions of 
 banks ; 3d, to limit the power of the legislature to borrow money, 
 which had been another great source of calamity to tlie peoj^le. 
 This power should, be so limited as to prevent the legislature from 
 pledging the credit and faith of the State in all cases except, i)er- 
 haps, in great emergencies, as of threatened danger from invasion, 
 and then only to defray the expenses of the State government. If 
 such a provision had been embodied in the constitution of 1818 the 
 financial embarrassments grooving out of the reckless internal im- 
 provement system of the State would not have oppressed the peo- 
 ple. It required, 4th, a veto power to the governor equal to that 
 of the president of the United States. The veto power, notwith- 
 standing the terrible ordeal of its denunciation, had been a favo- 
 rite democratic measure ever since Jackson had saved the coun- 
 try, as it was supposed, by refusing his assent to the re-charter of 
 the TJ. S. Bank. Of course the democracy were opposed to any 
 change in the qualifications of an alien elector. 
 
 The whigs wanted, 1st, a longer residence than 6 months before 
 any man should be entitled to exercise the elective franchise, and 
 that no alien should be entitled to that sacred privilege of au 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 1848. 545 
 
 American citizen mitil lie was first natnralized ; '2d, to take from 
 the legislatnre tlie power of electing or appointing' otticers for the 
 people, i)artieularly as it r<\i;ar(le(l the members of that body, and 
 thereby prevent that bai'>iainiii<i' and corrnptioji which grew np in 
 the general assembly, and to prevent that body from exercising 
 nearly all the powers of government, execntive as well as legisla- 
 tive; 3d, to limit the nniiiber of representatives in the general 
 assembly, and to tix the age at which men shonld be eligible to 
 seats in that body, and thns prevent the many mischiefs growing 
 ont of legislation by young men whose minds were immature; 4th, 
 to fix the ages at which men might hold the office of judge, and at 
 which judges should ictire from the bench ; 5tli, to ])re\'ent a ma- 
 joi'ity of the two-thirds which constituted a quorum in the legisla- 
 ture from finally i)assing a bill. 
 
 There were also many provisions mooted by the press and people, 
 upon which there was no political or party division. T-lie most 
 important and generally demanded were retrenchment and 
 economy ; to disconnect the supreme judges from legislative duty 
 as a council of revision ; to abolish eligibility to several otuces 
 at the same time; to limit the power of the legislature in con- 
 tracting debts and imi)osing taxes; to organize a nu)re efficient 
 tribuiud for the management and control of county affairs than 
 the county comjuissioner's court; to limit the })Owers of govern- 
 ment so as to secure the people against oppression by those in 
 authority, (in view of what was done during the hard times of 
 1842, when the officials of the executive department required that 
 nothing but gohl ;ind silver should be paid for taxes, while there 
 was nothing but depreciated bank rags in the country, the State 
 having made the issues of the State bank receivable for taxes) ; 
 to provide against successive special sessions of the legislature at 
 the will and pleasure of the governor without specifying the char- 
 acter of the business to be transacted ; to fix the pay of members, 
 and to devise some way to prcAcnt an accidental majority from 
 continuing or adjourning sessions for the sake of compensation. 
 
 AnK)ng the democratic delegates there was not entire unanimity 
 upon the bank question. The following is one of the bolts 
 laun(;hed at the recussants by the press of that party: 
 
 "These bank-democrats occupy rather paradoxical ground. They 
 assert that banks are pernicious, dangerous and anti-repubhcau, but 
 inasmuch as the bauk paper of otlier States naturally circulates among 
 us, it is our true policy to establisli tliese engines of evil as a measure of 
 self-defense. They admit that we are injured by the paper of other 
 States, and they propose to mitigate the injury by producing it them- 
 selves — if any mischief is to be done, the citizens of the State ought to 
 have the privilege and enjoy the profits of doing it. If other States 
 choose to Injure us, we ought to seek redress by injuring ourselves."* 
 
 The convention met on the 7th of June, 1847, and concluded its 
 labors on the 31st of August following. AVhen its woik first 
 came before the people (for unlike the constitution of 1818, this 
 was to be passed upon by them), nobody seemed entirely satisfied 
 with it, yet all concurred that the new was preferable to the old 
 constitution. Judging it from the i)artisan staiul-iioint of that 
 day, it nnist be confessed that the the greater success in grafting 
 it with their peculiar views was with the whigs. The old allowed 
 
 *I11. state Reg. 
 35 
 
546 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 aliens and citizens alike to vote after a residence of mouths, to 
 maintain wliicli feature when supposed to be in danger iu 18J:0, 
 tlie democracy waged a tierce warfare against the sui)reme court, 
 resulting in a partisan reorganization. Yet the very thing feared 
 from that court was now embodied in tlie constitution ; every 
 elector must first be a citizen, and second have a residence of one 
 year in the State. The elective i)rincii)le by the i)eople was ex- 
 tended to the tilling of evei-y oftice, a thoroughly democratic i)ro- 
 vision, and the only one which ought ever to obtain under any 
 republican government. Yet the democracy, for obvious party 
 reasons, desired to confine this to the life oftices — the sujireme 
 judges — leaving the great bulk of the offices to be doled out, if 
 not bargained, as before by the legislature, and thus fasten their in- 
 cumbeuts upon every county iu the State, regardless of local polit- 
 ical majorities. For like party reasons the wliigs desired to de- 
 prive tlie dominant party of the power to elect this great crowd 
 of officers — judges and clerks, both circuit and county — to the 
 legislature, but favored life officers for the sujiremc bench. In 
 this particular, fortunately for the State, the partisan cravings 
 of both, to a certain extent, were defeated, yet the deprivation of 
 the power to elect all the host of the former by the legislature was 
 a greater loss to the democracy than the latter was to the 
 Avhigs. This took from the legislatm-e a fertile source of patron- 
 age by depriving it of the choice of some 200 county officers from 
 time to time, who by their intimate relations to the peo}>le are in the 
 situation to exercise a most i)otent political infiuence. During 
 the i)endency af the constitution before the peoi)le, the provision 
 relating to 3 county judges, called the "puppy court," was made 
 to do peculmr service against it. Upon the sul)ject of banks, too, 
 the democracy may be said to have been in a manner defeated. 
 The democratic convention of February, 184C, the largest ever 
 assembled in the State, had declared that the creation of any new 
 banks, either State or other banking institution Avhatever, should 
 be frowned u})on by the party f and throughout the sitting of the 
 convention the press of that party was strenuous in its oi)posilion 
 to banks of any kind. Yet banks, other than State baidvs, were 
 not prohibited by the constitution, though a general banking- 
 law was required to be submitted to a vote of the people. 
 
 We note but a few features wherein the constitution of 1848 dif- 
 fered from that of 1818. Profiting by the lesson of experience 
 taught by the State internal improvement system, whose enor- 
 mous debt was then pressing heavily upon the i>eople, no debt was 
 allowed to be contracted by the legislature exceeding $50,000, and 
 that only to meet casual deficits or failures in revenue ; nor was 
 the credit of the State to be extended to any imlividual, associa- 
 tion or corporation. Article 14, separately submitted, provided 
 for the yearly collection of a tax of 2 mills upon the dollar, in ad- 
 dition to all other taxes, the proceeds of wliich were to be paid 
 out in extinguishment of the public debt, other than the canal 
 and school indebtedness, pro rata to such holders as might pre- 
 sent their evidences. This was a noble self-subjection of the i)eo- 
 l)le to a. tax for an indefinite time at that dark period of public 
 and private embarrassment, for which we ought to profoundly 
 honor them. 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 1848. 547 
 
 Eegardiiig tax titles, the law of 1839 was one of peculiar liard- 
 slii]), reiuleiiiig- their defeasance most ditticult \)y throwiiig the 
 onus prohandi as to any irrejiularity in the manner of acquiring 
 them upon the real owners of the land. A deed was prima fade 
 evidence that the land was subject to taxation ; that the taxes 
 were unpaid; that the lands were unredeemed; that it had been 
 legally advertized; that it was sold for taxes; that the grantee 
 was the purchaser ; and that the sale was conducted in the man- 
 ner required by law.* It was possible for a nnin to lose the title 
 to his land, although residing on it and having paid his taxes. All 
 this was radically changed by section 4, article 9 of the new con- 
 stitution, introduced by Judge Lockwood, the requirements of 
 which the courts have construed strictly, and it may Avell be infer- 
 red that since then not many tax titles have stood this ordeal of 
 the organic law. 
 
 The legislature was required to encourage internal improve- 
 ments by ])assing' liberal general laws of incorporation and for 
 other coiporate i)uritoses; special acts for which were not to be 
 granted unless the objects could not be attained under the former. 
 It seems that in the legislatures sim^e scarcely any corporate ob- 
 jects could be attaiiu'd under general laws, for throughout the 
 sway of the constitution of 1848, were not only no general incor- 
 poration laws of any degree of perfection i)asscMl, but from ses- 
 sion to session were granted, with most lavish hand, private and 
 special acts of incorporation for every conceivable purpose, 
 passed in packages of huiulreds at a time, nuiking huge touies, 
 Avhose contents and provisions were equally unknown to the gen- 
 eral public and the honorable members whose names stand re- 
 corded in favor of their ena(;tment. This species of legislation, 
 in nuxny cases, has been attemled with the most i^ernicious results, 
 as the people to their cost can testify. 
 
 The judges of the supreme and circuit courts werenmde ineligi- 
 ble to any other ottice of profit or public trust in this State or the 
 United ^States during the terms for which they were elected, and 
 for one year thereafter. This clause, as it reads, has been repeat- 
 edly violated by the election ot judges to congress; and while it 
 is true that body has held that it is the sole judge ot the (jualitica- 
 tion of its members, and Ihat State laws or constitutions in such, 
 cases are ot no binding force, it is equally tnu'that the genrkMnen 
 thus elected had sworn upon their installation as judges to observe 
 the constitution of Illinois in all its pro^■isions, without any reser- 
 vation as to the clause in question, or they could not have taken 
 their seats upon the bench. 
 
 In the legislature bills were to be read on three different days 
 before becouiing laws, and on final passage the ayes aiul noes were 
 to be recorded. This well intended provision was most shamefully 
 violated in actual practice in after years by a reading of the title of 
 a bill only, and by the so-calle"! '-omnibus "system, by which hun- 
 dreds of bills — many i)rovi(ling for private jobs and corrupt 
 S(!hemes — were passed at once, few of the members kiu)wing their 
 contents. t The reading of bills the first and second time by their 
 title only gave rise to the rei)rehensible practice of introducing- 
 
 *BlackwellTax.Tit. 84. 
 
 +It seems that the Hon. J, Y. Scamraon, of Cook, first suggested the passage of bills by 
 the package . 
 
548 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 and passing along iu tlieir order wLat was kuowu as "skeleton 
 bills" — bills with simply a Lead, but no body, the latter being af- 
 terward supplied.* 
 
 But tlie chief feature of the constitution of 184:8 was its rigid 
 ecououiy. The salary of the governor was fixed at $1,500; su- 
 preme judges — three, made elective — $1,L'00 each; circuit judges, 
 $1,000 each ; auditor of jniblic accounts, $1,000 ; treasurer and 
 secretary of State, each, $800; the compensation of members 
 of the general assembly was fixed at $2 per day for the hrst 42 
 days' attendance, and $1 a day thereafter. It was a hard tinies^ 
 instrument. Eetrenchment in everytbing, as inaugurated by Gov. 
 Ford aiul then with severity being carried out by Gov. French, 
 was the order of the day. But in this particular the constitution 
 rather overdid the thing. The true medium between paying ouk 
 elective servants ajust conipensation and allowing our represent 
 atives the exercise of a sound discretion iu all the transactions of 
 public business, and at tlie same time to bind them down so 
 that tliey may work no mischief or injury to those who clioose and 
 delegate them, is, perhaps, difficult of attainment. It is one of the 
 jiroblems connected with a representative form of government. 
 
 In evidencing the severe economy of the new organic act, Ave 
 will mention that the amount of warrants drawn ui»on the treas- 
 urer on account of the general assembly for the session of 1845 
 was over $55,000 ; and that the total amount of mileage and j>fr 
 diem compensation i)aid to the members and officers of the two 
 houses for the first session under the new regime in 1841), was not 
 quite $15,000, a nuvterial reduction — exceeding 300 per centum. 
 But in this connection, to show that we are a progressive peo})le, 
 and at the same time indicate the proficiency which our Solons 
 have attained in the "ways that are dark", we will give the total 
 amount of legislative expenditures for the same puri)0ses on ac- 
 count of the last session, that of 1869, under the same economical 
 constitution, which were $20(5,181, exclusive of printing, pajjcr 
 and binding, nuiking nearly $75,000 more. The four items of news- 
 papers, stationery, postage and pocket-knives alone amounted to 
 $54,322.t 
 
 The salary of the governor, it was provided, was "not to be in- 
 creased or (liminished ;" and by way of emphasis in fixing the com- 
 pensation of the other officers which we have enumerated, the 
 words "and no more" were added. Yet by indirection, under pre- 
 tense of paying a gardener to take charge of the grounds surround- 
 ing the executive nuvnsion, wefiiuliu 1801 $2,500 was appropriated 
 to be expended or not by the governor, as he pleased, being in- 
 tended as an increase of his salary. Afterwards this unlawful 
 gift was annually increased to $4,500. Indeed, the auditor's office 
 shows that the incumbents of the executive office have received, 
 from December, 1800, to December, 1872, twelve years, $0(J, 000, to 
 which they were not entitled. All the State offices became im- 
 mensely profitable in fees — running the emoluments of their in- 
 cumbents into thousands of dollars, instead of the hundreds fixed 
 by the constitution. The com])ensation of the supreme judges 
 was evasively increased to $4,000, by allowing them each a chief 
 
 *See debate in sunute, Feb., ia57. 
 ^Convention Journal 1870. p. 218 
 
CONSTITUTION OF 1848. 540 
 
 clerk at $1,000 aud $1,200 for an assistant (neitlier of wliicli tliey 
 employed), instead of $1,200, their eonstitntional salary: and to 
 the circuit judges, in defiance of the words $1,000 " andno more," 
 were yearly given an additional $1,000 each, for revisions and sng- 
 gestions of changes in the laws, a labor which they were not ex- 
 pected to, and did not, perform ; besides which a docket fee of $1 
 for each suit brought was wrung out of litigants, also for their 
 benefit. But the abuses Mhicli crept into the legislative depart- 
 nu^nt were still grosser and more alarming. The per diem com- 
 pensation of members, which for the session of 18(51, for instance, 
 amounted to $8,800, was supplemented by postage $8,802, news- 
 papers $1,1812, pencils $2,004, few of which items were actually 
 received, but the money taken in place of them, on "commutation" 
 as it was called with State officers, and thus by indirection they 
 got $8 per day each, instead of $2 "and no more." The practice 
 was subsequently increased hj various subterfnges of rent for com- 
 mittee rooms never used nor paid for, &c., to sometimes amount to 
 more than $20 a da}^ for each member. Ten cents a mile was 
 allowed to each as necessary traAeling expenses to and from the 
 seat of government. While it would be diftieult to travel more 
 than 200 miles from any i)oint in the State to the capital, the jour- 
 nals show honorable members tohave charged and received pay for 
 1,200 miles goingaud coming. Thusdid our public servants debauch 
 themselves, one department the other. But notwithstanding its 
 abuses, the constitution of 1848 was, in many particulars, a great 
 imi)rovement upon that of 1818. 
 
 That the whigs had succeeded more than the democrats in 
 stamping that instrument with their principles, soon had its influ- 
 ence. The whig press advocated its adoption constantly and ur- 
 gently, while the dejnocratic press, where it did not oppose, was 
 lukewarm in its advocacy, yet candor compelled an acknowledg- 
 ment that the elective principle as applied to every imi)ortant 
 office was a thoroughly democratic idea, which covered a nudtitude 
 of bad provisions ; that on the whole, the new \\ as preferable to 
 the old, and it justly regretted the "abrogation of the pro\ision 
 permitting foreigners to a participation in the right of suffiage 
 after a residence' of months, the same as the most unletteied na- 
 tive," predicting that that would prove pernicious by diverting 
 emigration from the State. No evil had resulted, and, it may be 
 added, never will, from a<lmitting foreigners to this i)rivilege. It 
 is a most foolish proscription. The i)rovision limiting the power 
 of the State to borrow money, and prohibiting the credit and faith 
 of the State in aid of any indi\'idual or corporation, was a most ex- 
 cellent one. 
 
 The people had ample time to consider its jirovisions, and they 
 di<l not fail to see its great superiority over the old organic law. 
 For the i^ints of party significance in it, which at best miglit prove 
 but transitory, they could not afford to throw away the many safe 
 and excellent limitations for their protection against the chances 
 of a M'ild, reckless and extravagant legislature to involve them iu 
 ruin. 
 
 The black clause — prohibiting negro immigration — met with 
 considerable opposition in the northern part of the State, ])articu- 
 larly in Cook county, which voted two to one against it ', but the 
 
550 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 greatest general opposition Avas to the 2 mill tax. The following 
 is the vote npou the constitution and the separate articles : 
 
 For the constitution proper, 59,887 ; iigainst it, 15,859. 
 
 For article XIV — negro clause, 49,060 ; against it, 20,884. 
 
 For article XY— 2 mill tax, 41,017 ; against it, 30,580. 
 
 The vote for ratification or rejection was taken on the first Mon- 
 day in March, 1848 ; and the new constitution went into operation 
 on the first of April following. The election of governor was anti- 
 cipated two years, and accordingly the first general election under 
 it took place in November, 1848. The commencement of the regu- 
 lar legislative sessions was deferred from December to January, 
 the first convening at that time in 1849. 
 
Chapter XLY. 
 1846-1852— ADMimSTEATIOX OF GOVEENOE FEENCH. 
 
 Lives and Character of the Guhernatorial Candidates — Fmiding 
 of the State Debt — liefusal of the People to give the Legislature 
 Control of the 2 Mill Tax — Toicnship Organization — Homestead 
 Exemption — The Bloody Island Dike and a Speeli of War — 
 8tivte Policy regarding Railroads. 
 
 The Democratic State Convention of 1846, to nominate candi- 
 dates for governor and lieutenant governor, met at Springfield on 
 tlie lOtli of February. There was no lack of aspirants for either 
 of these positions. In connection with the ftrst we will nanu' six 
 ill the order of their sup})()sed strength, before the meeting of the 
 convention : Lyman Trnnd>ull, John Calhoun, (he of subsequent 
 Lecomptou Constitution notoriety), Augustus C. French, Walter 
 B. Scates, Eichard M. Young', and A. W. Cavarly, an array of 
 very able and prominent names. The contest was supposed to lie 
 between the tirst two mentioned, but the balloting gave a differ- 
 ent exhibit. After sum] ry efforts by their friends, it was found 
 that neither could be nominated, and as usual in such cases, both 
 parties went over to the support of another. Trumbull received 
 the highest nuud)er on the first ballot, it is true, but French, as 
 the coming man, was already next, and on the 2d ballot advanced 
 to the front. On the 4th ballot all the names except those of 
 French, Calhoun and Trumbull being withdrawn, the friends 
 of Calhoun, fearing the ultinnite success of Trumbull, also with- 
 drew his name. The friends of Trumbull saw in this move 
 their inexitable defeat, and for the sake of harmony, they 
 also withdrew the name of the latter. French was there- 
 upon proclaimed the nominee of the convention for governor, 
 amidst a great tumult of shouting' aiul exultation. Owing to the 
 many able and determined democratic aspirants, and the strong 
 attachment of their respective frieiuls, the whigs had indulged 
 a hope that the convention would break up in disorder, but in 
 this they were disappointed. Trumbull's eftbrt in 1845 to defeat 
 the canal had been revived against him and industriously circu- 
 lated by Gov. Ford and others, as being still his position, w'hich 
 doubtless proved his discomfiture. 
 
 For lieutenant-governor, the names of J. B. Wells, Lewis Eoss, 
 William McMurtry, ]S\nvton Cloud, J. B. Hamilton and W. W. 
 Thompson, were presented for nomination. On the 4th ballot all 
 the names excei)t the first two mentioned, were withdrawn, Avhen 
 the voting resulted in the choice of AVells, who received 132 to 
 
 551 
 
552 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Eoss 95 ballots. The resolutious adopted strongly coiideniiied the 
 resuscitation of tlie old State banks, and declared against any more 
 of any kind in this State.* 
 
 The wbigs, who were in a hopeless minority, seemed averse for 
 a time to holding a State convention. Their ])ress discussed the 
 idea of some suitable candidate running hy general consent with- 
 out nomination. Names to this end were proposed, of which we 
 may mention that of James Davis of Bond. It was also proposed 
 that the Whig State Central Committee should make the ticket. 
 Finally, on the 8th of June, a convention was held at Peoria, over 
 which Major Richard Cullom, of Tazewell, presided, which nomi- 
 nated Thomas M. Kilpatrick, of Scott, for governor, and Gen. 
 Nathaniel G. Wilcox, of Schuyler, for lieutenant-governor.t 
 
 Kilpatrick was born in Crawford county, Penn., in 1807. His 
 early education consisted solely in instruction from his mother. 
 He lost his father at the age of 15, became a mechanic, married 
 in 1828, and removed to Illinois in 1834. In 1810 he beat Mur- 
 ray McConnel for the State senate. In 1841 he was elected to the 
 lower house of the legislature, where he was greatly instrumental 
 in the passage of the school law of that period. He Avas a mau 
 of easy manners, pleasant address, strong, practical sense, and 
 withal quite a forcible speaker on the stump. In this campaign, 
 however, he deemed it doubtless a waste of time to canvass the 
 State, and contented himself with issuing an address to the i>eo- 
 ple, in which he opposed repudiatioii of the State debt and argued 
 the ample resources of the State to pay, if properly developed. 
 He looked forward to the completion of tlie canal as a means to 
 arouse the despondent energies of the people. As Illinois was 
 then the only State destitute of banking facilities, he favored 
 baidvs based exclusivelj" on specie ; and a revision of the constitu- 
 tion (a convention call for that i)urpose was then pending before 
 the people), saying: "At the commencement of the session, the 
 capitol is crowded with aspirants from different parts of the State 
 seeking different offices ; each has his friends among the members ; 
 a system of electioneering intrigue and log-rolling- commences, 
 which enters into the discussion and passage of almost every bill, 
 until these offices are disposed of; and it is not unfrequently the 
 case that the success of the most important measures of State 
 policy depend upon the election of some little fourth-rate lawyer 
 to the office of district attorney. I attributed the bad legislation 
 mainly to this intiuence."| 
 
 In the campaign, the whigs exjiosed Gov. French's record and 
 connection with the passage of the internal improvement system, 
 and urged it against his election ; but in the meantime the war 
 with ]\fexico broke out, regarding which the whig record was un- 
 favorable. The war was the absorbing and dominating question 
 of the period, swe&ping every other political issue in its course. 
 The election of August, 1840, resulted in the choice of the dem- 
 ocratic candidate, A. C.French, over Kilpatrick, his principal com- 
 petitor, by 58,700 votes for the former, to 30,775 votes for the lat- 
 ter. AVe say princii)al competitor, because Richard P]ells (aboli- 
 tion) Avas running for the same office and received 5,152 votes. 
 
 *See IlliHois State Register, Feb. 27, 1846. 
 +Illinois State Joui'iial. 
 $See Illinois State Journal. 
 
FRENCH'S ADMINISTRATION. 553 
 
 For lieutenant-governor, Josei)li B. Wells, tlie democratic candi- 
 date, received 55,221 votes ; ]SI^atlianiel G. Wilcox, whig, 29,041, and 
 Abraham Smith, abolition, 5,171) votes. 
 
 By the constitution of 1848, a new election for State officers 
 Avas ordered in IS^oveudjer of that year, before Governor French's 
 term was half out. He was re-elected for the term of 4 years. 
 Gov. French thus is the only man who has CA^er held the office of 
 governor in this State for (3 consecutive years. At the election of 
 1848 there was no organized op{)osition to him, though a number 
 of other gentlemen were honored as the recipients of the votes of 
 the people. Augustus C. French received 07, 45,'3 votes ; IMerre 
 Menard (son of the first lieutenant-governor), 5,039; Cluirles V. 
 Dyer, 4,748; W. L. D. Morrison, 3,834; and James L. D. Morrison, 
 1,301. William McMurtry, of Knox, was elected lieutenant gov- 
 ernor (in place of Josei»h B. Wells, the incumbent, who did not 
 run again), receiving 05,304 votes. O. II. Browning, Henry H. 
 Snow, Pierre Menard and J. L. D. Morrison, were also honored by 
 votes for this office, ranging from 2,000 to 5,000. 
 
 Gov. French was boru in the town' of Hill, New Hampshire, 
 August 2, 1808. He was the descendant in the 4th generation of 
 is^athaniel French, who emigrated from England in 1087, and set- 
 tled in Saybury, Massachusetts. In early life young French lost 
 his father, but continued to receive instruction from an exemi)lary 
 and christian mother until he was 19 years old, when she also 
 died, confiding to his care and trust four younger brothers and 
 one sister. He discharged his trust with parental devotion. His 
 education in early life was such nuiiidy as a common school af- 
 forded; for a brief period he attended Dartmouth College, but 
 from pecuniary causes and care of his brothers and sister, he did 
 not graduate. He subsequently read law, was admitted to the 
 bar in 1831, and shortly after removed to Illinois, settling first and 
 practising his profession at Albion, Edwards county. The folloAving 
 year he removed to Paris, Edgar county. Here he attained emi- 
 nence in his profession, and entered i)ublic life by rei)resenting 
 that county in the legislature. A strong attachment sprang up 
 between him and Stephen A. Douglas. In 1839, French became re- 
 ceiver of the United States land office at Palestine, CraAvford 
 county, at which place he resided Avhen elevated to the guberna- 
 torial chair. In 1844 he Avas a presidential elector, and as such 
 Aoted for James K. Polk. After the ex[)iration of his term of 
 ofilic.e as governor, he occupied for some years the professor's 
 chair of the law department of McKendree College, at Leba- 
 non, an<l did not reappear in public life except as a member of 
 the constitutional conAcntion of 1802. 
 
 In stature. Gov. French was of medium height ; squarely built, 
 well i)roportioned, light complexed, Avith ruddy face and pleasant 
 countenance. In manners he was plain, agreeable, and of easy ap- 
 proach by the most humble; neither office nor position changol him 
 in his bearing toAvard those he had met Avhile in the more humble 
 walks of life. Though by nature diffident, and at times api)ar- 
 ently timid, yet when occasion denumded he was outs])oken and 
 firm in his A'iews of public questions and couAictions of duty. As 
 a speaker, Avhile he did not approach to the higher art* of oratory, 
 he was chaste, earnest and persuasive. In business he was accu- 
 rate and methodical, and as the executive of this State admiuis- 
 
554 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tered its affairs v\'it]i great economy, prudence and discretion. 
 He was an honest and conscientions man in all Lis transactions, 
 and the State was fortunate in securing his services just at the 
 time she did. While strong common sense, vigilance in looking 
 to the public welfare, and conscientious convictions of duty are 
 often more desirable in au executive ofiicer than brilliancy or 
 genius, it was peculiarly so at this juncture in the affairs of the 
 State. In the pecuniary embarrassments of those times the credit 
 of the State had been in a measure restored, and the overwhelm- 
 ing debt properly directed in the course of ultimate extinction 
 during the administration preceding, yet it still required a clear, 
 careful executive brain to bring order out of chaos, and a steady 
 hand to guide the ship of state into the haven of safety. When 
 Gov. French quitted the helm, in 1851*, it was with the proud con- 
 sciousness that her credit was fullj' restored, and her indebtedness, 
 which had for many weary years pressed her incubus-like to tlie 
 earth, would be faithfully and honestly discharged ; that prosper- 
 ous days had at length dawned for her people; that her unex- 
 ampled resources were upon the eve of development, and that she 
 would now make giant strides toward wealth, greatness ami em- 
 igre, in all of which his excellency had borne a just and faithful 
 part. He was zealously devoted to the best interests of the State, 
 ever acting for the public good, without regard to personal ad- 
 vantage or aggrandizement. He lived in his exalted station with 
 much frugality. As the tirst governor under the hard times con- 
 stitution of 1848, he received simply the salary provided, $1,500, 
 and no more. The legislative art of evading this stringent pro- 
 vision by allowing the executive $4,500 for a gardener, had not 
 as yet been evoked, nor Avould it, we may safely say, have been 
 sanctioned by an acceptan<;e of the doucieur. 
 
 In 1845 a tax of li mills on the dollar was authorized, to be ex- 
 clusively ai)plied in payment of accrued interest upon the public 
 debt. The proceeds of this tax were applied to all the interest- 
 bearing debts of the State alike, including the canal bonds, leav- 
 ing only about half of the tax to be applied to the interest accru- 
 ing upon the debt i^roper, and causing a yearly deficit of unpaid 
 interest exceeding $300,000, which was unjjrovided for. The 
 canal, subject to all its arrearages, under the loan of $1,(300,000, 
 had been transferred in trust to the new subscribers. To carry 
 forward the work so well begun of grappling with the monster 
 debt. Gov. French recommended the registration and funding of 
 the debts. The uncertainty, he urged, which hung over the exact 
 amount of our liabilities, had i)roduced a vague and painful ap- 
 prehension in the public mind that the efforts then making to 
 meet a portion of it were of little avail, to correct which, and 
 elicit its true amount, this course should be adopted. Excluding 
 the canal debt, the residue of all bonds or scrip should be con- 
 verted into unifoini transferable stock. For the arrears of inter- 
 est due upon the bonds, a deferred stock of similar character, dif- 
 fering only in that it bore no interest for a number of years, was 
 recommended. The expense of funding, it was thought, would 
 be less than the loss already suffered from counterleiting the cou- 
 pons. In accordance with these views the legislature ])assed two 
 funding acts, one authorizing the fumling of the State bonds, and 
 the other funding the State scrip and accrued interest ou the 
 
FRENCH'S ADMINISTRATION. 555 
 
 debts. The funding of accrued interest met with considerable 
 opi)Ositiou, on the ground that the effect wouhl be to cause the 
 State to pay compound interest after 1857. But the measures 
 passed, and by 1850 the entire State debt, excluding- that of tlie 
 canal, was nearly refunded in uniform securities, which greatly 
 sini]>]itled the debt, and precluded further losses from the free 
 counterfeiting of the bonds, both to the State and holders of the 
 bonds. 
 
 The State of Illinois, as a condition to her admission into the 
 Union, like many other States, had entered into a compact not to 
 impose atax ui>on the land sold by government within her limits 
 for live years after sale, which was a serious clog upon her leve- 
 iiues. During the ])eriod of our hiiancial embarrassment, the 
 legislature earnestly i)etitioned congress to remoNe this restric- 
 tion ; to these appeals, urged with nnu'h force by Senator Breese, 
 that body had tinally acceded. And now, by act of February 
 11), 1817, the legislature ])rovided that all lands hereafter sold by 
 government within this State should be immediately subject to 
 taxation. This measure materially increased the revenue of the 
 State, as after tlie close of the Mexican war, the distribution by 
 the government of laiul warrants among the soldiers as bounty, 
 caused a large quantity to be thrown upon thennvrket, and great 
 numbers were located in Illinois. Indeed, so cheap did land war- 
 rants become, that they operated greatly to check the sale of 
 State lands, which were held higher; and to avoid sacritice, the 
 legislature i)ere)iiptorily susi)en(led froni further sale the ])ublic 
 l>ro])erty, as i)rovided by act of March 4, 1813, to wind up the in- 
 teiiial improvement system. 
 
 The legislature, in 1817, in accordance with the recommenda- 
 tion of the governor, authorized the sale of the Northern Cross 
 Eailroad, from Springtield to Meredosia, now the T., W. & AV. 
 Ui)on the purchaser was imposed the duty of putting it in good 
 repair, safe for the transportation of jtersons and proi)erty. The 
 road and its e(iuii)ments sold for $100,000 in State bonds, though 
 it had cost the State not less than $1,000,000. The salt wells and 
 canal lands in the Saline reserve in Gallatin county, granted by 
 the general governnuMit to the State, were also authorized to be 
 sold by the governcu- to pay State indebtedness. 
 
 The 2 mill tax provided by the new^ constitution to be annually 
 distributed in i)ayment of the princi[)al of the pid)lic debt, other 
 than the caiud, and which, in 1810, amounted to$10r),788 71, was 
 foiuid to work badly and uni)rotitably to the best interests of the 
 State. The legislature passed a resolution submitting to a vote 
 of the peo])lean amendment to the constitution, to accord to that 
 body the discretion of using the fund arising from this tax in the 
 purchase of State bonds, in ojjcn mark(^t, at their current rates, at 
 any time, instead of keeping the fund idle in the treasury until 
 the 1st of .January in each year, then to be apportioned and cred- 
 ited pro rata at a i)ar valuation on the bonds presented, no matter 
 at what discount they might be rated in nuirket. In this there 
 would uiuloubtedly have been a saving to the State, by her 
 agents going ujiou the market and buying in her own paper 
 at a discount, the same as any individual might operate; 
 but the people, who felt it to be more honorable that the State 
 should i)ay the full amount, refused to sanction this scheme or to 
 
556 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 entrust the general assembly in meddling with this sacred fund, 
 and the amendment failed for want of that majority of votes 
 which the constitution required to secure its adoption. The ques* 
 tion, thongh urged again ui)on the peojile by the governor, was 
 never again presented for their action, one reason being that the 
 time required to again bring it to a vote would essentially lessen 
 its imi)ortance, as the bonds were rapidly ai)proximatiug a par 
 valuation in market. Such were some of the efforts made during 
 Gov. French's administration to gain the mastery of the monster 
 public debt. 
 
 In 1850, for the first time since 1839, the accruing State revenue, 
 exclusive of specific appropriations, was suhicient to meet the 
 current demands upon the treasury. Prior to this it had been the 
 practice to issue a suri)lus of auditor's warrants to meet deficien- 
 cies. Of course when the treasury was not in a condition to re- 
 deem these warrants, they depreciated, resulting in great losses 
 both to the holders and the State by their lessened value, and the 
 prolonged time of their redemption. But these embarrassments 
 and sacrifices were now happily overcome. The aggregate taxa- 
 ble property of the State at this time was over $lt)(),00O,0OO, the 
 annual constitutional 2 mill tax yielded a revenue, after abowing 
 a proper margin for defaults and casual losses, of about $190,000, 
 and the population was 851,470 souls. 
 
 Township Organization. — In 1849, in accordance with the per- 
 mission of the new constitution, and in obedience to the demand 
 of the people from the northern part of the State, who had ob- 
 served its practical working in the eastern States, the first town- 
 ship organization act was passed by the legislature. But the law, 
 in attempting to put it into i)ractical operation, disclosed radical 
 defects. It was revised and amended at the session of 1851, sub- 
 stantially as it has existed uj) to tlie present revision of 1871. The 
 attoption of the township organization system marks an era in the 
 management of fiscal affairs ni many of the counties of this 
 State. 
 
 The system of township government had its origin in New Eng- 
 land. But the root of this form of local government may be 
 traced to the districting of England into tithings by King Alfred, 
 in the 9th century, to curb the wide-spread local disorders which 
 distiubed his realm.* Upon this ancient idea of tithing districts, 
 the Puritans grafted their greatly improved township system. The 
 county system originated in this country with Virginia, ami was 
 also derived from England. The tobacco planters of the Old 
 Dominion, ownhig Their laborers more comi^letely than did the 
 baions of England their vassals, lived isolated and independent 
 on their large landed estates in imitation of the aristocracy of 
 the mother country. They also modeled their county and munici* 
 pal institutions with certain modifications suitable to the condi- 
 tion of the new country after the sanie prototype; whence has 
 spread the county system into all the southern and many of the 
 northern States. All of the northwest territory, now constituting 
 fi\e States, after the conquest of Clark, was by Virginia, in 1778, 
 formed into a county under her jurisdiction, called Illinois. The 
 
 *See further Blaekstone's Commentaries, B i. p. 114-116. 
 
French's administra'iion. 557 
 
 county feature was afterwiuds retahiod in all the States carved 
 out of the north western territory. The county business in Illi- 
 nois was transacted by 3 commissioners, in the lespective conn- 
 ties, who constituted a county conrt, which, besides the manage- 
 ment of county affairs, had usually other jurisdirtion conferred 
 upon it, such as that of a justice of the peace and probate busi- 
 ness. By the constitution of 1848, owing- to the influence of east- 
 ern or New England settlers in tlie northern portion of the State, 
 townshii) organization was authorized, leaving it optional for any 
 county to a(loi)t or not the law to be enacted. Our township sys- 
 tem, however, is not closely nu)deled after that of the j^ew Eng- 
 land States. There, a representative is sent directly from each 
 town to the lower branch of the legislature. In oSTeAV York, owing 
 to her large extent of territory, this was found to be impra<'ticii- 
 ble, and a county assembly, denomimited a board of sui)ervisors, 
 comi)osed of a member froiu each town, ^^ms there established. 
 This modified system we*have cojued, almost exactly, in Illinois. 
 
 Townships are often compared by writers to petty republics, 
 possessing unlimited sovereignty in matters of local concern ; and 
 boards of supervisors are popularly supposed to be vested with 
 certain limited legislative powers. But neither is the case. Both 
 the county and townshi]) boards are mere fiscal agents. They 
 hold the purse strings of the counties; they may contract, iucur 
 debts or create lial)ilities — very great powers, it is true — but they 
 cannot prescribe or vary the duties, mu' control in any manner the 
 county or township officers authorized by law. While the county 
 court, consisting of three members, is a snniller, and, therefore, as 
 a rule, more numageable or controllable body by outside infiu- 
 euces, there is little doubt that a board of supervisors is not only 
 directly more expensive, but also that a thousand and one petty 
 claims of every conceivable character, having often no foundation 
 in law or justice, are constantly presented, and, being loosely in- 
 vestigated and tacitly allowed, aggregate no insignificant sum. A 
 board of supervisois also acts or is controlled more by partisan 
 feelings. There ought to be uniformity throughout the State in 
 the management of county affairs. ]!*^o little confusion seems to 
 l>ervade the laws at the i)reseut time relating to our two classes 
 of counties. 
 
 Homestead Exemption. — The general assembly, at its session of 
 1851, first passed the act to exempt homesteads from sale on exe- 
 cutions. This subject had been brought before the legislature re- 
 X^eatedly by Gov. French in his messages. The principle of this be- 
 neficent law was not a new or untried one. Its practical ettects 
 upon the social relations of comnumities had been fully and suc- 
 cessfully tested in diflerent States. The claims of society in nuiiu- 
 taining the integrity of the family relation, ^vhicli is the founda- 
 tion of all society, it was argued, were superior to those of the in- 
 dividual; that some men, then as now, were to be found mean 
 enough to specially evade honest debts, did not argue that such a 
 law, in the interests of a higher duty from man to man, would not 
 subserve, as a rule, a beneficent purpose, by shielding the Avidow 
 aud orphans, the aged and decrepid, from the cruel demands of 
 the Slijdocks of the world. Prior to this, the exemption of certain 
 articles of personal property, which had been the law for a nimiber 
 
558 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of years, bad not proven inimical to the true interests of the cred- 
 itor. For tlie $60 worth of property exempted, suited to the debt- 
 or's condition or occupation in life, he might select a yoke of oxen 
 for the cultivation of land, but no laud was by the law allowed him 
 from which to raise something wherewith to support his familj' or 
 discharge his debt. 
 
 The provisions of the law (which was in force up to July 1st, 
 1872,) are too well known to recapitulate here. It exempted from 
 levy or forced sale, under any process or order of court, the lot of 
 ground and the buildiug tliereon occnpied as a residence and 
 owned by the debtor, being a householder, and having a family, 
 to the value of $1,000. The law of 1872 raises this to $1,500. The 
 benefit of the act was extended to the widow and family, some or 
 one of them continuing to occui)y the homestead until the youngest 
 child should become of age, or until the death of the widow. 
 
 The Bloody Ifiland I)il-e—A Sped of WfO'. — Ownig to the form- 
 ation of sand-bars in the Missisisipi)i ri^er oi)posite the lower part 
 of St. Louis, which it was apprehended would divert the channel 
 of the river to its left baidv, and greatly injure, if not <lestroy, the 
 harbor of that city, the municipal authorities thereof, to prevent 
 that threatened calamity, passed an ordinance, February, 184:8, 
 making api)roi)riations to construct a dike or dam across the east- 
 ern channel of the river, from the foot of Bloody Island to the 
 Illinois shore, to force the main current of the water over to the 
 St. Louis side. This etibrt, made at a great expense to the treas- 
 ury of that city, was met with determined opi)o.sition in Illinois, 
 as defiant to tlie sovereignty of this State and an infringement 
 upon the rights of our citizens. It was urged that the work 
 would change the channel in the upi)er Mississippi ; that the effect 
 would be to inundate the American Bottom ; that the river would 
 cut around the dike, drive the full force of its current towards 
 (jahokia creek, and destroy Illinoistown ; and that the ferry woidd 
 be changed up the river to the island, to get to which the company 
 would charge enormous tolls over the dike. 
 
 The work was commenced by St. Louis within the rightful juris- 
 diction of this State, without permission from our legislsture or 
 notice to the governor, but solely with the consent and approbation 
 of the proin'ietors of the island, and the main shore oi)posite. vome 
 years prior, it seems, congress had made approi)riations at differ- 
 ent times for the improvement of St. Louis harbor, part of Avhich 
 had been expended in the removal of a sand-bar at the south eiul 
 of the harbor. These api)roi)riations, together with the consent 
 of the owners of the ground where the dike was to be built, St. 
 Louis claimed as a sufiicient license for her invasion of the sov- 
 ereignty of Illinois with this work. The rising cities of Alton and 
 Quincy, watchful of theii- rights and jealous of their big commer- 
 cial neighbor, through their municipal boards passed resolutions 
 expressive of their apprehensions that these improvements would 
 be attended with danger to the navigation of the great commercial 
 highway of the west, and i>rove detrimental to their interests. The 
 executive of the State was called upon to inquire into the matter, 
 and to take such steps as would protect the sovereignty of this 
 State and the rights of its citizens. A large number of letters 
 
French's administration. 539 
 
 from different citizens poured in upon his exeellencj' to the same 
 end. 
 
 (Tovernor French thereupon addressed a letter to the municipal 
 authorities of 8t. Louis, recapitulating the rei)resentations made 
 to liim as to the threatened dangers of this work, urging them 
 to i»ause in their manifest encroachments ni)on the so^■ereignt.y of 
 this State, and the riglits of its citizens, which, if persisted in, 
 would require him to empk)y suitable means to arrest. 
 
 To this somewhat bellicose document Mayor Krum, of St. Loiiis, 
 rei)lied, claiming the general government hiid some years ])re- 
 viously projected and partly constructed certain works opi)osite 
 the city, with the view to improve the navigation of the river, and 
 at the same time improve the harbor of St. Louis ; that the w orks 
 now being prosecuted were substantially the same, originally de- 
 signed and in part constructed by the U. S.; that to the unex- 
 pended balance of the appr()})riations by congress for this i)urpose, 
 St. Louis had likewise added moneys to further the said object; 
 joined tothis high authority he ]>lea(l also the consent of the own- 
 ers of the ground where the work ^vas being erected, and assured 
 his excellency that the contemplated improvements •would in no 
 wise infringe either the sovereignty of the State of Illinois, or the 
 rights of any citizen. After alluding to the intluences at w(nk to 
 create a false impression upon the public mind, he closed, trusting 
 that no inconsiderate steps would be taken on the part of the 
 authorities of Illinois without due deliberation. 
 
 Til is answer, intemled to disarm opposition ami allay feeling, 
 was not satisfactory in Illinois. It was not believed that the dike, 
 in any manner, entered into the plan of imi)rovement by the gen- 
 eral government, but that it was the oti'spiing of and solely pros- 
 ecuted by St. Louis. Neither was it conceded that the general 
 government had the right to carry forward this work within the 
 rightful jurisdiction of this State. It was further inferred that 
 the work was to be vigorously pushed forward by St. Louis, ami 
 that the equivocal agency of the general govermnent was held out 
 as a cloak to ward off nu)lestation in its i>rosccution. 
 
 In view of the fact that it was sought to associate the general 
 government with the project, the governor i)roposed to submit the 
 question as an agreed case, to the U. S. circuit court, then sitting 
 at Springlield, as the speediest and most satisfactory nuxle of set- 
 tling the controversy. But this proposition was declined. Sub- 
 sequently, in a letter to Gov. IJeynolds, he writes that there is left 
 him but one alternative, either to check the work or have some 
 agreement that it shall await the meeting of the legislature.* A 
 committee of the common coum-il of St. Louis, with power to treat, 
 visited Governor French at Springlield. His excellency offered to 
 lay the nuitter before the next general assembly, but as that in- 
 volved a considerable loss of time, the commission was unwilling 
 to accede to it. The governor could not grant i)ermission to pro- 
 ceed with the work. In the meantime an injunction, issuing from 
 the St. Clair circuit court, had been served upon the contractors. 
 But the work was i)roceeded with in contempt of the order of court. 
 The governor now inaugurated "strong nu*asures to cause the in- 
 junction to be respected." To this end, H. S. Cooley secretary- of 
 
 • See Illinois State Register, July 14, 1848. " 
 
560 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 State, was sent to Illinoistowii, to investigate tlie matter. lie 
 learned that a large number of men were employed, that steamers 
 towed stone-laden barges from the St. Louis quarry, and that be- 
 tween 200 and 300 tons of rock were deposited upon the dike 
 every night, notwithstanding the injunction; that 12 feet of wall 
 was up, and that in 4 weeks time the whole line, from the Island 
 to the main shore, would be built above the water's edge. x\t 
 Belleville he found the war feeling so strong that a general disposi- 
 tion was manifest to enforce obedience to the writ of injunction. 
 The sheriff of St. Clair county went beyond his bailiwick and 
 served the writ upon the Mayor in St. Louis, who treated the nuit- 
 t€r rather lightly. Writs of attachment for contempt were now 
 issued for the arrest of every person found violating the jn'ocess 
 of the court. If these civil measures failed and the sheriff's posse 
 proved insufficient, the governor was determined to resort to mil- 
 itary force, and all the able-bodied men of St. Clair county ;ip- 
 peared ready to back him in the enforcement of the civil process. 
 It miglit be inferred that war was imminent. The sheriff" ar- 
 rested two of the principal workmen on the dike and conveyed 
 them before Judge Koerner to be tried for contempt. The press, 
 both of St. Louis and Illinois, became violently inllamatory, por- 
 traying all manner of dire results to grow out of these acts, nuich 
 as if an actual state of war existed. 
 
 In the meantime the governor's envoy found in mingling with 
 the citizens of St. Louis tluit the people took very little interest 
 in the trouble, and that the city authorities had no disposition to 
 defy the process of a court of Ilbnois; that outside of the efforts 
 of the Wiggins ferry company, which owned in great part the 
 island, and the contractors, who wanted to earn their money, very 
 little concern was felt in the dike controversy. It was represented 
 that beyond a desire to hold the city harmless in its contract, 
 (wherefore no effort was made to impede or restrain the work of the 
 contractors) the authorities had no immediate interest in it; that 
 willful contempt or double-dealing toward the authorities of Illi- 
 nois, while their committee was on a peace mission to the gover 
 nor, was not designed. It was the ferry company, ownhig the 
 island, which would monopolize the causeway or dike leading to 
 it from the main shore ; the distance of its transit across the river 
 would be shortened by half; the " St. Clair ferry," (partly owned 
 by the State), together with Illinoistown, to which it ran, would 
 by the new ferry landing be thrown so far out of the direct line 
 of travel as to destroy both, and a new town, (the present East 
 St. Louis,) would spring up on the island, more convenient and 
 with shorter ferryage, which would enable that comi)any to hold 
 the traveling i^ublic to their own terms without successful compe- 
 tition, and bid deiiance to the State. For these reasons the Wig- 
 gins Company took a deep interest in the successful accomijlish- 
 ment of the work.* 
 
 The injunction suit came up for hearing in September, before 
 Koerner, then one of the supreme judges, at Belleville. 
 After elaborate argument by Mayor Krum and Mr. Blannerhasset 
 of St Louis, and Col. Bis«ell, in favor of the work, and Messrs. 
 Keeting and Trumbull against it, the jurisdiction of the State 
 
 * See letters of Gon. Cooley to Gov. French, Illinois State Eegister, August 4th and 
 11th, 1848. 
 
FRENCH'S AD]\nNISTRATION. 561 
 
 <'Oiut was liekl to be coiicuneiit with tliat of the federal ; the 
 power of the State to proliibit obstrnctioiis being phiced in lier 
 lii,iili\vays or tlie eoiistnietioii of tliis dike in her luivigable waters, 
 Mas equally clear. The bill and writ were snstaiiied as to Hall, 
 Cannon and Ben net, three contractors served with process in St. 
 Clair county, but as to the city of St. Louis, a foreign municipal 
 cor})oration, and John Schreiber, served in St. Louis, out of the 
 jurisdiction of the court, it was dismissed. An appeal to the su- 
 preme court was taken from the decision dismissing the case as 
 to the city of St. Louis and Shreiber.* 
 
 The dike had been built up to the water's level, and the main 
 contention now^wasover the attempt to])uild it 12 feet higherand 
 level with the shore for a highway, belonging to and in the control 
 of a private company, traversing the navigable waters of the 
 State. Another point was the consequential impairment of the 
 St. Clair ferry below, in which the State had an interest. In de- 
 fense, it was claimed that the obstructed channel never was navi- 
 gable, which was the lact, except perhaps on occasion of ex- 
 traordinary freshets, and that it had been cut within L*0 years 
 through lands belonging to the old Wiggins ferry company, which, 
 with St. Louis, Avas making this dike, and thus reclaiming their 
 own land. 
 
 The legislature, at its session of 1S19, settled the trouble by the 
 passage of resolutions which proA'ided that the city of St. Louis 
 should tile a good and valid bond with the secretary of state, 
 binding the city to construct a safe and commodious highway 
 over the dyke; and that the owners of the property on the island 
 and main shore secure the undisturbed right of way to the public 
 over it forever without tax or toll. The right of way was not to 
 extend to chartered companies (except the St. Clair ferry) and 
 turnpike companies. The city of St. Louis was also to secure to 
 tlie St. Clair ferry a landing in the city, all of which was done, 
 and thus was the cloud of war dispelled. 
 
 A committee was also appointed, consisting of J. L. D. Morri- 
 son, (from the aggrieved county), A. J. Kuykeudall and Herbert 
 Patterson, to examine the works, who reported, February 1, 1851, 
 that the dike was then conq)leted, being a solid stone Avail across 
 the chute, sunk in 40 feet of Avater, oG feet Avide and elevated to a 
 level of 3 feet aboAC the lower store doors on the levee in St. 
 Louis, leaving the distance from the island across the river but 
 800 yards. xV thriving city Avas predicted, to Avhich at no distant 
 day the workshops, boatyards and manufactories of St. Louis 
 would in a great measure be transplanted, and Avhere the tired 
 artisan or mechanic, after his day's labor in the city, would repose 
 in a cheaper and more comfortable home than he could enjoy in 
 the croAvded city. The result of thebuilding of the dike has shown, 
 after a lapse of 20 years, that stability has been imparted to the 
 Illinois shore of the turbident riAcr, that Bloody Island has been 
 permanently joined to the main land, and, while much remains to be 
 done to build up a considerable city there, a half score of rail- 
 roads centre already in East St. Louis. 
 
 • See 5 Gilman, 368. 
 
 36 
 
562 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 " STATE POLICY." 
 
 Tribute Levied upon Illinois Produce in the St. Louis MarJcet — 
 Eailroads Disappoint Ambitious Towns, d:c. — Froui 1840 until the 
 special session of Febiiuiry, 1854, tliere prevailed in the legisla- 
 tion of Illinois what was known as the " State Policy." The ob- 
 ject was to so locate and fix the termini of cross railroads as to 
 build up great commercial marts and miglity cities witliin tlie 
 limits of this State ; and if this did not follow, railroads should 
 not go where they would contribute to the commerce and wealth 
 of cities without the State. The "policy" was ^lirected against 
 St. Louis, a foreign city, ostensibly to favor ourasi)iring domestic 
 cities falling within her competition, situate on the hither bank of 
 the Father of Waters ; those on the Wabash, Vincennes and 
 Terre Haute were also included. 
 
 The reasons urged in favor of this policy were many and novel, 
 and forcible enough to in a measure hold the best interests of the 
 State in thrall for a period of six years. A general railroad in- 
 corporation law was o})i)osed and defeated, on the grounds that 
 any railroad company, foreign or domestic, could choose its route 
 across the State in any direction without consulting the interests 
 of the section of country through which it passed, which was not 
 only highly unjust, but amounted to an infringement of the right 
 of private property ; it might be detrimental, and would certainly 
 be in bad faith to other roads already built or chartered. If a 
 road was built on the line of and in direct competition with the 
 great public work of the State, the canal, the result would be to 
 diminish its revenue, injurious to the State, the reversioner, and 
 unjust to the bondholders of that work. It was gravely argued 
 tliat no shrewd capitalist would make an investment at all, and 
 that all improvements of that character must be arrested, because 
 under a liberal general railroad incorporation law a ruinous com- 
 petition would inevitably grow up. It was scouted as unworthy 
 and insulting to our State pride to contend that the great cities 
 of the Mississii)pi valley could not be built uj) in Illinois. All the 
 railroads from east to west, north of the Ohio river, seeking ter- 
 mini with or beyond the Mississipi)i, must pass over Illiiu»is terri- 
 tory. Let but these roads be compelled, by the statesmanship of 
 Illinois, to converge to a point on that river within our border, 
 and capital would center there, storerooms and warehouses si)ring 
 up, dealers and commission merchants would be there, produce 
 and shipping would gather there whence to seek an outlet to the 
 Atlantic seaboard ; in a word, a great commercial mart and the 
 busy hum of a mighty city would be there. While the resources 
 of the State were being developed, and property generally upon 
 the lines of railroads increased in value, at the termini would be> 
 built up a city to rival in a few years St. Louis, which paid one 
 third of the revenue of Missouri, with debt and tax-ridden llli 
 nois contributing half to her capital and substance, trade and 
 prosperity. 
 
 Again and again were strenuous eflbrts made to pass an effi- 
 cient general railroad incorporation law in accordance with the ex- 
 press provision of the constitution : " The general assembly shall 
 encourage internal improvements by jjassing liberal general laws 
 
FEENCn'S ADMINISTRATION. 5G3 
 
 of incorporation for tliat purpose;" and again and agiiin did the 
 people from that i^ortion of the State whose nearest, most direct 
 and best market was St. Lonis, petition the legislature to grant 
 charters for railroads across the State from Viucennes, Terre Haute 
 and other points on the Wabash, to terminate at a point opposite 
 St. Louis, but Avere as often refused, and bill alfer bill containing 
 such charters were invariably rejected. 
 
 At the close of the winter session of 1849 the members of the 
 general assembly, to the number of 18 or LM), rei)rescnting that 
 belt of counties across the State o]>p()site St. Louis, nuiiiily affected 
 by this exclusive policy, issued a stirring address to their constit- 
 uents and all the section immediately concerned, setting forth that 
 justice had been denied them by the legislature, and strongly ap- 
 pealing to them to send delegates to the number of not less than 
 ten from each county to a raib'oad conventi(»n to be held in Salem 
 in June, 1811), to take into consideration their grievances, and 
 devise such measures as might be deemed necessary in the emer- 
 gency to secure for their section those rights under the constitu- 
 tion from whic'h they had been so unjustly debarred. To the north, 
 it was chai-ged, nothing had been refused, while to the s(mth 
 nearly everything had been denied — but not by nortiiern votes 
 alone ! 
 
 The convention met at the a^jpointed time and was attended by 
 a large concourse of people; at least l.OOO earnest men were assem- 
 bled, and over 1, <)()(> <lelegates from the counties aggrieved. Ex- 
 Gov. J?adock Casey i)resided. jMr. Wait, of Loud county, i)re- 
 sented an able address, setting forth in ai>t language the griev- 
 ances of that belt of country across the State through which the 
 Ohio and Mississij)))! railroad would run, i)ointing out tlu^ advan- 
 tages of St. Louisas a market, and boldly declaring the interests 
 of tiiat section of the State to be identical with those of that for- 
 eign city. The exclusive policy of the legislature was rebuked in 
 severe terms for denying them the railroad charters which they 
 vSought for their section ; the governor was requested to convene 
 the legislature in extraordinary session, and a general lailroad in- 
 corporation act, with liberal provisions, was demanded from it ; 
 aiul finally the pe(.i)le thronghout the country were recommended 
 to assemble in their home districts and take steps to urge these 
 measnres without ceasing. 
 
 It was generall\' sui)posed at this time that the governor would 
 convene the legislature for (he purpose of electing a United States 
 senator in place of (len. Shields, rejected by the senates in jVlarch 
 pievious for want of eligibility. As anticii>ate(l, the governor, on 
 the 4th of Se])teinber, issued his proclamation for a special session 
 in October, 184H, inviting actit)n upon several subjects, among 
 them the establishnuMit of a general railroad incorporation law. 
 
 To counteract the iuHuence of the Salem conv(^ntion, a "State 
 l)olicy" meeting was called at Hillsboro, in Montgomeiy county, 
 for the 20th of July, 1840, to consider and take action in reference 
 to railroads crossing the State east and west, and terminating at 
 suitable points for building up commercial citie:; and towns within 
 the borders of our omii State. The convention did not meet, how- 
 ever, until October. For the occasion an immense barbecue was 
 prepared, and it v:as said some 12,000 people attended. Many 
 public men and ijoliticiaus participated in the proceedings, and 
 
564 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 much bombast, portraying- the great question of "State policy" in 
 glowing colors, was indulged. Among the participants may be 
 noted the names of Joseph Gillespie, Eobert Smith, Cyrus Ed- 
 wards, A. ISf. Starbird, AV. Pickering, Gen, Thornton, W. D, Lat- 
 shaw, and others. These names show that the Alton interest was 
 largely represented, liesolutions were adopted in favor of the 
 "])olicy;" approving the action of the legislature at its last ses- 
 sion in refusing charters to railroads leading to St. Louis ; con- 
 demning the call of the extra session of the general assembly by 
 the governor for tnat month, and asking its immediate adjourn- 
 ment after the election of a United States senator, without acting 
 upon any other question. 
 
 Here it may be mentioned that the action of the Missouri legis- 
 lature contributed not a little to incense the people of Illinois 
 against St. Louis. That body had, in the winter of 1849, prece- 
 ding, passed an act levying tribute upon all property sold within 
 the limits of Missouri, being the growth, produce or manufacture 
 of any State other than her sovereign self. The amount of sale- 
 tax required to be paid was $4 50 on every $1,000 worth of mer- 
 chandize sold, for months from and after the 21st of August, 
 1849. Commission merchants in charging this amount back to 
 their consignors, were required to make out sworn returns, much, 
 it is presumed, after the mauner of our late government income 
 tax. It was estimated upon accurate data, that the commerce of 
 Illinois alone, in the market of St. Louis, would yield, by this sale 
 tax, $150,000 annually to the treasury of Missouri. It ^^as a 
 scheme by which to lift the burden of govennnent and taxation 
 from the people of Missouri, where it belonged, and impose it upon 
 the peoi)le of Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. A law so obnoxious 
 to every i)rinciple of justice, gave immediate rise to much dissatis- 
 faction and clamor ainong the people, with severe denunciation of 
 the offending State by the press; it is but just to say, hoAvever, 
 that the press of St. Louis also contemned the law and its enac- 
 tors, charging- that the legislature of Missouri, was controlled by 
 intluences outside of and antagonistic to that city, rather than 
 promotive of her interests. The law was clearly inimical to the 
 constitution of the United States. Such a tax if a,t all admissa- 
 ble, congress alone has the power to levy, on condition that it be 
 made uniform throughout the Uijited States. Subsequently the 
 supreme court of Missouri set the law aside. But it may be well 
 imagined that it contributed not a little in arousing feeling and 
 prejudice among our people and law-makers against St. Louis. 
 The dike, too, afforded an opportunity to array prejudice against 
 that city, and neither was .slowly taken advantage of. 
 
 The legislature, at the called session of October, 1849, again re- 
 fused special charters to the Vincenncs and St. Louis raihoa<l, a 
 general raihoad incorporation law was hoAvever established, but 
 so defective in its provisions that ]io companj could well organ- 
 ize or oi)erate under it without further legislation. The subjoined 
 declaration of i)rinciples of State policy, drawn up by Wesley 
 Sloan, of Pope, the sage of Golconda, Avhich passed the house, 
 Nov. 3, 1849, by 43 to 27, and the senate Avith only 2 dissenting 
 votes, illustrates the animns of the legislature upon the subject 
 of railroads, better than anything else: 
 
FRENCH'S ADMINISTRATION. 565 
 
 Resolved 1st. That the geographical position of the State of Illinois, con- 
 sidered in connection with the construction of railroads within her lim- 
 its, is one of the greatest natural advantages which, she possesses, and 
 which under a judicious system of legislative policy must be very in- 
 strumental in promoting her genei*al welfare as a State. 
 
 "2d. That the prosperity of a State or nation, consists not only in the 
 virtue and intelligence of a brave and energetic people; in the richness 
 of her soil and mineral resources, but also in the number and extent of 
 her flourishing towns, cities and villages. 
 
 "3d. That any internal improvement, whether constructed under a 
 general or special law, tending in its operation to impede the growth 
 ami prospects of cities, towns and villages, within our own borders, 
 ought not to be encouraged. 
 
 "4th. That the construction which should be given to the 6th section 
 of the 10th article of the constitution is, that the general assembly shall 
 encourage improvements that are of an internal character and advan- 
 tage, and not such as are mainly intended to promote external interests. 
 
 '*5tli. That a railroad commencing at our eastern boundary, running 
 across the State and terminating at a point on the Mississippi river op- 
 posite St Louis, and also uniting with continous lines of railroads ex- 
 tending etxstwardly through our sister States, either to Cincinnati or the 
 Atlantic cities, would be immensely advantageous to St. Louis, at the 
 same time 'that it would impede the growth and prosperity of the 
 cities, towns and other localities on the Illinois side of tlie Mississippi 
 river.' 
 
 "6th. That the connection of the Mississippi river by continuous lines 
 of railroads with the Atlantic seaboard, is of vital importance to the 
 whole Union, and we willingly invite the construction of railroads pass- 
 ing throijgh other States, to our eastern boundary, promising to grant 
 to thein the right of way, and reserving to ourselves only the privilege 
 of fixing the termini; a privilege we ot)nstitutionally claim, and which 
 we are entitled to exercise by reason of our geographical position. 
 
 "7th. That the construction of the great Central Railroad is a subject 
 of vast importance to Illinois, and all laws, having for their object the 
 completion of the same on proper principles, ought to be encouraged; 
 }))'ovided such laws do not infringe too much upon our natural advan- 
 tages growing out of the geographical position of the State."* 
 
 The passage of tliese resolutions by the very decided majorities 
 we hiive noted, Avas rather alarniijig. And now the internal policy 
 of the State, so emphatically announced, was attacked without 
 glove.s by the foreign i)ress, and our own, partly, too. The news- 
 papers of 8t. Louis and Cincinnati, directly affected by the refusal 
 of the legislature to grant a charter to the Ohio & Mississippi 
 Railroad Company, were unsparing in their abuse. The State 
 policy was denounced as selfish, narrow and contemptible — 
 we were re-euacting the fable of the dog in the manger. The 
 press of New York chiming in, characterized our '" State policy" 
 as unreasonable, vain and churlish; we would lu'ither help the 
 parties affected by it, uor permit them to help themselves; 
 to the great railroads pushing their lines from the Atlantic cities 
 westward, conferring permanent benefit and untold wealth along 
 their routes, when they arrived upon our eastern border we ex- 
 <;laimed in the blindness of our own interests, thus far slialt thou 
 go and no farther, because they wanted to go to St. Louis, the 
 great commercial centre on the Mississippi. It was urged that 
 Illinois stood in the light of her own interests; that oiu- short- 
 sighted policy was proving ruinous to the south and middle parts 
 of the State; that it was the Alton influence, as opposed to St. 
 Louis, which had produced the conflict between the three sections 
 
 • See Jaws of Special Session, 1849. 
 
566 niSTOEY OP Illinois. 
 
 of the State, but that after all the north was taking advantage 
 of it, using Alton to pull the chestnuts out of the fire for Chicago. 
 
 Alton had been ambitious of commercial distinction for many 
 years, always waiting Micawber-like for some fortuitous circum- 
 stances, or involved in some ingenious schemes to accomplish this 
 graml object. But these, without energy, labor and capital will 
 not alone succeed in buihling up a great city. It will be remem- 
 bered by the reader that the State bank in 1835 was bankrupted 
 within two years after it started by its efforts to supply the I'api- 
 tal to monopolize the lead mines of Galena, divert all the up-river 
 trade from St. Louis, and build up Alton, Jiearly opposite the 
 mouth of the Missouri, as the emporium of the Mississippi valley. 
 The completion of the canal, also, it was fondly hoped, would 
 check the prosperity of St. Louis. Caual boats, it was main- 
 tained, might with safety aiul expedition be towed down as low 
 as Alton, but the increased difficulties and dangers in the current 
 of the Mississippi, below the mouth of the Missouri, would pre- 
 vent their being taken to St. Louis, while freight could at all 
 times be brought as cheaply from New Orleans to Alton as to St. 
 Louis. 
 
 Thus by the deceptive cry of this grand internal State policy, 
 and various coiubinations formed in consequence thereof, hostile 
 legislation was evoked toward that part of the State which by 
 nature is not so well adapted to the construction of railroads as 
 the great prairie regions of the center and north, and which should 
 rather have received the fostering care of friendly legislation tlian 
 the bbght of this policy, whose effects are not entirely removed to 
 this day. The great northern portion of the State, seeking an 
 outlet by railroads to markets on the lake, and mainly within our 
 own borders, was not inimical to the exclusive i>olicy j but while 
 that region Avas liberally rewarded with railroad charters for its 
 development, it was not without aid, infatuated let us hope, from 
 the south to impose the "policy" upon the latter. 
 
 ISTotwithstanding this withering policy, and the just strictures 
 upon it by our own and the foreign press, which disseminated a 
 knowledge of it far and wide ; and also that the State generally 
 had been greatly retarded in her onward career by an enormous 
 public debt, without equivalent, weighing her down like an incu- 
 bus, there was not, as we approach the close of the decade termi- 
 nating with 1850, another State in the Union increasing so rap- 
 idly in population, wealth and resources. Not Illinois alone, but 
 the entire northwest was settling up rapidly. The whole of this 
 vast wilderness in 1820, contained only about 850,000 souls, (being- 
 less than Illinois had in 1850), while now it numbered 5,000,000. 
 The action of steam had cheapened and immeasurably increased 
 the vSi)eed of transportation and immigration. The comple- 
 tion of the canal had given an impetus to the agricultural 
 resources of Illinois, long needed. It had also been indirectly a 
 means of wonderfully improving her financial affairs. With the 
 advent of Gov. Ford's administration, it was officially announced 
 that there was not money enough in the State treasury to pay 
 postage on a letter. Since then the new loan of $1,000,000 had 
 been made, with which the canal had been completed, yielding now 
 an annual revenue in tolls of over $125,000 ; canallands worth half 
 million dollars had been sold, far above the appraisement j 3-5ths 
 
FRENCH'S ADMINISTRATION. 567 
 
 of the 1 ^ mill tax authorized in 1S45 now paid $12 out of eveiy |C0 
 of annually accruing interest; and if tlie two mill tax authorized 
 by the new constitution could have been diverted in that way the 
 whole annual interest on the internal improvement debt ]iroper 
 could have been paid. Auditor's Avarrants were worth 95 cents 
 on the dollar. Such was our improved condition at this time, 
 brought about by a rigid economy in ex})enditures, a thorough 
 system of retrenchment under the new constitution, and a wise 
 administration of public att'airs under Govs. Ford and French. 
 
 And now came in addition such glad tidings which, but for 
 the thorough schooling in the se rigid economies and dearly bought 
 experiences, might have sent us again headlong into a wild course 
 of profligacy and schemes of infatuation. This was the nuignifi- 
 cent donation by congress of some o,0()(),()00 acres of land to the 
 State, which vsecured the building the Illinois Central Eailroad ; 
 also at the same session, the grant to the State of all the unsohl 
 swamp lands within her Hunts, estinnited at 1,500,000 acres; and 
 what was also of incalculable beneiit to many a family, the act of 
 congress granting bounty land to the brave men who ])eriled their 
 lives in the but recently closed oMexican war. With these encour- 
 aging and hopeful aids, joined to an ever thronging emigration 
 pouring in upon our rich prairies, -stifling legislation could no 
 longer retard our nuirch to empire. 
 
 In the fall of 1850, a new legislature, fresh from anew people — 
 new in great accessions, and also in that they had cast off their 
 garments of despondency, and were full of hope — was elected. 
 This body met in January, 1S51, and while it did not inconsider- 
 ately crowd im))ortant bills through, jiei-formed a great deal of 
 labor, giving life to those measures which have become the in- 
 struments of an enduring greatness to this empire State, and 
 from which, with proper additions since, Ave behold to-day unfold- 
 ing the full glory of a grand future. These instruments were 
 nmiidy important railroad charters, Avhich in number Avere even 
 then said to nunk up the siuface of the State into a network of 
 these imi)rovements. 
 
 The incubus of ''State i)olicy" was not altogether shaken off, 
 but a good beginning Avas made by granting a charter to the Ohio 
 and Mississi}»pi railroad coiiii)aiiy. Mr. Douglas, taking a broader 
 A'iew tliaii the contines of Illinois, was prompted to address a letter 
 from Washington to Uri ]Manly, of Coles, saying if he Avere a leg- 
 islator he would certainly grant a charter for the proi)osed road 
 from [Uinoistown to Terre Haute, and also to Yincennes, and to 
 other lines across the State when any considerable portion of the 
 pe()j)le desired it. He Avould give a preference to the towns and 
 cities of Illinois where it could be done without injury or injustice 
 to others, but he Avould never sacrifice the great agricultural in- 
 terests for the benefit of a much snudler interest in the towns. The 
 country was not made for the towns, but the towns for the con- 
 venience of the country.* The Hon. Y. E. Young, M. C, also 
 Avrote to Mr. W. S. Waite, of Bond county, that good faith on the 
 l)art of the legislature required them to charter all cross railroads 
 contem])lated, as most probably the Illinois Central railroad grant 
 of land Avould not have been obtained if the delegation in congress 
 had Avithheld the positiA'e assurance that the State would change 
 
 • Vide 111. Reg., Jan., 1851. ^ ' 
 
568 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 her policy in relatiou to cross roads. That sucli assurances were 
 given was also corroborated by Mr. DonglasandCol. W.H. Bissell, 
 the latter writing that he felt quite sure votes Avere obtained in that 
 way, ami that the lesult showed that they had but very lew to 
 spare in the final trial.* Thus was the legislature induced to yield 
 and grant just one cross road leading to iSt. Louis. But that was 
 alL /^ 
 
 And noAv, to illustrate the bad faith of soulless corporations— 
 the many disappointments and heart-burnings which they have 
 caused, and the bitter curses they have invited fioni rising towns 
 and ambitious cities throughout the length and breadth of the 
 State, it may here be mentioned in connection with this road, 
 which gave one of the earliest cases of the kind, and which, too, 
 will serve as a type of many others whose local history caniiot 
 well be obtained, that, after being a suppliant for years before the 
 legislature for just the right of way, and in its obsequiousness full 
 of the most honorable and humble i>romises, no sooner had it ob- 
 tained its charter than it turned and violated them, becoming per- 
 fectly oblivious to everything else except what was expressed in 
 that instrument. Belleville, at that day, was an ambitious and tiour- 
 ishing young city. In the passage of the charter for the Ohio and 
 Mississippi railroad company, it is alleged that it was distinctly 
 understood that the interests of Belleville should not be sacrificed, 
 and therefore the naming of that place as a point in the charter 
 was magnanimously omitted. This nuignanimity that corporation 
 failed to appreciate, and grievous disappointment followed. ]>elle- 
 \\\\e thereupon tendered a subscription of $.jO,000 on condition 
 that she be made a point ; she entreated and remonstrated, but a 
 deaf ear was turned to all her requests. Belleville Avas left some 
 six miles to the south. She held an indignation meeting and de- 
 clared it inconsistent with the honor, interests or duty of any 
 citizen to participate in the ceremonies of breaking ground at llli- 
 noistown for that road, February 8, 1852. On that occasion was 
 presented the singular spectacle of Cincinnati, Vincennes and St. 
 Louis, three foreign cities, taking i)ossession of the soil of Illinois 
 upon which to inaugurate a great improvement, without our coun- 
 tenance or approbation, but we were powerless to prevent it. 
 Other places in this State, similarly aggrieved by other roads, are 
 Uniontown, Salem, Charleston, Shelbyville, Urbaiia, &c., &c. 
 Verily, in our legislation upon the subject of railroads, and the 
 granting to them of valuable franchises, we have gone from one 
 extreme to the other. While our action toward them in resi)ect 
 of the State policy was entirely too narrow ami illiberal, savoring 
 too much of i)roscrii)tion, when chartered pri\ileges were ex- 
 tended to them it seems that the bars were let clear down, and 
 we failed to retain any suflticient control over them. These, to-day, 
 giant foreign corporations, some of whom erst begged in a most 
 su])pliant manner of this sovereign State merely for the right of 
 way, now set u}) their vested rights and defy not only legislative 
 but constitutional control. 
 
 The "State policy" maintained its supremacy longer with regard 
 to the Atlantic and Mississippi railroad, known as the " Brough " 
 road, from Terre Haute via Vandaliato St. Louis direct, than any 
 other. This road was regarded as in direct conflict with the Alton 
 
 * Ibid 
 
FEENCH'S AD:\nNISTRATION. 569 
 
 interest, and a ruinous competition to the Terre Haute and xVltou 
 road, then building: Col. Jolin liiou;L;li, a leadiuj*' public citizeu 
 ot" Indiana, was at its bead, and sbowed niucb (leterinination to 
 accomplish it. When he was denied a special charter by the leg- 
 islature of 1851, a company was organized under the general laws 
 of 1849 ; subscription books to the cai)ital stock were opened in 
 Kew York city, capital $1.',000,(H)(), shares ,"^50 each ; $470,()(»0 w ere 
 sj)eedily subscribed, and Col. lUough, the president, issued his 
 bulletin, announcing his intention to build a road from Terre 
 Haute to St. Louis, not only without, bat against, legislation. The 
 idea that St. Louis should have two railroad highways across the 
 State of Illinois was simply monstrous to Alton. An Alton news- 
 paper of November, 185!i, says : 
 
 *'At the close of the last session of our lej2:islature we expressed the 
 opinion that Col. Jolm Brougli, of Indiana, would be satisfied witli the 
 explicit refusal of our State to grant a charter of incorporation to liis pet 
 project * * and that lie would abide by the several times repeated de- 
 cision. The citizens of Illinois had reason to suppose that tliey were 
 rid, for all time to come, of this pretended friend, but real enemy, to tlieir 
 best interests. It seems, however, tliat this valiant Indiana colonel is 
 determined, notwitlistanding his former repulses, to continue his unsoli- 
 cited and officious intermeddling witli the domestic policy of this State." 
 
 But it was found impracticable to build the road under the law 
 of 1819, and ap[>lication was again made to the general assendjly 
 of 185.3 I'or a si)ecial charter. Col. Lrough was personally pres- 
 ent ami labored earnestly to succeed, but the State policy party, 
 after strenuous oi)i>osition, led by Messrs. Wynn, Kuykendal and 
 others, were again enabled to defeat the bill. Another bill look- 
 ing to the accomplishment of the same result, perhaps, was for a 
 cliarter of the Terre Haute and Vandalia railroad, but the jeal- 
 ous and watchful State policy party, regarding this as a piece- 
 meal resurrection of the "Brongli road," promptly defeated it. 
 The extension of the Belleville and lllinoistown charter eastward 
 a(;ross the State, the Terre Haute and JMarshall branch, and sev- 
 eial others, which looked to ai)]»roach theMississi])pi at St. Lonis^ 
 all met with signal defeat. The triumph of the State ])oli(;y party 
 Avas comi)lete, and the press iu its iuterest boldly proclaimed that 
 it had waxed stronger than ever. 
 
 About this time, too, Chicago was greatly exercised over the Joliet 
 Cut-oflf grievance, a road which would save to the public from the 
 east, west or south — not desiring to make the detour to Chicago — 
 Cthniles in transportation or travel, going and coming. Yet Chi- 
 cago, for some fancied beneht, was anxious that that circuit should 
 be maintained and enforced, nolens rolens, upon all freight and 
 passenger transportation. It is but just to say, however, that in 
 this tlu're was not entire unanimity. Xotably the Chicago Demo- 
 crat became all at once the most ardent advocate of State i)olicy, 
 and strongly urged this enforced de\ iation upon the public, de- 
 nouncing Joliet and her citizens prominently connected with the 
 steps taken to build a short railroad directly east, iu unmeasured 
 terms of abuse. 
 
 It was at the session of 1853, that Joseph Gillesine, cham]>iou 
 of the Alton int(>rest, introduced into the semite a bill by which 
 all these existing chartered lailroad corporations w-ere to be 
 piotected for ten years against the building of any competing 
 roads within 25 miles distance, unless existing corporations first 
 
570 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 consented thereto. This amazing- proposition was a fit climax to 
 all the monstrous, absurd and pernicious schemes of the State 
 policy party. While many of the other States of the Union, ani- 
 mated by a noble spirit of enterprise, were removing legal ob- 
 structions and instead adoiiting broad and liberal railroad incor- 
 poration laws, throAviug wide open their borders, and inviting 
 capital from abroad to build railroads and create comj)etition 
 wherever it inclined, it was cooly proposed in the great State 
 of Illinois, Avhich needed development very badly, to draw a cor- 
 don of exclusiveness around her borders, and within to combine 
 with soulless corporations in the monopoly of all improvements, 
 and hand over to them, bound by the strong chords of the law, 
 the i)eople of the State to be fleeced without stint. The bill 
 failed to become a law. 
 
 The Salem railroad convention of 1849 having ultimately proved 
 successful in obtaining a charter for the Ohio and Mississii)})i rail- 
 road, another couvention now met at the siiine place, ^Nov. 25,1853, 
 to urge upon the governor the calling together of the general as- 
 sembly in extraordinary session. The counties of Clark, Cum- 
 berland, Effingham, Crawford, Fayette, Jasper, Edwards, Bond, 
 St. Clair, Jackson, Monroe, Williamson, Eandolph,- Clin- 
 ton, Jetferson, Perry, Marion, Clay, some 19, all south of the 
 Terre Haute and Alton railroad, whose best and most accessable 
 market would be St. Louis, were ably represented by their most 
 public s])ii'ited and enteiprising men. The Hon. Zadock Casey 
 was unanimously chosen chairman. A committee was appointed 
 of which the Hon. Sidney Breese was chairman, to draft an ad- 
 dress, setting forth their grievances and urging the governor to 
 convene the legislature. Action upon seven measures was de- 
 manded, but the railroad grievance was the main one. The com- 
 mittee say: 
 
 "The special acts and the general law, so-called, for railroad incorpo- 
 ration demand action tliat would alone justify an extra session. Ke- 
 strictions upon the acconiplislinient of useful enterprises miglit be re- 
 moved by an act of ten lines, opening the way to immediate construc- 
 tion of works tiiat would bring in capital from abroad and enhance the 
 value of real estate to the amount of several millions of dollars. That 
 Southern Illinois has a peculiar interest in tliis imiDortaut measure, she 
 has no disposition to dejiy. Look at the single fact that in the vast and 
 increasing railroad enterprises, which is giving new life to the State, and 
 which already exceed 2,000 miles in extent, less than 300 are permitted 
 to Southern Illinois." 
 
 A committee of some 20 was appointed to present the address 
 in person to the governor. It had the desired effect. The goveriK)r 
 issued his proclamation, convening the legislature in Feb., 1851. 
 
 This special session was a very busy, and in mauy resiTccts, a 
 most important one for the State. But we now can only notice 
 the subject in hand. The State policy "vvas narrowed down to the 
 one object of again defeating the " Brough road," for which pur- 
 l)ose a great effort was made, aided by foreign lobbyists interested 
 in the Terre Haute and Alton road. But their efforts failed ; the 
 liberal policy triumphed, the charter "recognizing and authorizing 
 the construction of the Mississippi and Atlantic railroad'' passed 
 in both houses by decisive nuijorities. Exit "State policy" — a 
 policy whicli has done much to hinder and retard the growth and 
 develo])mcnt of the southern poi'tion of the State, and whose 
 blight has lingered more or less to this day. 
 
Chapter XLYT. 
 THE ILLINOIS CENTEAL EAILROAD. 
 
 Congressional Grant of Land — HoJhrooh Charters — Bondholders'' 
 Schemes — The 7 per eent. of its Gross Earnings — Passage of its 
 Charter — Benefits to the Company, the State and Individuals — 
 Note: Je^dousy of Politicians on Account of its Glory — Corres- 
 pondence of Messrs. Breese and Douglas. 
 
 Tlie subject of this cliaptor iiuuks an era in the progress of tlie 
 State. The grand scheme of connecting, by means of iron bands 
 of commerce. Lake Michigan with the great watery liiglnvay of 
 the jMis.sissi]>pi Valley at the continence of the Ohio, had long" 
 been a desideratnm with our people. It had constitute*! part of 
 the State internal improvement system of ]<s;37, and some work ou 
 the line was actually done, but was abandoned with the gen- 
 eral collai)se of that system. The Central IJailroad, from the 
 southern terminus of the canal to Cairo, was subsequently revived 
 by legislation, procured by scheming brains with an eye to the 
 future, but the whole subject lacked vitality until the i)assage of 
 the act of congress of September, 1850, granting to tlie State a 
 muuiticent donation of near ,"),0(M), 000 acres of land through the 
 heart of Illinois in aid of its com])]etion. This noble tribute by 
 the nation had its birth simultaneously with and amidst the 
 throes of the great adjustment ineasures of 1850, which, during 
 that long and extraoidinary session of Congress, shook the Union 
 from center to circumference. Twice before had a similar bill 
 passed the senate, and twice had it failed in the house, but now it 
 Avas a law, and the State possessed the means to com])lete the 
 great work. The linal ])assage of the measure Avas hailed with 
 demonstrations of great joy by the people and press of our State.* 
 Illinois internal improvement bonds made a bound forward of 10 
 per cent, in the Xew York market. At this time the amount of 
 railroad completed in the State consisted of a section of the 
 Northerji Cross Eailroad, from ]\Ieredosia and Naples, on the Illi- 
 nois river, to S])ringlield ; the Chicago & Galeim, trom the former 
 city as far as Elgin ; and a mih^ coal track across the American 
 bottom from oi)i»osite St^ Louis to the mines in the bluH's. 
 
 *After the adjournment of congress. Senators Donjrlas anrl Shields, on their return 
 home, were tendered a public dinner at Chicaso in lienor ot the occasion, but for rea- 
 sons of delicacy they decliniMl becoming- the exclusive recipients of such attentions, 
 awarilinfj: to their coUcag-ues of the house — where the final battle was fought and 
 won-ilessrs. McClernand. Harris. Wentworth, Young, Richai'dson. Bisselland naker, 
 the principal merit of its passage. The honors for the success of the measure were a 
 fruitful source of jealousy among our public men. 
 
 571 
 
572 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The act granted tlie right of way for the railroad through the 
 l^iiblic hT>iids of the width of 200 feet, from the southern terminus 
 of tlie Illinois and Michigan Canal to a point at or near the 
 junction of the Ohio and JVIississippi rivers, and for branches to 
 Chicago and Galena; also the i)rivilege to take from them nuite- 
 rials of earth, stone and timber for its construction. But the 
 main grant to the State was the alternate sections of land desig- 
 nated by even numbers for 6 sections deep ou each side of its 
 trunk and brauches ; for the lands sold or pre-empted within this 
 12 mile belt or area, enough might be selected from even luim- 
 bered sections to the distance of 15 miles on either side of the 
 tracks equal in quantity to them. The construction of the road was 
 to be simultaneously commenced at its northern and southern 
 termini, and wheu comi)leted the branches were to be constructed. 
 It was to be completed within ten years, in default of which the 
 unsold lands were to revert to the Uinted States, and for 
 those sold the State was to pay the government price. 
 The minimum price of the alternate or odd luimbered sections of 
 the government land was raised from $1 25 to $2 50 per acre. 
 While the public lands were thus by the i)rospect of the building 
 of this road rendered more saleable at double ]>rice, it followed 
 that the general government not only lost nothing in dollars 
 and cents, but in point of time was actually the gainer by this 
 splendid gift. The land was taken out of market for two years, 
 and when restored, in the fall of 1852, it in fact brought an aver- 
 age of $5 per acre. The grant was subject to the disposal of the 
 legislature for the puri)ose si)ecitied, and the road and branches 
 were to be and remain a public liighway for the use of the go\- 
 ernment of the United States, free from all tolls or other charges 
 for the transportation of any troops, munitions or other property 
 of the general government. This provision, had it ai)plied to 
 the rolling stock as well as the use of the rails, would doubtless 
 have saved the general government during the rebellion numy 
 hundreds of thousands of dollars ; but it has been construed ad- 
 versely to the rights of the government in this particular. For 
 the i)urpose of continuing the road south to Mobile, all the rights, 
 privileges and liabilities, with regard to the grant of the public 
 lands and in every resi)ect as conferred on this State, were ex- 
 tended to Alabama and ]\Iississippi. Such is a synopsis of the 
 important provisions contained in this, the first land subsidy nnide 
 by congress in aid of railroads, latterly so lamentably frequent 
 as to well nigh despoil the country of its i)ublic donuUn. 
 
 Upon the passage of the bill, Mr. Douglas immediately jire- 
 l)ared a petition, signed by the congressional delegations of all the 
 Stiites along the route of the road from Mobile north, describ- 
 ing the probable location of the road and its branches through Illi- 
 nois, and requesting the president to order the suspension of land 
 sales along the lines designated, which was immediately done.* 
 
 The act of congress threw upon the legislature of Illinois the 
 entire duty of making a prudent, wise and satisfactorj^ disposi- 
 
 *At the same session congress passed an act granting to the State of Akansas the 
 swamij and overflowed lands unflt for cultivation, and remaininy; unsold within her 
 liordets. the benefits whereof were extended by section 4 to each of the other States 
 in which there might be such hindssituated. Bv this act the State of Illinois received 
 1,5(0,1 00 acres more. These lands were subsecjuently turned over to the respective 
 counties where located, with the condition that they be drained, and for school pur- 
 poses. 
 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILHOAD. 573 
 
 tiou of tlie magnificent grant. Tlie i)oint of depaitnre of the Clii- 
 cagobraiieli from tlie main trnnk was not fixed by the act, andtliis 
 deli(;ate dnty the legi.shiture, it was generally exi)ected, would take 
 in hand. Before the meetiiigof thatbody, in January, ISol, nnich 
 contention pervadtMl the press of the State regarding the location 
 of the main trunk, and particulaily the routes of the braiu-hes. 
 Many worthy and ambitious towns Avere arrayed against each 
 other. The LaSalle interest wanted the Chicago branch taken 
 off at that point. Jjloonujigton, looking to a continuation of the 
 Alton & Sangann)n roa<l (now the Chicago, Alton & St. Louis) to 
 that place, wanted the Chicago branch to connect her with the 
 lake. Shelbyville, which was a point on the old line of the Illi- 
 nois Central, not dreaming but that she would have the main 
 trunk, was grasi)iug for the dei)arture thence of the Chicago 
 branch also, and lost both. Another route, which ought to have 
 commar.ded great strength, was projjosed on the most direct line 
 from Cairo, making the i)oint of connecti(ni with the main trunk 
 in I'ulaski county, and taking off' the Galena branch at Mt. 
 Vernon, thence through Carlyle, Greenville, Hillsboro, Si)ring- 
 field, Peoria, Galena and on to Dubuque. But of course it was 
 to the interest of any companj' to make the location where there 
 was the largest amount of vacant land that could be brought 
 "within the belt of 15 miles on either side of the road. And this 
 l)roved the controlling infiuence ultimately, both in the location 
 of the main stem and the branches. 
 
 The disastrous failure of only a dozen short years before, as con- 
 nected with the Utopia of the internal improvement system by the 
 State, was not forgotten ; and now when the means of achie\ing 
 great good for developing the State were in hand, the stump and 
 press teemed with advice as to the best mode of disposing of the 
 grant of land, which, it may be added, was seldom free from bias 
 or a look to local advantages. Swarms of land si)eculators and 
 town site owners, it was aiiticipated, would infest the lobby at the 
 next session of the legislature. The people were very properly ad- 
 vised that to guard against the influences and intrigues of these 
 sharks they must select their best and ablest men to represent 
 them. 
 
 The Holhrooli Charters. — One of the phantoms Avhicli loomed 
 into ])ublic recognition, casting its shadow across the i)ath of bright 
 promise for the State, was what was known as the "Holbrook 
 Charters," whose incorporators, it was feared, would step in and 
 swallow up the congressional .grant of land under the broad terms 
 of their franchises. 
 
 The Cairo City and Canal Company was originally incorporated 
 for the purpose of constructing dikes, levees or embankments to 
 secure and preserve Cairo city and adjacent lands against the 
 freshets of the rivers. The cutting of a canal to unite the INIissis- 
 sippi with the Ohio through Cash river, was also authorized. In 
 the fall of 1835 the Hon. Sydney Breese, through a Avell-considered 
 published letter, had first called attention to the plan of a central 
 railroad, connectingthe southern terminus of the Illinois and MU-h- 
 igan canal at Peru with the confluence of the Ohio and IMississippi 
 rivers at Cairo. An effort was made at the special session of 
 1835-6 to unite this project with the canal, for which an appropri- 
 
574 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ation of $500,000 was tlieu granted. This failing, a cliarter for tlie 
 railroad was granted, snpplenieiitiug this project with the Cairo 
 City Coini)aiiy, the cori)orators being J^arius B. Holbrook, (who 
 was also tlie president of the company,) Miles A. Gilbert, John S. 
 Hacker, Alexander M. Jenkins, Anthony Olney and William M. 
 AValker. Application was then lirst made to congress for aid by 
 pre-emption. One year later the State entered npon the great in- 
 ternal improvement systen), and, nnwilling to brook a rival, ap- 
 l)lied to the Cairo company to snrrender the charter for the buikl- 
 ing of this railroad through the centre of tlie State, which was 
 complied with on condition that the State bnild the road on a 
 route leading from Cairo througii Vandalia, Slielbyville, Decatur, 
 Bloomington, Peru, and via ]3ixon to Galena, The State expended 
 more than a million dollars, it is said, on this route before the 
 "grand system" collapsed in 1840. Subsequently, by act of March 
 6, 1843, the road, in the condition that it was jibandoned, was re- 
 stored to the Cairo comi)any under the title of the Great Western 
 Railway Company, with the power to construct the road from 
 Cairo via the places najned, to a i)()int at or near the south- 
 ern terminus of the Illinois and Michigan canal, in such manner 
 as they might deem most expedient. The Cairo Comi»any was 
 vested with the title and effects of the old Central railroad. All 
 the usual franchises were granted to the Great Western Company 
 as part of the Cairo Company, and in section 18 it was added that 
 " all lands that may come into the possession of said company, 
 whether by donation or purchase," were pledged and mortgaged 
 in advance as security for the payment of the bonds and obliga- 
 tions of tlie com])any authorized to be issued and contracted under 
 the provisions of the charter. By act of March 3, 1845, the charter 
 of this Great Western Eailroad Comi)any was repealed; but by 
 act of February 10, 1849, it was revived for the benetit of the Cairo 
 City and Canal Company, with the addition of some 30 names as 
 incorporators, taken from all i)arts of the State, many of whom 
 were well-known politicians. The company thus revived was au- 
 thorized in the construction of the Central llailroad to extend it 
 on from the southern terminus of the caiud — LaSalle — to Chicago 
 "in strict conformity to all obligations, restrictions, powers and 
 l^rivileges of the act of 1843." The governor was empowered to 
 hold in trust for the use and benetit of said company whatever 
 lands might be donated to the State by the general government, 
 to aid in the completion of the Central or Great Western Bailway, 
 subject to theconditions andprovisionsof the bill (then pending be- 
 fore congress ami expected to become a law,) granting the subsidy 
 of 3,000,000 acres of land. The com])any was further authorized 
 to receive, hold and dispose of any and all lands secured to it by 
 donation, pre-emption or otherwise. There were other details of 
 minor importance, but these sufficiently indicate the nice scheme 
 entertained by the long-headed speculators. 
 
 But Douglas, though absent at Washington, was not to be 
 hoodwinked by these schemes against the best interests of 
 the State. At the special session of the legislature in the au- 
 tumn of 1849, in his able speech delivered to that body, October 
 23d, he demonstrated that a fraud had been practiced upon it the 
 winter preceding in i^rocuring from it this charter; and that had 
 the bill in congress donating this land met with no delay on this 
 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 575 
 
 account, this vast property wonkl have gone into the hands of 
 Holbrook & Co., to enrich these scheniing- corporators, with little 
 assurance, as they lepresented no wealth, that the road would 
 ever be built. Congress had an insuperable objection to making 
 the grant for the benfit of a private corporation. The connection 
 of these Holbrook companies with the Central railroad, in the es- 
 timation of congress, })resented an impassible barrier to the grant, 
 lint this legislature, which had granted the charter, refused to re- 
 peal it. 
 
 To obviate the difficulty, Mr. Holbrook, president of the com- 
 panies, who ardently sought the success of the roiul, executed a 
 promise of release to the governor, December ISth, 1849, a dupli- 
 cate of which was transmitted to JMr. Douglas at Washington. 
 But the senatordid not regard this release as valid or binding upon 
 the company, because it was without the sanction or authority of 
 the stockholders, or even the board of directors. While he did 
 not impute any such motive, the company, he believed, was still 
 in the condition which would enable it to take all the lands 
 granted, divide them among its stockholders, and retain its char- 
 tered privileges without building the road. He was unwilling to 
 give his approval to any arrangement by which the State could 
 possibly be deprived of any of the benefits resulting from the ex- 
 pected grant. For the protection of the State, and as an assur- 
 ance to congress, the execution of a full and comi)lete release of 
 all rights and privileges, and a surrender of the charters, and all 
 acts or parcels of acts supi)lemental or amendatory thereof, or 
 relating in any wise to the Central railroad, so as to leave the 
 State, through its legislature, free to make such disposition of the 
 lands, and such arrangement for the construction of the road as 
 might be deemed best, was demanded. These recjuirements were 
 deemed not unreasonable by the agents of the comi>any at Wash- 
 ington, the Hon. John A. llockwell, of Connecticut, and ]Mr. Gr. 
 W. Billings, an<l a few days after a release, in dui)licate, was exe- 
 cuted in New York, one coi)y of which was forwarded to the 
 governor of Illinois, and one retained by Mr. Douglas, to be used, 
 if necessary, in congress, containing these conditions : 
 
 "1st. That the legislature of said State shall, witliiii the period of ten 
 YEARS from the 1st of January, I80O, construct and tlnally complete, or 
 cause to he constructed and comi)leted, a railroad from Cairo to Chicago, 
 and that the southern terminus ot said road shall be the city of Cairo. 
 2d. Tliat the legislature of said State shall, during its next session, elect 
 whether to accept or decline this release upon the conditions herein 
 stated. 8d. That until said State, through their legislature, shall have 
 made their election, tins company may laith the appynhaiidv. of the f/ovtmor of 
 the State, proceed in the construction of said road, and if said charter 
 shall be released as aforesaid to said State of Illinois, the said State shall, 
 within one year from the time of said election, refund to this company 
 the amount which between that period and the present time, shall have 
 been expended in the construction of said road, with 6 per cent, interest 
 thereon, and shall assume ail t>oi, a fide contracts hena/trr made by this 
 company in the construction of the same, which shall have been previ- 
 ously approved by the governor of said State." 
 
 Kothwithstanding this release, after the passage of the bill 
 granting the land by congress, there was a doubt in the minds of 
 the people of Illinois, which was freely canvassed pending the 
 election of the legislature, which was to dispose of the splendid 
 donation to the best interests of the State, regardless of local cou- 
 
57G HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 siderations or sectional desires, that tbe Cairo comiDaiiy, tlirongli 
 its president, could and would repudiate tbe relinquishment of its 
 charters, or use some expedient to induce the general assembly 
 to fail in accepting it according to its 2d stipulation, which would 
 enable that concern to resume its former position and gras}) the 
 large grant of land under the provisions of its charter of 1849. 
 The following curious letter, over the name of the president of the 
 comi)any, which appeared in the Illinois Advocate at Lebanon, 
 and floated about considerably in the public press of the day, 
 seems to evince a desire to hold on, and it doubtless gave color to 
 the public apprehensions : 
 
 "New York, Sept. 25, 1850. 
 "/7o?i. K 0. Smith: 
 
 "Dear Sir: I can truly say that I am under obligations to those who 
 with Gov. Casey prevented the repeal of the charter of the Great West- 
 ern Railway Company. It was granted in good faith and under no 
 other that the State can now grant. I am happy to say that when I ex- 
 plained the bill to Judge Douglas, and that my object was to have the 
 road made for the best interest of the whole State, I would return the 
 charter rather than have any ojoposition trom the State, he was satisfied; 
 and the consequence has been tliat we have worked together at Wash- 
 ington this winter, and have obtained tlie grant of land from congress 
 toward mal<ing the road. We are now sure that the road from Cairo to 
 Peru, Galena and Chicago will be built. I am now organizing the com- 
 pauy to commence the work this fall, and put a large part of the road 
 under contract as early as possible. Wcbhall make the road on the old 
 line of the Central route, tlirough Vandalia, Slielbyville, Decatur and 
 Bloomington. I rejoice with the people of Illinois that this important 
 road to the whole State, will now be made. 
 
 "Very respectfully, D. B. HOLBROOK." 
 
 This was construed as a pretension on the part of the presi- 
 dent, that the State could not grant any other charter than that 
 which his company owned, to complete the Central railroad, im- 
 plying a repudiation of the release. Here was also a claim to a 
 share of the glory in iirocuring the grant from congress, and the 
 assertion that his company Avas ready to resume the work (men- 
 tioning the route of the road) indicated that the Cairo company 
 was master of the situation. Further, the Chicago Commercial 
 Advertiser^ a newspaper in Holbrook's interest, in no very elegant 
 language, and not devoid of bitterness, boldly set ujj for him a re- 
 pudiation of his release of the charters, by the following avowal : 
 
 "Judge Douglas has declared the first release of the Cairo company 
 illegal and defective; but that he obtained a second one that was legal, 
 before he would vote for the grant of land. That will likely be found 
 equally so For, although he is an ex -judge, it is doubted if he knows 
 enough of law to either dictate or draw a legal release in such a case; 
 and liis whole concern in the matter may be looked upon as much a 
 piece of political trickery as his bragging about it is bombastic, and that 
 he had no more influence in procuring the grant than the barking of a 
 poodle dog. * * Tlie Cairo Company liave never asked anything 
 of the State but the privilege to expend their own money in it, which 
 woidd never injure, but do mucli good to the State. * * * jf 
 Breese, and Casey and Holbrook can be killed ofl" by the politicians of 
 Illinois, look out for more plunder." 
 
 These pretensions brought down upon the Cairo companies, and 
 particularly their president, the severest animadversions of the 
 X)ress and many politicians. But the companies were not without 
 friends in the legislature and out of it. It is probable that the 
 
ILLINOES CENTRAL RAILROAD. 577 
 
 iele;i!se signed in New York was not authorized by the Illinois 
 resident corporators under the revival act of 1840. 
 
 In jSToveniber, before tlie meeting- of the legislature, Walter B. 
 Scates, one of the new corpoi-ators of the Great Western Kailroad 
 Company of l.S4tl, achlressed a letter of invitation to all his co- 
 <'orporatt»rs, duly named, to meet at Spiingticld, .January 0, 1851, 
 f(M- I he purpose of taking such action as might be deemed expe- 
 dieiit for tlie [Miblic good by surrendering uj) their (diarter to the 
 Htatc. or such other course as might be desired by the general 
 assembly, to remove all doubts and questions relative to the com- 
 ]t!iny's rights and powers, and to disembarrass that body with re- 
 gard to the dis))osal of tlie grant of land from congress for the 
 buihling of the much needed Central railroad. 
 
 With the opening of the general assendily there were not want- 
 ing wealthy ca[>it:dists ready to avail themselves of this munifl- 
 cence of the nation, who proffered to build the Central railroad 
 and its branches. The following memorial explains itself: 
 
 " To ike Hotiornhle the Senators and Bepresentatives of the State of lU'moii, in. Gen- 
 eral A.ssaHblij conveucd: 
 
 The memorial of Robert Schuyler, George Griswold, Gouveruer 
 Morris, Jonathan Sturgis, George" W. Ludlow and John F. A. San- 
 ford, of the city of New York, and David A. Neal, Franklin Haven and 
 Robert Rautoiil, jr., of Boston and vicinity, respectfully represents: 
 
 Having examined and considered an act of congress of the United 
 States, whereby land is donated for the purpose of ensuring the con- 
 struction of a railroad from Cairo, at the mouth of the Ohio, to Galena 
 and the northwest angle of the State of Illinois, with a branch extend- 
 ing to Clncago on Lake Miclugan, on certain conditions therein ex- 
 pressed ; and having also examined the resources of the tract of coun- 
 try through which it is pro^iosed that said railroad shall pass, and the 
 amount of cost and space of time necessary to construct tlie same, the 
 subscribers propose to form a company with such stockholders as they 
 may associate with them, including among their number persons of 
 large experience in the construction of several of the principal railroads 
 in tlie United States, and of means and credit sufficient to place beyond 
 doubt their ability to perfom what they hereinafter propose, make the 
 following offer to the State of Illinois for their consideration : 
 
 Tlie company so formed by the subscribers will, under the authority 
 and direction of the State of Illinois, fully and faithfully perform the 
 several conditions, and execute the trust in said act of congress con- 
 tained. And will build a railroad, with branches between the termini 
 set forth in said act, with a single track, and complete the same ready 
 for the transportation of merchandise and passengers, on or before the 
 4th day of July, which will be in the year of our Lord 1854. 
 
 And the said railroads shall be in all respects as well and thoroughly 
 builtas the railroad running from Boston to Albany, with such im- 
 provements thereon as experience has shown to be desirable and expe- 
 dient, and shall be equipped iu a manner suitable to the business to be 
 accommodated thereby. 
 
 And the said company, from and after the completion of said road, 
 will pay to the State of Illinois, annually, — per cent, of the gross earn- 
 ings of said road, without deduction or charge for expenses, or for any 
 other matter or cause : FroviJed, that the State of Illinois will grant to 
 the subscribers a charter of incorporation, with terms mutually advan- 
 tageous, with powei*s and limitations as they in their wisdom may think 
 fit, as shall be accepted by the said company, and as will sufficiently re- 
 munerate the subscribers for their care, labor and expenditure, in that 
 belialf incurred, and will enable them to avail themselves of the lauds 
 donated by the said act, to raise the funds, or some portion of the funds, 
 necessary for the construction and equipment of said road." 
 
 37 
 
578 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Mr. Eantoul, one of the meiiiorialists, was the accredited agent 
 of tlie others, with full power to act. He attended personally at 
 Spriiigfiekl during the sitting of the lesislature, and the above 
 proposition, couiiug from gentlemeu of such high financial stand- 
 ing, was very favorably received from his hands, particularly as 
 it offered the completion of the road and branches in a much 
 shorter space of time than was by any one anticipated. He was 
 willing to adjust the conditions of the contract so as to render the 
 completion of the road certain, and without a possibility of the 
 misapplication of the lands, or the bestowal of a monopoly upon 
 the company, which was ready to give any guarantee that might 
 reasonably be asked to guard the State against loss from defalca- 
 tion, both as respected the prosecution of the work ai'.d the ap- 
 plication of the ]>roceeds of the sales of lands. The terms gen- 
 erally were regarded as highly advantageous, both to the State 
 and the comi)any, and they were ultimately made the basis of the 
 Central railroad charter. 
 
 But opposition to the gift of land from the nation being turned 
 over by the State to a private corporation was not wanting. The 
 magnitude of the grant was so overi)owering to the minds of some 
 persons that they fancied and argued that the State, by i)roper 
 management of the means, might build not only the 700 miles of 
 railroad, but pay oil' the public debt of many millions besides. H'the 
 State could have managed its finances and property with the econ- 
 omy, sagacity and liexibility of ajnivate (torjjoration, much of this 
 doubtless could have been done. Mr. John S. AVright, of Chicago, 
 published a i)ainphlet, insisting that the State would be everlast- 
 ingly dishonored if the legislature did not devise laws to buihl the 
 road and disenthral the State of its enormous debt besides out of 
 the avails of this grant. 
 
 Three-fourths of the lands donated, it is true, in quality of soil 
 and fertility were unsurpassed, and there was a most excellent 
 bargain in them so soon as iron arteries of commerce could be ex- 
 tended to them j but there they lay, and had lain for 25 years, 
 free to any purchaser at $1.25 an acre, and recently, with the 
 abundance of land warrants thrown upon the market by the sol- 
 diers of the Mexican war, they might be had at about 70 cents 
 per acre, but they remained unentered. The baigain in them was 
 to be imparted to them by the construction of a railroad, and the 
 bringing of them within the range of markets. It was a question 
 of development, for which large and ready capitnl was necessary. 
 Even if the credit of the State 'would have comnninded the requi- 
 site capital to build the road, judging by her experience then some 
 12 years past, it is questionable whether she ought to have under- 
 taken it. Certainly there was no such (lisi)osition on the part of 
 the legislature. The shortness of time in which the road was i)rof- 
 fered to be built was a cardiiml consideration. The great interior 
 of the State, then of no taxable value to the treasury, being aluu)st 
 a howling wilderness, would in some three years' time be pene- 
 trated by a commercial highway, and brought within ready access 
 of the great markets af the world throughout the year. From the 
 great lakes and upper Mississip[)i on the north, to the extreme 
 peninsula of the State on the south, a back-bone of well-settled 
 country, populons towns and flourishing cities, with ribs extend- 
 ing out on either side, would si)ring into being, and the life cur- 
 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 579 
 
 rents of commerce and prosperity would speedily flow strong- and 
 liealtliy from the sentre to the extremities. 
 
 The bill lingered in the lei;islature mnch longer than its ardent 
 friends had anticipated, to their no little anxiety. Many amend- 
 ments were offered and rejected, snch as requiring payment for 
 the right of way to pre-emptionists, or settlers upon the govern- 
 ment land, the same as to actual owners, though their henelits, 
 and the enhanced value of their lands by the building of the road 
 Avould be 500 per cent. The point of divergence for the Chicago 
 branch Avas strenuously attemi)ted to be fixed, but was fimdly left 
 with the company anywhere '-north of the parallel of 39d. 30 
 m. of nortli latitude." Much discussion was had upon the location 
 of the main stem, what towus it should touch between its termini 
 designated in the congressional grant, but all intermediate points 
 fiuled of being fixed in the act except a single one, the N. E. cor- 
 ner of T. 21 N., II. 2 E. od P. M., from which the road in it course 
 should not vary more than five miles. whi(;h was effected by Gen. 
 Gridley, of the senate, and by which the towns of Decatur, Clinton 
 and Bloonnngton were assured of the road. 
 
 A scheme w;is also developed, but never yet explained, by which 
 it was proposed to ])liice this grand enterprise into the hands of 
 the state bondholders, adding a bank. It was kiu)wn as the bond^ 
 liolders' plan. Early in January the legislature received a vol- 
 uminous i)rinte<l bill for a charter, the provisions whereof, closely 
 scrutinized, contained it bout as hard a bargain as creditor ever 
 offered bondsman. It was coolly proposed, among- other jjrovisions, 
 that the State appoint connnissioners to locate the road, survey 
 th(^ routes for the nuiin stem and branches, and select the lands 
 grnnted by congress, all at the expense of the State ; agents were 
 tintiier to be appointed by the governor to apply to landholders 
 ah)ng the routes, who might be benefited by the road, for sub- 
 scri[>tions, also at the expense of the State. 
 
 '' All persons subscribing and advancing money for said purpose, shall 
 be entitled to draw interest upon the sums advanced, at tlie rate of — per 
 cent, per annum from the day of said advance, and shall be entitled to 
 designate and register an amount of 'New Internal Improvement stock 
 of tins State' equal to four times the amount so advanced, or of stock of 
 this State known as 'Interest Bonds,' etjual to three times the money so 
 advanced ; and said stock, so described, may be registered at th eagency 
 of the Slate of Illinois, in the city of New York, by the i)arty subscrib- 
 ing, or by any other persons to whom they may assign the right at any 
 time after jxiying the subscription, in the prop(»rtion of the amount paid; 
 and said stock sliall be endorsed, registereil and signed l)y the agent ap- 
 pointed by the governor for the purpose, and a co})y of said register shall 
 be tiled in' the office of the auditor of public accounts, as evidence to show 
 the particular stock secured or provided for as hereinafter mentioned." 
 
 The lands were to be conveyed by the State to the managers of 
 the road ; to be by tliem offered for sale upon the ('omjvletion of 
 sections of 00 milVs, ex]>ensesto be paid by the State; the money 
 was to go to the managers, but the State was to receive certifi- 
 cates of stock for the siinu>; two of the acting managers were to 
 receive salaries of $L',500 and the others .$1,500— large sums at 
 that time.; the comi)any, with the sanction of the governor, to 
 purchase iron, &c., pledging the road for payment; and tiie road, 
 l»roperty and stock, .to l)e "exempt from taxation. The i)ill also 
 embraced a bank in accordance \\ith the provisions of the gen- 
 
580 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 enral free haiikin,u- law adopted at that session, making the rail- 
 road stock the basis. It also jn-ovided that if the constitution was 
 amended (which tailed to (;arrv,) changing the 2 mill tax to a 
 sinking fund to he generally applied in redemption of the State 
 debt, that then the stock registered under this act should also par- 
 ticipate in the proceeds thereof. 
 
 Here was a scheme to fasten ui)on the State treasury a horde 
 of high-salaried othcials to eat out the substance of the people, 
 empowering the company to create additional ofticers and fix their 
 com})ensation at pleasure; no limit was fixed for the completion 
 of the road: extended advantages were otfered to holders of in- 
 terest bonds, then low in market, to control the road to an amount 
 of four times tlieir actual outlay, mortgage it for iron, attach a 
 wild-cat bank to the enterprise, and strangle it to death. But 
 the measure was so preposterous that it received little counte- 
 nance.* 
 
 The next apprehensions of the friends of the measure were the 
 efibrts interposed early in February, througli the Holbrook influ- 
 ence, to delay action at the theu session of the general assembly, 
 whi(;h wouhl revive the Cairo city company's .charters by the 
 terms of their release. To this end a resolution was offered in the 
 senate instructing the committee on internal improvements to 
 l^repare and ))ring in a bill providing for the appointment of agents 
 to locate the road, with a a iew to future cojistruction, and to 
 select the lands under the grant of congress. It is one of the 
 unfortunate features incident to representative forn)s of govern- 
 ment that for seltish and i)artisan ends men will ejitail large losses 
 indirectly upon a tax-ridden community. So now men were not 
 wanting who exerted themselves to create a hobby for their future 
 l)olitical advancement by efforts to delay a work which would in 
 a short time render the central portion of tlie State ))Oi)uloiis by 
 l)Ouring into it a tlood of immigration to build towns and cities 
 and improve the country, create wealth and increase by millions, 
 annually, the aggregate taxable property of the State — so badly 
 needed to relieve lier of an ojipressive debt. For "the State might 
 own, in fee simple, many millions of acres of land and yet be all 
 the poorer for it, urdess the lands by settlement and improvement 
 were reJidered ca])able of yielding a revenue." Such were some 
 of the argument-s licid up to These men. 
 
 It will be remembered that the memorialists, in tlieir proposi- 
 tion to the legislature to obtain the charter, offered, among other 
 things, to pay the State of Illinois ani\ually a certain per centum 
 of the gross earnings of the road, without deduction for expense 
 or other cause. The amount was left blank, to fix which, how- 
 ever, became subsequently a matter of no little scheming and 
 trouble. In the first gush of desire to obtain the sj)lendid grant 
 of land from the State, it is said, the corporators would liave 
 readily consented to fill this blnnk at 10 per centnm of the gross 
 earnings. Uut unfortunately for the tax payers and the treasury 
 of the State, as is charged in the press of the day, the shrewd 
 
 *The orisrin of the bondholders' plnn wns involved in mj-stpry. Dr. Holford, the 
 laru-est of the Illinoia bondholders, denounced it, and declared he had no band in it. 
 Mr. Kins', ol' New .Tersey, the next lar^-est, also refused to endorse it. It was a ques- 
 tion from whom did it emanate ; who wa.s it that wanted to rob Illinois and fjrind her 
 farther in the dust? It was manifestly an nnderhanded scheme lor purposes of spec- 
 ulation. Had the bill l>e<"onie a law, the beneticiuries would douLitless have avowed 
 themselves readily enough. 
 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL EAILKOAD, 581 
 
 ca|»italists employed a geutlemaii as tbeir attorney — a citizen of 
 Illinois and member of congress at the time, than whom none was 
 more popular and wielded a greater influence at home — an orator, 
 statesman and soldier of renown — who had within the year 
 emerged from an affair of honor with no little eclat, and which 
 gained national notoriety — who left his seat in congress and at- 
 tentled at Springfield in the capticity of a lobb;^ ist for the com- 
 pany, and the result was the State conceded a deduction of 3 per 
 cciit. from that ligurc, the amount being tixed at 7 per centum, 
 and that in lieu of all taxcS, State or local.* The gross earnings 
 of that corporation now amount to about half a million dollars 
 annually. No little effort has been niatle to get rid of the i)ay- 
 men t of this percentage into the State treasury, but since the 
 lands turned over to the company have yielded so well in price, 
 rei)aying the cost of the road perha])s twice over, the people set 
 their fiuies agaiust it, and have been exercised by no little anxiety 
 that this now wealtliy corporation would succeed in buying up 
 enough members of the legislature at some future session to re- 
 lieve it of this percentage. To satisty the ]!opular clamor a limi- 
 tation hi4»s been irrevocably fixed in the organic law of 1870, 
 which phu«s the subject beyojid the control of further legislative 
 nR'^ldliiig, ami the public anxiety is allay ed.f 
 
 Ln the legislature, after pro<'rastinating action until the heel of 
 the vSession, Mr. J. L. D. Morrison, of the senate, brought in a 
 substitute tor the pending bill, which, after being amended in 
 isevei'al important particulars — that by Gen. Gridley has alre^uly 
 beesi noticed — was passed iinally with but two <lissenting votes; 
 and shortly after, the house took up the senate bill and passed it 
 without amendmo-ut, also by two dissenting votes, and it became 
 a law February 10, 1851. The law is so accessible that it is uinie- 
 cessary to give a synopsis of it. The final passage of the bill 
 was celebrated in Chicago by the tiring of cannon and other civic 
 dejtionstratiows in honor of the glorious event, 
 
 I>ut in tiie spring following, when the siu-veys of the Chicago 
 branch were under way, there ar<xse quite a feser of excite- 
 ment in that city, fearing that the braneli road would be carried 
 to the Imliana Vww to tbrm a junction with the ]\Iichigan Central, 
 and thus pravticuliy become an extenss«»n of the latver road to 
 Cairo, leaving Chicago noithwaivl of this thoroughfare about L*0 
 or o<> mik-s. Prominent gentlemen avldvessed a letter to 31r. 
 Douglas, ivquesting his opinion respecting t!ie jiower of the con^- 
 pajij to make suck a divergence from a direct Hue. Mr. Douglas 
 replied at length, denying the power of the company to do so; 
 citing the language of the cliarter that the Chicago branch should 
 di\'erge ^"from the main mm k at a point Jiorth of the paitiilel of 
 ^9 <leg. 30 min., and running on the m<i)st eligibk* loute /«fo the 
 city of Chicago ;■' that one o\»ject in the grant of laml by Congress 
 was to render saleable the pul>lic land in Illinois which had been 
 20 or SO years in market; that the union with iinother road nega- 
 tive<l the provision of free transportation of United States troops 
 
 *S<._-e CJiica^i Deisiocrfit, Au^. 1&55 
 
 -*• While the St:Uc treasury is doubtles.s largrely benefited by this peraianent an-anj,?e- 
 mcut, it, is a question whetAier the cori-.pany isnot after an the irniner in being rid of 
 all tuxx^s for State, county, townisliip, echcKil and munioipa! purpos«.« along the entire 
 liue of its roiuls, and whetiier this is just to the lotialities coaceriied. . 
 
582 HTSTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 and ])roperty forever from Cliieatio to Mobile — from tLe lakes of 
 tlie north to the Gulf of Mexico, &c. 
 
 There w as some delay in commencing" the work, occasioned hy 
 the Commissioner of the General Land Office at Washington, 
 Justin Butterfleld. The company had negotiated a loan of $400,- 
 00(), but before it could be consummated it was necessnry tlmt 
 there should be a conveyance of the lands from government. 
 The commissioner, who was from Chicago, construed the grant as 
 entitling the comi>any to lands for the branch on a straight line 
 to Chicago, which Avould avoid the junction with the iMichigan 
 Central. But this construction was reversed by the President and 
 Secretary of the Interior. In March, 1852, the necessaiy docu- 
 ments of conveyance were linally secured, contracts Avere let, and 
 the work carried forward. The road was completed Avith little in- 
 terruption. 
 
 As au instructive example of how money may quicken other 
 property into manifold life, scattering its gains in nuiny unex- 
 l>ected directions, the Illinois Cential railroad is a subject in point. 
 This work was one of the most stupendous and ingenious s})ecu- 
 lations of modern times. By means of it a fcAv sagacious capital- 
 ists became the owners of a first-class railroad, more than 700 
 miles long, in full running order, complete in rolling" stock and 
 every equii)age, and millions of acres of land, worth in the aggre- 
 gate perhaps, $40,000,000, Avithout the actual outlay of a cent of 
 their own money. This project was among the first to illustrate 
 the immense field there was opening uj) in this country for bold 
 and gigantic railroad operations by capitalists; and as contrasted 
 Avith the State internal imi)roAement scheme of 1830-7, it Avas 
 furthermore an example of the superiority of priAate enterprise 
 over State or govermental undertakings. The State at that time, 
 Avith a poimlation of about 350,000, mostly small farmers, author- 
 ized a loan exceeding $10,000,000, to construct public Avorks. One 
 of these was the Central Ilailroad, ui)on Avhich a considerable 
 sum was expended. Hard times and a general collai)se folloAved 
 in rapid order. Now, Avith this grant of land from the general 
 goA'ernmeut, not far short of 3,000,000 acres within a belt of 15 
 miles along the route of the road, to aid its construction, these 
 gentlemeu, backed by credit and capital, step forward, propose to 
 take the lands and build the road, AAhich is to belong to them 
 AA'hen built. The State accepts the offer, incorjtorates the gentle- 
 men's scheme by perpetual charter, and endoAvs them with this 
 munificent domain and all the property and remains of the old 
 Central road. After the road is put in operatioji, the company 
 pays the State annually 7 per centum of its gross earnings in lien 
 of all taxes forever. Having acquired a a ested right, the State 
 has no other than police control over the company, ami as it is a 
 foreign corporation, disimtes betAveen theiu must be settled in 
 foreign,^*, e. U. S., courts. The minimum valuation of the lands 
 acquired, so soon as the road should be completed, Avas $20,000,000, 
 exceeding by $0,000,000, the cost of the road, estimated at $20,000 
 per mile, Avhich in Illinois, Avas liberal, because she ijresented the 
 nu>st uniform and faA^orable surface for the construction of rail- 
 roads of any other State in the Union. Two-thirds of the land 
 was stipulated as security for the principal of the constriu;tion 
 bonds; 250,000 acres to secure the interest fund, and the remain- 
 
ILLINOIS CENTRAL RAILROAD. 583 
 
 der as a coiitiiigeiit fund. The construction bonds found ready 
 sale at par, and built the road. The lainl sales yielded interest to 
 set off in part theaccruin<;' interest on the boiuls. The redemp- 
 tion of the bonds completed, the road and all its appurtenances 
 remains the property of the fortumite gentlemen who had the sa- 
 gacity to see how it could be built without costing tbeni a cent. 
 
 lint they did not re;ip all the developed benetits of this grand 
 enter])rise. The alternate sections of land reserved by tlie federal 
 government within 15 miles of the route of the road, num- 
 bered as many acres as the grant to the State; it had been 
 for UO odd years in market at $1 25 per acre without sale, but 
 now when again put in market in the fall of 1852, it was eagerly 
 taken up aiul reatlily brought from $3 to $7 per acre, and more, 
 had not settlers and speculators combined not to bid against each 
 other. As it was, the sales averaged $o per acre. The govern- 
 ment thus realized a profit of some $1), 000, 000 by its munificent 
 l>olicy of giving away half its lands in this locality. This was 
 indeed casting bread upon the water, which after many days re- 
 turued several fold. The lands in the railroad belt, so long neg- 
 lected by buyers, were situated as follows: In the Kaskaskialand 
 office district, 23,081 acres, over 30 years on the market ; Shaw- 
 neetown, 401,873 acres, over 30 years; Vaudalia, 341,072 acres, 
 over 25 years ; Danville, 345,702 acres, over 20 years; and in the 
 ])ixon 405,04'J acres, over 10 years. 
 
 lint besides the general government, the State too, was at the 
 same time benefited by having its unsettled interior opened up to 
 tides of thronging immigrants; its rich soil brought into cultiva- 
 tion; population increased, and its resources and taxable wealth 
 augmented by many millions of dollars. The products of the 
 newly developed region found a ready avenue to the nmrkets oi 
 the world. Chicago, too, was thus furnished with another iron 
 tentaculuiu to reach far into the interior of the State for commer- 
 cial food to give increase to her nuirvelous life. But the greatest 
 immediate benefit resulting from the building of the road and 
 branches, accrued to the lands within due and proper marketing 
 distance of the lines, estimated at the enormous amount of $10,- 
 000,000 acres in i)rivate hands, selected early because of their 
 choice quality, which were directly enhanced at least $4 per acre 
 and rendered more saleable. Here was an increase of wealth, 
 amounting to $40,000,000. 
 
 [Note] — Kol'erence has already been made to the jealousy which the success of ob- 
 taining tliis subsidy from Con^rress, excited among- some of our public men as to who 
 was entitled to the meed of praise for carrying the measure througrh, and tlie lionor 
 of oritrnialiy su|it;esting- the plan or line of such a railroad. It was a conception and 
 labor worthy the i)ride and ambition of any man. Visions of office, emolument and 
 lame were doubtless discovered in it. While some apparently shunned it but to make 
 it sure, others boldly claimed the credit. In this connection we are tempted to ex- 
 tract from the piouant correspondence between the Hons. Sidney Breese and S. A. 
 Doualas. The former had been a senator in congress up to March 4th, ISift, when he 
 was succeeded by Gen. Shields. In 1850 he was elected to the Legislature. I'nder 
 date of December 23, 18.ti0, amons- other things in reply to the Illinois State Register, 
 regarding: his favoring the " Holbroolv Chart' rs," he says: 
 
 "The Central Railroad has been a controlling object with me for more than 1.5 years, 
 and I would sacrifice all my personal advantages to see it made. These fellows who are 
 making such an ado about it now have been whijiped into its support. They are not 
 for it now, and do not desire to have it made heeau.^e I get the credit of it. This is in- 
 evitable. I must have the credit of it, for I originated it in l.s:55. and, when in the sen- 
 ate, passed three different bills through that body to aid in its construction. My suc- 
 cessor had an easy task, as I had opened the way for him. It was the argument con- 
 tained in my reports on it that silenced all opposition, and made its passage easy- I 
 claim the credit, and no one can take it from me." 
 
584 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 This fell under the eye of Senator Douglas, at Washington, who took occasion to re- 
 ply on January 5th, 1851, at length, giving a detailed history of all the efforts made la 
 congress to procure either pre-emption or grant of land in aid of building this road, 
 Baying : "You were the champion of the policy of granting pre-emption rights for the 
 benefit of a private company [the Holbrook,] and I was the advocate of alternate sec- 
 tions to the State." The letter is quite long, but very interesting, and may be found 
 in the Illinois State Rcgifttfr. and papers of the State ot that period generally. 
 
 Judge Breese rejoined under date of January 25, 1851, through the columns of the 
 same paper, at great length, claiming that beside seeking to obtain pre-emption aid he 
 also was the first to introduce "a bill for an absolute grant of the alternate sections for 
 the Central and Northern Cross Railroads," but tinding no favorable time to call it up, 
 it failed. "It was known from ray first entrance into congress that 1 would accomplish 
 the measure, in some shape, if possible ;" but the Illinois members of the house, he as- 
 serts, took no interest in the passage of any law for the benefit of the Central road, 
 either by grant or pre-emption. He claims no share in the passage of the law of 1850 : 
 "Your (Douglas',) claim shall not, with my consent, be disparaged, nor those of your 
 associates. 1 will myself weave your chaplet, and place it, with no envious hand, upon 
 your brow. At the same time history shall do me justice. I claim to have first pro- 
 jected this great road, in my letter of 1835, and in the judgment of impartial and disin- 
 terested men my claim will be allowed. I have said and written more in favor of it 
 than any other. It has been the highest object of my ambition to accomplish it, and 
 when my last resting place shall be marked by the cold marble which gratitude oraf- 
 ffection may erect, I desire for it no other inscription than this, that he who sleeps be- 
 neath it projected the Central Railroad." 
 
 He also cited at length his letter of October 16, 1835, to John Y. Sawyer, in which the 
 plan of the Central Railroad was first foreshadowed, which opens as follows • "Having 
 some leisure from the labor of my circuit, I am induced to devote a portion ot it in 
 giving to the puhlic a plan, the outline ot which was suggested to me by an intelligent 
 friend in Bond county, a.few days since." * * 
 
 To this Douglas, under date ot Washington, Feb. 22, 1851, surrejoins at considerable 
 length, and in reference to this opening sentence in the Sawyer letter, exclaims, "How 
 is this ! The father of the Central railroad, wjth a Christian meekness worthy of all 
 praise, kindly consents to be the reputed parent of a hopeful son begotten for him by 
 an intelligent friend in a neighboring county ! I forbear pushing this inquiry further. 
 It involves a question of morals too nice, of domestic relations too delicate, lor me to 
 expose to the public gaze. Inasmuch, however, as you have furnished me with becom- 
 ing gravity, the epitaph which you desire t-ngrossed upon your tomb, when called upon 
 to pay the.lasc debt of nature,you will allow me to suggest that as such an inscription is 
 a solemn and a sacred thing, and truth its essential ingredient, would it not be well to 
 make a slight modification, so as to correspond with the facts as stated in your letter 
 to Mr. Sawyer, which would make it read thus, in your letter to me : "if /i«s been tJia 
 higliest (ilijrrt of my lonhilion to dcronijiU.sh the ( 'cntral lUdlnnKK <""'' vhen my last redimj 
 place t'luilt In iiiii'rhKl hy tlit cold ^vavhlt uiiicli <jr'.ttil\i(li- oy tillidii'ti way treet, 1 dtsirt frrf 
 itno otlicr i)i.-<criptioiL than tltis : He who sleeps ijENEATii this stone voluntarily con- 
 sented TO BECOME THE PUTATIVE FATHER OF A LOVELY CHILD, CALLED THE CENTKAL 
 
 Railroad, and begotten for him by an intelligent friend in the county of 
 Bond." We find no further correspondence. See Illinois State Journal, March, 1S51. 
 
Chapter XL VII. 
 
 OUE FEEE OE STOCK BANKS— 1851-1865. 
 
 How a Banl- might he started — Ultimate Security of the Bill holder — 
 The Small JS^ote Act — Panic of 1854 — Bevulsionof 1857 — Wind- 
 ing up. 
 
 NotwitlistaiKliiig- the State, in 1851, was in tlie hands of the 
 democratic party by au increased majority, and that this domi- 
 nant party liad for years in its State platforms fnhninated resolu- 
 tions against the enormity of banking' as the source of all our 
 financial woes, the legislature, also largely democratic, neverthe- 
 h'ss passed another general banking law, authorizing free or stock 
 Tianks. The democratic governor vetoed the bill, but it was 
 p]()ni}»tly passed over his objections, and the people of the State, 
 notwithstanding their exi)eriences of the disastrous results from 
 the banks authorized in 18L*1 and in 18oG-7, ami in spite of their 
 teachings and democratic majority, a])proved it by their votes at 
 the election of Xovember of that year. As a rule, the nnisses 
 favor any scheme which promises an abundant currency — they are 
 naturally I'or expansion — while capitalists i'avor contraction. 
 
 Directly after the adoption of the constitution of 1848, the es- 
 tablishment of another banking system was agitated. The project 
 advanced was to divide up the State into 3 banking districts, 
 with boards of bank trustees for each. As security, banking 
 associations were to deposit United States stock ami a certain por- 
 tion of gold, when circulating notes as money were to be issued to 
 them. The democratic i>ress made a great outcry against the 
 whig scheme, as it was called, to fasten again upon the then once 
 more thriving and prosperous State the withering curse of banks. 
 This plan, which proposed but one class of securities — United 
 States ()'s — was certaiidy prefeiable to that adopted two years 
 later, which allowed as security the stocks of any or ail the States. 
 The formei' presented the advantage of having a uniform secu- 
 rity tor all the banks of the country, giving a like uniformity of 
 value to their issues all over our broad domain ; while to the lat- 
 ter, with bonds of any State, many far from home periia])s, the 
 fluctuations of a varying market would severely attach. IJut in 
 principle the State stock banks weie the forerunners of the pre- 
 sent national baidcing system. 
 
 The Itankiug law of 1851 required as a basis or security for all 
 banks oi>erating under it, the depost with the auditor of, 1st, 
 United States stocks ; 2d, stocks of any other State; 3d, stocks 
 of Illinois valued at 20 per cent, below the market price. Stocks 
 
586 HISTORY OF LLLmOIS. 
 
 ou wliicli the interest v. as not annually paid could not be de[)Osite<l 
 except in double amounts. It tliey depreciated in the market, 
 further deposits were to be made. The depositors were entitled 
 to the interest accruing on the bonds. AVheu the deposit of 
 stocks was perfected, the auditor was authorized to have engraved 
 and issue bank notes to the owners in nearly equal amounts, not 
 less than $50,000, to circulate as money. The notes on presenta- 
 tion at the bank were required to be redeemed in specie, the 
 amount to be kept on hand not being specified, and for refusal 
 and after protest it became liable to 12^ per cent damages in lieu 
 of interest. On failure of the bank, it was to be wound up by 
 sale of its stocks at auction in New York, and the proceeds weie 
 first to be paid out on the circidating notes. If the stocks and 
 other effects of the banks proved insufticient, then the stockhold- 
 ers became liable respectively to the amount of their stocks in 
 their private property, to pay the bill holders. Interest was 
 fixed at 7 per cent., and loans might be made on real or personal 
 property. Dealing in real estate was not allowed, other than to 
 sell that Avhich fell into their hands as security. The usual bank- 
 ing privileges of buying and selling exchange, coin, &c., were ex- 
 tended to them. A board of 3 bank commissioners, with power 
 of examination into their affairs, was also provided ; and the ofti- 
 cers of the banks were required to render quarterly statements 
 to the auditor, under oath, as to their condition. 
 
 With these provisions, it was thought that the notes would cer- 
 tainly be safe. Indeed the law was first regarded as so strin- 
 gent that few would attempt baidcing under it — certainly meie 
 speculators would not. The bill holders appeared to beultiniiitely 
 secure. Ncav York, we have seen, as early as 1838, authoiized 
 banking on State stocks, and by the time Illinois, which subse- 
 quently coi)ied the New York law, embarked in the project, half 
 the States of the Union ran wild after the discovery of the new 
 ai'^d safe scheme, by means of which the capitalist, contrary to 
 Franklin's aphorism, might '^ eat his cake and have his cake" — 
 invest his money in bonds, deposit them, and from the hands of 
 the auditor have his money again and own his bonds too. 
 
 AYhile the banking bill was pending before the peoi)le, the 
 friends of the measure, to secure its adoption, pointed to the fact 
 that the State was inundated with millions of the notes of banks 
 of foreign States, of the value, solvency, or genuineness of which 
 little or nothing was known here ; that by allowing aliens to fur- 
 nish us a circulating medium Ave not only paid tribute to them but 
 yielded our State pride ; that it Avas but just to ourselves and to 
 our interests to replace this exotic trash by a sound and safe cur- 
 rency of our own 5 that the basis for banks re<iuired by this law 
 made them not only i)erfectly secure to the bill holders, but that 
 a home currency, within easy reach of the places of redemption 
 and its ready convertibility into specie, would directly drive out 
 the foreign bills; that with the greater abundance of money, 
 times would become easy, produce would rise in jmce, lands en- 
 hance in value, the influx of emigrants be augmented, and gen- 
 eral pros])erity would shower its glad smiles upon all our people 
 with a proluse hand. Experience shows that the masses are but 
 too leady to gras}) at a project Avhich jn'oniises plenty of money 
 today, although assured that it will be worthless to-morrow. 
 
FREE OR STOCK BANKS. 587 
 
 Its oi)poiients argued that under the new law, the currency pro- 
 posed to be introduced was suscejjtible of multiplication to an in- 
 deMnite amount, and if the bill carried, an avalaiu;he of i)a])er 
 luoney might be thrown into circulation, dazzling and bewildering 
 the senses of the people, leading them into a wild, headlong mania 
 of speculation, the secpiel to which, as had ever been tlie case, 
 must be disaster and ruin. With an inflated currency i>r()perty 
 would attain to unhealthy prices, purchases would be nuide at 
 perhaps half cash, balance on time, secured by mortgages on the 
 premises. While the obligations were maturing a contrac- 
 tion would take place, stagnation ensue and prices be de- 
 l>ressed below the normal standard ; claims would be pressed 
 upon debtors, mortgages foreclosed, and many au unwary i)ur- 
 chaser aaouUI be stripped of his all under the hammer of the 
 sheriff, his vendor buying back the property at less than the 
 mortgage claim, leaving an unsatisiied judgment still hanging over 
 him. The baidv measure was held to be a project to swell the cof- 
 fers of the rich from tlu^ labor and necessities of the poor. 
 
 They further showed that the bank securities might be of un- 
 stable value, which would rise and fall in the nuirket with the 
 operations and nuichinations of financiers; that money based 
 upon them would be subject to sinnliir tiuctualions ; that these 
 pledges of stock were as uothing to the man Avith this money iu 
 his han<l which he desired to convert. Let but an actual case of 
 suspension be contemplated. To sell the stocks aud redeem the 
 notes required time and was attended by circundocution. The 
 X>oor or needy cannot wait. Want and exigence i>ress from 
 myriad directious. Now the broker steps in, himself perhaps a 
 shareholder in the sus])ended bank, and offers 50 or 75 cents ou 
 the broken promises. The holder of this money received iu ex- 
 chauge for his labor or other equivalent, camu)t wait the ultimate 
 redem])tion by the auditor, but is compelled to suffer a shave to 
 this depth. The broker, however, is in no such stress; he quietly 
 awaits the sale of the stocks, the redemption of the notes with the 
 proceeds, and realizes the 2.t or 50 i)er cent, which his thousands 
 of vi(;timshave lost, and with the gains starts another bank. 
 
 TheOth section of the bank bill i>rovided for the association of 
 persons "to establish oflices of discount, deposit and vircnlation,''^ 
 Avith an aggregate capital stock of not less than $50,000. This 
 section served the oi)ponents of the bill a good turn belbre the 
 people. It was deduced thence; and asserted th.it the bill was a 
 trick, concealing deceptive ])hraseology ; that it provided for two 
 classes of banks, one secured by the i)ledge of i)ublic stocks, the 
 other totally irresponsible, allowing its issues to "circulate" ou no 
 othei' basis than ])en, ink and paper to write out its articles of as- 
 sociation, nu)ney enough to i)ay for recording and posting copies 
 thereof to Springfield to be filed with the secretary of state; that 
 the former were to catch the votes of the peoi)le, but the latter 
 concerns Avere to furnish the currency. The phraseology of this 
 section in connection with the Avoi'd " circulate," it must be con- 
 fessed, was somewhat ambiguous.* 
 
 *The Chicng-o Pro's. December, 185:?, says it ha? warned the people thnt paper would 
 be issued not ^eellre(l by stocks, and there were then various issues of certificates of 
 deposit in the similitude of bank notes, sif;ned and subscribed by the officers, desig- 
 nated by the utterers to circulate the same as bank notes. 
 
588 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Not\vitlistandiii<;- these ar.uumeiits nguiiist it, llie people in No- 
 vember, 1851, elected the bank bill, and it became the law of the 
 State. The vote stood 37,0-0 tor to 31,105 against it. This poll 
 was less by 7,000 than half the votes cast at the guberiiatoiial 
 (Election one year later, being 153,882. 
 
 The constitution provided that no baidcing law should be en- 
 acted except by the sauctiou of a niajority of the people voting 
 for it at a general election. A special election, it was doubtless 
 thought by the fraiuers, would not call forth a full expression of 
 the sentiment of the people upon such a measure. In their haste 
 to have the people pass upon the bank bill, the legislature 
 created a general election for this purjjose, by repealing all the 
 county treasurers out of office, and ordering a new election for 
 those officials at the same time the bank bill was to be voted upon. 
 With this action of the legislature, after the election, the defeated 
 opponents of the measure found mucli fault, and it was severely 
 denounced. It was claimed that a presidential, biennial election 
 for members of congress, or the state legislature alone, were gen- 
 eral elections, M'here the bill would have been fully discussed be- 
 fore the people. The spirit of the constitution was doubtless vio- 
 lated by the legislature. 
 
 The apprehensions that the law was so stringent that few, if 
 any, banks would be organized under it, was speedily dispelled. 
 Within the first year the democratic i)ress cried aloud that the 
 country was flooded with i)aper money to an alarming extent. 
 Pioperty rose in price, and a speculative spirit became rife. All 
 who could command the means Avere enlarging the area of their 
 territorial possessions and debts were freely incurred. The mania 
 of 1836-7, it was urged, would be i-epeated, and irretricAable ruin 
 overtake thousands. Indeed the new plan of stock bank- 
 ing became very general throughout the Union, and there Avas no 
 little expansion. But in Illinois much of all this was owing to the 
 inauguration of the railroad era just at that time, and enhance- 
 ments had a solid basis, very unlike the period of 1830-8. 
 
 When the organization of banks under the new loan was com- 
 menced, nothing further was heard of the great ])art the associations 
 under section were to play; no issues were uttered without the 
 deposit of stocks by any associations. But as the law stood and 
 the courts afterwards held, the deposit of $50,000 in bonds was 
 a sufficient compliance with its provisions as to capital. The 
 amount of specie capital to be kept on hands was a question of 
 risk for the banks, the law not fixing any amout. This caused 
 much of the business of free banking to go into the hands of ir- 
 responsible and non resident i)ersons, who, having no object or in- 
 terest further than to get their notes into circulaton and leaving 
 the bill-holders to take care of them, located their concerns in re- 
 mote and inaccessible places, where no legitimate baiddng busi- 
 ness could or was expected to be done, .and flooded the country 
 with "wild cats." And as such bar.ks did not often keep any 
 place of business in the a})])arent location thereof, the power of 
 demand and protest was destroyed.* 
 
 Hoiv a Stocic Banli Might he Started — While doubtless many 
 of these free banks were started Avith an actual paid up capital, 
 
 * See Report House Committee, 1861. 
 
FREE OR STOCK BANKS, o89 
 
 q,iKl did a regular and legitimate banking business, for the renui- 
 neration was ample, it is also true that the following perfectly 
 feasable manner of organiziitiou Tinder the law, was freely recog- 
 nized and often approaehably put into practice. A few sharp 
 operators, hailing from, it mattered little wheie, with ready money 
 enongh to meet the expenses of getting uj) the bills, notify the 
 auditor in thei)ro])er way, that they have organized a com});niy to 
 start the, say '"Absohite Safety J>ank of the town ol' Wihlcal, in 
 ]>rush county ; capital $2(10, 00(»." They now contribute i)erliaits 
 $o,()00 for the cost of engraving tlie phites, i)rinting the bills and 
 other incidental expenses. Ila\ ing credit they obtain letters and 
 next ni)ply to a broker and borrow on short tinu", say IMissonri O's 
 or stocks of other States, to the amount they Avant. Perhajjs as 
 security they hy])otliecate or mortgage other i)roi)erty, either to 
 the broker or sonu' well known iinancier. By the time the notes 
 are printed, countersigned and registered the bonds are taken to 
 Spriiigtield and deposited. The auditor, in accordance with the 
 law, tujiis over to them their nicely executed bright new bills, 
 reiiresenting $200, 000, declared bylaw to be nunu'y. Approjtriate 
 and exquisite devices, representing i)erhaps stacks of luoney bags, 
 out of which a stalwart Indian is i»ouring the yellow eagles iu 
 great heaps of precious gold, end)ellish the cris}* "promises on 
 demand.' The bills are next taken or sent, say to Georgia, or 
 some other distant State where a similar baidcing system is iu 
 operation, and there swapped for the issues of various banks, the 
 more scattered the better, so as to have them from home as lar as 
 possible. The money received in exchange is now either directly 
 ])aid over for the bonds bonght or de])Osited, or perhaps brought 
 home and vested in grain, pork or beef, which is shipped east, the 
 bills of lading transTiiitted to the broker, who pays out of thei)io- 
 ceeds for the bond.s advanced, and foiwards the residue, perhaps 
 a handsome nnirgin besides, to tin; baidcers in Illinois. And thus 
 the money is turned. In the meantime the bank at AYildcat is 
 opened for a few hours each day, but no piles of bank notes ap- 
 pear on its desks, no exchange is bought or sold, no accojnnioda- 
 tions are granted or discounts made. No drearier looking bank 
 ever opened its doors. But then in the out of the way i)lace of 
 its location there is little deujand for these ordinary transactions 
 of a bank. IS^otwithstanding- the rathersorry looking ap}>earance 
 of this concern with its capital of $200,000, the owners are making 
 the interest on the bonds deposited, amounting to double the orig- 
 inal capital invested in the bank. If the bills are a long time in 
 tinding the retreat for their redemi)tion, it is a good thing for the 
 ingenious bankers. To guar<l against their ready presentatiou 
 for this puri>ose the institution has been located in Brush county, 
 where it may be both ditlicult to fiiul and tedious of access, and 
 where a small amount of coin in the vault serves to sustain it 
 against failure. Perhaps, by fortunate investments, the bank 
 prospers ; the owners add some paid up capital, and with th'^se 
 means a general baidving business is engaged in. Of the banks 
 located iu cities, or at conveniently accessible points, it was ]U)ted 
 that the same companies would start several banks with a large 
 nominal capital for each, though the actual banking, or the utter- 
 ing of their bills, Avas restricted to the mininuim amount allowed 
 by the law. This would euable them, by shifting coiu from one to 
 
590 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 another in times of a run to get along- with perhaps half or less of 
 the ordinary amonnt of specie ke])t on hands for redemption. l\e- 
 demption of each bill separately was allowable at this time, and 
 separate i)rotests were likewise required. In 1857 the legislature 
 amended the law so that in presenting notes for payment it Avas 
 not required to recei\e redemption for each note separately, but 
 the whole amount might be presented as a general obligation and 
 one payment demanded. 
 
 In tiie summer of 1850 the Grayville bank songht to restrain 
 the auditor from putting it in liquidation, becanse its bills were pro- 
 tested in amounts of $0,000 and $8,100 upon the ground that this 
 amendment was null and void, not having been submitted to a 
 vote of the peojjle for ratitieation like the original hiw. A readi- 
 ness to redeem separately was alleged. In 1800 AVillard & Ad- 
 sit of Chicago presented a number of bills for redemption to the 
 Eeapers' Bank at Fairtield. Payment was commenced in dimes 
 and half dimes, occuping a whole day in redeeming $150. After 
 this trilling, the remainder was protested for non-payment and for- 
 warded to the auditor, who being about to force the bank into 
 liquidation, was enjoined. But .ludge Wilson, of Chicago, decided 
 that "a bank had no right to throw such obstacles in the way of 
 a prompt and speedy redemption." But, however the bonds were 
 obtained for banking purposes, the issues based upon them added 
 to the currency of the country ami benefited very many ])eople; 
 and with a tiiithful auditor to look after these securities, wlio, in 
 case they dei)reciated in market would i)ronii)tly call on the baidcs 
 affected to make good the margin declined with additional depos- 
 its, no idtimate loss could well occur to the bill holder.* Nothing 
 would permanently have depreciated these state securities except 
 the unpiecedented occasion offered by the rebellion of 12 States 
 of the Union. 
 
 *As a good commentary on the argument of ultimate security to the bill holder, how- 
 ever, upon which much stress was laid at the time liy the advocates of the stoclibank 
 system, and also as illustrating the manner of hindering and throwing obstacles in the 
 way of a ready redemption in specie that might be made use of by banliers, the fol- 
 lowing pleasantly related experience, current at the time, though applied to Indiana, 
 fitted Illinois as well, and will, wetrust, prove not tininteresting to the reader. It is 
 the invention of some fertile newspaper genius of the time, and hrst appeared in the 
 Cincinnati Commercial : 
 
 Suppose a gentleman should be so unfortunate as to fall heir to a five dollar note 
 upon one of these institution, and desires to realize upon it specie or exchange, t * 
 what is he to do ? First, find the bank ! that of course ; and that is not always an easy 
 matter. Banks in Indiana lurk in ont-ol-the-way places. Like the insect hunted by 
 the entomological Hibernian, when you find themthey ar'ntthere. They don't affect 
 corner lots, but shun the din of crowded cities, nestling close under the lee of prime- 
 val forests, marked by an ancient Indian trail or solitary cow path. Tiiey are things 
 to be found by the bee hunters, are seen far off by the midnight Nimrod in search of 
 coons, with the moonlight sleeping upon their shingle roofs and primitive cornices. 
 Capital has become modest, and wealth retires from the world into the cloisters of the 
 deep old woods, or the holy solitudes of the prairies, conversing with nature— laying 
 up its treasures "where neitnermoth nor rustdoth corrupt," and where none [butthe 
 auditor of state] can find them. 
 
 But suppose that the institution is revealed, and the monetary anchorite stands cim- 
 fessed,; suppose that the business hours have arrived, and the shingle whose opposing 
 sides give each other the lie, faces the sun with the announcement— "bank open"— 
 we see the aforesaid heir, with rapid steps, approach the edifice. He enters ; he draws 
 his pictorial evidence of a promise from his pocket book; he approaches the counter, 
 presents his note to the paying teller, and a coloquy ensues: 
 
 " Can you give me specie for this ?" 
 
 "No."" 
 
 '' Sight or short time eastern exchange I" 
 
 " Nothing." 
 
 " AVhy ?" 
 
 "You are making a run on our institution ; this species of presentation we are bound 
 to resist. You are trying to break us, sir— to make us stop payment, sir; you can'tdo 
 it, sir." 
 
 " But haven't you stopped payment when you refuse to redeem ?" 
 
 "No, sir; ours is a stock institution. There's your ultimate security, sir, deposited 
 
FREE OR STOCK BANKS. 591 
 
 ^' The Foreign Small Note J^c^."— With tlie iiieeting- of tlie U'g- 
 islatuie, in 1853, a contrariety of oi)inion obtained among- tlie 
 members as to tbe power to amend, modify or repeal the general 
 free banking law. One view was that the original act having 
 been snbmitted to a vote of the peoi)le for their sanction, it was 
 now their law and beyond the control of the legislature, fixed as 
 the laws of the ]Me<les and Persians; that the voice of tlic i)eople 
 had imparted to it its vitality, and it must live to procreate its 
 nursling baidvs until the same mighty voice deprived it of its ex- 
 istence; that by the terms of the constitution the people had to 
 sanction such law by their vote, first authorized by the legislature; 
 and that the same routine had to be undergone with all its amend- 
 ments. A "su])i>leniental" banking law without all this routine 
 was, however, ventured upon and adopted by the legislature. 
 But its reception by the i>eo]>]e indicated that the legishitiire 
 might have spared themselves this trouble; for the want of obe- 
 dience to this law was not based uiion any technical ground of 
 want of power by the legislature. It was i)robably more a <{ues- 
 tion of convenience. 
 
 This was the well known "foreign small note act," by which to 
 foster home banks and i>revent the retirement of specie from cir- 
 culation, a penalty of $50 was imposed for every foreign bank 
 bill of a less denomination than 15, uttennl after the 1st of August, 
 1853. It was sought to absolutely squelch the foreign small 
 trash. Bankers and general dealers, or their employees, guilty 
 of this olfense were to be additionally punished by imprisonment 
 in the county Jail; and no suit could be maintained upon any ob- 
 ligations the consideration of which was these small notes of 
 banks of alien States. Great latitude in pleadings under the act 
 was specially enjoined. 
 
 with the auditor. We can't break, sir; we can't stop payment. Look at the law I 
 Look at the (auditor's] circular !" 
 
 " But have you no specie on hand ?'' 
 
 '• Yes, sir; and we are bound to keep it. The law oblipes us to keep 12!,^ per cent, of 
 specie on hand. If we pay out every time one of you fellows call, how can we keep 
 it on hand ?" 
 
 '' Then 1 shall proceed and have the note protested .'' 
 
 "Very well, sir. You will find a notarj' public at Indianapolis, provided he is at 
 home, v\fhich is only about 140 miles from here. But, sir, you had better f;o home, and 
 rely upon your ultimate security. We can't pay specie— rind it won't do; but you are 
 uhimately secure; you can't lose your money, though you never get it. Remember 
 that.'' 
 
 We will suppose our gentleman so unreasonable as not to be satisfied with the pre- 
 sentation of the paj-ing teller of the great principle of ultimate security. He finds 
 his way to Indiatjapolis, makes protest in due form, and, note in hand, proceeds to the 
 auditor of state, where another dialogue ensues: 
 
 " Sir. I have a note of the Squash Bank, at Lost Prairie, with certificate of protest, 
 which I want to deposit in your hands, with a request that you make collection as 
 speedily as possible." 
 
 "Certainly, Sir." 
 
 '• How long before I can e.vpect to realize upon the ultimate securities of the insti- 
 tution ? Thirty days, is it not ?" 
 
 " Not quite as soon as that sir. I shall eive notice to the officers of the Squash Bank. 
 If they pay no attention to it, I shall offer its securities in my hands ff)r sale; but in 
 dis barging my duty to all the creditors of the institution, I shall not proceed to offer 
 any of its assets in this market until after at least 60 days' notice in New York, Lon- 
 don and Paris, so as to insure the largest and best price for the securities; and not 
 then, if, in my opinion, the ultimate interests of all concerned will be promoted by 
 a further e.vtension ! Hem !" 
 
 " But, my dear sir, how long will it be before I can realize upon my demand ?'' 
 
 " Can't say, sir ; stocks are down just now — may rise in a year or two— depends some- 
 what upon tlie fate of the war in Europe. But never fear, your ultimate security is 
 undoubted If you should never get it, j-ou will never lose it; remember that. Rely 
 upon 3'our ultimate security and you are safe.'' 
 
 '• D -n ultimate security! I want mj' money." 
 
 " Well, sir, if that's your game, when you get it, please give us the information." 
 
692 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The exceeding stringency of the provisions overleaped tliem- 
 selves.. While no law was ever more generally understood, both 
 as regards its provisions and the time wlien it was to go into 
 effect, for the press constantly invited attention to it, urging its 
 observance in every particular, so no law was ever more totally 
 ignored by everybody, or became a more complete dead letter 
 from the start. It was violated thronghout the length and breadth 
 of the State many thousands of times daily in the multiform busi- 
 ness relations of society, without the least attention being i)aid to 
 it. The Hoods of foreign small notes continued to infest our com- 
 munities and retaiued their ground. 
 
 Tlie Panic of 1854. — In the fall of 1854 there was, for a short 
 time, quite a monetary crisis in the country. Among the 
 free banks of especially Ohio and Indiana there were a num- 
 ber of failures, and nuich alarm prevailed. Missouri and Virginia 
 bonds had been thrown in large amounts upon the KeAV York 
 market, and declined to 95 and 93 cents; though their interests 
 had been regularly kept up. Dame rumor, with her many tongues, 
 doubtless considerably enlarged upon the facts, ami much distrust 
 obtained in Illinois. Chicago was Hooded with Georgia shin- 
 plasters. Brokers sought to take advantage of tiie public solici- 
 tude to precipitate a panic ; its effects, however, did not extend 
 mnch beyond the city. There, a heavy run Avasmade on the banks 
 by bill holders and depositors, and a iiretty general suspension 
 took place. 
 
 In the meantime, W. B. Fondey, of the bank commission, coun- 
 selled the people that the panic was a mere brokers' trick, that no 
 default had been made in interest payments on the depreciated 
 bonds, and therefore it could only be temporary, and warned them 
 not to part with their money at discount or sacrifice. The mer- 
 chants of Chicago had steadily taken the money in exchange for 
 goods, and the wholesale dealers, feeling assured of the ultinuite 
 security of the stock banks, and perceiving no adequate cause for 
 the panic, also lent their support in sustaining the banks, and the 
 result was that in a few days they resumed business, and the panic 
 oidy gave them greater confidence with the people. The storm 
 •was successfully weathered, and those banks whose deposits were 
 depreciated complied with the call of the commissioners, and put 
 up an additional margin of security. 
 
 After the flurry the press took up the subject of revising our 
 banking law. The discrimination of 20 per cent, against Illinois 
 bonds as a banking basis was denmnded to be removed. Under 
 the law of 1849 private pei'sons might make valid agreements for 
 interest at 10 per cent.; not so, however, the banks — they were re- 
 stricted to 7. In this connection the bank commissioners, ex-Gov. 
 A. C. French, P. Maxwell and W. B. Fondey, in their report of 
 Dec. 30, 1854, say it had been the custom with banks to loan their 
 money to other corporations and associations composed for the 
 most part of the same stockholders, to be re-loaned by them as 
 individuals at an advanced rate of interest, 10 per cent., and the 
 result was that the community had not been enabled to get money 
 any cheaper than formerly, while the difference of 3 per cent, in 
 the rate of interest obtained in this manner, had induced the 
 banks to evade the intention of the hiA\', and pursue a course cal- 
 
FREE OR STOCK BANKS. 593 
 
 Ciliated to weaken tlie eonfideiice wLicli they should endeavor to 
 inspire in the community where located. It was also urged that 
 those banks which wanted to, should be peiiuitted to withdraw 
 their bills from circulation and take up their bonds with the au- 
 ditor in sums of |r.,0()0 or .$1 (),()()(), instea<l of all but 10 ])er cent., 
 as the law then stood. But the legishiture of 1855 disi'egarded 
 all the objections with the single exception of the last, ami sim- 
 ply allowed banks to surrender to the auditor their bills in sums 
 of $1, <)()() ibr their securities. 
 
 Two years later, however, another legislature put Illinois bonds 
 on an equal footing with those of other States as a basis for bank- 
 ing, all to be valued 10 per cent, less than the )narket price; 
 allowed banks to discount, pnper or make loans at- the rate of 10 
 per cent; forbade the location of banks at places of less than 200 
 inhabitants; nmde the issues redeemable at the places where 
 dated, in packages, to be treated as a single obligation, and which 
 might thus likewise be protested for non-i^ayment. 
 
 The RevnMon q/'1857. — On the first of January, 1857, the whole 
 number of banks which had been organized since the law took 
 effect in 1851, was 61, eleven had been closed voluntarily or by 
 protest and forfeiture of charter, leaving 50 in operation, with a 
 circulation of -$(), 480,873, on a basis of stock security whose cash 
 %';duation was 'iiO,0<);>,o81) ; and up to the time when the financial 
 crash swept the country in September of this year banking- capital 
 and operations were largely on the increase. 
 
 Tile [>eriod of the existence of the banks up to this time had 
 been one of uni)aralleled prosperity in this State. Its rapid strides 
 to o[)u]enceand empire had never been equalled before, nor have 
 they since. Our taxable wealth had nearlv trebled itself, being", 
 for the year 1851, $137,818,079, and for the year 1857, $407,4:4:7,307. 
 This period being' within the railroad era, the increase of wealth, 
 was either solid or ])ased upon a just and reasonable expectation 
 of values, thougli something was attributable to bank expansions. 
 The whole cou)itry was prosperous, stimulated greatly by the 
 uund)er of free banks then very generally in vogue. It is in pe- 
 riods of this sort, when times are good, pajier money abundant, 
 and confidence strong, that comnninities incline to the abandon- 
 ment of the old, slow but safe pursuits, for the tempting prospects 
 of realizing large gains on small capital in short times. 1'here 
 was an infiation of values throughout the west, which affected 
 landed property in cities, towns and country. Chicago coiiier lots 
 shared in this to a wonderful degree. A spirit of speculation was 
 rife, but it was more intensified in the east than the Avest. There 
 large anu)unts of western unproductive property had been bought 
 purely on speculation, with money borrowed from the abundant 
 coffers of the banks at home, depending ui^on its steady advances 
 in quoted values to meet payments as they matur<;d ; here pur- 
 chases were made, many of them on better time, and the property 
 developed and made productive. When the financial storm burst 
 upon the country its disastrous effects were therefore more severely 
 and more lastingly expeiienced in the east than the west. As 
 westeiii lands and lots had been in great part the means, but not 
 the cause, of the monetary crisis, so now western industry and 
 western products became the medium of unlocking the wheels of 
 38 
 
594 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 coninierce and riglitiiig the busine.ss of the country. The eastern 
 currency sent west to move the crops, Lad been, on the first niut- 
 terings of the approaching storm, ^ery generally recalled. West- 
 ern merchants had bought very largely on time in the east. It 
 now became the duty of the western i)r()dncers to throw their 
 staples of grain, pork, beef and other commodities into the market 
 on time to release these merchants and debtors, which was nobly 
 done. 
 
 In January, 1857, an eftbrt had been made, mostly on the i>art 
 of western brokers, to discredit some of the stock securities of Illi- 
 nois banks, which created some alarm. St. Louis merchants issued 
 a circular stating that they would continue to receive the notes 
 of the discredited banks as heretofore. The determined stand thus 
 taken insx)ired the public with conlidence, and the brokers' scheme 
 proved a failure. Later, the securities of some of the baidis having 
 sustained a diminution in value, the bank commissioners, on the 
 8th of May, made a requisition on them to file, within -10 days, ad- 
 ditional security. All responded but two. By the I'Tth of July, 
 such Avas the fluctuation of stocks in market, and the signs of the 
 impending revulsion, that it became necessary to make a similar 
 requisition, this time on 21) banks, being more than half of those 
 in the State. They were given (JO days to make good the margin. 
 These li9 banks had a deposit of stock securities of $J:,r)(J(),(K)(>, of 
 which $2,738,000 were Missouri O's. The total number of Missouri 
 bonds upon which banking was done in Illinois was at this time 
 not less than $4,o00,000 ; notwithstanding which the brokers and 
 merchants of St. Louis now refused Illinois currency, causing much 
 embarrassment to our people in the central and southern i)arts 
 of the State. One of the bank commissioners visited St. Louis, 
 and, before a meeting of her merchants, brokers and busines men, 
 made a masterly exposition of our banking system, and failed not 
 to show to those geutlenK'n that the credit of Missouri, whose 
 bonds formed nearly three-fourths of the bases of our banks, was 
 also involved in their attempts to bring Illinois currency into dis- 
 repute. His action was also seconded by candid and intelligent 
 discussions by the newspapers of the city. The whole was crowned 
 with the success of restoring Illinois currency to its former stand- 
 ing in St. Louis at gold par. This was a noble stand for a for- 
 eign city to take, but a severe shock to her commerce. Chicago 
 banks and business men arranged a different standard for this 
 currency, nominally known as a par standard — par for that city 
 — which was never less than 10, and generally 15 per cent, below 
 a real par representing a specie equivalent. 
 
 Owing to the general i>rosperity of the country and the public 
 feeling of security, many of our banks which desired to do only 
 a legitimate business, had been tempted into excessive issues. 
 Now the large number of suspensions and failure of banks, in- 
 surance and trust comi>anies in other States, carrying down with 
 them many of the stauiu'li(\st mercantile houses in the countiy, 
 created a panic which bore heavily upon our banks, brokers, capi- 
 talists ar.d business men generally. The discredited banks 
 protested their inability of complying w ith the requisition of the 
 connuissioners, but these functionaries were firm in their demand. 
 And the banks, notwithstanding their condition and the disas- 
 trous monetaiy crisis prevailing, with but very few exceptions, 
 
FREE OR STOCK BANKS. 595 
 
 struggled nobly tlivough the prostrating storm, and subsequently 
 enjoyed a larger share of public eontidenee than at any former pe- 
 riod* The financial standing of the State among' all the private 
 and corporate calamities of that period stood unshalcen. 
 
 The effects of the revulsion of 1857 was stated as follows : 
 Whole number of firms in the U. S. (except California) which 
 failed was 204,001; liability $299,801,000; assets $150,021,000; 
 total loss $119,780,000, of annihilated commercial wealth. The 
 nnnd)er of firms failing in Illinois, was 310, with an aggregate lia- 
 ))ilitv of $9,338,000. Of these 117 belonged to Chicago', with a 
 liability of $(),5(;2,000. The remaining 199 Illinois firms had a 
 liability of $2,70(i,OOO.t If the losses in Illinois avei'aged with 
 that of the country at large they were about $1,500,000. These 
 incredible sums must have been largely speculative. In Chicago, 
 legitimate business received only a staggering blow, but specula- 
 tion was totally prostrated. The depreciating efiects on the prices 
 <^)f real estate, with the harrassing infiuence of nuituring pay- 
 ments, were not checked for 2 years ; and the business of erecting 
 buildings, or in some cases finishing those beguii, was stopped. 
 Workmen in large nund.)ers forsook the eity, imi)rovements lan- 
 guished, store-rooms and houses stood vacant, rents declined, and 
 vendors and mortgagees received back the property sold, witli the 
 added i-mprovements, finished or otherwise, and the forfeiture of 
 ojie or more payments by purchasers besides. 
 
 The revulsion of 1857, uidike that of 1837, involved mostly only 
 individuals and certain speculative and commercial centres. Had 
 the State been involved by its connection with the banks, as 20 
 years before, the extent of this mad panic torrent u})on the en- 
 tire people, with the ex])anded credits and intiated prices of the 
 }teriod, is fearful to c()ntem[)late. But thaidvs to the provision of 
 the constitution, forbidding State connection with baidcing oi)er- 
 ations. And the c()lla})se coming when our abundant crops 
 were matured, with exchange in our favor, the mines of Califor- 
 nia, pouring their volumes of precious metals into the current of 
 specie exchange, the panic could not and did not produce a last- 
 ing effect upon the prosjierity of the State. Still the taxable 
 Avealth of the State the second year alter the revulsion was re- 
 poited $10,000,000 less than in 1857. 
 
 Uefore 18(50 the free banking system had amply demonstrated 
 that, however a law might compel a baidvcr to fully secuie his 
 issues by pledge of State stocks, it was practically impossible to 
 engraft ui)on it peremiitory and immediate redemption of issues 
 in specie.f The notes of Illinois banks were current only in our 
 own State, and to any considerable extent beyond they were at a 
 discount of one percent, or more.|| Before the close of this year 
 the l;ankshad increased to 110, with a circulation of $12,320,901, 
 which constituted abiiost exclusively, the currency of this State. 
 The baidc securities on dejiosit were valued at $13,980,971. Of 
 the 14 banks withdrawn froiu existence up to this linu' in the 9 
 preceding years, some voluntary and others by forfeituie under 
 the hiAv, the securities of all save one had been ami)le to redeem 
 
 * See Bk. Corn's. Report, .Tiin. lSi,9. 
 
 t B. DogJas & To's Coin. Agency, N. Y. Herald. 
 
 i See Report H. Com. 1S61. 
 
 U Bissell's Message 1859. 
 
596 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 every note, dollar for dollar in si^ecie; and in the exceptional case 
 there was only a loss of 3 per cent.* This demonstrated their ul- 
 timate seciuity to the bill holder in ordinary civil times. 
 
 And now with this large volume of home currency, based for 
 the most part upon the stocks of southern States, in the midst 
 of rapid and solid prosperity to this State, was wantonly precipi- 
 tated the great and disastrous war of the rebellion. State after 
 State shot madly from the orbit of the Union. Confidence in their 
 seciuities was disturbed. Before the close of ivTovember, 1800, 18 
 banks were already in discredit on account of depreciated securi- 
 ties, and were subjected to the call of the commissioners. Eastern 
 exchange advanced to 8 per cent. Business men held meetings to 
 counsel together and devise ways out of the tinancial trouble that 
 was thickening daily. In the impenetrable political darkness of 
 the times, the bank commissioners left the banking interests of 
 the State to the correction of the legislature. That body, which 
 met in January, 1801, revised the free banking law by restricting 
 banks tliereafter to be organized, to the deposit of U. S. and Illi- 
 nois stocks as security, which would also eidiance the salable value 
 of our State stocks; granted to existing banks months' time after 
 call i]i which to make good any margin suffered by the decline of 
 their securiti(^s in market, before being forced into liquidation or 
 their assets could be reached for failure to redeem ; designated 
 Chicago and Springfield as general points of redemption, thiough 
 agents of the banks, at a discount of f of 1 per cent., the money 
 having for some time been 1 per cent, below par, which was in ac- 
 cordance with the recommendation of Chicago business men; 
 raised the interest damages on notes protested for non-payment 
 from12|^to2o percent., and allowed the amlitor to surrender 
 bonds deposited itro rata to holders of notes protested, or on banks 
 in process of liquidation from other causes. If the legislature had 
 not thust('ni])oiized, but with a due appreciatiou of that juncture 
 in nationa.l aflairs, rigidly forced every bank in default into liqui- 
 dation on 10 day's call, and required the auditor to sell the securi- 
 ties immediately, if the market was a little depressed by the abun- 
 dance of bonds cast upon it, it woidd have would have wound wp 
 almost eveiy one, and the tinal result would have been better for 
 both the bill-holders and the banks. 
 
 The legislature at this sessionjtassed also another general bank- 
 ing 1)111 predicated solely ui)on a specie basis. We will not syn- 
 opsize this measure; suffice it, the people, tired of a rotten bank 
 curiency which the history of the State showed had been fur- 
 nished by every banking system which had ever yet been in oper- 
 ation, they, by their votes cast at the JSTovember election of 1801, 
 rejecte<l it. Besides, a revision of the constitution had been or- 
 dered, and it was not deemed advisable to hamper in any way the 
 convention soon to meet. 
 
 But besides this legislation, the days of free banking in Illinois, 
 as in every other State, were numbered. Secession was on the 
 rampage. In the latter part of March, but before open hostilities, 
 Chicago brokers threw out the issues of 32 Illinois stock banks. 
 Forty odd weie now uncurrent. This act was purely arbitrary, 
 for the auditor's report showed many of these to stand as well as 
 many of those bank-quotable. Perhaps it was shrewdly calculated 
 
 ' Gov. Wood's Message, IStil. 
 
FREE OR STOCK BANKS. 597 
 
 that the masses, with small amount of iincnrrent money, would 
 sacrifice it blindly at the first broker's office. St. Louis continued 
 to receive this currency. Prior to this, owing to the general dis- 
 trust, in which country shared perhaps more fully than city, large 
 amounts of the Illinois issues had accumulated in Chicago, where 
 they were current, making trade brisk. Before long the Merchants' 
 Loan and Trust Company, anticii)ating an early heavj' dei)recia- 
 tion, and having perhaps first worked oft' its supply, refused to 
 further take this currency. The other banks, with tlieir coffers 
 full of it, attempted to sustain it, doubtless with no other view 
 than to gain time to get rid of it. Hence it remained current in 
 trade, and large amounts were sent to the country to buy produce, 
 which advanced rapidly in price ; but as the country was fully 
 infected with the distrust, the money showed evidence of exceed 
 iug nimbleness, and would return to the city faster than it could 
 be shoved oft'. Local trade was uiuisually active. In this straight, 
 to keep the stuff up, leading business men and bankers in Chicago 
 actually })ledged themsehes, and signed and issued a circular, to 
 take the money at par during the war. But the pledge was broken 
 a very few days after. Other distinctions now obtained iu 
 this currency, such as "Illinois preferred," which the seller of pro- 
 duce could onl}' obtain at a deep shave. Exchange on ]S"ew York 
 8pee<lily advanced above the "preferred" to 13 i)er cent. While 
 the farmer thus got a few cents more for his grain, it cost him a 
 heavy per centage to exchange for good money, or he paid it out 
 in double profit to the merchant. The list of discredited baidi:s 
 rapidly increased. All the stock banks, regardless of the State 
 stocks which formed their security, shared more or less in the de- 
 preciation, but after the breaking out of actual hostilities those 
 l)ased upon southern stocks declined directly to 50 cents on the 
 dollar. 
 
 With the meeting of the legislature in extraordinary session, 
 April, 1861, there were various schemes mooted to have the State 
 guarranty the ultimate redemi)tion of this free bank money of the 
 Illinois banks. Some plans embraced all of the $12,000,000 of 
 circulation, and others half, selecting those secured by tlie best 
 stocks. In behalf of the latter proposition petitions were freely 
 circulated among the people praying the legislature to this end. 
 This plan was by a certain portion of the press denounced as an 
 invidious distinction. To obviate the constitutional piovision, the 
 power of the legislature was clainu'd upon the ground of necessity, 
 this money in that desperate crisis constituting the sole circula- 
 ting medium of the people of the State. There was a senate bill 
 guarantying the issues of certain banks, and there was an effort 
 made to have the State take this bank currency for its war bonds, 
 authorized at that session, but all failed. 
 
 After this the money got into a still more mercurial and unset- 
 tled condition, l^o one knew what his money would be worth on 
 the morrow. Of course the wiles and arts of the brokers added 
 no little to this instability, and the perplexity of the people. Be- 
 i'ove June every important city and many different railroads issued 
 from day today their special, and sometimes their exclusive, lists 
 of ban lis, whose notes they designated as current. These lists 
 were, for the most part, arbitrary. Every tradesman, and even 
 farmers, carried in their pockets bank lists of this kind, often only 
 
598 HTSTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 to hear of new break-downs and revised lists just after having 
 taken in some of the money. It was a period of annoyance, trial 
 and vexation. 
 
 The banks, from tlieir location — often at remote and inaccessi- 
 ble points — had earned the not inexpressive sonbreqnet of "wild 
 cats ;" and now, since tlieir general depreciation, their issues re- 
 ceived the rather inelegant appelation of "stump-tail." To aid in 
 hurrying forward the approaching end of their reign, the press in 
 many ways lent its powers of ridicule.* 
 
 By the time the ratber abundant wheat crop of 18G1, notwitli- 
 standing the devastation of the army worm that season, went into 
 the market, the stock banks were driven to the wall, and gold and 
 silver sent from the east was paid iiito the farmer's hand, though 
 the prices ranged low — 00 to 70 cents i)er bushel. By 1863 all 
 except 17 of the 110 banks Avere in ])rocess of liquidation, with the 
 circulation reduced from about $1L*,000,00(> to about $500,163. 
 The retirement of this vast circulation was effected mainly by the 
 bill-holders voluntarily surrendering the money for the bonds de- 
 I)osited, for which purpose every facility was extended to them by 
 the auditor in accordance with the law. Five banks had organized 
 under the amended act of 1801, with an aggregate circulation of 
 $51,945. By the tirst of January, 1805, the circulation of Illinois 
 banks had dwindled down to $132,430, all secured by Illinois O's 
 — $175,034. Some of the free banks were under the act of con- 
 gress of 1863 converted into national banks; and it was the 
 national banking law, taxing the issues of all other banks 2 per 
 cent., which has finally wholly extinguished them. 
 
 *(One of the banks became the property of the Hon. J. Young Scammon, a well known 
 wealthy resident of Chicago, who, to jfive them currency, endorsert all its notes. Mi-. 
 Wentworth, of the Democrat, who had fought the "wild cats" with an unflagging' will, 
 heading his editorials on that subject with a family group of wild cats in various sug- 
 gestive attitudes, when this Scammon money came to his hands, which was not slow, 
 printed across the back of each note, his fa}'orite family groupof wild cats, and set 
 it afloat again. These caricatures, it wassaid, had the effect to greatly stimulate the 
 proprietor of the notes to retire them.) 
 
Chapter XLVIII. 
 
 1853-1857— ADMmiSTEATION OF GOV. MATTESON. 
 
 Democratic and Whig Conventions — SJictches of the Guhernatorial 
 Candidates — Financial Condition and Physical Development of 
 the State — Legislation^ 1853-5 — Maine Law and Riot at Chicago — 
 Our Common Schools and trials in the establishment of the Free 
 School System. 
 
 The Democratic State Convention of 1852, to make a ticket for 
 State officers, met in Springfield April 20tb. The political ont- 
 look for that party appeared clear all around the horizon auguring 
 an ea.sy victory at the coming IS'ovember election. Hence there 
 Avas no lack of a.si)irant.s for place on a ticket of such promise. 
 For the position of governor seven names were pi-esented. For 
 some time previous it had been confidently expected that the lion. 
 David L. Gregg, then secretary of State, an accomplished gentle- 
 man of learning, varied political exi)erience, and great inftucnce 
 Avith his party, would receive the nomination. Quite a nund)er 
 of counties had instructed for him, the public press in its com- 
 ments and surmises, had settled on him with a degreeof certainty, 
 causing the opposition to discharge their ])atteries at him, as if his 
 nomination had been consummated. The attack ui)on him was 
 nuiinly on account of his religion, he being a Catholic. The even- 
 ing before the meeting of the convention, a sermon of a political 
 bearing, violently attacking Komanism, was i)reached at the Cap- 
 ital, which was largely attended by the assembled members of the 
 convention. Some controversy was indulged afterward as to 
 whether the minister was a whig or democrat. One thing, how- 
 ever, was certain, it was preached to influence the action of the 
 convention in the defeat of Mr. Gregg. How much influence it 
 had we do not say. N^o sooner had members begun to collect than 
 it was whispered about that it would never do to nominate (iregg 
 because of his Catholicism; and this objection was industriously 
 but quietly urged against him in the convention. After his sacri- 
 fice there was an elfort to smother the nuitter, but it could not be 
 done. Mr. Gregg Icnew and felt it all the time, but he was to true 
 to party to bolt the ti(;ket, ami he gave it the sui)port of all his 
 l)Ower. In a letter to I. is^. JMorris, scouting the idea that the con- 
 vention was goveinedby such intolerant motives, he nevertheless 
 adds, "it is" doubtless* true that a fewMuen in the convention 
 sought to stir uj) religious i)rejudices with the view of accom- 
 plishing my defeat." Aside from this quiet persecuting intrigue, 
 the convention was entirely harmouius. 
 
 599 
 
600 niSTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The couveiitiou was organized witli the Hon. J. A. McClernaud 
 as its permanent chairman. The names presented for the posi- 
 tion of governor on the ticket, together with the nnmber of votes 
 on the first ballot, were as follows : D. L. Gregg, of Cook, 84 votes; 
 Joel A. Matteson, of Will, 56; John Dement, of Lee, 53; F. C. 
 Sherman, of Cook, 23; Thomas L. Harris, of Menard, 16; Lewis 
 W. lioss, of Fnlton, 7; and D. P. Bush, of Pike, 6. Joel A. Mat- 
 teson afterwards received a majority of the votes cast and was 
 declared the nominee of the convention for governor. Gustavus 
 Koerner received the nominatiou for lieutenant-governor; Alex- 
 ander Starne, secretary of State; Thomas H. Campbell, auditor, 
 and John Moore, State treasurer. 
 
 The platform stood by the compromise measures of 1850, and 
 non-intervention; against meddling witn the domestic affairs of 
 other States to stir up strife and hatred ; for free homesteads to 
 heads of families on the public donuiin ; and declared in favor of 
 Douglas for the presidency — that he " embodied all the elements 
 of popularity and success to such a degree as to stamp him 
 as the man for the coming crisis." State afiairs received no 
 notice at its hands, and as the free banking law was in full opera- 
 tion, democratic hostility to banks, so strenously asserted in 1846- 
 '48, was not repeated. 
 
 The Whig State Convention of 1852, met also at Springfield on 
 the 7th of July. It was but sparingly attended. The regularly 
 appointed delegates failed to appearand tlieir places were in part 
 filled by proxies taken from the grand and petit juries, litigants 
 and witnesses in attendance upon the U. S. district and circuit 
 courts then in term. It was organized by the choice of the Hon. 
 O. H. Browning, of Adams, as chairman, who in his 
 opening speech candidly remarked in effect, that it was not 
 expected that the ticket to be by them nominated would carry 
 the State, but it would prove important in tending to hold ui> the 
 hands of their party friends in those States where there was hope 
 of success for Gen. Scott, candidate for the presidency. 
 
 The ticket was mostly made by acclamation. Aspirants 
 for the barren honors were not numerous as in the case of the de- 
 mocracy. The Hon. E. B. Webb, of White, was nominated for 
 governor; J. L. D. Morrison, of St. Clair, for lieutenant-governor; 
 Buckner S. Morris for secretary of State ; Charles Betts for audi- 
 tor; and Francis Arnz, a German, then on a visit to Europe, for 
 treasurer. Owing to the wide spread disgust in the whig ranks 
 regarding the compromise measures of 1850, and the national 
 whig i)latform, which approved them, it was planned on the part 
 of the managers that with the endorsement of the nomina- 
 tion of Gen. Scott, to show party loyalty, it might be best to 
 quietly stop, leaving candidates free to assume such grounds ui)ou 
 the slavery question ami fugitive slave law, either pro or con, as 
 might be deemed to accord best with the varying sentiments of 
 difierent localities in the State. But this plan was sadly deranged 
 by Mr. Herndon, of Sangamon, who unexpectedly, introduced a 
 resolution, approving the Baltimore i)latform. Here was a dilem- 
 ma. To refuse to adopt what was clearly their duty as national 
 whigs, would be to break their party adhesions and become des- 
 ]3ised disorganizers ; to do so, division and estrangement in their 
 ranks, at home was inevitable. The whig party, iu the north of 
 
MATTESON'S ADMINISTRATION. GOl 
 
 this State especially, was largely anti-slavery. Herndon was 
 firm, and the resolution passed, it is said, with feelings of luelan- 
 clioly and niutterings of discontent. It was first omitted from 
 tlie published report of the proceedings, but the alert deuH)cracy 
 promptly called attention to the direliction, whereupon the official 
 proceedings were re[)ublished " to correct the many inaccuracies 
 of the first report."* 
 
 Tlie abolitionists, who probably expected to gain by the large 
 defection in the whig party, also brought out a State ticket with 
 Dexter A. Knowlton, of Stepheuson,for governor, and Philo Car- 
 penter, of Cook, for lieutenant-governor. 
 
 Mr. Webb, the head of tlie whig ticket, was a lawyer, deeidy 
 read in his profession, and of excellent standing in the State. He 
 had been for nnmy years State's attorney, and repeatedly repre- 
 sented his county in the legislature. He did not possess the gifts 
 of oratory. In 183G, as a meud)er of the legislature, he opposed 
 the adoption of the State improvement system, and spread his 
 protest upon the journal, containing language of prophesy, whoso 
 verification in a few years, was but too emphatic. In 1855 he was 
 a candidate for the supreme bench against Judge Breese, who was 
 elected While yet a boy his father remo\ ed to Carmi, Illinois, 
 where Mr. Webb continued to live, aiul died in 1850. When the 
 writer personally knew hiin in tiie latter years of his life, he was 
 exceedingly fond of a small social cir(;le of friends with whom to 
 discuss tlie political and other questions of the day, and to talk 
 over old times in his peculiar didactic and instructive manner.t 
 
 The whig caiulidate for lieutenant-governor. Col. Don Morrisou, 
 was also by profession a la wyei'. He had served with acceptability 
 in both the State and national legislatures, and as lieutenant-col- 
 onel of the 2d Illinois regiment in the Mexican Avar. He was a 
 native Illinoisan; an orator of distinguished manners, daring ad- 
 dress, and an ardent whig. He had been very su(;cessful in accum- 
 ulating a large and valuable landed estate, which he still lives to 
 enjoj'. ISTeither of these candidates was tinctured with the grow- 
 ing anti-slavery sentiments of the party at that day. 
 
 Beside the disappointment of public exi)ectation in the defeat 
 of Gregg before the democratic convention, the nomination of 
 Matteson for governor did not at first give general satisfaction to 
 the [)arty in all pai'ts of tlie State. From the south, hostile to all 
 banks, the press indicated the impression to be that the head of 
 the ticket had warmly advocated the adoption of the general 
 banking law ; that he favored a U. S. bank, or any kind of "wild 
 cat s\stem ;" that he had not besides been sound on the \\'i]nu)t 
 l)roviso ; was against the compromise measures of 1850, and ia- 
 vored free soilism. The democratic oi'gan at the capital called on 
 the Jolict paper (where Matteson resided,) to give to the democ- 
 racy a "full and explicit statement of [his] views" u])oii the im- 
 portant subjects named. To Koerner was ascribed a i)osition upon 
 these questions in perfect accord with the sentiments of the party. 
 
 * See Illinois State Journal. 
 
 fNoTE— +F«r his own amusement, unaided by any teacher and perhaps before he 
 was aware of his proflcienc^y, he became a most excellent French scholar, without 
 being' able, however, to his knowledg-e, to pronounce a word of the lansrua^n; correctly. 
 This was done by regularly r ading- the Courier des Elat U)ii% a French ncwsiiai)er 
 printed in New York, tor which he was a subscriber. The writer has lieard him read 
 in Enalish fresh from its columns, time and afiain. translatintr with such readiness that 
 one would suppose him to be reading from an ordinary American newspaper. 
 
602 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 It was said that if the ticket had been reversed as regards these 
 candidates it would have been preferable — "but as it is we adhere 
 to it," commanded the party drill-sergeants. Two short years or 
 less demonstrated the fallacy of these apprehensions by the going 
 over of Koerner to the anti-ISTebraska i)arty, and Matteson's sup- 
 port of the repeal of the Missouri compronuse. 
 
 The campaign of 1852, as might have been expected by the whigs 
 giving up the contest in advance, was attended by little excitement ; 
 nothing of interest occurred, and upon its close in November, re- 
 sulted in an overwhelming victory for the democracy. Joel A. 
 Matteson received 80,645 votes, Edwin B. Webb 64,408, and 
 Dexter A. Knowlton 8,829. 
 
 Joel A. Matteson was born August 8, 1808, in Jefiers.on county 
 New York, whither his father had removed from Vermont three 
 years before. His father was a farmer in fair circumstances, but 
 a common English education was all that his only son received. 
 Joel first temi)ted fortune as a small tradesman in Prescott, Can- 
 ada, before his majority. He returned thence home, entered an 
 academy, taught scliool, visited the large eastern cities, imjjroved 
 a farm his fatlier had given him, made later a tour south, worked 
 there in building railroads, exi)erienced a storm, on the Gulf of 
 Mexico, visited the gold diggings of northern Georgiii, whence he 
 returned via Nashville to St. Louis and through Illinois to his fath- 
 er's home, and married, in 1833, having sold his farm, he removed 
 with his wife and one child to Illinois, and took a claim on govern- 
 ment land near the head of An Sable river, in the present Ken- 
 dall county. At the time there were not exceeding two neighbors 
 within a range of ten miles, and only three or four houses between 
 his location ami Chicago. He opened a large farm ; his family 
 was boarded twelve miles away while he erected a house on his 
 claim, sleei)ing, during this time, under a rude pole shed. Here 
 his life was placed in imminent peril by a huge prairie rattlesnake 
 sharing liis bed. In 1835 he bought largely at the government 
 land sales. During the speculative real estate mania which broke 
 out in Chicago inl836, and spread all over the State, he sold his 
 lands under the inflation of that period, and removed to .loliet. 
 In 1838 he became a hea^'y contractor on the Illinois and IMichi- 
 gan canal. Upon the completion of his job in 1841, when hard 
 times prevailed, business at a stand, contracts paid in State scri]) ; 
 when all the public works except the (jamil were abandoned, the 
 State offered for sale 700 tons of railroad iron, which was pur- 
 chased by Matteson at a great bargain. This he shipped and sold 
 at Detroit, realizing a very handsome profit, enough to pay off all 
 his canal debts, and leave him a surplus of several thousand dol- 
 lars. His enter])rise next prompted him to start a woolen mill at 
 Joliet, in which he prospered, and which, after successive enlarge- 
 ments, became an enormous establishment. In 1842 lie was first 
 elected a State senator, but, by a bungling apportionment, .John 
 Pearson, a senator holding over, was found to be in the same dis- 
 trict, and decide<l to be entitled to represent it. Matteson's seat 
 was declared vacant. Pearson, however, with a nobleness difficult 
 to ai)i)]eciate in this day of greed for oifice, unwilling to represent 
 his district under the circumstances, immediately resigned his un- 
 expired term of two years. A bill was i)assed in a few hours or- 
 dering a new election, and in ten days' time Matteson Avas re- 
 
MATTESON'S ADMINISTRATION. 603 
 
 turned re-elected and took his seat as senator. From bis well- 
 known capacity as a businessman, lie was made chairman of the 
 committee on finance, a position which he held dnrin«;- this half and 
 two full succeedin*;- senatorial terms, discliargin<;- its important 
 duties with ability and faithfulness. Besides his extensive woolen 
 mill interest, when work was resumed on the canal under the new 
 loan of $1,0()0,(H)() he apiin became a heavy contractor, and also 
 subsequently operated largely in building railroads.* lie had 
 shown himself a most energetic and thorough business nnm. 
 
 jNlatteson's forte was not on the stump ; he had not cultivated 
 the art of oily tiattery, or the faculty of being all things to all 
 men. His qualities of head took rather the ilirection of efKeient 
 executive ability ; his turn consisted not so much in the adroit 
 umnagement of party, or the powerful advocacy of great govern- 
 mental principles, as in those more solid and enduring operations 
 which cause tin; i>hysical development and advancement of a State 
 — of commerce and business euterpri;;e, into which he labored 
 with success to lead the people. As a i)olitician he was just and 
 liberal in his views, and both in ofticial and private life he then 
 stood untainted ami free from blemish. As a nuui, in active be- 
 nevolence, social virtues, and all the amiable qualities of neighbor 
 or citizen, he had few sn])eriors. His messages present a perspic- 
 uous array of facts as to the condition of the State, and are often 
 couche<l in forcible and elegant diction. The helm of State was 
 contided to no unskillful hands. 
 
 Gustavus Koerner, the lieutenant-governor elect, was born in 
 1801), in the old free city of Frankfort-on-the-Main, Germany, and 
 received in his youth the usual thorough common school educa- 
 tion of that country. At the age of 1!> he entered the University 
 of Jena.; in 1832, at Heidelberg he took the degree of doctin- of 
 laws, and was soon alter admitted to the bar of his luitive city. 
 ^Vhile at Jena the French revolution of ISoO ins])ired him, like 
 many other ardent youths, with the i>rinciples of liberty. Thus 
 imbued, he could illy brook the decrees of the (Tcrmanic diet sup- 
 pressing the freedom of the i)ress, and prohibiting ]ud»lic discus- 
 sions of political (juestions, and connected with a ]K)litical associa- 
 tion having for its aim an enlarged liberty and more perfect union 
 of the Gernumic States, he became implicated hi a revolutionary 
 movement against the government, which i>roved a failure, w hen 
 he sought exile. Finding no security in France, then nn<ler Louis 
 Philil)[)e, in JMay, 1833, at the age of 2li, he embarked at Havre for 
 America, and on arrival ])roceeded to Illinois, and settled in 
 Belleville. Here he determined to pursue the practice of the law, 
 notwithstanding the obstacles of a foreign tongue, of which he 
 had but a student's knowledge, and immediately commenced a dil- 
 igent course of rea<ling, attended. the Lexington law school, and 
 afterward became the law partner of Adam W. Snyder and James 
 Shields. He attached himself to the fortunes of the democratic 
 l)arty, and took an active part in ])olitics. In 1840 he edited a 
 German campaign paper uiunvd Mes.sciiger of Liberty, and carried 
 the electoral vote of Illinois to AVash'ington. In LS42 he Avas 
 elected to the lower house of the legislature, and in 1845ap])ointed 
 a judge of the supreme court, by (iov. Ford, vice (tCU. Shields, re- 
 signed. In 1848 he was appointed consul to Hamburg. This 
 
 • See speech of D.L. Gregg-, 1853 
 
C04 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 place was procured for him by bis poHtical friends, knowing- well 
 bis ardent wishes to revisit tbe scenes of bis yontb during' tbe tbeu 
 struggle of tbat country for liberty. But wben tbe effort was 
 crusljed, and crowds of political refugees fled tbe oppressed 
 fatherland, Koerner, notbaving started, resigned bis coniniission.* 
 In 18.54 be went off witb tbe anti-Nebraska movement, since wben 
 be bas acted with tbe rex)ublican party. He presided over the 
 State republican convention in 1858, when Mr. Lincoln was desig- 
 nated as a candidate for U. S. senator. In 1800 be was a delegate 
 at large to tbe Chicago conA'ention. On tbe breaking out of the 
 rebellion be raised tbe 43d Illinois regiment, but before it was fully 
 organized be was appointed a colonel on the staff of Gen. Fremont. 
 In 1802 be was appointed minister to Spain, which place be re- 
 signed in 1865. Since then be has acted in various public capa- 
 cities for tbe State. He was in 1872 the liberal republican and 
 democratic candidate for governor, but was defeated. 
 
 Tbe new administration was entrusted witb tbe helm of State at 
 a time when she was rising witb great rapidity from tbe long and 
 gloomy spell of pecuniary embarrassment following the failure of 
 tbe internal improvement system of 1837. Tbe building of the 
 great net- work of railroads was just fairly inaugurated, and about 
 400 miles of track completed. The first year of this administra- 
 tion tbe increase of taxable wealth in the State amounted to -$75,- 
 805,328, equal to about 51 per cent. Only a small portion of this 
 unprecedented increase was reasonably attributable to the new 
 assessment law. The commerce of Chicago, witb a population of 
 50,000, bad gone beyond $20,000,000, and tbe trade and commerce 
 of the Illinois river and canal amounted to $42,345,000. Tbe State 
 debt, principal and interest, on the 1st of January, 1853, was $17,- 
 398,985.35, which, as the State increased at the rate of 10 x)er 
 cent, and the debt at 6 x>er cent., was estimated to be extiuguish- 
 able in 11 years' time — by 1864. 
 
 In bis elaborate inaugural message, indicating that a master of 
 finance had cast his eye over the held of State, Gov. Matteson al- 
 bided to her flattering i)rospects ; bow she was in tbe track of 
 empire; the great number of railroads in course of construction, 
 and bespoke the liberality of tbe legislature in granting further 
 charters, and affording every jjroper encouragement to bring new 
 fields of labor into market. True to tbe place of bis abode, be re- 
 commended the building of a State i)rison in the northern part of 
 the State. The Alton i>enitentiary was then crowded witb 227 
 convicts. He also recommended tbe adoption of a free school sys- 
 tem, and if that should be deemed i)remature, at any rate to au- 
 thorize a general suj)erintendent of the common schools. Tbe new 
 free banking law be did not want to see disturbed by the legisla- 
 ture, but those unauthorized institutions still oi)erating under the 
 semblance of banks and issuing their notes, should be stopped. 
 He also desired a re-submission to a vote of the x)eople tbe <pies- 
 tion of changing the distribution of tbe 2 mill tax ; and such 
 amendment of the constitution as would give to the foreigner a 
 speedier right of suffrage, out of which, he argued at length, no 
 evil could grow. In bis view the hard times constitution was too 
 parsimonious in tbe salaries and fees fixed for officers; thejudi- 
 
 *Sec D. L. Gregg's speech, 1852. 
 
mattesojM's administration. G()5 
 
 ciary should be placed above pecuniary want, upon that lii^h 
 ground wliicli would cominaud the conlideiute and respect of intel- 
 ligent men. He regarded the compensation of members of the 
 general assembly so low as to be attended with embarrassments. 
 Tins he desired also amended. The constitution waa not amended, 
 however, in any of these or other particulars for 17 years ; and 
 tliese objections, urged from so high a source, doubtless contrib- 
 uted to the first feeling and impulse that license taken with its 
 rigid provisions "v\'ould not perhai)s incur any great public oblocpiy, 
 wliicli was subsequently illlpl•o^■ed upon until their violations were 
 practiced by every dei)artment of government in the grossest 
 nmnner. 
 
 During the legislative session of 1853 was enacted the small 
 bank bill law, which was, from the start, as dead a letter as law 
 ever became; also acts to use the suri)lus fund of the treasnry 
 in the purchase of State indebtedness ; to condemn the right of 
 way for })urposes of internal improvement; to build the present 
 government mansion; incorporate the State Agricultural Society; 
 sell the State lands, of which 128,954 acres, valued at $747,100, 
 were still on hand, and granting the right of pre-emi)tion on 
 them; re-enact the law prohibiting the retailing of intoxica- 
 ting driidvs, fixing the license at from .$50 to $300; and, under the 
 partisan lash, that ijdnunan and disgraceful act, preventing free 
 negroes and mulattoesfrom settling in the State, under severe pen- 
 alties, was passed. 
 
 In 1855 was passed that law, more than any other upon our 
 statutes fraught with untold benefactions to the youth of our 
 State, to maintain a system of free schools ; also an act authori/ing 
 the erection of 150 additional prison cells to the Alton i)eniteu- 
 tiary. The most imi)ortant measure bearing upon the treasnry 
 of the State, at this session, was the act for a settlement of old 
 canal claim damages, dating back beyond 1840, in favor of cer- 
 tain contractors, &c. The commission appointed for the final ad- 
 justment of these claims consisted of S. H. Treat, John 1). Caton, 
 and Walter B. Scates. By resolution it was ordered that with 
 the State census to be taken in 1855 should be separately returned 
 the name, residence and postoftice address of all the deaf and 
 dumb, blind and insane persons in the State. A resolution rela- 
 tive to the calling of a convention to alter the constitution was 
 also again submitted to the people, to again meet defeat. 
 
 During the 4 years of Matteson's administration the taxable 
 wealth of the State was about trebled, being for the year 1851, 
 $137,818,079, and for the year 1850, $349,951,272; there were 
 raised and paid out on the public debt, $7,079,198, reducing it 
 from $17,398,985 to $12,843,144; in the meantime taxation had 
 been reduced, and the State had resumed paying interest in ]S'ew 
 York as it fell due. While the public debt was thus being re- 
 duced, the means of its ultimate extinction were rapidly on the 
 increase. When Matteson came into office, less than 400 miles of 
 railroad were constructed in the State; when he went out, the 
 number would vary little from 3,000, " penetrating almost every 
 section and filling the country with activity and business." Dur- 
 ing his term, the population of Chicago was nearly doubled and 
 its commerce more than quadrupled. 
 
606 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The Maine Liquor Laic in Illinois. — In 1855 the legislature 
 passed a very stringent prohibitory liquor bill, commonly known 
 as tlie "Maine law" — being a total prohibition of both the sale 
 and manufacture of spirituous, vinous or malt liquors, under heavy 
 penalties of fines, imprisonments, or both, and destruction of li- 
 quors. It contained certain exceptions in iavor of the making of 
 cider, wines and beer and ale for ex[>ort. Importers were allowed 
 to sell in the original packages only. The law was not to go into 
 effect unless approved by a majority vote of the peoi)le at a 
 special election to be held in June of that year. 
 
 In 1851 had been adopted a somewhat stringent act known as 
 the "quart law." It was designed to strike at tii)pling establish- 
 ments, in prohibiting the sale of spirituous and mixed (not malt) 
 liquors in less quantity than a quart, by forbidding them to be drank 
 on the premises where sold or given away; and by repealing all hiAvs 
 granting license for these purposes. The penalty was a fine of 
 $25. The law jn'oduced a great outcry of iiopular indignation, 
 and was in 1853 repealed. While the legislature was thus bowing 
 to low clamor, the friends of temperance were not idle. A State 
 temperance convention met at the capital in January. Delegates 
 to the number of 200, from all parts of the State, were in attend- 
 ance. The leading partici[)ants were S. D. Lockwood, formerly 
 supreme judge, the distinguished pioneer and divine, J. M. Peck, 
 D. D., Hons. B. S. Edwards, S. W. Kobins, Thomas M. Taylor, G. 
 P. West, W. C. Yanmeter, Judge Grover, &c. Believing intoxi- 
 cating drink to be the great incentive to crime, they sought to re- 
 form society by abolishing this terrible temptation. The Maine 
 law was undergoing trial in several States at the time. The use 
 of the hall of representatives was denied them after a protracted 
 debate in the house, by a vote of 33 to 30. The convention drafted 
 a bill similar in its provisions to the Maine law, which was i)re- 
 sejited to the general assembly for adoption, but met with speedy 
 defeat; some of the strongest temperance members believijig tliat 
 moral suasion, and not arbitrary legislation, was the only mode of 
 approaching a free, thinking people like the Americans, voted 
 against it. At the special session of February, 1854, the friends 
 of temperam-e again assembled at Springtleld. The attendance 
 was chiefly from the northern i)artof the State. The prohibitory 
 bill was again introduced in the legislature, and this time favora- 
 bly reported upon by the select committee on temperance. Mr. 
 Palmer (since governor,) moved the submission clause as an amend- 
 ment, but for want of time no final action was had ujion it. 
 
 There were at the time grave doubts as to the constitutionality of 
 such a law; but at the June term of the Supreme court, in the 
 case of Jacksonville vs. Godard, these were in a measure removed. 
 Jacksonville by ordinaiu-e had declared the sale of liquors a nui- 
 sance, making the offense puiiishable by fine. It was contended 
 by the defendant that liquor was property, and that the right to 
 acquire property, and holding, using and disposing of it was both 
 natural and constitutional, and could not be invaded by any mu- 
 nicipality under authority of the State; the right might be regu- 
 lated but not destroyed. The c<mrt held that this doctrine as a 
 universal princiytle Avas not tenable. It depended upon the kind 
 of property; its use and disposal. "VVe surrendered both natural 
 
matteson's administration. 607 
 
 and social rights in the political state, which was necessary and 
 parainomit for the well being of (society. These police ])owers de- 
 stroyed neither Magna Charta nor any constitution. The act and 
 the thing, with its use, must be judged by its effects, and when 
 they brought it within the reason and miscliiefs of tlie law the 
 power of government must regulate them. We had a right toonr 
 gold and silver, and the disposal of it, yet conld not coin it, We 
 jnight labor and rest, yet were disnllowed to become idlers, va- 
 grants or vagabonds. We might dispose of our ])r()perty, yet had 
 no right to gamble it off. And to pnnish the eliect we might re- 
 move the cause. Judge Scates delivered the opinion of the conrt. 
 
 The prohibitory bill came again before the legislatnre in 1855. 
 That body was nnexpectedly republican, or rather "fusion'' by 
 a combination of whigs and anti-Nebraska democrats. For the 
 first time in the history of the State, since the organization of the 
 whig and democratic parties, it was not in the control of the latter. 
 The bill, after being amended by the senate, passed both houses, 
 and under the submission clause went before the peoi)le for ap- 
 proxal. 
 
 It amy not be uiunteresting to give an idea of the arguments 
 advanced for and against the measnre. The opponents held that 
 drinking men nnist be restrained, if restrained at all, by convinc- 
 ing their judgment that dissipation led to rnin and death; by a 
 conviction that temperance was the way to i)rosperity, happiness, 
 health and longevity; that their sympathies must be enlisted in 
 the cause by moral suasion, which was the only effectnal lever to 
 bear on snch a work ; that penal and prohibitory laws liad in 
 every instance, proved a total failure, and were calcnlated to pro- 
 voke resistance. It was hard to establish the belief that liquor 
 was not proi)erty which nn^n might not defend from destruction, 
 and the principle was the same whether ten dollars worth of li- 
 quor was destroyed or ten millions worth.* 
 
 The friends of the bill argued that as the people of this State 
 were law abiding they would not resist sobeneticent a la\^^ Every 
 man in society or government had to yield something of his sav- 
 age liberty— the liberty of each was circumscribed by the equal 
 liberty of all. The effect of intemi)erance in ])roduciug crime and 
 pauperism called for taxation to defray and supi)ort a double wrong. 
 It might destroy a husband or son, in whom I lie wife or mother had 
 a riglit of supi)()rt — a form of property. I f litpior was property, so 
 was iron, yet convert that iron into counicireiting tools it became 
 contraband and lost the character of proixMty. All things were 
 sacred until desecrated. Man was entitled to personal liberty, 
 yet inebriation would subject him to arrest under police regula- 
 tions ; liberty was regulated by law ; governments were instituted 
 among men to promote their general welfare, and prevent wrong 
 and injury to the rights of persons and i)ro])erty. The genei'al 
 good of the people was the object of all law, and whatever stood 
 in the way of its attainment should be removed by ai)propiiate 
 legislation. Finally, it simply resolved itself into a question whether 
 intemperance was an evil, and whether intoxicating liquors pro- 
 duced intemperance.t 
 
 • Illinois State Register, April 1853. 
 + Journal (111. State,) March, 1855. 
 
608 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The Hon. B. S. Edwards, a lawyer of ability and eminent 
 standing, framed the bill, and labored earnestly before the peo- 
 ple to secnre its adoption ; many others, influenced by phihm- 
 thropic motives, did the same. The State received a pretty thor- 
 ongh canvassing by speakers and the press. But politicians, a, 
 craven set, with an eye ever to the future of their personal ad- 
 vancement, stood aloof from it. The oi)ponents circulated gar- 
 bled copies of it among farmers, with forged interpolations, for- 
 bidding the manufacture and sale of cider. The bill read, if a 
 man Avas found drunk and committed a breach of the peace, he 
 should be arrested. From this the words "committing a breach of 
 the peace" were omitted. It was further characterized as the great 
 abomination of modern times — it circumscribed the privilege of the 
 citizen, it outraged his free conscience, and by its adoption liberty 
 would be crushed. The bill was defeated before the people by a 
 small aggregate majority. The southern counties voted mostly 
 against it, and the northern, with the exception of Cook andEock 
 Island, for it. 
 
 Maine Law Riot in Chicago. — Section 36 of the prohibitory bill 
 provided that " all laws authorizing the granting of licenses to 
 sell spirituous, intoxicating or mixed liquors shall be repealed 
 from and after the date of the passage of this act" — February 
 12th. Section 39 read : "The i)rovisions of this act shall take 
 effect on the first Monday of July next," provided that if a major- 
 ity of the ballots to be deposited were against prohibition then the 
 act was to be of no force or effect "^^hatever. Section 39 being a 
 later expression of the will of the legislature than the conflicting 
 provision of section 36, according to numerical order,' ouglit 
 plainly to have prevailed. In March the city council of Chicago, 
 said to have been Knownothing, required all i)ersons selling 
 liquor to take out license at the rate of $300 a year. Many of the 
 saloon keepers were Germans. These, acting under legal advice 
 as to the construction of the State prohibitory law, that the city 
 had no legal authority to issue licenses from February to Jnly, 
 and that every person choosing to had the right to sell liquor 
 within that jieriod according to section 36, refused to comi)ly with 
 the requirements of the council, and continued to sell liquors. 
 Warrants were issued, and some 30 German saloon-keepers were 
 arrested. The question being an important one, it was concluded 
 to try them before Judge Kucker. On the day set Germans 
 thronged the court room until it was impossible to proceed with 
 the trials. The police cleared the room, and the crowd retired to 
 the next, from which, on account of their noise, they were also ex- 
 cluded. With the beating of drums the crowd now took posses- 
 sion of the sidewalk on Eandolph street, excluded the passing pe- 
 destrians, and, armed with bludgeons, knives and pistols, speed- 
 ily developed into a mob, insulting every one coming within range, 
 and bidding defiance to the police. The latter attempted to open 
 the sidewalk by force, and a general melee ensued, resulting in 
 the death of two policemen, as many Germans, and the serious 
 wounding of a great number. The streets were cleared, and order 
 re-established by the aid of the military ; 53 Germans were ar- 
 rested and lodged in jail. It was a day of outraged law, disgrace 
 
MATTESON'S ADMINISTRATION. 609 
 
 and blood for Cliieago. On the next day (Sunday,) the city was 
 put under martial law. 
 
 OUR COMMON SCHOOLS. 
 
 Trials Incident to the EstahJishmcntof the Free SchooJ ^^l/nfenl. — 
 The tree (>;cliool system, cntcicd ni)on in LS55, marks the turn- 
 inji' ]>oint in the history of common school education of the State. 
 The rifiht of the kState to maintain such a system is founded n])on 
 the idea that where i-iiiorancc jncdominates vice and crinu' are its 
 iiisci>arable eonconiitants, and that by education the masses will 
 be elevated, society benefited, offenses lessened, and good gov- 
 ernment promoted. But the nuiiu incentive to its establish- 
 ment in Illinois was the great necessity that efficiency be infnsed 
 into the cause of education; and the awakening of the people from 
 the dee[> letlmrgy into which they had sunk to an appnH'iation of 
 its importance. Keeping in view the wonderful i)ower of money 
 ui)on all the affairs of men, it was invoked in this case to stir them 
 up, and a law was devised which ottered essentially a premium to 
 stimulate them to take hold of those benefits ^^hich had been ten- 
 dered them for 10 years ])ast under then existing laws, but which 
 they had stea<lily refused to fully accept. The main feature of the 
 law is bringing the strong hand of government, operating througli 
 the taxing [)ower, to bear upon the property of the State, and 
 causing it to contribute to the education of its youth. To ettect 
 this was no easy task. Many old and deep-rooted prejudices as to 
 taxation for this pur]>ose ha<l to be eradicated ; the jndgment of 
 men as to its i)ower and rightfnlness was to be convinced ; false 
 ideas of economy for ten years sednlously ptirsued l)y the State, 
 were to be unlearned ; ignoiant parents enlightened ; and teachers 
 of the requisite qualifications and earnestness obtained. It was a 
 l>roblem both difficult and delicate; but iiulefatigable men labored 
 unceasingly for its solution, and it was finally accomplished ; and 
 the law and its results point .an instructive lesson iu the science 
 of government. 
 
 The ordinance of 1787, declared knowledge in connection with 
 religion and morality, '' to be necessary to the good government 
 and happiness of mankind," and enjoined that "schools and the 
 means of education shall forever be encouraged." Accordingly, 
 congress, in the Enabling Act for this State, April 18, 1818, ap- 
 ]>roi)riated 3 per cent, of the n<'t ])ioceeds of the sales of the ])ub- 
 lic lands, lying within her limits, for the encouragement of learn- 
 ing, 1-lGthparth thereof to be exclusively bestoAved on a colleger 
 or university. Two townsliii)s, one then and one sometime ]>]ioi-, 
 were besides donated for foundhig and maintaining a seminary of 
 learning. The proceeds of the 3 per cent, fund and the sales of 
 the seminary lands, were blended in 1835, and borrowed by the 
 State at G per cent., the interest to be annually distributed for 
 school purposes. In 1845 the receipts of the proceeds of the 3 
 per cent, school fund were suspended for a time. Owing to the 
 end)arrassed condition of the finances, this State, like many others, 
 had stopped paying interest on her public debt, and congress, by 
 resolution, ordered the 3 per cent, fund to be withhehl fi«»m them 
 and ai)plied toward the payment of interest on bonds held in trust 
 by the general government. This actiou was denounced at home 
 39 
 
610 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 as a grievous and iiu^varranted wrong', but our delegation in con- 
 gress raised no voice against it. After the Mexican war tlie free 
 entry of lands by land warrants caused the 3 per cent, fund to be 
 materially lessened, and the legislature, in 1849, authorized its 
 proceeds to be invested in Illinois bonds, then low in market, 
 which would have been a wise expedient for the 8 preceding years 
 but now nothing much came of it. The seminary fund received 
 additions from time to time, as sales were made, and in 18G1, the 
 residue of the land was turned over to the agricultural college, 
 the princii)al of the fund being $59,838. The State in 1857 had 
 set apart the interest of the college and seminary funds for the 
 maintenance of the normal university, excei)t one-fourtli for 
 the deaf and dumb asylum. In 1837 the legislature added to 
 the common school fund the proceeds of the surplus revenue of 
 the U. S., distributed to the several States by act of congress, 
 amounting at that time, to $132,850, the State i)aying interest 
 thereon at the rate of (i per cent. This fuiul thus escai)ed being 
 swallowed up in the vortex of the internal im])rovement system of 
 that period. The several sums thus derived may be called the 
 permanent State common school fund, the whole amounting, 
 Avhen the free school system was entered upon in 1855, to $951,- 
 504, yielding an annual interest of $57,700, one-fourth of which 
 Avas distributed to the deaf and dumb asylum. 
 
 But a more important and really munificent donation from con- 
 gress was the 10th section of every congressional townshi]), or if 
 sold, lands equivalent thereto, as contiguous as might be, for the 
 use of the inhabitants of such townshii) for school purjjoses. 
 This amounted to 998,448 89-100 acres, which, had it been pro])- 
 erly husbanded and managed, would have gi^ en the peoi)le such 
 an ani}»le school fund as would have saved them Irom local taxa- 
 tion. One trouble of most new countri<?s is that immigrants come 
 empty-handed and are both averse and uiuible to i)ay taxes. Such 
 was emphatically the case in Illinois at an early day. To the 
 sentiments of a people, law makers, seeking oltice at their hands, 
 will bend, and the result in Illinois, was that as early as 1828, 
 with an empty treasury and the fear of providing adequate rev- 
 enue by taxation, the legislature unfortunately authorized the sale 
 of the school lands, and bonowed the proceeds to defray the cur- 
 rent public expense. At first the lands were leased and squatted 
 on to a large extent. The occupants shortly desiring better titles, 
 possessing the elective franchise, and being united by a common 
 interest, their influence Avith our hiAV-makers Avas sufticientto pro- 
 cure the })assage of laws to sell them at a ery low i»rices, ami thus 
 this nuigniticent gift of the nation for the highest of purposes, was 
 in great part squandered. The seminary townsliip largely shared 
 the same fate. By 1855 the toAvnship fund amounted to $1,441,- 
 427, yielding then an annual interest of $111,191. In 1808 the 
 prin('i[)al was $4,873,232, Aarying in different townships from $100 
 to more than $101M'**^N owing to losses and maladministration in 
 the oue case, and ])rovident management, a later settlenu'ut of the 
 districts, and fortuitous circumstances as to location in the other. 
 
 In 1835, as we have noted, the interest ou the several school 
 funds thus boiiowed by the State, Avas first distributed to the 
 couiilies accoidiiig to the number of childreu under 21 years, to 
 be paid to teachers at a rate of not more than one-half due them 
 
matteson's administration. Gil 
 
 for services rendered in the preceding 12 months, the overphis, 
 if any, to constitnte forever si connty scliool Innd, a. wise pro- 
 vision, bnt h»st in the snbscqnent changes of the law. Of conrit>e 
 there was no connty fnnd nuuh^, if tlie distriluitive sinire was h'sstiian 
 one-half the sums due to teachers ; hence there are some counties 
 without this fund. The aggregate county fund in 1855 was about 
 $50,000. In 1S5L* the balance of the swam[) and overtlowcil lands, 
 after paying for drainage and levees built to reclaim them, was 
 granted to tlie counties where situate, their proceeds to be eqnally 
 divided among tlie towjiships for educational purposes, roads and 
 bridges, as might be deenu^d expedient. In 1853 the tines col- 
 lected and crin)inal forfeitures on bail were fiuther added to the 
 school fund and school pro^^erty was exempted from taxation. 
 
 The first free school system of this State was adopted 30 years 
 before the present one. Schools tlourislie<l in almost every neigh- 
 borhood, and the law "worked admirably well."* Gox. Coles, in 
 liis message to the legislature of 1824-5, directed attention to the 
 liberal donation of congress in lands for educatioiud pm-poses, 
 asking that they be husbanded as a rich treasure for fnture gen- 
 erations, and in the meantime to make provision for the sni)i)ort 
 of local schools. Later dui'ing the session, Joseph Duncan, after- 
 wards governor, then a seiuitor, introduced tlie bill for this act. 
 The preamble declares that : 
 
 " To enjoy our rights and libortios, we must understand them ; their 
 security tuid protection ouglit to be the first object of a free pi'ople ; and 
 it is a well established fact tliat no nation has ever continued long in 
 the enjoyment of civil and political freedom winch was not l)oth virtu- 
 ous and enlightened. And l)elieving that the advancement of literature 
 always has been and ever will be the means of more fully develoi)ing 
 the rights of man — that the mind of every citizen in a re]nd)lic is the 
 oonnnon property of society, and constitutes the l)asis of its strength and 
 iiappiness — it is "therefore considered the peculiar duty of a free govern- 
 ment, like ours, to encourage and extend the im])rovement and cultiva- 
 tion of tlie intellectual energies of the whole." 
 
 It was provided that common schools shoidd be established, 
 free and open to every class of white citizens l)etween the ages of 5 
 ami 21 ; and persons over 21 might be adndtted on such terms as 
 the trustees should prescribe. I)istricts of iH>t less than 15 fann- 
 lies were to be formed by the county courts ni)on petition of a ma- 
 jority of the voters thereof; officers Avere to be elected, sworn in, 
 a)id their duties were prescribed in detail. The system was fidl 
 and complete in all particulars. The legal voters were empowered 
 at the annual meeting to levy a tax, in nioiu\v or merchantable 
 jnoduce at its cash value, not exceeding ^ of 1 per cent., subject 
 to a maximum limitation of $10 to any one person. But aside 
 from this tax, the best and most effective feature of the law, in 
 principle the great stinndant of our lU'csent system, was an an- 
 UTial appropriation by the State of $2 oid of every $100 rec<'iv<'d 
 into the treasury, ami the distribution of 5-G of the interest arising 
 from the school funds, a]>portioned among the several coui.ties ac- 
 cording to the mimberof white children under the age of 21 years, 
 which sums were then re-distiibuted by the connti<'s anujug their 
 respective districts, none partici[)ating therein where not at least 
 3 months school had been taught during the 12 months ])reced- 
 ing. In this law were foreshadowed some of the most a aluable 
 
 ♦ Gov. Ford. 
 
612 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 features of onr present efficient free school system. But it is as- 
 serted tliat the law of 1825 was in advance of the times ; that the 
 l)eople preferred to pay their tuition fees, or do without education 
 for their children, rather than submit to the bare idea of taxation, 
 however it might fall in the main upon the wealthier property- 
 holders for the benefit of all ; and the law was so amended in 1S27 
 as to virtually nullify it, by providing that no person should l)e 
 taxed for the jnaintenance of any school unless his consent was 
 first obtiiined in writing, and the continuance of the State ajtpro- 
 priation of $2 out of every |1(>0 received into the treasury, being- 
 its very life, was denied. The legislature of 1827, unlike its prede- 
 cessor, not only in this but many other respects, was one of the 
 worst that has everafdicted the State. 
 
 After that there were repeated amendments and revisions of the 
 school law l)y the legislature, but for the want of the vital prin- 
 cii)le of the taxing power, little efiicienc^" was imparted to the 
 cause of education in Illinois. For 18 years, it nmy be said, the 
 darkness of ignorance hung over the land, unrelieved by a ray of 
 promise in the right direction. Still, zealous men labored inde- 
 fatigably in the cause. In 1814 an earnest common school conven- 
 tion met in Peoria, and, after deliberation, Messrs, John S. Wright, 
 of Chicago, II. M. Weed, of Lewiston, and Thomas M. Kilpatrick, 
 of AVinchester, drafted a nu^morial to the legislature in favor of 
 an efiicient common school system, which is an able and exhaust- 
 ive document on the subject.* To arouse public interest and stir 
 up the masses to the necessity of educating their children they 
 deemed of prime importance, and to this end i>leaded earnestly 
 for a State superintendent of i)ub]ic instruction, as a sei)arate and 
 distinct ofticer, Avith a fair salary, whose duty it should be, among 
 other things, to travel into every county and neighborhood in the 
 State, deliver lectures to the peoi)le, impress upon them the 
 imi)ortance of education, carefully examine such schools as there 
 were, note the operation of the existing law, learn the wishes and 
 plans of the people, and from sources outside of the State collect 
 such valuable information as could be obtained respecting im- 
 provements, &c., and report from time to time to the legislature. 
 That such an ofHcer Avould see to it that the iiublic moneys raised 
 were rightfully applied and nuide useful in the highest degree. 
 Gov. Ford added his recommendation, saying such an officer 
 " must be a rare man, endowed with talents, zeal aiul discretion 
 of the highest order." They further declared education a public 
 benefit, indis])ensal)le to the welfare of the State, and as much en- 
 titled to su[)i)<)rt from general taxation as the judiciary, or the 
 maintenance of ])nblic highways; and asked why single out edu- 
 cation from all other ])ublic benefits and exen)])t a man's pro])- 
 erty from paying its exi)ense. Well knowing, however, the then 
 crii)pled comlition of tlie State treasury, resulting from the late 
 internal improx cment scheme, they asked no contribution trom 
 it, but boldly recommended lo(;al taxation, and frankly acknowl- 
 edged that their every effort was intended as a luie to draw the 
 l)eople into the grasp of the awful monster, a school tax. Let 
 them but give permission to use this monster to those so inclined, 
 and others, seeing the result, would fall into his embrace. In 
 
 ♦ See III, Reports, 1845. 
 
matteson's administeation. 613 
 
 other words, allow such townships or districts as wanted, l>y a 
 majority of tlieir lei^al voters, to adopt this method of sustainiug 
 their schools. The local tax would incite inquiry, and insure the 
 faithful use of the public money, both from the State treasury and 
 the township fund. 
 
 The legislature at the session of 1S44-5, umible to resist the 
 force of this reasoning-, yielded its partial assent. Actuated by a 
 feeling- of economy, under the pressure of tlie times, tlu^ secretary 
 of State, already burdened with the business of his office, was 
 made ex-officio State superintendent of public instruction ; and in 
 reference to local taxation it was required that a two-thirds legal 
 vote of any district concur in ordering the tax. Consideiing the 
 influence of large property holders, who were mostly opposed to 
 the assessment of taxes for school purposes, it may well be inuig-- 
 ined that little school revenue was thence derived. Indeed the 
 whole of the local school taxes for the years 1840-47 did not 
 amount to 1 mill on the $100 of taxable wealth of the State. The 
 auditor was to distribute the interest of the State school fund ac- 
 cording to the number of children in each county umler 20 years, 
 based upon the preceding- census, and these distributive shares 
 were again to be distributed by t]w counties to the townsliips ac- 
 cording- to the number of chihlren in each, under 21. But if no 
 school had been taught for 10 mouths preceding', the iiu)iiey was 
 to he added to the principal of the townsliip fund. Many of the 
 features of the law of 1845 are incori)<)rated in that of bS,")"), 
 
 As a qualiflcation for teaching, the law reqidre<l a knowledge of 
 reading-, writing, arithmetic, geograph}-, grammar and history, 
 which, strange as it may now appear, was far too high a standard, 
 and many districts were deprived of their distributive shares of 
 the State school fund on this account. 
 
 Thus, while the statute books were swollen with school laws, 
 this, like many others which preceded it being- most voluminous 
 and anything- but clear, repelling nearly all from reading it, the 
 cause of education was not carried into as vigorous snul etiicient 
 operation as miglit have been done under the law, and a most la- 
 mentable a])atliy still pervaded the [)co[)le. In many couidies in 
 the northern part of the State, and notably in Cook, the schools 
 were in a flourishing- condition. But out of the 1M> counties in the 
 State, t\w. secretary of State, ex-officio superintendeid, in 1840, 
 was a))le to obtain reports from iJT only, as to the condition of 
 their schools. The county school commissionei-s received ^■ery 
 inadequate compensation, and were mostly negligent of their du- 
 ties or incompetent. 
 
 In 1847 the stamlard of the qualification for teachers was low- 
 ered, or sought to be brought within the reach of the nmterial that 
 existed, by amending- the school law so as to allow the granting 
 of certificates for any one or more of the before named branches, 
 as the applicant might desire; and the requirement of a ^ vote 
 to levy a local tax was was mo<lified to a majority of all the legal 
 votes of any districts — whence it Ibllowed that a simple al)seuce 
 could defeat the tax, and as might be expected, great difficulty 
 was experienced to induce a sufficient number of xoters to assem- 
 ble, and efficiency was still in abeyance. In 1 840 the qualidcation 
 of teachers was raised to the former grade, subject, however, to 
 the wUl of directors, as to any of the branches, and a certificate 
 
614 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of that kind was valid. The local tax wliicli might be levied was 
 limited to 25 cents on the $100, its purpose to be designated. lu- 
 coipoiated towns and cities were allowed to go to 50 cents on the 
 $100. In 1851 a majority of the legal voters, attending at any 
 legally convened meeting for the puipose, were allowed to levy 
 a local tax not exceeding $1 on every |100 of the taxable i)rop- 
 erty of the district. The taxal)le wealth of the State at this time ex- 
 ceeded $100,000,000, and $1,000,000 might have been raised, which 
 added to the State school fnnd annually distributed, and that of tlie 
 townshij), would have furnished the i)eoi)le an ample fund for a com- 
 plete free school system. But it depended upon their election 
 to avail of it, aiul instead of $1,000,000 and more, we lind that 
 for the year 1852 the total local ad valorem school tax in the whole 
 State amounted to only $51,000, being less than one-twentieth 
 part of the limits of the law. Mr, Gregg, secretary of State and 
 .sui)erintendent of })ublic instruction at the time, says: "I am not 
 aware that in a single instance has this been done [that is, the 
 full benefit of the law avtdled of], nor can any motive be assigned 
 for the action of the peoi)le in this resi)ect, unless it grows out of 
 a i)refei'ence for the system which now prevails." The school law, 
 in educational effects, was a dead letter. 
 
 As stated in the outset, tjie problem remained how to lift pub- 
 lic sentiment from the slough of apathy into which it had sunk, 
 to the great importance of education. Hapi)ily, from many 
 parts of the State the question of a general free school system 
 was beginning to be agitated. The press, which had long stood 
 aloof, took hold and began to discuss the subject in earnest. TIjo 
 Illinois Teacher.; a i)ublication devoted to the cause of education 
 and nnmbeiing among its contributors many of the ablest teach- 
 ers, exerted a wide inlluence and did effu^ient service. The linan- 
 cial condition of the State, too, Mas undergoing a most desirable 
 cliange. Our rapid increase in i)opulation and wealth was dissi- 
 pating the clouds of embarrassment which for 10 years had cast 
 their shadow over the land, and the people beheld the future 
 bright with promise. The railroa<l era had dawned npon the 
 State, a new impulse was given to its develoi)ment, and its strides 
 to empire were nnequaled. Gov. Matteson, in his iuarigural ]nes- 
 sage, in a forcible manner directed attention to the great impor- 
 tance of a broad and comprehensive common school system, free 
 to all alike, and sni)})orted by a tax njton all the i)roperty in the 
 State, to fit the rising generation in its intellectual capacity for 
 the proper direction of the grand future of the State. Still there 
 were in the then views of the peoph^ uumy AYeighty objections to a 
 scheme of such extraordinary State dictation, as it was called. 
 It was regarded as wholly at war with the property rights of ther 
 individual, exacting and oppressive to those unable or unwilling 
 from various nu>tives, to favorably view or particii)ate in the com- 
 mon ad\antages to be derived from it; and the legislature ad- 
 journed without having accomplished anything toward a solution 
 of the problem. 
 
 Jn December, 1853, anticipating an extra session of the legisla- 
 tnre, two large common school conventions met, one at Jersey ville 
 composed of many adjoining counties, and one at Bloomington, 
 for the whole Slate. Tiiese conventions, wliose earnest spirit was 
 widely felt, indicated not only a growing dissatisfaction with the 
 
MATTESON'S ADMINISTRATION. 615 
 
 existing" common school system, but evinced a ripened determina- 
 tion in the public mind to nuike a radical cliange. These move- 
 ments, and the very general approbation of their expressions, 
 were so emphatic as to produce a decided impression upon the 
 general assembly, which met iu February following, and toolc the 
 lirst step in the right direction, by the enactment of a law sei)ara- 
 tiiig the oflice of superintendent of public instruction from that 
 of secretary of State, the former being- neglected oii account of 
 the arduous duties of the latter, and creating- it a <listinct depart- 
 ment of State government, the incumbent to receive a salary of 
 $1500. Besides other duties, he was required to draft a bill em- 
 bodying a system of free education for all the children of the State, 
 and rei»ort it to the next general assembly. On the 15th of March, 
 .1851, Gov. Matteson appointed the Hon. N. W. Edwards State 
 sui)erintendent of common schools. This most important ofitice, 
 at that juncture, was bestowed u[»on Mr. Edwards on account of 
 his long- experience in public life, ami from the conviction that he 
 would carry into effect the hopes of the i)eople and the designs of 
 the legislature in creating it. In January following he subnntted 
 to the general assend»ly a full report upon the condition of the 
 l)ublic schools throughout the State, ably urged the education of 
 the chihlien in the State at the public expense, and jtresented a well- 
 drawn bill for a complete system of free schools, Avhich, with some 
 alterations, became a law. And thus the great desideratum, long 
 songht, was found ; and the earnest and indefatigable men, who 
 liad labored unceasinglj^ to advance the cause of education, and 
 who had never faltered even in the darkest hours of the State's 
 linances, were rewarded by beholding the completed machinery 
 prepared for its accom[)lishnient. 
 
 The act bore date Feb. 15, 1855, and embraced all the essential 
 principles now in force. In them, as we said in the outset, is 
 evinced something- of the science of government. We have noted 
 the educational needs of the people, and how they might have 
 jjrovided the means under the laws for free schools in every dis- 
 trict of the State, but they would not. It renuiined, therefore, to 
 compel them, not by force or the strong arm of the government, 
 but in a way whose results would be fully as efficient. And this 
 was accomplished by recognizing and enforcing- the princi])]e that 
 the State has the sovereign right to levy and collect a, sutlicient 
 tax from the real and })ersonal property within its limits, and ex- 
 l)end it in giving its youth a common education. For State i)ur- 
 poses the school tax was fixed at '2 mills on the $100. To this was 
 added the interest from the pennanent school fiiiul. when the 
 whole would be given back to the people, f of it in proi)ortion to 
 the nund)er of children under 21 in each county, and the residue to 
 the townshijis, whole or fractional. In allowing territoiy to (con- 
 trol ^ of the fund, which is unvarying in the distribution, new or 
 sparsely settled counties were stimulated to the establishment of 
 schools, which otherwise could not have coped with the denser 
 settlements. But before the State fund could be shared in, cer- 
 tain ])rerequisites must be comi)lied with. A free school had to 
 be nutintained for at least months in the year, and it was made 
 imperative upon the directors of every organized school district 
 to levy such a tax annually as if added to the pid)lic funds would 
 be sufficient for that purpose ; and, as if fearing- that this might 
 
616 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 not prove successful, it was iiuide collectable the same as tlie State 
 aud county tax. Other taxes uiigbt still be voluntarily added by 
 a vote of the people, to extend the term of schools, build or repair 
 school houses, purchase sites, &c. The local tax nuule thus obli- 
 gatory, is, however, the main resource of our free school system, 
 ■which, in 1868, aggregated $4,250,679. The public school funds 
 having reached the hands of the township trustees, a new rule ob- 
 tains as to their distribution among the districts. To encourage 
 school attendance, half of the funds are apportioned on the ex- 
 hibits of the teachers' schedules, and half in proportion to the 
 number of children under 21 years old in each district. Such are 
 the leading and sagacious combinations of the scheme to bring 
 education nearer to the people, and induce them to i)artake of it. 
 This is the force resorted to by government to render the system 
 efficient. It is essentially the oliering of large yearly premiums 
 to CA^ery district to establish and maintain a free school for its 
 youth. 
 
 The new school system showed directly a marked improvement 
 in educational efforts and results. Of the number of children in 
 the State, under 21, only about one-third attended any kind of 
 school before its establishment, now the average reached nearly 
 half; before, the total number of schools was 4,215, now the num- 
 ber rose directly to 7,604; before, the average monthly wages of 
 teachers were $25 for males and $12 for females, now they were 
 reported at $45 and $27, respectively; and while for 1854 the 
 school fund (inteiest) distributed was only $37,155, for 1855 it 
 w\as $665,025— $666,809 being the yield of the 2 mill tax. The 
 cause of education thus at once received an impetus which has 
 since not only been well maintained but gained velocity, until 
 to-day the free school system of Illinois, among the very best in 
 the Union, is one of the proudest and noblest monuments which 
 she has erected along the highway of her career toward great- 
 ness, and who will dare to raise his ruthless hand to tear it down ? 
 
 But now a new featiu'e of opposition to the new school system 
 was suddenly developed, which clouded the vision of some of its 
 staunchest friends, and threatened its destruction. This grew 
 out of the collection and distribution of the 2 mill tax, which acted 
 very unequally in the different counties. Thus, from Cook was 
 collected $30,000 more than she received back as her distiibutive 
 share; Sangamon paid into the State treasury $23,132, and 
 received back $11,027 ; and from all the wealthier and more i)oi)u- 
 lous counties, with varying amounts, the san)e results obtained; 
 while others — for instance White — contributed $2,579 as her share 
 of the 2 mill tax, and received back a distributive share of 
 $5,409, a gain of over 100 i)er cent.; Poi)e paid in $1,055, and 
 received $4,239, and llardin paid $894, and received back $2,417, 
 being more than 4 times the sums raised. While the i)e<>})le had 
 been gradually brought to view as but right that one man's pro- 
 perty might be taxed to defray the exi)ense of teaching another's 
 child, the idea that one county should similarly contribute to 
 another, perhajis hundreds of miles distant, was regarded as the 
 essence of injustice. In numy parts of the State their complaints 
 were loud and deep, and meetings were held in 1856 severely' de- 
 nouncing the law, and requiring of candidates for the legislature 
 pledges to favor its modification or repeal. It was manifest that 
 
matteson's administration. 617 
 
 a riagrant wrong existed somewliere, and it rested, doubtlexs, in 
 great part witli the unequal valuations of real and i)ersonal 
 pioperty in the ditt'ereiit counties, as in Sangamon lands were 
 vahied at $12.54; in Christian, l-'J.OO; in White, .Sl'.52, &c.; but 
 equalization of assessnu'uts could not wholly remedy it— the 
 spirit and cardinal principles of the free school system were that 
 the proi)erty and wealth of the State should bear the burden of 
 educating its youth, no matter in whose hands it was, or where 
 situate. The framers of the law had builded better than they 
 knew, and with this broad idea, comprehended in its fullest sense, 
 the efforts at amendment by the legislature in 1857 proved abor- 
 tive. It is the vital principle of the law to-day. 
 
 There being still a great dearth in teachers, and with the view 
 also to attain uniformity in the modes of teaching and conducting 
 schools, at the session of 1857 the State Normal University was 
 established at Bloomington. 
 
Chapter XLIX. 
 DUELS IN ILLINOIS, AND ATTEMPTS AT DUELS. 
 A^airs of Honor and Personal Difficulties. 
 
 The soil of Illinois Las been blood-stained but comparatively a 
 few times by the barbarous code duello. Those tierce and implaca- 
 ble passions which in controversy know no final argument but mor- 
 tal combat have not found congenial culture on the level plains of 
 the Prairie State. The records and details of the actual duels fought 
 are particularly meagre, obscure and unsatisfactory. But we are 
 temi)ted to give what there are. Of the first duel fought within 
 the present limits of this State by residents, the names of the prin- 
 cipals even are not transmitted. All that Ave have been able to 
 find recorded regarding it may be found in Peyuold's Pioneer His- 
 tory, in the words following: 
 
 "At the time the English troops came to take possession of 
 Fort Chartres, [1705], two young ofiicers, one French and the 
 other English, had a misunderstanding at the Fort. This quar- 
 rel arose as did the war ot the Greekt? against the Trojans, on 
 account of a ladj'. These officers fought with sniall swords early 
 on a Sunday morning, near the fort, and in the combat one was 
 killed. The other left the fort and descended the river. I was 
 informed of the above duel nearly 50 years ago, by a very aged 
 Frenchman. He informed me of the details, and said he was pres- 
 ent and saw the combat." Eeynolds wrote this about 1850, and 
 he must have received the information when he was barely 12 
 years old. 
 
 The next duel of which we have any record, occurred in 1809, 
 and may be found in the same book. It juoved a bloodless affair 
 at the time, but an angry quarrel grew out of it, resulting after- 
 wards in the dastardly assassination of one of the i)riucipals. 
 The duel was arranged between Kice Jones, son of John Pice 
 Jones, a Welclnnan, the first and also one of the ablest lawyers 
 Illinois has ever known, and Sliadra«li Bond, afterwards the first 
 goveiiior of the State. Jones, the elder, settled at Kaskaskia in 
 1700, but upon the fornuition of the Indiana territory, which iu- 
 clnded Illinois, removed to the capital, Vincennes, where he at- 
 tained prominence. The son possessed a high order of intellect, 
 was well educated, and located at Kaskaskia in ISOG to practice 
 the profession of the law. He drifted into politics, and by his 
 rare ability speedily attained to the leadership of his i)arty. He 
 was elected a member of the territorial legislatnre, which met at 
 Vincennes. His talents, prominence and infiuence was distasteful 
 to the opjjosite party, if it did not arouse jealousy in his own. 
 
 618 
 
DUELING. 619 
 
 Tlie question of jmblic interest, and no little virulent excitement 
 at the time, was the division of the territory by the detachment of 
 Illinois. Young' Jones ami Bond became involved in a personal 
 controversy; a challenge and accei)rance followed, and the i)ar- 
 ties met for mortal combat on an island in the Mississippi, between 
 St. Genevieve and Kaskaskia. The weapons were hair trigger 
 pistols. After taking their i)ositions Jones' weapon was prenui- 
 turely discharged. J>ond's second, named Dunlap, was disinclined 
 to allow it as an inadxertence, claiming that according to the 
 code it was Bond's fire next ; but the latter, unwilling to take so 
 murderous an advantage of his adversary, exclaimed that "it was 
 an accident," and lefused to tire. To conduct so noble the nature 
 of Jones at once responded in an amicable si)irit. The two prin- 
 cipals reconciled their difticnlty and (piitted the field without fur- 
 ther conflict. But the ignoble conduct of Dunlaj) raidcled and led 
 to a relentless quarrel between him ami Jones. Hatred grew 
 ai)ace until finally the malignant heart of Dunlap prompted him 
 to assassinate Jones in the i)ublic streets of Kaskaskia. The lat- 
 ter was standing on the sidewalk at the time, conversing" with a 
 lady, his arms resting on the railing of a gallery, when Dunlap 
 crei>t up behind, unol»served, and with a pistol shot Jones dead in 
 his tracks. Thus tell by the hand of a cowardly assassin, through 
 a feud engendered by the most IVtolish miscalled code of honor, in 
 the liiSth year of his age, ])erlia]>s the most i)romisiiig young man 
 of the j)eriod. Ilis untimely death, coupled with the manner of 
 it, shocked the whole community, which sincerely mourned his 
 loss. His murderer esca})ed to Texas and successfully evaded the 
 just punishment due him from an earthly tribunal. In 1810 a law 
 Mas ado[>ted by the go\ ernor and judges, to suppress the ])rac- 
 tice of dueling, which constituted a fatal result in dueling mur- 
 der, making the aiders, abettors or counselors i)rincipals in the 
 crime, 
 
 iStill later, in the same work, gixinga sketch of the well known 
 and dauntless pioneer Bector family, consisting of 9 sons and 4 
 daughters, and recounting the deeds of valor performed by some 
 of them in the west during the war of 1812, the anthor records 
 that "Thonuis Bector, one of the younger brothers, had a duel 
 with Joshua Barton, on Bloody Island, opi)osile St. Louis, and 
 was as cool in that combat, as if he were shooring at a deer on 
 the prairie. These young men espoused the quaiTcl of theirelder 
 blot hers, and Barton fell in the conflict." No date or other par- 
 ticulars further than above quoted, are appended, but it occurred 
 probably sometime during the war of 1812. Bloody Island, w ithin 
 the jurisdiction of Illinois, was nu)re frequently tlu^ convenient 
 and safe battle ground resorted to by St. Louis or Missouri bel- 
 ligeients for the settlement of their personal difliculties by the 
 barbarous rules of the bloody code, than lllinoisans, aJid tliis is 
 said to have given origin to the horrid name by which the island 
 was known. 
 
 The next and last duel which resulted fatally between Illinois 
 citizens and upon its soil, was fought within the limits of Belle- 
 ville, in February, 1819, between Alonzo C. Stuart and William 
 Bennett. It grew out of a drunken. carousal in which besides the 
 cond)atants, nmny citizens of St. Clair county participated. 
 Stuart ajid Bennett fell out, and with the view to having some 
 
620 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 rare sport aud making' a butt of Bennett, it was proposed among 
 the outsiders that these two, to settle their quarrel, should tight 
 a sham duel. Stuart was let into the secret but Bennett was ke])t 
 in the dark. Both parties readily agreed to the duel. Nathan 
 Fike and Jacob Short acted as seconds. The weapons selected 
 were rifles, which were loaded with powder oidy. The combat- 
 ants fearlessly took their position on the field at 40 paces, and at 
 the proper signal, Bennett tired with good aim, and to the horror 
 of every one present, Stuart fell mortally wounded in the breast 
 and expired almost instantly. Stuart, to highten the merriment 
 against his antagonist, had not fired his weajjon at all, but Ben- 
 nett, probably suspecting a cheat or trick, and animated by malice 
 was proven on the trial to have secietly slipped a ball into his 
 rifle. Stuart was a most estimable citizen aud his untimely death 
 was deeply and generally regretted. 
 
 Bennett and the two seconds, Fike and Short, were arrested and 
 imprisoned. In the spring they were indicted for murder. Daniel 
 P. Cook was prosecuting attorney, and Thomas H. Benton, of St. 
 Louis, appeared tor the defendants. A separate trial was granted 
 and the two seconds were acquitted. The transaction was con- 
 demned, yet as it clearly api)eared that the seconds intended no 
 harm, the verdict was generally approved.* Next Bennettwas to 
 be tried, but having learned that the testimony elicited in the other 
 cases was damaging to him, he broke jail and made his escape 
 into Arkansas. His whereabouts was some two years later dis- 
 covered, and by means of artifice, ("which was not approved," 
 says Reynolds, the judge, Avho sat in his trial), he was taken back 
 to Belleville, tried in 1821, at a special term of the court, con- 
 victed of murder, sentenced and executed. 
 
 Gov. Bond was strenuously and clamorously besieged for a 
 considerable time with petitions praying a pardon for the doomed 
 man, but without avail. He, who on the field, as we have seen, 
 was unwilling to take an advantage of his deadly foe, would not 
 yield to entreaty in this case, and William Bennett dangled at 
 the rope's end till he was dead, in presence of a great multitude 
 of spectators, who doubtless took in a great moral lesson. To 
 the advocates of the code, his fate must have api)eared peculiarly 
 har<l. They may have well conceived that Bennett, in ignorance 
 of the sham intended, by putting a ball into his rifle was but 
 doubly assuring his defense against an adversary Avho was enti- 
 tled to an equal chance with him. But fatal dueling was murder 
 in the eye of the law, as it ever should be. 
 
 Stone Duel. — Among the motly and heterogenious collection of 
 men at the Galena lead mines in 181*9, representing almost every 
 nationality of the civilized world, together with a sprinkling of 
 Indians, on the holy Sabbath might be witnessed, within the limi- 
 ted area of the town, the preaching of the gospel, dancing, all 
 manner of gambling and horse-racing under the hill — it was, per- 
 haps, not astonishing to them that a duel, exceptionable and 
 outlaiulish in form, should there also be fought. This was nothing 
 less than a deadly set-to by the throwing of stones. The chas- 
 tisement inflicted by such a combat is something fearful to cou- 
 
 • Keynolds' Life and Times. 
 
DUELING. G21 
 
 template — better be shot into fragments than bruised and maii<iled 
 to death with stones. The name of but one of the ])riueii»als in 
 this light is reeorded — the same Tliomas lliggins of whom we 
 have ah'eady rehited a marvcdous Indian rencontre during the 
 war of 1S12. A quarrel between him and another was arranged 
 to be settled by this cruel wager of battle. A jtile of stones care- 
 fully assorted, both as to number ami size, was i)laced within 
 easy reach of the stand or post of the respective combatants, 
 "uho took their positions ten paces ai>arr. The dreadful coiitiict 
 "vvas to ojien by the hurling of these stones at each other on a 
 given signal from the seconds. The stones Hew fast and thick 
 for a moment, but the battle was of short duration, Higgius ])r()- 
 ving too brave, dexterous and powerful for his adversary, who 
 lied in great precipitation to save his life.* 
 
 We now apin'oach a peiiod of something less than two years in 
 the annals of of Illinois, exceedingly rife with belligerent bhister. 
 The legislative session of 1840-1, attended by much i)olitical strife 
 and vengeful partisan legislation, was also Iruitful of threatened 
 combats and "affairs of honor" between members and other ofrt- 
 cial dignitaries. Indeed, one honorable senator, Mr. Hackei', fond 
 of making a good point, improved the occasion to move the sus- 
 pension of the dueling law for two weeks, to accommodate all the 
 doughty and chivalrous gentlemen with full opportunity to settle 
 their personal difficulties. The occasion of this was a personal 
 question between two senators, ]\Iessrs. E. D. Baker and .Judge 
 Pearson. The former, smarting under the ei)ithet of "falsehood," 
 threatened chastisement to the latter by a "list-hght" in the i>u1)lic 
 street. Pearson declined making a "blackguard" of himself, but 
 intimated a readiness to tight as gentlemen, according to the code 
 of honor.t 
 
 The exciting presidential contest of 1840 resulted in the defeat 
 of the democracy. The chagrin of the dominant party in Illinois, 
 which had gone democratic, seems to have impelled them to pro- 
 ceed to any length to secure absolute control of ever}' dei)artment 
 of government in the State. The two questions before the legisla- 
 ture in 1840-1 to secure these revengeful partisan ends, weie are- 
 peal of the State bank charters, and the reorganization of the ju- 
 diciary. It had been assumed by the demociats that the su])reme 
 court, which was composed of 3 whigs aiul 1 democrat, Avould 
 decide the Galena alien case, pending for some time, against 
 the aliens, and against the wishes and interests of that party. To 
 prevent this, or to overrule a decision fraught with such dire re- 
 sults to that party, 5 democratic judges were added to the court. 
 The measure, looked upon as a revolutionary one, was I'esisted 
 step by step by the whigs; the debates incident to it took a wide 
 range, Avere often bitter in personal invective and defiant contra- 
 dictions, and threats of combats and aftairs of honor were not uu- 
 freqnent. Among others in these debates, the Hon. J. J. Hardin 
 shone with unwonted power and brilliancy. In one of his speeches 
 the Hon. A. K. Dodge, of Peoria, discovering, as he thought, an 
 indignity personal to himself, took exception, and an "affair" 
 seemed imminent. The controversy was referred to " friends," the 
 
 •Reynolds' Life and Times. 
 
 •(•See 111. State Reg-ister, Feb. 12, 1841 
 
622 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 speaker Hon. W. D. Lee Ewiiig, and Wni. A. Eichardson acting 
 for Dodge, and J. J. Brown and E. B. Webb for Hardin. Tliese 
 respective, and we will add, sensible and jndicions " friends," re- 
 ported as follows : 
 
 "In the matter of controversy and misuuderstandingexistiug between 
 the Hon. J. J. Hardin and the Hon. A R. Dodge, the undersigned (the 
 respective friends of the parties,) believe that no cause of quarrel now 
 exists ; the Hon. J. J. Hardin disavows the imputation of falsehood as 
 applied to the Hon. A. R. Dodge personally — but was and should be un- 
 derstood as denying the charge that the whig jjarty was oj^posed to ex- 
 tending the right of suffrage to unnaturalized foreigners ; and to the 
 charge in general terms he api:)liedthe ejiithets "falsehood and calumny," 
 and not to Mr. Dodge; the undersigned, on this statement of the case 
 and the facts, pronounce the difficulty honorably and amicably arranged 
 and settled, and should be so received by those gentlemen. 
 
 Hereunto we set our hands. ' ' 
 
 Another '' affair" growing' ont of the same partisan measure, 
 wliicli gained considerable notoriety at tlie time, and wliicli went 
 a step farther, was that of the Hon. Theophilus W. Smith, one of 
 the supreme judges, and tbe Hon. John A. McClernand, tben a 
 young member of the house. McClernand, as we have seen, had 
 some two years prior received the appointment of secretary of 
 State from Gov. Carlin, but the old incumbent, A. P. Field, a whig, 
 refused to yield up the office to him, in which the supreme court 
 bad sustained him. Much partisan feeling had been stirred up 
 against the court in connection Avith this case. McClernand now 
 took a leading and very active part in the passage of the act 
 W'liich returned the old supreme judges to the drudgery of circuit 
 duty. He made an acrimonious s]»eech against the whig members 
 of the court, charging that a majority of that tribunal had oi)inions 
 prepared at one time to decide the alien case adversely to that 
 class, and that but recently the whig judges, with the view to in- 
 fluence legislation ni)on the jiuliciary bill, had evaded the consti- 
 tutional question in the case, and decided it upon an unimportant 
 l)oint. He had this information, it seems, from S. A. Douglas, 
 but held himself personally resi)onsible also for the assertion. 
 Judge Smith (democrat,) had given currency to these reports 
 against his associates, but now, at the request of J. J. Hardin, he 
 joined them in a published card denying that such ever was the 
 fact. A number of gentlemen in their cards sustained McClernand 
 that Smith had given out such reports. The issue of fact being 
 thus narrowed down against this functionary of the supreme 
 bench, and placed thus in no very enviable position before the 
 public ami his associates, he was stung to the sending of am)teto 
 McClernand by the hands of his "friend," Dr. Merriman (said to 
 luive been an old rover of the high seas, and who, we sliall see, 
 was mixed uj) in nearly all the "affairs" of that period,) i)enned 
 in such discreet language that it might be construed into a chal- 
 lenge or not; but the impetuous McClernand promj)tly accepted it 
 as achallenge, holding his second responsible if his principal should 
 attempt a different interi)retation, and, without further parley, as 
 the challenged party, named the place of meeting, which was to be 
 in Missouri ; the time, early ; the weapons, rifles ; and distance, 40 
 paces.* This ineant business, as the phrase now goes. We have 
 
 ' The III. State Journal of Friday, March 5th, 1851, in evident allusion to this case, 
 gives the distance at 60j'ards 
 
DUELING. 623 
 
 been unable to obtain a view of tlie correspondence between the 
 belHoerents, which was not pubbshed, bxit learn from reliable au- 
 thority, that with this serious aspect of tlie case, Josiah Ijainborn, 
 the attorney general of the State, lodged a complaint before a jus- 
 tice of the peace at Springfield, wliereupon a warrant issued and 
 the pugnacious gentleman of the ju<licial ermine was arrested and 
 placed under bonds to keep the peace. The '• affair" being thus 
 interru}>ted. Judge Smith took his de])arture for Ciiica^o to enter 
 u[>on the duties of his circuit. Tiiis unexpected termination of the 
 "affair" afforded no little merriment to the old-time wags and 
 jokers about the capital. 
 
 Shields and Lincoln. — In the summer of 1842, at the worst pe- 
 riod of the hard times, when both the State bank with itsbranches 
 and the Shawneetown bank had finally collapsed with a circula- 
 tion of $4,o()(),U()0, about tha only circulating medium the people 
 had; the notes hardly worth 50 cents on the dollar, gold and sil- 
 ver very scarce, business prostrated and the peo[)le dejected, 
 Governor Carlin, Auditor Shields and Treasurer Carpenter, as 
 "officers of State," issued their proclamation, notifying the va- 
 rious tax collectors that the revenue would have to be paid into 
 the treasury in si)ecie or at si)ecie rates, that the State bank 
 notes would not be taken at their face value, and that they would 
 be held responsible for any deficit between their current value 
 and specie. Whereupon the collectors demanded gold and silver 
 or its equivalent from the people in payment of their taxes. This 
 was a great hardship at the time. An act of 183(5 had authorized 
 the collection of taxes in State bank pa})er, giving discretion, 
 however, to the governor, auditor and treasurer, to suspend this 
 provision of tlie law and d<Mnand payment in sjjccie. The notes 
 of the Shawneetown bank were not covered by the law. But 
 by another act of 1831), it was declared generally and without re- 
 servation, that the paper of both the State baidcs and Shawnee- 
 town baidc should be received in payment of taxes — the act of 
 1S3C not being in terms repealed. These State officers, however, 
 took the view that the law^ of 1836 was still in force, and they 
 deemed it their duty to protect the interests of the State by de- 
 man<ling the revemie in specie or its equivalent. They held that 
 the law of 1830, allowing payment of taxes in bank ])a])er meant 
 and intended that that paper should be received oidy at its a(;tual 
 value on a specie standard. This action of the State officials pro- 
 voked much feeling and oi)position throughout the State. Indig- 
 nation nuH'tings were held by the peoj»le, irrespective of party, 
 for it concerned all alike, the action denounced and resistance to 
 its enforcement threatened. It was charged that these otticials 
 aimed only at securing their fees and salaries m s])ecie from a dis- 
 tressed peo})le. The democratic i)ress, to a certain extent, like 
 the whig, characterized it as an unwarrantable assumption of 
 authority. The i)ressure became so great that in a short time a 
 supplemental proclamation was issued suspending X\w, collection 
 of the taxes of 1842 until the meeting of the legislature. What- 
 ever may have been their power to enforce the (collection of taxes 
 in specie, the suspen<ling of the coUectiou altogether was certainly 
 beyond their province. 
 
624 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln, in an article published in the Sangamo Journal^ 
 of September 2d, 1842,. dated "Lost Township, Aug. 27," and 
 signed "Rebecca," attaclied this action of the " officers of State" 
 pretty roughlj', though done in a jesting style. The form of a 
 dialogue is adopted, representing a democratic neighbor of "Aunt 
 Becca's," who has "tugged" hard getting out his wheat to raise 
 bank paper enough to pay his taxes and a small school debt 
 which he owes, and just after he gets his money, in looking over 
 the State Register^ he is confronted with the i)roclamation forbid- 
 ding tax collectors and school commissioners to receive bank pa- 
 per, whereupon he indulges in some intemperate language against 
 these officials in general, denouncing them as a hypocritical set 
 who disgrace their places, which ought to be tilled with men who 
 will do more work for less pay and take fewer airs while doing it. 
 Auditor Shields is especially assailed. He alone had signed the 
 supplemental proclamation suspending the collection of the rev- 
 enue for the current year. He is culled a liar and a fool — dull as 
 a " cake of tallow" — for presuming to make an order so illegal. 
 But that was not all. Shields wtis a bachelor, and his appear- 
 ance at a fair in the city is caricatured, his demeanor criticised, 
 and he is named a "conceited dunce." The article is somewhat 
 long, cutting and humorous, but abounds in such indelicate allu- 
 sions generally as to render it unfit for insertion in this work. The 
 fanciful idea, as represented by some of the since great man's 
 biographers, that it was a poetical eftnsion of a lady, and that 
 when the author was demanded Mr. Lincoln in a spirit of gallan- 
 try gave his name, may be dismissed as a delusion. 
 
 The mercurial blood of the Milesian gentleman thus assailed, 
 was sent to the top of the tnbe. He demanded of the editor, 
 Simeon Francis, the name of the author, and that of Mr. Lincoln 
 was given to him. Having a pre-arranged trip to nmke to Qnin- 
 cy on public business, on his retnrn, in comi)any with Gen. White- 
 side as his "friend," he pursued Mr. Lincoln to Tremont in Taze- 
 well county, where the latter Avas attending court, and imme- 
 diately sent him a note, stating that his name had been given him 
 by the editor as the author of the Rebecca pajier " and requiring 
 a full, positive, and absolute retraction of all offensive allusions" 
 made to him in relation to his "private character and standing as 
 a man, or an apology for the insults conveyed." In the meantime 
 Dr. Merriman and William Butler of Springfield, having learned 
 the errand of Shields to Fremont, had started a feAv hours later, 
 and by riding all night had preceded Shields and Whiteside in 
 their arrival there. They informed Mr. Lincoln what he might 
 expect. In the evening of the same day, September 17, Mr. Lin- 
 coln answered Shield's note, refusing to offer any exi)lanation on 
 the grounds that Shields' note assumed the fact of his (Lincoln's) 
 authorship of the article in the Journal^ not pointing out what 
 the offensive part was, and accompanying the same with meimces 
 as to consequences. Mr. Shields on the same day, addressed him 
 another note, disavowing all intention to menace 5 inquired if he 
 was the author of the article in question and if so, asked a re- 
 traction of the offensive matter relating to his private character, 
 lotill technical, Mr. Lincoln returned this note with the verbal 
 statement "that there could be no further negotiation until the 
 first note was withdrawn." Mr. Shields now sent a note designa- 
 
DITELING. 625 
 
 tiiifj' Gen. Wliitside as his friend, to wliic.lj Mr. Lincjoln instantly 
 replied by naniin*; Dr. Merrinian as his friend. Tins was on Mon- 
 d;iy niorninj^- the IDth of September. 
 
 'I'liese two "friends" now seeretly pledged tlieir honor to each 
 other to a.uree upon some amicable, terms and comix'l their prin- 
 cipals to accei)t tliem ; and to ijroerastinate the matter adjourned 
 further proceed iu,iis to SprinuHeld, wiiither idl i)arties repiiiivd ex- 
 cept vShields, whose horse w;is lame — the two seconds, Whiteside 
 and ^lerriam, ridiug- in the same bugjiy, thon,uh ]);irt of the time 
 Whiteside rode with Lincoln. INIerrimaii says that the " vah.rous 
 genera!" beguiled the tedium of the journey by recouiding hisex- 
 ])loits in numy a, well Ibught battle, dangers by tlood and tield, 
 <U)ubtless with a view to produce a salutory effect on liis nerves 
 and impress him with a proper notion of his tire-eating" proi)eusi- 
 ties. They arrived at Springfield late JMomhiy night, and ]\lr. Lin- 
 coln to prevent arrest, left early on Tueschiy morning for Jackson- 
 ville, in company with ]\Ir. Butler, leaving the following- instruc- 
 tions as a guide to Dr. JMerriman: 
 
 '' In case Whitesides shall signify a wish to adjust this affair without 
 further difiiculty, let him kuow that if the present papers be withdrawn 
 and a note from Mr. .Shields, askiug to know if I am the author of the 
 articles of which he comi)lains, and asking that I shall make him gen- 
 tlemanly satisfaction, if I am the author, and this without menace or 
 dictation as to what that satisfaction shall be, a pledge is made that the 
 following answer shall be given : 
 
 " I did write the " Lost Township" letter which appeared in the J'»(r- 
 tird of the 2d inst., but had no participation, in any form, in any other 
 article alluding to you. I wrote that wholly for political effect. I had 
 no intention of injuring your personal or private character or standing 
 as a man or gentleman ; and I did not then think, and do not now think, 
 that that article could i^roduce or has produced thateftect against you; 
 and had I anticipated such an effect would have forborne to write it. 
 And I will add that your conduct towards me, so far as I know, had 
 always been gentlemanly ; and that I had no personal pique against 
 you, and no cause for any." 
 
 " If this should- be done, I leave it with you to manage what shall and 
 what shall not be published. If nothing like this is done, the prelimi- 
 naries of the fight are to be : 
 
 1st. IfJ'rt/x)?;.";— Cavalry broad swords of tlie largest size, precisely 
 equal in all respects and such as are now used by the cavalry company 
 at Jacksonville. 
 
 2<1. I'ositlnn — A plank ten feet long, and from 9 to 12 inches broad, 
 to be firmly fixed on edge, on the ground, as the line between us which 
 neither is to pass his foot over on forfeit of his life. Next a line drawn 
 on the ground on either side of said plank, and parallel with it, each at 
 the distance of the whole length of the sword and 3 feet additional from 
 the plank ; and the passing of his own such line by either party during 
 the fight, sliall be deemed a surrender of the contest. 
 
 3d. Titne— On Thursday evening at 5 o'clock, if you can get it so ; but 
 in no case to beat a greater distance of time than Friday evening at 5 
 o'clock. 
 
 4th. P/(7ce— Within 3 miles of Alton, on the opposite side of the river, 
 the particular spot to be agreed on by you. 
 
 " Any preliminary details coming within the above rules, you are at 
 liberty to make at your discretion, but you are in no case to swerve from 
 these rules or pass beyond their limits." 
 
 The position secondly prescribed for the combatants on the Tield 
 looks a good deal like the cropping out of one of Lincoln's irre- 
 pressible jokes ; as if both were placed out of harm's way, and 
 that they might beat the air with their trenchant blades forever 
 40 
 
626 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 and not come within damaging reach of each other. But it must 
 be remembered that Shields' adversary was wonderfully provided 
 with reaching powers. 
 
 These instructions to Dr. Merriman, together with the terms of 
 the hostile meeting, Avere read by him to Gen. Whiteside, who, in 
 the absence of his principal, declined agreeing upon terms of set- 
 tlement until they should meet in Missouri. Besides, Sliields and 
 Whiteside both held State offices, the latter beiug fund cummis- 
 sioner, and to have accepted the challenge would have interfered 
 with their oaths of office and the laws of the State. All i)arties 
 now left for the field of combat, Mr. Lincoln (who had gone be- 
 fore,) and his party via Jacksonville, where they were joined 
 by Doctor Bledsoe, and where they i>rocured the weapons; 
 and Shields, whom Whiteside went to meet, via- llillsboro, where 
 they were joined by Gen. Ewing, and at Alton, which they reached 
 in advance of the other party, they were further joined by Dr. 
 Hope. 
 
 Both parties shortly after, being Thursday, crossed the river to 
 Missouri. In the meantime Gen. Hardin and Dr. English had also 
 arrived, who now, as the mutual friends of both parties, presented 
 the following proj^ositiou : 
 
 "Alton, Sept. 23, 1842. 
 
 "■3Iessrs. Wlnteside and Merriman : As the mutual personal friends of Messrs. Shields 
 and Lincoln, hut without authority from either, we earnestly desire a reconciliation 
 of the misunderstanding' which exists between them. Such difficulties should always 
 he arranged amicably, if it is possible to do so, with honor to both parties Believing 
 ourselves that such arrangement can possibly be effected, we respectfully but earn- 
 estly submit the following- proposition for your consideration: Let the whole difficulty 
 be submitted to four or more gentlemen, to be selected by yourselves, who shalliCou- 
 slder the affair, and report thereupon for your consideration. 
 
 JOHN J. HARDIN'. 
 R. W. ENGLISH." 
 
 This proposition was submitted to the respective principals, 
 who both signihed a disposition to accommodate the affair, and it 
 was accepted with slight modification — Mr. Shields declining to 
 settle the matter through any other than the friends he had 
 already selected. The following correspondence then took i^lace, 
 which ended this most ridiculous controversy : 
 
 "Missouri, Sept. 22, 1842. 
 " Gmtlemen :—A]\ papers in relation to the matter in controversy between Mr. Shields 
 and Mr. Lincoln, having been withdrawn by the friends of the parties concerned, the 
 friends ot Mr. Shields ask the friends of Mr Lincoln to explain all offensive matter in 
 the articles which appeared in the Savaamo Jonrnal of the 2d, 9th and 16ih of Septem- 
 ber, over the signature of Relx^cca, uiul headed 'Lost Township ' 
 
 It is due to Gen. Hardin and Mr English to state that their interference was of the 
 most courteous and gentlemanly character. 
 
 JOHN D. WHITESIDE, 
 WM. LEED. EWING, 
 T. M. HOPE." 
 
 • Missouri, Sept. 22, 1842 
 "Gentlemen: All papers in relation to the matter in controversy between Mr. Lincoln 
 and Mr. Shields haviug been withdrawn by the friends of the parties concerned, we, 
 the under-igned, friends of Mr. Lincoln, in accordance with your request, that an ex- 
 planation of Mr. Lincoln's publication in rtlation to Mr. Shields in the Saniiaiitu Jmtr- 
 nal of the 2d, 9th and 16th of September, be made, take pleasure in saying that 
 although Mr. Lincoln was the writer of the article signed Rebecca in the Join iiat ol the 
 2d. and that onlv, yet he had no intention of injuring the personal or private character 
 or standing of Mr. Shields as a gentleman or a man, and that Mr. Lincolndid not tliink, 
 nor does he now think, that said article could produce such an effect, and had Mr. 
 Lincoln anticipated such an effect he would have forborne to write it; we will further 
 state that said article was written solely for political effect, and not to gratify any 
 personal pique against Mr. Shields, tor li'e nad none, and knew of no cause for any. 
 
DUELING. 027 
 
 It is due to Gen. Hardin and Mr. English to say that their interference was of the 
 most courteous and gentlemanlj^ character. 
 
 E. H. MERRIMAN, 
 A. T. BLEDSOE, 
 WM. HUTLEK.* 
 
 Shielfls and Bnfkr. — Out of the SliieUls and Bntlor fiasco "rew 
 directly another affair of honor, tlii.s time between Gen. Shields 
 and Mr, Wm. Butler, Tlie latter .^entlenian had been one of Mr. 
 Lincoln's seconds, and saystliathe was for the fray, I)isap])ointed 
 iji this, inunediately after the bloodless termination of that affair, 
 lie wrote a not very comidimentary account of the conduct of the 
 belliiierents, from Alton, to the IS(ni{/<(m<> Journal {w'h\v\i the writer 
 lias been unable to tliid after careful search,) in which he thinks 
 he l)ore fully as severely upon his ])rincii)al as his adversary. 
 The latter, however, who again eviiu*ed that the i)lood of Donny- 
 brook coursed in his veins, on JJutler's arrival home from St, Louis 
 at once addressed him a curt, meuacini;' note, by the hands of his 
 former friend. Gen. Whiteside, which was promptly accepted as a 
 challenge, and the ine\'ital)lc J)r. jMerriman designated as hi.s 
 friend, thiough whom the })reliii!iuaries were, without further cir- 
 cuiidocution, subiaitted to Gen. Whiteside about p. m, on the 
 sanu' day, October '.:U\, 1S42. These were : 
 
 Time — Suniise on the following morning. 
 
 Place — Col. Robert Allen's farm — (about 1 mile north of the 
 State House). 
 
 Weapons — Ri fl es. 
 
 Distance — 100 yards. 
 
 The parties to stand with their right sides toward each other — 
 the ritles to be held in both hands horizontally and cocked, arms 
 e.vtended downwards. ]^either party to move his person or his 
 rifle, after being placed, before the word fire. The ^ignal to be: 
 "Are you ready?— fire! — one — two — three!" about a second of 
 time intervening between each word. Neither party to fire before 
 the word fire, nor after the word tliree. The word to be given by 
 the friend of the challenged party. The imncipals to be attended 
 by one friend each, who were to be placed midway between the 
 principals, oO yards back from a straight line between them, to 
 the rear of each. t 
 
 These term.s were indignantly refused b> Mr. Shields' friend, 
 claiming that he had waited all day for the answer which now 
 came at 1) p. m. while his jtrincipal was attending a social party. 
 He, as a State oflicer. had also uniformly refused to violate the 
 laws of the State by dueling within its limits to which he would 
 not subject his i)rincipal, also a State officer. The terms were sat- 
 isfactory with the exception of the place, which he further claimed 
 the challenged party had no exclusi^■e right to dictate, aiul that 
 the time should be a matter of agreement. The language used 
 was curt and abru])t. It seems that the terms w<'re further unfair 
 in the position assigned to the combatants on the field, with their 
 right sides towards each other, in that it would give Mr. Ibitler 
 the advantage, he being left-handed, as was alleged, (ien. White- 
 side, late on the night of the 3d sought Dr. Merriman at his lodg- 
 
 * Both Gen. Whiteside and Dr. Merriman published cards in the i>rt?W(nio Journal, 
 the former in that of Oct. 7, 1S43, and the latter on the Htli of the same month, detaii- 
 intr, with some variance, all the circumstances of this affair, from both of which we 
 liave "gathered this account. 
 
 + SeeSangamo Journal, Oct, 7, 1843. 
 
628 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ings, to band in liis objection, but did not find biiii. 'No nieetiiig 
 took place on tbe morning of the 4tb. During tbe day, however, 
 owing to a rupture between tbe seconc^s, Mr. Sbields addressed 
 anotber note to Mr. Butler, explaining tbe status of bis second, 
 cbeerfully accepting tbe prelimiiiaries bimself, and ofi'ering to go 
 out to a lonely place on tbe prairie to figbt wbere tbere would be no 
 danger of internii)tion ; or, if tbat did not suit, be would meet bim 
 on bis own con«litions wben and wbere be pleased. Tbis note Mas 
 neclined by Mr, Butler, claiming tbat tbe affair was closed, and 
 tbis was tbe end of it. 
 
 Whiteside and Merriman — And now tbe dougbty seconds 
 wound up tbis series of affairs by one of tbeir own ; wbicb grew 
 out of tbe next preceding one. We bave already said tbat Wbite- 
 side's refusal of Butler's terms was coucbed in curt aiul abrupt 
 language, and tbat tbe place of combat could not be dictated to 
 bim, ior it was as mucb bis rigbt as Merriman's, who, if be was a 
 gentleman woidd recognize and concede it. To tbis tbe latter re- 
 replied, October 4, 8 a. m : "Tbat tbe arrogant, dictatorial, rude, 
 and ungentlemanly cbai-acter" of tbis note precluded tbe possi- 
 bility of bis communicating fartber on tbe subject to wbicb it 
 alluded, wbicb was sent by tbe bands of Capt. Lincoln, wbo now 
 served bis former second in tbe same capacity of "friend." 
 Wbiteside tben wrote to Merriman : "I bave to request tbat you 
 will meet me at tbe Planters' House, in tbe city of St. Louis, on 
 next Friday, wbere you will bear from me furtber." Merriman 
 now Avrote : "I wisb to know if you intend tbat note as a chal- 
 lenge; if so, my FRIEND will wait ui)0u you with the conditions 
 of our meeting." At 4 p. m. Wbiteside replied: "You shall bave 
 a note of tbe character you allude to wben we meet at the Plant- 
 ers' House, on Friday next, at St. Louis." Merriman rejoined, de- 
 nying Whiteside's right to name the time and i»lace for the 
 adjustment of tbeir difticulty, but proffered to meet bim on that 
 day at Louisiana, Mo. Wlien this last note was presented to Gen. 
 Wliiteside, be replied verbally: "Lincoln, I cannot accept any- 
 thing from him now. I have business at St. Louis, and it is as 
 near as Louisiana." *0n tbe oth of October, Gen. Whiteside ad- 
 dressed another note to Dr. Merriman, which was delivered by 
 Gen. Shields, otlVring to accept tbe proi)Osition to meet at Louisi- 
 ana, Mo., but tbe doctor, deeming the affair closed, now declinetl 
 to re-open it, and the matter was dropped.! 
 
 It seems that out of all these bellicose manifestations one en- 
 gagement or one hostile pass at least might have been had. But 
 it was better tbat they all terminated pacifically, as they did. 
 
 J)r,9. Hojye and Price bad a duel in Texas during the Mexican 
 war. Dr. Hope was a well known gentleman from Alton. We 
 have seen his name connected with the Shields-Lincoln affair as 
 one of the seconds. The 1st and 2d Illinois volunteers, Colonels 
 Hardin ami Bissell, were encamped at San Antonio, two miles 
 from the Alamo. Dr. Hope was surgeon to the 1st regiment. The 
 difficulty grew out of Dr. Price's repeating a conversation having 
 
 *Sano-iimon Jour. Oct. 7. 1843. 
 +111. State Reg. Oct. 14, 1842. 
 
DUELING. 629 
 
 occurred in Dr. Hope's tent. The latter, feelino- himself ag- 
 grieved, flogged the former in the streets of San Antonio, \Yhere- 
 upon Price sent him a challenge. Major Cross, of the United 
 States army, acted as the second of Dr. Price, and Capt. Williams, 
 of the Kentucky Life Guards, acted for Dr. Hope. The engage- 
 ment was fought September 14, 184G, and I'rice was badly 
 wounded in the abdomen.* 
 
 Pratt and Campbell. — The next affair of this sort was the occa- 
 sion of fixing in the constitution of 184S the stringent clause re- 
 lating to dueling. During the sitting of the convention, in 1847, 
 which framed that instrument, when the question of alien suf- 
 frage was under consideration, Mr. O. C. Pratt, from JoDaviess, 
 a democrat, opposed foreigners enjoying the elective franchise 
 until they were naturalized. His colleague, Thompson Campbell, 
 also a democrat, who tavored great leniency in this respect to 
 aliens, attacked and taunted him with having obtained the votes 
 of foreigners for his position (to which he was elected by only 9 
 majority) on pledges to them that he would require no more than 
 a year's residence and a declaration of intention, citing an occa- 
 sion where aonie GO or 70 foreigners were at woik on some pjiblic 
 works- Pratt denied this, attributing his colleague's mistake to 
 the presence there of a barrel of beer and a kegof whisky, Camj)- 
 bell denounced the insinuation as unqiuilitiedly false, and that if 
 he (Pratt) was a man he would notice it, and settle it i)ersonally. 
 On the same day, Wednesday, Pratt sent him a note requesting 
 Siis piesence at the Planters' House, St. Louis. Campbell ans- 
 wered that he would be there on Monday following, but re[)aired 
 thither immediately, puttiiig up at the Planters' Hotel. His 
 '^'friend" in St> Lous was Col. Ferd. Kennett. Late on Saturday 
 Slight Pratt also arrived, with his "friend," taking lodgings at the 
 ^lojiroe House. But the business of the belligerents, "on bloody 
 deivls intent," who thus sought a foreign jurisdiction to arrange 
 their preliminaries and settle their dfficulty by the duello, had 
 leaked out; indeed it was well known, and one Blennerhassett, 
 an aldeinian, made afiidavit to the fact, and late on Saturday 
 night both parties were arrested and place<l under h(ia\y bonds to 
 keep the peac-e. Th.is plan of giving an "affair" notoi'iety ought 
 to be effective in these days of telegraph and newspa})er enterprise 
 to gain a name for bravery, and at the same time by judicious 
 arrests run no danger of sustaining personal injury. It is a won- 
 der that it is not more improved. These gentlemen new returned 
 and resumed their seats in the convention. 
 
 By the old law of this State the penalty for dueling, when the 
 issue was fatal, was death, the same as in case of murder, but for 
 these "affairs" it was disability from holding oflice of honor, trust 
 or eniolument, and small fines after conviction. The law was 
 witliout restraint; there never had been a conviction for this lesser 
 offense, be<*ause parties always evaded the law by going beyond 
 tlu> jnrisdiction of the State to can-y out their ]turi)oses. The 
 facts and circumstances of the Pratt-Cami>bell affair, as well as 
 the repeated evasions of the law, well known to the m<'mbei's of 
 the convention, stiuudated them now to effectually circumvent and 
 
 '^*See HI. state BegTOctrie, 1846. 
 
630 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 break up the practice, more coiuinou among officials and political 
 aspirants, as will have been noticed, than others. Hence they 
 devised and framed an oath of office, and incorporated it in the 
 constitution, so broad in its terms otAlisfranchisement and tlie 
 ' structure of its language as to cover not only Illinois, but all the 
 world besides. Not perhaps that Illinois could punish the jx'r- 
 jurer, who, having committed an offense of the kind outside its 
 jurisdiction, should he take this oath of office, but rather to ap- 
 pall the conscience of those public men who would be most likely 
 to yield to such murderous practices. The mischief aimed at was 
 the suppression of the outrageous practice of dueling, witbout 
 respect to place, circumstance or time, save only that the offense 
 should date since the adoption of the constitution. 
 
 The oath may be found in the constitution of 1848^ article 13, 
 section 26. Mr. E. B. Servant, of Eandolph, introduced and 
 moved its adoption. It passed the convention by 74 yeas to 44 
 nays — neither of the above combatants voting. Among the nays 
 appears the name of Gen. Whiteside, who, it might thence be in- 
 ferred, notwithstanding the Jiasoo with which we have seen his 
 name connected, still believed in the code of honor. 
 
 Harris and Henry. — The Mexican war, which proved such a God- 
 send to democratic i>oliticians that a noted and witty whig, whose 
 party was out in the cold, shortly after its close announced him- 
 self in favor of the next war, was also fruitful of personal diffii-ul- 
 ties. During the election caini)aign of 1848, Dr. A. G. Henry, iu 
 a speech at Beardstown, charged Major Thomas L. Harris, one of 
 the truest and noblest men of Illinois, then running for congress, 
 with "skulking at the battle of Cerro Gordo; that he could piove 
 this, and would repeat it to his face the following week." Here 
 was a good oppoitunity for an "'affair." When Harris arrived at 
 Springfield he asked an interview with the doctor. But that gen- 
 tleman answered : "I have no business with Major Harris, and 
 do not desire a i^ersonal interview." Harris then demanded that 
 he make good his Beai<lstown statement. The doctor now denied 
 having uttered exactly this language ; disclaimed wanting to do 
 Harris knowingly an injustice, but that he covdd not be deterred 
 from saying what he believed to be true; offered to refer the mat- 
 ter to John Calhoun and James Barrett, of Harris' party, and at 
 their instance would make a public apology, adding thathe would 
 leave town the following niorning to meet his speaking appoint- 
 ments. Major Harris then i)roved by four good citizens, who i)ub- 
 lished tlieir card, that the doctor had made the statements refer- 
 red to at Beardstown, and in the words given, Avhereupon he de- 
 nounced him to the world as a liar, a scoundrel and a coward — 
 and that was the last of this affair.* 
 
 Davis and Bissell. — After the constitution went into operation, 
 no other duels or attempts at duels have been engaged in or had 
 an origin within the jurisdiction of Illinois, to the knowledge of 
 the writer ;t ami there were only three outside of its limits to 
 
 *See ni. State Reg. Oct. 6,1848- 
 
 +Of course- this does not mean to include the duels of parties outside the State, who 
 found in Illinois a safe and convenient rendezvous for the settlement of their per- 
 sonal difficulties. Various islands in the Upper Mississippi within the jurisdiction of 
 Illinois — notable, nioodj' Island— have been the scenes of these barbarous fr.iys be- 
 tween citizens or residents from neii;hborinjr territories and States, the latest beings 
 between B. Gratz Brown and Gov. Reynolds, of Missouri. 
 
DUELING. 631 
 
 wliich our citizens were parties. Two of these resulted fatally,* 
 and the other attained national celebrity and was no little souice 
 of i)ride to lUinoisans at the time ; and as it was subsequently 
 the occasion of nuich political and personal censure and abuse, in 
 connection with the constitutional oath of office, we here insert it. 
 
 During the long and angry contest in congress over the adjust- 
 ment of 1850, southern members, more than ever, indulged their 
 gasconade in vaunting southern chivalry, defending sla\'ery and 
 portraying the beauties and advantages of disunion. To dis])ar- 
 age northern courage and exaggerate isouthern valor, the then 
 late Mexican war was dragged in as proof and illustration. ]\Ir. 
 Seddon, of Virginia, encouraged by other southern gentlemen, 
 went further and attempted, in commenting on thebattleof IJuena 
 Vista, to award the entire credit of saving the fortune of the <lay 
 at a very critical period of that battle to a Mississipi)i regiment, 
 of which Jelferson Davis had been the Colonel, for the i)uri)()se 
 of maintaining the southern boast that there was more i)ersonal 
 bravery and prowess in that section than in the north. 
 
 Mr. Bissell was a new member, with a good record in that war 
 as the colonel of the 2d regiment of Illinois volunteers. Shocked 
 at these utterances, and tired with the disgrace attempted to be 
 cast upon his section, he on the 3Jst of February, 1850, essayed a 
 reply to these ceaseless tirades of braggadocio, which i>roved to 
 be one of the keenest, most incisive an<l brilliant speeches ever 
 spoken in the halls of congress, not only in vindication of his own 
 section, but in i)ricking the vain assunii)ti()n of the otlier. This 
 speech stami)ed Bissell at once with national distinction ;ind fame. 
 The chivalry were touched to the quick ; and failing to answer 
 him in debate, it was sought to crush him in another way. The 
 following passage was ostensibly claimed to be the offensive por- 
 tion, and the since well-known chief of the southern confederacy 
 was put forward to test Bissell's mettle: 
 
 "This proueness, however, [to underrate the bravery of others and 
 vaunt tlieir own,] IS not always hanidess," exclaimed Bissell, "and I 
 must now refer to a subjet't which I would have gladly avoided I al- 
 lude to the claim put forth for a southern regiment by the gentleman 
 from Virginia, [.^Ir. Seddon,] of having met and repulsed the enemy on 
 the tiekl of Buena Vista, at the critical moment when the Indiana 
 regiment, througii an unfortunate order of their colonel, gave way. 
 Justice to those living, Jis well as those who fell on that occasion, de- 
 mands of me a prompt correction of this most erroneous statement. And 
 I aflflrm distinctly, sir, and such is the fact, that at the time the 2d In- 
 diana regiment gave way the Mississipjn regiment, for whom the claim 
 is gratuitously set up, was not within a mile and a half of the scene of 
 action, nor yet liad it fired a gun or pulled a trigger. I affirm further, 
 sir, that the troops which at that timemetand resisted the enemy, and 
 thus, to use the gentleman's own language, 'snatched victory from the 
 jaws of defeat,^ were the 2(1 Kentucky, the 2d Illinois and a jjortion of 
 tlie 1st Illinois regiments. It gives me no pleasure, sir, to be compelled 
 to allude to this subject, nor can I see the necessity or propriety of its in- 
 troduction into /tiiis de})ate. It having been introduced, however, I 
 could not sitin silence and witness the infliction of sucli cruel injustice 
 upon men, living and dead, whose well-earned fame I were a monster 
 not to protect. The true and brave hearts of too many of them, alas, 
 have already mingled with the soil of a foreign country; but their 
 claims upon the justice of tbeir couutrj-meu can never cease, nor can my 
 obligations to them be ever Ibrgotteu or disregarded. No, sir, the voice 
 
 •Roth inCalifornia-Fci-fiuson anil Lippincott being the Illinoisans— the former was 
 killed and the latter now holds olHcehere. 
 
632 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of Hardin, that voice which has so often been heard in this hall, as 
 mine now is, tliougli far more eloquently, the voice of Hardin ! aye, and 
 of McKee and the accomplished Clay — each wrapped in his bloody 
 shroud — their voices would reproach me from the grave had I failed in 
 this act of justice to them, and the others who fought and fell by my 
 side. 
 
 "You will suspect me, Mr. Chaii'man, of having warm feelings on this 
 subject. Sir, I have; and have given them utterance as a matter of 
 duty. In all this, however, I by no means detract fiTrm the gallant 
 conduct of the Mississippi regiment. At otlier times and places on that 
 bloody field they did all tliat their warmest admirers could desire. But, 
 let me ask again, why was this subject introduced into this debate? 
 Why does the gentleman say 'troops of the north' gave way, when he 
 means only a single regiment?* Why is all tliis but for the purpose of 
 disparaging the north for the benefit of the south? Why, but for the 
 pui'pose of furnishing material for that ceaseless, never-ending theme 
 of 'southern chivalry ?' " 
 
 As soon as it transpired tbat Davis, upou this slender pretext, 
 and as if lie could vary a historical fact by a duel, had cballeuged 
 Bissell, all Washington was on the qui vive. The query ran fiom 
 mouth to mouth, "will he accept — will lie stand fire f Those who 
 knew the man were emphatic in their answers that he would. It is 
 said that Daniel W^ebster came over to tlie hall of the house for 
 an introduction to this northern man av ho proposed to meet the 
 southron in his favorite method of settling a dispute, saying, "I 
 wish to look him in the eye." Bissell was called and the two 
 grasped hands heartily. As Webster withdrew with an elastic 
 step and a kindling eye, he observed to a high dignitarry of the 
 government who understood the object of his visit, "lie will do, 
 the south has mistaken its man," which was the fact. Bissell 
 promptly accepted the challenge. He left the i)reliniiiiaries to his 
 friends, except weai)oiis and distance, these he determined u])()n 
 liimself, selecting the common army musket, to be loaded witli a 
 ball and three buck-shot; the combatants to be stationed at 40 
 paces, with liberty to advance to 10. This evinced a cool and de- 
 termined purpose to tight to the death, and the fire-eaters stood 
 amazed. Davis had designated S. W. Inge as his friend, and Bis- 
 sell named Major Cross, of the U. S. army. The meeting was to 
 take i»lace on the following day, Feb. 28th, the rendezvous being- 
 understood. 
 
 But at a late hour in the evening another effort at reconciliation 
 was made by the inntnal friends who had been of counsel in the 
 affair, Judge Dawscni, of Georgia, and Col. W. A. Eichardson, of 
 Illinois. After further conference it was agreed that the challenge, 
 and all correspondence therewith connected, sliouhl be tieated as 
 withdrawn, and that Col. Bissell add to his first letter, to be in- 
 serted after the word regiment in thelasti)aragTaph, "but 1 am will- 
 ing to award to them the credit due to their gallant and distin- 
 guished services in that battle." The recoiu-iliation thus effected 
 was satisfactory to the parties immediately concerned, and a source 
 of gratification to their friends. 
 
 In the meantime it Mas said that President Taylor, the father in- 
 law of Col. Davis, having been apjuised of the ariangements for 
 the hostile meeting, accompanied by Col. Bliss, his private secre- 
 tary, had instituted legal iiroceeding to check the intended hostile 
 
 *The2d Indiana. Col. Bowles. 
 
DUELING. 633 
 
 event, but prior to this interference, wliicli was after nii(lnii;lit, the 
 foregoing- amicable understanding had ah-eady been arrived at. 
 We subjoin the memorandum and correspondence : 
 
 "[Memoranda No. 3.] 
 
 "Met Geu. Shields and Major Cross at 8 o'clock p. ni., to arrange terms 
 of combat. Before entering upon business Judge Dawson, of Georgia, 
 and Major Richardson, of llhuois, entered, and projjosed subuntting to 
 us a proposition which they lioped would obviate a meeting. We con- 
 sented on botli sides to hear it, and the following proposition was then 
 submitted : That all correspondence be withdrawn subsequent to Col. 
 Davis' first letter, and that Col. Bissell add to his first letter a statement 
 (to come in after the woixl regiment, at the foot of the tirst page,) as fol- 
 lows, to-wit : ' But I am willing to award them the credit due to tlieir 
 gallant and distinguished services in that battle.' This being iu sub- 
 stance the same proposition offered by me (embraced iu memorandum 
 No. 1), of course I expressed my willingness to accept it. After consult- 
 ing, (jren. Shields and Major Cross expressed their willingness to make 
 the addendum, which was accordingly done. By mutual consnet, 
 all correspondence subsequent to Col. Bissell's amended letter was with- 
 drawn, and thus the ditficulty was adjusted. 
 
 S. W. INGE." 
 "Washington, D. C, Feb. 27, 1850." 
 
 The matter Ijeing adjusted on this basis, the following appeared 
 iu the Union, of Feb. Ii8, 1850 : 
 
 "Washington, Feb. 24, 1850. 
 "Gc/ftJ^men : In order to remove any erroneous impression wliieli may liave been 
 made o ■ the public mind, by the surmises of letter writers, in relation to a correspon- 
 dence which has passed between Col. Davis and Col. Bissell, we take the libert.y of re- 
 questintr you to publish the following correspondence, which will show that the mat- 
 ter has been most honorably adjusted to the gratitication and entire satisfaction of 
 the mutual friends. 
 
 JAMES SHIELDS, 
 S. W. INGE.' 
 
 After which follow the first, two letters subjoined, Bissell's be- 
 ing amended by the words inclosed iu brackets iu the 2d para- 
 graph : 
 
 "Washington, D. C, Feb. 23. 
 
 "Sir : I am informed that in yesterday's debate you asserted that at the time it was 
 claimed for the Mississippi regiment, on the field of Huena Vista, to have passed 
 through the scattered tiles of the 2d Indiana regiment, and to have met the Mexican 
 forces, who had routed iind were pursuing that regiment, the Mississippi regiment 
 was not within one mile and a half of that particular spot. Not having been able to 
 find a "report" of your remarks, and being the proper person to answer any charge 
 which a responsible man may make against the Mississippi regin-.ent referred to, I 
 take this mode of asking whether the information 1 have received is correct. 
 
 " Yours respectfully, JEFF. DAVIS." 
 
 "Hon. Mr. Bissell." 
 
 "Washington, Feb. 22. 
 
 "Sir: In your note of this date, you inquire whether I asserted in yesterday's de- 
 bate that 'at the time it was claimed for the Mississippi regiment, on the field of 
 Buena Vista, to have passed through the scattered files of the 2d Indiana ri'gimcnt, 
 and to have met the Mexican forces, who had routed and were pursuing that regiment, 
 the Mississippi regiment was not within one mile and a half of the spot.'' 
 
 "The hcstanswer I cangive to your inquiry is to state what 1 did sa.\-, which was this, 
 that "at the time the 2d Indiana regiment gave way, the Mi^sij;si|)pi reginiciit was not 
 within a mile and a half of the scene of action.' This sulistantially, was:)ll I said iu 
 reference to the Mississippi regiment. 1 also said that the 2d Kentucky regiment, the 
 2d Illinois and a portion of the 1st Ulinois regiments, were the troops that at that 
 time, met and repulsed the advancing colvunn of the enemy In my remarks, I re- 
 ferred to what occurred 'at that partuailar spot' at that particular lime. 
 
 HavinL'- answered your inquiry, I deem it due in justice alike to myself and the 
 Mississippi regiment to say that I made no charg(> against that i-egiment, [but I am 
 willing to award them the credit due their gallant and distinguished services in that 
 battle]. My only object was to do j\istice to the character of others, living and 
 dead, whose conduct fell under my own observation (m tliat occasion— a dut.v im- 
 posed upon me, by remarks previousl.v made in the course of the .same debate. 
 
 Very respectfully, yours, &c., W. H. BISSELL." 
 
 "Hon. Jeff Davis."'* 
 
 • Illinois State Journal,- March 2, 1850. 
 
634 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Lane and Douglas. — In the spring of 1856, shortly before the 
 National Democratic convention, there was an evident attemi)t 
 made to chafe and provoke Mr. Donglas into an affair of honor. 
 TLere were doubtless many anxious to thus embroil Illinois' great 
 senator at that particular juncture of his public career. TLe 
 occasion of this was the presentation to congress of the Topeka 
 constitution, accomi>anied by a forged memorial, luaying admis- 
 sion into the Union. The genuine memorial took the high, not 
 to say revolutionary, ground, that congress had no jjower to es- 
 tablish governments for the territories, and that the Kansas Ne- 
 braska act was unconstitutionjil and void; that the peoi)le owed 
 no allegiance to them, and that they asserted their inherent right 
 to overthrow the territorial government without the consent and 
 iu defiance of the authority of congress. Gen. J. H. Lane had 
 been chosen one of the senators, and naturally desiring to t;ikehis 
 seat as such, perceived that this document would probably not 
 tend to further his chances to that end. A forged copy, couched 
 in more obedient phraseology, was therefore i)resentedto congress. 
 The trick \\'as disclosed, however, and Mr. Douglas, as chairman 
 of the committee on territories, denounced it in unmeasured terms, 
 as was his right and duty, as a fraud and forgery, and it was re- 
 jected. The quidnuncs and AVashington letter writers hostile to 
 Mr. Douglas, immediately snufted a battle from afar. Eumors be- 
 came rife of an expected hostile meeting according to the code of 
 honor, between the Heice border general and the great cham})ion 
 of popular sovereignty. A determination seemed to be evinced 
 to intensify the affair in ever^' way possible. The time and min- 
 utest details of the expected hostile event were carefully an- 
 nounced. Mr. Douglas, however, was not deceived. He divined 
 the pur[)ose to be to give the matter notoriety, provoke the send- 
 ing of a hostile message, get arrested, and come out of the affair 
 with a name for bra\'ery. When the message of Gen. Lane, there- 
 fore, under date of April, 1856, finally came, asking "for such 
 an explanation of your language as will remove all imputation 
 upon the integrity of my action or motives in connection with 
 that memorial," Douglas answered, reiterating in scathing 
 phrase, all the facts of the case and concliuled — '' My rei)ly is 
 that there are no facts within my knowledge which can remove 
 all imputation upon the integrity of your action or motives in 
 connection with that memorial."* After that there were no fur- 
 ther rumors of a duel, but Gen. Lane, sixty days later, ])ublished 
 an abusive card in the Washington jiapers, which injured the 
 author more than Senator Douglas. 
 
 * See 111, State Kegister, May 8, 1856. 
 
Chapter L, 
 
 1852-185G— ORGANIZATION OF THE REPUBLICAN PAETY 
 
 The Illinois Wilmot Proviso — IHssolutiou of the Whig Party — Ke- 
 peal of the Missouri Compromise — Intense Political Feelin</ — 
 Douglas denied Free Speech in Chicago — Knoiv Kothingism — Dem- 
 ocratic and Republican Convent ions o/" 1850 — Besult of the Cam- 
 paign — Lincoln^s Plea for Harmony at the Chicago Banquet. 
 
 After tlie Missouri compromise of 1820, the question of slavery, 
 ever ;iu auiirv one, did not aijuiii attain national ])rominence for 
 souietiiin.y like 30 years. Tlie cause of its revival grew out of the 
 annexation of Texas and the acquisition of territory from Mexico. 
 Tlie object for which the former was soui;ht and secured — involv- 
 ing- a war with j\Iexico;the avowed i)nrpose of the most active 
 friends of the movement, the annexation of Texas being a para- 
 mount issue of the national campaign of 184:4; the intluences 
 whicli prevailed in securing the administration to the south ; and 
 the overt aim and otticial declarations of its sni)porters, although 
 foreign to the purjiosc of this work to either trace oraiialyze, all 
 point to the extension of slaxery. 
 
 Slavery was distasteful generally to the north, but i)articularly 
 so to a, large portion of the whig party at this time. It was more 
 generally obnoxious in an early day of the governmeiit than at a 
 later period, but it did not become a question of party fealty until 
 efforts were made to extend its area ; and had slavery not be(tonie 
 aggressive for territorial expansion, it would have taken a long 
 time probably for the anti-slavery party to have risen above the 
 contem[)t with which it was generally regarded in its early days. 
 
 In August, 18-10, pending the deliberations of congress to ap- 
 I)roi>riate .$2,000, 000 for the executive to prosecute negotiations 
 w ith Mexico, looking to the acquisition of territory, jNIr. Wilmot, 
 of Penn., moved the celebrated proxiso (aliiu)st in the words of 
 the 0th article of the ordinance <)f 1787) : ''Slavery, or involuntary 
 servitude, exce])t as a i)unishment for crime, shall b(^ forever pro- 
 hibited in any territory which nuiy be a(;quired from Mexico." 
 When this aiuendment came uj) for action in the house it ])re- 
 vailed by a majority of 0, the only nanu's from nonslave-holding 
 States recorded against it being from Illinois, viz : Messrs. Doug- 
 las, Ficklin, Iloge and M<;Clernand — a fair counteri)art to the 
 action of the Illinois senators on the admission of Missouri a 
 quarter of a centuiy before. J\Ir. Douglas, subsiMpiently, in the 
 senate, moved a substitute for the "proviso," ])i()hibiting slavery 
 in the acquired territory north of oOd. oOm., which was lost. 
 
 iioo 
 
636 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 To show tbat the sentiment of tlie north was a\'erse to the ex- 
 tension of slavei'3', and that the northern denioeracy Avas not yet 
 wholly in the grasj) of the slave propagandists, the legislature 
 (largely democratic), at its regular winter session of 1849, passed 
 joint resolutions instructing our senators and representatives in 
 congress to use all honorable means in their power to procure the 
 enactment of such laws for the government of the territories of the 
 U. S., acquired by the treaty of peace with Mexico as should con- 
 tain the express declaration that "there shall be neither slavery 
 nor involuntary servitude in said territories otherwise than in 
 punisluuentlor crime whereof the party shall have been duly con- 
 victed." The "Wilmot proviso" had had much odium cast upon it 
 by this time, and this moditication of it by omitting the Avord "for- 
 ever" would apply to territorial conditions only, leaving States to 
 be formed out of it free to establish or exclude slavery — a vastly 
 different thing! The discovery of this nice distinction, practically^ 
 without a difference, it was thought b}' no means recognized the 
 odious '' proviso," fast becoming a party test. A portion of the 
 Illinois democracy at the time held that congress had no constitu- 
 tional right to either establish, i»rohibit, or in anywise interfere 
 with slavery in the territoiies. 
 
 The proceedings in both houses incident to the i»assage of these 
 resolutions of instruction were exciting and protracted, and the 
 debates, in which all the leading mend)ers shared, exceedingly 
 able and not without acrimony. They were adopted in the house 
 by 38 to 34, all the whigs (24) and 14 democrats voting for them, 
 Avhile the 34 noes were all democrats ; in the senate the vote stood 
 14 to 11, all the whigs (7) and 7 democrats voting aye, the 11 noes 
 being all democrats. 
 
 There was some question at the time as to whether our delegates 
 in congress would obey these instructions. Pending the comi)ro- 
 mise measures of 1850, a mass meeting in Chicago called upon 
 Senator Douglas to obey the resolutions in their spirit as well as 
 teclndcal letter, or resign. Douglas had ever opposed the Wil- 
 mot })rovisO. Now, having written the compromise bills and re- 
 ported them from the committee on territories without the pro- 
 viso, an amendment was offered in the precise language of the 
 Illinois instructions. Ue believed in the right of instruction, but 
 rather than resign his seat and knowing that it would not prevail 
 even with the vote of Illinois, he denounced it in severe terms, 
 and then in obedience to instructions, voted for it. 
 
 At the session of the legislature in 1851, the so-called Illinois 
 Wilmot proviso resolutions were rescinded. It was further re- 
 solved to sustain the executive of the U. S. in his determination 
 to enforce the fugitive sla^e law; and as the adjustment measures 
 passed by congress, comi>rising the admission of California, the 
 establishment of territorial governments for Utah and New Mex- 
 ico u])on the principle of non-intervention, the settlement of the 
 Texan boundary, amendment of the fugitive slave law of 1793, 
 and abolition of the slave trade in the District of Cohnnbia, were 
 eminently calculated to remove all controversy an<l restore peace, 
 quietude and c(mfidence between the two sections of the conntjy, 
 they met their hearty concurrence. Our delegation in congress 
 was further instructed to resist all attempts to disturb or unsettle 
 them. The resolutions Avere adoi)ted in the house by a vote of 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 637 
 
 49 to 11, and in the senate by 22 to 2. The (leniocnitic press con- 
 grntulated tlie people upon tlie removal of this sti-^ina from the 
 State, whicli indii-ates tiie advance the qnestion of shivery was 
 nialciny as a party issue. In reseindin<i' tlieresohitions, botli dem- 
 ocrats and wliiys ]iir<iely partici[)!ite(l, wliile but two years prior 
 every \vlii<;- in botli liouscs had \()ted to a(h)pt tliem. In tlie mean- 
 time the ajjitations incident to the great adjustment measnresof 
 1850, which shook the Union to its centre, had t;d;en ])liu'e and 
 been fraternally settled, and this action of the legislature was 
 ail earnest of its acceptance in good faith, and a heaity acijiues- 
 ence in the national conij»roniise of that jx'riod by both whigsand 
 democrats. 
 
 Under this frateriml feeling the national election of lSr)2 re- 
 sulted in favor of the denu»cratic paity by an overwhebning iiui- 
 jority. This was hardly exi)ected. They had cast their represen- 
 tative men overboard and selected Mr. Pierce, at the instance of 
 tlie South (Virginia bringing him forward in convention) on ac- 
 count of availability, while the whigs had for their candidate a 
 soldier chieftain of renown, who had carried our flag to victoiy 
 from Canada to the City of 3Iexico, in the person of Gen. Scott. 
 AVhilc many whigs had labored with patriotic zeal in the adoption 
 of the adjustment measnres of 18r)0, there was still a veiy large 
 anti-slavery element in that })arty throughout the North, \\ hich 
 gave but a sullen ac(|uiesccnce to the comj)romise; uumy of the 
 leaders spit upon the Baltimore platform. JJesides, in the election 
 of Taylor in LS18, the whigs had swerved from i»rinciple for per- 
 sonal considerations, and while crowned with success, forfeited 
 the contidenceof the country. With the overwlielming defeat in 
 3852, and the northern <lisatiection in its ranks, symptoms of dis- 
 solution in that grand old party were now everywhere manifest. 
 It was pronounced in arficulo mortis by its leaders, and its aban- 
 donment daily advocated. 
 
 In Illinois the democracy were in such ascendency in 1852 that 
 when the whig State convention assendiled to put forth a ticket, 
 it was candidly stated by the chairnuin in his o]>eniiig speech, that 
 they had no hope t)f success, but it was highly ini]>ortant to make 
 a decent show, and thus encourage and uphold their friends 
 abroad. 
 
 After the accession of President Pierce democracy was not 
 without its nuitterings of discontent. In the election the Van 
 Bnren breach of 1848 was bridged over, it seems largely by the 
 "cohesivei)Owerof publicplunder^'in pros])ect,but disai»i)ointment 
 in the division of the loaves and tislies now caused a wide and 
 deei)er hostility than ever, in many portions of the country. The 
 troubles of a country emanate from uneasy and ambitious ))oliti- 
 cians, its safety rejjoses in the tranquil masses.* 
 
 During a period of dead calm in general politics, the opposition 
 for the October contest in Ohio in 1853, sought to fuse all the va- 
 rious party factions and unite them against the i)arty in jtower, 
 and the liepublican party was in a manner forshadowed by their 
 platform of principles: opposition to the fugitive slave laAV and 
 the further extension of slavery, freedom of the public lands; 
 equal taxation and the suppression of intemperance. This was 
 known as the Giddings ukase. The movement met with defeat. 
 
 • Benton. 
 
638 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The various party element;; released by tlie dissolution of the 
 whig party, together with other disaftected elements, were at this 
 period drifting hither aiul thither, ready and eager to catch or 
 cling to this rock or that vine, to crystalize about any strong ob- 
 ject which offered them a hopeful oiii)osition to the party in power; 
 but they were as yet unwilling to embrace unadulterated aboli- 
 tionism. A large i)ortion of the whigs were still conservative and 
 disinclined to give in their adhesion to anewitarty. Blind to the 
 plain }turposes of the South, they reasoned justly that to base a 
 party on geogra|)hical boundaries in one section of the country, 
 rather than upon the broad constitution for the whole, was to jus- 
 tify the same in the opposite section, in utter disregard not only 
 of the solemn injuncrion of AVashington's farewell address, but 
 revolutionary in spirit and result, if not intent, and utterly sub- 
 versive of all fraternity of ac-tion in the nation at large. Kepos- 
 ing contidence in a continuance of the tra.nquility afforded by the 
 compromise of 1850^ they saw no exigency which justified the 
 sacritice of the peace and harmony l!r>,()00,()00 of people for the 
 imaginary benefits to result to 3,500,000 Africans in our coun- 
 try.* 
 
 Some great question to convulse the tranquility of the country 
 and awaken the slumbering sentiments of the masses to a new 
 contlict of political opinion was therefore required ; and to crys- 
 talize their first horror and astonishment into a new i»arty was 
 the duty of the hour. Ex})ectants did not have to Avait long. At 
 the session of congress of 1853-4, the repeal of the Missouii Com- 
 promise, by the organization of Kansas and Nebraska, into terri- 
 torial governments, presented an ami»le held for the arts and skill 
 of party disciplinarians, and the o})portunity was well impioved. 
 The Missouri compromise, since 1820, had iidiibited slavery from 
 that ^■ast and temi)erate region which faced the turbulent river 
 of that name for 500 miles on the west, and extending south- 
 ward to the line of 36 d. 30 m. All this extensive and supposed 
 fertile territory was thus opened to the introduction of the blight 
 and cnrse of slavery, otherwise so well adapted for millions of 
 free and happy homes. The fact was regarded as an unparalleled 
 outrage, and the excitement throughout the north Avas extraordi- 
 nary ; nor was the public )nind at all a])[)eased by the fact that it 
 was tendered the south by northern men. 
 
 Mr. Douglas, as chairman of the committee on territories, was 
 the author of the Kansas-Nebraska bill, yet the superogatory 
 amendment (according to his view), which, in express terms, re- 
 l)ealed the restriction as to slavery, Avas offered by Mr. Dixon, of 
 Kentucky, a Avhig. ]Mr. Douglas i)rompt!y acce])ted it, feeling 
 that ho couhl not consistently do otherwise, for his original bill, 
 drawn in accordance Avith the i)rinci])les of non-intervention, re- 
 cognized in the compromise nu^asnres of 1850, of A^ilich he was 
 the real author, rendered the inhibition in effect nugatory. While 
 such Avas the case with regard to the organization of Utah and 
 New Mexico, it.is also true that the Missouri restriction was not 
 ex})ressly repealed; nor was it ever intimated during the pro- 
 tracted discussions in congress, in 1850, that such would be the 
 eff'ect. 
 
 * Resolutions of Whig Convention. 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 639 
 
 Tlie measure was of such absorbing interest that long before it 
 became a hiw the i)eoi)le in pubhc meetings gave ex])ression to 
 their indignation in many pnrts of the conntrj^. Pearly in Febru- 
 ary, 1854, when it was a})piireiit that the bill would become a law, 
 a large meeting was held in Chicago, to place tlie ban, as was said, 
 upon the movements of Senator Douglas. It was comjuised of 
 citizens of all parties, but more largely parti<'i})ated in by former 
 prominent sup])orters of the senator tlian others. tSpcecIies com- 
 mendatory of his course were made by II. S. 131ack\vcll, .S. !S. Ilays, 
 E. C. Larned, T. L. Dickey, Mr. Mannierre. j\Iark Skinner, and 
 otliers. Of the resolutions a(U)pted Ave subjoin the following: 
 "That tlie passage of the [Nebraska] bill for the re})eal or moles- 
 tatiou of the Missouri coiiii)rondse, will (h'stroy tlie liarmouy which 
 now exists between the north and the south, create sectional dis- 
 turbances and iierpetual agitation of questions which have hereto- 
 fore been regarded as settled by the unanimous consent of the 
 nation." The immediate actiou of the legislatures then in extra- 
 ordinary session, was invited to the subject, and instructions de- 
 manded for our congressional delegation to vote agaiust the bill.* 
 
 The question speedily got into the legislature, which was largely 
 democratic, and hardly re(iuircd the Chicago invitation. Two sets 
 of resolutions were introduced, one known as the Gillespie, 
 strongly condemning the imrposed action of congri^ss, and the 
 other by Mr. Omelveny, approving the Nebraska bill as but an- 
 other aiijilication of the principles of adjustment of 1850. After 
 a protiacted debate, in which Messrs. Logan, Snyder and Siu- 
 gleton (whig) took a leading i)artin advocacy, the ()melveny res- 
 olution passed in the House by 30 to 22 — 3 whigs and 27 demo- 
 crats for, and 11 denuicrats and 11 whigs voting against. 
 
 ]Mr. Douglas was the chami)ion of the measure in congress. 
 This drew upon him much of the i^ublic resentment. The excite- 
 ment invaded the portals of the cliundi. Twenty-six ministers 
 of the gospel at Chicago addressed him a letter on the iniquity of 
 repealing the Missouri compromise, to which he replied in admi- 
 rable temper, objecting to the use of the Sabbath as a day for elec- 
 tioneering, or converting the pulpit into a place for stump speeches ; 
 "the purity of the christian church and our holy religion, and the 
 j)reseivaticm of our free institutions require that church and state 
 be sejiarate, that the pieaclier on the Sabbath day shall lind his 
 • text in the Bible; shall preach Jesus Christ and him crucitied ; 
 shall preach iroiii the holy scri[)tures, and not attemi)t to control 
 the ])olitical organizations and ])olitical parties of the day." 
 
 After the passage of the measure, the indignation vented by an 
 enraged people (lid not abate, and the brunt of it continued to 
 fall ui)OU its gifted champion. Illinois' great senator was de- 
 nounced as a traitor to his section and the cause of human lib- 
 erty, frojn New England to California; the ])ress of the north 
 teemed with abuse and censure; he was burnt in efligy along his 
 route home, and in the chief city of his own State denied the 
 right of free speech in vindicatiou of himself by a tumultuous 
 mob. 
 
 Douglas Denied Free Sjyeeeh in Chicooo.—Yonv years before, 
 when the citv council massed resolutions denouncing the corapro- 
 
 *See House Jour. Feb. 32, 1854. 
 
640 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 mise measures as a violation of tlie laws of God and the con- 
 stitution, enjoining the city police to disregard the fugitive slave 
 law, and all good citizens to disobey it, Mr. Douglas, in a speech 
 of great force and convincing elo(juence, attacked this action with 
 sucii effect as to revolutionize the sentiment of the people, and 
 the next day the council reconsidered the resolutions by V2 to 1. 
 His power in vindication of himself was now justly dreaded. It 
 was sought to squelch him. Before his arrival tiie oi)position press 
 cried out: "We have pretty good reason for believing that Sena- 
 tor Douglas will arrive in the city to-day or to-morrow. If so, 
 it will be seen that the renegade is endeavoring to sneak home 
 quietly, and avoid the odious public demonstration which, he must 
 know, awaits him. The i)eoi)le are ready for him."* And after 
 his arrival we find the following language : 
 
 "Had Douglas dared to come to Chicago soon after the passage of the 
 Nebraska infamy, when the sting of the wound was yet- rankling fresh 
 in the hearts of Ais insulted constituency, and when their blood was yet 
 boiling at the treachery of their servant, to whom they had entrusted so 
 much, he would have been met with a storm of indignation, and scorn, 
 and retribution, which might have swept him from the earth, and re- 
 lieved the world of the disgrace and suffering wliich he may yet entail 
 upon it. " * Stephen A. Douglas has no claims upon the cour- 
 tesy or kindness of the people of Chicago, but he has the deepest reasons 
 to fear their detestation, their abhoreuce, tlieir rebukes, and their ven- 
 geance. He has betrayed us ; he has disregraded us ; he has insulted 
 us ; he has disgraced us ; he has injured us- in our reputation, our fair 
 fame, our honor, and our pecuniary interest. * He is now in our 
 midst. If he is content to remain in the obscurity into which he has 
 sunk, we shall not pull him forth. * * But if, in his madness 
 and his folly, he attemi^ts to get up what he calls a 'vindication' of his 
 crimes * it will not be our fault if he arouses a lion whicli he can- 
 not tame. Let him add no more insults to those which he has already 
 heaped upon us. There is a point beyond which the people will not en- 
 dure." 
 
 We give these extracts to show the hight to which political feel- 
 ing was aroused. 
 
 Douglas, however, nothing daunted, caused an announcement 
 to be made that he would address the people in vindication of the 
 Kansas-Nebraska bill on Saturday evening, Sei)tember the 1st. In 
 the meantime rumors were rife on the streets regarding the efforts 
 making to i»revenT* his speaking, aiul others, that he should have a 
 hearing at any cost; that thousamls of (i-shooters would be on the 
 ground to enforce the freedom of speech. His friends o])enly in- 
 dulged in the taunting remarks that his oi>ponents would be si- 
 lenced and "made to crouch at his feet like whii)ped curs," and the 
 like. On the afternoon preceding the speaking, one of the oppo- 
 sition newspapers issued an inliainmatory hand-hill, asserting that 
 an "Irish body guard" had been organized to prevent Americans 
 participating in the meeting. KnowiH)thingism was beginning to 
 make a show in the land. A threatening letter was sent to Doug- 
 las from the secretary of an organization formed since his arrival, 
 which required him to leave the city or remain silent; "if he dis- 
 regarded the notice the organization was pledged, at the sacrifice 
 of life, to prevent his being heard." Shortly after noon the flags 
 of all the shipping were displayed at half-mast ; and at a quarter 
 past 6 p. m. the city bells began to toll, and continued to fill the 
 
 •Tribune, Aug. 1854. 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 641 
 
 air with their nionrnfnl tones for over an hour. The subject was 
 sought to be impressed with an air of mourning. 
 
 At the appointed hour of meeting in the evening the vast space 
 in front of the ^^Tortli Marlcet Hall was thronged with nuMi. Crowds 
 of visitors from a distance, some as far as Detroit and St. Louis, 
 had arrived by every train, desirous to hear him. 
 
 On the appearance of the senator on the open balcony, when, 
 after a suitable allusion to the excitement of the occasion, he at- 
 tem{)ted to launch out into the subject of his address, he was at 
 once greeted with hisses and groans followed by a wild tunndt of 
 shouting and outriigeous noise. He folded his arms across his 
 breast, and with a silent determination calmly surveyed tlie angry, 
 seething multitude around and beneath him. Anon, upon the 
 cessation of the din, he stretched forth his hand to lesninc his 
 speech, only to have his voice drowned by a redoubled u])roar, 
 and there, fearlessly above that surging and maddened mass of 
 men, stood the "Little Giant" for four hours, essaying time and 
 again to speak only to be over]>owered by the hooting and demo- 
 niac yells of the infuriate multitude of ten thousand. The most 
 opprobrious epithets were hurled at him, ami the most insulting 
 words were shouted and bandied back and forth by the crowd. Iv 
 vain did well known gentlemen circulate among the throng and 
 counsel order — but there was no order. It was an intolerable out- 
 rage oftered to a distinguished citizen and a man of towering in- 
 tellect. 'No violence or collision occurred, however, as had been 
 feared. It was said that Douglas' manner tended to add to the 
 tlame of passion already high. Insjiired by a conscious feeling of 
 excelling power, he ai)pe.'ired rather as a master than a ser^■ant 
 of the people. This peculiarity has frequently b'een observed of 
 liim — doubtless it was hightened at this time. An opi)osition pa- 
 per, describing the scene, says of him : "Dictator Hashed from out 
 his eye, curled u^^on his lij), and mingled its cold irony in every 
 tone of his voice and every gesture of his body. At this, as in 
 water face answ^ereth to face, so the heart of nuni to man." Many 
 of the opposition felt deeply mortified that Mr. Douglas had not 
 been i)ermitted to speak. 
 
 Prominent among the early mass meetings in Illinois, irrespec- 
 tive of party, but in which leading democrats acted a controlling 
 part for the purpose of sinking all previous party predelictions, 
 and pledging themselves to unite in the organization of a new 
 party to make common cause against the extension of slavery, 
 either by the abrogation of the Missouri compromise or the annex- 
 ation of more territory for the use of slavery (the ac(]uisition of 
 Cuba then being in the public eye), was held at Freeport in the 
 spring of 1854. Many other meetings of a similar character, all 
 showing how earnestly the people took this matter to heart, were 
 held during the summer of 3 SM, niostly in the northern portion 
 of the State. We subjoin a summary of one held in Kane county 
 August 19, 1854 : 
 
 "We, the people of Kane county, in mass convention assembled, irre- 
 spective of party, in view of the" long-continued encroachments of the 
 slave power, culminating at last in the repeal of the law of freedom in all 
 the hitherto unorganized territories of the Union, will co-operate with the 
 friends of freedom throughout the State in an effort to bring the govern- 
 ment back to just principles ; to restore Kansas and Nebraska to the po- 
 41 
 
642 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sition of free territories ; to repeal the fugitive slave law ; to restrict slav- 
 ery to the States iu which it exists ; to prohibit the admission of any- 
 more slave States into the Union ; to exclude slavery from all tiie terri- 
 tories over which the general government has exclusivejurisdiction ; re- 
 sist the acquirement of any new slave territory, and' the repeal of the in- 
 human and barbarous black laws of this State." 
 
 These were the sentiments of the people to a large extent. 
 
 The Tazewell Mirror (whig) i)roposed a "State convention of 
 all parties and divisions of parties opposed to the repeal of the 
 Missouri compromise, to be lield at some convenient place in the 
 State early enough iu point of time to make arrangements for the 
 fall elections of 1854." But this proposition did not meet with 
 general favor. While the old whigs in Illinois stood almost as a 
 unit in opposition to the rei)eal of the Missouri compromise, tliey 
 were yet unwilling at that time to lose their identity to accomplish 
 one single object which it was supposed would prove transitory, 
 and it was apprehended that when the Nebraska matter was dis- 
 posed of the disaffected democrats would do as they had done iu 
 the election of Pierce in 1852, after sui>i)orting Van Buren in 1848. 
 The whigs argued that as their antagonism to the Nebraska swin- 
 dle was Avell known, all that the disaffected democrats and free- 
 soilers had to do Avas to join them, and unitedly i)lace the seal of 
 condemnation uijon it. 
 
 In the north part of the State, however, in every congressional 
 district, and also that of Madison in the south, anti-Nebraska or 
 fusion candidates were Inought out, anti-Nebraska i)latforms 
 adopted (a notable one at Bloomington), and the whigs may be 
 said to have been fully merged with all the opposition elements. 
 But in the central or capital district it was otherwise ; there, while 
 the whigs had a large majority, and Mr. Yates, their idol, had 
 taken extreme ground upon the question in congress, tliey yet 
 dared not adopt an anti-Nebraska platform for fear an abolition 
 plank would drive off the national whigs;. and if the whigs sliouhl 
 adopt a national platform the free-soilers and abolitionists would 
 be driven off. The whigs there inclined more to know-nothingism. 
 
 On Tuesday, October 3d, 1854, however, a small anti-Ne- 
 braska or fusion State convention, which assumed the name of 
 Republican, met at Springfield. It was attended by some 20 dele- 
 gates, and chietly managed by leading and ever ardent abolition- 
 ists — Mr. Lovejoy, of Bureau, Ichabod Codding (the Tom Corwin 
 of Illinois), of Cook, Eras^^us Wright, of Sangamon, &c. The con- 
 vention was held at arms length by the great body of anti-Ne- 
 braska democrats and whigs, both on account of insigniticance in 
 point of numbers and the political status of its fuglemen. It 
 has never been generally acknowled as the first State republican 
 convention. There was, besides, but one State officer to elect, the 
 treasurer. It concluded its labors on the 5th by nominating J. 
 E. M'Clun of M'Lean, for that office. The Hon. John Moore, the 
 old incumbent, was the democratic candidate. McClun's name 
 was in a few days after witlidrawn, and that of James Miller, a 
 whig of the same county, substituted. A platform of principles 
 was adojjted, as follows: 
 
 Wlicreas. The present congress by a majority of the members elected to the house, 
 has deliberately and wantonly re-opened the controversy respecting the extension ot 
 slaverj- under our national jurisdiction, which a majority ot the people had under- 
 Stood to be closed forever by the successive compromises of 1830 and 1850 ; and 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 643 
 
 Whereas, This congress, aided and impelled by the federal executive, has by the act 
 currently known as the Nebraska bill, designedly subverted so miioh ot thebompact 
 commonly termed tue Missouri Compromise, as excluded slaverv froiji that vast re- 
 gion of our continent stretching from the Mississippi to the Uocky Mountains, and 
 from the parallel of 3(5 d. 'SO m. to the northern boundary of our Union, the State of 
 Missouri alone excepted ; thei-efore, 
 
 ItetinJved^ That the State of Illinois affirms and maintains the right ami the duty of 
 the general goveriunent to prohibit and preclude the extension, establishment or per- 
 petuation of human slavery in any and every territory of the TT. S. and in any terri- 
 tory, possession and country over which this country now has or may hereafter acquire 
 exclusive jurisdiction. 
 
 Resolved, That the doctrine affirmed by the Nebraska bill, and gilded over by its ad- 
 vocates with the specious plirases of non-intervention and popular sovcu-eignty, is 
 really and clearly a complete .^ui render of all the grounii hitherto asserted and main- 
 tained by the federal governinciit, with respect to' the limitation of slavery, is ,t plain 
 confession of the right of the slave-holder to transfer his human eliattels to any part 
 of the iiublic domain, and there hold them as slaves as long as inclination or interest 
 nia\' dirtate : that this is an attempt totally to rev rse the doctriii. hit her to unilormly 
 held by statesmen and jurists, tliat slavery is the creature of local and State law, and 
 to make it a national institution. 
 
 Kcs'ohvd, That as freedom is national and slaverj' sectional and local, the absence of 
 all law upon the subject of slavery presumes the existence of a state of freedom alone, 
 while slavery existed only by virtue of jiositive law. 
 
 Resolved, That slavery can exist in a territory only by usurpation and in violation of 
 law, and we believe that congress has the right and should prohibit its extension into 
 such territorj', so long as it remains under the guardianship of the general govern- 
 ment. 
 
 Resolved, That we willingly concede to neighboring States all the legal rights on our 
 soil included in the sacred compact of the constitution, but we regard the trial by jurj' 
 and the writ of habeas corpus as safeguards of personal liberty so necessary that no 
 interests of any citizen of our own State everare or can be permitted to suspend them; 
 and therefore no citizen of other States can fairly ask us to consent to their abroga- 
 tion. 
 
 Resolved, That we recognize no antagonism of national interestsbetween us and the 
 citizens of southern States, nor do we entertain anj' feelings of hostility toward them, 
 but we recognize them as kindred and brethren of the same national family, having a 
 common origin, and we hope a common and glorious destiny. 
 
 lie,s<)lved. That in that fraternal spirit w.e call upon them to aid us in restoring the 
 action of government to its primitive usage, under which we have so long enjoyed 
 prosperity and peace, as the only guarantee of future harmony, and a certain, if hot 
 the only, means of perpetuatiori of the Union. 
 
 Resolved, That the river and harbor improvements, when necessary to the safety and 
 convenience of commerce with foreign nations, or among the several States, are ob- 
 jects of national concern, and it is the duty of congress, in the exercise of its constitu- 
 tional power, to provide for the same. 
 
 Resolved, That we heartily approve the course of the freemen of Connecticut, Ver- 
 mont, Iowa, Ohio, Indiana, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan and Maine, jiostponing or 
 disregarding their minor differences of opinion or preferences, and acting together 
 cordiallj' and trustingly in the same cause of Ireedom, of free labor and free soil, and 
 we commend their S|irit to the freemen of this and other States, exhorting each to re- 
 noimee his party whenever and wherever that party proves unfaithful to hinnan free- 
 dom 
 
 Tlie followini? State central coniiaittee was designated : Judge 
 David J. Baker of ]\radison. Maj. U. D. Coy of Knox, N. C. 
 (icMH" of Lake, A. G. Tliroop, of Cook, Edwin S. Leiand of La- 
 Sidle, M. L. Dirnlap of Cot)k, Hon. A. Lincoln of Sanoainon, 
 II. M. Sheets of Stevenson, Z. Eastman, of Cook, J. F. Farns- 
 \\orth of Cook, J. B. Fairbanks of Morgan, Icliabod Codding of 
 ('Iiicago.* 
 
 We cannot forbear to relate an e^iisode wliich occurred during 
 tlie sitting of tlie convention, wliicli, by its brilliancy, doubtless 
 aided to cast that body in the shade. On the 4th d;iy of Octo- 
 ber a mass meeting, by i)revious appointment, was held at Spring- 
 field, at which Mr. Douglas, Gen. Singleton and Major Harris 
 (running for congress against Yates,) were to sjicak. A large as- 
 semblage of people had gathered from far and neai', in (conse- 
 quence. It was also the occasion of the first State fair at S])ring- 
 tleld, which had drawn a large attendance from ;dl over the State, 
 and was a great success. It had been ruuioretl tliat .ludgcs Breese 
 and Trumbull, anti-Nebraska democrats, both looking to Shields' 
 place in the United States senate, would be ])resent to answer 
 Douglas. Mr. Lincoln, too, looking forward to tluit .exalted ])osi- 
 tion, had carefully prepared for the occasion, and the two former 
 
 * See Chicago Tribune, Oct. 7, 1854. 
 
644 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 failing to appear at tlie appointed time, lie divided the time and 
 discnssed the all-absorbing" question of the day with Mr. Douglas. 
 This was the first occasion that these great rival chamj^ions, who 
 have occupied so large a share of public attention, and whose 
 just fame has sunk deep into the i^atriotic heart of the nation, 
 measured their strength in debate ; and the intellectual efforts of 
 both, carrying the assembled multitude alternately by storm, are 
 spoken of in the highest of terms by their resi)ective friends. 
 The meeting, on account of the weather was held in the hall of 
 representatives. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln spoke first, occupying two hours. He (whig) 
 claimed to be national in his views; was opposed to disturbing- 
 slavery where it existed in the States; would sustain an etficient 
 slave law, because of the clear grant of power in the constitution 
 for the recovery of fugitives from labor ; believed that congress 
 had the power, and should exercise it, to prohibit slavery in the 
 territories, citing the ordinance of 1787. He also took the broad 
 ground derived from the declaration of independence, that the 
 white man had no right to impose laws upon the blacks for their 
 government without their consent ; and concluded with a vigorous 
 attack upon Douglas personally, taking as his text the celebrated 
 apostroi)he of that gentleman in 1849, that the Missouri compro- 
 mise was canonized in the hearts of the American people, which 
 no ruthless hand would dare to be reckless enough to disturb. He 
 spoke with singular power, and being deeply moved himself, car- 
 ried liis audience with him step by step in wrapt attention to his 
 eloquence, until his argument broke like a suii over their under- 
 standing. *Mr. Lincoln's speech was heartily endorsed by the 
 convention. 
 
 Mr. Douglas, in answer, showed that the principle of legislation 
 in the adjustment measures of 1850, supported by patriot whigs 
 and democrats alike as a linality, was precisely the same as that 
 embodied in the Kansas-Nebraska bill, and that the insertion of 
 the words declaring the Missouri line inoiierative and void by a 
 southern whig, was mere surplussage, and did not change the 
 legal effect at all; that aside from those words the act was the 
 same in its grant of legislative powers as that of Utah and Kew 
 Mexico, which had met the approbation of all parties except ultra 
 abolitionists. The argument of his adversaiy, his friends claimed, 
 "was met, point by point, repelling his assaults and exposing his 
 sophistry in a scathing and triumphant manner, as only the Little 
 Giant, Avith his ready powers of debate, of all men in America 
 could have done, carrying" conviction home to the minds of his 
 hearers until their ])ent up enthusiasm, knowing no bounds, burst 
 forth in linging applause from a thousand throats. 
 
 The closing hours of the convention were also graced by the 
 presence of Messrs. Breese and Trumbull, who had been heralded 
 to answer Douglas, but failed to arrive until the day after the 
 great debate. The hour of their speaking was deferred till 4 ]>. 
 m. for the conveiition to close its labor, when Mr. Breese made 
 the opening speech of about an hour's duration, in which he de- 
 nounced the repeal of the Missouri compromise, declaring" he 
 "would liave suffered his right arm to be cut off" rather than have 
 
 •See 111. Jour. Oct. 1 1854. 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 645 
 
 voted for that measure, bad he been in the senate.* In the absence 
 of Douglas, John Calhoun (of subsequent Leconi]>ton constitu- 
 tion notoriety,) took the privilege to reply, saying that with re- 
 gard to the personal dislike to Mr. Douglas which appeared to 
 animate Judge Breese, he had nothing to do; and tlien proceeded 
 to show that the compromise of 1850 sui)erseded the Missouri com- 
 promise, by establishing the i^rinciple of non-intervention, to 
 which both national whigs and democrats were committed ; he 
 taunted the speakers with not meeting Douglas at his apointment, 
 but waiting until the enemy had departed, and then, Parthian -like, 
 discharging their, poisoned arrows after him. Calhoun had few 
 equals in point of ability, but he lacked energy and was the slave 
 of the cup. In the evening a very large audience assembled in 
 resi)reseiitatives' hall to hear the very able argument of Judge 
 Trumbull, and doubtless also to hear the self-appointed and inim- 
 itable Calhoun in reply. Trund)ull made the " one question of 
 the repeal of the Missouri compromise the text," scouting the idea 
 that he was ever either a whig or abolitionist."t McClernand's 
 position was the same. Indeed, those who had aftiliated witli the 
 democratic party rebelled ostensibly only against Nebraskaism 
 being made a party test or tenet, because it revixed slavery agita- 
 tion ; and they studiously masked all appearances of, and dis- 
 claimed all sympathy with, anti-slavery sentiments in the sense 
 of abolitionism. 
 
 The weeks' discussion at Springfield, as it was called, did not 
 result in establishing a unity of position, or cause a full espousal 
 of a new party organization by all the opposition ; the convention 
 was not openly subscribed to, and the whig press feared to ap- 
 prove or notice it ; but in all the trimming of the i)eriod there 
 was entire unanimity in thorough opposition to the repeal of the 
 Missouri compromise. 
 
 The incipient republican party of Illinois nuide a Aigorous and 
 spirited campaign. Messrs. Chase and Giddings, of Oliio, lent it 
 their aid, and spoke words of cheer and encouragement to the 
 new and untried party in many counties of our State ; the result 
 was the developnjent of a strength in the election astounding to 
 the democracy, gratifying to themselves, and unexpected to all. 
 They emerged fronj their first political conflict, in IS,")!, in a man- 
 ner triumphant. The oidy State oflicer to elect was the treasurer, 
 and the tried and incorruptible veteran incumbent, honest John 
 Moore, it is true, was re-elected, but what was far more important 
 in a political point of view, five out of the nine congressnuMi were 
 republican, viz : Washburne, Woodward, Knox, Norton and 
 Trumbull. Yates, personally popular, but forsaken by the pro- 
 slavery whigs, was lost. The straight Nebraska democracy were 
 in a minority in the general assembly, lost the organization of 
 both houses and the election of a United States senator. Thus 
 closed the first contest in Illinois between the incii)ient party of 
 freedom, though sectional, and the old democratic l)arty, which, 
 to hold in its grasp a united south, was leaning too much to 
 slavery. In Illinois tlie scepter of power had departed from the 
 hands of the democracy. 
 
 *See 111. Keg. Oct. 12, 1854. 
 
 +See his Letter Oct. 14, 1854, in 111. Register. 
 
6A6 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 THE KNOW-NOTHING, OR AMERICAN, PARTY. 
 
 The curious student who will take the trouble, may easily trace 
 something of a connection from the old federal party down to the 
 know-nothiugism of half a century later. The former culmhuited un- 
 der the elder Adams in disaster and disgrace, by the enactment of 
 the alien and sedition laws and its final overthrow in the election of 
 Mr. Jefferson. From that time, however, nativist organizations 
 existed more or less in the larger cities of the Union, where their 
 contests were mostly personal and local, meeting with varying 
 success and failure. Later, in State and national elections they 
 mostly co-operated with the whig party, and occasionally sought 
 to commit it to their narrow doctrines. Upon the dissolution of the 
 whig party this element devised a new secret organization mure 
 subtle in its operations, and by its mysterious ways enticing the 
 young and ruiwary (for the human mind loves a mystery) with 
 principles proscriptive of foreigners and intoleiaut of catholics. 
 
 The dark ceremonies of the order, conducted with mysterious 
 secresy, were peculiarly impressive. In admissions to member- 
 ship much solemn parade was uuide, sacred oaths administered, 
 and horrid i)enalties required to be underwritten by candidates 
 for violating any behest of the order; and to all inquiry the mem- 
 ber Avas to "know nothing." They Avere bound by their oaths to 
 deny that they belonged to the order. In this feature of the in- 
 stitution is found the meaning of the name "Know-nothing." It 
 was significant of their obligations. The local organizations were 
 denominated lodges, the meetings of which were usually held un- 
 der cover of night, as if their deeds were evil, by aid of dark 
 lanterns, in lonely and unfrequented places, in the recesses of 
 forests, prairie hollows, deserted or untenanted buildings, unfin- 
 ished attics, &c., repairing thither stealthily, though none pur- 
 sued — conduct most unbecoming patriotic citizens of a free coun- 
 try. Lodges sent delegates to the council which nominated can- 
 didates, designated other delegates to other councils or conven- 
 tions, issued orders, &c., all of which the members had solemnly 
 sworn to implicitly support and obey, under j)enalty of expulsion, 
 proscription, personal indignity if not outrage. 
 
 At first tlieir nominations were made from the other political 
 parties, and by their secret and united weight they would gener- 
 ally turn the scale as to them seemed meet. Thus emboldened, 
 the operations of the orddi' were extended and finally its own dis- 
 tinctive nominations openly announced for either local or other 
 offices. Advancing with clandestine and rapid strides, it attained 
 political suprema(;y in several States, and cast a large vote in 
 many others. Still aspiring, hi 1850, a presidential ticket was put 
 forth. But it may be said that the Know-nothing order lost 
 power so soon as it openly nuide separate and distinct nomina- 
 tions from its own party and quit secretly espousing the nomina- 
 tions of other parties. While many of the pretensions of all 
 parties are hollow— advanced to make j)olitical capital among the 
 masses — the cry of "Americans to rule America" by the ostracism 
 of foreign-born citizens and i)roscrii)tiOn in religion, the two cardi- 
 • nal tenets of the party, was both unrepublicau and unconstitutional 
 — uurej)ublican, because in coutiict with the Declaration of In tie- 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. G47 
 
 peiuleiice, wliicli charges the King of Enghiiidwith "endeavoriug 
 to i>roveut the popnhitioii of these States ; for that i)urpose ob- 
 structing "the laws for the naturalization of foreigners, refusing to 
 pass others encouraging their emigration hither;" unconstitu- 
 tional, because that instrument says : " No religious test shall 
 ever be required as a qualification to any office of public trust un- 
 der the United States." Further, the constitution not only per- 
 mits but fosters the freest dis(;ussion. With frequent ai)peal.s to 
 the people, a tribunal than which none is higher, with the duty of 
 the citizen to arraign and investigate the conduct of government, 
 and scrutinize the operation of the laws, what can justify politi- 
 cal organizations which avoid the open day meet in darkness and 
 seclusion, which otter no ground to open combat, whose princi- 
 ples are a sealed book, and whose adherents, under sworn 
 obligations, " know nothing f It tended to segregate foreign- 
 born and Catholic residents into communities distinct in feeling 
 and in political and religious interests, and to excite in their breasts 
 the animosities and hatreds of race by fastening upon them po- 
 litically the brand of Helots. Every consideration of expediency 
 uo less than justice demand that this large and valuable element 
 be in every way encouraged to amalgamate freely with the masses 
 in order that its character and impulses may be rendered homo- 
 geneous with the vast aggregate of American society. 
 
 At first the order had no clearly defined i)Osition ui)on the 
 slavery question. It sought to ignore it for a time ; but that 
 all-absorbing subject which enlisted both the sympathy and cu- 
 pidity of men, and excited them as no other i)ublic question has 
 ever done, would not down at the bidding of the secret cabal. It 
 had to ))e met and it ultimately proved its ruin. 
 
 In Illinois the order was not early developed, neither did it take 
 deep root. In combination with the whigs of central and south- 
 ern, and the free soilers of northern, Illinois, it fused and entered 
 with its strength into the contest of 1854. Perhaps its most deter- 
 mined eftbrt was then made on W. B. Archer for congress in the 
 7th district, which, singularly, resulted in a tie vote, tliough Alleu 
 was said to have had one majority. In 1855 it presented the most 
 disjointed issue, and made the largest ettbrt ever essayed by it in 
 Illinois. In the spring of that year the State council, which met 
 in Chicago, endorsed for supreme judge of the central division the 
 Hon. Stephen T. Logan, and for clerk S. A. Corneau, botli of San- 
 gamon ; and the conclave issued its secret edict to the members of 
 the lodges requiring obedience to its behests. In the council, it is 
 said, the contest for the control of its organization was warndy 
 waged between the open anti-slavery members and those who 
 sought to dodge that obtrusive issue. 
 
 Judge Logan (probably not personally identified with the order, 
 it being its practice to support candidates irrespectiAe of their 
 personal connection with them,) was known far and wide as a deep 
 read lawyer and able jurist, and had been a whig leader for a long 
 time.* The democratic ticket for the same ottices was composed 
 of O. C. Skinner, of Adams, forjudge, and W. A. Turney, of Mor- 
 gan, for clerk. Mr. Skinner was comparatively a young man for 
 
 * In the constitutional convention of 1847 Judge Log-an had advocated a proposition 
 requiring- 15 years citizenship (^0 years residence,) from a foreigner as a qualiflcatlon 
 for the office of governor. 
 
648 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 a place on tlie supreme beucli ; uot geueially kuowii, but of good 
 ability. Under the circuu) stances Logan's election was conlidently 
 expected ; but he met with overwhelming defeat, being beAten some 
 10,000 votes. In November before Sangamon had sent him to the 
 legislature by 800 majority ; now he was repudiated in his o\a n 
 county by 1,100 unijority. This was but further proof that the 
 embittered slavery question dominated e^•ery otlier politit;al tie, 
 however oath-bound. It was a manifestation of the old whig pro- 
 slavery sentiment which felt that Logan had been too closely 
 allied in the legislature the winter before with the anti-slavery fu- 
 sion which elected Mr. Trund)ull to the U. S. senate, and which 
 now broke its old adhesious and went en masse to the democracy, 
 where it may be found to-day in central Illinois. 
 
 The national K. N. council, after a protracted ami stormy ses- 
 sion at Philadelphia, February, 1850, nominated Fihnore and Don- 
 aldson and adopted a platform recognizing the i>rinciples of tlie 
 Kansas-jS^ebraska act, whereupon the northern members bolted 
 the convention and repudiated the platform. Thus the overshad- 
 owing question of slavery rui)tured and overthrew know-nothing- 
 ism, though the organization was kept up, both State and national, 
 for some time after. 
 
 On the 0th of May, 185(3, the know-nothing State council of Illi- 
 nois convened at Springfield. The attendance exhibited ajjorten- 
 tious falling off in nund)ers. The deliberations were conducted 
 with closed doors. On the part of many of the mamigeis who 
 played with the order only forrei)ublican purposes, a strong effort 
 was made to defer proceedings until after the meeting of the State 
 republican convention on the 29th inst. But this sclieme was de- 
 feated, and the following ticket was brought out: For governor, 
 W. B. Archer, of Clark ; for lieuteimnt-governor, M. L. Uunlap, 
 of Cook; for secretary of State, A. Thornton, of Shelby ; for treas- 
 urer, James Miller, of McLean ; for auditoi'. Dr. Barber, of Wash- 
 ington ; and for sui)erintendent of public instruction, E. Jenkins, 
 of Fayette. Mr. Daneidiower, of Cook, and Joseph Gil]esi)ie, of 
 Madison, were appointed senatorial electors. The I*hilade]i)hia 
 K. N. platform, totally at variance with republicanism, was 
 adopted, and the nomination of Filmore and Donaldson ratified. 
 
 Mr. Archer, who was at Washington contesting the seat of J. 
 C. Allen in congress, refused to accept, and subsequently i>artici- 
 pated in the national republican convention Avhich nominated 
 Fremont. Buckner S. Morris, of Cook, was substituted. Others 
 refused to accept, and T. B. Hickman, of Fayette, was substituted 
 for Mr. Dunlap; W. H. Young, of Logan, for Mr. Thornton. James 
 Miller, of McLean, without accepting his nomination, received the 
 same i)lace on the ticket of the Bloomington convention a few 
 days later. Indeed, it is said that nmny mend)ers of the council 
 went diiect to Bloomington, and that some received i)]aces on the 
 re|)ublican ticket. At the Novend)er election of 1850 the K. N. 
 ticket polled about 20,000 votes, and this was about the last effort 
 of the order in Illinois. 
 
 Besides know-notliing, the American party was also designated 
 "Sam," from "Uncle Sam" or U. S., the initials of United States. 
 The i)ersonally figurative representative of slavery was often 
 spoken of as " Sandjo," denoting, in concrete, the anti-slavery 
 party. Hence the slavery question in the K. N. council was spoken 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 649 
 
 of as a. set-to between " Sam " and "Sambo." At Pbiladelpliia 
 " Sam " carried tbe day, but tbe -victory was dear as defeat. The 
 terms of reproacli applied to tbe party were Hindoos or Tbugs, tbe 
 bitter an association of robbers and murderers of India. Tbis, 
 from tbe fact tbat its course was niarked by riots and tlie destruc- 
 tion of life and property. Tbese, it will be remembered, were 
 fearful in tbe years 185 J— 5 in many of our large cities — Baltimore, 
 Louisville, St. Louis, Cincinnati and otber places. 
 
 It is well tbat sucb organisations, from tbe condition of enligbt- 
 ened society, nuist ever prove sbort-lived, as did this. Their ten- 
 dency is to diffuse distrust, suspicion, batred, insiucerity; they 
 disturb tbe order and quiet of society, poison confidence, and 
 eventuate in mobs and crimes. Tbis order taught men to think 
 lightly of the principles of liberty as set fortb iu tbe ])eclaratiou 
 of Independence, and of treason by administering oaths in viola- 
 tion of the constitution ; it profaned religion by appeals to tbe 
 weak prejudices of bigotry and fanaticism ; and planted the seeds 
 of riot, arson and blood-shed, by arraying tbe people of one race 
 or nationality in deadly bostility against tbe otber. Its name 
 should be anathema. 
 
 During the year 1855 the republican organization gave renewed 
 evidences of vitality and increasing strength. In Ohio, Mr. Chase 
 was elected by a large majority. Tbe democracy of Illinois felt 
 impelled to look to their position, and immediately after began to 
 jtn'pare for tbe great contest, nearly a year ahead. A stirring 
 address, dated December 1, 1855, was issued by tbe State gene- 
 ral committee, of which the Hon. J. A. McClernand was chair- 
 man, directing the appointment of delegates to the State demo- 
 cratic convention, to be held at Springfield, May 1st, 1850. A 
 portion of the address, which, by its terse, argumentative diction, 
 reveals the author in the chairman of the committee, is here quo- 
 ted, as portraying in a manner the intense and acrimonious party 
 feeling of that day : 
 
 "The malcontents, the intolerants, and the religious bigots of the 
 country, have determined upon making a desperate effort to seize the 
 reins of government. Their only wish and hope is to excite popular 
 passion and upon it ride into office and powei'. They have raised their 
 black flag, with "Abolition" upon the one side, and "Disunion" upon 
 the other, surmounted with the know nothing death's head and cross 
 bones, and witli hideous outcries are rallying their motley forces for the 
 coming struggle They pretend to be the peculiar friend of the negro, 
 while they would make slaves of white men ; they pretend to be the 
 friends of freedom, yet murder men for exercising a plain constitutional 
 riglit ; they pretend to love liberty, while they denounce tlie constitu- 
 tion as a ' league with liell ;' they make loud professions of i)oliey while 
 they persecute others for difference of religious opinions, and slander 
 and belie all who entertain sentiments differ in t from their own. One 
 day they profess to be charmed l)y ' that rich Irisli brogue and that 
 sweet German accent,'* and the next they shoot down, burn and mur- 
 der men, women and children for not being born in the same country 
 as themselves; they illustrate their princii>Ie of 'Americans ruling 
 America' by mobbing the elections, breaking up the liallot boxes, and 
 destroying the votes ; they urge their own will as higher than the con- 
 stitution, while thev deny to tlie people of the territories the right to 
 have any will atall'; they seek to revolutionize government by violence 
 when its acts conflict with their own ; they resist the constitutional acts 
 of congress by armed mobs, which is treason by the law. Devoid of po- 
 
 *Gen. Scott's speech while a candidate for president. 
 
650 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 litical principle themselves, they are for fusion with men of every shade 
 of political principle, and men of no political principle, so they can 
 'vote a vofe,' and add strength to their political organization. In bold 
 contrast and aloof from all this confusion stands the democratic party."* 
 
 The convention met according to the time and place designated, 
 and nominated the Hon. W. A. Eichardson, of Adams, as their 
 candidate for governor, on the 3d ballot ; the old treasnrer, John 
 Moore, being his strongest opponent, and leading him on the first 
 ballot 23 votes. The nomination of Eichardson was nol unex- 
 pected. It was foreshadowed by a little circumstance that took 
 place the preceding summer. A company of Chicago militia 
 made Senator Douglas a complimentary visit at his residence on 
 the lake shore, below the city, and during the afternoon's, enter- 
 tainment, in their hilarity, nominated Col. Eichardson for gover- 
 nor. He, more than j^erhaps any other member from the free 
 States had j^roven himself the firm and reliable friend and sup- 
 porter of the senator in the passage of the Kansas-Nebraaka bill 
 through the lower house of congress. The fusion press, which 
 constantly taunted the democracy with the dictatorship of Doug- 
 las, took this circumstance of a social occasion and settled U})on 
 Eichardson as the candidate with whom the State convention had 
 nothing else to do but to confirm ; in which they proved to be 
 correct. Col. E. J. Hamilton, of Cook, was nominated for lieuten- 
 ant governor ; W. H. Snyder, of St. Clair, for secretary of state ; 
 honest John Moore, of McLean, the old incumbent, again for 
 treasurer; Samuel K. Casey, of Jefferson, for auditor, and J. H. 
 St. Matthew, of Tazewell, for superintendent of public schools. 
 
 In the platform the convention affirmed that congress had no 
 rightful authority to establish, abolish or x>i"obibit slavery in the 
 States or territories; approved non-intervention ami popular sov- 
 ereignty, the compromise of 1850, and declared that the restora- 
 tion of the Missouri restriction would be a flagrant violation of 
 the constitution and the i)rinciples of self-government; asserted 
 the national right of all men to religious freedom, declaring tlieir 
 opposition to i)roscription of foreign born citizens; and instruc- 
 ted the delegates to the Cincinnati national democraticconvention 
 to vote for Steiihen A. Douglas for president. 
 
 During all this time, it may well be imagined, the leaders of 
 the new party, which had met with unexpected success in 1854-5, 
 were not idle. While they were sanguine, they were also cautious 
 in taking extreme or advanced anti-slavery ground. They sought 
 to form a coalition of all the various factions, odds and ends 
 outside of the democratic party opposed to the Nebraska meas- 
 ure, with a'view rather rather to success than the esjjousal of rad- 
 ical principles. The democracj' characterized this coalition as the 
 "si)eckled progeny of many conjunctions." But success, it was 
 well reasoned, would do more to confirm lukewar^n friends tbau 
 unanswerable arguments. In this connection we quote the apt 
 language of the Chicago Tribune at the time : 
 
 "The Bloomington Convention. — Only two weeks will intervene be- 
 tween the present time andtheday fixed for holding the anti-Nebraska 
 State convention at Bloomington. But, though the time is short, we 
 wish to correct one misapprehension that has gone abroad in relation to 
 the proposed gathering. It is this: that the convention is to be exclusive- 
 
 •See 111. Reg., Dec. 4, 1855. 
 
THE REPtTBLICAN PARTY. G51 
 
 ly republican. Such is not the case. Tlie republicans, so far as we are in- 
 formed, consent to be represented tliere purely as anti-Nebraska men, 
 and if there is anything in their political creed, which points to more 
 radical measures than old line whigs and anti-Nebraska democrats can 
 consent to, they have expressed their willingness, without dissent, to 
 put such things in abeyance, and unite upon the platform upon which 
 all northern men, who are not avowedly pro-slavery, ought to stand. As 
 one of the organs of republican oi)inion, we have no hesitation in say- 
 ing that we advise our friends throughout the State to such a course of 
 action. We say further, that we know of no man whois identified with 
 the republican party who desires or would accept a nomination from the 
 convention, for any place whatever. The republicans of the north wish 
 to testify their sincerity by taking the places of privates in the ranks, 
 reserving the right to do battle wherever the fight is fiercest. They ex- 
 pect that the nominee for governor will possibly be a man who differs 
 witli them upon some matters connected with national politics, but they 
 do not demand uniformity of belief^do not expect it. We know not 
 who may be on the ticket with Col. Bissell, and we do not care what 
 they are called, or what may be their political antecedents, so that they 
 are men of personal and political integrity, who may be depended upon 
 to carry out the views that they will announce. The republicans ask 
 nothing." 
 
 On the 22d of February, 1856, au anti-i>febraslia editorial con- 
 vention bad met at Decatur, with Paul Selby as chairman, and 
 W. J. Usrey as secretary, wliicb gave a free airing to its political 
 views, both State and national, as editors are wont to do. They 
 demanded, in a set of resolutions, the restoration of the Missouri 
 coniprouiise; opposed the demands of slavery for territorial ex- 
 pansion as inconsistent with freedom; declared there was au ur- 
 gent demand for reform in the State administration ; stood to the 
 free school system ; and asked all who concurred in their views of 
 national questions to drop all party differences upon other issues 
 and unite in a common effort to give these practical effect. For 
 this puri)Ose they recommended a delegate State convention to be 
 lield Thursday, May 29, at Bloomington. They designated a 
 State central committee, one from each congressional district, to 
 make the call, fix the ratio of representation, and take such other 
 steps as would secure a full representation from all parts of the 
 State. We name the coyimittee in the order of the nund)er of 
 their respective districts : W. B. Ogdeu, Chicago; S.M. Church, 
 Kockfort ; G. A. D. Farks, Joliet ; T. J. Frickett, Feoria ; E. A. 
 Dudley, Quiucy; Wm. IL llerndon, Springfield; K. J. Oglesby, 
 Decatur; Joseph Gillespie, Edwardsville ; D. L. Fhillips, Joiies- 
 boro. Gov, Koerner and Ira O. Wilkinson were designated for 
 the State at large. 
 
 Accordingly the repid)lican State convention of ISofi, nu^t at 
 Bloomington,' in Major's Hall, May 29th. Out of the 101 counties 
 nearly one-third were unrepresented, namely : Alexander, Fulaski, 
 Massac, Johnson, Fope, Hardin, Saline, Gallatin, Hamilton, 
 AVhite, Wayne, Wabash, Clay, Crawford, Jasper, Eftlngliam, Cum- 
 berland, Clark, Douglas, Fayette, Shelby, Brown, Jefferson, Frank- 
 lin, Williamson, Jackson, Perry and Monroe, nearly all in the 
 southern part of the State. The Hon. John M. Palmer of Macou- 
 pin, was chosen pernument chairman. The following were chosgn 
 as vice presidents : J, A. Davis of Stephenson, AVm. Boss of Pike, 
 James McKee of Cook, J. H. Bryant of Bureau, A. C. Harding of 
 Warren, Bichard Yates of Morgan, H, O. Jones of IMatt, D. L, 
 Phillips of Union, Geo. Smith of Madison, J. H. Marshall of Coles, 
 
652 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 J. M. Euggles of Mason, G. A. D. Parks of Will, Jobii Clark of 
 Schuyler. Secretaries: H. S. Baker of Madisou, C. L.Wilsou of 
 Cook^ Jobii Tilson of Adams, W. Bushuell of LaSalle, B. J. F. 
 Haima of liaiidolpli. 
 
 The proceedings of the coiiventiou were hannonions. The nom- 
 ination of the Hon. W. H. Bissell of St. Clair, who was simjdy an 
 anti-Kebraska democrat, had been generally agreed npon before 
 the convention met, by the press and i^eople. The Belleville Ad- 
 vocate had first bronght forward his name in connection with this 
 office, in March preceding, which was shortly seconded by the 
 opposition press generally and in meetings of the people. He was 
 very popular, but his health had been impaired by paralysis of 
 his lower extremities and there was apprehension as to his ability 
 to make a vigorous canvass. But in a letter to Geo. T. Brown of 
 Alton, dated May 24, he wrote that he was recovering from his 
 infirmity, aud hoped for entire restoration ; that his general health 
 and capacity for business were as good as ever ; and while he 
 might not be able to engage in an active canvass he would not 
 decline the nomination if tendered him. After the reading of this 
 letter to the convention, public expectation was confirmed by his 
 unanimous nomination. Francis Hoftiuau of DuPage, a German, 
 Avas also unanimously nominated for lieutenant governor.* 
 O. M.. Hatch of Pike, was nominated for secretary of State, the 
 Hon. Jesse K. Dubois of Lawrence, for auditor, and James Mil- 
 ler of McLean, for treasurer. These last named gentlemen were 
 charged with being members of the know-nothing order, which 
 was doubtless the fact; that the two former had attended every 
 State council of that order since its organization, and been dele- 
 gates and prominent leaders in its late State convention held at 
 Springfield on the 0th inst.t At the same know-nothing- 
 convention, we have seen tliat Mr. Miller had been hon- 
 ored with the nomination for the same place on the ticket 
 at Bloomington. But to the nominating committee at the 
 latter place he stated that he had not nor did not intend to 
 accept the place on the know-nothing ticket. W, H. Powell of 
 Peoria, was nominated for superintendent of public instruction. 
 These latter names were selected by a committee of 9, one from 
 each congressional district, appointed by the chair. They were: 
 S.W.Lawrence, Cyrus Alden, W. W."^Orme, J. D. Arnold, A. 
 Williiims, A. Lincoln, T. A. Marshall, Thos. McCluken and Ben. 
 T. Wiley, named in the order of their respective districts. The 
 candidates selected by them were confirmed by the convention. 
 
 The following is the platform adopted: 
 
 Bemilred, That foreg'oinji- all former differences of opinion upon other questions, 
 we plecl{>e ourselves to unite in opposition to the present administration and to the 
 party which upholds and supports it, and to use all honorable and constitutional 
 means to wrest the government from the unworthy han(is which now control it and. 
 to bring: it back in its administration to the principles and practices of Washington, 
 Jefferson, and their great and siood compatriots of the revolution 
 
 Besulved, That we hold, in accordance with the opinions and practices of all the areat 
 statesmen of all parties, for the first 60 years of the administration of the government, 
 
 * This gentleman found during the canvass that he was ineligible for that office— not 
 having been naturalized 14 years, a (jualiHcatinn prescribed by the constitution, and 
 h« resigned his place on the ticket. The convention subsequently met again and 
 substituted the name of John Wood of iidanis. an old whig. B S. Edwards, at the 
 same time, received 20 votes, lir. Bgan 17, J.M. Ruggles lU, Joseph Seiftiger 8, S. M. 
 Church II, and Leonard Swett, 8. 
 
 + We have it from undoubted authority that the candidate for auditor not only re- 
 fused to come into the convention but cursed it for its abolitionism while he accepted 
 the place upon its ticket. 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 653 
 
 that under the constitution congress possesses the power to pi-ohibit slavery in the 
 territories ; and that whilst we will maintain all constitutional rights of the south, we 
 also hold that justice, humanity, the principles of freedom as expressed in our declar- 
 ation of independence, and our national constitution and the purity and perpetuity 
 of our government require that that power should be exerted to prevent the exten- 
 sion of slavery into territories heretofore free. 
 
 Besolvcd, That the repeal of the Missouri compromise was unwise, unjust, and iniu- 
 rious; an open and aggravated violation of the plighted faith of the States, and that 
 the attempt of the present administration to force slavery into Kansas agaiust the 
 known wishes of the legal voters of that territory, is an arbitrary and tyrannous vio- 
 hition of the rights of the people to govern themselves, and that we will strive by all 
 constitutional means to secure to Kansas and Nebraska the legal guaranty against 
 slavery of which they were deprived at the cost of the violation of the plighted faith 
 of the nation. 
 
 iJeso;c(Y?, That we are devoted to the union and will, to the last extremitj'. defend it 
 against the efforts now being made by the disunionists of this administration to com- 
 pass its dissolution, and that we will suiipoit the constitution of the United States in 
 all its provisions, regarding it as the saeied bond of our union, and the only saleguard 
 for the preservation of the rights of ourselves and our posterity. 
 
 Rfxolved, That we are in favor of the immediate admission of Kansas as a member 
 of this confederacy, under the constitution adopted by the people of said territory. 
 
 Ees<ilird, That the spirit of our institutions as well as the constitution of our coun- 
 try, guaranties the liberty of conscience as well as political freedom, and that we will 
 proscribe no one, by legislation or otherwise, on account of religious opinions, or in 
 consequence of place of birth." 
 
 Eesolutions approving- of the course of Senator Trumbiil], and 
 condemning- that of Senator Douglas were also adopted ; one by 
 Mr. Weutwork, in favor of an economical admini.stration of the 
 affairs of the State; and one by O. H. BroAvning, that the pro- 
 ceedings of the convention bo signed by all the officers, aiid 
 published. The State central committee appointed consisted of 
 J. C. Coukling of Sangamon, Asabel Gridley of McLean, B. C. 
 Cook of LaSalle,.and C. H. Bay and N. B. Judd of Cook. 
 
 It will be observed that the platform omits to demand the repeal 
 of the fugitive slave law, omits to assert the right of trial by jury 
 for the captured slave, and omits to claim the writ of habeas cor- 
 2ms in his behalf ; nor is the institntion of slavery denounced as 
 the sum of all villainies. The Hon. Owen Lovejoy, an original ab- 
 olitionist, who had vainly endeavored in the legislature, in ISoo, 
 to commit the new party to a declaration against the admission 
 of more slave States into the Union and in favor of the rei)eal of 
 the fugitive slave law, which, by the way, received a large A'ote in 
 that body at the time, now in the convention strove to have a 
 plank inserted in the i)latform which would reflect a more ad- 
 vanced position for the party, but was defeated. But with a keen 
 insight into the .future, he observed that while he would like to 
 have inoculated them with the virus more thoroughly at the time, 
 he didn't care much ; for having been exposed to the infection 
 they would all take the disease in the natural way, and break out 
 all over with it before the campaign was ended anyhow — which 
 was the case. 
 
 The personnel of the republican ticket thus made showed that 
 the Chicago Tribnne, bespeaking for advanced republicanism a 
 subordinate part — the post of honor as jirivates in the battle — 
 was taken at its words, for not a pure and simple republican re- 
 ceived a place on the ticket. It was a coalition which the rei)ub- 
 licans were content to support with the hope of future reward. 
 They did not reckon without their host. Success, the touchstone 
 of all human undertakings, attended them, and cemented all these 
 various elements into one great and homogeneous party, leading 
 to- the most radical results. With success, all the halting, the timid 
 and the doubting ones, now perhaps beholding the rcAvard of office 
 in the future, became immediately the most pronounced and un- 
 yielding, if not radical, partisans. 
 
654 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 It Las been supposed that tlie wliig and kDow-nothing parties 
 were wholly absorbed by tlie republican party. Such is ouly partly 
 true. It is true iu the northern part of the State, perhaps, but not 
 in the central and southern parts. In the latter, while the demo- 
 cratic party contributed largely toward its ranks, it received back 
 a greater number of whigs. The Germans, Avholly democratic in 
 Madison and St. Clair counties, went over almost in a body, but the 
 whigs of Sangamon, Tazewell, M(^)rgan aud Adams largely joined 
 the democracy, where they are to this day. 
 
 The repeal of the Missouri compromise was both a party blunder 
 and mistaken statesmanship. The south, with a sectioual in>stitu- 
 tion in its midst, ought to have broadly appreciated thegreat north 
 with its giant steps toward empire, its teeming millions, its innu- 
 merable work-shops, skilled laborers and vast industries. In the 
 faceof this, while it had i)ractical control otthe government, its pol- 
 icy was to excite into being the party whose i>rincii)]es, hoAACver 
 they maybe said in the abstractto have been national by approxi- 
 mating to the landmarks of the fathers, w ere sectional, because it 
 opposed the spread of an institution which was itself sectional ; and 
 it became national only through the operation of a war madly pre- 
 cipitated by the south. The i)arty which ostensibly sought only to 
 restrain the sectionalism of the south, has accomplished greater 
 and mightier deeds than the most ardent abolitionist of 25 years 
 ago could have dreamed. And what it has done it has done so 
 thoroughly that it can never be undone. It has abolished slavery ; 
 raised more than 5,000,000 of negroes to citizenship, and enfran- 
 chised them — all this by constitutional i)rovisions. 
 
 W. H. Bissell was elected governor by a plurality of 4,729 votes 
 over Col. Eichardson ; Morris, K. N., receiving ] 9,241 votes for the 
 same oftice, while Buchanan's plurality over Fremont was 9,164; 
 Filmore, K. N., receiving 37,451. The legislature Avas democratic. 
 The democracy had thrown no obstacles iu the way of the opjtosi- 
 tion dividing upon Filmore, but rather encouraged it; but the 
 main reason why Buchanan carried the State and Bichardson failed 
 was owing to the former's want of identitication with the rejjeal of 
 the Missouri compromise, though he had acce}>ted the Cincinnati 
 l)latform and dilated ujion the beauties of po])ular sovereignty. It 
 was, in spite of this, believed that in his convictions and i»olicy he 
 would be apart from its principles, and bieak faith with its devoted 
 friends — an opinion Avhich proved proi)lietic within the year of his 
 installation. The Missouri Democrat, Avhile it espoused republi- 
 canism and sui)ported Bissell, by a strange inconsistency, labored 
 even w ith republicans to separate Buchanan in the public mind 
 from the outrage of the repeal of the Missouri compromise. 
 
 We close this chapter by the concluding portion of Mr. Lincoln's 
 speech made after the election at the republican banquet in Chi- 
 cago, Dec. 17,1856: 
 
 "All of us who did not vote for Mr. Buchanan, taken together, are a 
 majoi-ity of 400,000. But in thelate contest we were divided between Fre- 
 mont and Filmore. Can we not come together for the future? Let every 
 one wlio really believes, and is resolved, that free society is not, and shall 
 not be, a failure, and who can conscientiously declare that in tlie past 
 contest lie lias done only wliat lie thought best — let every such an one 
 have charity to believe that every other one can say as much. Thus let 
 by-gones be by-gones. Let past differences as nothing be, and w ith steady 
 
THE REPUBLICAN PARTY. 655 
 
 eye on the real issue, let us re inaugurate the good old 'central ideas' of 
 the republic. We can do it. The human heart is with us — God is with us. 
 We shall again be able not to declare that 'all States, as States, are equal,' 
 nor yet that 'all citizens, as citizens, are equal,' but to renew tlie broad- 
 er, better declaration, including both these and much more.tliat all men 
 axe created equal.'" 
 
Chapter L. 
 
 1857-1861— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVEENOR BISSELL. 
 
 Life and Character of the Governor — Gross Attach iijmn him in 
 the Legislature on Account of his Dueling Affair — Turbulence 
 of Party Strife and 2cant of Official Courtesy — Disfraceful 
 Action in Organizing the House — Apportionment Bills of 1857-0 
 — The Canal Scrip Fraud — The McAllister and Stebbins Bonds* 
 
 Aside from the general excitement incident to onr quadrennial 
 I)olitical campaigns, that of 1856, owing to its sectional character, 
 was more than ordinarily bitter. The contest for State and local 
 offices in Illinois, where the new repnblican party had develoi)ed 
 unexpected strength two years before, was unusually acrimoni- 
 ouK and i)ersonal. Of the candidates for governor, Richardson 
 canvassed the State thoroughly, but Bicsell, owing to his physical 
 ailment, was unable to do so, and made but one speech, which 
 was to his old neighbors at Belleville. But his character thronyh- 
 out the campaign was the target of vindictive assaults, some of 
 which he felt himself impelled to deny as utterly untrue. In let- 
 ters addressed to theQuiucy Herald and Springfield Register he took 
 occasion to repel the charges that in 1851, as the paid attorney for 
 the capitalists who sought the incorporation of the Illinois Central 
 Railroad, he had been authorized to ofler 10 per cent, of the 
 gross earnings of the road for the charter, or that he had from 
 his knowledge of public men in the legislature, labored as a lob- 
 byist with. Mr. Rantoul to obtain the reduction to 7 per cent, to 
 the lasting detriment of the treasury of the State. 
 
 Upon Richardson Avas concentrated and poured out all the pent 
 up rage of the opposition. He, it was urged, as a northern man, 
 next to Douglas, had advocated in. congress with determined 
 zeal, persistence and effectiveness the disturbance of the Missouri 
 compromise, and was joint author in opening the Pandora's box 
 to precipitate the evils of slavery agitation upon the entire coun- 
 try, and a border war upon the ill-fated territory of Kansas, to 
 crush out her freedom for the purpose of enlarging the area of 
 human bondage. These impassioned appeals told with effect 
 upon the people — Bissell was elected by a plurality of 4,729 votes 
 over Richardson. The legislature, nearly balanced, was politi- 
 cally opposed to the governor elect. The senate stood, 13 demo- 
 crats, 11 republicans and 1 American (K. N.); house, 37 demo- 
 crats, 31 republicans and 6 Americans, besides a contested election 
 case from Peoria, which was the occasion of a fierce partisan 
 struggle, as we shall see. 
 
 656 
 
bissell's administration. G57 
 
 William H. Bissell was born April 25, 1811, in the State of 
 JSTew York, near Painted Post, Yates county. His parents were 
 obscure, honest, God-fearing' peoi)le, who reared their (children un- 
 der the daily example of industry and frugality, as is the wont of 
 that class of eastern society. Young Bissell re(;eived a respecta- 
 ble but not thorough a(%ulemical education. By ai)i)lication he 
 acquiied a knowledge of medicine, and in his early nmnhood (;ame 
 west and located in Monroe county, Illinois, where he engaged in 
 the practice of that profession. But he was not enamored of his 
 calling; he was swayed by a broader ambition, and tlu' mysteries 
 of the liealing art and its arduous duties possessed no charms for 
 liim. In a few years he discovered his choice of a ])rofessi()n to 
 be a mistake; and when he approached the age of .'!() songht to 
 begin anew\ Dr. Bissell, no doubt unexpectedly to himself, dis- 
 covered a singular facility and charm of speech, the exer(;ise of 
 which acquired him ready local notoriety. It soon came to be un- 
 derstood that he desired to abandon his profession and take up 
 that of the law. During terms of court he would spend his time 
 at the county seat among the niembers of the bar, who extended 
 to him a ready welconu'. 
 
 It was not strange that he should drift into public life. In 1840 
 lie was elected as a democrat to the legislature from INIoiu'oe 
 county and made an efticient member. On his returji home he 
 qualitied himself for admission to the bar and speedily rose to 
 hontrank a,s an advocate. His powers of oratory were cii[)tivat- 
 ing: with a pure diction, charming and inimitable gestures, 
 clearness of statement, and a remarkable vein of sly humoi', his 
 efforts before a jury told with almost irresistible efiect. He was 
 chosen by the legislature prosecuting attorney for the circuit in 
 which he lived, in which position he fully discharged his duty to 
 the State, gained the esteem of the bar, and seldom failed to con- 
 vict the offender of law. In stature he was somewhat tall and 
 slender, and with a straight, military bearing i)resented a distin- 
 guished appearance. His complexion was dark, his head well 
 I)oised, though not large, his address pleasant and manner win- 
 ning. He was exemplary in habits, a devoted husband, and kind 
 and indulgent parent. He was twice married, the first time to 
 Miss James, of Monroe county, by whom he had 2 children, both 
 daughters, now living in Belleville. She died soon after 1840. 
 His second wife was a daughter of Elias K. Kane, formerly 
 United States senator from this State. She survived him but a 
 short time, and died without issue.* 
 
 When war was declared with Mexico, in 1846, he enlisted and 
 was elected colonel of his regiment, over Hon. Don. Morrison, by 
 an almost unanimous vote— 807 to 6. For his opportunities he 
 evinced a high order of military talent. On the bloody field of 
 Buena Vista he acquitted himself with intrepid and distinguished 
 ability, contributing with his regiment, the 2d Illinois, in no small 
 degree toward saving the wavering fortunes of our arms duiing 
 that long and fiercely contested battle. 
 
 After his return home, at the close of the war, he was elected 
 to congress, his opponents being the Hons. P.B. Foukeand Joseph 
 Gillespie. He served two terms in congress. He was an ardent 
 politician. During the great contest of 1850 he voted in favor of 
 
 •Letter from the Hon. Joseph Gillespie. 
 42 
 
658 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the adjustment measures, lioldiiig the following language on the 
 doctrine of non-intervention : "It is a principle, sir, upon whicli I 
 have iilways stood, and from wliich I have no idea of departing, 
 a i)rinci])le maintained tuid clierislied by my constituents, and one 
 which tliey- will be slow to surrender." But in 1854, when the 
 same principle was sought to be applied to the organization of 
 the territories of Kansas and ISTebraska, involving a repeal of the 
 Missouri compromise, he opposed that unnecessary assault upon 
 the domain which for 30 years had been consecrated to freedom, 
 and ui)on its consummation became identified with the organiza- 
 tion of the republican party. 
 
 On account of exposure in the army, the remote cause of a ner- 
 uous form of disease gained entrance to his system, and event- 
 vally developed ])araphlegia, affe(;ting his lower extremities, which, 
 while it left his body in comparative health, de[)rived him of loco- 
 motion, other than by the aid of crutches. While he was generally 
 hopeful of ultimate recovery, this mysterious disease pursued him 
 without once relaxing its stealthy hold to the close of his life, on 
 the 18th of March, 1800, over 9 months before the ex])iiation of 
 his gubernatorial term, at the early age of 48 years. He died in 
 the faith of the Eoman Catholic church, of which he had been 
 a member since 1854. When it is remembered that Willianj H. 
 Bissell, in the short period of 10 years, Avithout early educational 
 advantages, abandoned at the mature age of 30 years one i>rofes- 
 sion by casting aside his pharmaco])ia, his vade mecum and arnui- 
 mentuni chirugicum — quitting the dull and laborious routine of a 
 country doctor, and resolutely turning his attention to the i)rofes- 
 sion of the law, as affording him a wider field for his active im- 
 agination and aspiring ambition ; attained speedily at the latter 
 eminence as an irresistible advocate ; distinguished himself as a 
 soldier; as an accomplished orator took front rank in the halls of 
 the national legislature; and as the standard bearer of a new 
 party marching toward national freedom, was elevated to the first 
 position of his State by the partiality of a grateful and confiding 
 people, his life may be considered a brilliant success.* Yet, in 
 the annals of this State, as will be seen, no public man was ever 
 subjected to contumely so gross, abuse more harrowing, or pur- 
 sued with malice more vindictive ; and that these cruelties caused 
 bim many a heart-pang, casting a shadow over his exalted posi- 
 tion, or embittered his closing days, is not a foreign inference. 
 
 It was during his first congressional term, before he was stricken 
 with paralysis, that his high sense of gallantry was deeply wounded 
 by an efibrt on the part of the southern chi\alry, through Mr. Sed- 
 don, of Virginia, to depreciate the valor of northern troojis at Bu- 
 ena Vista, while the victory upon that field — "snatched from the 
 jaws of defeat" — was attributed solely to southern troops, and i)ar- 
 ticularly claimed for the Mississippi rifles, a regiment conunanded 
 by Jefferson Davis, the late rebel chief. The discussions in con- 
 gress, growing out of the acquisition of territory, of a character to 
 bode dissolution to the Union for a time, were attended by unu- 
 sual explosions of turbulent passions. Personal insults and mena- 
 ces to northern members, with a view to their intimidation, were 
 frequent. These insults and the braggadocio of swaggering dis- 
 unionists to overawe the north, which were submitted to in many 
 
 •Gov. Palmer's funeral oration, May, 1861. 
 
BISSELL'S ADMrNISTRATlON. 059 
 
 instances with a meekness to cause one even now to blush with in- 
 dij^nation, Bissell's ardent nature could not brook, and the vile 
 shmder of Seddon was repelled in a speecli rej)lete witli tacts, 
 stinging- rel)uke and moving eloquence, wliich ac(|uiicd for him 
 national fame, and was a source of pride to his section and State. 
 Such bokl utterances in such accomplished oratory was moie than 
 the vaunting chivalry could bear. lie was challenged by Jcrterson 
 Davis to nu>rtal combat. Bissell had indulged in lioiiorai)ie de- 
 bate, waruD, it is true, but in terms decorous withal, and in man- 
 ner courteous, yet his life was sought. It was explicable only on 
 the ground that the challenge was addressed to tlie entire north. 
 It could not chajige or vary the fact of history connected with the 
 battle of Buena Vista. But when Bissell coolly accepted the (!hal- 
 lenge, without unseendy ]:)arade, evincing not only his individual 
 intrepidity but an earnest of a deliberate intention to fight, which 
 won him the admiration and gratitude of the country, the nnitter 
 was acco m m od ated. 
 
 But the constitution of Illinois, besides the regular oath of oflice 
 prescribed the following in addition : 
 
 "I do solemnly swear that I have not fought a duel, nor sent or nfccpted 
 a challenge to tight a duel, the probable issue of which might have been 
 the death of either party, nor been a second to either party, nor in any 
 manner ai<led or assisted in such duel, nor been knowingly the bearer of 
 such challenge or Hcei^tunee, since the adoption of the constitution ; and 
 that I will not be so engaged or concerned, directly or indirectly, in or 
 aboutsuch duel during my continuance in ottice : so help me God." 
 
 The democracy, which had indulged confident expectations of 
 success in the election of 18.56 to the very last, when they fouml 
 the scepter of power, so long Avielded by them in Illinois, ])ass 
 froi>i their grasp, their chagrin and mortification knew no boumls. 
 During the canvass their press and stump orators had not been 
 silent on Bissell's disability on account of this affair with Jeff. 
 Davis, and after the election, the i)ressure and onslaught in this 
 direction Avas furious and uniideruiittent. The discase-smitlen 
 nuin was pursued with a bitterness and ghoul-like spirit ])aiuful to 
 read, using' the circumstance of accepting the chidleiigi', er,st a 
 source of such })ride to every citizen, as a means iu)w to i)i()stiate 
 him. Their press teemed with coininents upon the deliberate in- 
 tention of so distinguished, exalted and homn'able a, personitge as 
 the governor of- this great State (;onuuitting the dark and fearful 
 crime of perjury. 
 
 But these assaults, that they should have no deterring effect 
 upon their object, were met by the republican i)ress, politicians 
 and orators, at meetings and banquets celebrating the great vic- 
 tory, in various parts of the State, by every known art of encour- 
 ageinent, legal sophistry, and assurances that the governor elect 
 could and would without hesitation, take tlie oath of oflice pre- 
 scribed by the constitution. It would not do to lose the fruits of 
 a great victory on account of a paltry oath of ofhce. The consti- 
 tution, it was exclaimed, by the simplest rules of law could not 
 and did not have any extra-territorial jurisdiction, wherefore he 
 could not perpetrates an infraction of it where it did not extend — 
 he was a rectus in curiam this respect. Bissell himself }>ublished 
 a letter in the Alton Courier, in which he weid over the whole legal 
 grounds applicable to the question, resting upon the fact that he 
 
660 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 was beyond tbe legal jurisdiction of the coiistitutiou of Illiuois. 
 He fuitheriiiore regarded the objections so vehemently urged as a 
 political persecution of liimselfj the result of mortification conse- 
 quent upon democratic defeat, and announced his determination 
 to take the required oath. In this he was applauded by his party, 
 declaring that he was right, that the people looked to and relied 
 upon him, that his incorrui>tible integrity was above reproach, 
 and that he wonld take no step or do aught which his conscience 
 could not fully justify. 
 
 He further, it seems, took counsel from and fortified himself 
 with the opinions of the best legal talent of the State among his 
 political frieiids. At the time of Bissell's election as governor he 
 had been an invalid exceeding three years, his j)aralysis rendering 
 him for much of the time physically helpless, and it is not in ac- 
 cordance with physiological law that the mind connected with 
 such a body shoidd maintain its wonted vigor, strengh of purpose 
 or indepen<lence of will the same as if the system was unimpaired ; 
 and though he himself wrote at the time of the meeting of the 
 Bloomington convention that his intellect knew no abatement of 
 its vigor and strength, " it was manifest to his friends that his ac- 
 tive career was ejided."* A man smitten with incurable disease 
 leans upon the support of his friends, and is then more than ordi- 
 narily influenced by them. Hid they not, therefore, assume a 
 culpable resj)onsibility in putting him forward for this place, and 
 after election further impel a step which exposed him to the en- 
 venomed shafts of an implacable political enemy, if not fraught 
 with serious consequences to the peace of his conscience ? Hemo- 
 crats derisively avowed that his moral constitution was not spared 
 by the blow which prostrated his nervous system. 
 
 In January, 1857, Governor-elect Bissell and family arrived by 
 the Chicago and Alton railroad at the seat of government. Gov- 
 ernor Matteson met them with his carriage at the depot, and con- 
 ducted them to the elegant mansion to which they had been in- 
 vited by the flattering partiality of the people of this great State. 
 On the 13th inst., atli p. m., the two houses of the general assem- 
 bly, which had been in session since the 5th inst., i)receded by 
 their respective officers and escorted by Capt. Hopkins' artillery 
 and a large concourse of citizens, proceeded to the executive man- 
 sion in pursuance of a joint resolution to witness the installation 
 of the governor-elect. The oath of office having been taken, and 
 the ceremonies and congratulations over, the two houses returned 
 to the hall of the house of representatives, the lobby and gallery 
 of which were crowded. Lieutenant-Governor-elect Wood was 
 then sworn in by Chief Justice Scates, and the inaugural message 
 of Governor Bissell received and read to the two houses, after 
 which the senate retired to their chamber, where Lieutenaut-Gov^- 
 ernor Wood delivered a neat and api>ropriate address. 
 
 Governor Bissell's inaugural message was short and a very or- 
 dinary document, noticeable only in that it stepped out of the 
 usual course in "distinguishing" the incorporators of the Illiuois 
 Central railroad company, " that our people in future may never 
 forget to whom they are mostly indebted for the great work of 
 that road," For the handsome grant of land that those gentle- 
 men got from the State, m-ore than enough to build and fully 
 
 * Palmei-'s funei-al oiation,May, 1871. 
 
bissell's administration. 661 
 
 equip that road, one would suppose that the peo))h' did not owe 
 them much either in debt or gratitude. But the portion of this 
 message particuhirly offending- to the democratic majority was a 
 cursory view and discussion of the all absorbing- slavery question 
 as connected with Kansas. Now in this there was perh:>i)s noth- 
 ing- unusual, but the out-going- governor, Matteson, in his com- 
 plete and admirable valedictory message, then a week old, had 
 studiously avoided the subject of politics in any phase whatever, 
 and had invoked harmony in council with his distiiiguislied suc- 
 cessor. This, then, was the fire-brand for an explosion, doubtless 
 but too gladly received, and a most extraordinary debate, both 
 as to character and duration, sprung- up. 
 
 In the house, Mr. I. N. Arnold, upon the conclusion of the 
 reading- of the message, made a motion to have the usual number 
 of 20,000 copies printed. This was the signal for attack. Mr. 
 Logan (now senator in congress), moved to amend hy inserting 
 10,000, and followed up his motion by a speech of two days, dura- 
 tion, which in severity of language excels perhaps anything that 
 that gentleman has ever uttered. It shocked the better sense of 
 all considei-ate men not wholly devoured by jiartisan malignity, 
 and must have deeply wounded the sensitive feelings of Bissell's 
 high strung nature rendered more acute by a long entailed, en- 
 feebling nervous disorder. To many democrats the speech was no 
 suprise. Due preparation, partici[)ated in by some of the party 
 leaders, had early l)een made. Material for evi<lence to cover the 
 entire ground had been carefully colle(;ted, and an orator to exe- 
 cute the unfeeling task selected with skillful penetration. In 
 August preceding, Col, Richardson had written to Jefferson Davis 
 for a copy of the correspondence between the latter and Col. Bis- 
 isel, connected with their dueling affair. In the ])ubli.shed corres- 
 pondence the challenge and its acceptance, or the niemorandum 
 of iaiial settlement had never appeared. Davis had to write to 
 California to Mr. Inge tor it, and it had now arrived to be used to 
 convict Bissel of })erjury. Major Harris had written from Wash- 
 ington, stating he knew Bissell had accepted a challenge from 
 Davis, for he had copied it. Tlie Hon V. B. Fouke, who was 
 present in Springfield, furnished a written statement that Bissell 
 in tlie canviiss against him 1852, for congress, had urged his ac- 
 ceptance of this challenge in his own favor, because lie was ineli- 
 gible to any State office on acc^)unt of the constitutional oath of 
 office. Col. John Crain said he had heard I>issell state the same 
 in a speech at Nashville in 1851. The Hon. W. li. 3Iorrison wrote 
 that Bissell during the late canvass for governor, had said in his 
 hearing, that hedid accept the challenge from Jeff Davis, &c.;all 
 these letters are paraded in the s})eech of Logan, Jan. Ki-ll, 1857. 
 
 Thus fortified, Logan exclaimed: " If corruption enters into 
 liiglj i)laees, it is my duty as a faithful public servant, to drag it 
 from its polluted <len and expose its hideous defoimity to public 
 criticism and contempt." He would "demonstrate to the world 
 a degree of moral turpitude without parallel in the history of the 
 State. No go\ernor of Illinois lias ever sought retirement to 
 take the oath (►f ottice" — the oath was taken at tiie executive man- 
 sion, as we have seen. " We might infer from this, that a guilty 
 and bleeding conscience had sought seclusion rather than stand 
 erect upon this floor and pass the fiery ordeal. The secluded 
 
662 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 aud uimsal ])laec at which it was taken may afford grounds for an 
 inference as to the worlving of a mind goaded to desperation by 
 a weighty conviction of moral turpitude." That the executive 
 had said "he must commit })er]ury to hold the oftice of governor; 
 and then hear of his talking the very oath which he said woul<l 
 amount to periury; I am lost in amazement — standing before 
 the people with falsehood upon his lii)S, and averring his own 
 guilt of a reckless disregard of all that can inspire confidence in 
 man ; * * the moral sense of a million and a half of the 
 people has been shocked by that fearful oath. Trutli, sir, has 
 been crushed to earth. The high standard of moral rectitude has 
 been broken. The votaries of viitue and honesty have been van- 
 quished, and one universal wail, from Chicago to Cairo, has been 
 heard in consequence of the prostration of the executive chair by 
 the hands of a man whose lips are quivering with falsehood. * 
 The constitution of my beloved State lies prostrate in the dust — 
 bleeding and mangled. * * I warn young men and old 
 against the exami)le set. I pray God that we may never agaiti 
 witness such an occasion; Virtue and Truth bereft of all their 
 charms, while the hideous and hateful gods of vice hold dominion 
 over the people." Such are only a few salient extracts from this 
 long speech.! 
 
 The array of able names, both democrat and republican, as 
 members of the house at this session, is excellent. Much party 
 feeling had been already elicited, as we shall see, in the first efforts 
 to organize the house, and the debates incident to this question, 
 nominally upon the printing of the governor's message, were not 
 only generally participated in but were protracted, exciting and 
 ex(^eedingiy acrimonious. We cannot do more than to state that 
 tbe position of the friejjds of the governor, in defense of him, was 
 generally the same as has already been indicated — that the locus 
 delicti was the District of Columbia; that he had otfemled no law 
 of Illinois, either statutory or organic, for neither could have legal 
 jurisdiction beyond the State ; wherefore his excellency might 
 safely and truly swear that he had not accepted a challenge to 
 fight a dnel since the adoption of the constitution. Aud Mr. De- 
 nio, in the debate, asserted that Davis " to this day declares to 
 Gov^ Bissell, through Senator Trund)ull, that he did not consider 
 the notes exchanged between them equivalent to a challenge." 
 But the documentary' evidence shows this to be untenable. 
 
 The locus delicti, which the governor and his friends set up aud 
 used as a defense, was not in question. That the offense commit- 
 ted in the District of Columbia was defined as an oifense by our 
 statutes is true, but that it was not punishable here is equally 
 true. It was circumstances and evasions of that character, how- 
 ever, that the constitutional oath sought to compass aud prevent. 
 The intent of the law may be gathered from the circumstances of 
 its passage. To nuuk the i)oi)ular abhorence of the duello, and to 
 impose upon its votaries the disability of holding oftice in spite of 
 their constant evasions of its punishments by going beyond the 
 confines of the State, was the aim of its framers, and it has failed 
 of efficacy in only two instances. The offense now and here was 
 not in accepting a challenge in Washington, but in swearing at 
 this time, in Illinois, that he had not. The reasoning in the one 
 
 * See 111, State Register, Feb. 1857. 
 
bissell's administration. 6G3 
 
 case does not appear to fit tlie other. Was Bissell tlien only a de- 
 facto governor "1 
 
 The courtesy of printing the usual number of copies of the 
 message was denied. Attacks on tlie piivate character of his ex- 
 cellency continued throughout the session. No annoyance or em- 
 barrassment that could be intlicted was spared him. In the pas- 
 sage of the bill establishing the northern or «Ioliet penitentiary, 
 reconnnended in his message, his customary privileges as a co-or- 
 dinate branch of the law-making power were encroached upon, 
 and the appointmentof the commissioners taken from him. The 
 dignity of oflicial position, and the courtesies and amenities inci- 
 dent thereto, were, to a great extent, sunk out of view. 
 
 In the senate, which contained a democratic majority of one, no 
 discourtesy was shown to the governor by a refusal to order the 
 printing of the usual number of copies of his message. In that 
 chaml)er, besides, general harmony and good feeling prevailed 
 throughout the session, and business moved along with acceptable 
 dispatch. Lieuteiumt-Governor Wood, a gentleman of fine, coin- 
 manding personal appearance, presided in an impartial manner, 
 and his conciliatory <leportment, meeting out to all the senators 
 the same courtesy, was received and met in return by a like mark 
 of respect and cordiality. 
 
 The house, notwithstanding its many able and talented members, 
 was the theatre of much turbulence and partisan strife through- 
 out the session. It was said to have opened as a mob and closed 
 in a rout. In political complexion it stood, democrats 38, republi- 
 cans 31, ajid Americans (5. There were, however, two contestants 
 to this democratic majority, and in the Peoria case of Eastman, 
 republican, against Shellabarger, democrat, it would seem that 
 Eastman was justly entitled to the seat. A few votes cast for 0. 
 L. instead of C. M. Eastman had been thrown out, and the certifi- 
 cate awarded to Shellal)arger, wlun-eas had they been counted the 
 former would have had the majority. 
 
 In the first effort to effect a temi)orary organization of the house 
 was enacted one of those unscendy squabbles, whi(;h, while thej^ 
 are not unfrequent in this free country, are nevertheless a dis- 
 grace to any deliberative body. The republicans were juimarily 
 ■ in fault. By uniting the Americans with their 31 mem1)ers they 
 had planned' to secure the organization of the house in accordance 
 with the usages of the lower house of congress and the I>ritisli par- 
 liament. For this purpose Mr. Bridges, clerk of the house for the 
 preceding general assend)ly, a republican, was on hand to call the 
 house to order and temporarily organize it ; to act as tem])()iary 
 speaker, and in that capacity exclude all contestants from \oting, 
 which would leave the republicans in a majority, and throw its 
 pei-manent organization into their hands. But the democrats were 
 on the alert, and the trick was suspected. The moment the old 
 clerk essayed to call the house to order, F. D. Preston Jiominated 
 John Dougherty for speaker j»-o tern. A scene of uni)aralleled 
 confusion and u})roar, mixed with personal menace, now ensued, 
 Preston, in stentorian tones and with much firmness, i)utting 
 Dougherty's nonnnation to vote and declaring it carried, and 
 Bridges, persistent in his right to organize the house, calling the 
 roll for this purpose, and many members answeriug in recogniticm 
 of his right. Mr. Latshaw was declared secretary jjro tern, in the 
 
664 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 same inauiier that Douglierty had been chosen speaker, and he 
 also was calling the roll of members. Above the din a motion was 
 now made for the sergeant-at-arms to eject the old clerk, Bridges. 
 Amid tlie great nproar it was declared carried, and at once exe- 
 cuted with a rush, by his forcible removal, in which quite a num- 
 ber of the honorable gentlemen volunteered their assistance. The 
 greatest confusion prevailed, nuiscle was triumphant and order 
 was restored. The victory was with the democrats 5 Shellabarger, 
 one of the Peoria contestants, was retained in liis seat, which gave 
 them a clear working majority and the organization of the house. 
 As there were many able members in the house, this Peoiia con- 
 tested election case, as well as the question of printing the gover- 
 nor's message, elicited their full i)ower of debate, and nuiny tine 
 and eloquent speeches from both sides were made during the ses- 
 sion. 
 
 Early in the session an apportionment bill, based upon the 
 State census of 1855, was introduced into the house by the repub- 
 licans. The population of Illinois, in. 1850, was 851,470, and iu 
 1855, 1,300,251 — an increase of 447,781 — about 50 per cent., or 
 one-third her entire population in 5 years. This gain was two- 
 thirds in the northern parts of the State, the main rejjublicau 
 strongholds. The bill was therefore at once spurned by the dem- 
 ocrats, who oifered a substitute which was i)rovocative of the 
 most stubborn parliamentary resistance at every step by the re- 
 publicans. Such measures are nearly always passed in the interests 
 of the dominant party. Both bills souglit to secure ascendency 
 in the next legislature, when a United States senator was to be 
 elected to Douglas' place. 
 
 The constitution required districts to be composed of contigu- 
 ous territory, bounded by county lines. The substitue was 
 claimed to be unconstitutional, in fact a perfect libel on the theory 
 of equal representation, in that it "gerrymandered" the State into 
 all sorts of deformity, the mere cornering of counties in many in- 
 stances being deemed a sufficient contiguity of territory for the 
 formation of districts; in one district 3 votes were made equal to 
 4 in another; in another 5 were made to equal more than in still 
 another; and that in a certain contingency one county would 
 be without rei)resentation at all. With much show of rea- 
 son, doubtless, the opposition regarded the substitute as a most 
 villainous piece of party legislation, and they exhausted every 
 parliamentary effort and device to deieat it, but failed. The bill 
 was passed toward the heel of the session. It now went to the 
 governor for his signature. That functionary, it was contidently 
 expected, Avould veto it ; the surju-ise, therefore, was simply as- 
 tounding when his secretary, on the last day of the session, with 
 other bills reported his approval of it to the liouse. 
 
 And now everything was bustle, there was hurrying to and fro. 
 His excellency was confronted by disappointed but determined 
 political friends, and within an hour he sought to recall his mes- 
 sage of approval, alleging it to have been made by mistake. Some 
 republicans openly boasted that they had compelled therecall and 
 the veto. An informal note exi)lanatory of the circumstances 
 was sent to the house, followed afterwards by his veto and return 
 of the bill. The chagrin and mortiticaticm was now changed from 
 the republican to the democratic side. The house, where it origi- 
 
bissell's administration. 665 
 
 nated, refused to receive back the bill, or allow the veto message 
 to be read or entered upon the journal, as the constitution re- 
 quired, and both were taken to the othce of the Secretary of State, 
 and there tiled. It was held that after the governor liad an- 
 nounced his approval of the bill it became a law, and passed for- 
 ever beyond his control, and the only way to reach it would be 
 by repeal. 
 
 The republican members signed a protest, which was spread 
 upon the minutes, as was the umlonbted right of any two or 
 niore. But now that party feeling was thoroughly aroused, the 
 l)rotest was not allowed to staiul. On motion, it was e.\i)uiiged 
 from the journal. This conduct, both with reference to the rejec- 
 tion of the veto message and the expunging of the protest, was 
 contrary to the (constitution, revolutionary and most reprehensi- 
 ble. With these partisan acts, and amidst the greatest uproar, 
 without indulging the ordinary courtesy of passing a resolution of 
 thanks to t\w speaker, the hour of the sine die adjournment hav- 
 ing been postponed by stopping the clock, this deliberative body 
 fiiuUly, late in the night, adjourned in a rout. 
 
 Some democrats having contidence in the legality of the point 
 upon which the house acted, that the governor could not recall 
 his approval, the act was by mandamus carried up to the su- 
 preme fx)urt to test its validity. But the oi)inion of ttiat tribunal 
 was adverse. The constitutionality of the objectionable provi- 
 sions of the bill were not passed upon, but whether the forms of 
 legislation which it followed ren<lered it valid or not. Judge 
 Ciiton, delivering the opinion of the court, held that while a 
 t)ill is in the possession and control of the executive, within the pe- 
 riod limited by the constitution, it has not the force of law, and 
 he nuiy exercise a veto i)ower, and so return to the house where it 
 originated, with his name eiased, notwithstanding he had once 
 announced hisa|)proval of it. 
 
 Apportionment Bill of isno. — Two years later, at the (;lose 
 of the session, another bedlam, more outrageous and undignified 
 than the foiegoing, was enacted by the legislature. Theoc-casiou 
 was again an ai»porti()niiient measure. The democracy, through 
 the herculean labors of Douglas in his senatorial canvass against 
 Mr. Lincoln, were in a small nuijority in both houses, although 
 the popular vote of the State was against them. Seeing the 
 close of their rule approaching, probably in the next election as 
 it proved, they sought to perpetuate their power, and possibly 
 with the view to elect a deniocratic successor to the then hated 
 Trumbull in the United States senate, in 1861, by so shaping the 
 senatorial and representative districts as to give them the gen- 
 eral assembly and accomplish the ends in view. 
 
 The bill, it'seems, was indeed a most unfair gerrymander, looking 
 solely to i»artisan ends. Counties separately entitled to represen- 
 tatives weregr()Ui)ed with others, and large districts formed whose 
 aggregate democratic vote would overbalance tiieir small republi- 
 can niaj(»rities, and thus force upon them representatives they did 
 not waiit. Instea<l of forming districts out of contiguous and 
 comi)act territory, they were stretched over two degrees of lati- 
 tude. To the republican counties of the State, whose population 
 was stated at OiO,718, were accorded 33 represeutatives, while to 
 
666 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the democratic counties, with a population of 477,678, were given 
 41 representatives. 
 
 The bill was introduced the third week of the session and the 
 democratic majority forced it along in its order. The repul)li(;ans 
 who were abl.N' represented, particularly in the house, fought it at 
 every step. Thus all the legislation behind this bill was held in 
 abeyance an its account. The 42 days contemplated by the con- 
 stitution as the limit of the session, were frittered away in reso- 
 lutions, parliamentary contention, and buncomb speeches. When 
 it finally passed, first the lieutenant-governor, whose signature 
 was required to it, was said to be absent during the 
 night session, and refused to sign it except at the cajjital. 
 Next Gov. Bissell retained it a week before he sent in his 
 veto. In the meantime everything of importance was delayed. 
 The enrolling clerks, in obedience to orders it was said, retarded 
 their labors. Chairmen of the engrossing committees had their 
 pockets crannned with bilh, which they would neither rei)ort them- 
 selves nor disgorge for others to do it. Private bills of friend 
 and foe werekei)t back, so great was the feeling of determijiation. 
 ConMeut of veto, it was determined to repass the bill over it be- 
 fore any otlier business should be transacted. It was the main 
 appropriation bill, through non-action upon which the ends of the 
 majority were sought to be accomi)lished by failing to ju-ovidethe 
 means for carrying on the government and administering the laws 
 during the coming two years' interregnum. The republicans sought 
 to pass it out of the regular order but failed. It was well un- 
 derstood that with the passage of this bill they would leave all else 
 in the lurch, stampede, and break a quorum to defeat the hated 
 apportionment. 
 
 Finally the governor sent in his veto. The house had met at 
 9 A. M. Immediately after prayer, the Hon. L. S. Church an- 
 nounced the governor's private secretary, and as he commenced to 
 read a violent tumult ensued. The democrats almost in a body 
 sprang to their feet, vociferating liercely, while above the din 
 rapped the sj^eakerwith his gavel, crying " silence — order — there 
 is no quorum present. No communication can be made to the 
 house in the absence of a quorum! Doorkeeper i)ut that nmn 
 out" — meaning the secretary. Others shouted ''Knock him 
 down," " Kick him out," &c., with other threats and im])recations. 
 The door-keeper started to execute the si>eaker's order, but by 
 this time the secretary had read the veto message, and delivering 
 it and the bill to a ])age, turned to depart. As the page staited 
 to the clerk's desk, the si)eaker ordered the papers to be returned 
 to the secretary, and Mr. Green of Massac volunteered to execute 
 the order, lie snatched them from the boy's hand, pursued the 
 secretary into the lobby and thrust them at him. Upon refusal 
 they were violently cast on the floor. Mr. Church gathered them 
 up, folded them together, walked leisurely up the aisle and laid 
 them carefully on the speaker's desk. That gentleman, with a 
 contemptuous expression, brushed them ofl'. They were examined 
 by several members and thrown back, when Mr. Green picked 
 them oti" the Hoor and thrust them in his pocket, with the renuuk 
 that he had as much right to them as anybody and he Avould as- 
 sume the responsibility; meanwhile the wildest disorder prevailed. 
 
bissell's administration. GC7 
 
 When quietude was restored, ;i call of the house sliowed ouly 42 
 members present, less than a quornni, and the house adjourned. 
 
 The objections of the governor to tlie ai)i)ortioinent bill were 
 that its effect would be to continue the control of the general as- 
 sembly in the hands of a minority of the jieople; that the new 
 county of Ford was i)laced wholly witliiuboth the Dth and 18th 
 senatorial distiicts; that in the matter of giving excess the 
 10th section of the the 10th article of the constitution was 
 disregarded; that there was an unnecessary departure from sin- 
 gle districts — a glaring instance being the 32d, comi»osed of the 
 counties of Champaign, Piatt, DeWitt, Macon, Moultrie, Shelby 
 and Effingham, to which 3 rei)resentatives were given, when the 
 census showed that the 7 counties Avould divide ueatly into 3 sep- 
 arate districts, &c. 
 
 Messrs. S. A. Ilurlbut, A. W. Mack, L. S. Church, Leonard 
 Swett and J. A. Davis, republicans, offered a protest against the 
 action of the house in its rejection of the veto message, setting 
 forth in scathing language the conduct of the house and the 
 si>eaker, as detailed ; quoting also the governor's message to make 
 it ap{>ear of record. The speaker, lion. W. 11. Morrison, doubt- 
 ing the the necessity of receiving the protest without the house 
 tirst ])assing ui)on the i>ropriety of its language, held it for ad- 
 visement, but subseipiently, witli the nnxlitication of some of its 
 allusions to individual mend)ers, not himself, he admitted it, and 
 it was spread upon the journal. The democrats spread a couuter 
 protest against receiving the Urst protest upon the journal. 
 
 In the meantime the not unexpected republican hegira took 
 l)lace — a few being left behind to attend to the i)rotest and look 
 after things generally. The quorum was broken, the re-passage 
 of the apiiortionment bill over the governor's veto prevented, and 
 all the untinished business brought to a deadlock; involving hun- 
 dreds of bills, both public and i>rivate, including the general i\p- 
 ])ropriation bill necessary to keep the wheels of government iu 
 motion. The result was not so bad, however, as was at tirst 
 anticipated. The api)roiiriations for the northern penitentiary 
 and the asylums at Jacksonville had been gotten through early in 
 the session, as also for the i)ayment of the semi-annual interest 
 on the State debt; and the judges, by a law of 1.S4U, could draw 
 their salaries on vouchers certilied from the governor to the 
 auditor. The conduct of the republicans in leaving was revolu- 
 tionai-y, and the whole proceedings not oidy undignified but dis- 
 creditable to the State. If the minority, not a|)i)reciating that in 
 their capacity as legislators they acted for the whole State ami the 
 entire people, sought only to discharge partisan duty to their con- 
 stituents, then they should have defeated the re-election of Doug- 
 las^ and, indeed, they might iu the same way have altogether jire- 
 vented legislation. After waiting two days for the return of the 
 delinquents, the democrats adjourned the general assembly sine 
 die. 
 
 U})on the death of Gov. Bissell, March 18, 1860, the Lieut. Gov., 
 John Wood, by virtue of his office, became governor for the unex- 
 l)ired term of near 10 months time Bissell Avas the only execu- 
 tive of the State who died iu that office. 
 
668 HI8T0RY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 THE CANAL SCRIP FRAUD. 
 
 Ill the winter of 1859 was brought to. light the most stupendous 
 individual fraud ever i3eri)etrated upon the State of Illinois. It 
 was greatlj' iutensitied in that all the attendant circumstances 
 pointed to a gentleman as the perpetrator, wdio but a short time 
 before had beeu honored with the most exalted station in the gift 
 of the people of tlie State, and who carried into his retirement 
 their confidence and esteem. The fraud consisted in the re-issue 
 of $1124,182 66 of 90 days redeemed canal scrij), dating back some 
 30 years. Owing to the pecuniary necessities of that period, the 
 canal trustees had issued $265,237 ninety-day checks, dated May 1st, 
 and $123,317, dated August 1st, 1839. Much looseness had been 
 observed in the original issue of these checks as well as in their 
 redemption, they having been put aside without being cancelled. 
 A superabundance of them had been prepared (not knowing how 
 many might be needed) all signed and executed except filling in 
 the name of the treasuier. They remained unregistered and un- 
 trimmed until detached and signed, when the amount of the dif- 
 ferent denominations were entered in a book, which served as a 
 memorandum of the actual amount in circulation. These checks 
 had beeu put in circulation in 1839 for a temporary purpose from 
 the canal office at Lockport, and were redeemed partly by the 
 State bank branch at Chicago, in i)ayment for dues to the canal, 
 and otherwise. It appears from the reports of the canal officers 
 to the legislature, in 1840, that all of both these May and August 
 issues had beeii redeemed, except $822, and in 1842-3 only $323 
 remained outstanding. 
 
 During the session of the legislature, in 1859, Gen. Jacob Fry, for 
 many years canal trustee, called at the auditor's office and showed 
 Mr. Dubois, auditor, one of these old canal checks, which had been 
 offered for sale in Springfield, and cautioned the State officers 
 against receiving such scrij), explaining how it was long since re- 
 deemed, and that what was then in circulation must be fraudu- 
 lent. He was referred to the fund commissioner's office — the gov- 
 ernor having been ex-officio fund commissioner since 1843 — where 
 he leained to his amazement that scrip of that description to a 
 very large sum had been funded, and that new bonds of the State 
 nnder the funding acts had been issued therefor. The checks 
 were duly signed W. F. Thornton, i)resident, and countersigned 
 by Jacob Fry, commissioner, and by those gentlemen, and also 
 Mr. Joel Manning, recognized as the same $50 and $100 checks 
 issued by them in 1839, and redeemed and carefully packed away 
 in a box, but now doing service again, after exchange as free- 
 bank dei)osits. With this revelation consternation became rife in 
 every State department, in which the legislature participated, 
 the people generally shared, and the newspaper press fairly 
 reveled. Nor was this lessened when it also transpired that the 
 whole of this scrip thus fraudulently converted was presented by 
 no less a persomige than ex-Gov. Matteson. 
 
 In the State seiuite, Mr. Marshall of Coles, introduced a resolu- 
 tion, which was adojited, instructing the finance committee to 
 inquire into certain State stocks said to be issued and based on 
 counterfeit or spurious scrii), emxjowering them to send for ])er- 
 
bissell's administration. C69 
 
 sons and papers, and to report to the senate tlie result of tlieir 
 investijiation. This committee consisted of S. W. Fuller, chair- 
 man, B. C. Cook, A. J. Kuykendall, Z. Appliii.nton, S. A. Buck- 
 master and Silas L. Bryan. They report : 
 
 "It appears that m December, 1S5G, just before the close of his term 
 of office, about ^13,000, in amount, of the i-hecks above describt'd, were, 
 by Gov. Matteson. presented to Enoeli Moore, secretary of the fund 
 connnissioner, and new State bonds issued tlierefor. That during tlie 
 year IS.")?, about $93,500 additional of the same cliecks were, by Gover- 
 nor Matteson, presented to the same officer, who issued new bonds for 
 that amount — and tiiat at divers times there has been paid to Governor 
 Matteson, from tlie State treasury, an amount of money, for {jrineipal 
 and interest, to make, with the bonds so issued to him, the sum of Sii23,- 
 182 66, on account of the canal ehecks so presented by him. The greater 
 l^art of the checks are recognized by Gen. Thornton, Gen. Fry and 
 Mr. iSIanuing as the genuine $50 and $100 checks of May 1st and Au- 
 gust 1st, 1839, by them issued and redeemed, and as part of the 
 redeemed checks packed by Mr. Manning and Gen. Fry in the box de- 
 posited in the bank at Chicago^ in the year 1840. There are also found 
 among the checks funded by Gov. Matteson, two packages of the checks, 
 dated August 1st, 1839, amounting to $10,500, which are fresh in ap})ear- 
 ance, have the edges uutrimmed, but fully signeii by the commissioner 
 and secretary of the canal commissioners, and used by the treasurer of 
 the board, but wanting the name of the treasurer filled in upon their 
 face, and lying upoueach other in consecutive numbers." 
 
 It appeared also iu testimony before the committee that Gen. 
 Fry, treasurer of the canal board, and Joel Manning-, .secretary, 
 in the fall of ISiO, counted and packed in a larjic sealed box the 
 checks redeemed and other evidences of canal indebtedness, and 
 they believe some of the partially executed checks ; that Mr. j\Jan- 
 iiing took the box to Chicago and deposited it in the Branch State 
 Bank, where it remained umlisturbed until 1848, Avhen it, with 
 other boxes and packages left there by the canal oflicers, was re- 
 moved to the canal office in Chicago. This box and other divers 
 l^ackages of redeemed canal indebtedness, were receipted for by 
 successors to predecessors from time to time as changes in that 
 office occurred. An<l none of these 90 day checlcs were seen in cir- 
 culation from 1840-1 down to 1859, Gen. Hart L. Stuart testified 
 that for years after 1847 he bought altogether near half a million 
 dollars worth of all kinds of Illinois canal indebtedness, adverti- 
 sing therefor in Chicago and New York, but among all his pur- 
 chases he saw only about $100 of the 1839 canal checks. 
 
 In 1853 Gov. Matteson appointed Josiah Mclvoberts State canal 
 trustee, who went to Chicago to receive from ex-Lieut.-Gov. J. B. 
 Wells the assets of the canal office, among which was this sealed 
 box, corresponding to the above description. He received also 
 another box with a loose lid or cover, containing broken packages 
 of canal indebtedness, defaced with a canceling haiunun-, but on 
 counting the contents they were found to be short in many instan- 
 ces of the amounts noted on the wrappers. He also found di\ers 
 packages of canal indebtedness in the office, partially broken, and 
 part of the contents missing. And "he was advised by Gov. 
 Wells, his predecessor, in substance, that the vouchers and affairs 
 of the canal office would not hold out, or prove correct, but such as 
 were there then of the papers, vouchers and furniture of the office, 
 lie received from Gov. Wells." 
 
 McEoberts then advised Gov. IMatteson that the books, vouch- 
 ers, &c., of the canal office had been turned over to him, among 
 
670 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 which there was luueh useless matter which shoiikl be disposed of; 
 aud bj" the governor's direction lie packed all the evidences of 
 canal or other indebtedness received from Wells in a trunk and a 
 box (an ordinary shoe box,) for transmissiou to Springfield. In so 
 doing he tried to put the same sealed box "into the trunk auvl 
 shoe box, but it was too large, and he broke it open and packed 
 the contents either in the trunk or shoe box, or a part in each, 
 which, he cannot certainly state. After pacldng the trunk and 
 shoe box, he locked and sealed the trunk and box," directed 
 them to Gov. Joel A. Matteson, at Springfield, Illinois, put them 
 on board the railroad at Chicago, and came with them to La- 
 Salle, with Gov. Matteson, and there left them in charge of Gov. 
 Matteson, who directed them to be sent to the Central Kail 
 road depot at La Salle, e^t rowte for Siuingfleld, Illinois, in charge 
 of Gov. Matteson, who was then going to Springfield. 
 
 "There is no distinct evidence before the committee that the shoe 
 box has ever been seeu since, but the trunk was found during the 
 course of this investigation in a basement room of the capitol at 
 Springfield. It was opened (there were upon it some appearances 
 of having been sealed twice, as if opened and sealed again), and 
 the contents found to consist of a great variety of evidences of 
 canal indebtedness, some complete, that had been in circulation 
 and redeemed and cancelled, and some unfinished scri}), also can- 
 celled with a hammer, the whole contents counted to near $-!,o^'0,- 
 000, of all sorrs, although Mr. McKoberts stated in his report to 
 Gov. Matteson, in 1853, that the contents of thetruidv and box de- 
 livered by him to Gov. Matteson, in the spring of that ^t^av, were 
 only estimated to amount to $080,000." The uiu^ancelled checks 
 were not found in the trunk, and no trace of the box was ever dis- 
 covered. 
 
 Thus the box and trunk, which the evidence and attendant cir- 
 cumstances all show contained the redeemed and unused canal 
 checks of 1839, were directly traced into the custody of the gov- 
 ernor ; he subsequently appeared with the identical bonds in his 
 iwssesion, and had them exchanged orfunded for new State bonds 
 by the secretary of the fund commissioner, to the amount of |2L'3,- 
 182.GG; and he ai)peared further as the sole beneficiary of their i)ro- 
 ceeds. A j)rma/ac?'e case was thus strongly made out against the 
 ex-governor, and the onns prohmidi was shifted to him to relieve 
 himself of the charge. 
 
 Under this grave state of the case, it was only shown in defense 
 that the governor, after his retirement in the winter of 1857, took 
 rooms at the St. Nicholas Hotel in Springtield, where he bought 
 largely c ' the public indebtedness of the State— $380,000 of all 
 sorts, other than canal checks of 1830. Mr. Kiles testified that 
 $200,000 of this sum was fuiuled for and on account of Clark, 
 IJo(lge& Co. "Messrs. E. E. Goodell (a son-in-hiw of the govern- 
 or), \Vm. Smith and Mr. Nesbitt, swore that Gov. Matteson re- 
 ceived from the Merchants' and Drovers' Bank, at Joliet, from 
 December 12, 1850, to about the first of May, 1857, a little over 
 $200,000, which Mr. Smith understood was to be used in buying 
 State or canal iiidebtedness. Mr. Goodell states he knew that Gov. 
 Matteson was about that time buying public indebtedness; and 
 Mr. Nesbitt, that he brought to him packnges of money, which he 
 delivered to him at his room in the St. Nicholas Hotel." Gen. I. B. 
 
bissell's administration. 671 
 
 Ciirrau and A. H. Moore testified ''that tliey, eacli, at difiereiit 
 times, were in his rooms at that liotel, and sawliim biiyiiif;- of ]>er- 
 sons unknown to them, and apparently strangers in the town, canal 
 scrip and clieclvs, to an amount, on sonu^ occasions, of about -t."),- 
 0(K), which he paid for in cash at the time, except in one or two 
 instances he was noticed to give a clieclv." Curnin thought pnr- 
 clnises were made ocasionally at 75 cents on the <h)l]ar for i)ri.nci- 
 pal, to which was added the accrued interest ; and lu' also tliouglit 
 that he observed i)urchascs to the amount of |;>(),()()0 to $.-)(),()()(), 
 and tliat some of these were 1)0 day checks. Moore swon^ that he 
 thought he had observed the governor pay from $1.20 to $l.:'A) for 
 l>rincipal ami interest of public indebtedness due. A letter from 
 Governor Bissell stated that shortly after his accession he was 
 fretjueutly api>lied to by letters and persons strangers to him, 
 desiring to dis[»ose of evideiu;es of State indebtedm\ss, and he uni- 
 foriidy referred them to Gov. Matteson as dealing in suchevi<lences. 
 
 Thus while the trunk full of cancelled and worthless evidences 
 of State indebtedness was readily found, no successful effort ap- 
 pears to have been made to show what became of the box con- 
 taining the uncancelled and unused canal scrip; and while Mat- 
 teson obtained the new State bonds and money, he failed to show 
 where he got the 90 day canal checks exchanged for them, 
 shown to have been in the lost shoe box. 
 
 From the time the exchange was effected in 1857, up to the time 
 of its detection in 1850, neither Gov. Bissell, although ex officio 
 fund commissioner, nor any other State ofticer, the fund commis- 
 sioner's clerk, iMr. Moore, who had also been Matteson's clerk, 
 alone excepted, knew anything of the transaction. Governor 
 Matteson was not personally examined before the committee of 
 inxestigation. Messrs. Grimshaw, Browning and Koerner were 
 present on behalf of the State, and Messrs. Stuart and Ed- 
 wards of Springfield, as counsel for Gov. Matteson. The exami- 
 nation was reported in detail, and may be found in full in the 
 Mcekh' Illinois State Journal oi April 27, and May 4tli, 11th and 
 ISth, lS59. 
 
 The committee forebore to express any opinion of the guilt or 
 innocence of any party concerned, and were apparently glad that 
 Gov. Matteson had saved them "the necessity of determining 
 many endjarrassing questions arising out of the foregoing state- 
 ment of facts, by offering to indemnify the State against all loss 
 or liability by reason of moneys ])aid him, or bonds issued to him 
 on account of said canal checks." The governor's letter to this 
 effect, dated S[)ringfield, February 9th, 1859, ajjpears with their 
 report. This letter, notwithstanding its fair langiuige that he had 
 "unconsciously and innocently been made the instrument through 
 whom a gross fraud upon the State has been attempted," and his 
 "earnest desire for the preservation of [his] own rei)utation ])ure 
 ami spotless, rendered [him] unwilling to retnin these bonds, 
 although i)urchased by and issu<'d to [him] bona fide and for a vab 
 uable consideration," was commonly regarded as a coid'ession of 
 the transaction. 
 
 These funded bonds were on deposit with the auditor of State 
 as security for the State bank (so-called) located at Shawnee- 
 town, a free or stock bank owned by Gov. Matteson. To imlem- 
 
 •See m. Reports 1859, vol. 1, 644. 
 
672 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 nify the State against loss by these securities thus fraudulently 
 obtained for the canal scrip, the governor and his wife, under 
 date of April 21, 1859, mortgaged his Quincy property to the 
 State.* 
 
 The committee asked leave to sit during vacation for further 
 investigation, which was granted, and in 18G1 they made a volumi- 
 nous report, embracing a general examination into the different 
 classes of indebtedness of tlie State. They found in the course 
 of their investigation additional frauds upon tlie State perpetra- 
 ted during the period in question, Avith various kinds of scrip, 
 amounting in the aggregate, estimating iirincii)al and interest up 
 to January 1, 18G1, to $165,346. 
 
 To pay off a claim of $38,214 44 to Mr. Kenedy, authorized by 
 the legislature in 1846-7, Gov. French had commeiiced to reserve, 
 undefaced, internal improvement scrip paid infor State lands sold, 
 but as this was slow in coming in, he, in September, issued bonds 
 to Kenedy, which paid him off". In the meantime $4,501 64 of the 
 land scrip had accunudated, and the governor caused a descrip- 
 tive list of it to be made and liled away, which Avas found by the 
 committee; but the scrip was fraudulently funded May 14, 1857, 
 amounting then, principal and interest^ to $6,656 79. In Decem- 
 ber, 1841, Gov. Carlin placed in the hands of the canal commis- 
 sioners 298 bonds of $1,000 each, 195 were paid out, 101 returned, 
 and 2, Nos. 105 and 106, reserved in blank for Messrs. J. G. and 
 D. L, Roberts, who never called for them, and they were never 
 paid out to any one. The bonds were dated July 1, 1841, anul 
 fully executed except inserting the name of the payee. The com- 
 mittee now found the two bonds in the auditor's office cancelled. 
 " The evidence before the committee tends to show that the name 
 of J. Cratty, the payee of bonds Nos. 105 and 106, aforesaid, is 
 in the handwriting of Joel A. Matteson ; that while 19 bonds, 
 numbered consecutively from 126 to 144 inclusive, were paid out 
 to Cratty by the commissioners, these two never were, but were 
 reserved as above stated. The loss to the State, as we have 
 seen, was estimated at $165,346, besides the $223,182 66, based 
 upon the uncancelled canal checks of 1839, total $368,528 GG. 
 The committee conclude: "Whether this scrip thus fraudulently 
 taken from the State was the scrip which was in the box and 
 trunk above mentioned cannot be determined, because no des- 
 criptive lists of the scrip was kept. The only facts in evidence 
 before us tending' to throw light upon that subject are above 
 stated." 
 
 In the spring of 1859 the offense was brought to the attention 
 of the grand jury of Sangamon county by three of the State 
 officials, Messrs. Dubois, Hatch and Miller, who by their letter 
 of April 27th, furnished that body a list of witnesses in va- 
 rious parts of the State, all of whom had been before the 
 senate committee. The witnesses were subijoenaed, and the e\i- 
 deuce elicited was such that the grand jury, by a vote of 16 to 7, 
 determined to indict; but on the next day their action was on 
 motion reconsidered. The inquiry was extended, but nothing 
 new being elicited they again determined to find a true bill, oidy 
 to be again reconsidered. And now sundry members of the jury 
 began to falter in their determination, and when they again bal- 
 
 • See Book N. of Mortgages, pp. 650-83, Adams Co. — — — 
 
bissell's administration. 673 
 
 lotted the bill was refused by a vote of 10 for to 12 against — 5 
 having reversed their opinions. Many rumors and surmises, both 
 of a political and financial character, gained curienc}' in connec- 
 tion with these "backings and fillings" of that body. 
 
 A grand jury's investigations nre ex 2)((rte. It is not their prov- 
 ince to inquire into the defense. The attorneys of tlie accused 
 governor planned a letter, which reached the jury through the 
 prose(;uting attorney, suggesting (besides some witnesses who 
 bad testified favorably to Matteson before the committee) the 
 immes of Capt. O. H. Pratf of LaSalle and Dr. A. R. Knapp of 
 Jerseyville, as parties who would make important disclosures. 
 According to the rumors of the period, which were exceedingly 
 numerous, the captain and the doctor mentioned were expected 
 to shift the brand from the governor, and fix it ujion ex-Lieut. 
 Gov. J. B. Wells, then deceased, who, we have seen, when he 
 yielded up the canal oflice to his successor, McRoberts, liad re- 
 marked "that the vouchers and affairs of the canal office would 
 not hofd out." But the scheme failed; though these nunors 
 promptly brought to the capital of Illinois Judge Wells, of Mas- 
 sachusetts, his brother, who unwilling that the imputation rest 
 longer on idle and mischievous rumors, demanded that the charge 
 be avowed and the grounds distinctly set out— when they ini- 
 ni ed i ate! y ceased .* 
 
 The sum subsequently recovered by the State, under decree jeu- 
 dered in the Sangamon circuit court against Matteson, was •'$2.'>5,- 
 .500. On the 27th of April, 1804, the master's sale of the ex-gov- 
 ernor's proi>erty took i)lace at the door of the court house in 
 Springfield, to satisfy the decree. The property sold realized 
 $238,000, leaving a deficit to the State of $27,500. The State 
 became the purchaser of the larger share of it. His si)leiHlid man- 
 sion and grounds at Springfield, which cost $03,000, brought only 
 $40,000. This property was afterwards redeemed and never 
 passe<l out of the possession of the family ; a son-in-law being the 
 reputed owner, and the ex-go^•ernor making his very retired home 
 there. Never did a governor retire from oftice in Illinois Avithmore 
 respect by the people of both parties ; with more general confi- 
 dence in his integrity or administrative ability; with prospects 
 for future jiolitical preferment of exceeding high promise ; but the 
 disclosure of these frauds upon the State, prostrated as by a sin- 
 gle blow all these cherished hopes, and to-day there are doubt- 
 less many peoi)le in Illinois who even do not know that such a 
 man is in life among us.+ 
 
 THE MACALISTER AND STEBBINS BONDS. 
 
 Attempted Swindle by Fmiding them in 1859. — And now at the 
 very hight of the great hue and cry of corruption, theft, robbery, 
 &c., raised in connection with the canal scrip fraud, oa er which 
 the republican press fairly gloated with demoniac delight, and 
 while in the full tide of its onward career, a shadow was suddenly 
 thrown across its track by a dark cloud replete with ominous por- 
 tent, implicating the existing State government in an attempted 
 
 * The full proceedings of the grand jury are published in the weekly 111. State Jour- 
 nal of July 13, 1859. 
 t The ex-g-Qvernor died in the winter of 1872-3 at Chicago. 
 43 
 
674 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 swindle upon the treasury of the State, amounting to $244,268, by 
 the refiiiuliiig of the Macalister and Stebbins bonds, so-called, 
 which struck consternation into the ranks of the leaders. The 
 democratic press, which had stood almost dund) under the revela- 
 tion of the canal check fraud and meekly received the vehement 
 blows of its adversary, was not slow to avail itself of the oppor- 
 tunity thus afforded to oft'-set the former, and it rallied to the onset 
 with a will. While the two wrongs did not make one rigid, it 
 was nevertheless a great relief (snch is human nature) for the lat- 
 ter to tind grounds to clmrge the former ecpnUly with culi>al)ility. 
 In 1841, June 17th, JohnD. Whiteside, fund commissioner, re- 
 ceived an advance of $2(11,400 from Macalister & Stei)bins, bank- 
 ers in New York, for a short i)eriod, and as security, hy pot liecated 
 with them 804 State bonds of .$1,000 each, bearing per cent, in- 
 terest from Miiy 1, 1841. Eight days later he delivered to them 
 30 $1,000 i)er cent, internal imi)rovement bonds; on the 1st of 
 July following he gave them an order on Nevins, Townseud &Co., 
 of New York, for a further batch of 41 bonds of $1,000 each, 
 which they received; and on the 27th of October following, they 
 received from Michael Kenedy $38,215 44 in canal scri]) — the 
 whole aggregating $012,215 44 of Illinois interest bearing indebt- 
 edness, whicli that lirm received to secure their advance of $201,- 
 460 to the State. The receipt of these sums they acknowledged 
 in their account current rendered in 1842, during the session of 
 the general assembly, being 28 64-100 cents on the dollar of secur- 
 ity in their hands. Upon the bonds and obligations received by 
 them, after the first 804, they had agreed to muke further advances 
 to pay the State's July interest for 1841, if it was found necessary, 
 but tlie State stopping her interest piiyments, the advance was 
 never nnvde ; and under her then financial embarrassments, the 
 $261,460 advanced was not repaid; the hypothecated bonds, ac- 
 cording to the contract with the fund commissioner, became for- 
 feit, and Macalister & Stebbins claimed their full redemi)tion in 
 money. But it was answered that this contract was made in vio- 
 lation of law ; that it was the duty of the lender to have inquired 
 into the fund commissioner's legal authority to hypothecate these 
 obligations, and as he had manifestly been overreached by the 
 arts and cunjiiug of money -jobbers, the State, at the bar of con- 
 science, would only rei)ay the amount actually received with the 
 interest agreed to be i)aid. But these just terms of settlement 
 were refused, after which the pledged securities were known as 
 the " Macalister & Stebbins' bonds." 
 
 In 1847 (Feb. 28th,) the legislature passed "an act to authorize 
 the funding of the State debt." By its i)rovisions the Macalister 
 & Stebbins bonds were specially excluded from its operation. The 
 new "certificates of indebtedness" authorized by it were desig- 
 nated "New Internal Imi»rovement Stock of the State of Illinois," 
 of $1,000 each. "Certificates" for matured interest of over 6 years 
 were to be issued, not to draw interest till after 1857, being with- 
 out coui)ons, as the interest was stipulated in the body of the cer- 
 tificates. A "transfer agent" was to be ai)iK)inted in New York to 
 attend to the funding of the complicated Illinois indebtedness. 
 
 Three days after a supplemental act was passed to authorize a 
 settlement with Macalister & Stebbins, by the inovisious of which 
 
eissell's administration. G75 
 
 30 cents on the dollar were ottered, in new bonds on the anionnt 
 hyi)othecated; the bonds to bear upon their face the words, "liijni- 
 dation bonds," which, it will be observed, would ha\ e made two 
 classes of Illinois funded bonds. By its terms the hiw ex]>ired on 
 the 4th of July, 1847, and as the holders of the bonds refused to 
 surrender them, or settle accoidin^- to its i»ro\isions, notliin*;- more 
 wiis done. 
 
 Subsequentlybetter counsel ])revailed, and at the session of the 
 lejiislature in the winter of 1S41>, Wm. H. Jiissell, then a. nHMnl)er 
 of congress from Illinois, was sent by Macallister & Stebbins to 
 iSpringtield to make as good a bargain with the 8tate as he could 
 for the redemption and settlement of these securities. "An act" 
 was passed "to prevent loss to the State on the Macalistei' & 
 Stebbins bonds." It was enacted that upon surrender of the bonds 
 and scrip hyi)othecated with Macalister & Stebbins, amounting in 
 the aggregate to $lH3,2ir).44, togt'ther with the interest coupons, 
 the governor was to settle and i)ay the amount of mom-y originally 
 advanced with 7 per cent, interest thereon from the date of deposit 
 to the time of settlement, in $1,()()0 bonds due after bSd"), bearing 
 (J per cent, interest, i)ayable semi annually in ISew York, j>>-o rata 
 out of the interest fuiKl. The old bonds to be surrendeied in su(;h 
 amounts at a time as $1,'0,()0() of the new l)onds would settle; and 
 all heretofore surrendered to be credited in full at 12(1 cents on the 
 dollar of the <S04 bonds first hypothecated. The new bonds, like 
 those provich'd for in the act of 1S47, were to bear u])on their face 
 the wor<ls "liquidation bonds." Hence no "new intei'ual im[)rove- 
 ment stock" could legally be issued for these bonds; these liquida- 
 tion bonds were a. distinct class. The" greater portion of the 
 Macalister & Stebbins bonds were funded under this act at the 
 rate offered, biit not all — 114 having passed out of their hands. 
 
 During the session of the general assembly in 1807, Dr. W. W. 
 IJoman, member from St. Clair, introduced a bill Avhich became a 
 law, entitled "An act to fund the arrears of interest accrued and 
 un[»aid on the public debt of the State of Illinois." It authorized 
 the governor to take up all arrears of interest due and uni)aid, and 
 to issue to the holders tlier<'of bonds of .$1,(1(10 each, the sajue as 
 those authorized by the funding act of 1847; for old bonds with- 
 out coupons, interest ceitihcates were to be issued to the holder, 
 for which new bonds were to bc^ issued u])on presentation ; and 
 "any holder of canal or internal ini])rovement scrip liohling less 
 than |?1,0(I0 may i»resent the same with interest certiticates enough 
 to make $l,(KIOor more, and the goveiiior shall issue a bond as be- 
 fore stated for such amount." 
 
 After its passage it was apprehended that the law was bi-oad 
 enough in its terms to include the outstanding Macalister tS: Steb- 
 bins bonds. To pre\ent such a construc4^ion. a joint resolution 
 was promptly passed : "That no bonds or certiticates foi- airears 
 of interest upon the ^Macalister & Stebbins bonds, hcUl by lien, 
 shall be issued by thegovernor tothe holdersof theat'orenu'ntioned 
 indebtedness, to their agents, or to any person ori)ersons clainn'ng 
 under them." 
 
 The outstanding 1 14 ]Vracalister«S: Stebbins bonds of ll.OOO each 
 had passed into the iK)ssession of other i>arties in New York, who 
 alleged that they had purchased them some 10 years ago at i)ublic 
 auction without the knowledge that the State refused to pay them 
 
676 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 at par. They now, under the law of 1857, made application to tbe 
 governor to Lave them funded at par, which was refused. They 
 next applied to the supreme court for a mandamus to compel the 
 governor to fund them, but the writ was also refused, the court 
 holding that the executive is a co-ordinate and independent branch 
 of the government, and that tliey had no power to command him 
 to do an otticial act. iS^o opinion was expressed relative to the 
 l^ower of the governor, under the law, to issue the bonds ; but 
 Judge Breese, in deliverijig the opinion of the court, added : "If 
 the governcu- asks our opinion on the point of duty, we will cheer- 
 fully give it ; but we refer him to the high tribunal of his own 
 conscience and the public jndgment." 
 
 But notwithstanding the refusal of Gov. Bissell at this time to 
 fund them, and apparently in the face of the joint resolution above 
 quoted, he subsequently changed his mind, signed the requisite 
 number of new bonds in blank, as did also the treasurer, Millei-, 
 and sent them on to New York to be tilled up, as was the repre- 
 hensible custon of the time. In 1859 he further ordered the State 
 transfer agent, EdAvard Bement, resident in New York, to fund 
 the old Macalister & Stebbins bonds at their full value, princii»a] 
 and interest, in the "New Internal Improvement stock" of 1847, 
 authorized by the funding act of that period, which in express 
 terms forbade the funding of these bonds. The principal, $114,0(M), 
 was accordingly funded, February 5th, 1859, leaving |78,GG(>, the 
 arrears of interest, still unfunded. The bonds were held at the 
 time by the New York Bowery Insurance Company, $85,000 ; the 
 Mechanics' Banking Association, $26,000; and Morris Ketchum, 
 $3,000. Under the existing laws of the State, the governor had 
 no power to settle with these parties upon any other terms than 
 those proposed by the law of 1849, at -:8.64 cents on the dollar; 
 and the Just liability of the State on these outstanding Macalister 
 & Stebbins bonds," including interest, was less than $45,000, 
 whereas by this action it would have been directly $192,083, and 
 ultimately "$244,268— a loss of near $200,000. 
 
 The transaction seems to have been kept a profound secret. 
 But at this time the canal scrip fraud having transpired, a bill 
 was introduced into the legislature abolishing the funding agency 
 in New York, and orderijig the books of the ofltice, containing the 
 evidences of this transaction, to be forwarded to Springtield — and 
 now on "a more careful examination of the law [the governor] be- 
 came doubtful of his authority in the matter, and immediately 
 telegra])hed Mr. Bement to stop funding, which was done at once."* 
 Immediately after this the governor informed the auditor 
 of the fact. "I was for blowing it at once," said that function- 
 ary, "but he [the governor] insisted that that woukl lessen his 
 chances of having the bonds returned, and I reluctantly consented 
 to keep still for a time."t A correspondence was immediately 
 opened by the governor with Mr. Bement and the holders, to 
 negotiate with them for their surrender, which did not at once suc- 
 ceed. In May the books of the New York funding agency were 
 brought to Springfield. The auditor, professing now to derive 
 his information from them, broke the subject to the treasurer, 
 ATho ATas already apprised of it. These gentlemen, before the 
 
 •See Dr. Muck's letter to the Chicago Journal, July 12, 1859. 
 tSee Dubois' letter, lU. State Jour., July 20, 1859. 
 
bissell's administration. 677 
 
 treasurer started to ]Sre\y York to pay the July interest on the 
 State bonds generally, agreed and determined pdsitively between 
 themselves "that nothing- should ever be paid iiiK)n the bonds of 
 either principal or interest, while [they] were in the olliees." With 
 this resolution on their part, the closure of the tnuusfer office in 
 New York, and the fact that the new bonds issued under the law 
 of 1849 were inscribed bonds — not transferable ex(!ej)t npon the 
 books — they could not be used or placed upon the market at any 
 price; nothing could be done with them, and as neither princi[)al 
 nor interest had been paid to any considerable extent, the State 
 could not be, and was not, financially, harmed. The scheme was 
 nipped in the bud ; though before the transfer agency was closed 
 in New York Mr. Ketchum succeeded in having his three new or 
 funded certificates of $1,0U0 each transferred on the books to a 
 Mr. Graham. 
 
 "The plan embraced the funding of the 114 bonds under the 
 general law of 1S47, which expressly prohibited its being done; 
 to issue for them -New Internal Improvement Stock,' to the ciedit 
 of which new stock was to be [)Iaced, the aggregate of i)ro rata 
 interest which the State had paid in cosh on its bonds since 1847, 
 amounting on these $114,000 of 'stock' to $37,208, which sum would 
 be payable on the 1st of July, 1859, the first interest ])ay day after 
 the funding of the bonds, (the bonds being fun(le<l on the 5th of 
 February, 1859); in addition to which two sums there was issued 
 certificates for interest due from date of the original bonds sur- 
 rendered, up to the passage of the law of 1847 under which they 
 were funded, amounting to $41,388 83 ; and the holders were en- 
 titled to the further sum of $41,382, being the balance of the 13 
 year's interest remaining uncredited to the 'new stock,' for whicdi, 
 under Dr. Eoman's law of 1857, thev would be entitled to certifi- 
 cates"*— making a total of $244,2G8 S3, or just about $200,000 
 more than tlie State justly owed. 
 
 During tlie summer of 1859, Dr. Mack was sent to New York to 
 JK'gotiate for the surrender of the refunded bonds. As the hold- 
 (ers found they could not make them available — being inscribed 
 bonds they could not be sold without transfer on the books — 
 the State departnient unwilling to recognize them or jtay interest 
 on them either accruing or in arrear, tliey were finally, in Octo- 
 ber, 1859, surrendered. The holders were unwilling, however, to 
 .settle by the law of 1849. Six years later, at the session of 18G5, 
 the legislature passed a law compelling tlie surrender of the Mac- 
 alister aiid Stebbins bonds, under penalty of a foifeiture of inter- 
 est after July, and principal after January following, 18t)(). The 
 amount allowed to bejuiid by this law on each $1000 was $248 13. 
 
 The ac.tioif of Gov. Bissell in ordering the funding of the ^lac- 
 alister and Stebbins boiuls is difficult to explain. lie apparently 
 disi'egarded the Dr. Komaii resolution, misremembered the man- 
 damus proceedings in 1857 to comp<»l him to do what he now did, 
 and violated the law of 1847, under whi('h the funding was done, 
 M'hich expressly forba<le it; while e\en if he had been legally au- 
 thorized to pay their I'ull value of principal and interest, as oidy 
 about 28 cents on the dollar had ever been received for them by 
 
 Letter of "lavestig-ator" to Chicago Times, Aug. 1859. 
 
678 nisTOEY OF Illinois. 
 
 the State, it was plainly coutrary to the justice and equity of the 
 case, and popular opiniou would have sustained him iu a refusal, 
 for the protection of the treasury of the State.* 
 
 Note— * When the transaction grained the light, during- the height of the canal scrip 
 fraud investigation, Bissell's enemies, stimulated doubtless to additional partisan 
 leeling, or influenced by personal animosity, put the very worst construction possible 
 upon it, and the most corrupt motives ot combining with New York sharpers to rob 
 the treasury were attributed to his excellency. A long letter from New Vork to the 
 Chicago Times, dated August 20, 1859, signed "Investigator," evinces a "working up of 
 the case" with apparently damaging effect to his excellency. From it, it seems, that 
 an old IJellevilleacqaintaDce of Bissell's, through letters of introduction from him, in 
 18.58, gained credit enough in New York to buy 111 of the bonds, with their accrued in- 
 terest of $120,000 besides, for 5585,000. He brought an installment to Illinois to get 
 funded, but owing to a quarrel as to how the profits were to be divided between him 
 and his confederates, the sale was rescinded, and after some threats with the law, the 
 bonds were given back. Next, the New York owners, one of whom was Morris Ketch- 
 nm, a close friend of the governor's and one of the original Illinois Central Railroad 
 Incorporators, having also resigned the State transfer agency, his partner, Bement, 
 being appointed in the place, all with a view to the consummation of this fraud, it is 
 hinted, tried their skill and ultimately succeed, as we have seen, in having the bonds 
 partially funded; and with all these efforts Bissell, who had the power to fund the 
 bonds, is sought by letters, conjectures and deductions, to be connected as a corrupt 
 sharer in the profits of the transaction. The letter is the careful, elaborate and able 
 argument of a legal prosecutor, who manifestly has much personal feeling in the mat- 
 ter. It contains a complete history of the Macalister and Stebbins bonds, and many 
 of the points against the governor appear to be well sustained by his own correspond- 
 ence. At the meeting of the democratic State convention at Springfield, in January, 
 1860, Hon. J. L. Don Morrison avowed himself its author, and iu a speech supple- 
 mented his charges against his excellency by the production of a aumber of letters 
 from him to the New York parties and his Belleville acquaintance + 
 
 Prior toMorrison's convention speech, Bissell had been under many inflictions; but 
 this was too much and in the IHiwJis State Journal ot .January 11,1860, he published a 
 stinging reply, evincing the rekindling of his old flame of scathing invective. He 
 attributes the causeless attack upon him to the envy and jealousy of his assailant, as 
 the key to all his malice; thev were neighbors, both living in Belleville — one, obscure, 
 had been honored with office repeatedly; the other, wealthy and conspicuous, had met 
 ■with constant disappointment in this respect. He deni.d receiving one cent during 
 his long official career that did not properly and legally belong to him; pronounced 
 the "Investigator" letter "a tissue of vile assumptions, inferences, deductions and 
 downright lies;" accused Morrison of dishonorably suppressing a letter of his to Pen- 
 seneau [the Belleville friend) rejecting a dishonorable proposition in reference to the 
 funding of the Macalister and Stebbins bonds, which would have "blown his pitiful 
 cobwebs sky-high," and by way of counter charges, proceeds negatively to intimate his 
 assailant's connection with many dishonorable acts, overreaching widows and orphans, 
 &c., to obtain titles to lands, prompting the Old Ranger to exclaim : "If that man 
 keeps out of the penitentiafy 20 years he will be the richest man in Illinois. 
 
 tSeelll. State Register, Jan. 10, 1860. 
 
Chapter LII. 
 
 OUE SEI^ATORS IK CONGEE SS. 
 
 Their Lives and Characters — Senatorial Contest between Lincoln 
 and Douglas in 1858. 
 
 Edwards and Thomas. — Upon the meeting: of tlie first Slate 
 legislature in October, 1818, Kiiiiau Edwards, who had been the 
 able and popular territorial governor up to that time, and Jesse 
 B. Thomas, one of the federal judges during the entire separate 
 territorial existence of Illinois, were elected as senators to con- 
 gress ; the former on the first ballot by a large majority, ,">!3 out 
 of the 40 votes, and the latter on the od ballot by 131 out of the 
 40 votes cast; Leonard AVhite receiving IS, and Michael Jones 1. 
 
 The full term of a senator is years, or 3 congresses. The con- 
 stitution of the U. S. divides the senators into 3 classes, one going- 
 out with the exi)iration of each congress. Upon the admission of 
 a State the new senators draw lots for classes. Edwards drew the 
 od class, being the existing loth congress which ex])ired with the 
 3d of March, 1819, and Thomas the class which ex])ired with the 
 17th congress on tlie 3d of March 18L*3. Both were re-elected for 
 full terms. Edwards in 1819, till March 4th 18l}5, and Thomas at 
 the session of 1822-3 till March 4th, 1829. 
 
 Of Edwards we have already spoken fully, as governor. 
 Thomas, as a federal judge, had l^orne himself with much dignity 
 n])on the bench, but it is recorded that he did not apply his 
 talents to the nuistery of the law. By nature he was rather a poli- 
 tician, an avocation which absorbed his better abilities through 
 life. Without talent as a speaker, he exhibited shrewdness and 
 tact in the managenu'iit of men and questions. We have alieady 
 noted the manner of his election as a delegate to congress by the 
 Indiana territorial legislature in 1808, his pledge being that he 
 procure the separation of IlliiK)is from Indiana, a valuable public 
 service to us, which he fully discharged. Both senators actively 
 supported, .in 1820, the admission of Missouri as a slave state. 
 Mr. Thomas gained considerable notoriety for originally suggest- 
 ing the line of 36d. 30m., known as the Missouri comi>romise. 
 With this i)roviso the Missouri bill passed the senate, 24 to 20; 
 the senators of all the slaveholding States, with one from Indiana 
 and two from Illinois, the last admitted State into the Union, 
 voting for it. Mr. Ilamlol])h, the leader of the ultia southern fac- 
 tion in the house, indignantly cliaracterized the compromise as a 
 "dirty bargain," and the northern men by whose co-opera- 
 tion it was carried as "doughfaces," which was the origin of that 
 appelatiou. Thomas was the intimate friend of Mr. Crawford, 
 
 C79 
 
080 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 advocating- bis election to the presidency in 1824, but after tbe suc- 
 cess of Adams, came over to tbe support of bis administration. 
 During tbe convention struggle be advocated tbe engrafting of 
 islavery upon our constitution. After tbe expiration of bis last 
 senatorial term, be removed to Obio, wbere be died in 1853. 
 
 Joliii McLean. — In 1821 Edwards resigned tbe senatorsbip to 
 accei)t tbe mission to Mexico tendered bim by President Monroe. 
 On tbe meeting of tbe legislature in ^November of tbatyear, John 
 McLean was elected to till tbe unexpired term of Edwards, tbe 
 latter baving tbrown up tbe Mexican mission, being bis competi- 
 tor. McLean is said to bave been in many respects, the most 
 gifted man of bis period in Illinois. He was born 1791, in North 
 Carolina. At tbe age of 1 years bis father's family removed to 
 Logan county, Kentucky, wbere be received such limited educa- 
 tion as tbe new country afforded. He studied law, and in 1815, at 
 tbe age of 23, came to Illinois and settled at Sbawueetown, with 
 little means and less credit, but endowed witb great natural tal- 
 ents and swayed by a lofty ambition. He speedily became con- 
 spicuous at tlie bar and in political life. Tbree years after, be 
 became a candidate for congress, Daniel P. Cook being bis oi)po- 
 neut. Tbe contest was one of tbe most animated and vigorous 
 ever made in tbe State, cbaracterized tbrougbout by a bigb-toned 
 courtesy, wbicb eminently distinguisbed botb comi)etitors. Tliey 
 were young men of rare i)romise and alike won tbe esteem of tbe 
 people. McLean was elected l)y a small nuvjority, but al tbe next 
 election Cook succeeded over bim and continued to bold tliei)la('e 
 until 1820, wben Duncan beat bim. McLean was frequently a 
 mend)er of tbe legislature and speaker of tbe bouse. 
 
 He looked tbe born orator; witli a large symmetrical tigure, tine 
 ligbt complexion, a frank, magnanimous soul, be exercised tbat 
 magnetism over bis auditory wbicb stamped bim as tbe leader of 
 men. Possessed of strong common sense, a lively imagination. 
 a pleasant bumor, ready command of language, bis oratory flowed 
 witb a moving torrent, almost irresistible to tbe masses of bis 
 day. Witb tbese native attributes and a compass of intellect 
 exceedingly great, consciousness of power caused bim to rely 
 perbaps too mucb ui)on tbem to tbe exclusion of tbat discipline, 
 constant and i)ainstaking study wbicb make tbe profonnd scholar. 
 He was twice elected to tbe U. S. senate, the layt time, l^ccember 
 eth, 1828, unanimously, as tlie successor of Jesse B. Tliontas, for 
 a full term; but be oidy served tbe lirst session, and after coming- 
 home died at Shawneetown in 1830, in the very prime of his man- 
 hood, at the age of 39 years. His death was a great public loss, 
 and tbe legisjature, as a fitting testimonial to bis memory, nanuHl 
 tbe large, fcTOle and now populous county of McLean in honor of 
 ■ him. 
 
 EUas Kent Kane — was elected a senator in congress Novem- 
 ber 30, 1821, for the term commencing March 4, 1825, and termi- 
 nating Mareb 3, 1831— to the place of M(;Lean. The latter, at the 
 time of Iris election, 7 days before for the 3 months unexpired term 
 of Edwards, was also a candidate for the long term, and, not 
 doubting his choice, innnediately departed for Washington ; but 
 a new candidate ai)peared in the field, and after a protracted 
 
SENATORS 'IN CONGRESS. 681 
 
 sting'^le, lie tailed becoming- liis own .siiceessor, aiidElias K. Kane 
 was elected. This uas on the 10th ballot, when Kane received 
 28 votes, and Samuel D. Lockwood, the next highest, 23. iNIr. 
 Kane was a native of Kew York; had received a thorongli educa- 
 tion, being, a graduate of Yale College, studied law, and in 1814, 
 when quite young, sought the south and west, and located tinally 
 at Kaskaskia. He was i)ossessed of a strong, clear mind ; was a 
 close reasoner, a profound lawyer, an agreeable speaker, a bund wri- 
 ter and attained eminence in his ])rofession as well as in ])ublic life. 
 When the wheels of the new State government were put in mo- 
 tion, in October, 1818, Gov. Bond api)ointed him secretary of State. 
 Aiterwards he was a State senator, Decendier 11, 18;J(), he Avas 
 re-elected, on the first ballot, to the IT. S. senate for the full term 
 from the 4th of March following', J. M. Kobinson, his principal 
 opponent, receiving G votes; but before the expiration of his 2nd 
 term, his health, which had long- been feeble, gave way, and he 
 died at Washington, Decend)er 12th, 1835. He was a man of 
 purity of character, hones0' of intention, amiable and benevolent 
 in disposition, and very generally esteemed. The legislature 
 named the county of Kane in honor to his memor}. 
 
 DavuJ JcK'cff Baler — was, Noveniber 12th, 1830, appointed by 
 Gov. Edwards to fill the unexpired term of John M(;Lean, deceased; 
 but the legislature, between which and his excellency there was 
 little accord, meeting- shortly afterwards, refused to sanction the 
 executive choice, and on the 11th of Hecember, 1830, elected John 
 M. Kobinson instead. Baker was born in Connecticut, in 1702, 
 and after receiving- a collegiate education, and studying law, in 
 1810 with his young- bride removed to Illinois, andlo(.'ated at Kas- 
 kaskia. He was a studious, })ainstaking lawer, and attained a 
 standing- with the ablest of the Illinois bar. He was long probate 
 judge of Eandolph county. He eschewed politics, except in 1824, 
 \\\h'U he actively, both with pen and tongue, opposed the intro- 
 du<'tion of slavery into Illinois. For his warm utterances, the 
 tlien chief justice of the State", Thomas IJeynolds, afterwai'ds gov- 
 ernor of Missouri, attacked him with a, bludgeon in the streets of 
 Kaskaskia. During his short stay in congress he originated the 
 measure for disposing- of the government lands in tracts of 40 acres, 
 whi<-h facilitated the settlement of the State— the law up to that' 
 tinu' not permitting the entry of less than 100 acres. In 1833 he 
 was appoMited by Jackson U. S. attoiney for Illinois, and reap- 
 })ointed in 18.')7 by Van Buren. In 1840 he united with the whig- 
 ]);n-ly. In 1848 he was defeated for supreme judge by Mr. Trum- 
 bull, in the 3d grand division. In 1854 he helped to organize the 
 republican party. He died at Alton, August 10, 1809. * 
 
 John M. Robinson — had the following opi)onents: Theophilus 
 W. Sjiiith, Thomas Mather, R. M. Young, J. Kitchell and ex-Gov. 
 Bond, but his strength increased at every ballot, and on the 5tli 
 obtained a majority. Gen. Robinson was a Kentuekian by 
 biitli, with a liberal education and a lawyer by ])rofession. While 
 still a young man he canu' to Illinois and settled at Carmi, where 
 he married, and continued to make his home ; a member of his 
 
 •See Weekly Illinois State Journal, Aug. 11, 1869. 
 
682 HISTORY OF LLLINOIS. 
 
 family — a daughter, tlieouly survivor — still resides there. He was 
 tall aud erect in stature, well proportioued, of light complexion, 
 with large head, pleasiug couuteuance and winning address — a 
 fine specimen of manly beauty. A distinguished trait of his char- 
 acter was sociability; indeed, his convivial disposition carried him 
 into frequent excesses. His title of general was derived from a 
 connection with the militia oigainzation of the State. He Avas re- 
 elected to the U. S. senate December 20th, 1834, on the first ballot 
 by a vote of 47 to 30 — R. JM. Young being his opponent — for a full 
 term, which expired March 3d, 1841. In 1843 he was elected one 
 of our supreme judges, but within two months after, April 27th, 
 died at Ottawa, away from home, whither his remains were taken. 
 
 Williain Lee I). Eiving — was elected 33ecember 29th, 1835, to 
 serve out the unexpired term of Elias K. Kane, deceased. This 
 election was a protracted struggle. His competitors were James 
 Semple and K. M. Young, bothof w4iom led him on the first ballot, 
 the vote standing, Semple 25, Young 19 and Ewing 18. On the 
 8th ballot Young was dropped, the 9th and 10th stood a tie, but 
 on the 12th Ewing received 40 to Semitic 37, and was elected. 
 Gen. Ewing was a gentleman of culture, a lawyer by profession, 
 and had been nuich in jtublic lile. He had been receiver of the 
 public moneys at Vandalia and lost a $1,000 dei)Osit by the rob- 
 bery of the State bank in 1823. He was speaker of the State 
 senate in 1834, and by virtue of that position had been acting 
 governor for 15 days. His title of general was of militia origin, 
 and he attained some distinction in the l>lack Hawk war. He was 
 a Kentuckian, above medium hight, and of heavy build, with 
 auburn hair, blue eyes, large-sized head and short face. He was 
 genial, social, friendly and affable, with fair talent, though little 
 originality. Under Gov. Ford he was elected State auditor. 
 
 Richard M. Young — succeeded to the seat of Gen. Ewing, and 
 served out a full term from IVfarch 4, 1837, to March 4, 1843. He 
 was elected December 14, 183G, on the 3d ballot, Sauuiel McRob- 
 erts being his princij^al opponent; Archie Williams sind Gen. 
 Ewing also received some votes, the former 21 and the latter 13. 
 Judge Young was gifted with tine colloquial powers, and his inter- 
 course with men was managed with an urbanity, smoothness and 
 address well calculated to impress them with his excellence and 
 worth, in which lay the secret of his success, rather than force or 
 energy of character, or vigor and comjtass of mental endowments. 
 His talents, which were respectable and above mediocrity, derived 
 additional lustre from these amiable attributes. He was a Kentuck- 
 ian, of si)iiie build, rather tall, educated, and a lawyer by jtrob^s- 
 sion. In 1824 he was elected by the legislature one of the 5 circuit 
 judges, and assigned to the 2d circuit. During his senatorial term 
 in 1839, he was appointed by Gov. Carlin one of the State agents 
 in connection with ex-Gov. Reynolds, to negotiafe the $4,000,000 
 canal loan, for which purpose they repaired to Europe, and their 
 advances of $1,000,000 in Illinois bonds to the house of Wright & 
 Co., of London, proved a heavy loss to the State. Still, under 
 party operations, before his senatorial term expired, he was nnidc, 
 February 3d, 1842, a su]»reme judge, a jtosition which he held 
 until 1847. He died at Washington, in an insane asylum. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. G83 
 
 Fioiii this time on tlie caucus system was resorted to by i)ar- 
 aes to determine their choice of candi(Uites for ottices, including 
 that of United States senator, and aspirants to that exalted posi- 
 tion were no longer distracted with the whims of individual legis- 
 lators. The scheming or ])arty pipe-laying was now all with the 
 view to secure the favor of leaders and the manii)idators of the 
 caucus. Whom king-caucus designated as the i)arty nominee no 
 one was to gainsay. The system was adopted by theminority aswell 
 as the majority party, but it is to be noted that Illinois never had 
 a whig senator throughout the existence of that jjarty. The hrst 
 democratic senatorial caucus resulted in the selection of i)er 
 haps the most uncompromisiug party man in the State. 
 
 i^amncl AIcEohcrfs — the first native Illinoisan ever elevated to 
 the high oftice of a United States senator from this State, was boin 
 April 12, 17'J9, in what is now Monroe comity, his father residing 
 on a farm. He received a good English eductation from a conii)e- 
 tentpiivate tutor, Edward IIumi)lirey, and attained also some 
 proticiency in latin, but his naturally strong mind inclined him to 
 mathematics. At the early age of 20 he was appointed circuit 
 clerk of Monroe county, a position which afforded him oi>portu- 
 nity to become familiarized with forms of law, which he eagerly 
 embniced, ])ursuing at the same time a most assiduous course of 
 reading. Twoi years later he entered the law department of Tran- 
 sylvania University at Lexington, Ky., where, nfter 3 full courses 
 of lectures, he graduated with the degree of bachelor of laws. He 
 commenced the practice of law in conii)etition with such men as 
 Kane, Keynolds, Mills, Mears, Blackwell,Star, Clark, Baker, E«ldy, 
 McLean. &c. In 1824, at the age of 25, he was elected by the 
 legislature one of the 5 circuit judges. As judge he tirst i)ublicly 
 exhibited strong partisan bias. In 1824 he had been a violent 
 convention advocate, and now, in defiance of a release by the leg- 
 islature, he assessed a fine against Gov. Coles for settling his 
 emancipated slaves in Madison county, without giving ))ond that 
 they should not become a public chaige; he also removed a circuit 
 clerk in the same county, and ap])ointed another in his i)lace, 
 from i>artisan motives, which caused a great outcry at the time 
 and contributed largely to the repeal of the circuit court system 
 in 1827. In 1828 he was elected a State semitor;in 18;)(> a]>]tointed 
 United States district attorney for this State ; in 1832 receiver of 
 the public moneys at the Danville land oftice, and in IS.'JU solicitor 
 of the general himl oliiceat Washington. When the State banks 
 of 18-37 passed into whig control by their organization. Judge 
 Mcltoberts, with others, o]»i)osed them, ami they were reliised tlie 
 land ofhce moneys as deposits, to aid in crippling them. On the 
 10th of December, 1840, Sanuiel Mclloberts was elected United 
 States senator for a full term, commencing March 4th, 1841. He 
 received on the first ballot 77 votes, Cyrus Edwards, the whig 
 nominee, 50, and E. D. Baker, 1. He died MmvAx 22, 1843, at Cin- 
 cinnati, at the house of his ohl friend, Judge James Hall, formerly 
 of Shawneetown, on his route home -from Washington, in the 
 vigor of int<'llectual manhood, at the age of 44 years. 
 
 Judge McRoberts was a little above nuulium hight, sparely 
 built, of a nervous-bilious temperament, and had a good head.* 
 
 *He had a detect in one eye. 
 
684 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 He was swayed by a stubborn will, a high ambition, and 
 unbounded energy. His mind. Avas clear strong and precise, and 
 he was a deep read lawyer. He was ever a voracions student, 
 given to over-exertion. While he exerted a cogent influence over 
 his party, he was yet without the smooth and oily arts of the 
 ordinary politician. He governed bj^^ the i^ower of will rather 
 than address and blandishment. 
 
 Sidney Breese— succeeded R. M. Young to the United States 
 senate for a full term, from March 4, 1843. He was the democratic 
 caucus nominee and was elected December 17, 1842, on the first 
 ballot, by lOSTOtes to his opponent, Archibald Williams', 49. 
 
 He was born about the close of the last century, in Oneida 
 county, N. Y., received a collegiate education and graduated with 
 distinction from Union College. He had been the school-fellow 
 of Elias Kent Kane, who was his senior. After the latter was 
 appointed secretary of State, in 1818, he wrote for young Breese 
 to join him, which he did by the close of the year, and read law 
 with him. Aside from the ability of his preceptor, this gave him 
 the advantage of forming a wide acquaintance in the new State. 
 In 1820 he essayed the practice of the law in Jackson county, but 
 met with failure in court before a jury, and, overwhelmed with 
 mortification, resolved to abandon his profession. The next year 
 he became postmaster of the ancient town of Kaskaskia. In 1822 
 Gov. Bond appointed him <;ircuit attorney, in which position Gov. 
 Coles retained him, but Edwards did not. In 1831 he prepared 
 and published "Breese's Reports" of our sui)reme court decisions, 
 benig the first book ever published in the State. The next year 
 he took part in the Black Hawk war — being a major. On the 
 establishment of the circuit court system, in 1835, he was chosen 
 judge, in which capacity the McClernand-Field case came before 
 hini— ^an exciting political question — concerning the power of 
 the governor to remove the incumbent of the office of the secre- 
 tary of State, which he decided with an elaborate opinion in 
 favor of the relator, but which the supreme court reversed. U])on 
 the reorganization of that court, in 1841, resulting in great part 
 from this question, he was elected one of the five democratic 
 supreme judges. 
 
 As senator, he occupied the seat of his old school-mate and 
 friend, E. K. Kane. Upon the expiration of his term he was 
 elected, in 1850, to the legislature, and was made speaker of the 
 house. In 1855 he was again elected circuit judge, and two years 
 later, on the resignation of Judge Scates, again elevated to the 
 supreme bench, where he has held a position ever since ; and 
 here it is, by his numerous and able opinions, that he has made a 
 lasting recoVd in the annals of this State, being a finished scholar 
 and profound jurist. 
 
 In congress he favored the annexation of Texas, our title to 
 Oregon up to the line of 54d. 4()m., and carrying the war 
 with IMexico into the lieart of that country. To his connection 
 Avitli the land giant for the benefit of the Illinois Central 
 railroad, we have alluded — his original plan being a pre-emi>tion 
 instead of a grant. He juocured the passage of acts for the sale 
 of the mineral lands at Galena and other places, and the rei)(>al 
 of the 5 years exemption from taxation of the public lands in this 
 
SENATOES IN CONGRESS. 685 
 
 State, wliich were valuable aids to the State at that juncture of 
 her tiuaucial distress, lie made ajso an able re})()rt in faxor of a 
 grant of land to a railroad from Lake Miehioan to tlie Pacilic. 
 
 James ^^nqjle — was appointed United Stiites senator by Gov. 
 Ford, in 1843, as the successor of Samuel 3Iclvoberts, decease<l, 
 and after serving;' for one session as sucli a])pointee, the Iciiisla- 
 ture, December 11, 1841, eontirmed his api)ointnu'nt by electing 
 him for the unexi)ired term of his predecessor, by a voteol" 102 
 to Jolin J. Hardin 47. In politics Semi)]e was a «leniocrat, and 
 tlie caucus luuninee of his i)arty, as was Hardin of the whigs. 
 He luul been nuich in public life. He was speaker of the house 
 in 1S30-7, when the State Internal Improvement measure was 
 passed ; afterward Charge de Affairs to oSTew Grenada and Judge 
 of the supreme court. Gen. Semi)le was a fine looking man, and 
 detested the plots and intrigues of i)oliti(;ians. Many of the older 
 residents of Alton and Springfield will remember him as the })ro- 
 jector of the "steam wagon" wliich lay for .years a wreck on the 
 prairie south of Springfield. He wrote an elaborate histoiy of 
 Mexico, which has never been published. 
 
 Stephen Arnold Douglas — became the successor of Semple. He 
 received the Democratic caucus nomination and was elected De- 
 cem]>er 14, 184t), on the first ballot, by 100 votes to Cyrus Ed- 
 wards, the whig lUHuinee, 45. Douglas was not uukiu)wn in the 
 national legislature, having already served pints of 3 terms in 
 the lower house. With the advent of this remarkable man, whom 
 we do not hesitate to call great, into the U. S. senate, Uliiujis, 
 took at once high rank in that august l)ody, redounding not only 
 to her glory, but solid advantage such as no State before nor since 
 has received from the hands of congress. We allude to the pro- 
 curing of the Illinois Central railroail laml grant, a herculean 
 task, in which he received the earnest support of his colleague aiul 
 the entire delegation in the lower house. Douglas, though young 
 in years, was directly acknowledged the peer of the great states- 
 men, Clay, Webster and Calhoun, with whom he served his first 
 term. Since his death, Trumbull has nuiintained a high i)osition 
 for Illinois down to the present time. Douglas became his own 
 successor in 1853, and again in 1850; l)ut we defer a more ex- 
 tended sketch of his life and character to an account of the (cele- 
 brated senatorial contest between him and Mr. Lincoln in 1858, 
 coiitained in this chapter. 
 
 James Shields — was chosen to succeed Sidney Breese for a full 
 term from March 4th, 1849. He was the caucus nomiiu'c of the 
 democracy, largely in the ascendant in Illinois. The contest — an 
 exciting one — was oxer the caucus nomination. Breese strove 
 earnestly to become his own successor, and .John A. McClernand, 
 ambitioiis for the exalted seat, was also in the field. IJoth were 
 greatly the superiors of Shields in ability ami probal)ly in art and 
 address, but the latter had the advantage of military glory be- 
 fore which mere civil services, however valuable, have ever paled. 
 Keither was he a novice in civil official experience. Born in (county 
 Tyrone, Ireland, in 1810, he emigrated to the U. S. in 1827, and 
 settled in in Illinois, 3 years later. In 7 years time, without being 
 
686 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 naturalized, he was sent to tlie legislature from Randolph county. 
 GoN'. Carlin appointed him auditor, and in 1843, he was elected a 
 sui)reme judge. Under President Polk he was commissioner of 
 the general land ofltice at Washington. In the Mexican war he 
 entered by favor of the president as a brigadier-general and was 
 afterward breveted major-general for gallant services. He was 
 a fortunate soldier. Borne from the field of Cerro Gordo shot 
 through and through, and reported athome as killed, he recovered 
 in time to take a conspicuous part in the triumph of our arms un- 
 der Scott in the valley of Mexico. In this latter campaign such 
 was his soldierly conduct that the State of South Carolina voted 
 him a handsome and costly sword, inscribed with the battles of 
 Cherrebusco and Chepultepec, and the following sentiment: 
 
 "FROM THE STATE OF SOUTH CAROLINA, 
 
 "TO GENERAL SHIELDS. 
 
 ''In testimony of her admiration of gallantly in the Mexican war, and 
 as a tribute of gratitude for his parental atteutiou to the Palmetto 
 regiment." 
 
 From Mexico, after the fall of the capital of that country, had 
 first come the announcement by letter that the gallant soldier 
 would be a competitor for senatorial honors before the ensuing 
 legislature of 1819. On his way home, at Washington, a public 
 dinner was tendered him and Gen. Quitman, at which, in a ;Si)eech 
 Shields si)oke incautiously in glowing terms of Gen. Scott, then 
 under ban with the administration. Breese forseeing in this 
 soldier of renown a formidable conii)etitor for his i)lace, did not 
 attend the banquet. Before long Shields was ordered to Tami)ico, 
 baton his route thither, at iSVw Orleans, a dispatch from the 
 War department ordered him l)ack to Washington, to testify in 
 the trial of Gen. Pillow. The order to return to Tampico was not 
 renewed, and Shields came to Illinois and moved about among his 
 friends. Now he was api)ointed governor of remote Oregon, which 
 created the impression upon the jtublic mind that the object of the 
 administration, which did not relish his fearless praise of Gen. 
 Scott, was to banish him beyond being a competitor against 
 Breese for the senate, but he did not accept the governorship of 
 that remote post. 
 
 In the senatorial canvass it was urged against Breese that he 
 difi'ered with his colleague on a subject of vital importance to the 
 State, the procuring of the Illinois Central railroad grant of land ; 
 against McClernand it was objected that his principles of democ- 
 racy were so thoroughly Jacksonian that consistency would lead 
 him to oppose the vital interest of the west, the improvement of 
 rivers and harbors; and against Shields, that he was ineligible, 
 because, as a foreigner, he had not been naturalized long enough 
 to entitle him to a seat in the U. S. Senate, the constitution of 
 the U. S. requiring a citizenship of t) years. Shields having been 
 naturalized in Ov-tober, 1840. These valid objections failed, and 
 he was elected. 
 
 Shields repaired to Washington to take his seat on the 4th of 
 Maich following. And now this most im])ulsive sou of Erin 
 committed a most foolish bluuder, to call it no worse, as public 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS 687 
 
 men are wont to do when tliey write letters. To overcome the 
 question of his inelij^ibility, wliich woiihl ])robabl.v be raised 
 against his talcing a seat in the senate, he addressed Mr. Breese 
 a letter under date of February 23, 1S49, cliiirging- him, among 
 other "meiinnesses," toward him, with propagating- this in Illinois, 
 saying : "Had I been defeated by you on that ground, I had sworn 
 in my heart that you never should have profited by your suceess; 
 and dei>end upon it, I would have kept that vow, regardless of 
 consequences." I>iit that being past, he deiminded of him then a 
 letter, acknowledging, in effect, that in 18^0, when he ( Shields,) 
 talk(Ml of going- to Canada iu case of war, that he (Jheese) as 
 circuit judge, offered to give him sonu-thing- in the sha]>eof a final 
 naturalization certificate to take along — to simply proof in case of 
 difficulty ; adding, '-and refuse this request, 1 here give you fair 
 warning: — let the consequences fall on your own head — I shall hold 
 myself acquitted both before God an nuin for the course I shall 
 feel bound to imrsue toward you." 
 
 But Breese did nt)t scare as well as it was evidently ho])ed. He 
 refused <'ompliance with the denmud, Avhi(;h he construed as a 
 thr<'at of assassination, })ublishing- his refusal, together with 
 Shields' letter, in the news[»apers. Shields, in a subse(pu'nt letter, 
 attempted to explain this away. When his credentials were pre- 
 sented iu the senate on the oth of March, objections to his eligi- 
 bility were promptly interposed; Douglas, however, succeeded iu 
 having- him sworn in, which enabled him to participate in the 
 debate. After due investigation, a resolution was reported that 
 Mr. kShields was not eligible at the commem;ement of the term for 
 which he was elected, and that his election was void. Before its 
 adoption he tendered his resignation', and thus addressed the 
 senate: *'To my own State, sir, 1 shall api)eal, ami hear what she 
 has to say ; and if she deserts me now, if my State shall not an- 
 swer to the appeal I am about to make to her, I will say further 
 that it is my intention (though I have endeavored to prove my 
 fidelity to my country by every act of my life,) never to offer 
 myself again for oflice in the United States." As his resignation 
 should have been tendered to the governor ratherthan the senate, 
 the resolution was adopted. 
 
 The question at home now was as to the power of the governor 
 to till the vacancy thus occasioned. The constitution of the IT. S. 
 says if vacancies ha]q)en b}' resignation or otherwise, during- the 
 recess of the legislature of any State, the executive thereof may 
 make tem[>orary a2>i»oiidments until the next meeting". Was this 
 such a vacancy as the constitution contemplated that the governor 
 had power to fill by ai)pointment, and thus save the expense of a 
 called session ? The question was thoroughly discussed iu the 
 l)id)Iic press, and by letters from public men, l)()th for and against. 
 JNIr. Douglas, perhaps fearing a new election before Mr. Shields 
 would beconu' eligible, held that the governor had the iK)wer y^ but 
 that functionary, iu a long letter published, disclaimed the ]tower,t 
 and finally, in Se[>tember of that year, issued his proclamation, 
 convening- the legislature in extraordinary session, October 22, 
 1840, to elect a II. S. senator, including- in his call a number of 
 other subjects for legislative action. Under the decision of the 
 
 *See his letter in 111. State Register, Aug-. 30,1849. 
 + Ibid, June ai, 184?. 
 
088 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 TJ. S. senate Gov. French had it in his i)ower to cut off Shiekls 
 from tliis position, but he convened the ]ejj;ishitnre for a time just 
 after Shiekls woukl be rendered eligible by being 9 years natural- 
 ized. 
 
 After the call the canvass waxed exceedingly warm. The wliig 
 press openly espoused the cause of Shields, ciyiug out persecution, 
 and charging that those democrats Avho usually controlled the 
 jjarty in the State had determined to sacritice the gallant soldier, 
 and that to attain their ends wicked means were being employed. 
 Breese, McClernand and Shields were again the candidates, ami 
 the friends of the respective aspirants were exceedingly active. 
 The contest was again for the caucus nomination. The friends of 
 McClernand, fewest in number, supposing that such a state of 
 hostility existed between tlie respective adiierents of Breese and 
 Shields, that neither would yield in caucus, biit would iinally as a 
 compromise concentrate upon their candidate, proved very tena- 
 cious. 21 ballotings were had ; on the iirst Shields received 28, 
 Breese 21, and McClernand 18 ; on the last, Breese 20, McClernand 
 12 and Shields 37 — a majority. The highest for Breese was on 
 the 7th ballot, 29 ; the highest for McClernand on the 2d, 19. 
 Shields was again elected senator, and thus ended the very bitter 
 struggle. 
 
 Lyman Tnimhull — succeeded to the seat of Senator Sliields for 
 a full term froin the 4th of March, 1855 ; and became his own 
 successor in 1801. Since the first organization of the democratic 
 party, and dating beyond that to 1824, when it was in its forma- 
 tive stage, those who afterwards constituted it never failed of 
 electing men of their political views and principles to the U. S. 
 senate from this State. Their defeat now was attended by a 
 bitterness and depth of feeling unprecedented. The occasion we 
 have already traced to the repeal of the Missouri compromise, 
 resulting, unexi)ectedly to all parties, in this State going ahti-^e- 
 braska at the election, of November, 1854. 
 
 At the meeting of the legislature the choice of a U. S. senator 
 was to be the political event of the session. The exact i)olitical 
 status of that body after the election was not at once fully realized, 
 and while the democracy were ap})rehensive they jet hoped to 
 prevail. But upon its assembling in January, 1855, it became 
 speedily apparent that by a fusion of all the anti-Nebraska mem- 
 bers the democracy were in a minority. The house, on the 2d 
 day, was .organized by the election of anti-Nebraska officers : Thos. 
 J. Turner, of Stephenson, being chosen speaker by 40 votes over 
 J. P. Eichmond, of Schuyler, democrat, 24. The senate acted 
 more tardily on account of the conduct of Messrs. Jaruigan and 
 Morton, Nel3raska democrats, representing anti-Nebraska districts, 
 in absenting themselves. The fusionists, however, jirevailed, and 
 organized both houses. 
 
 Alarm now seized the democracy. Their press cried out to the 
 fold: the wolf is on his walk — let the old party awaken to the 
 danger which threatens it from the allied isms; traitors are con- 
 spiring to stab deep into its vitals; nefarious schemes are con- 
 cocted and combinations of an unholy ambition formed, moved 
 unto by a deep-seated antipathy against the truest ami best men 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. G89 
 
 of the State.* Anon intimidation and cajolery were both tried 
 ni»on the disaftectt'd wanderers from the demoeratic fold. They 
 were deiionneed as malcontents who illy re<iuited the past favors 
 bestow ed npon them at the hands of the democracy l)y their base 
 attempts to disrnpt the old party — ingrates, pi()m])ted by malice 
 and jealousy to rule or ruin. Tliey were apprised that the people 
 were viyilaiit and would narrowly scrutiinze their every act, arti- 
 tice and departuiv from principle, and would not fail to visit signal 
 retribution upon those who braved, defied ami trampled iqnm the 
 po[>idar will. The name of Doujiias-— a tower of strength, and 
 dear to the democratic heart — was invoked ; it was necessary that 
 his colleaiiue should be a man who would uphold his hands to 
 battle for the success of those great i)rincii)les of non-interven- 
 tion which were founded in jnstice, and which by the nuigicof his 
 genius would e\entually triumph and overwhelm all its opi»onents 
 with confusion. t 
 
 All this was i)reliminary to the senatorial election. The contest 
 was tar<lily ai>pr(»ached and was not linally reached until the Sth 
 of February, owing ]>artly to a snow blockade which kept nmny 
 mend»ers from the cajtital beyond the time of the temporary 
 adjournment. James Shields, the regular democratic caucus 
 nominee, was placed in nonnnation by Mr. Graham; Abraham 
 Lincoln, tlie idol of the old whigs and strongly anti-Nebraska, 
 by Ste[»lien T. Logan 5 and Lyman Trumbull the nominee of the 
 less than half a dozen anti-Nebraska democrats, by John M. 
 Palmer. Archibald Williams, W. B. Ogden, Joel A. Mattesou, 
 Cyrus Edwards and W. B. Kellogg Avere also put in nomination. 
 51 v(»tes were necesi'ary tea choice on joint ballot. On the tirst, 
 Shields received 41, Lincoln 44, Trumbull 5, and the others named 
 each 1. On the 7th ballot Shields was out of the field and Mat- 
 tesou being sul)stituted, received on the 8,tli 4(5 votes, the utmost 
 strength of the democracy. On the lOth Mr. Lincoln's name was 
 withdrawn aiul the whig vote being concentrated on Mr. Trumbull, 
 he received o() votes direct, and before the result was announced, 
 Mr. Sullivan changed from Williams to Trumbull, electing himb}' 
 just the requisite number. 
 
 Neither i>ersnasion nor menace could move or intimidate the 
 Trumludl phalanx of fi\e. Mr. Lincoln, though ambitious of 
 senatorial honors, for he had been elected a member of the same 
 legislature, but supposing he could be elected senator, had resigned 
 shortly after; now when it became a])i)arent that he could not suc- 
 ceed, he pressed hisfriends to support Mr. Trumbull, which was ulti- 
 mately done, (witJi tears by his old friend, Judge Logan, it is said), 
 not that they loved him less, but the cause of freedoui demanded 
 it. Governor Mattesou, though he was not the caucus choice of 
 his party, not being in full accord with Douglas on the question of 
 harbor and river improvements in the west, the levy of tonnage 
 duty for this purpose, &c.,the democracy boasted (as was done by 
 Mr. Moulton ui>ou the tloor of the house, notwithstanding their 
 knowledge of a-u anti-Nebraska majority,) that in the last resort 
 enough members, influenced by a high regard of personal consid- 
 
 * See 111, State Resister, Jan. ia55. 
 i See the press of the period. 
 
 44 
 
690 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 eratiou for his excellency, would rally to bis .support and triumph- 
 antly elect hiui. But they reckoned without their host.* 
 
 Mr. Trumbull, at the time of bis election to the senate of the 
 U. S., was about 43 years old. He was born in Connecticut, where 
 he received a good education. Subsequently he turned liis atten- 
 tion to the law and later settled in Ilbnois to practice liisi)rofes- 
 sion, which he did with marked success, speedily attaining- dis- 
 tinction as an able lawyer. In 1840 he was elected to the legisla- 
 ture. When Douglas was elected a supreme judge in 1841, Gov. 
 Carlin, resisting legishrtive dictation, iii)pointed Trumbull to the 
 vacant office of secretary of State, over Mc'Clernaiul, but lie came 
 near being defeated in the senate by the efforts of the hitter and 
 his friends, out of which grew some ill-feeling. Attheoi)eniirg of 
 Gov. Ford's a<lministration,he incurred the displeasureof that func- 
 tionary by opposing his policy toward the State banks, causing his 
 dismissal from office. The same year and the following one, he 
 sought the i-ongressional nomination in the Belleville district, 
 but failing', upon the nu?eting of the legislature he aspired to 
 the senatorial nomination against James Semple, the governor's 
 appointee, and failed again. In 1840 his naine aj)i)ears among tlie 
 candidates for governor, but failed through the influence of Gov. 
 Ford, and on account of his o])position to the canal. He imme- 
 diately sought and obtained the candidacy for congress in the 
 Belleville district, but was defeated by over 2,000 majority, though 
 the district was largely democratic. As a i)olitician Trumbull 
 lacked that hearty and cordial geniality of nnmner which wins 
 popularity among the masses. His intercourse with the i)eoi)le, if 
 not formal, lelt the impression of reserve, and his nature was re- 
 pellant rather than magnetic. But no such disadvantage obtaiiu'd 
 with him in regard to politicians — over such as might be reached 
 by the force of intellect he ever exercised a large influence. How- 
 ever, after these repeated trials for place, in 1848 he Avas elected 
 one of the supreme judges under the new constitution, which 
 office he resigned July 4, 1853, on account of insufficient salary. 
 By nature, study and habit he was admirably fltted for thebeucli; 
 with a mind strong, clear and penetrating, wliich, while it inclined 
 to detail, never lost its broad grasp of principle — here he was 
 capacitated for great eminence. He was an able, searching and 
 coni}>rehensive constitutional pleader. He was ever a strenuous 
 and ultra democrat, but in 1854, unable to brook the repeal of th-e 
 Missouri comi)romise, he opposed his party upon that question, 
 and was in November elected to congress as an anti-Nebraska 
 democrat, which place he resigned to accei)t the senatorship. 
 
 His record iu congress, which is national, and not our i)rovince 
 to give, stands very high. He was for many years the able chair- 
 man of the judiciary committee, and few congressional acts of 
 importance but what bear the impress of his far reaching mind. 
 As an orator he is devoid of imagery and ornateness of diction, 
 
 * The whigs for a long time felt sore over the defeat of Mr. Lincoln and the forcing 
 of an obnoxious candidate upon them bj- the arbitrary conduct of only .'imen. In 
 1856 the Hon. J. H. Matheny, a whig, in a Filmore speech at Petersburg, using most 
 scathing language toward Mr. Trumbull, boldly charged a pre-arranged bargain be- 
 tween all the anti-Nebraska elements to the eftect that Trumbull was lo he elected to 
 congress, which was done : that the abolitiouists were to have the offices on the co7i- 
 vening of the legislature, which they gf)t; and that the whigs were to have the U. S. 
 senator, which tliey did not get. The charge was denied at the time by a brother-in- 
 law of Mr. Trumbull, and in 18.')8, Mr. Lincoln, during his senatorial canvass with Mr. 
 Douglas, iu his speech at Charleston characterized it as a " cock and bull story."] 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. G91 
 
 bat as a close, clear, compact and systematic thinker, with an 
 excellent memory, a wide aiiquaiutaiico of public alfairs, and an 
 extensive knowledge of the law, he was the most formidable de- 
 bater of the august senate. As a practical expounder of the 
 principles of his party, he eclipsed Mr, Seward. He ever has 
 been a hard student, but notwithstanding his mental labor he 
 bears his near three-score years well and looks youthful.* 
 
 DOUGLAS AND LINCOLN. 
 
 Senatorial Campaign o/1858. — The contest between these gen- 
 tlemen for a seat in tlie IJ. S. senate is not only the most memorable 
 in the annals of Illinois, but involving great natioiud issues at the 
 time, assumed a scope beyond the mere i)ersonal success of the 
 contestants, and an importance which arrested public attention 
 from all parts of the Union. Douglas was the leading representa- 
 tive man of the democracy, and Lincoln being pitted against him, 
 became the same for the republican i)arty. It was called the battle 
 ot the giants, and results grew out of it, both as relates to the men 
 concerned and the principles involved, the nu)st momentous to the 
 nation since its foundation was laid in the blood of the llevolution. 
 
 To ap[)reciate tliis contest fully we are comi>elIed to present a 
 short view of the status of parties at the time. 
 
 The all-absorbing political question was that of slavery. Since 
 the (lay that Whitney invented the cotton-gin, slave labor had 
 gradually become so profitable that the whole south favored the 
 eidargement of its territorial area, and so far as the south, acting 
 as a unit, could control the democratic party, it was pro-slavery. 
 To this was arrayed in sectional antagonism the new republican 
 l)arty, which, while it i)rofessed to be anti-slavery only so far as 
 extending the territorial area of slavery, had through sympathy 
 swept into its ranks as co-workers all the old abolition element of 
 the country. Between these two, thus presenting a dangerous 
 secti(Uial issue, it was attempt^id to interpose the broad national 
 doctrine of non-intervention, or as itwas called, i)opular sovereignty, 
 of which Mr. Douglas was the acknowledged champion. This i)rin- 
 ciple, honestly aitplied to the organization of the territoiies, and 
 fairly carried out, offere<l the only peaceable solution for the lierce 
 sectionalism of the period. But this jjlausible theory was practically 
 subjected to the grossest abuses. Kansas and Nebraska had been 
 organized upon it, but no sooner done than emigrant aid societies 
 were formed throughout the north sending thither men armed with 
 Shar[»'s rifles to locally- organize the territory in the interests of 
 freedom, while the slaveholders of the south with their emissai-ies 
 l»ressed over the borders to effect the lii-st organization in the in- 
 terests of slavery. Two parties with totally opposite views thns 
 strove for supremacy in a new countiy where there was no legal 
 restraint imposed upon them, and it is nut strange that collision and 
 an actual border war followed. 
 
 [* Gov. Matteson rofusod Mr. Triimbuil his oetrili'cate of election as senator in 
 1855, lieciiuse tlie constitution providerl tliat " the judu-es ol' tlie sutn-eme and circuit 
 courts shailnotbe eligible to any olfice or public trust in this State or the United 
 States, durinjr the term for which they are elected, nor for one year thereafter." 
 But the senate of the U. S., when the question was raised, held that it was the jud^e 
 of the qualification of its members, a ri^ht which no State law, either organic or statu- 
 tory, could take away or circumscribe.] 
 
693 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Wl)ile the south viewed ]>oi)uhir sovereignty as the short cut to 
 all' the ends of abolitionism, the democratic party, of which, by its 
 unity it was the controlling party at Cincinnati in national conven- 
 tion assembled, solemnly aflirmed it as its creed. Mr. Euclianaii, 
 its nominee, in his letter of acceptance said "that the peojde of a 
 territory, like those of a State, shall decide for themselves Avhether 
 slavery' shall or shall not exist within their limits." The nation 
 gave its confidence to these fair promises only to be deceived. 
 After Buchanan's accession to poAver, with a cabinet mainly of 
 southern men about ]iim,he threw off the nu\sk, and in his mani- 
 festo to the New England memorialists, said : "slavery existed at 
 that period — when the Kansas-Xebraska bill was passed — and 
 still exists in Kansas under the constitution of theU. S. TJiis point 
 has at last been decided by the highest tribunal known to our 
 laws [alluding to tlie Dred Scott decision]. How it could have 
 been seriously doubted is a mystery." 
 
 During the summer of 1857 was concocted in Kansas the infa- 
 mous Lecom])ton constitution. After the election of the i>ro-shivery 
 delegates — the free State men not voting — and when the character 
 of their work was well anticipated, rumors wei"e current that the 
 president would siistain it ; and after the adoption of its i)ro- 
 slavery clause by a largely fraudulent vote, in which all the great 
 historic names of the country, from George Washington down, 
 were recorded in its favor — the free State men not voting at all, 
 because the constitution proper, which also recognized slavery, 
 uot being submitted — upon the meeting of congress he boldly ami 
 in shameless defiance of his previous pledges to the country, urged 
 the admission of Kansas under this fraud.* He made it the test 
 of party fealty, and brought to bear in its favor the full power of 
 his official i)atronage. Douglas, in a speech at Milwauke, in 1800, 
 says : 
 
 " If you look into the Lecompton constitution you will find that the 
 original document made Kansas a slave State, and then the schedule 
 submitted another slavery clause to the people to vote for or against ; if 
 they voted for it, Kansas was a slave State, and if they voted against it 
 stili it was a slave State. When I reached Washington, three days before 
 the meeting of congress, I went directly to the pi'esident, and had a talk 
 with himupou this subject, in which I informed him, as a friend, not to 
 send the constitution into congress for acceptance. I told him that it 
 was a violation of every pledge we liad made to the people ; a violation 
 of tlie fundameuttd principles of the democratic party, and a violation 
 of the principles of all parties in all republican governments ; because \t 
 was an attempt to force a constitutiou upon an unwilling people. He 
 begged me not to say anything upon the subject until we should hear the 
 news as to how the vote stood on the slavery clause. The vote, you re- 
 member, was to be taken on the slavery clause on the 21st of December, 
 three or four weeks subsequent to this convention. I told the president 
 that if he would withhold his i-ecommendation until the vote was taken 
 on that clause I would withhold my speech against the measure. He 
 said lie must recommend it in his message, and I replied that if he did, 
 I would denounce it the moment his message was read. At last the 
 president became somewhat excited upon the subject, and he arose and 
 said to me : 'Mr. Douglas, I desire you to remember that no democrat 
 
 ♦ "My political life has no greater error to atone for than ray neglect to crush this 
 reptile of Pennsylvania when I had him in my power. He was the cause of a bitter 
 war between two men of this republic (Clay and .Jackson,) who should not have been so 
 estraiiycd. Ilis r(![irusentations caused ti)e charge of 'bargain and sale,' and vvhen 
 brouiilit lionu- to liuii he meanly left me to face it. Friends interfered to save himfrnm 
 beinv; ex posed, and I hsiened to them.'— Jackson's opinion of Buchanan, expressed 
 to Moses IJawsoii in 1837. See Washington Ilepublic, 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. G93 
 
 ever yet differed from an administration of his own elioice without being 
 crushed.' Tiien lie added : 'Beware of the fate of Tallmadge and Rivers.' 
 I arose and said : 'Mr. President, I wisli you to remember tliat General 
 Jacltson is dead, sir.' From that day to this he and I have been trying 
 the question whether General Jackson is dead. And one thing is certain 
 — the people of Illinois decided in 1858 that James Buchanan was not 
 General Jackson." 
 
 At the opeuing- of congress iu the fall of 1857, the slave propa- 
 gaiidists, assured of the powerful aid of the executive, proclaimed 
 loudly that Kansas must be admitted under the Lecompton cou- 
 stitutiou uucouditioually, supplemented with their oft repeated 
 threats of disunion. But the great champion of popular sover- 
 eignty, unwilling to do this violence, both to the law of his country 
 and the pledges of his party, now promi)tIy stepped forward and 
 fought the battle of freedom for Kansas, almost single-handed of 
 iiis party iu the senate, but well seconded iu the house by the 
 democrats of the Illinois delegation, ably led by the lamented 
 Thonuis L. Harris. In disregard of old and dear party ties, the 
 popular sovereignty democrats stood side by side with the repub- 
 licaus iu congress, aiul the recreant president with his disunion 
 allies were deleated iu their outrageous scheme to force slavery 
 on the unwilling people of Kansas. 
 
 From a volume entitled " Our Living Representative Men," by 
 John Savage, we copy a few graphic sentences describing a mem- 
 orable scene iu the Ujiited States senate, on the occasion of Mr. 
 Douglas' delireriug his celebrated anti-Lecomi)t(Ui speech, ]Marcli 
 I*!*, 1858. Besides citizens from all parts of the Union and mem- 
 bers of the lu)use, the dignitaries and represeutatixes of foreign 
 courtjs at Washington were in atendauce: 
 
 "If the immense mass of people who crowded the galleries, the 
 loVvbies, the stairways and tiie ante-rooms of the senate is any evidence 
 of interest in the question of debate, then Kansas is tlie most interest- 
 ing topic of the day. * * Senator Douglas entered the chamber just 
 after a fainting laxly had been carried out of the gallery. * * He was 
 congratulated by men of all parties, and soon was engaged in an earnest 
 con tab with Green, upon whose spirits, however, the Little Giant did 
 Dot seem to make any especial change. * * * * 
 
 Gwiii and Seward rose simultaneously and moved to admit the ladies 
 to the iloor of the senate, and a perfect flood of beauty poured into the 
 chamber. The appearance of Senator Douglas was the token for around 
 of applause. The sight must have been jts deeply gratifying to him as 
 it was entrancing to that mother and daughter, Mrs. Douglas and her 
 mother, wlio, from the reporters' gallery, looked upcm the scene with 
 that anxious pleasure which tell the physiognomist that they, of all 
 the gay aud brilliant crowd, had the deepest interest in it. For three 
 hours Senator Douglas spoke— he warmed up by degrees, lifting the 
 head and heart of the multitude with him, until one almost felt as if 
 he were iu Europe during the revolutions, listening to some powerful 
 tribune of the people expounding their rights and inspiring them to 
 such acti<m as made America a republic. He went tlirough his public 
 course. The period embi'aced some of the most prominent and vital acts 
 iu the history of American poltics. He showed — not as a defence, but 
 in :j proud, manly, and almost defiaut spirit — what his acts had been; 
 he echoed his own words ; he wiis prouc! of his deeds — deeds and words 
 whicii were recognized portions of the policy of the democratic party. 
 
 As he proceeded, with emphatic and measured dignity, to define his 
 position in the present crisis— wiuit the duty of a senator from a sover- 
 eign State was, and the responsibility he owed to the people whose voice 
 culminate in him — he held the multitude chained with that peculiar 
 eloquence which, based on common sense and the rights of man, reaches 
 its destination without the aid of winged rhetoric. Such eloquence 
 
694 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 does not dazzle, it conviuces , it does not stretch the fancy, but solidilies 
 the head ; it does not hold the breath, but makes one breathe freer, for 
 it cheers the heart. 
 
 The great burst of applause which broke from the galleries and rolled 
 over the chamber was a nobler testimony to the principles enunciated 
 by the eloquent senator than might be written. He was there tlie 
 defender of the people, the representative of the State, and not the 
 vassal of the executive, nor the valet of the administration, to do its 
 bidding without consulting their own judgment or the interests of the 
 people. He stood forth as the champion of State sovereignty." He 
 grew in enthusiasm with the progress of his subject, and the effect was 
 electric. 
 
 Thus was conveyed a lesson which should have taught the chief 
 magistrate of this nation that there may be popular leaders more 
 powerful than the executive, with all his enormous patronage at 
 Ins hack ; but his perception was blinded by mortification, iind 
 he looked only to revenge, and for this purpose pursued Douglas, 
 who looked foiward to a renewed senatorial term at the eiisuing; 
 session of the legislature, with all his official power and patronage, 
 into Illinois. 
 
 Tlie adherents of the president in this State, the federal officers 
 and appointees, and other recipients of his bounty and favors, 
 joined by the broken down i)oliticians and place hunters, whose 
 future depended not upon the preservation but rather the de- 
 struction of the democratic party, and also those moved by envy 
 or hatred of the "Little Giant," were rallied and thoroughly organ- 
 ized. A few democratic newspapers yielded to subsidy, but more 
 were directly established ; and itinerant orators were enii>l(>yed to 
 peiambulate the State through its lengtli and breadth. The adlier- 
 ents of the president were designated as Danites. A secret 
 politico-nulitary order in Kansas, of whose fearful oaths and 
 frightful doings, horrid accounts had been published, was 
 denounced in congress by Mr. Douglas, and characterized as an 
 imitation of a cut-throat Monnon band, called Danites. One of 
 the reputed leaders of the Kansas order was employed in Illinois 
 as a general post office agent, in which capacity he traversed the 
 State constantly, notoriously doing more to organize the admiins- 
 tration oposition against Douglas, by threats of dismissal or intim- 
 idation, than ferreting out government delinquencies. 
 
 The democracy of Illinois met in convention at Springfield, 
 April 21, 1858, to nominate candidates for State treasurer and 
 superintendent of i)ublic instruction, and particularly to declare 
 its status with legard to the great question of variance between 
 the ])resident and Senator Douglas. In 97 of the 101 counties 
 resoluti<nishad already been passed by the democracy, approving 
 tlie course of tlie Illinois delegation in congress upon thisLecomp- 
 ton question. Two conventions met at the appointed time and 
 l)lace, botli clainnng to represent the true democracy of the State, 
 one sustaining po[)ular sovereignty and approving the course of 
 our delegation in congress during the Lecompton struggle, the 
 other endorsing the administration and repudiating Douglas as 
 attiliating with republicans. The latter wasbut sparingly attended, 
 the representation being from 24 counties, and its proceedings 
 were somewhat spiritless. John Dougherty (since lieutenant 
 governor) presided. Ike Cook, a (3hicago postmaster, was chief 
 maimgei', and Dr. Leroy, John L. McCoiniel,R. B. Car})enter and 
 B. F. Blackburn were the speakers. As it was partly comijosed 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 695 
 
 of seceders, uo ticket was made, and an adjonrnment till tlie 9th 
 of June was had, when it met again with a somewhat larger 
 attendance. John Dongherty was nominated for treasnrer, and 
 ex-Gov. John Reynolds for State school superintendent, both by 
 acclamation. The "nationals" met with much encouragement 
 from the republicans, but now, in their long platform of princi- 
 l)les, they paid their respects to them as follows: We deem the 
 principles and policy of the black republicans as utterly opposed 
 to the spirit in which the Union was formed, and the success of 
 that party would be disastrous to its prosperity — which was not 
 so palatable to the latter. The president was very nuicli dissat- 
 istied with these meagre and spiritless affairs ; county meetings 
 and district conventions were therefore held, and administration 
 legislative tickets were generally put in tlie field with the ho[)e of 
 diverting' votes enough to carry the State for the republicans. 
 
 The regular democratic convention was largely attended, 84 
 counties Iseing fully represented, embracing- more of the eminent 
 and distinguished men of the State, than was connnon on such 
 occasions. Ex-Lieut. Gov. John Moore presided. The ticket 
 uuide was W. B. Fondey for treasurer, and ex-Gov. French for 
 sni)erintendent of public instruction. While the resolutions of 
 the convention were firm in their tone, they did not opeidy and 
 decisively mention Douglas by i]ameand applaud his course, nor 
 did they condejnn the president in direct ternis. It Avas sought 
 rather to avoid an open rupture with the administration. A reso- 
 lution offered by Judge Drummond, "Tliat this convention view 
 with regret the course pursued by the i)resent administration in 
 removing- good men from officefor the expression of opinions upon 
 any given proposition," was, upon motion of Judge O. C. Skinner, 
 l»romptiy laid on the table. This looks like a piece of arrant 
 truckling- to an arbitrary and recreant president. It was ho])cd 
 that the Kansas troubles would prove evanescent and that party 
 unity would l)e preserved. The convention did not nomiiuvte or 
 recomniend Mr. Douglas as the senatorial candidate, as did the 
 rei)ublicans Mr. Lincoln, some time after. But his candidacy was 
 geiun'ally conceded. There were other aspiiants in the demo- 
 cratic ranks, but when it was perceived what herculean blows 
 were requisite in the fight, the field was left by common consent to 
 the Little Giant. 
 
 But with the efforts and exceptions mentioned, the democracy 
 generally, both press and i)eople, sustained Senator Douglas. 
 During the darkest hour of the Lecompton struggle, the rei)ubli- 
 can press, laying aside party, heartily praised the course of Doug- 
 las and his colleagues of the house for their noble stand in vindi- 
 cation of law and popidar right, against the slave oligarchy, with 
 a treacherous president at its head. During- the canvass Mr. 
 Greeley, a warm admirer of the character of Douglas, howexer he 
 warred against his political principles, held the followinghniguage 
 in the New York T/'i&WMe regarding his or Mr. Lincoln's success: 
 
 "There is a contingency iu which even he [Mr. Liucohi] might be 
 elected, that would cause such election to be viewed with regret by 
 republicans in other States. ■* * We allude to secret coalition between 
 republican leaders and the little faction of postmasters, tide-waiters and 
 federal office seekers, who, for the sake of their dirty pudding, present 
 and hoped for, pretend to approve the Lecompton traud, and are now 
 hounding on the track of Senator Douglas. Any conspiring or conniv- 
 
69G HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ing with this pack on the part of republicans of Illinois, no matter by 
 what name glossed, under what pretext veiled, would be regarded by 
 rei)ublicans in other States with profound disfavor." 
 
 Of Douglas, he lieldtbe following language : 
 
 "They have seen him separate himself from a triumphant and almost 
 invincible administration, which had honors to dispense and millions 
 to disburse, braving the denunciations of party organization and party 
 progress, which have for 20 years borne him onward from triumph 
 to triumph, and from indigence and obscurity to opulence and dis- 
 tinction — they have seen him incur the deadly and unquenchable 
 hatred of the slave power, blasting in a moment all the reasonable hopes 
 of obtaining the presidency through the machinery and spell of the 
 democratic party. * * When a statesman so high in'position, in jjower, 
 in hopes, separates himself froiji a triumphant majority to fight a 
 momentous hattle on the side of a minority, to whom he had always 
 stood in deadly opposition, it is scarcely I'easonable to attribute that 
 change to any motive which does not honor his conscienciousness and 
 his courage. And it seems to us particularly ungracious in those to 
 whom he has lent the weight of his powerful arm to unite with his 
 and their implacable enemies, in disparaging his motives, belittleiug his 
 influence, and paralyzing his exertions. * * However pointed may be 
 our future differences, we shall never forget that in the Lecompton 
 struggle he proved faithful, in defiance of great temptation, not to our 
 principles but to his own, * * If this course was taken, the conse- 
 quences braved by Mr. Douglas, solely upon the sti'ength of his convic- 
 tions of right, and of the moral weight of the pledges given in the 
 Nebraska bill and the Cincinnati platform, no public man in our day 
 has evinced a nobler fidelity and courage " 
 
 But this out-spoken approval of Douglas' course by the republi- 
 can press outside of the State was bitterly and defiantly resisted 
 in Illinois. Tlie administration organs had read liini and his fol- 
 lowers out of the democratic party, and the reflection had been 
 indulged that he might find a lodging place in the republican, but 
 the i)ress of the latter party, knowing well the man, scouted tliis 
 as an egregious falacy. Their ])o]itical hatred of their old foe was 
 revived with all its former animosity, and they pro(;lainied that 
 there was no conflict into which the rc})ublicaiis of Illinois entered 
 so heartily, so thoroughly, so unitedly as this. They desired to 
 be avenged on hiui with an intensity not to be appreciated by 
 outsiders, and for the purpose in hand asked to be let alone in 
 the fight by the sentimental philosophers and enthusiasts abroa<l.* 
 The feeblest efforts, sayings and pnr[)oses of the Buchanan men, to 
 divide the deiiuK'racy of the State, Avere greedily taken up, paraded 
 before the public and heralded abroad in a magnificent foini. 
 The strange anomaly was exhibited ol' a most persistent i)raise 
 and flattery bestowed by the republicans upon tlie slave l»arty, 
 Avhile those who had in congress stoo<l side by side with them in 
 the defeat of the Lecomi)ton iniquity, received only their abuse 
 and slander. All this to ])roin()te the schism in the democratic 
 party, and redound to the benefit of their own. 
 
 The State re])ublican convention met at Springfield, June 15, 1858 
 and wasorganizcd by selecting ex-Lieut.-Gov. Koerni^r as ))resident. 
 It was largel.N attended, 87 counties being represented, and nuicli 
 eiitliusiauSin was exlubited. James ]\riller, the then incumbent, was 
 re-nominated for treasurer withoiTt oi)])()sition. For the (.-andidacy 
 of the oflice of superintendent of public instruction ten mimes 
 were presented. The second ballot sliowed the contest to lie be- 
 
 'ifee Chicago papers ol June, 1858. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 697 
 
 tweeii W. H. Powell, the then incumbent, and Newton Batemau, 
 of Morgan, who on the third ballot received the nomination. 
 
 In their declaration of principles they "disclaimed all intention 
 of attempting-, either directly or indirectly, to assail or abridge the 
 rights of any of the members of the confederacy guarantied by the 
 constitution, or in any manner to interfere with the institution of 
 slavery in the States where it existed." They denounced the ad- 
 ministration ; differed with the decision of the U. S. supreme court 
 in the Dred Scott case ; maintained the right of congress to pro- 
 hibit slavery in the territories, and its duty to exercise it; ap])roved 
 tlie then recent decision of the supreme court of Illinois declaring 
 that i)roperty in persons was repugnant to the constitution, and 
 that slavery was the creature of local or municipal law. Charles 
 L. Wilson offered a resolution, which was unanimously adopted 
 amidst shouts of apidause : " That Abraham Lincoln is the tirst 
 and only choice of the republicans of Illinois for the U. S. senate, 
 as the succcessor of Stephen A. Douglas." 
 
 Douglas and Lincoln. — These two most eminent and illustri- 
 ous men of Illinois and of the nation deserve at our hands some- 
 wiiat more extended biographical sketches than are generally 
 given in this work, which we deem it proi)er to make before in^o- 
 ceeding to detail their great contest for senatorial honors. 
 
 iSfep hen Arnold BnugJas — was born April 23, 1813, at Brandon, 
 Vci-mont, "a good State to emigrate from," as he has said. His 
 fatlier. who died when Stei»hen was an infant of 3 months, was a 
 ])hysician of considerable eminence, and a native of New York. 
 His grandfather was a l*ennsylvanian, and a soldier in the Bevo- 
 liition, being with Washington at Valley Forge and at Yorktown. 
 His great grandfather was also native born, but the remote ancestry 
 was from Scotland, and, it has been said, traceable to the blood of 
 the Douglas. In youth Stephen received the ordinary school 
 education of his native State, and was an apt and diligent pupil. 
 At 15, unable to gratify an ardent desire to prepare for college, 
 owing to his mother's straightened circumstances, he apjtrenticed 
 liimself to the cabinet trade. In 18 months afterwards, tindingit 
 too hard for his constitution, he abandoned it and entered the 
 aciidem^' at Brandon. The following year, his nu>ther having 
 married a Mr. Granger, whose son had previously married his 
 eldest sister, the family renntved to Canadagiui, N. Y. Here 
 Steplien resumed his academical course, and also commenced to 
 read law. At the age of 20 he started west to seek an eligible 
 location. At Cleveland he was long detained by sickness. Becov- 
 ering, he went to Cincinnati, and thence by river to St. Louis, 
 finding his way, late in the fall of 1833, to the village of Winches- 
 ter, Scott county, Illinois, whither he Avalked from Jacksonville, 
 in quest of a school to teach, his exchequer being reduced to 37^ 
 cents. His tirst work was clerking at a vendue, which yielded him 
 $(), but he obtained, shortly after, a school of 40 ])upils at J^3 a 
 quarter. He ke[)t uj) his law studies meanwhile, and the following 
 jMarch was admitted to the bar by the supreme court sitting at 
 Vandalia, He iu>w betook himself to the practice of the law, and 
 s])(^e(lily won distinction in his i>rofession. Within a year of his 
 admisjiion to the bai', before he was 22 years old, he was chosen by 
 
698 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the legislature attorney general of the State. In 1836 he was 
 elected to the legisUiture t'roni Morgan county, being the youngest 
 member in that body. At this session the internal improvement 
 folly of the St;ite Mas entered upon. In 1837 he was appointed by 
 Van Buren register of the lan(l office at Springfield. The same 
 year he was nominated for congress, and at the election of August, 
 1838, came within 5 votes of an election out of 36,000 cast, his op- 
 ponent being the Hon. John T. Stuart, whig. He Jiow devoted 
 himself assiduously to his new profession, and proved himself ;iu 
 able lawyer and successful advocate. His tact and skill in the 
 examination of witnesses Avas unrivalled. In 1810 he entered with 
 great ardor into the exciting i)residential campaign, canvassing 
 the State thoroughly, by addressing L'OT meetings in favor of Van 
 Buren. Upon the meeting of the legislature in December of that 
 year, he was ap[)oiuted secretary of State by Gov. Carlin, who was 
 unable to withstand the pressure in his favor. During the session, 
 from partisan motives, the sui>renie court was reorganized, in 
 which Douglas took au active part through lobby addresses, &c., 
 and was also elected to a seat upon the bench, rendering the 
 court democratic. The supreme judges had to perform circuit 
 duty, Douglas being assigned to theQuincy district. 
 
 In the 4th volume of the "Law lieporter," Boston, 1842, may be 
 found a letter from a lawyer, who had emigrated to Illinois, giv- 
 ing the following description of him on the bench : 
 
 "The judge of our circuit is S. A. Douglas, a youth of 28, who was the 
 democratic candidate for congress in 1838, in opposition to [J. T.] Stuart, 
 tlie late member. He is a Vermonter, a man of considerable talent, and, 
 in the way of despatching business, is a perfect 'steam engine in breecli- 
 es.' This dispatch is the only benefit our circuit will derive from tlie 
 change. He is the most democratic judge I ever knew. While a ease is 
 going on he leaves the bench and goes among the people, and among the 
 members of the bar, takes a cigar and nas a social smoke with them, or 
 often sitting in their laps, being in person say five feet nothing, or tliere- 
 abouts, and probably weighing about 100 j^ouuds. 1 have often tliought 
 we sliould cut a cpieer figure if one of our Suffolk bar should accidental- 
 ly drop in." 
 
 But Douglas' manners upon the bench were unexceptional. He 
 was studious, clear, comprehensive and exjieditious, and it may be 
 said that a more popular judge never wore the ermine in this 
 State, notwithstanding his youth and slight figure. 
 
 In 1843 he was tirst elected to congress by a nnijority of about 
 400. He was twice re-elected, his majority being increased ea(;h 
 time — the last time to 3,000. In the lower house he is said to 
 have been cautious ami sparing of debate, studious and closely 
 observant, and when he did arise for a speech it was apt, forcible, 
 and to the purpose. Ilis early education was not so thorough and 
 scholastic as it might have been, as he well knew, but this fact 
 could never have been gathered from his speeches. Ashamed to 
 be either uninformed or misinformed, he was a studious toiler 
 throughout his busy and boisterous political life, amidst all its 
 engrossing cares and unceasing occuj)ation, and a wide and varied 
 reader of history and its kindred of politics and law. Contact 
 with public affairs gave scope to his understanding ami depth to 
 his jndgenuMit, and his knowledge became vast, complete and 
 accurate. Oiu'. of his first masterly efforts in congress to attract 
 national attention, was his speech on the uill to refund to Gen. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 009 
 
 Jackfsou the fine imposed upon biiu for placiiio; 'New OrleaiKs imder 
 maitial law at the time of the battle in its defence on the 8th of 
 Jamiaiy, 1812. Tlie venerable hero of that <ilorious event subse- 
 quently thanked Doui^las for this able vindication, saying : I knew 
 when 1 proclaimed and enforced martial law that I was doing- 
 right; but never, until I read your speech, could I express the 
 reasons wliich actuated my conduct. 
 
 In 1S17 Douglas entered the seiuite, Avhicli was the arena of his 
 herculean labors. His name, young as he was, became speedily 
 asso(;iated with the great national issues which affected the des- 
 tiny <»f this people. He moulded and gave them direction in i)ub- 
 lic affairs. Between the aggressions of the south and the resist- 
 am-e of the north over the angry subject of slavery in our terri- 
 turics, it has been said that there is no escape from the conclusion 
 that the genius of Douglas offered the oidy peaceable solution of 
 a common national ground upon which all could meet in the theory 
 of territorial sovereignty. To it, through his labors, the demo- 
 cratic party was committed in 1850, gahied a triumph at the polls 
 and then was basely betrayed by Buchanan and the south. But 
 Donglas was true and faithful to it to the last and defemled it 
 whenever and wherever assailed. And while he was i)ersoually 
 I)ur.sned by bittei', imi)lacal>le, open i)()litical opponents, his dar 
 ling idea, which was empire or ruin with him, \\as more grossly 
 betrayed by perhdious friends who rode into power n]K)n it. 
 
 Tiie most striking peculiarity in the jjhi/siijne of Mr. Douglas 
 was his stature whi(;h was greatly below the medium hight — not 
 above 5 feet. His trunk was ample, compact and erec-t. with full 
 chest and square, well detined, though lujt broad shoulders; but 
 his extremities were dis[)ropurtionately short. In the latter years 
 of his life he grew stout, though iu>t obese. His figure would have 
 been fatal to the divinity of the Appollo Belvedere. Wliile his 
 diminutive stature would arrest attention, his facile and natural 
 dignity of manner, not to say grace, with an air, as if boin to 
 connnand, would cause idle curiosity in the contemidation of his 
 person to pass into speedy forget fulness by the respect and 
 attention wliich he inspired. His s[»lendid head, covered with a 
 lieaA-y suit of dark hair, nicely poised upon his shoulders and 
 connected by a short neck, was massive in its brain developenuMit, 
 con\eying, under animation, the impression of almost iidinite 
 l)ower. Tlie ami)le forehead was squarely l)uilt up o\er the wide 
 an-.hes of his heavy brows, under which rolled a pair of large, 
 restless, deep-set, dark blue eyes, capable of shooting out glances 
 of electric fire, when under the impulse of the powerful brain 
 battery back of them. His nose was broad and short, with flaring 
 nostrils, denoting coohiess and courage. At its junction with the 
 projecting forehead it left a- ])eculiar transverse crease. His mouth 
 was ample, cleanly cut, with lips finely arched, the whole evincing 
 decision, and by the depression at the angles, conveying a mingled 
 idea of sadness and disdain. His chin, backed by a firm jaw, 
 squared well to the general outline of his face, indicating ardor, 
 strength and vigor. He wore no beard, but presented smoothly 
 shaven cheeks and handsome throat with slight double-chin. The 
 general contour of his face was regular, and its muscles wonder- 
 fully nu)bile, giving a i)leasing and Avinning countenance; his 
 complexion, though somewhat dark, with his usually good health. 
 
700 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 "svas clear ; the exuberance of liis animal spirits was extraordinary. 
 He was of the vital tenii)eranient. Such is a brief physical 
 description of the "Little Giant."* 
 
 As an orator Douglas possessed the peculiar magnetism of 
 inil)arting to his aiulitory the hue of his sentiments and views — 
 swaying- their will or directing their sensibility at pleasure. He 
 affected no senatorial airs, betrayed no aristocratic spirit, but 
 niiturally and easily identitied himself with the democracy. He 
 hiid been the genial companion of nuiny an eiirly pioneer, and his 
 intimate knowledge of the people and sympathy with them, 
 enabled him on the stump to convey to their common understand- 
 ing, in their own accustomed vehicles of thought, his reasoning 
 upon the political questions of the day, often enforcing and clinch- 
 ing- an argument to those who remembered the frontier times by a 
 peculiar border figure, carrying- conviction to their minds as 
 evinced bj' a spontaneous outburst of applause at freqnent inter- 
 vals. But his most inseparable attributes were rapidity andbohl- 
 iiess of thought, and his dexterity in debate — of which he became 
 a consummate master — cropped out in early life, giving i)ro]nise 
 of unequaled power in his first eftbrtson the stump. He had tlie 
 faculty of summoning all his mental resources with a promptitude 
 Avhich served admirably the occasion, even if required instantly 
 in reply to a i)owertul antagonist in the senate. Therefore, while 
 his forte lay to a certain extent in his matchless power npon the 
 hustings, he swayed a no less power in the caucus or the august 
 senate. His manner of treating a subject was bold and inde- 
 dependent, always striking- the hard and strong points. To halt- 
 ing- friends he ai)peared at times to be overbearing-; and there 
 Avas a vein of cold irony in his nature which, with a defiant tone 
 in his remarks, a haughty manner and a curling of the lip, suidc 
 deep into the heart of an enemy. Energy and activity, courage 
 and fortitude, were of the essence of his nature. The assaults 
 that would excruciate some men only excited a smile of derision 
 on his intrepid face. Elastic in both body and mind, he was ca})a- 
 ble of performing- an incredible amount of political hibor in the 
 open field. Thus with sagacity as if insj^ired by genius, a mind 
 
 * This soubriquet originated very early in his public life. In 1833 President Jack- 
 son added to his refusal to recharter tlie U. S. Bank, the removal of the deposits. 
 Great was the consternation of the people, and a g-eneral panic prevailed. Party feel- 
 int; ran extren-.ely higrh, the president's supporters were unsettled in their views and 
 thousands differed with him ou these measures Douyhis l)ad just located at Jackson- 
 ville and opened a law office in a room in tJie fourt-lnmse. The whigs of Jlorgan 
 county, from their number a'd standing', were arrogant and audacious in their denun- 
 ciation of the administiation. Douglas mingled freely with the people, who usually 
 crowded the county seat on Saturdays, and among- them, was outspoken in his appro- 
 bation of the acts of the administration. He and the editor of the democratic paper 
 at Jacksonville, deeming it advisable to rally the undecidi? 1, etfect an organization of 
 the iKliiiiiiistration party, and define its position, in opposition to the views of many 
 friends, called a mass meeting, and prepared a set of resolutions endorsing the bank 
 policy of the administration. On the day of the meeting the court house was thronged 
 with people of both parties. Douglas being comi)aratively a stranger, declined to offer 
 resolutions, but as it soon became ajiparent unless he iMd it would not be done, be 
 boldly advanced and read them, following with a few brief explanatory remarks. 
 Immediately upon his conclusion, Josiah Lamborn. a whig of great influence and 
 oratorical powers, attacked the resolutions and their reader in a severe and caustic 
 manner. The blood of Douglas wasup; this was his first political effort, but he met 
 hi- antajzonist with such arguments, so vehement and effective, that the exeitonieiit 
 of his fi-iends reached the highest point of endurance; they cheered, seized, and bore 
 iiim aU'ift through the crowd and around the pul)lic square, in gratitude and admira- 
 tion, apyil.ving to him such complimentary titles as '•hiah-combed cock," "little giant" 
 &c , which last, by its peculiar appropriateness, adhered to him to the last. His effort 
 th:it day, in a measure, changed the political destiny of Morgan county. It was long 
 reinembered, and the old veterans of Morgan alwiiysheld that Douglas never equalled 
 this speech of March, ISii.—Sheahaii's Life of Douglas. 
 
SENATOllS IN CONGRESS. 701 
 
 miitiiied by careful study, a judgment clear and decisive ; a cour- 
 a.iie wliicli sbraidv from no <langer, ainouutiuft- at times to apparent 
 audacity, yet always tempered with discretion; a will to yield to 
 no ditliculty, and unai)i)alled by any obstacle; ai)preciation of the 
 ])e<)i)le and the rare faculty to lead them, Douj;ias was a states- 
 iimii of the very first order.* 
 
 Douglas' si)eeches contain few rhetorical llourishes. But they 
 arc iiuxlels of exact laiiguag-e, orderly aTid systematic in thought, 
 full and com]»rehensive in gras]) There is never a strained effort 
 at mere beauty of word p;iinring. The architecture of his sen- 
 tences, as well as the ideas, are solid, nnissive masonry, with 
 broad foumlation laid on firm rock, and the details and working- 
 plans so accurate as to be i)erfect in their adaptation, with noth- 
 ing a.miss or foreign and lu) surplus or waste material. So well 
 ami thoroughly are his sentences woven together that it is ditti- 
 cult to extract from his speeches any sei>arate sentence con- 
 veying, text-like, a summary of the whole. While they are complete 
 they yet seem parts necessarily connected with the whole. \l\s 
 
 'Rev. W. H. Milburn. 
 
 NdTE— To further illustrate Douglas' power among- the people, we subjoin a chatty 
 luit Kvaiihic slcetch by the editor of the Newburyport (Mass.) Herald (republican), who 
 was a fellow passeng:"er in the cars with :Mr. Douglas through Illinois on occasion of 
 opi-nin.L'- the Ohio & Mississippi railroad, and afterwards: 
 
 'That man with a big;', round head, a brow almost as broad as Webster's, and a ruiiclt, 
 active eye that rolls under the heavy projecting- brow, watehlng-every other man, and 
 nut allowing- a motion to escape him -with arms too short for his body, which is lull and 
 riHind as thoug-h it never lacked the juices that supply life ; and with small duck legs, 
 which, had they grown as thick as his back-bone (and thej' would, probably, if Provi- 
 dence had not foreseen that he would want back-bone more than legs in his battle of 
 life,) would have made him of respectable stature. -that little man is no less than the 
 great politician of the west, who has atti-acted more attention in the last four years 
 than any other man of the nation, and (huie more to give direction to public affairs 
 than even the president, with a million and a half of voters at his back, and the armj-, 
 navy and treasury of North America at his command. It is the 'Little Giant,' Stephen 
 A. Douglas, with whom we parted company at Vincennes, and who has slowly come 
 along, feeling the public pulse to learn the political health of the 'Suckers' up to 
 Springfield, the capital of the State. 
 
 •'The means of success in Senator Douglas are very apparent. First, he is really and 
 intellectually a great man. Eastern people who view him only as a low politician, 
 should disabuse their minds in relation to one who is to exercise a wide infliience in 
 the affairs of the country, and very probably, for he is yet young, to be the head of the 
 republic. He is massive in hisconceptions, broad and comprehensive in his views, and 
 in a good measure is endowed with all those powers of mind that make a statesman. 
 
 But he is greater still in energy of character. There are those that think that a 
 defeat of him next year would he his death in politics ; but the man who sprung from 
 a cabinet-maker shop in Vermont, and without father or friend worked his way to an 
 iionorable place upon the bench of judges, who entered Ulinois with less than yd cents 
 in money, and not one cent in credit, and lias acquired great wealth, and the highest 
 station and influence, is not ready to be whipped out. But if he is great in mind, and 
 greater in energy, he is greatest in those winning manners for which the world calls 
 him a demagogue. Scarcely a man, woman or child in the cars escaped his attention, 
 or passed by unspoken to. At one moment he talks with the old, stern visaged politi- 
 cian, who has been soured by a thousand defeats and disappointments ; in the next, to 
 that well formed and genial Kentuckian, who has just sought a free State ; now ho sits 
 down with the little girl aiiproaching her teens, and asks of her school studies : and he 
 pats the little boy on the head, and in presenceof his mother and proud father (what 
 father is not proud to see his boy noticed?) says a word of his mild eyes and glossy 
 locks. Again the lady is approached with a fair word aud a bland smile, and goes home 
 pleased to tell her father how he looks, and then half a dozen are about him, all stand- 
 ing together. He can talk religion with tiie priest as well as polities with the states- 
 man; he can congratulate the newly appointed Buchanan office-holder, who has sup- 
 planted his friend, tell the displaced friend of the good time coming, when his wing 
 shall be up; and at every station, more regularly than the conductor, Mr. Douglas is 
 uiion the platform with a .trood-bye to the leaving, and a welcome to the departing 
 traveler— a shake of the hand with one man that stands at the depot, and a touch of 
 the hat to another. He knows everybody; can tell the question that aflects each 
 locality : call the name of every farm owner on the way; tell all travelers something- 
 of the homes they left, that they never knew themselves, and suggest what place 
 they deserve in heaven. Now, such a man as that, in contact with everybody, know- 
 ing everybody, and at the bottom wrapped up with the one idea of preferment, power 
 and dominion among men is not easily to be put down; and his oppotients might as well 
 believe at once, that when they fight him they fight a strong man— a little giant indeed. 
 He would be popular in Boston or anywhere else, and half the 'three thousand clergy- 
 men' he denounced would have their hearts stolen if lie could speak to them a half 
 hour.' 
 
702 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 arguments succeed each other like tlie weigiity blows of an enor- 
 mous trip-hammer, shaping the subject in hand with irresistible 
 power, tiattening the i>oints opposed to him, aiul possibly the 
 adversary under its mighty tilts. 
 
 In the circle of Wasliington life, Douglas, with the honois of 
 a senator, appeared with a natural grace and dignity larely 
 excelled. At the social board or in dinner table conversation, 
 Col. Forney in his sketches of public men, sws : "Douglas was 
 almost unrivaled. His repartee was a tlasli, and his courtesy as 
 knightly as if he had beeen born in the best society."* 
 
 Abraham Lincoln. — The life of one who has become so exalted in 
 American history as Abraham Lin(;oln, must ever possess a chai-m 
 to the reader in its minutest detail. But the great acts with which 
 his mime is associated are national, and it is foreign to the scope 
 of this work to give more than a cursory glance at the nuin as he 
 appeared in Illinois. We desire rather to sjjeak of his meagre 
 early life, his attributes of person, character aiul mind — his (]ual- 
 ities of head and heart — as they appeared liere, than the great 
 events with which he was subsequently connected, however the 
 latter may have flown from the former. His broad executive ca- 
 pacity, so suddeidy developed under great trials, constituting the 
 subliinest events in our history; his fidelity to the right, and his 
 courage and firmness which grew out of that, it may here be said, 
 were not without astonishment to those who knew him best in 
 Illinois, and who imagined tiiat they comprehended all that was 
 to be learned of his character.t Possibly it was so to himself. The 
 great lesson of man — know thyself — is ever least understood. 
 
 The most striking contrast between Mr. Lincoln and his antag- 
 onist for senatorial honors, was in tlieir physical ap})earance. It 
 "would l»e difficult to find two men with the requisite capacity for 
 so exalted a ])osition, more oi)posite in physical development than 
 these. Mr. Douglas, as we have seen, was low of stature, scarce 5 
 feet, erect, with truidv large and rotund, and extremities uiululy 
 short. Mr. Lincoln, on the other hand, was tall, exceeding G feet, 
 spare, angular body, with a slight forward inclination, extremities 
 long and lank, the upper terminating in huge hands and the latter 
 in large feet. His shoulders, of medium breadth, drooped slightly 
 forward, giving him thea[)pearance of being hollow-breasted. As it 
 is a fact, it is not derogatory to say of him that hisai)pearance was 
 somewhat ungainly. He was of the nervous bilious temi)erament. 
 His head, covered with thick nuisses of dark hair, was large, with 
 a receeding but ample forehead, well and prominently developed 
 at its base, and under the arched and projecting brows rolled his 
 clear, dark-blue eyes of more than medium size, Arith a mild and 
 benignant expression, speaking the sympathetic soul within. His 
 nose was his most prominent facial organ — high, thin, straight, 
 neither long nor short,— a fine nose, ex])ressive of even force of 
 character. His ample mouth, while it indicated enough of decision 
 and strength of will, was totally devoid of anything like disdainful 
 expression. It would have been (lilfi(adt for Mr. Ivincoln, ca])able 
 as he was to express in his face inimitable grotesqueiu'ss, to have 
 curled his lip in contemi)t, defiance or disdain. His chin, mostly 
 
 •Wa«hing'ton Sunday Chronicle, 1872. 
 
 +See Gov. Palmer's funeral address at the reburial of Bissell's remains, May 31, 1871. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 703 
 
 covered with whiskers, was of fair prominence ; though it hicked 
 that squareness which gives a full and agreeable development to 
 the lower face, while at the same time it is indicative of ardency and 
 coml)ativeness — it was not the military chin. His-cheeks were gaunt, 
 and the general outline of his face, as lias been aptly said, was that 
 of craggy grandeur. It wore a habitual ex])ressi()n of sadness ; 
 yet his countenance could bea-m with a kindliness of heart which 
 ga\'e license for the approach of the humblest, and reve;ded a large- 
 ness of soul replete with a charitable and forgiving disposition. 
 His health, though never apparently robust, was uniformly good, 
 and he was capable of great physical eiulurance. 
 
 Abraham Lincoln was born in La Kue (now Hardin) county 
 Kentucky, about 2 nules south of the village of Hoginsville, Feb- 
 ruary llith, 1809. (He was thus the senior of his comi)etitor by 3 
 years.) Here his father had taken up a laud claim of 300 acres, 
 rough, broken and poor, containing a fine spring, known to this 
 day as the "Linkum Spring." Unable to pay for the unprovluctive 
 land, the claim was al)andoned, and the fanuly moved from place 
 to place in tiie neighborhood, being very destitute. These remoxals 
 occurring while Abraham was scarcely more than an infant, has 
 given rise to different statements as to the exact i)lace of his birth. 
 It is said that in that part of Kentucky four places now claim the 
 honcu'. In 1810 the family started westward, following the Ohio 
 river, and settling in Spencer county, Indiana. Two years later 
 the nn>ther died, and also an only sister; the thriftless father 
 married ;igain, and Abraham worked in the neighborhood on 
 farms, and in clearing away the dense forest underwent the sturdy 
 discipline of toil. He received the meagre education which the 
 new country afforded, but his boyhood had few advantages of 
 culture, and he was emphatically self-made.* "I have not a fine 
 edueation ; I am not capable of entering into a disquisition upon 
 diiilectics, I believe you call it" — he himself complained in his 
 Ohiciigo speech in answer to Douglas at the opeinng of the sena- 
 torial canvass in 1858. He was of, and grew up anu)ng, the com- 
 mon ])eople, the hard handed yeomanry of toil. His warm and 
 benevolent heart was thus early taught to sympathise with labor, 
 and later his brain a])[)reciated the imi)ortance of its freedom. 
 
 He grew to manhood rapidly, and such were his qualities of 
 head that before he attained to majority he was employed as 
 supercargo to take a flat-boat load of produce to New (J>rleans, 
 Avhich he did giving full satisfaction. In 1830 the fnniily removed 
 to Illinois, settling on thesouth side of the north fork of the San- 
 gamon river, 10 miles southwest of Decatur, in Macon county. 
 Here young Lincoln spent his first winter in Illinois, during which 
 he aided in building for the family a cabin, stables and other 
 buildings; mauled and split rails, cleared and fenced in 10 acres 
 of ground. From this X)lace the rails which played so important 
 apart in the campaign of 1800 were procured. t The following 
 
 * It is asserted that he learned to cipher ona smooth clap board by the light of a 
 cabin Are after getting throujrh with the day's labor, while worknig on the Crew farm 
 in Indiana When tlie board was written over with figures, recourse was had to a draw- 
 ing knife to shavL' it down, and with the clean surface thus presented it was ready 
 for further use. The books that he could get to read were very few, but the Bible 
 was evifU'ntly one of them. 
 
 +Oue Charles Hanks, a cousin on the mother's side, who had all the time lived within 
 two and a half miles of this place, published in 18ti0 a letter saying, that 5 years after- 
 ward the entire fence was burned up, and that he helped to build a new one: but his 
 brother John maintained the geauineoess of the rails. See Decatur papers 1860. 
 
704 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 spring, being uow of age, lie aided iu conducting a flat-boat down 
 the Sangamon, became acquainted with tlie country, ami later 
 found employment as clerk in a country store, at a village on its 
 west bank named New Salem, a mile from tlie present Petersburg, 
 whither its tenements Avere tinally removed. Lincoln, with a 
 partner, succeeded his employer^ the stock of goods probably not 
 large and the purchase being made on time. The merchanrs, us 
 nierchauts are wont to do, speedily failed. Lincoln now turned 
 his attention to surveying, but when the Black Hawk war broke 
 out, in 1832, he voluuteered antl was elected captain of his com- 
 pany. He served three nninths but was in no engagement with 
 the enemy. The same year he became a caiulidate for the legis- 
 lature but was defeated. He was an Adams man, the whig party 
 not yet having assumed its name. He now pursued surveying 
 and occupied his spare time in readiug law. In 1834 he again 
 ofl'ered for the legislature and was elected as a member for San- 
 gamon, the village of his residence, since Menard county, was then 
 still in Sangamon. He was for four successive terms re-elected 
 from the same county, but after his tirst session, by the advice 
 of a friend, to whom he ever felt grateful, he gave u]) the businessof 
 surveyi ug, settled in Springfield and thenceforward gave his atten- 
 tion wholly to the law. Duringhis 8 years in the legislature he was a 
 serviceable mendjer, belonging to the minority party all the time, 
 and attained some distinction. He was twice the whig candidate 
 for speaker, which was acom[)liment but an empty honor. Li 
 1837 he sustained the visionary scheme of the State Internal 
 Imi)rovement system, which nearly bankrupted the State, doubt- 
 less like all others, with the best, but mistaken intentions. Still 
 it is to be remembered that as one of the ''long nine" from San- 
 gamon, who acting constantly as a unit, artfully contrived nmny 
 combinations during that eventful session, always with an eye 
 single to removing the capital from Yandalia to Springfield. Out 
 of all the reckless schemes of that session, the constituents of Mr. 
 Lincoln in Springfield were the only ones who ever derived any 
 permanent benefit from any of them. He was a vigorous opponent 
 of the partisan reorganization of the supreme court in 1841. 
 
 He now (1842) devoted himself exclusively to the i)ractice of his 
 profession, in which he attained a high standing as a lawyer, and 
 particularly as an advocate. Before a jury he had few equals 
 either in originality, humor or i^athos. His most effective oratory 
 was of the persuasive order. While he sought to lead a jury b^' 
 the force of logical reasoning and striking similes, whatever his i)os- 
 tulate, he seldom attempted to drive them either by intimidation 
 or the x)Ower of detailed argumentation, to awaken perhaps their 
 obstinacy or tire tliem into listlessness. He Avould contrive to put 
 them in good humor by apt and original turns on his antaginiist, 
 his inimitable manner and complete acting being his most effective 
 aids for this purpose ; gain their favor; enlist their interest ; then 
 touch their sympathies by the power of his pathos, and wring from 
 them a verdict. His most effective weapons with which to assail 
 or demolish the argumejits of opposing counsel, either of attack or 
 defense, were his powers of ridicule, originality and quaint logical 
 reasoning. To the beginner at the bar he w^as kind, indulgent 
 and ever ready to render assistance without ostentation. He was 
 full of humor, overflowing with anecdote, and loved a neat, harm- 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 705 
 
 less practical joke. With rare capacity for treasuring np anecdotes, 
 he had a fund to aptly illustrate almost every circumstance in 
 life. Many were original with him, as he had an eye constantly 
 on the look-out for theliumorous or grotesque in everything, and 
 a good point never escaped his attention, nor snffcrcd in the ren- 
 dering. Among the older members of the Illinois bar his humorous 
 sayings, oddities, and ])ointed anecdotes are yet current. 
 
 During the i>residential contest of 1844, Mr. Lincoln canvassed 
 the State for Henry Clay, the beloved chief of all the old whigs. 
 In 1S4(; he was elected to congress, taking his seat in the lower 
 liouscat tlie same time that Douglas entered the senate. lie was the 
 oidy wliigiu the Illinois delegation, and in common with his party, 
 opiH>sed the ^lexican war. He introduced a set of resolntions shortly 
 after, proposing aninquiry as to the exact spot ui)ou Texan soil 
 where American blood was first s})i!led by the Mexicans. These 
 resolutions gained some notoriety for their quisical and witty char- 
 acter, and liave been generally known as his "spot resolntions." He 
 supported the "Wihnot proviso" attached to the bill appropriating 
 $3,000,(H)0 for the war— being the same which Mr. Donglas moved 
 to amend by prohibiting slaxery from all acciuired territory north of 
 of oOd. oOm., but whi(;h was lost. Mr. Liiu;oln declined the candidacy 
 for re-election in 1848. In 1849 he Urst received the complimentary 
 vote of his party for U. S. seiuitor. He was again their candidate 
 in l8oo, but through the obstinacy of ahandfnlof anti-Nebraska 
 democrats, Mr. Trumbull was elected, as we have seen. 
 
 Mr. Lincoln was truly great in nniny traits of his character. 
 Chief among these may be mentioned his fidelity to the right, 
 tirmiiess to principle, fortitude to duty, honesty and tenacity of 
 pur{H>se, and moral courage, united to such amiable attributes as 
 kindness of heart, forbearance for others, eiuluring patience, mod- 
 esty and geutleness of disposition. All these virtues he i)ossessed 
 in an eminent deree. Some of his old, intimate and loving friends* 
 say that he was ambitious, V)ut his ambition was so tempered with 
 patience, that it never would have, as it did not, overleap itself. 
 
 His op[)osition to slavery was grounded ui)ouits inherent moral 
 M'rongfnlness — that it was a great evil, socially, politically, and 
 materially. His conscience revolted at its injustice, its degrada- 
 tion and cruelty. His heart naturally symi)athized with the op- 
 })ressed. Douglas, born and reared in free States, while he 
 doubtless regarded slavery as a clog and hindrance to the material 
 advancemeut of a people or State, never disclosed by any expres- 
 sion, either written or spoken, his conception of its moral enor- 
 mity. The refrain of his speeches was ever to let the people decide 
 it in their own way — '"I do not care whether slavery is voted up or 
 down." 
 
 Mr. Lincoln's speeches and writings bear the stamp of strong 
 individuality — peculiarly Lincolnian — which crops out in nearly 
 every paragraph. They abound in short pithy sentences, separate 
 and distinct in themselves, approaching to aphorisms. Many of 
 them are stamped with immortality. They are sublime conceptions 
 of great truths, clothed in few but ami)le words, which will live in 
 the remote cycles of time, when his more painstaking sentences 
 and carefnlly-studied arguments may be lost under the moldering 
 
 * Hon. J. K. Dubois. 
 
 45 
 
706 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 (lust of ages. "Slavery is foumled in tlie selfishness of man's 
 nature — opposition to it iu tlie love of justice," he exehiiined at 
 Peoria iu 1854. "Eepeal the Missouri couii)roinise — repeal all 
 coini)ro]uises — repeal the Declaration of Independence — rei)e;d all 
 past history — you still cannot re[)eai luunan nature. Jt still will 
 be iu the abuinlauce of man's lieart that slavery extension is wrong, 
 aud, out of the abundance of his heart his mouth will continue to 
 speak." Evidently he was deeply read in the book of books, the 
 Bible, as the last sentence above shows, and he ])ossessed the 
 hai)py faculty of weaving its sublime sentiments with his own 
 thoughts and expressions. His speeches bore abundant testinumy 
 to this. Politicians should ever bear in mind this broad text from 
 him, that ours is a "governnn^nt of the peoi)le, for the i)eoi)le and 
 by tlie »i)e()ple." But time and circumstam-es considered, it will 
 be diftlcult to find sentiments outside of the inspire<l book more 
 touchingly beautiful than the closing paragraph of his last inau- 
 gural address : "With malice toward none, with charity for all, 
 with firmness in the right as God gives us to see the right, let us 
 stri\'e on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds, 
 and care for him who shall have borne tlie battle, and for his 
 widow and his or}»hans — to do all which may achieve and cherish 
 a just and lasting peace among ourselves and with all nations." 
 
 To fully appreciate Mr. Lincoln as an orator he must be both 
 heard and seen— he conveyed so much nu'aning by gesture and 
 manner. And even then many of his sentiments were so terse 
 that it was imi)ossible to do him justice ; iu)r can this be done by 
 a casual reading after him. He seemed to be aware of this him- 
 self, for in pre[)aring his early writings or speeches for the i>ress, 
 understrokes for italics and capitals were freely resorted to, to 
 give them [)Ower and em[)hasis. 
 
 Both these senatorial candidates used simple, i)lain but exact 
 language, and eschewed mere word-painting. They sought to 
 reach the understandingof the common people, ami indulged little 
 in the sweeping roundness of grand oratory. The best s])eeche.s 
 of Mr. Lincoln's life are said to ha\e been made four years i)ri<)r to 
 this contest, when the Missouri compromise was first re])ealed, in 
 answer to Douglas, who sought to justify himself before the i)eo- 
 ple. Mr. Lincoln was looking forward at the tinu^ to be(U)me the 
 successor to Shields in the senate. One made at Peoria. October 
 16, 1854, is recorded, and is a chaste and ])owerful argnnumt. It 
 received a wide circulation. The one made 12 days before at 
 Springfield, in debate with Mr. Douglas, being the first time that 
 these chami)ions measured their strength, is not recorded. It is 
 said to have greatly exceeded the former in boldness of sentiment, 
 force of argument, beauty and moving eloquence. It was made 
 in the representatives' hall in presence of the first State re})ubli- 
 can convention, when that party was in its chrysalis state, and a 
 great throng of peoi)le from all parts of the State attending the 
 first State fair. A ctmtemporary writer describing it says: Every 
 mind present did homage to the man who took heart and bioke 
 like a sun over tbe understanding ; he shivered the Nebraska 
 ini(piity as a tree of the forest is torn and rent asunder, by hot 
 bolts of truth.* 
 
 • See 111. state Journal, Oct. 18, 1854. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 707 
 
 Such is our brief siiiuining- up of the li^es and cliaraeter of these 
 jireat representative men, upon whose contest in Illinois for the 
 seiiatorsliip rested tlie eager e^yes of tlie entii'c nation, s<» iMi])(>rtant 
 were the political issues for which thcv contended. The combat- 
 ants were not unacquainted with each other's strength, for as we 
 liave seen they had previously crossed their trenchant blades of 
 argument, logic and debate in the political arena.* 
 
 THE CANVASS. 
 
 We have seen that tlie State republican convention in June de- 
 clared .Air. Lincoln the first and only choice of its ])arty for the 
 •senatorial seat of Mv. Douglas. Mr. Lincoln was not unprei»arcd 
 for this action of the convention. The choice of Trumbull over 
 liini in isr»r>had gained him the sympathy of his party, and he was 
 Ulicnce tacitly looked forward to as the successor of Mr. Douglas 
 foiu- years later. This he a))j)reciated himself When Douglas, 
 (who well understood this also,) therefore, in June. 1857, during a 
 lull iu political excitem<Mit, found, or created, an occasion, through 
 the invitation of the U. S. grand Jury sitting at Sjtringlield, to air 
 his [Mtlitical views and [>ossibly forestall public o[)inion, Mr. Lin- 
 coln was ou the alert, and after some time for i)reparation, two 
 weeks later answere<l Douglas' s})eech from the same stand, and 
 had it also published. The conv<'ntion now (June l(j, 1858,) took 
 a recess until 8 o'clock in the evening, wheJi Mr. Lincoln addressed 
 them ill a carefully prepared speech, whose opening sentences — 
 truly LijKX)lnian — aftewards attained so much celebrity, we sid)- 
 join : 
 
 "If we could fii-st know icho-e we are, and u-hUher we are tending, we 
 could tliea better judge what to do, and how to doit. 
 
 "We are now far into the tifth year since a policy was Initiated with 
 the ■awuvd object, and confilau promise, of putting au end to slavery 
 agitation. 
 
 "Under the operation of that policy, that agitation has not only not 
 
 cki.skI^ but has conxfnnt/i/ augmented 
 
 "In my opinion it m/l not cease until a n-isis shall have been reached 
 and passed— 'A house divided against itself cannot stand.' 
 
 "I believe this government cannot endure ijermauently half s/aw and 
 half /'/f*-. I do not expect tlie Union to be disso/ved — I do uot expect 
 tlie bouse to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will 
 become af/ one thing, or a/l the other. Either the opponents of slavery 
 will arrest the further spread of it, and place it Avhere the public mind 
 shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction ; or, 
 it,ii'idr<ic<uex will put it forward, till it shall become alike lawful in all 
 tlie States, «/(/ as well as ?if Ml — uo7i/i as well as xonlh. Have we no lendaiey 
 to the latter condition?" 
 
 — proceeding to argue that we had under the Nebraska doctrine 
 and the Dred Scott decision. f 
 
 These at the time bold and advanced political sentiments were 
 uttered 4 mouths prior to the euunciatioii of Mr. Seward's cele- 
 
 *The followiug figure, to illustrate the relative merits of the contestants, current at 
 the time, views this civil battle Iroin a militai-y stiuiflnoint. We leave the reader to 
 estimate its fairness : Douglas marshnlhiil ;ili m^ tucis u ith the view to concentrate 
 them with terrible and irresistible onslaught upon a given pDiiit of liis aiirersary's line 
 of battle, and with great power and energy attem|>ts to rout the enemy from his 
 strongest position. Lincoln in his argument breaksout all along his entire battle line 
 in sudden charges, unsurpassed in brilliancy of execution, affording subjects for the 
 poet's pen to live in heroic verse for perhaps countless ages 
 
 ••■See 111. State Journal, June 18, 1858. The above is from a draft made by Mr. Lincoln 
 himself, italics and all. 
 
708 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 brated "inepiessible conflict" doctrine, which rendered that states- 
 man the coniiiion target for all the opposition i>olitical sliafts 
 throngiiout the land. Mr. Lincoln's had not only precedence, but 
 they were more comprehensive and direct ; and is it any wonder 
 that political sentiments so axiomatic dwelt in the hearts of the 
 people, and subsequently turned the nation's eye upon the man 
 whose mind conceived them ? But they also furnislied Mr, J)ouy- 
 las a handle with which to ring- upon his opi)onent, with inces.sant 
 repetition, all the changes of detested abolitionism, disunion and 
 civil war with its liorrid concomitants, until they told with deep 
 eifect upon the masses. 
 
 The rei)ublican ])ress demanded for Mr. Lincoln, with frequent 
 iteration, a free ])olitical fight, whi(;h was no less freely tendered 
 by Mr. Douglas, who, before he left Washington, matured his 
 preparations for a vigorous and thorough stuniping canvass, to 
 embrace the amjjle field of the entire State, isowithstanding his 
 oi)en rupture with the administration, which was i)ursning him 
 into Illinois, the grudging- support of the State democratic con- 
 vention at its meeting- in April forced liim into a i)lau of can)- 
 l^aign somewhat conciliatory toward the administration, but war 
 to the knife against the anti-slavery heresies, as he called them, 
 enunciated in the i)latform of principles adopted by the State 
 republican convention, and i)articularly against the advanced anti- 
 slavery i)ositio]i of their senatorial non)inee. The rejMiblicans, to 
 promote the chism in the democratic ranks, encouraged the Buc- 
 hanan followers in various ways by favorable notices of their 
 meetings, i)ublishing- their proceedings, flattering their efibrtKS, &c- 
 
 Douglas, on his arrival from Washington, was received at Chi- 
 cago by an immense concourse of people with shouts and huzzahs^ 
 amidst the roar of cannon, music from bands and the escort of a 
 blaze of fire-works. He entered directly upon the cami)aign by 
 addressing his first speech from the balcony of the Tremont Hotel 
 to a perfect sea of human faces upturned in the thronged street 
 below. He re affirmed his doctjine of poi)ular sovereignty with 
 great force, stood by the ])latform, and acquiesced in the Dred 
 Scott decision while it remained the law. He then paid his 
 respects to Mr. Ijincoln, who was present on the balcony, takiiig* 
 for a text his couvention speech, that a liouse divided against 
 itself cannot stand — that the government could not endure half 
 slave and half free, which he assailed with a logical power and 
 vehemence unsuri»assed in his generation, leaving a dee}) and 
 abiding impression upon his auditory. He further denounced the 
 unholy alliance of the republicans with the unscrupulous pro- 
 slavery Buchanan oftice-holders to compass his defeat, as unnatu- 
 ral, declaring his jturpose to fire his broadsides, as the Russians 
 did at Sel)astop(»l, regardless of which were hit, Turk or Christian. 
 
 At the conclusion of his speech, loud (;alls were made by the 
 crowd for Mr. Lincoln, lie declined si)caking-, but made an 
 appointment for the following- evening, when he replied to Mr. 
 Douglas from tlu^ same stand. A larger, denser and more enthu- 
 siastic crowd, if that were possible, greeted the rei)ublican chief- 
 tain, the windows and balconies of the houses on both sides of 
 the street and the street itself being literally packed with men 
 and women. Procession alter ])r()cession with bands of music 
 arrived on the ground amidst a brilliant pyrotechnic display. Mr. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 709 
 
 Lincoln ou his appearance was hailed with a storm of applause. 
 He denied the charge of an alliance between the republicans and 
 the federal ofitice-holders, but the former would certainly do noth- 
 ing to [)revent the democratic schism, and reminded Douglas that 
 if he was the "rngged Russian bear," it was a very suggestive 
 circumstance that the ''allies" did take Sebastopol — which was 
 very hap[)y. He declared Douglas' great doctrine of squatter 
 sovereignty as old as the Declaration of Independen(;e itself; that 
 governments derived their just i^owers from the consent of the 
 governed; but ridiculed the idea of its compatibility with the 
 Dred Scott decision, which held slavery to exist in all the territo- 
 ries by virtue of the constitution, with which neither congress nor 
 the territorial legislature could interfere. Hence no man could 
 consistently stand both by that decision and the Cincinnati plat- 
 form, which declared the sovereignty of the territories absolute 
 as that of the States. He maintained the power of congress to 
 exclude slavery from the territories, notwithstanding the decision 
 of the supreme c<:)urt. 
 
 But Doiigijis' great assault upon his convention si)eech, that a 
 divided house could not stand, that the government could not 
 endure half slave and half free — had the effect to throw him upou 
 the defensive, from which he did not recover during the canvass. 
 He [>lead — "I did not say that I was in favor of anything in it. 
 I only -said what I expecttd would take place. J made a predic- 
 tion only; it may have been a foolish one perhaps." 
 
 Mr. Lincoln had taken bold and advanceil ground. We who 
 liav e lived to see his words fultilled can hardly ap[)reciate their 
 full iniport as applied to those times. The striking deductions 
 that Douglas niade from theui, apparently irresistible in their con- 
 clusions then, and which have become history since, tended to 
 ♦Irive their author into the then detested ranks of the abolition- 
 disuniouists, hated of nearly all men, and need we wojuler at Mr. 
 Lincolavs shrinking' from the position thus h)gi('ally as.sigiied to 
 liim, or at the defense of himself, as we have quoted ? Douglas 
 did not intermit his blows upon this point during the canvass, but 
 iuinimered and battered away at it continuously. It was his 
 jstronghold, and underit he crowded his antagonist unceasingly. 
 Indeed son»e rei>ublican papers got to denying- that Lincoln ever 
 uttered the sentiment. It lost him the senatorshij* then, but 
 ats unceasing iteration placed him prominently before the country, 
 and two years later it gained tor him the presidency. A prophet 
 ss not without honor save in his own country. 
 
 An I now blazed forth in full splendor that remarkable canvass 
 all over the State. The prairies seeemed animated with political 
 fervor and discussions. The peoj>le did or talked little else. The 
 business of railroads increased enormously. The trains were alive 
 with the people and exeursions were the order of the day. In 
 attendance uiH>n the great leaders were swarms of politicians, 
 rcpla('e<l from time to tiuieas rapidly as they drop[»ed off, besides 
 jonrnnlists, reporters and others drawn by the excitemejit of the 
 occasion. The ladies not unfrequently nu't the trains containing 
 the icaders and attendaiitsand s[nead for thens bounte<nisre[tasts- 
 Indced creature comforts were occasionally furnished on the cars. 
 Up and d<»wn the State and through its length an<l breadth, by 
 rail, by carriage, raged the great i)olitical battle of the giants. 
 
710 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The people seemingly were aglow with the fire of their resjiective 
 party leaders. Tlie contest was the most exciting- in our history. 
 
 As an illustration of what was kept up all over the State, both 
 on occasion of the joint debates and the separate discussions, we 
 will describe Douglas' first trip, made on the Chicago & Alton 
 railroad to Springfield, Mr, Lincoln being also aboard. Douglas 
 and a party of friends left Chicago Friday morning, June Kith. 
 The train, although it was the regular passenger, was tastily dec- 
 orated with riags and banners, inscribed with the iiaino of the 
 senator, appropriate mottoes, such as ^'champion of the people," 
 '^popular sovereignty," &c. At Bridgeport a numerous body of 
 laborers quit their work to cheer the senator as the train swejit by, 
 At Lockport a momentAs halt was made, and hearty greetings 
 were exchanged with the assembled friends, amidst the handker- 
 chief wavings of welcome from numerous ladies. At Joliet its arrival 
 was announced by the boonung otcainion, and upon the senator's 
 ap])earance the thousands assembled rent the air with their cheers. 
 He had only time to thank them for their cordial welcome. A 
 uumenms ])arty of friends here joined them for Si>ringfield. A 
 platform car was attached to the rear of the train, carrying a can- 
 non to herald their ai)[)roach at every station along the rouf<'. 
 At Wilmington the salute of a 6-pounder was answered by this 
 piece on board. A large concourse of people had assembled, and 
 as the train drew up a fine band played "Hail to the Chief!" fol- 
 lowed, on the appearance of the senator, by air-s])littiiig clu'crs 
 from the crow d, men swinging their hats, and ladies waving their 
 handkerchiefs, making a scene of indescri)>able enthusiasni an<l 
 joy. Temler greetings and kindly expressions were exchange(i 
 with the rei)resentative of the great principle of self-government. 
 At every station these glowing scenes were repeated. 
 
 At Bioomington, where it was appointed for Douglas to sjK^ak, 
 suitable arrangeM)ents for his welcome had been made. The day 
 was inauspicious, but the i>eople had gathered in large luimbers 
 through rain andnuul. The Bioomington Guards in full uniform, 
 citizens, mounted, on foot and in carriages, formed into line as an 
 escort to the civic hero. A salute of 32 guns was fired on the ap- 
 proach of the train, and the appearance of the senator was followed 
 by the usual expressions of enthusiasm greatly augmented. Doug- 
 las entered a carriage and a i)rocession was formed whiith moved 
 through the priiuM})al streets, lined on either side with dense 
 nuisses of i>eople, the windows and balconies of the houses filled 
 with ladies waving their handkerchiefs. The Laiulon House, the 
 sto]>i)ing ])lace, was appropriately decorated with flags and nM>ttoes 
 of weh^onui for the occasion. At night there was a grand ]>yrotech- 
 ni(^ disi)lay, the court house was brilliantly iHuminated, and 
 Douglas addressed the people in the public square. Mr. Lincoln 
 was called out, but excused himself on the gTouudofits being 
 Douglas' ovation. 
 
 On the following morning a special train took the party, whicii 
 was further joined by the Bioomington Guards with their can- 
 non and a large number of citizens, to Springfield. Tlie train 
 Avas ap])ropriately decorated with beautiful flags and inscriptions. 
 
 At Atlanta both Douglas and Lincoln were called out by a 
 large assemblage of people, and both excused themselves from 
 speaking. At Lincoln a halt was made for dinnei*. The town 
 
SErJATOES IN CONGRESS. 711 
 
 Avas crowded with people, and tbe reception was splendid. The 
 piinci[);il street Avas si)auned by a triumphal arch — a graceful 
 combination of leaves, flowers and evergreens, and small banners 
 with mottoes, surmounted by a large one inscribed "Douglas For- 
 ever." The Lincoln House was also beantifully decorated, and, 
 after partaking of a sumptuous repast, Douglas made a brief but 
 happy address, received the congratulations of his friends, when 
 the excursionists sped on their way towards the capital, the i)re- 
 vious scenes being repeated at every station. At Willianisville, 
 committees from counties south, east and west of Sangamon, met 
 the train, and the party being greatly increased, two engines were 
 brought into requisition; and thus with cannons tiring, bands 
 playing martial airs, the train, amidst the greetings, shoutings, 
 and joys of a large multitude, sped into the capital city. A halt 
 was made at Edwards' Grove, where, notwithstanding the occa- 
 sional rain, the people from far and near had waited by thousands, 
 and were now addressed by Douglas for three hours in one of his 
 most masterly efforts.* 
 
 At night Mr. Lincoln spoke in the city. He had not heard 
 Douglas. We subjoin the opening remarks : 
 
 *'Fellow-Citizens : Another election which is deemed an important 
 one is approaching, and, as I suppose, tlie republican party will, with- 
 out niucli difficulty, elect their State ticket. But in regard to the legis- 
 hiture we, the republicans, labor under some disadvaiatages." This ne 
 attributed to a want of change in the apportionment of representatives 
 in tlie legislature, still based upon the census of 1850, which bore with 
 unequal effect upon the north part of the State, tlie republican strong- 
 hold, which had nearly doubled its population since then, while in the 
 soutli part no corresponding increase had taken place. 
 
 He further alluded to some disadvantages of a personal character, in 
 the following humorous vein : 
 
 "Tliere is still another disadvantage under which we labor, and to 
 which I ask your attention. It arises out of the relative positions of the 
 two persons who stand before you as candidates for the senate. Senator 
 Douglas is of world-wide renown. All the anxious politicians of liis 
 party have been looking to him as certainly, at no very distant day to be 
 the i^resident of the United States. They have seen in his round, jolly 
 fruitful face post-offices, land-offices, marshalships, and cabinet ap- 
 pointments, chargeships and foreign missions, bursting and spouting 
 out in wonderful exuberance, ready to be laid liold of by their greedy 
 hands. (Great laughter.) And as they have been gazing upon this at- 
 tractive picture so long they cannot, in the little distraction that has 
 taken place in the party, bring tliemselves to quite give up the charming 
 hope ; but with greedier anxiety tliey rush about him, sustain him, 
 give him marclies, triumphal entries, and receptions beyond what even 
 in the days of his highest prosperity they could have brought about in 
 his favor. On the contrary, nobody has ever expected me to be presi- 
 dent. In my poor, lean, lank face nobody has ever seen that any cabba- 
 ges wei-e sprouting out." [See Illinois State Register, July 22, 1858.] 
 
 How differently two year's time showed the result. But not- 
 withstanding all these disadvantages, one week later he addressed 
 Douglas a note dated Chicago July 24th, by the hand of the Hon. 
 N. 15. Judd, for an arrangement to ''address the same aiuliences 
 the present canvass." Mr. Douglas answered on the same day 
 that under the advice of the democratic State central committee 
 a list of appointments running into October had been made for 
 him, at which legislative and congressional candidates would also 
 
 •Condensed from 111. State Register of July 19, 1858. 
 
712 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 bei)reseiit occupying the wLole time. His wily nature led him 
 further to suggest that in comi)aiiy with Mr. Lincoln Avould be a 
 third candidate for the senate, canvassing the State for the sole 
 purpose of dividing the democratic vote, Avho Avould also claim a 
 portion of the time from the same stand ; and further in the same 
 politic vein expressed his surprise that Mr. Lincoln should have 
 Avaited till after his appointments were out when they had been 
 together a luimber of times before; but while not at liberty to 
 change his a])}»oiutnu^nts he took the responsibility to stipulate 
 for joint discussions in 7 congressional districts, one in each, they 
 having already both spoken in the2dand(Jth — Chicago and Spring- 
 field. He named Ottawa, Freeport, Quincy, Jonesboro, Charles- 
 ton, Galesbuig and Alton, the si>eakiiig to alternate by oi)ening 
 fori hour, answering 1^, and replying ^ — he taking the oi)enings 
 at the first and last places. Mr. Lincoln replied protestingagainst 
 the insinuations of unfairness, Aviiich, he thought groundless and 
 unjust; denied any knowlege of his plan of ap{)ointments ; 
 thought Douglas had the advantage in the openings and closings 
 of the s])eaking, and accei>ted the proposition. But their sepa- 
 rate appointments were such also that they usually followed each 
 other in rapid order, in one i)lace, Sullivan, on the same day. 
 
 Thechanipionsfirstmet for joint discussion at Ottawa. They were 
 attended by short-hand reporters, many leading news{>apersabrt)ad 
 had their special correspondents on the ground, and the speeches 
 were carefully taken down and widely circulated. It is not our 
 purpose to give a synopsis of the debates, which have been fully 
 published, but to draw attention to a few leading occurrences. 
 
 Douglas here propouiuled 7 questions to Mr. Lincoln, all based 
 upon a resolution that he mistakeidy supposed the first State 
 republican convention had adopted at Springtield, October 4, 
 1854, and which had recognized ^Ir. Tvincoln by placing liim on 
 the State central committee. The leading question was whether 
 he favored the unconditioiud rei)eal of tlie fugitive slave law? 
 The resolution proposed " to repeal and entirely abrogate the fugi- 
 tive slave law;" but Mr. Lincoln had already declared his reluct- 
 ant support of a just and equitable fugitive slave law, because the 
 constitution was mandatory upon that point, and the re})ublican 
 conventions of 185G-8 had omitted to declare against the remli- 
 tion of fugitives from labor. Douglas, to prove Lincoln's i)osi- 
 tion extreme or in<;onsistent, as also the rei)ublicans generally, 
 made use of this resolution — into which he was led by the Si)ring- 
 field Register, wliich liad published it with the i>roceedn>gs of the 
 convention. It was really a resolution ad(»pted by a Kane county 
 meeting; but Mr. Ijincoln was not aware of the mortifying mis- 
 take Douglas had fallen into. The republican press, however, 
 soon unea.rthed it, and the opi)ortunity to assail Douglas thus 
 afltbrded was fully availed. Its columns teenuMl with chaiges of 
 ''bold and deliberate forgery," "unparalleled nu^ulacity," ''dast- 
 ardly infamy," «&<;.* 
 
 At Freei)ort, days after, Mr. Lincoln answered Douglas's inter- 
 rogatories, this one in the negative, and then i)roi)ounded 4 to 
 
 * To show the depth of party and personal t'eeliiiB' ayainst Douglas at the time, the 
 Chioaso Pce.ss A- 7'//7<i///f' spoke of hitn at Ottawa, as follows: "He liowlcfS, he ranted, 
 he bellowed, he pawed dill, he shook his head, he turned livid in the faee. he striiek 
 ills rijiht hand into his kit. he foamed at tiie mouth, he anathematized, he cursed, be 
 exulted, he domineered— he played Douglas." 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 713 
 
 Dou.ijla.s, which the latter proceeded to answer immediately, 
 making them the subject of his speech. While this proved his 
 ready and wonderful powers of debate, it would have perliaps 
 been well to have deliberated some time as Mr. Lincoln had done. 
 The 2d interro<4atory was : "Can the people of a United States ter- 
 ritory, in any lawful way, against the wishes of any citizen of the 
 Uidted States, exclude slavery from its limits prior to the forma- 
 tion of a State constitution f 
 
 The Dred Scott decision was, that congress had no right to pro- 
 hibit a citizen of the United States from takingany property which 
 he lawfully held into a territory of the United States ', and that 
 if congress could not do this, it could not authorize a territorial 
 government, in the absence of any distinction in property, to 
 exchide shives, which were property under the constitution. In 
 his Chicago speech, Doughis had said that to this decision of the 
 august tribunal of the supreme court he bowed with deference. 
 Now he said : ''I answer emphatically that in my opinion the peo- 
 ple of a territory can by lawful means exclude slavery before it 
 comes in as a State. Mr. Lincoln knew that I had given that 
 answer over and over again." But in the very next breath he inti- 
 mated that this could only be done by the adoi)tion of unfrieiidly 
 police regulations, by the territorial legislature withholding the 
 needed local or numicipal laws, without which slavery could not 
 exist a day anywhere. 
 
 The Freeport speech caused Douglas to be severelj' denounced, 
 not onlyat home but abroad, by republicans, for his gross inconsist- 
 ency and change of front, and throughout the south as having at 
 last.sJiown hiy cloven foot; they couldhave no further conftdence in 
 a northern nmn who unnecessarily espoused theirinterests against 
 liis own section. 
 
 After this the general scoi)e of their discussions was not mate- 
 rially eidarged. It was shivery in the territories and the rights 
 of the peo[)le in rebition thereto, Mr. Lincoln insisting that con- 
 gress, notwithstanding the obiter dictum of the supreme court in 
 the JJred Scott decision, had the right, the same as when the ordi- 
 nance of 1787 was ado[)ted, to exclude slavery, and ought to ex- 
 ercise it; and Mr. Douglas holding that the vexed question ought 
 to be referred to the people of the territory immediately con- 
 cerned, to settle as their other domestic institutions in their own 
 sovereign way, subject oidy to the constitution of the United 
 States. Mr. Lincoln did not assume an attitude of hostility to 
 slaveiy in the States, other than that he desired it "to be put in 
 course of ultimate extinction," the language of his first conven- 
 tion si)eech. He did not repeat or enlarge upon the extreme 
 ground of this speech, but constantly guarded against it, though 
 Douglas throughout the debates essayed to push him on to it. 
 
 \\'liilst there were but 7 joint discussions, the two champions 
 had their separate programmes for speaking so arranged for them 
 that they addressed very nearly the same crowds in many coun- 
 ties of the State, some times on the same day, but oftener with only 
 a very short tinie interveuiiig. lu Sullivan, Moultrie county, wIku'C 
 they si)oke on the sauie day, a serious collision between their 
 respective crowds was imminent for a time. Mr. Lincoln hadi)ur 
 posed deferring his speech to the last, but as a separate stand had 
 been elected by the republicans in the north part of the town, 
 
714 IIISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tliey formed a })ro('t's;si()Ji of tlieir forces, and in marcbing tliitlier 
 attempted to go right tbionglj tlie other crowd in the street where 
 Douglas was si)eal<ing, and out of tlieir way. This was not to be 
 broolced ; a i)arley ensued, during which the band wagon was 
 attempted to be driven through tlie crowd and a conflict was the 
 immedate result. But through the commaijding voice of Doug- 
 las, beycmd a few blows, a general melee was averted. 
 
 At Winchester, his first home, Douglas' enthusiastic greeting 
 was deei)ly touching. The old county of Scott was never so aroused 
 before. His arrival was announced by the roar of cannon and 
 the glad shouts of a large assemblage. Here among these people 
 the now great senator had first cast his lot a i)enniless stranger. 
 Here he had taught school, and among his auditory were gray- 
 haired sires and fond old matrons who had entrusted to him the 
 education of their children, and i)ui)ils whom he had taught. All 
 the old settlers well remembered him in his i)overty and ol)scurity, 
 and doubtless the entire community were now animated by that 
 pleasant pride and affection which said ''we are the nnikers of this 
 great man'' — glorying in his fame and ])rosperity — and with that 
 feeling welcomed the whilom schoolmaster iii his i>resent character 
 of the great American statesman. Let the rea<ler trust both the 
 heart and mind of Douglas to suitably deal with the occasion of 
 such a kindly reunion, and dis})lay to the utmost those wonderful 
 powers of eloquence which were i)laced under additional tribute 
 by the time, circumstance and place. He alludeil, in the most 
 touching manner, to his advent and residence at Winchester, his 
 early struggles and honest efforts for a beginning in a strange 
 land ; the ready imagination of his hearers readily suggesting the 
 rest, while many a tear of joy crei)t down furrowed clieelcs as the 
 spontaneous outburst of cheers from friend and iK)liti(;al foe rent 
 the air, and attested the oi>inion of all in entire ai>probation of his 
 subsequent career, more exalted, but among true Americans, not 
 more honorable. The audience and occasion were suggestive of a 
 rich vein of sentimental topics to the orator, and none escai)ed 
 him or were omitted. It is a source of regret that this sjteech, so 
 well calculated to give us a fuller insight into the depth of Doug- 
 las' better nature, was not recorded. 
 
 The result of the election returned to the legislature, in the 
 house, 40 democrats and 35 republicans; the senate stood 14 dem- 
 ocrats and 11 rei)ublicans, giving the former 8 majority on joint 
 ballot. The rei)ublicans carried the State by a i)lurality, the v«)te 
 standing: republicans, 124,()'J8 ; democrats, 121,190; IJuchanan 
 demociats, and scattering, 4,803. 
 
 And now the administration clique, defeated in their efibrts to 
 beat Douglas, fell out among themselves, and blamed each other 
 for the residt. It seems that some of the Uuchaium ofdce-liolders, 
 like Ike Cook and others, favored the direct su])i)ort of the repub- 
 licans at the polls, while others, like E. B. Cari)enter,t etc., made 
 the fight against Douglas and the republicans, both, on i)rinciple. 
 JMany charges of subser\'iency, gross decei)tion of the president as 
 to their strength, blumlers, follies and villainies, were bandied 
 back and forth. Col. John Dougherty, the administration candi- 
 
 *See 111. State Register, Sept. 25, 1858 
 
 tSee his letter to Chicago Democrat, Nov., 1858. 
 
SENATORS IN CONGRESS. 715 
 
 date for treasurer, wLo liad received less tliaii 5,000 votes out of 
 the one-fourth of a iiiillioii east, issued a manifesto to the people 
 of Illinois, through the Cairo G'asv:,'/.', "reading the entire demo- 
 cratic party out of the party, and insisting that their delegates 
 should not be admitted to the,, Charleston convention [in 1800].""" 
 The Buchanan party now affected to believe that Douglas would 
 be defeated before the legislature; but when the time came there 
 were no opponents to him before the demo(;ratic caucus, t though 
 Le was absent, and he was re-elected by 51 votes to Mr. Lincoln 
 40. He telegrai)hed back from Baltimore — "Let the voice of the 
 people rule." 
 
 Thus terminated this unprecedented senatorial contest, which 
 was waged throughout with a vigor ami spirit which had no par- 
 allel in the history of })arties in this or any other fc!tate. Both the 
 gi'eat i)olitical organizations fought with a lierceness which never 
 lagged for a moment, but increased with every coming day. With 
 Douglas, apparently, his })olitical fortune was at stake. The rei)ub- 
 licans, after the election, complimented Mr. Lincoln for the strong 
 and noble tight he had made, what no other unin in the State 
 could have done for the cause ; and they consoled him in the lan- 
 guage of Pope: 
 
 "More true joy Mareellus exiled feels 
 Tliau CsBsar with avwc't-at liis /(«7.v." 
 
 Mr. Lincoln was thus brought conspicuouly before the nation as 
 one of the ablest leaders of the opposition ; and, in the humble 
 oi>inion of the writer, this great (contest, which i)rimarily resulted 
 simi)ly in the making of a U. S. senator of one of the contestants, 
 directed the public eye to the merits of the other, and caused him 
 to become the standard bearer, two years later, of that part}' 
 Avhose cardinal principle demanded freedom for the i)ublic domain, 
 and which, aided by the divisions in the ranks of the democracy, 
 carried him by their voices triunii>hantly into the i)residential 
 chair ; which the south deemed a snfticient affront for disunion. 
 
 Having consumed so much space to comi)lete the sketch of our 
 senators in congress, Ave can only say that to the seat of Donglas, 
 after his death in 18(51, succeeded, 1st, the Hon. O. H. Browning 
 by appointment from Gov. Yates ; 2d, the legislature in 1803, be- 
 ing (leniocratic, and iiei'ce in i)artisan s|)irit, Browning failed of 
 contirmation, and the Hon. ^V. A. Ifichardson was elected for the 
 remainder of Douglas' unex)>ired term. In the three executive 
 a[>pointments to senatorial vacancies in the history of the State — 
 Baker in 18o0, Semple in 1813, and Browning in 1801— only one, 
 that of Semple, has been contirmed by the legislature. In LS05 
 Kichard Yates was eleiitedto the same seat for a full term, and he 
 in 1871 was succeeded by Gen. John A. Logan, who is the secoiul 
 native Illinoisan that has ever tilled that exalted office for this 
 State. 
 
 * "Not bavins the fear of numbers before his eyes, he boMly ruled the 121,000 demo- 
 crats who voted for Doujihis, out, to graze u|ion the common, as unworthy to associate 
 with him, and sat the autocrat of the party in IlJinois" — said the St. Louis RepiMican at 
 the time. 
 
 + Thoui^h in September Judg'e Breese in a letter to Mr. Boj^akin, of the Belleville 
 Dcmnerot, wrote : "Idemand as a riuht to know who requested you to say as you have 
 said in an editorial in jour paper of the 4th. that "Jud^e Breese is not, nor will he be, 
 a candidate for the U. S. senate in ouposition to Mr. Douglas.'' 
 
Chapter LIII. 
 
 1861-1865— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR YATES. 
 
 Party Conventions of 1860 — The two Great Labor Systems of the 
 Country in Direct Antagonism — Life and Character of Gover- 
 nor Yates — Lieutenant Governor Hoffman — Condition of the 
 State and Comparative Growth since 1850. 
 
 The republican State convention of 1860 met at Decatur, May 
 9th. Every county except Pulaski was represented. The Hon. 
 Joseph Gillesi)ie, of Madison, was chosen to preside over its 
 deliberations. For the candidacy of governor there were three 
 aspirants: Norman B. Judd, of Cook, Leonard Swett, of McLean, 
 and Richard Yates, of Morgan. On the tirst ballot Judd received 
 245 votes, Swett 191, Yates 183 and .lames Knox 12 ; on the third 
 ballot Judd received his highest number, 263; on the fourth all 
 the Swett men but 36 went to the sui)i)()rt of Yates, giving him 
 363 votes, which nomiiuited him. Juclcl had incurred the formid- 
 able opi>ositiou of the Chicago Democrat, then a power with the 
 republican ])arty of the State. Francis A. Hoffman, of DuPage, 
 was next nominated as a candidate for lieutenant governor by 
 acclamation. The remainder of the ticket was: For auditor, Jesse 
 K. Dubois; for treasurer, William Butler ; for secretary o+" State, 
 O. M. Hatch, and for superintendent of i»ublic instruction, New- 
 ton Batenum — all incumbents. The Bloomington platform of 4 
 years before was re-ado])ted with a stronger plank regarding the 
 right of foreigners, doubtless to sweeten the slightly remaining 
 taintof know nothingism that denux-rats might scent about rei)ub- 
 lican garments. They also declared for a lionu'stead act by con- 
 gress, and the immediate admission of Kansas as a free State. A 
 resolution was ado])ted that Abrahiim Lincoln was the choice of 
 the rei)id)lican party of Illinois for i)resident, and the delegates 
 from this State were instructed to use all honorable means to 
 secure his nomination at the Chicago convention, and to vote for 
 him as a unit. A motion to strike out the last chmse was 
 defeated. 
 
 Mi: Iloffnmn, candidate for lieutenant governor, it will be 
 remendx'red by the reader, was nominated for the same place on 
 the rei)ublican ticket in 185(>, but shortly after was found not to 
 be eligible to the oflice if elected, he being a German and not a 
 citizen for 11 years as the (M)nstitution required. He now icfused 
 to run tor the position, alleging ill health. The State ceiitial com- 
 mittee i)ut the jiame of Hon. Vital Jarrot, of St. Clair, on tRe 
 ticket in his stead. But the congressional convention of the 3d 
 71G 
 
YATES' ADMINISTEATION. 717 
 
 district at Blooiningtou refused to ratify Ids iiondiiatioii, \Yljere- 
 upoii lie also declined to run. Tlie objection was that it gave both 
 gubernatorial candidates to the southern portion of the State. 
 The State convention was thereupon recalled and met again, this 
 time at Springfield, August 8th, on occasion of the great re)>ubli- 
 can nniss meeting at tlie home of Lincoln, one of the grandest out- 
 pourings of the i)eople and largest civicdennuistration with which 
 any public man was ever honored. In convention, on motion of 
 Mr. Jarrot, Mr. Hoffman had leave to withdraw his letter of 
 decliiKition, and his nouduation was again unanimously coufirnu'd. 
 
 The State democratic convention of 18(»0 met at Springtield in 
 the hall of the house of representatives, June loth. Hon. Wm. 
 McMurtry, of Knox, presided. On the tirst ballot to nominate a can- 
 didate for governor, J. C. Allen, of Crawford, received 157 votes ; S. 
 A. Bucknuister, of Madison. 81 ; J. L. L). Morrison, of St. Clair, 88 ; 
 Kewtou Cloud, of Morgai), 05 ; W. B. Scates, of Cook, 14 ; J. A. 
 McClernand and B. S. Edwards, both of Sangamon, 2 each. On 
 the second ballot it was soon disclosed that Allen was the favorite, 
 and all the other competitors beiPig withdrawn before the 
 announcement of the vote, Allen's nondiuition was nmde unanim- 
 ous. The balance of the ticket was: For lieutenant governor, L. 
 AV. Boss, of Fulton; secretary of State, G.H. Cam])bell, of Logan ; 
 auditor, Berimrd Arntzen, of Adams; treasurer, Hugh Maher, of 
 Cook ; superiidendent of public instruction. Dr. E. B. Boe, of 
 McLean. Their resolutions reaftirmed the principles of the Cin- 
 cinnati platform of 185(5, ap[>roved the course of the delegates to 
 the Charleston convention, and expressed their confidence in Ste- 
 phen A. Douglas for president. 
 
 On July the 11th, the Buchanan or Breckinridge democracy met 
 in convention also at Siuingtield, and put the following State 
 ticket in the field: For governor. Dr. Thomas M. Hope, of Madi- 
 son ; lieutenant governor, ThonuisSneU, of DeWitt; secretary of 
 State, B. T. Burke, of Macoupin ; auditor, Henry S. Sndth, of 
 Knox; treasurer, W. H. Cather, of Adams; superintendent of 
 public instruction, J. H. Dennis, of St. Clair; the electors at large 
 being John Dougherty ami Thompson Cami»l)ell. Eleven coun- 
 ties out of lOli were represented by 53 delegates, 41 of ^vhom 
 Avere currently reported at the time as federal ofiftce-holders. 
 
 The Bell-Everett State convention metatDecatur, Aug. 10, 180(>. 
 Thirty counties were represented by an aggregate of 92 delegates. 
 They nondnated the following ticket: For governor, the Hon. 
 John T. Stuart, of SanganK)n ; lieutenant governor, Henry S, 
 Blackburn, of Bock Island ; secretary of State, James Monroe, of 
 Coles ; auditor, James D. Sndth, of Sangamon ; treasurer, Jona- 
 than Stamper, of Macon ; superndendent of public instruction, 
 D. J. Snow, of Sangamon ; electors at large, M. Y. Johnson, of 
 JoDaviess and D. ]\L Woodson, of Green. 
 
 Thus 4 tickets were in the field. The political contest of 1800 
 over the question of slavery was the most momentous in the his- 
 tory of this nation. The two great labor systems of the country, 
 free and slave, representing their respective sections, were biought 
 into direct antagonism for the first time in a presidential election. 
 The southern wing of the democratic party, spurning Douglas and 
 his theory of popular sovereignty at Charleston, split from ds 
 uortheru associate, and eagerly brought forward the labor 
 
718 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 system of its section and opposed it to that of tlie north. The 
 issue thus presented was so cknirly defined that it was impossi- 
 ble to long occupy any middle ground. The power of Douglas 
 alone lield his followers to one for a time, but it was apparent rliat 
 all between would soon be but a chuolic mass, whose piirMcles, 
 drifting hither and thither, must hml lodgment on the side within 
 whose sectional or local focus of attraction they chanced to conu'. 
 The inexorable logic of events disclosed the completion of an 
 ine\itable destiny. The house was indeed divided against itself, 
 and the irrei)ressible contiict was at hand. The canvass proved 
 both an exciting and determined one, and the fearful consequen- 
 quences ha\e ]>assed into history, abundantly and ably written up 
 by other hands. 
 
 The victory at the polls for the repul)licans of Illinois in ISGO 
 was complete. They carried the i)residential and State tickets, 
 and gained both liouses ot the legislature, each by a small ma- 
 jority. For governor, Yates received 172,190, Allen 159.2."i3, 
 Stuart 1,020, Hoi)e 2,010 and Chickering 1,110. The vote on the 
 presidential ticket was: for Lincoln, 171,100 ; Douglas, 158,251 ; 
 Bell-Everett, 1,<S51 ; and Breckenridge, 2,292. With few exce])- 
 tions the adherents of the latter two tickets — particularly the 
 lea(Un-s of the Breckinridge faction — we';e shortly afterwards ab- 
 sorbed by the republican party, where some of the Buchanan men 
 have since attained distinction, both for their radicalism and suc- 
 cess in obtaining office. 
 
 Eicliard Yates was born January IS, 1818, on the banks of the 
 Ohio river, at Warsaw, Gallatin county, Kentucky. His fathei", 
 in J831, nu)ved to Illinois, and settled (after stoi>ping for a time 
 in Springlield,) at Island Grove, Sangamon county. Here, after 
 attending school, liichard Joined the family. Subsequently, he 
 entered Illinois College, at Jacksonville, where, in 1837, he grad- 
 uated with first honors. He chose for his profession the law, the 
 Hon. J. J. Hardin being liis instructor. After admission to the 
 bar he soon rose to distinction as an advocate. Gifted with a 
 fluent and ready oratory, he soon appeared in the political hust- 
 ings, and being a passionate admirer of the great whig leader of 
 the west, Henry Clay, he joined his political fortunes to the party 
 of his idol. In 1810 he engaged with great ardor in the exciting 
 "hard cider campaign" for Harrison. Two years later he Avas 
 elected to the legislature from Morgan county, a democratic 
 stronghold. He served three or four terms in the legislature, 
 and such was the fascination of his oratory, that by 1850 his 
 large congressional district, extending fi-om Moi-gan and Sanga- 
 mon north to include La Salle, unauinu)usly tendered him the 
 whig nonnnatiou. His o[)ponent of the denu)cratic l>arty, was 
 Major Thomas L. Harris, a very ]>opular man, who had won dis- 
 tinction at the battle of Cerro Gordo, in the late war with Mexico, 
 and who, though the district was whig, had beaten for the same 
 l)ositi(»n, two years before, the Hon. Stephen T. Logan by a large 
 majority. The contest between Yates and Harris, animating and 
 persevei'ing, resulted in the election of the foi-mer. Two years 
 later, the <lemocracy ungenerously thrust aside Major Harris and 
 pitted John Calhoun against Yates, and, though Calhoun was a 
 man of great intellect, and when aroused, of unsurpassed ability 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 719 
 
 as a political debater — whom Mr. Liiieolu bad said he would 
 dread more in debate than any man in Illinois — the result was 
 as before. It was during' Yates' second term that the great 
 question of the repeal of the Missouri comi)iomise came before 
 congress, against which he earl^' arrayed himself, and took de- 
 cided and advanced anti-slavery ground in a si)eeeh of rare 
 oratory and rennirkable power, which gained him natiiinal rep- 
 utation. But we have seen that at this formative period of the 
 reimblican party, the whigs of central Illinois, unwilling to join 
 tlieir fortunes with a sectional party, went with the democracy, 
 and in 1854, Major Harris being again his opponent for congress, 
 Yates was defeated on the Nebraska issue by oidy about 200 
 votes in the district which had given Pierce two years before 
 2,000 majority over Scott. Six years later he was elected gov- 
 ernor by the party, for the aid in the formation of which he had 
 suffered this defeat. 
 
 Kichard Yates occupied the chair of State during the most 
 critical i>eriod of our country's history. In the fate of the nation 
 Axas involved the destiny of the States. The life-struggle of the 
 former derived its sustenance from the loyalty of the latter. The 
 position of governor of a great State was, therefore, important 
 and responsible, as it was capable of being exerted for vast 
 good or immense evil. Need it be said that in this trying period 
 lie discharged his duty with patiiotic fidelity to the cause of the 
 nation? Gov. Yates had many valuable attributes for his high 
 station in this ordeal of the country. His loyalty was as undoul)ted 
 as it proved itself true. He was the close personal friend of Pres- 
 ident Lincoln. His ardent devotion to the Union was founded 
 upon a deep love for it. While he had been early identified with 
 the formation of the republican party, he had not been connected 
 with the old abolitionists, among whom were persons who pre- 
 ferred the success of their hobby to the safety of the Union. But 
 above all, he had a deep hold upon the affections of the people, 
 won by his moving eloquence and genial manners. He inspired 
 strong attachments among his partisan friends. Nature hatl fash- 
 ioned him to be admired by the masses. Handsome, erect and 
 symmetrical in person, with a winning address ami a magnetic 
 power, few men posssessed more of the elements of ])opuiarity. 
 His oratory, into the spirit of which he entered with apparent for- 
 getfuluess of self, was scholarly and captivating, the hearer hardly 
 knowing why he was transported. Though less logical than «-lo- 
 quent, he reasoned well, and alway.' inspired deep and enduring- 
 paitisan attachments. He was social ami convivial to an eminent 
 degree, traits of character, which, however, were subjected to 
 little of i)uritanic denial ; but in the very excesses of his ai)petites 
 he has carried with him the sympathies of the people, almost irre- 
 spective of party, on account of his many noble attributes of head 
 and heart. 
 
 The very creditable military efforts of this State during the war 
 of the rebellion, in putting her quotas, aggregating the enoinious 
 number of about 200,000* soldiers in the field, were ever i)romptly 
 
 *In 1850 Illinois had a population of 851,470, and accordinu- to the arniv rejiister for 
 1851. her militia numbered 170,359, 4,168 of \yhom were commissioned officers: in 1860, 
 she had a population of 1,711.951, which would have given her at the breaking- out of 
 the rebellion, in 1861 a militia force of 350,000, and. out of this number nearly :>00,000 
 volunteers were furnished. i 
 
720 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 and ably seconded by his excellency : he was ambitious to deserve 
 the title of the soldiers' friend. His proclamations calling for vol- 
 unteers are impassionate appeals, urging the duties and require- 
 ments of i^atriotism upon the people; and his special messages to 
 the last democratic legislature of this State, ])]eadi)»g for material 
 aid for the sickarul wounded soldiers of Illinois regiments, 'oreathe 
 a deep fervor of noble sentiment and feeling rarely equalled in 
 beauty or felicity of expression. Generally his messages on i)oliti- 
 cal or civil affairs were able and comprehensive; though on these 
 subjects, particularly the former, his style is perhaps too florid 
 and diffuse. There were no State civil events of an engrossing 
 character during Gov. Yates' administration ; two years of it, 
 however, were replete with partisan quarrels of great bitterness, 
 during the sitting of the constitutional convention of 1862, and 
 the sessions of the last democratic legislature in 18G3, whicli lat- 
 ter body he finally squelched by his act of prorogation. These 
 the reader will find summed up further along. The ojieiations 
 of Illinois regiments in the field are also elsewhere recorded in 
 detail. 
 
 Lieut. Gov. HoUnian was born at Herford, Prussia, 1822. He 
 ■was the son of a bookseller, and educated at the Frederich Wil- 
 liam Gymnasium of his imtive town. At the age of 18 he emi- 
 grated to America, landing penniless in Kew York. Borrowing 
 $8 he started west, and after a toilsome journey reached Chi- 
 cago in 1840. Moneyless and unable to speak the Englisli lan- 
 guage, he taught a snniU German school at Dunkley's Giove, 
 DuPage county, at $50 a year, with the privilege of "boarding 
 around" among its patrons. Next, having studied theology, he 
 was ordained a minister of the Lutheran church. In 1852 he 
 removed to Chicago, ^^tudied law, was successful in the real estate 
 business, became a free-banker in 1854, and as such, with the 
 secession of 1801 and the downfall of our "stum]>tail" cuiTency, 
 failed. He had annually published, in German, a review of the 
 commerce and finances of Chicago, and scattering thousands of 
 copies in his native land, materially benefited her growth; and as 
 commissioner of the foreign land department of the Central Kail- 
 road Company, he was instrumental in inducing many thousands 
 of German families to purchase lands and settle in Illinois. 
 
 He early took an active niterest in public affairs. In 1847 he 
 was a mend)er of the famous Eiver and Harbor convention at 
 Chicago. In 1853 he was elected alderman for the 8th ward of that 
 city. He was among the first of the prominent Germans of the 
 northwest to advocate the anti-slavery cause by writingfor the first 
 German newsiiaper of Chicago, and translating from the German 
 for the Democrat. In 1848 he supported Van Buren for the i)resi- 
 dency ; with the repeal of the Missouri compromise he aided in 
 the organization of the republican party, and in 1856 canvassed 
 the State for Fremont. Well educated, a clear mind, decision and 
 energy, he acquitted himself Avith dignity and impartiality as the 
 presiding officer of the Senate during a i)eriod replete with parti- 
 san strife, and the most perilous in our history.t 
 
 Comparative Growth of the State since 1850. — The national cen- 
 sus of 1860 revealed for Illinois a population of 1,711,951, against 
 
 +See "Biographical Slcetclics of leu'diiiK men of Chicago," by A. Shuman. 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 721 
 
 851,4:70 in 1850 — au increase of over 100 per cent, in tlie preced- 
 in<;- decade. This ranlced her as tlie fourth State in the Union in 
 point of popnhition, and entitled lier to 11 members in the lower 
 house of congress. 
 
 Tlie following" table from the census reports show her increase 
 in wealth during this period: 
 
 Classen nf Prrijierty. 1850. 1860 
 
 Real and personal $156,000,000 $S71,(K)0.000 
 
 Value of farms 96,000,000 4;K,00(i,0 
 
 Value of fartr.ino- implements 6,000,()00 18,(H10,0<J0 
 
 Value of orchard products 446,049 ],145,9:ii) 
 
 Value of live stock 24,000,000 73.4;i^,Oii0 
 
 Value of animals slaughtered 4,973,000 15,0.0,000 
 
 Wheat raised. No. bushels 9,414,000 24,1.59.003 
 
 Corn raised, No. bushels 57,546.600 11.5,','06,IH10 
 
 Rarlev, No. bushels 110,000 1,175,000 
 
 Buckwheat, No. bushels 184,000 y45()(iO 
 
 Potatoes, No. bushels 2,514,000 5,799,9C,4 
 
 Hav.tons 001,9.52 l,8:)4,:.'i;i 
 
 Butter, lbs 1.200,000 28,3:]7,(«10 
 
 Tobacco, lbs 841,394 7,014,234 
 
 Total No of acres improved 500,000 13,251,U00 
 
 This shows the aggregate wealth of 1850 to have multiplied five 
 times in one decade ; the value of farms 1^ times. But while the 
 census of 1860 gave us a total property value of $871,000,000 the 
 assessed value for the same year was not quite 1390,000,000. Illi- 
 nois was the first corn and wheat producing State in the Union ; 
 in value of her live stock she was second; in cattle, Texas and 
 Ohio were ahead ; in thenumber of horses, Ohio was also ahead, 
 having 022,829 to Illinois 575,101 ; in the number of improved 
 
 acres, IS^ew York alone led her by about 1,000,000 acres. 
 The permanent debt of the State in 18G0 was $10,277 
 
 IGl. 
 
 4G 
 
Chapter LIV. 
 ILLINOIS IN THE WAE OF THE EEBELLrON. 
 
 Slavery — Sectional Antagonism — Secession — Inauguration of Lincoln 
 — Call for Volunteers — Proclamation of Gov. Yates — Uprising of 
 the People. 
 
 In 18G1 the Great Rebellion assnined a definite sliape, and a civil 
 war of the most astounding' magnitude followed. Tlie i)viinaiy 
 cause of the antagonism which existed between the Northern and 
 Southern sections of the Union was the institution of shivery. 
 Other agencies doubtless served proximately to intensify the hos- 
 tility unfo] tuiiately engeiuleied, but in every instance, if not 
 directly connected with this great national evi],tlieir remote origin 
 could be traced to it. 
 
 The federal constitution recogiiized slavery, but its franiers sup- 
 posed that in the different States wheie it existed the benig)i in- 
 fluences of free institutions and the palpable advantages of free 
 labor, would extirpate it without the intervention of the general 
 government. These hap})y anticipations at first seemed likely to 
 be realized. Commencing with the more northern of tlie slave 
 States the work of emancipation gradually extended southward 
 till it reached Virginia, Maryland and Kentucky, where its further 
 progress was stayed. The growth of cotton in the Gulf States 
 had in the meantime become a source of vast wealth, and tlie be- 
 lief that slaxer^- was essential to its cultivation greatly nu)di{ied 
 the repugnance with which it had hitherto been regarded. The 
 remaining slave States, now actuated by i)ecuniary considerii- 
 tions, abandoned the idea of emancipation and a<;cepted slavery 
 as a permanent institution. The invention of the cotton-gin and 
 other machineiy gave a new impetus to the cultivation of cotton, 
 and the fabrics manufactured from it, and those engaged in this 
 great branch of iiulustry soon resolved not only to i)rote(;t slavery 
 where it existed, but demanded new territory for its futuie expan- 
 sion. In carving new States out of the vast unoccupied i)ortion 
 of the natiomil domain, a bitter sectional contest arose as to 
 whether the new members of the confederacy should belong to the 
 empire of freedom or slavery. The opponents of slavery were de- 
 sirous of restricting it to its original limits, but the cotton States 
 threatened to withdraw from the Union if their demands were not 
 granted, thus causing grave apprehensions for the safety of the 
 republic unless the question could be amicably adjusted. Peiul- 
 ing the admission of Missouri into the Union a comi)romise wa:. at 
 length effected, making the southern boundary of that State the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 723 
 
 liiit^ of (leiiiarkiitiou between free and slave territory. This was 
 isn]»pose(l at the time to be a tinal settlement of the dangerous 
 question, for no one ])roi)osed to interfere with slavery within its 
 original limits. 
 
 The recognition and protection thus offered inspired new confi- 
 dence in the advocates of slavery, and so enhanced the value of 
 its capital that they ultinuitely became the principal elements of 
 sonthern wealth. With her capital thus invested the south nec- 
 essarily became agricultural, and hence the agitation that arose 
 in regard to the tariff, culminating in the attempt of South Caro- 
 lina to nullify the laws of the U. S. tor collecting duties. Notwith- 
 standing repeated threats on the part of this refractory member 
 of the Union to withdraw, the sturdy determination of Jackson 
 s<'cured the enforcement of law, but the cause which had pro- 
 du('e<l the disturbance still existed, and soon disclosed itself in 
 anctther form. By the treaty with Mexico vast accessions of 
 Jerritoiy w(ue made to the national domain, and southern politi- 
 cians insisted on the repeal of the Missouri compromise, declaring 
 they liad a right under the constitution to take their chattels to 
 any piut of tlie western territory and compete with the north in 
 the formation of new States. The <jnestion was brought before 
 the national legislature, and this compact, originally established 
 for the benefit of slavery, for the same puri)Ose was now annulled, 
 thereby renewing sectional agitation and animosity. The fertile 
 plains of Kansas, situated within the region which had be«n con- 
 secrated to freedom, were rai>idly attracting i)opulation, and a 
 fierce struggle immediately arose to decide whether the territoi y 
 sliouhl be adniitte<l into the Union as a free or slave State. As 
 its character in this res[K'ct must now be determined by the vote 
 of actual residents, emigrants in great numbers were hurried int»» 
 it fr(uu the rival sections. After a i)rotracted contest the cham- 
 pions of slavery, finding theins<'lves in the minority, and knowing 
 the result of the ballot would lie against them, endeavored to gain 
 ascendency by intiigue ami violence. 
 
 Tha startling fact now became a.})parent, even to the southern 
 mind, that while slavery eimbled the few Avho owned ami con- 
 trctlled it to amass piincely fortunes, and live idle ami profigato 
 lives, it corresjfondingly impoverished the States in which it ex- 
 iste<l. At the adoption of the federal constitution both sections 
 started with perhaps e(iual natural advantages, but one having 
 free and the other compulsory labor, an immense disparity now 
 existed between them in all the elements of power and ci\'ilization. 
 The Xorth, with its vastly preponderating pojiulation, could now 
 peo[»lc and control the greater jiart of the uno;'cupied territory, 
 and with the reiieal of the ^lissouri compromise the South had 
 given the legal right to it. 
 
 J)uriug the years of increasing excitement the general govern- 
 ment remained uncommitted to either section, but the States in 
 which the contest originally C(>mmence(l daily became more hos- 
 tile, and in some instances laws were emi(;te(l calculated to further 
 infiame the ]>ublic mind. A lenmrkable fact, however anomalous 
 it may a|>pear, was that the extreme northern and southern States, 
 the most remote from the evils complained of and the least likely 
 to be affected by the issue which entered inf(> the controversy, 
 manifested the greatest hostility. In many northern localities the 
 
724 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 impression prevailed that the rendition of slaves to tljeir masters 
 was wroiiy, and the enforcement of the fugitive shive law met 
 with strong- opposition, while in the South those who expressed 
 themselves condemnatory of slavery were subjected to imligiiities 
 which even barbarism Avould hesitate to impose. Truth ever 
 demands investigation, and error ever shuns it, consequently 
 those who in the interest of slavery imposed restraint upon free 
 speech virtually acknowledged they were endeavoriiig to uphold 
 an institution intrinsically wrong. This moral despotism set up 
 in the midst of the republic further exasperated the northern mind, 
 the indignation becoming so unmaimgeable in some instances as 
 to transcend the requirements of law and order. 
 
 As a result of the sectional feeling, conventions assembled in 
 the diflerent i)arts of the Sonth ostensibly tor commercial pur- 
 poses, but in reality to i>lot treason against the general govern- 
 jnent. The church, for a long time involved in the controversy, iit 
 some of its branches, endeavored to maintain conservative ground, 
 Avhile others were torn asunder by the violence and antagonism 
 of the contest. Southern clergymen, while preaching redem])tion 
 from spiritual bondage, strangely insisted that the political bond- 
 age of the African, which imbruited both the soul and body of 
 its rictims, was a <livine institution. Southern disunionists also 
 endeavored to ])oison the public mind with the impression tliat 
 tbe future triumi»h of the republican party would be a justifiable 
 pretext for dissolving the Union. Said .Jefferson Davis in a speech 
 at Jackson, Miss.: "If an abolitionist be chosen president of the 
 United States you will have presented to you tlie question 
 whether you will i)ermit the government to pass into the hands of 
 your avowe<l and in)i)lacable enemies. Without pausing for au 
 answer, I will state my own position to be that such a. result would 
 be a species of re\'olutioD by which the purposes of the govern- 
 ment would be destroyed, and the observances of its mere forms 
 entitled to noresi)ect. In that event, in such manner as should be 
 most expedient, 1 should deem it your duty to provide for your 
 safety outside ot the Union." Said the unscrujjulous jmlitician, 
 -C- W. L. YancN": "The remedy of the south is in a diligent organi- 
 
 zation of li'ei' true men for prompt resistance to the next aggres- 
 sion. It must come in the nature of thi)igs. No additional party 
 can save us; no sectional party can ever do it. Butif we could do 
 as our fathers did, organize committees of safety all over the cotton 
 States, and it is only by these that we can hope for any effective 
 movement. We shall fi>re the southern heart, instruct the south- 
 ern mind, give courage to each and at the proper moment, by one 
 organized concerted action, we can precipitate the cotton States 
 into a revolution." 
 
 While the politi(;al horizon was assuming this alarming aspect 
 the i)i'esideiitial contest of ISOO gave additional intensity to sec- 
 tional excitement. The sujjporters of Mr. Breckenridge evinced 
 the greatest hostility toward the rejniblicans, and 0]>enly declared 
 their determination never to submit to thegovernnK'ut if it should 
 pass into their hands. Fornunly similardenunciations ai)d threats 
 cause<l the most serious alarm, but now they had beconje so com- 
 7uon that in the fierce stonns of i>olitical excitement that swei)t 
 over the (jountry tlu^y were little regarded. The protra(rted con- 
 test at length terminated in the election of Mr. Lincoln. It was 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 evident to all who were conversant with the progress of events 
 that the supremacy which the south had so long maintained iu 
 the government was at an end. The southern malcontents must 
 now either submit to republican rule or put in practice their oft- 
 repeated threat to dissolve the Union. The latter alternative was 
 chosen. 
 
 As the result of this election was flashed over the telegraph 
 wires, it was hailed as a pretext for secession. The cities of the 
 Gulf States were nightly illuminated, and preparations were 
 immediately commenced for the coming conflict. Ignoring the 
 moral sense of mankind, which had long since condemne<l slavery, 
 they proposed to found a nation recognizing the absolute suprem- 
 acy of the white man and the perpetual bondage of the negro. 
 Long accustomed to the exercise of arbitrary power over the body 
 and soul of the bondman, they had lost all symjcithy for free 
 institutions, and while ostensibly proposing- to establish a repub- 
 lic, their ultimate object was doubtless the upbuilding of a mou- 
 iirchy. States and nations when subjected to great evils which 
 the governing power refuses to rectify have the right of revolu- 
 tion, but the abettors of the present movement had no such justi- 
 titicatiou. The dominant party had come into power strictly 
 within the pale of the eonstitutiou and law, and with a platform 
 fully recognizing the right of each State to manage its domestic 
 siistitutions in its own way. It is true the incoming president had 
 given it as his opinion that the government could not remain i)er- 
 juiuseutjy half slave and half free, but this was in view of the fact 
 that natural law rendered the two conditions wholly inc()m])ati- 
 ble, and not because lie wished to make the civil law a disturbing 
 eleuient. On the contrary, he had said in a speech at Cincinnati 
 tUe previous year, "I now assure you that I neither had nor now 
 have any purpose in any way of interfering with the institution 
 of shivery where it exists. I believe we have no }»ower under the 
 eonstitutiou of the United States, or rather under the form of 
 government under which we live, to interfere with the institution 
 of slavery or any other institution of our sister States." 
 
 But independent of grievances, the south maintained that the 
 several States on entering the Union, reserved to themselves the 
 right to secede from it whenever they deemed their interest ren- 
 dered it expedient. In the iu)rth it was contended that the power, if 
 not expressed, is im[)lied in thefumlamental law of all governments 
 to [protect and indetinitely prolong their existence that the trainers 
 of our constitution never intended to incorporate in it any pro- 
 visiiui for its destruction ; that its checks and balances for pre- 
 iserviiig Jjarmony in the diflcrent departments of government were 
 designed to make it annghty fabric ca[>able of resisting the most 
 a<l verse vicissitudes of coming time; that the doctrine of volun- 
 tary secession if admitted would disintegrate all existing govern- 
 ments, and reduce society to a chaos, that mankind, whether in 
 an individual or corporate capacity, must therefore submit to 
 just restraint in order to secure the beneficent emls contem[)lated 
 hy good government. It was contended moreover the States of 
 ]j(t!iisiana, Fhuida and Texascost the general government between 
 8i-'<H(,()0(),000and $;}(H),()()(>,()00, and it was unreasonable to suppose 
 that they could withdraw at pleasu.re after the obligation incur- 
 red by the exi)enditures of this vast sum of money, that a pri- 
 
726 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 niai y object of tlieir acquisition Ava.s to obtain control of tLe IMis- 
 sissippi, and the people of the northwest could never consent lliat 
 it should How hundieds of miles through forei.i'n jurisdiction and 
 thus be compelled to submit to the arbitrary imposition of <luties 
 upon their commerce. 
 
 When, however, the hour finally came for committing- the overt 
 act which should dismember the great re})ublic, even the reckh'ss 
 conspirators, who had for years derided the warnings of states- 
 men, and stigmatized them as Union -savers, trembled in view of 
 the consequences which must follow. The people especially, 
 among- whom there were many loyalists, hesitated to enter the 
 yawning- abyss, whose dark and angry de})ths the ken of hu)iiaii 
 wisdom was unable to fathom. Some of their wisest and most pa- 
 triotic leaders, till borne down by the tide of revolution, ct)ntiiiu- 
 ally endeavored to avert the imjjending- calamity. 
 
 Said A. H. Stephens in the Georgia convention j)endi)(g tlie 
 discussion of secession : '-This step once taken can ne^■el• be re- 
 called, and all the baleful and withering- consequences that will 
 follow must rest on this convention for all coming- time. Wheu 
 we and our i)osterity shall see onr lovely land desolated by liie; 
 demon of war which this act of yours will inevitably invite and call 
 forth ; when our green tieldsand waviijg harvests sliall be troddc sj 
 down by a murderous soldiery, and the fiery car of war swee])iiig- 
 over our land, our ten)ples of justice laid in ashes, all the horroi-s 
 and desolations of war ui)on us — who but this convention will hv 
 lield responsible for it "i and who but him who shall have given 
 his vote for this unwise and ill-timed measure shall be held u» ;.» 
 strict account by this suicidal act by the present generation, and 
 probably cursed and execrated by posterity for all time, for i lit- 
 wide and desolating- ruin that will inevitably follow this act you 
 now i)ropose to ])erpetrate ?" 
 
 At this critical period, pregnant with the unnumbered woes fhat 
 aftewards befell the country, the representatives of Illinois in 
 congress all united in condenniing- secession, and maintaing the 
 right of coercion. Douglas, in his last speech before the distin- 
 guished body of which he was a member, rennvrked : '••Sir, the 
 word government means coercion. There can be no government 
 without coercion. Coercion is the vital principle ui)on which all 
 governments rest. Withdraw the right of coercion and you <lis- 
 solve your government. If every n)an would do his duty and 
 respect the rights of his neighbor there would be no necessity for 
 government. The necessity of government is found to consist in 
 the fact that some men will not do right unless forced. The object 
 of all government is to coerce ami compel every man to do his 
 duty who would not otherwise perform it, and hence I do not sub- 
 scribe to this doctrine that coercion is not to be used in a free 
 government. It must be used in all governments, no matter what 
 their form or what their principles." Mr. Trumbull, his colleague, 
 in speaking of compromise said, if they wanted anything, let them 
 go back to the Missouri com[)romise and stand by it. All agreed 
 that congress had no right to interfere with slavery in the States ; 
 but he would never, by his vote, make one slave, and the people 
 of the great Northwest would never consent by their act to estab- 
 lish slaverv anvwhere. He did not believe the constitution needed 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 amen ding', but was M'illiiij^ to vote a recoiniiiending to the States 
 to make a proposal to call a convention to consider amendments. 
 
 During' the interval of timefrom the election to the inaugnratioii 
 of Mr. Lincoln, the conspirators hurried forward their uidiallowed 
 scheme. The seven extreme Southern States adopted ordinances of 
 secession, each declaring it had again resumed its place among" 
 the independent nations of the world, with full powers to declare 
 war, establish commerce, contract alliances, and perform all other 
 a<;ts pertaining to independent States. In order to meet the fearful 
 responsibilities thus incurred, thev immediately seized a large 
 nuiiil)er of the forts and arsenals within their limits, and invested 
 the others with troops to enforce their submission. In many in- 
 stances those in command basely betrayed the government that 
 had educated and given them positions. Delegates from the 
 several rebellious states assembled at Montgomery, Alabama, 
 and organized a provisional government, adopting the constitu- 
 tion of the U. S., modilied so as to suit treason and slavery, 
 and electing Jeft'erson Davis president, and Alexander H. Ste[)h- 
 ens vice-president. Rumors in the meantime prevailed that armed 
 rebels were about to march against the national capital, and Gen. 
 Scott organized the militia of the District of Columbia, placed 
 regulars in the navj^ yard, and adopted other precautionary meas- 
 ures to prevent an attack. Yet the i^resident, while admitting 
 that secession was treason and revolution, said that the federal 
 government had no power to coerce into submission rebellious 
 States. Even when the nation was crumbling into fragments, 
 and an energetic effort might, to a great extent, have i)revented 
 the terrible ordeal of bloocl through which it subsequently passed, 
 he pleaded for further concessions to its implacable enemies. Pa- 
 triots all over the land had keenly felt the indignities and insults 
 so defiantly perpetrated by rebels, whose arrogance, instead of 
 being severely punished, only met with encouragement under the 
 imbecile rule of IJnchanan. It was, therefore, with no little anxi- 
 ety and impatience that all looked forward to the incoming ad- 
 ministration, hoi)ing that those about to assume the reins of 
 government would have the wisdom to comprehend the situation 
 of the country, and the courage to punish the traitors who were 
 endeavoring to ruin it. On the 11th of February, 1801, the presi- 
 dent-elect left his home in Springtiehl preparatory to assume the 
 grave responsibility which devolved on him as chief magistrate 
 of the nation now rent with civil feuds and upon the eve of a 
 bloody war. A large number of his old friends assembled at the 
 depot to bid him farewell, and express their sympathy in view of 
 the perilous and momentous duties that awaited him. Said he: 
 
 "My friends, no oue, not in my position, can appreciate the sadness I 
 feel at this partiug. To this people I owe all that am. Here I have lived 
 more tlian a quarter of a century, here my children were born, and here 
 one of them lies buried. I know not how soon I will see you again. A 
 duty devolves upon lue which is perhaps greater than that which has 
 rested upon any other man since the day of Wasliington. He would 
 never have succeeded except for the aid of Divine Providence, on wliich 
 he at all times relied. I feel that I cannot succeed without tlie same 
 divine aid which sustained him. On the same Almigiity Being I place 
 my reliance for support, and I liope you, my triends, willpray tliat 1 may 
 receive that divine assistanioe, without which I cannot succeed, but with 
 which success is certain. Again I bid you all an affectionate farewell." 
 
728 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Hitlierto he liad maiiitaiiie'd a quiet reserve respecting the 
 momeiitous crisis in national affairs, but now as he journeyed 
 toward the capital of the republic he found it impossible to longer 
 remain silent. In all the princii)al cities through which he passed 
 vast crowds assembled to greet him and listen to the brief speeches 
 made in connection with the interchange of civilities. In these 
 guarded utterances he did not commit himself to any definite line 
 of policy save to express his intention to leave unmolested the 
 institutions of the disaffected states, his devotion to the Union 
 and his desire to nuuntain it without a resort to arms. The vast 
 extent of the conspiracy was not yet fully understood, and he in 
 common with a great many others still hoped for a peaceful solu- 
 tion of the difficulties. At Cincinnati he said 
 
 •' Mr. Mayor and FeUow-ritizens: J have spoken but once before this in 
 Cincinnati. That was a year previous to tlie late presidential election. 
 On that occasion, in a playful mauuerbut with sincere words, I addressed 
 much of what I said to the Keutuckians. I gave my opinion tliat we 
 as republicans would ultimately beat them as democrats, but that they 
 could postpone the result longer by uominatiug Senator Douglas for the 
 presidency than in any other way. They did not in any true sense nom- 
 inate Mr. Douglas, and the result has come certainly as soon as ever I 
 expected. I told them how I expected they would be treated after they 
 should be beaten, and I now wish to call their attention to what I then 
 said. When beaten you perhaps will want to know what we will do 
 with you. I will tell you so far as I am authorized to sjieak for the opposi- 
 tion. We mean to treat you as near as we possibly can as Washiugton, 
 Jefferson and Madison treated you. We mean to leave you alone and in 
 no way interfere with your institutions. We mean to recognize and 
 bear in mind that you have as good hearts in your bosoms as other peo- 
 ple, or as we claim to have, and treat you accordingly. Fellow-citizens 
 of Kentucky, brethren may I call you, in my new position I see uooeca- 
 sion and feel no inclination to retract a word from this. If it shall 
 not be made good be assured the fault shall not be mine." 
 
 Arriving in New York he said : 
 
 "In my devotion to the Union I am behind no man in the nation, but 
 I fear too great confidence may have been placed iu my wisdom to pre- 
 serve it. I am sure I bring a heart devoted to the work, and there is 
 nothing that could ever induce me to consent willingly to the destruction 
 of this Union, iu which not only the great city of New York, but the 
 whole country has acquired its greatness, unless it should be the object 
 for which the Union itself was made. I understand that the ship was 
 made for the carrying and preservation of the cargo, and so long as the 
 ship is safe with the cargo it shall not be abandoned." 
 
 While thus speaking to large assemblies in different cities, 
 runH)rs reached him that an attempt would be nnide to assassin- 
 ate him on the way to the cai)ital, or if he reached it an armed 
 mob \\ ()\dd assemble and prevent his iiniuguration. These rei)()rts 
 were at first regarded with incredulity but when he reached 
 Philadelphia he was warned by Gen. Scott that if he atteni])ted 
 to pass through Baltimore in the day time hislife would be ex])osed 
 to imminent danger. Acting on the ad\ i(;e of those who knew 
 the extent of the danger and the vast importance of his reaching 
 the seat of government in safety, he left his family at llarrisburg 
 and proceeded in disguise on the nighttrain to'W'ashington. Had 
 it been known that such nnilignity existed that such a crime was 
 meditated iigainst the life of him whose only cause of offcns(M'on- 
 sisted in assuming the iniportiint responsibilities to which he had 
 been constitutionally called by a nuijority of his countrymen, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 729 
 
 a lialf a luillioii of men would liave volunteered to escort liini 
 tlirouj^li the rebellious city. LInex[)ected by the (;onspiiators who 
 had nuirked hiui for their ])rey, and his friends who were nudcing 
 l)rei)arations for his recei)tiou, he arrived in AVashiiiytou on the 
 morning of the U3(l of February. Ou the 4th of March he was 
 inaugurjited president of the United States in the presence of a 
 vast multitude who had assend)led to witness the imposing si»ec- 
 tacle. His inaugund address is a 'state paper of more than ordi- 
 nary ability, and whatever may have been the susi)cions previ- 
 ously entertained in the South in regard to Ins polii^y after this 
 expression of his views, the rebellion was wholly without a justifi- 
 able pretext. While the most ample assurances are given of i)ro- 
 tection in the Union, he also refers to his obligations to maintain 
 it, and his determination to do it. Its grent length renders it 
 impracticable to lepeat it iu full, but the following passages are 
 characteristic of its spirit : 
 
 "Apprehensions seem to exist among the people of the Southern 
 States that by the accession of a republican administration that their 
 property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. 
 There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. 
 Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contraiy has all the wlnle ex- 
 isted and been open to tlieir inspection. It is found in nearly all the 
 public speeches of him who now addresses you. I consider that in view 
 of the constitution and laws the Union is unbroken, and to the extent 
 of my ability I will take care as the constitution expressly enjoins upon 
 ine that the laws of the Union be faithfully executed in all the States. 
 Doing this I deem it only a simple duty on my part, and I shall perform 
 it so far as practicable unless my rightful masters, the American ]>eople, 
 shall witlihold the requisite means, or shall in some other authoritative 
 manner direct the contrary. Physically sj^eaking, we cannot separate. 
 We cannot move the respective sections from each other, nor bnilil an 
 impassable wall between them. A husband and wife may be divorced 
 and go out of the presence and beyond the reach of each other, but the 
 ditferent parts of our country cannot do this. They cannot but remain 
 face to face, and intercourse either amicable or hostile must contiue 
 between them. Is it possible then to make that intercourse more advan- 
 tageous or more satisfactory after separation than before ? Can aliens 
 make treatise more easily than friends can make laws among friends ? 
 Supiaoseyougo to war, you cannot fight always, and when after much 
 loss on both sides, and no gain on either, you cease fighting the identical 
 old questions are upon you. In your hands, my dissatistied fellow coun- 
 trymen, and not in mine, is the momentous issue of civil war. The gov- 
 ernment will not assail you. You can have no conflict without being 
 yourselves the aggressors. You have no solemn oath registered iu heaven 
 to destroy the government, while I shall have the most solemn one to 
 preserve, i^rotect and defend it. I am loth to close. We are not enennes. 
 but friends. We must not be enemies. Though passion may have 
 strained it must not break our bonds of affection. The mystic chords 
 of memory stretching from every battle field and patriot's grave to 
 every living heart and bearth-stoue all over this broad laud will yet 
 swell the chorus of the Uuion, when again touched, as surely they will 
 be, by the better angels of our nature." 
 
 At the time of Mr. Lincoln's accession to power several mem- 
 bers of the Union claimed that they had withdrawn from it, ami 
 styling themselves the "Confederate States of Aun-rica," had 
 organized a se}>arate goveimnent. The renniining slave States 
 Avere convulsed with excitement, and traitors taking advantage 
 of the nuigiiiinimity which the new adnnnistration would fain 
 have exercised, with tiendish eagerness were endeavoring to ])re- 
 cij[)itate them also into rcNolution. The confederate authorities, 
 
730 HTSTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 emboldejied by this foibeaiaiice, and actiiifi- on the assumption of 
 their inde|)endeiice, sent commissioners to Washington to amicably 
 arrange all diflerences growing out of their separation from tlie 
 United States. They, however, failed to receiye any recognition, 
 anl were informed by Mr. Seward, Secretary of State, that the 
 action of their States was an unjustifiable and unconstitutional 
 aggression upon the authority of the federal government. The 
 convention of Virginia being- in session at the time, also sent com- 
 missioners to ascertain from Mr. Lincoln the policy he intemled 
 to pursue in regard to the Confederate States. In reply, the pres- 
 ident reafflrmed the opinion previously exi)ressed in his inaugu- 
 ral tluit he would repossess the ])roperty and places belonging to 
 the United States, and collect the duties on imports. He like- 
 wise informed them that he would not needlessly invade nuy 
 State, yet when such conduct as the firing upon Fort Sumter ren- 
 dered it necessary he would rei)el force by force. 
 
 This celebrated fortress was situated in Charleston harbor, and 
 just prior to the assault had been occupied by Major Anderson as 
 a place of greater strength and security than Fort Moultrie, from 
 Avhich he removed. Notwithstaiuling the fact that Sonth Caio- 
 lina was in open revolt, Mr. Buchanan had allowed the most for- 
 midable works to be erected around the fort. Had permission 
 been granted to Major Anderson with his heavy artillery he could 
 Lave swept the adjacent shores ami tlius have prevented the 
 preparations which he daily witnessed for his overthrow. As the 
 batteries commamled the entrance to the harbor cut oft supplies 
 from the sea, and the hostile shore refused to furnish provisions, an 
 attack for the reduction of thefortAvas wholly unnecessary. When, 
 however, the prei)arations were comi>leted, Beauregard, who liad 
 deserted the Hag of his country, hurriedly opened fire u])on it, 
 as if fearful that starvation miglit, by giving him peaceable pos- 
 session, frustrate his desire for an op})ortunity to inaugurate civil 
 war by a bloody assault. After a furious cannonade of 34 hoius 
 the fort was wrapped in flames, and Major Anderson and his 
 small band of heroes were forced to capitulate. 
 
 Thus had been struck the hrst blow of the conflict which sum- 
 moned vast armies into the field, brought State into collision with 
 State, ami drenched the land in fraternal blood. When the news 
 of the bombardment and surrender reached the ^orth, the whole 
 country rocked with excitement. Longer forbearance was now 
 impossible, and President Lincoln immediately issued a i)rocla- 
 mation calling for 75,000 volunteers. The proclanmtion stated 
 that combinations existed in several of the States too powerful to 
 be sui)pressed by ordinary judicial proceedings, and that the 
 force to be raised Avould be employed to rei)ossess the property of 
 the United States in the hands of the insurgents and enforce the 
 observance of law. It also summoned congress to meet on the 
 4th of July to institute in view of the extraordinary condition of 
 pul>lic affairs such measures as the safety of the imtion might 
 demand. 
 
 The details connected with raising the troops having been 
 arranged by the war department, (lov. Yates was inlbrmed that 
 the quota of Illinois was six regiments. On the loth of A])ril, the 
 day on which the intelligence was communicated by Mr. Cameron, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 731 
 
 tlie secretary of ^val•, the goveruoi' issued the Ibllowiug proclama- 
 tion : 
 
 "I, Richard Yates, governor of the State of Illinois, by virtue of the 
 authority vested in me by tlie constitution, hereby convene the legisla- 
 ture of the State, and the members of the 22d general assembly are hereby 
 required to be and appear iu their respective places in the capital on Tues- 
 day, the 23d day of April A. D. 1861, for tlie purpose of euactiug such 
 laws and adopting such measures as may be ileemed necessary upon the 
 following subjects: The more perfect organization and equii)ment of 
 the militia of the State and placing the same on the best footing to ren- 
 der assistance to the general government in preserving the Union, 
 enforcing tlie laws, and protecting the property and rights of tlie peo- 
 ple; also, the raising of sucli money and other means as may be required 
 to carry out tlie foregoing object, and also to provide for the expense of 
 such session." 
 
 General orders one ami two were issued from headqnarteis at 
 Si)rini;tield, the first commanded divisions, brigades and regiments 
 to hold tliemselves in readiness for actual service, and the second 
 pr()\idiiig for the immediate organization of six regiments. 
 
 The in'csident's procl.unation at the South was regarded as a 
 declaration of war, and Davis issued a similar one calling for 
 volunteers and granting letters of nuiinpie for privateers to ])rey 
 on northern commerce. The •shouts of approval with which it 
 -w as received everywhere in the nortli showed the people weie 
 grcjitly in advance of the government as to the proiiriety of using 
 military force. They had long writhed umler the murderous stabs 
 thrust by traitors at the vitals of the nation, and now when this re- 
 straint was removed, and the time hadcomeforaction, therebouml 
 of poi)ular feeling and indignation was overwmdming. The luai- 
 ries, liandcts and cities of Illinois became ablaze with excitement. 
 Pulpits tliumlered with aiuithennis against tlie crime of treason, 
 secular orators sjioke eloquently of the tiag which, as the symbol 
 of the nation's majesty, had been so ruthlessly insidted, and 
 news[)a[)ers teemed with jiroclanuitions and })re])arations for war. 
 All ages, sexes and conditions as if UH:>\'cd by a common impulse 
 jiartook of the enthusiasm. The aged and feeble again assumed 
 the burdens of civil life that the young and vigorous might grap- 
 l>le with the sterner duties of war; the wealthy jirovided for the 
 families of the indigent whose mitural protectors were guarding 
 tlie life of the nation. Fair woman laid the incense of her sym- 
 ]>atliy and devotion on the altar of her country; and even chil- 
 dren, imbibing the inspiration, converted their play grounds into 
 cam[) and parade grounds, and miniature drums and cannon 
 became theconunon toys of their nursery. 
 
 A similar uprising occurred in all the loyal States of the Union, 
 and men and money, the sinews of war, were furnished with lav- 
 ish profusion. Within two weeks after the president issued 
 his proclamation, beside a large surplus of rejected apiilicants, 
 there were a hundred thousand men luejiaring for active opera- 
 tions, while more than thirty millions of dollars had been oiiered 
 by private individuals, corporations, and legislatures to procure 
 arms and munitions. 
 
/ 
 
 Chapter LV. 
 
 18G1-1864— ILLINOIS IN THE EEBELLION. 
 
 Unprecedented Success in Furnishing Men — Patriotic Efforts of 
 Women — Military Operations Within the State. 
 
 Enlistments. — Almost simultaneously with the call for troops 
 eulistments commenced, and withiu ten days 10,000 volunteers 
 offered service, and the sum of near $1,000,000 was tendered by 
 patriotic citizens to procure supplies, for Avhich the State, in the 
 sudden emergency, had made no i)rovision. At the time the 
 requisition was made the military law of the State was imperfect, 
 and in many respects in contlict with the regulations of the war 
 department, while perhaps not more than 30 military comi)anies 
 were to be fouml in the entire State. In some of the larger towns 
 and cities, however, there were a number of well-drilled com- 
 panies whi(;h volunteered, and i)roved a vahnible acquisition in 
 the organization of the immense forces subse(jueiitly sent to the 
 Held. It was early thought that Cairo was in danger of seiznre 
 by the rebels, and these companies formed the luicleus of the force 
 hurriedly gathered and sent thither for its defense. On the 19th 
 of A[»ril, 1861, Simon Cameron, secretary of war, telegraphed Gov. 
 Yates to take possession of this important strategic jwint as 
 soon as a force could be raised for that pnri)ose. The governor 
 forthwith sent a dispatch to Gen. Swift, of Chicago, to raise and 
 equi}) as large a body of men as possible Ibr immediate service, 
 and sent a messenger by rail with full instructions for the occui)a- 
 tion of Cairo. With conunendable promptness this officer, on the 
 21st of the month, got on board the southern bound train of the 
 Central railroad with four ])ieces of cannon and the following- 
 companies: Company A, Chicago Zouaves, Captain Hayden, 89 
 men ; Company B, Chicago Zouaves, Captain Clybouriie, 8o men ; 
 Chicago Light Artillery, Ca[)tain Smith, 150 nu'ii ; Captain H<ir<l- 
 ing's company, 80 nu^n ; I'urner's Union Cadets, 97 men ; and 
 Lincoln Ilities, Captain Milialotzy, 0(5 men. These were followed, 
 on the L*LM, by Ca]»rain Iloughtelling's Light Artillery, of Ottawa, 
 80 men ; Ciii)tain Ilawling's Light Artillery, of Lockport, and Cap- 
 toin McAlister's Light Artillery, of Plainlield, 
 
 Of the volunteers who offered their services under the call of the 
 governor oidy regiments could be accepted under the quotii of 
 the State. These, in accordiiiice with an act of the legislature, 
 whicli met on the 23d, weie desiginited by the inunbers commen- 
 cing with 7 and ending witli 12. as a mark of res[»ect tor tiie 
 regiments which had servetl in the JMexican war. The entire forcu 
 730, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 r33 
 
 was styled the 1st Brigade of Illinois volniiteeis. The regulations 
 of the wai' (le])aitinent lecjiiired each regiment to consist (»f J colo- 
 nel, 1 lieutenant-colonel, 1 nuijor, 1 adjutant, 1 regimental quarter- 
 master, 1 surgeon, 1 surgeon's unite, 1 sergeant-major, 1 drum- 
 major, 1 fife-major, 10 captains, 10 lieutenants, 10 ensigns, 10 
 drummers, 10 titers, 10 corporals, 40 sergeants and 010 privates. 
 Thus organized a regiment nund)cred 780 men, rank ami file, and 
 the entire brigade 1,080. Gen. Prentiss was placed in command, 
 and i>i()ceeding- to Cairo with the larger part of the force, he re- 
 lieved Gen. Swift. The commanding otticer of each regiment, the 
 call under Avhich it was organized, the time and i>lace it was mus- 
 tered into service, and the aggregiite strength iire given in the 
 subjoind schedule, taken from the report of the adjutant general. 
 There was a large sur[>lus of nien in camp, and such was the pa- 
 triotic desire to enter the service that numy of them wei)t when 
 refused admission. 
 
 The legislature, anticipating another call for troops, authorized 
 the forimition of 10 additioiud regiments of infantry, 1 of cavalry, 
 and a battalion of artillery. The hiw ])rovided that one regiment 
 should be furnished by each congressional district, and one by the 
 State at large. Over 200 com[)anies immediately volunteered, and 
 from this large nundjcr the required force was selected and or- 
 dered into camp. The act creating the regiments had hardly 
 passed the legislature before the president issued a call for 12,000 
 volunteers to serve for three years unless sooner discharged. The 
 quota of Illinois under this call was only regiments, and a mes- 
 senger was sent to Washington to urge upon the war department 
 the importance of accepting" the entire force orgainzed by the 
 State. It was believed that more men would be needed, and as 
 they were already iu camp, and had made considerable proficiency 
 in drill, to disband them would cause distrust in the wisdom of the 
 government. As the result of persisteut imi)ortunity the four 
 
 Schedule — Shotmng statement of volunteer troops orcfanized ivithin the Stats, and sent to the field, 
 commencing April, 18G1, and end in r/ December '^\, 180."), icith n timber of regiment, name of original 
 commanili)ig Djlicer, call under v'hich recruited and organised, date of organisation and muster 
 into United Htutex' service, pluee of muster, and the aggregate strcngtii of eacli organization. 
 
 INFANTRY. 
 
 No. 
 
 Commanding officer at 
 organization. 
 
 Col. John Cook 
 
 ' ' Rich'd J. Oglesby. 
 
 " Eleazer A. Paine. 
 
 ' ' Jas. D. Morgan . . . 
 
 " W. H. L. Wallace. 
 
 " John Mc Arthur. . . 
 
 " JohnB. Wynian.. 
 
 ' ' John M. Palmer. . 
 
 • ' Thos. J. Turner. . 
 
 " RoVt F. Smith... 
 
 " Leonard F. Ross.. 
 
 ' ' Mich'l K. Lawler. 
 
 ' ' John B. Turchin.. 
 
 " Chas.C. Marsh 
 
 ' ' Ulysses S. Grant. . 
 
 ' ' Henry Dougherty, 
 
 ' ' Jas. A, Mulligan I 
 
 " Fred'k Hecker. . | 
 
 ' ' Wm. N. Coler 
 
 Call under which re- 
 cruited and organized. 
 
 Aug. 15, 1861 , 
 
 May 15, 1861. 
 
 May 15, 1861. 
 MayV5,"i86i! 
 
 Authorized bv the Sec. 
 of War, July, 1861... 
 
 Date of organ- 
 ization and 
 muster into 
 U. S. service 
 
 July 25, 1861 
 
 May 24, 1861. 
 May 25, 1861. 
 May 24, 1861. 
 
 May 28, 1861 . 
 
 June 13, 1861 
 June 15, 1861 
 June 25, 1861 
 June 18, 1861 
 July 8, 1861. 
 
 Place where mus- 
 tered into the 
 United States ser 
 vice. 
 
 Cairo, Dlinois. 
 
 Dixon , 
 
 Jacksonville. 
 
 Freeport 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Anna . 
 
 Joliet. ... 
 Mattoon . 
 Belleville , 
 Chicago... 
 Chicago... 
 
 <.> 
 
 1747 
 1853 
 1265 
 1759 
 1384 
 1675 
 1112 
 2015 
 2023 
 1833 
 1259 
 2043 
 1095 
 1817 
 1266 
 1164 
 1982 
 989 
 1082 
 
734 
 
 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 reinaiiiing- regiments were accepted, and the entire force was mus- 
 tered into service, as shown in the schedule. 
 
 Owin<r to the great expense connected with the equipment of 
 cavalry and the opi)osition of Gen. Scott to the emi)h)ynieiit of 
 any considerable force of this iirm of the service, the governor 
 accepted only 5 companies but designated the remaining o, Mhich 
 should be re(;eived in case the goverm)r should need them. The 
 battalion of artillery authorized by the legislatuie w;is never or- 
 ganized as contemplated in the law, yet several companies, some 
 of which were in Gcii. Swift's exi>edition, were received into the 
 service, as per schedule. 
 
 The more than knightly ardor with which the young men of the 
 State at first exhibited was still unabated, and several thousaml 
 being denied the privilege of serving in regiments of their own 
 State, went abroad and enlisted in the forces of other States. 
 
 In view of the ahirming aspect of the rebellion, the secretary" 
 of war, in May, June and July, 18(51, authorized some 17 regi- 
 ments of infantry and o of cavalry. These regiments were 
 speedily tilled up, and in answer to an ajtplication for furnishing 
 additional forces, the secretary of war replied that no more troops 
 would be received till authorized by congress. Congiess convened 
 July 4th, and consequent ui)on the battles ot IJuU liun and 
 Wilson's Creek with tiie national capital imperilled and Fremont's 
 force threatened by superior numbei's, em})oweied the i)resident to 
 call into the service .">()(), (XIO ^()lunteers•, lo regiments of infan- 
 try, '3 of cavalry, as a part of the quota, of the State under the call 
 were forthwith tendered; thepeoi»le im})atient at the slow })rogress 
 of the war, would have increased this force by thousands had they 
 been permitted. From the 14th of August till the ,'3<1 of December, it 
 was agreed to accept all the infantry which should be willing to 
 enter the service. As the result, 11 regiments of infantry, 4 of 
 cavalry, and 8 companies for the 2d regiment of artillery volun- 
 
 26 Col. 
 
 27 
 
 28 
 
 29 
 
 30 
 
 31 
 
 32 
 
 33 
 
 34 
 
 35 
 
 36 
 
 37 
 
 38 
 
 39 
 
 40 
 
 41 
 
 42 
 
 43 
 
 44 
 
 45 
 
 46 
 
 47 
 
 48 
 
 49 
 
 50 
 
 51 
 
 52 
 
 53 
 
 54 
 
 55 
 
 56 
 
 57 
 
 58 
 
 John M. Loomis. 
 Nap. B. Buford.. 
 A. K. John.son. .. 
 Jas. S. Rearden.. 
 Philip B. Fouke. 
 John A. Logan. . . 
 
 John Logan 
 
 Chas. E. Hovey. 
 Edward N. Kirk 
 Gu8. A. Smith.. 
 Nich. Greu.sel. 
 Julius W^hite. . . 
 Wm. P. Cailin.. 
 AusUn Light. .. 
 Steph. G. Hicks. 
 Isaac C. Pugh.. 
 Wni. A. Wehb. . 
 Julius Raith . . . 
 Chas.Noblesdorfl' ^ 
 John E. Smith. . 5 
 
 John A. Davis 
 
 John Brynp.r 
 
 Isham N. Haynie 
 "Wm. R. Morrison. 
 Moses M. Banc. .. 
 G. W. Gumming. . 
 Isaac G. Wilson.. 
 W.H.W.Cnshnian 
 Thos. W. Harris .. 
 
 David Stuart 
 
 Robert Kiikham. . 
 Silas D. Baldwin , 
 AVm. F. Lynch . . . 
 P. Sidney Post . . . 
 Silas C Toler 
 
 July 2.5, 1861. 
 Julv 25," 1861. 
 
 Authorized by the Sec- 
 retary of War, in 
 May, June and Jul.y, 
 ISfii '.. 
 
 July 25, 1861 
 
 Author zed by the Sec- 
 retary of War, in 
 May, June and July, 
 1801 
 
 July 25, 1861 
 
 Authorized, Sec, War, 
 May, June, July, 1861 
 
 July 25, 1861.....' 
 
 Sec. War, July, 1861... 
 
 July 25, 1861..' 
 
 Oct. 31, 1861. 
 
 Aug. 3, 1861. 
 July 27, 1861. 
 Sept. 30, 1861. 
 Sept. 8, 1861. 
 Dec. 31, 1861. 
 Aug, 15, 1861. 
 Sept. 7, 1861. 
 
 Camp Butler. 
 
 AuthonzedSe.pt. 20, '61 
 Authorized July 1, '61 
 Authoriz(Ml Sept. Hi, '61 
 Authorized Oct. 3, '61 
 Autliorizcd July, 1861 
 Authorized Aug, 14, '61 
 
 Authorized Sept. 25, '61 
 
 Julv 25, 1S61 
 
 Authorized Oct. 3. '6! 
 
 Sept. 23, 1861 
 Sept. 18, 1861 
 Aug. 15, 1861 
 Decerab. 186J 
 Aug. 10, 1861 
 Aug. 9, 1861 
 Sept. 17, 1861 
 Dec. 16, 1861 
 Sept. 13, 1861 
 Dec. 26, 1861 
 Dec. 28, 1861 
 Oct. 1, 1861 
 Nov. 18, 1861 
 Dec. 31, 1861 
 Sept. I'J. Ir^tn 
 I)ec'61 l'\li'ti-J 
 Nov. 19, IHOI 
 March 1862 
 Feb. 18, 1862 
 Oct. 31, 1861 
 Feb. 27, 1862 
 Dec. 26, 1861 
 Dec. 21, 1861 
 August, 1861 
 Feb. 17, 1862 
 
 Camp Butler. 
 Camp Butler. 
 Camp Butler. 
 Camp Butler. 
 Camp Butler. 
 Camp Butler. 
 Camp Butler. 
 
 Aurora 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Camp Butler. . . 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Salem 
 
 Decatur 
 
 Chicago 
 
 ('amp Butler. . . 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Galena 
 
 Camp Butler. . . 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Camp Butler. .. 
 Camp Butlsr. .. 
 
 (^)uiucy 
 
 (amp Douglas. 
 
 Geneva 
 
 Ottawa 
 
 Anna 
 
 Camp Douglas. 
 Shawneetown.. 
 Camp Douglas. 
 Camp Douglas. 
 St. Louis, Mo.. 
 Anna.. .' 
 
 1602 
 1193 
 1939 
 1547 
 1878 
 1973 
 1711 
 1660 
 1558 
 1012 
 1593 
 1157 
 1388 
 1807 
 1277 
 1211 
 18i4 
 1902 
 1512 
 1716 
 2015 
 2051 
 1874 
 1482 
 1761 
 1550 
 1519 
 1434 
 1720 
 1287 
 1180 
 1754 
 2202 
 1762 
 1647 
 
THE WAE OF THE REBELLTON. 
 
 735 
 
 teered and were accei)ted. On the od of December an order was 
 pronial<iated wliieh .stopped all further recruiting', except for the 
 com[>letion of coin[)auies already in process of formation. With 
 the enlistment of over 4,000 fortius i)urpose during' the remainder 
 of the month, the record of the year was completed. J)es}»ite the 
 rebutils and op[)ositi<)ii fre(j[uently manifested by the war dei)art- 
 ment, the State at the close of the year had in caiiqjs of instruc- 
 tiou over 17,000 men, had sent to the tield nearly r(0,000, aud con- 
 sequently had exceeded her quotas about 15,000. 
 
 On the L'd of Ai)ril, ISij'J, all the corps authorized previous to 
 December, were full and the ofticers who had been detached for 
 recruiting i)ur[K)ses were ordered to reJ4)in their regiments. Many 
 of the okl regiments, however, as the resiUt of disease and recent 
 battles, had been reduced below the proper standard, and recruit- 
 ing' was still contiuiied for the pur[»ose of replenishing them with 
 their complement of men. Early in May Washington was threat- 
 ened by a. large force of the enemy, and JMr. Stanton, secretary of 
 war, telegra[»hed Governor Yates on the 25th instant, for more 
 trooi»s and se\"eral regiments of infantry and cavalry were Idled 
 up and sent to the tield. 
 
 On the ()th of July, 1802, the president issued a call for 300,000 
 volunteers to serve for o years, and on the 7th of August another 
 call for oOO,000 militia, to serve for a period of inne months. The 
 secretary, believing that a draft would be necessai-y. ordei'ed 
 the enrollment of the militia that it might take effect on the ISth 
 of August if the quota under the tirst call was not comi)leted l»y 
 that time. This vigorous determination on the part of the gov- 
 ernment was hailed with demonstrations of approval by the people 
 of the State, and everywhere preparations were commenced to 
 make a response commensurate Avith the magnitude of the requisi- 
 tion. The adjutant-generals' ofitice was at once thronged by mes- 
 sengers from every part of the State, denuinding for their several 
 
 61 
 
 Col. Jacob Fry 
 
 ea 
 
 ' ' James M. True. . . 
 
 63 
 
 ' ' Francis Mora 
 
 64 
 
 Lt. Col. I). D. Williams. 
 
 65 
 
 Col. Daniel Cameron . . 
 
 66 
 
 " Patrick E. Bnrke. 
 
 67 
 
 ' ' Ko.sell M. Hough . 
 
 68 
 
 " Elia>. Stuart 
 
 eit 
 
 ' ' Jos. H. Tucker. . . 
 
 70 
 
 " 0. T.Reeves 
 
 71 
 
 ' ' Othniel Gilbert . . 
 
 7a 
 
 ' ' FretVk A. Starring 
 
 73 
 
 " Jas. F. Jaqnesa. . . 
 
 74 
 
 ' ' Jason Marsh 
 
 75 
 
 " George Kyan 
 
 76 
 
 " Alonzo W. Mack.. 
 
 77 
 
 ' ' David P. Grier.., . 
 
 78 
 
 ' ' W. H. Bennison. . 
 
 79 
 
 " Lvnian Guinnip.. 
 
 80 
 
 " Thos. G.Allen.... 
 
 81 
 
 '' Jas. J. Dollius. 
 
 8-2 
 
 ' ' Frederick Hecker. 
 
 83 
 
 ' ' Abner C. Harding. 
 
 84 
 
 " Louis H Waters. 
 
 85 
 
 ' ' Robert S. Moore. . 
 
 86 
 
 ' ' David D. Irons 
 
 87 
 
 ' ' John E. Whiting. 
 
 88 
 
 ' ' F. 'J\ Sherman 
 
 8i» 
 
 ' ' John Christopher. 
 
 90 
 
 ' ' Timothy O'Mera. . 
 
 91 
 
 " Henry M. Day 
 
 Ha 
 
 " Smith D. Atkins.. 
 
 93 
 
 ' ' Holden Putnam. . . 
 
 94 
 
 " Wm. W. Ormo.... 
 
 Authorized Aug. 14, '61 March 7, 1862 
 Authorized Oct. 3, '61 1 April 10, 1862 
 
 Authorized Aug. 14, '61 Dec. 31, 1862 
 iMav 15, 1862 
 Transf'd from Mo. 14th April, 1862... 
 
 " 25,1862 |jnnel3, 1862 
 
 !junc 20, 1862 
 
 '' [June 14, 1662 
 
 July 4, 1862 
 
 July 26, 1862 
 July, 1862 Aug. 21, 1862 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862 
 Sept. 2, 1862 
 Aug. 22, 1862 
 *Sept. 2 9 COS. 
 Sept. 1, 1862 
 Aug. 28, 1862 
 Aug. 25, 1862 
 Aug. 26, 1862 
 
 Aug. 21, 1862 
 Sept. 1, 1862 
 Aug. 27, 1862 
 
 Sept. 22, 1862 
 Aug. 27, 1862 
 *Aug. 25, 9cos 
 Nov. '22, 1862 
 Sept. 8, 1862 
 Srpt. 4. 1862 
 Oct. 13, 1862 
 Aug. 20. 1862 
 
 Carrollton 
 
 Anna 
 
 Anna 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Douglas... 
 
 St. Louis, Mo 
 
 Camp Douglas . . 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Douglas. .. 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Douglas... 
 Camp l><iUL;las. . . 
 Camp lUUlcr. ... 
 
 Kocktord 
 
 Dixon 
 
 Kankakee 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Danville 
 
 Centralia 
 
 Anna 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Monmouth 
 
 <.)uincy 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Shawneetown 
 
 Camp Douglas 
 
 Cam]i Douglas . . ., 
 
 (.'amp DdULihis. 
 
 ('ani]i lUitlcr 
 
 Rockford 
 
 I'rinc'tn & Chicago. 
 Bloomington 
 
 1385 
 
 1730 
 
 1228 
 
 1624 
 
 1684 
 
 1694 
 
 979 
 
 889 
 
 912 
 
 1006 
 
 940 
 
 1471 
 
 968 
 
 989 
 
 987 
 
 1110 
 
 1051 
 
 1028 
 
 974 
 
 928 
 
 1187 
 
 961 
 
 1286 
 
 956 
 
 959 
 
 993 
 
 994 
 
 907 
 
 1285 
 
 95» 
 
 1041 
 
 1205 
 
 1036 
 
 1091 
 
736 
 
 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 counties the privilege of A'oluiiteeriiig, and thereby secnriiig 
 exemption from tlie draft. This preference for vohmteering-, and 
 an urgent request tliat the quota of the State under botli calls 
 might be immediately ascertained, was made known to the secre- 
 tary of war. Infornnition was duly received that the entire num- 
 ber was 52,290, and volunteers would be accepted till the 15th of 
 August for forming new regiments, ami after that for filling old 
 ones already in the held. The State had now furnished 16,978 in 
 excess of previous quotas, and it was at tirst intended that this 
 surplus should be deducted from the present requisition. This, 
 however, Avas afterwards countermanded and it was therefore 
 necessary to raise the entire number in l'.\ <hiys or submit to the 
 alternative of a draft. The resnlt is thus eloquently given in the 
 language of Adjutant-Gen. Fuller: 
 
 " These new volunteers must come, if come at all, from the farmers 
 and meelianics of tlie State. 'I'lie farmers were in the midst of liarvest, 
 and it is no exaggeration to say that, inspired by a laoly zeal, animated 
 by a common purpose, and firmly resolved on rescuing the government 
 from the very brinl\ of ruin, and restoring it to the contUtion our fatliers 
 left it, that over 50,0IJ0 of them left tlieir harvests ungatliered, their tools 
 and their benciies, tlie plows in their furrows, and turning tlieir backs 
 on their liomes, and before 11 days expired the demands of the govern- 
 ment were met and botli quotas were tilled. Proud indeed was tlie day 
 to all Illinoisans wlien the announcement was made that tlie enlist- 
 ments were full. And when the historian shall record the eventful 
 days of August, 18G2, no prouder record can be erected to the honor and 
 memory of a free people than a plain and full narrative of actual reali- 
 ties. It is not my province in this report to bestow fulsome praise or 
 write glowing eulogies, but when I remember what we all witnessed in 
 those days; when I remember the patriotism and unselfish impulse 
 which animated every soul, and the universal liberality of those who 
 were either too young or too old to enlist to aid those who were eager 
 to join their brethren in the field ; when I remember the holy ardor 
 which aged mothers and fair daughters infused into husbands, sons and 
 
 95, Col. Lawr'n S. Church. 
 ' ' Thos. E. Champion 
 " F S. Rutherford.. 
 " J. J. Funkhouser. 
 ■' G. W. K.Bailey.. 
 ' ' Fred. A. Bartleson 
 
 " Chas. H. Fox 
 
 " Win. McMurtry., 
 ' ' Amos C. Babcock. 
 ' ' Al).salom B. Moore 
 
 " Daniel Dustin 
 
 " Rob' t B. Latham.. 
 
 ' ' Thoma.s Snell 
 
 '' John Warner 
 
 '' Alex. tT. Nimmo.. 
 
 " Thos. S. Casey 
 
 ' ' .Tames S. Martin . . 
 " T. J. Henderson. . . 
 
 ' ' Geo. B. Hoge 
 
 ' ' Jas. W. Judy 
 
 " Jesse H.Moore... 
 ' ' Nathan H . Tupper 
 '' Ri.sdcn M. Moore. 
 
 ' ' John G. Fonda 
 
 '■ Thos. J. Kenney. . 
 ' ' Geo. W, McKeaig. 
 
 Never Organized 
 
 Col. John I. Einaker. . 
 
 James Mooro 
 
 Thomas J. Sloan.. 
 
 Oscar F. Harmon. 
 
 Jonth'u Richmond 
 
 John VanArman.. 
 
 Robert M. Hudley 
 
 Geo. P. Smith 
 
 96 
 97 
 98 
 99 
 100 
 101 
 102 
 103 
 104 
 105 
 106 
 107 
 108 
 109 
 110 
 111 
 112 
 113 
 114 
 115 
 116 
 117 
 118 
 119 
 120 
 121 
 122 
 123 
 124 
 125 
 126 
 V27 
 128 
 129 
 
 Sept. 4, 
 Sept. 6, 
 Sept. 8, 
 Sept. 3, 
 Aug. 2fi, 
 Aug 30, 
 Sept. 2, 
 
 Oct. 2, 
 Aug. 27, 
 Sept. 2, 
 Sept. 17, 
 Sept. 4, 
 Aug. 28, 
 Sept. 11, 
 
 Sept. 18, 
 Sept. 12, 
 Oct. 1, 
 Sept. 18, 
 Sept. 13, 
 Sept. 30, 
 Sept. 19, 
 Nov. 29, 
 Oct. 7, 
 Oct. 29, 
 
 1862 Rockford 
 
 1862 iRockford 
 
 1862 Camp Butler 
 
 1862 1 Centralia 
 
 1862 Florence, Pike co. 
 
 1862 
 1862 
 
 Joliet. 
 
 Jacksonville , 
 Knoxville 
 
 1862 Peoria 
 
 1862 Ottawa 
 
 1862] Chicago 
 
 1862 Lincoln . 
 
 1862 
 
 1862 
 
 1861 
 
 1862 
 
 Camp Butler. .. 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Anna 
 
 Anna 
 
 Salem 
 
 1862! Peoria 
 
 1862 Cami) Douglas. 
 1862 Caniii Butler... 
 1862 Canii> Butler... 
 
 l.-^iy Decatur 
 
 IfCfi Camp Butler. .. 
 If 62 Camp Butler. . . 
 
 1862 Quiuc.y 
 
 1862 Camp "Butler... 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862 
 
 Sept. 6, 1862 
 
 Sept. 10, 1862 
 
 Sept. 4, 1862 
 
 Carlinville 
 
 Mattoon 
 
 Camp Butler. .. 
 
 Danville 
 
 Chicago 
 
 ♦Sept. 5, 9 coslCamp Douglas. 
 Dec. 18, 1862 Camp Butler. . . 
 Sept. 8, lH62|Poutiac 
 
 1427 
 1206 
 1082 
 1078 
 936 
 921 
 911 
 998 
 917 
 977 
 1001 
 1097 
 944 
 927 
 967 
 873 
 994 
 1095 
 1258 
 990 
 960 
 952 
 995 
 1101 
 952 
 814 
 
 934 
 1050 
 1130 
 933 
 998 
 957 
 866 
 1011 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 ioi 
 
 brothers — I say wheu I remember all these things, I cannot but feel 
 justitied iu departing from the dull routine of statistics and bestow 
 upon the subject this parting notice." 
 
 A vast army was thus siiddeuly usliered into existence, and 
 tlie government being- unable to supply tents, how to provide com- 
 fortable quarters became an important consideration. In many 
 counties, therefoi-e, large numbers were temporarily lodged under 
 the sheds of fair grounds till barracks could be erected at the prin- 
 cipal camps of instruction at Springfield and Chicago. It was also 
 difticult to procure clothing. The vast multitude of recruits iu the 
 different States, and the sudden emergency whicli had called them 
 forth, taxed the government to its utmost capacity to furnish 
 equipments. Before the close of the year, however, there were 
 clothed, armed and sent from the State 59 regiments of infantry, 
 and four batteries of artillery, aggregating' a force of .53,S11> men. 
 There was also enlisted during the same time for the 14th 
 cavalry, and for old regiments an additional number, which, added 
 to the former, makes a grand total of 58,416 men, an excess of 
 23,097 over the quotas of the State. 
 
 The last call for troops was on the 19th of December, 18G4. The 
 number reqitired was o(X),000, and if not raised by voluntary en- 
 listments, by the 15th of February following the State was to be 
 drafted. Past experience had shown that troops could be more 
 readily secured by the formation of new organizations, and ap])li- 
 cation was made to the war department for the privilege of raising 
 ten additional regiments. Permission was granted, and a number 
 of persons who had distinguished themselves in the service, but 
 whose terms of enlistment had expired, commenced recruiting, 
 each authorized to raise a single company. Formerly one person 
 had been permitted to raise a whole regiment, but it required a 
 much longer time for its accomplishment than where the work 
 was sub-divided among a number. This modification in the prac- 
 tice which had hitherto prevailed operated with astonishing success. 
 The adjutant general's office was again thronged with applications 
 
 130 
 131 
 132 
 133 
 134 
 135 
 136 
 137 
 138 
 139 
 140 
 141 
 142 
 143 
 144 
 145 
 146 
 147 
 148 
 149 
 150 
 151 
 152 
 153 
 154 
 155 
 156 
 
 Col. Nathaniel Niles... 
 
 " Gporgo W. Neeley. 
 
 " ■ Thus. ('. Pickett." 
 
 " TliaiL Phillins... 
 
 " W.W.iIc(;he.sney 
 
 " John S. Wolfe... 
 
 " Fred A. Johns.. 
 
 " John Wood 
 
 " J. W. Goodwin.. 
 
 " Peter Davidson.. 
 
 " L. H. Whitney.. 
 
 " Stephen Bronson. 
 
 " Kollin V. Aukney 
 
 " Dudley C. Smith J 
 
 " Cyrus Hall 
 
 " George W. Lackey. 
 
 " Henry H. Dean 
 
 " Hiram F. Sickles... 
 
 " Horace H. Wilsie.. 
 
 " "Wm. C. Knettner.. 
 
 " Geo. W. Keener... 
 
 " French B. Woodall 
 
 " F. D. Stephen.son.. 
 
 " Stephen Bronson. . 
 
 " McLean F. Wood.. 
 
 " Gnstavus A. Smith 
 
 •' Alfred F. Smith... 
 
 " J. W. Wilson 
 
 " John A. Bross 
 
 Capt. John Curtis 
 
 " Simon J. Stookey 
 " James Steele.... 
 
 47 
 
 July, 1862. 
 
 100 day otganizations 
 tendered by the Gov- 
 ernor of Hlinois, April 
 21, '64, and accepted 
 by the President, 
 April 23, 1864. 
 
 July. 1864 
 
 100 day's organization.. 
 July, '1864 
 
 December 19, 1864 
 
 Spec auth'ty Sec. War. 
 
 *Sept.24, 1863 
 
 100 day's organization. 
 100 dav's organization. 
 April 15, 1861 
 
 Oct. 25, 
 Nov. 13, 
 June 1, 
 May 31, 
 
 June 6, 
 June 1, 
 Jiine 5, 
 June 21, 
 June 1, 
 June 18, 
 June 16, 
 June 18, 
 June 11, 
 Oct. 21, 
 June 9, 
 Sept. 20, 
 Feb. 18, 
 Feb. 18, 
 Feb. 11, 
 Feb. 14, 
 Feb. 25, 
 Feb. 18, 
 Feb. 27, 
 Feb. 22, 
 Feb. 28, 
 March 9, 
 Dec. 1, 
 
 1865. 
 1862. 
 1864. 
 1864.' 
 
 1864. 
 1804. 
 1864. 
 1804. 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1854. 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1865- 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1865. 
 1861. 
 
 June 21, 
 June 21, 
 June 15, 
 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 1864. 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Massac 
 
 Camp Fry 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Fry 
 
 ]\Iattoon 
 
 Ceutiralia 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Elgin 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Mattoon 
 
 Alton, His 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Camp Butler, 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Quincy 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Chicago 
 
 932 
 
 880 
 853 
 851 
 878 
 852 
 842 
 849 
 835 
 878 
 871 
 842 
 851 
 865 
 
 1159 
 880 
 
 1056 
 
 1047 
 917 
 9S3 
 933 
 970 
 945 
 
 1078 
 994 
 929 
 975 
 985 
 903 
 91 
 90 
 86 
 
738 
 
 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 for authority to raise companies, and as fast as a sufficient number 
 was secured for a regiment it was organized aiul marclied to the 
 front. Early in February it was feared thsit recruiting was going 
 on so rapidly that more volunteers would offer than could possibly 
 enter the 10 regiments, and the draft was temporarily postponed. 
 These regiments were soon completed, and it was directed that tlie 
 remaining companies arriving under voluntary enlistments should 
 be disposed of in tilling up old regiments. This course was con- 
 tinued till the loth of April, 1SG5, when, by an order of the war 
 department, recruiting ceased tliroughout the U. S. The State now 
 only lacked 4,896 of completing her quota. These would have 
 been speedily obtained had not the termination of the war ren- 
 dered it unnecessary. 
 
 Toward the close of the war, in consequence of an imperfect 
 enrollment of those subject to militiivy duty, it became evident 
 that the State was furnishing thousands in excess of what a cor- 
 rect estimate would huxe required. So glaring had this dispro- 
 j)ortiou become, that under the last call the quota in a number of 
 sub-districts exceeded the number of able-bodied men. Yet the 
 people, when it was found inexpedient to correct the enrollment, 
 determined to raise the nundjer required, believing that in the 
 extraordinary exigencies of the times the safety of the country 
 demanded the sacriUce. Let the thousainls of brave men which 
 the State thus voluntarily" laid on the altar of the country foi'ever 
 remain a proud monument of thepatriotism which so triumphantly 
 sustained it in the hour of danger. 
 
 The office of the Adjutant General, whi(di played such an important 
 part in the organization of the troops, was occupied at the com- 
 mencement of the war by Thomas S. Mather. The duties of the 
 oftice were then executed by virtue of the militia law of IS-lo, and 
 acts amendatory thereof. Mr. Mather held the office till November, 
 1861, when Gen. Allen C. Fuller assumed control. The latter in- 
 cumbent, possessing superior qualifications, soon reduced the 
 military records of the State, hitherto sparse and confused, to 
 order, and systematized the business of the office. A fruitful source 
 of disorder grew out of the accei)tance by the war dei)artmentof 
 what were termed independent regiments. The coirespon deuce 
 of the first 22iegiments of infantry and 4of cavalry were addressed 
 directlyto the war department, and for a time their officers were 
 disinclined to furnish the adjutant general Avith muster rolls, 
 and other official information. To remedy this evil and promote 
 
 CAVALRY 
 
 Auth'd bv Sec'y War. . 
 
 July 2, 1861 
 
 July 25, 1861 
 
 Authoiizerl July, '61. 
 Auth'd Alls;. 27, 1861... 
 
 July 25, 1861 
 
 July 25, 1861 
 
 Aiitliorized July, 1S61. 
 Authorized July, 1861, 
 Auth'd Sept. 5, 1861.... 
 
 *July. 1861 
 
 Auth'd Sept. 28, 1861. 
 Auth-d Nov. 27, 1861... 
 
 July, 1862 
 
 July, 1861 
 
 April, 1861, July, 1862. 
 1863 
 
 Col. 
 
 Tho.s. A. Marshall 
 
 Silas Noble 
 
 Euficue A. Carr 
 
 T. Lyle Dickey 
 
 Johu J. TJpdefiratf 
 Thos. H.Cavauauuh 
 Wni. Pitt Kelloiiji: 
 John F. rarn.swovtii 
 Albert G. llrackett 
 James A. iSarrett.. 
 Itobeit G. Ingersoll 
 
 Aruo Vos.s 
 
 Joseph W.Bell.... 
 
 Horace Capron 
 
 Warren Stewart. .. 
 (.'liristian Thieliuan 
 John L. Beyeridae. 
 
 June, 1861 
 
 Ans. 24, 1861. 
 St'pt. 21, 1861. 
 Sei)t. :!(), 1861. 
 
 Dec. 1861 
 
 Noy.61 Jan'62 
 Aug. 1861.... 
 Sept. 18, 1861. 
 Oct. 26, 1861. 
 Nov. 25, 1861. 
 Dec. 20, 1861 
 Uec'61 Feb '62 
 
 Jan. 7, 1863 
 oV'r\\ Dec25'63 
 Ja'n.Apl, 18G3. 
 Jan. 28, 1861. 
 
 Bloomingtou... 
 Camp Butler... 
 Camp Butler. . 
 
 Ottawa 
 
 Camp Butler.., 
 Camp Butler.. 
 Camp Butler. . 
 
 St. Charles 
 
 Carap Douglas 
 Camp Butler. . 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Camp Butler. . 
 Camp Douglas 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Camp Butler, . 
 Camp Butler. . 
 St. Charles 
 
 1206 
 1861 
 2183 
 1656 
 1669 
 2248 
 2282 
 2412 
 2619 
 1934 
 2:;62 
 2174 
 1759 
 1565 
 1473 
 1462 
 1247 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 
 
 739 
 
 liarinoiiy between the federal niul State authorities, the secretiuy 
 of war proimilgated order 18, Avhich coiitaiiis the tbllowing pro- 
 vLsiou: '-The .governors of the States are Ieji;illy the authorities 
 for raising' vohiiiteer reg'inients and coiiiuiissioniiig' their oflicers. 
 Accord iuiily no iude|)endent organizafions, as such, will hereafter 
 he reco.ii'nized in the IT. S. service. Copies of the rolls of muster 
 into service will be sent as soon as practicable to the governors 
 of the States to which they belong by the comnumders of bri- 
 gades, regiment or corps, heretofore recognized as independent 
 of State organizations, and all vacancies of commissions in such 
 regiments and cori)S will be hereafter filled by the respective 
 governors according to law." Mr. Fuller retained possession of 
 the ofiice till January 1, 1S()3. Tlienee to the installation of 
 (len. 1. K. Haynie, January 14, 1805, the duties of the ofHce were 
 discharged by Lieut.-Col. Edward P. Xiles, who, from the com- 
 meiuiement of the war, had been intimately connected with its 
 routine. By the provisions of an act to provide for the appoint- 
 ment, an<l to prescribe the duties of, the adjutant general, ap- 
 pro\'ed Fubruary 2d, 18G5, the oftice became an organized de- 
 partment of the State government. In accordance Avith the law 
 
 nnST KEGIMENT— ILLIN(JIS LIGHT AliXILLEKY. 
 
 Field 
 Ciipt. 
 
 1111(1 Staff 
 
 CM. Willard.... 
 
 Ezra Taylof 
 
 C. Haugfitaliiiii'.. 
 Ed. McAllister.. 
 A. C. AVatei'house 
 JohuT. Ch.'iuy.. 
 Arthur O'Learj)-. 
 Axel Silvfrsjiurr. 
 Edward Boutuu . 
 
 A. Fraiililiii 
 
 Joliu Kdurke.... 
 
 John B. Miller... 
 
 Kficruit.s 
 
 April, 1S(31. 
 July, 1661 
 
 July, 18G-2. 
 
 Oct. 
 Jan. 
 Dec. 
 Feb. 
 
 Feb. 
 Fell. 
 Feb. 
 ■ran. 
 Feb. 
 AuL', 
 
 letu. 
 
 1801, 
 18(U 
 1862. 
 18(12. 
 1862. 
 1862. 
 1^62 
 1862. 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Chicajfo 
 
 Ottawa 
 
 I'laiutield 
 
 Chica.^i) 
 
 Camp Butler. . 
 
 Cairo 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Cliicago 
 
 Shawiicctowu. 
 
 t.'hi.-ago 
 
 Chicago 
 
 7 
 16« 
 20't 
 175 
 141 
 148 
 1.5!) 
 113 
 147 
 l(i9 
 96 
 1.^3 
 154 
 883 
 
 SECOND REGIMENT— ILLINOIS LIGHT ARTILLEET. 
 
 Capt. Peter Davidson. . I July, 1861 
 
 " Rilev ^[arison i April, 1861 
 
 " Caleb Hopkius .... July, 1 861 
 
 " Jasoer M. ]Jrc.s.ser Autli'd, Sept. 1861. 
 
 " Adolph Schwartz 
 
 " Joliu W. I'owell. 
 
 " Chas. J. Stolbraiid 
 
 " Andrew Steiubeclj 
 
 " Charles W. Xeith. 
 
 '■ Beiij. F. Itoirers. .. 
 
 ■' W^ni. H. linlton... 
 
 " John C. Phillip.---.. 
 
 Field and .statf.. 
 
 Kecruits 
 
 Auth'd Sept. 15, 1861. 
 
 Authorized 1861. 
 Authorized 1862. 
 
 Aug. 17, 
 June 20, 
 Aug. 5, 
 Dec. 17, 
 Feb. 1, 
 Dec. 11, 
 Dec. 31, 
 Dec. 31, 
 Dec. 31, 
 Dec. 31, 
 Feb. 28, 
 June 6, 
 
 1861. 
 1861 
 1861. 
 1861- 
 1862 
 1861 
 1861. 
 1861. 
 1861. 
 1861 
 1862. 
 1862. 
 
 Peoria 
 
 Springfield 
 
 CJairo 
 
 Cairo 
 
 Cairo 
 
 Cape Girai'deau,Mo. 
 
 Caiiii) Butler 
 
 Cam]) Bntli-r 
 
 Cam)) Butler 
 
 Camp Butler 
 
 Cliicago I.. 
 
 Chicago 
 
 116 
 127 
 1.54 
 117 
 136 
 100 
 108 
 115 
 107 
 108 
 145 
 100 
 10 
 1171 
 
 INDEPENDENT BATTERIES. 
 
 Capt. James S. Stokes. .July 1862 
 
 Thu.-i. F. Vaughn ' " 
 
 ' Cha,s. G. Cooiey, ! '• 
 
 ' Geo.W. Renwickj •■ 
 
 ' Wm. Ci)irg.sn-ell. Auth'd Sept. 15, 1861. 
 
 Ed. C. Henshaw. 'July. 1862 
 
 ' Lyman Bridges.. JAuUrd Jan. 1, 1862.. 
 ' John H. Colvin.. Auth'd July, 1863... 
 
 July 31, 1862. Chiiago. 
 
 Aug. 21, ^-62 
 Aug. 29, 18^ -.2. 
 Nov. 15, lr<t)2. 
 Sep. 23, 1861- 
 Oct. 15, 1862. 
 Jan. 1, 1862. 
 Oct. 10, 1863. 
 
 Caiup Butler. 
 ( 'iiiiago . . ... 
 
 Elgin' 
 
 C'mp Douglas 
 Ottawa ..'.... 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Chicago 
 
 Chic%o 
 
 258 
 190 
 270 
 242 
 221 
 196 
 
 "oi 
 
 127 
 
 EEC APITULA TION. 
 
 Infantry 185 941 
 
 Cavalry •. 3",082 
 
 Artillery 7,277 
 
740 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Gen. Hayuie provided a seal of office. Previously, to give yalidity 
 to commissious and other official iustrnments, it was necessary 
 to procure tlie seal and signature of the secretary of State. 
 After a suitable imprint was provided, this indirect method of 
 transacting the business of the office was discontinued. The ex- 
 tensive reports, issued under the supervision of Gen. Haynie, 
 contain all the military information that can be interesting to the 
 reader or useful in the organization of future armies, and may 
 justly be regarded as a monument of industry, of which the State 
 should be proud. 
 
 From data thus furnished, the whole number of enlistments 
 during the war was 250,000, average strength 299,903, number 
 killed in action, 5,888 ; died of Avounds, 3,032 ; of dis^ise, 19,490, 
 in prison, 907 ; lost at sea, 205 ; aggregate, 29,588.* 
 
 Medical BejKirtment. — At the instance of the Secretary of War, 
 the governor ajipointed a board of medical examiners consisting 
 of A. H. Johnson, president, and O. M. Eyan, secretary. The 
 medical profession sharing the enthusiasm that animated the 
 masses, tendered their services to the government with a zeal 
 which, in many instances, surpassed their qualifications for the 
 work they were required to perform. They went forth in large 
 numbers from the prairie, the village and country where their 
 undiversified practice little qualified them for the more arduous 
 and extensive duties of the army. 
 
 The board met on the 18th of June, 1801, in Springfield, and in 
 accordance with the army regulations they proceeded to "inves- 
 tigate carefully the physical ability, moral character and profes- 
 sional attainments of each candidate. To accommodate the large 
 number who applied for positions, sessions were held in Chicago, 
 Alton, Cairo and the field. The importance of the work which 
 they perforiwed may be inferred from the fact that much the 
 larger part of the mortality connected with armies results from 
 diseases instead of the sword, and that many of those who pro- 
 posed to assume the responsibilities of physicians had never 
 received the first rudiments of a medical education. It is but 
 justice to state that the selections niade by the board were judi- 
 cious, and that the medical treatment enjoyed by our volunteers 
 was efficient. Many not only evinced a high order of skill in the 
 practice of surgery and therapeutics, but what was of more import- 
 ance, with a paternal solicitude instituted the most rigid sanitary 
 regulations for the prevention of disease. 
 
 (Jamps. — The two principal camps in the State were Camp But- 
 ler, at Springfield, and Camp Douglas, at Chicago. The immedi- 
 ate location of the former was near where the Toledo, Wabash & 
 Western railroad crosses the Sangamon river, and that of the lat- 
 ter just hj the last resting place of the great statesman after whom 
 it was named. Each was provided with commissary and ordnance 
 warehouses, general prison and small pox hospitals, company and 
 prison bai»racks, officers' quarters and other structures necessary 
 for the outfit of an extensive encampment. Both places — espe- 
 cially Camp Butler — became the principal i)oints for the rendez- 
 
 •Co«»pntation by Adjutant General E. L. Higgins. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 741 
 
 vous and iustriictiou of volunteers and mustering them out of ser- 
 vice after the war. 
 
 As the result of the battle of Fort Donelson some 10,000 priso- 
 ners were sent to these camps, and thereafter they became places 
 of custody for other prisoners captured in the war. Their treat- 
 ment hy the officers in charge was always humane, though if the 
 statements of rebel writers could be credited, they suffered more 
 hellish barbarities than were perpetrated in the prison pens of 
 the South. Of the 30,000 prisoners received at different times at 
 Camp Douglas 3,500 died, about 10 per cent., while of the number 
 of prisoners received at Belle Isle more than 50 per cent, died 
 from exposure, starvation and brutality. The site of Camp But- 
 ler is still i)reserved as a national cemetery, in which many of 
 the gallant sons of Illinois sleep in honored graves. Other camps 
 were formed in different parts of the State, but they in general 
 subserved only temporarj'^ I)urposes. 
 
 Women of Illinois. — We have spoken of the patriotic sons 
 of Illinois, her daughters must not be omitted. Perhaps the 
 brightest page in the history of the State is that which records 
 their efforts in behalf of the soldier. Their devotion to the 
 imtional cause was rather the promi)tings of inspiration than the 
 ordinary impulse of patriotism, and its defenders were objects of 
 their deepest symi^atliy. Women in all ages have prompted men 
 to deeds of noble daring, while with the progress of civilization 
 in modern times her intluence has become more potent than presi- 
 dents, cabinets or crowns. It is a true adage that she who rocks 
 the cradle rules the world. In the hallowed associations of home 
 are Ijorn and nurtured the great intellects, large hearts and the 
 staunch integrity which has accomplished all that is noble in the 
 histor}^ of the race. 
 
 The women of Illinois, in common with others all over the land, 
 were the first to commiserate the sufferings of the soldier, and the 
 first to make efforts to afford relief. In this they were actuated 
 not only by a heroic love of country, but their kindred were 
 enduring the privations of war, and who like them could feel for 
 their distress ! Though j^bysically incapacitated to share with 
 them the toil and perils of battle, yet before its smoke and the 
 echoes of its artdlery passed away they could bind up their 
 wounds, and b> their stelf-denial inspire them with a holier ardor 
 for the cause they were defending. How many weary sufferers on 
 the field of carnage, in the lonely hospital relieved by their 
 bounty and cheered by their presence, none but the recording 
 angel can tell. 
 
 Their labors soon assumed an organized form ; hundreds of relief 
 societies sprang up all over the State, and proportionately as the 
 terrible effects of the war increased, the warm current of their 
 sympathies and charities augmented. These consisted of food, 
 clotliing, medicine, hospital delicacies, reading matter and thou- 
 sands of other articles in such quantities as to necessitate the 
 chartering of cars, and in some instances steamboats to carry 
 them to their destination. 
 
 The counties of the State next became enlisted in the work of 
 benevolence. In the 60 where records were made and reported, 
 the sums donated as bounties to volunteers for the support of sol- 
 
742 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 diers' families and other objects amounted to more than $1,500,- 
 000. In tbis estimate tbe donations of 33 counties, and tLe unre- 
 corded benevolence of thousands of individuals all over the State, 
 is not included. 
 
 Another form which the work assumed was the establishment 
 of soldiers' homes in tlie ])rincipal cities. In these places of ref- 
 uge the traveling' soldier, when he had no one else to care for him, 
 was provided with bonrd and lodging free of cost. During the 
 war the several homes in Illinois and otlier parts af the West fur- 
 nished lodging for 000,000 men and meals valued at $2,500,000. 
 The relief thus afforded was not intended as a substitute but as 
 supplemental to that of the government. Tlie troops of Illinois 
 particii)ated in some of the most gigantic struggles of the war, 
 in wln(;h no government system, however provident or elastic, can 
 do more than mitigate the suffering. In these bloody conflicts 
 the private benevolence of the peo]>le nobly secojided the efforts 
 of the goverjiment, and could the relief afforded by both have been 
 tenfold more effective, the wounded would still have suffered 
 unspeakable privations and agony. 
 
 The sanitary commission greatly assisted in arousing and giv- 
 ing direction to the benevolent enterprise of the State. The llrst 
 members of the society were appointed on the 9th of June, 1801, 
 by the Secretary of AYar. They met and organized in Washing- 
 ton the same month, and in the autiimn of the same year Dr. 
 Newberry, one of the most efficient members, organized the 
 Northwestern branch at Chicago. 
 
 " This was one of the most efficient of all its auxilaries in collecting 
 supplies, and its various tributaries scattered throughout tlie States of 
 Illinois, Iowa and Wisconsin, did more lor the relief of the soldier 
 probably in proportion to their means, than those of any other section 
 of the country. No where had the commission warmer or moreen thusias- 
 tic friendsthau at Chicago. It was most fortunate in enlisting at an early 
 period the active sympathy of some of the most iufiuential and trusted 
 men of that important place. The names of the gentlemen who con- 
 ducted its operations, Judge Skinner, E. B. McCagg and E. W. Blatcli- 
 ford were alone a tower of strength to its cause throughout the North- 
 west and the commission reaped the benefit in the vast contributions of 
 that region of their wide spread reputation and active exertions."* 
 
 The most successful effort iu turning the great tide of popular 
 sympathy into the channel of the commission, occurred at Chicago 
 in May, 18G5. The means employed was a fair iu whicli not 
 only Illinois, but her sister States of the West, were largely rep- 
 resented. Though all gave it a hearty support the conception of 
 itr; plan and the success with which it was carried out was mostly 
 due to the efforts of Madams Iloge and Livermore. These ladies 
 Avho are the perso]nfi<;ation of benevolence and energy wrote 
 appeals, distributed circulars, aiul addressed public meetings till 
 the great heart of the Northwest was moved to its utmost depths. 
 Union Hall, the princii)al building, occupied the whole of Dear- 
 born Park and was brilliantly illundnated with gas from floor to 
 apex. In the centre Avere tastefully arranged in bootlis and on 
 tables tlie consecrated offerings of churches, and rare and beauti- 
 ful contributions fi'om the nations of Europe. In the two 
 wings business and industry were represented by goods and 
 machinerj-, less ornamental but more useful. Eastward a whole 
 
 • History of the Sanitary Commission. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 743 
 
 block was covered by Floral Hall, whose contents appeared like a 
 crystalized vision of beanty, in wliicb. both natnre and art had 
 been laid nnder contribution for their most exquisite productious. 
 Bryan's Hall, then the hiigest room in the city, was used as a 
 depository for battle-torn banners and other trojihies of the war, 
 indicative of Illinois and western valor. 
 
 Generals Grant and Hooker, Senator Yates, and a large number 
 of other distinguished personages, gave the prestige of their 
 presence to the occasion. A vast midtitude thronged the diflVrent 
 avenues of approach to the city, and though the rel)ellion liad 
 suddenly collapsed and the necessity for raising funds had greatly 
 ceased, the gross |)roceeds amounted to more than $300,000 and 
 the net profits to $250,000. 
 
 MiUtary Movement f, in the State. — The operations of the immense 
 hosts furnished by the State within her borders, was limited iu 
 extent. We have already s})oken of the occupation of Cairo, 
 located at the junction of the Oliio and Mississippi rivers and 
 Illinois Central railroad, which Avas early regarded as a strategic 
 point of more than ordinary signifi(jance. Its near proximity to 
 Kentucky, Missouri and Tennessee, whose governments were con- 
 trolled by di.sloyal men, rendered it liable to seizure. One of the 
 tirst acts of the garrison was to 6upi)ress the traffic iu lead and 
 other contraband merchandise carried on by Galena, St. Louis 
 and Cincinnati, with the rebellious cities on the Lower Mississippi. 
 Among other contraband shipments Gov. Yates received intelli- 
 gence that two steameas, the C. E. Hilbnan and John I). Perry, 
 carrying arms and anjinunition, were about to descend the river 
 from St. Louis and telegraphed Col. Prentiss to stop them ami 
 take possession of their cargoes. In due time the vessels made 
 their ap[)earance and were immediately boarded and brought to 
 the wharf. A large number of arms and other military stores 
 were seized and confiscated, a proceeding at the time somewhat 
 informal, but subseipiently a})proved by the Secretary of Avar. 
 Toi>revent the recurrence of similar attemi)ts on the part of the 
 rebels to obtain snp])lies all further shipments to posts under in- 
 surrectionary control Avere interdicted. 
 
 . The State was almost destitute of arms, and the Cairo exi»edi- 
 tion had been equipped to a great extent with shot guns and rifles, 
 taken from the stoTesin Chicago. According to the rei>ort of the 
 ordinance qartermaster, the arsenal coiitained oidy 302 muskets, 
 105 rifles, 133 musketoons, and 297 pistols. In addition to tliose 
 there Averea number of other arms in possession of difiereiit militia 
 companies of the State, of antique patterns, and far inferior to 
 weapons of a more modern construction. Uiuler these circum- 
 stances an eflbrt was made to obtain arms from the a rsei ml of 
 Kew York, and a messen'ger Avas sent to Washington for a similar 
 purpose. It, hoAvever, soon became evident that this destitution 
 was uot confined to Illinois, but as the result of Floyd's treacheiy, 
 common to all the Northern States. According to rebel ne\vs[>a- 
 l>ers, there had been deposited at different points in the South 
 107,000 stand of muskets, and 200,000 pistols for the avowed pur- 
 pose of overturning the gOA'erument to Avhich they rightfull}' be- 
 longed. Furthermore, of the home squadron, consisting of 12 
 vessels, carrying 187 guns and 2,000 men, only 4 small vessels, 
 
744 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 carrying 25 gnus aud 280 men, were available, tlie otliers having 
 been dispersed to distant seas. 
 
 While the subject of procuring arms was under advisement, the 
 messenger who had been dispatched to Washington returned with 
 an order on the arsenal at St. Louis for 10,000 muskets. This re- 
 jjository of military stores Avas now closely watched by traitors, 
 and a mob of them were ready to seize the arms which it contained 
 the moment an attempt should be made to remove them. While 
 those in charge of the requisition were looking about for compe- 
 tent men, aud considering an available plan for getting possession 
 of them. Captain Stokes, of Chicago, volunteei^ed to undertake the 
 hazardous enterprise. Gov. Yates at once put into his hands the 
 order issued by the secretary of war, and hastening to St. Louis, 
 he found the arsenal surrounded by a disorderly, treasonable 
 rabble. After a number of unavailing attempts to pass through 
 the crowd, he at length reached the building, and communicated 
 to the oflicer in chaijge the object of his visit. The commander in- 
 formed him that the arsenal was surrounded b}' hundreds of spies 
 in communication with the secessionists of the city, and that the 
 most trivial movement might excits suspicion, and bring an over- 
 powering force upon the garrison at any moment. Although he 
 doubted the i^ossibility of complying with the requisition, it was 
 evident that delay would render it more difficult, and permission, 
 was given to Captain Stokes to make the attempt. These appre- 
 hensions were well founded, for the next day information was re- 
 ceived that Gov. Jackson had ordered 2,000 armed men down 
 from Jefferson City, and was evidently contemplating by this 
 movement the capture of the arsenal. Two batteries had already 
 been planted by his friends, one near the arsenal, and one on the 
 St. Louis levee, aud were either designed for this purpose, or some 
 other treasonable object. Captain Stokes immediately telegraphed 
 to Alton to have a steamer descend the river and about midnight 
 land opposite the arsenal, and proceeding to the same place with 
 700 men of the 7th Illinois, soon commenced lowering the heavy 
 boxes containing the guns from the upper to the lower portion of 
 the building. At the same time, to divert attention from his real 
 design, he caused 500 unserviceable muskets to be openlj' jils^ced 
 on a different boat. As intended, this movement was soon de- 
 tected, and the shouts and escite'ment upon their seizure, drew 
 most of the crowd from the arsenal. Captain Stokes ordered the 
 remainder, who were acting as a i)osse, to be shut up in the guard 
 house, and as soon as the boat came along side commenced 
 freighting her with guns. When the 10,000 muskets were aboard 
 he asked permission to empty the entue arsejial, and was told to 
 go ahead and take what he w^anted. He, therefore, instead of 
 confining himself to the requisition, besides cannon and a large 
 number of other valuable accoutrements, took 500 carbines, 500 
 pistols, and 20,000 muskets, leaving only 7,000 to arm the St. 
 Louis volunteers. When all was on board and the order was given 
 to start, it was found that the immense weight of the cargo had 
 bound the bow of the boat to a rock, which at every turn of the 
 wheel was crushing through the bottom. The arms had been piled 
 in large quantities about the engines to protect thm from the bat- 
 tery on the levee, aiul assistance was immediately summoned from 
 the arsenal to remove them to the stern. Fortunately, when this 
 
THE WAR OP THE EEBELLION. 745 
 
 was partially effected the boat fell away from the shore and floated 
 iuto deep water. 
 
 "Which way V said Captain Mitchell, of the steamer. "Straight 
 ill the regular channel to Alton," replied Captain JStokes. ''What 
 if we are attacked f said Captain Mitchell. "Then we will fight," 
 Avas the reply of Captain Stokes. "What if we are overpowered?" 
 said JMitchell. "Run the boat to the deepest part of the river and 
 sink her," rei)lied Stokes. "I'll do it," was the heroic answer of 
 Mitchell, and away they went i)ast the secession battery, past the 
 St. Louis levee, and in the regular channel onto Alton, where they 
 arrived at 5 o'clock in the morning. W^hen they touched the land- 
 ing, Captain Stokes, fearing pursuit by some of the secession mili- 
 tary comi)anies by which the city of St. Louis was disgraced, ran 
 to the market house and rang the fire bell. The citizens came 
 flocking pell-mell to the river in all sorts of habiliments. Captain 
 Stokes informed them as to the state of affairs, and pointed to the 
 freight cars. Insta^ntly men, women and children boarded the 
 steamer, seized the freight, and clambered up the levee to the 
 cars. Eich and poor tugged together with might and main for two 
 Lours, when the cargo was all de^wsited on the cars, and the train 
 moved off" to Springtield amid the most enthusiastic cheers."*These 
 arms thus rescued from the very grasp of traitors, served to equip 
 the flrst regiments of the State, and on many a bloody field be- 
 came the terrible avengers of those who sought to use them against 
 their country. 
 
 * Patriotism of Illinois. 
 
Chapter LVI. 
 
 18G1— 1862. ILLINOIS IN MISSOURI. 
 
 Battles of Lexington, Monroe, Charlesfon, FredericTctoion, Belmont and 
 
 Pea Ridge. 
 
 Having gixon a brief sketch of the operation of Illinois at home 
 let us look abroad at the exploits of her soldiers in the field. 
 
 In the valley of the Mississippi, east of the Alleghanies, and on 
 the Southern seaboard, every commercial highway was blockaded 
 by the terrible enginery of war, and every mountain pass and sa- 
 lient out-post echoed with the tramp of hostile squadrons. In the 
 disposition of the Union armies, Illinois troops were mo»stly con- 
 fined to operations on the Mississippi, the Tennessee, the Cum- 
 berland, the White, the Red, the Savannah, and in the battles of 
 Belmont, Pea Ridge, Donelson, Shiloh, Corinth, Perryville, Vicks- 
 burg, Jackson, Stone river, Chickamauga and Lookout Mountain, 
 Missionary Ridge, Peach Tree Creek, Jonesboro, Atlanta, Savan- 
 nah, Franklin and Nashville, and they won fame for themselves 
 and a proud record for the State. 
 
 Military operations in the West commenced with the occupation 
 of Cairo. Missouri lying westward, with a treasonable executive 
 and a population i)artly disloyal, soon became involved in civil 
 strife. Gov. Jackson appointed Sterling Price brigadier general 
 of the State troops, which were to be organized and equipped for 
 action. He managed to get the police of St. Louis under his con- 
 trol, and endeavored to persuade the people of the city and State 
 to €ast their destiny with their brethren of the Southern Confed- 
 eracy. Acting upon his advice a body of armed men, notoriously 
 hostile to the government, and in communication with traitors in 
 the seceded States, met near ihe city, styling their place of ren- 
 dezvous Camp Jackson, in honor of the governor. Caj)tain Lyon, 
 then in command of the arsenal, had in the meantime been em- 
 powered by the president to enroll 10,000 loyal men to maintain 
 the authority of the government within the limits of the State. 
 With the promptitude which the emergency demanded, he ap- 
 peared on the morning of May 10th with a force of 0,000 men before 
 the hostile camp, and demanded its surrender. Taken wholly by 
 surprise, and threatened by a superior force, there was no alterna- 
 tive but to submit, and accordingly 20 cannons, 1200 rifles, find a 
 large amount of amnumition fell into the hands of the Unionists. 
 The f(U^ce, after disi)er,sing the rebels retired to the city, and being 
 assaulted with showers of stones and pistol shots from disunion- 
 ists, they fired into their ranks iind killed some of their leaders. 
 Great excitement ensued, and but for the vigorous interposition 
 746 
 
THE- WAR OV THE REBELLION. 747 
 
 of Lyon the commercial metropolis of Missouri would have become 
 the scene of strife between warring- factions. His course being 
 highly approved at Washington, he was raised to the rank of bri- 
 gadier general, and placed in command of the government forces 
 tben operating in the State. 
 
 Perceiving that the militia force under Price, although, organ- 
 ized with the i)rofessed intention of preserving peace, was also 
 treasonable in its sympathies and ulterior designs, he ordered them 
 t<» surrender their arms. When this demand was made Jackson 
 issued a prochimation calling 50,000 State militia to repel fed- 
 eral invasion, thus further disclosing the iva\ animus of the organ- 
 ization under liis control. With a view of arresting further 
 proceedings of this kind, Lyon started in steamers for Jefferson 
 City with a force of 2,000 men, and arpiving thither he found that 
 Jackson had evacuated the city and retreated to Booneville, 
 higher up the river. Following him to the latter i)lace, he, on the 
 ITtli of June, met and completely routed the rebel force, and most 
 of tlieir military stores fell into his hands. With the Union force 
 in rapid i)ursuit Jackson and his followers fled to the southwest- 
 ern part of the State, Avhere he expected assistance from Price. 
 He was, however, met in Jasper county by 15,000 men under Col. 
 Franz Sigel, a spirited oflicer, who was pushing forward tx) prevent 
 his junction with reinforcements. On the 4th of July Sigel had 
 an engagement with his force near Carthage, and although out- 
 iiuml)ered two to one, inflicted upon him a. severe blow, the rebel 
 loss being 50 killed and 150 wounded, while his own was only 13 
 killed and 31 wounded. Sigel's ammunition being exhausted, he 
 Avas compelled to fall back,flrst to Mt. Vernon, and then to Spruig- 
 lield, where he met Gen. Lyon. The retreat was fortunate, for 
 the next day Price, reinforced by several thousand men from 
 Texas and Arkansas, under command of McCuUoch, advanced to 
 the sup[)ort of Jackson. This force contiinied its march in the 
 direction taken by Sigel, and took a position on Wilson's creek, 
 with the intention of moving against Springfiebl, only tt»n miles dis- 
 tant. Lyon's forceatthe latter place was only5,000men,andmany 
 of these \vere inexperienced recruits, who had just taken the place 
 of 3-months troops, while he was confronted with 20,000 enemies. 
 A council of war was held, and in view of the demoralizing efi'ect 
 a retreat would have upon the Union cause, it was decided to risk 
 a battle with even this superior force. 
 
 Accordingly on the 8th of August Lyon led his forces against 
 the eiieui}'. A bloody tight ensued, in which Lyon, at the head of 
 one of his regiments, in a heavy charge against the foe, was 
 pierced through the Iwiivt by two bullets, and fell lifeless from his 
 steed. 
 
 The command now devolved on Major Sturgis, and after three 
 hours' hard flghting the enemy was driven from the field. The 
 Union troops, being now without ammunition, retired to Spring- 
 field, where Sigel took command, and conducted them to Eolla. 
 The loss of the enemy was reported at 1,347, ours at 1,235, besides 
 the death of Lyon, who was himself a host. His glorious pastj 
 the purity of his life, and almost reckless daring, had made him 
 the idol of the people, and when stricken down the nation was 
 filled with mourning. Eebel authorities endeavored to magnify 
 this battle into a victory, notwithstanding the fact that 20,000 of 
 
748 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlieir men had been met by 5,000 federals and so badly dis^ibled 
 that they could not pursue the latter when they retreated. As 
 Price was unable to resume operations for more than a month, it 
 was evidently a Union triumph, although dearly purchased at the 
 cost of Lyon's life. 
 
 Early in July, 1861, Fremont was entrusted A\'ith the chief com- 
 mand of the western department, embracing- the State of Illmois, 
 and the States and territories between the Mississippi and the 
 Eocky Mountains. He found the situation of affairs in his new 
 field of labor very unpromising. Pope was in northern Missouri 
 with a small force, Prentiss atCairo with a fewregiments. Confront- 
 ing these and ready to pounce upon them with irresistible might 
 wheneverthevarying fortunes of war furnished an opi)ortunity, were 
 20,000 rneii under Pillow at New Madrid, and 30,000 under Price in 
 the southwest part of the State. One of Fremont's first acts was to 
 reinforce Cairo and Bird's Point, on the opposite side of the Missis- 
 sippi, both imperiled by the overwhelming forces on the river 
 below. On the 30tli of August he issued a proclamation i)lacing 
 the whole State of Missouri under martial law, and declaring the 
 property of rebels confiscated, and their slaves free men. Public 
 opinion, however, was not yet prepared for emancipation, and 
 President Lincoln annulled that portion relating to slavery. 
 
 Battle of Lexington. — After recovering from the battle of Wil- 
 son's creek. Price started northward to the Missouri river, it Avas 
 supposed to get possession of Jefferson City, and reinstate the au- 
 thority of Gov. Jackson. Despite small detachments sent out to 
 intercept his movements, he turned his course to the northwest, 
 and on the 11th of September set down before Lexington, on the 
 Missouri, 300 miles above St. Louis. Col. Mulligan, in command 
 of the 23d Illinois infantry, 1st Illinois cavalry, and about 1,200 
 Missouri troops, had previously taken position between Old and 
 New Lexington, distant about half a mile, and commenced fortify- 
 ing it. His entire force was less than 3,000, while the assailants 
 w^ere estimated at nearly 20,000, and consisted, according to rebel 
 statements, of the elite of the Confederate army. As early as the 
 12th an assault was made on his works, but the fierce and derter- 
 mined manner in which it was met soon convinced Price that even 
 with his overwhelming numbers, it would not be prudent to at- 
 tempt to carry the place bj^ storm. Accordingly, as a means of 
 gradual ax)proach, bales of hemp, saturated with water, to prevent 
 ignition from the hot shots of Mulligan's guns, were rolled in 
 front of his batteries. Mulligan, in the meantime, had burnt a 
 portion of the old town to prevent the enemy taking shelter in it, 
 and sent messengers by different routes for more troops. 
 
 Price, who had been waiting for ammunition, received a supjdy 
 and on the 18th 13 guns, jiosted in commanding positions, oi)eiied 
 their fiery throats upon the federal intenchmeuts. The Union 
 commander had five small brass pieces Mhich were brought into 
 position and worked with great gallantry, being charged with 
 rough shot manufactured for the occasion in a^ neighboring foundry. 
 Price having previously seized the boats in the river, and fortified 
 the adjacent bluffs., the besieged troops were cutoff from water, 
 and suffered the most intense agonies of thirst. This hardship 
 was further aggravated by the stench arising from the putrid car- 
 
THE "WAR OF THE REBELLION. 749 
 
 casses of horses wliicli in lar<ie iniinbors liadboen slaughtered by 
 the tire of the rebel ginis. It, however, rained at intervals, and 
 the thirsty men, by sjyreading tlieir blankets till they became sat- 
 urated with water, and then wringing them in camp dishes, were 
 enabled to prolong the seige till the 2()th,wlien they snrrendered. 
 
 Col. Mnlligan facetionsly renmrksof the homo gnards, a portion 
 of the Missouri troops nnder his command who refused to tight, 
 that they were "invincible in peace and invisible in war." Col. 
 Estvan, of the rebel service, in writing of the capitulation, said : 
 "This surrender does not cast the slightest discredit on Col. jMuI- 
 ligan, his ofticers and men. After having exhausted all their 
 means against an enemy three times their strength, they had no 
 choice but capitulation. The booty was considerable. In addi- 
 tion to arms, clothing and ammunition, we took more than a mil- 
 lion dollars in hard cash. These dollars nearly rendered our 
 fellows frantic, for this was the object which had induced the ma- 
 jority of them to take up arms against their former government."* 
 
 A writer in the Chicago Posf thus speaks of jMuUigan's command 
 known as the Irish Brigade, of which he was a i>rivate : 
 
 "On the 17th the enemy commenced erecting breastworks of hemp 
 bales from behind which they continued to fire as they rolled them to- 
 wards us. About 3 o'clock of the same day they charged over our en- 
 trenchments, upon Col. Peabody'shome guards, and phiuted their tlags 
 on the top of our breastworks, The Irish Brigade was ordered to leave 
 its position on tlie opposite side to retake tlie ground which Peabody had 
 lost. We fired on tlie run, and continued on the double quick. The 
 rebels scattered and fled like a tiock of sheep, but left the top of the 
 breastworks covered witli dead and wounded. In this single charge we 
 killed and wounded some 05 and lost about 30. They had no bayonets, 
 and most of their weapons being shot guns we did not give them time to 
 use them. They fired at random. Col. Mvdligan received a buck-shot 
 through oue of his legs, which lamed but did not disable him ; six or 
 seveu passed thi'ough his blouse. Six different times during the ensuing 
 niglit tlie rebels were allowed to approach the ditch on the side next tlie 
 city. When they got sufficiently near, our boys on the inside 
 would explode a mine, hurling them promiscuously in every direction, 
 and slaughtering them by liundreds. Six mines were thus sprung un- 
 der their feet, and tliey evidently began to regard that side of the eu- 
 treuehment as a dangerous locality." 
 
 Col. Mulligan, who by the gallant though unsuccessful defense of 
 Lexington, won the esteem of Illinois, was born in 1829, in the 
 city of Utica, oSTew York. While a child his father died and his 
 mother moved with him to Chicago. At the age of 24 he com- 
 menced studying law in the ofilce of Isaac N. Arnold, M. C. from 
 the Chicago district, and in 1856 was admitted to the bar. At the 
 commencement of the war he was captain of a militia company, 
 the Shields Guard, in the drilling of which he acquired a knowl- 
 edge of military tactics. At the fall of Sumter he threw his 
 soul into the cause of the Union, assisted in forming the Irish- 
 American companies of Chicago into a regiment, known as the 
 Irish brigade, of which he was elected colonel. The conduct of 
 the regiment at Lexington and elsewhere was brave and eflicient. 
 
 Fremont had sent reinforcements to Mulligan, and unfortu- 
 nately his men had hardly laid down their arms when the succor- 
 ing force made its appearance on the opposite side of the river. 
 
 * This admission but illy comports with the oft-repeated statement of rebels that 
 they had taken up arms to resist the aggressions of the north. 
 
750 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 He left St. Louis on the 27th, for the purpose of lueetiuy Price 
 and giving- him battle at some point on the Missouii. His force 
 was composed of live divisions, commanded respectively by Gens. 
 Pope, Sigel, Hunter, Ashboth andMcKinstry, anu>initing in the 
 aggregate to 30,000 men. The wary rebel" general, however, 
 soon apprised of his intentions, commenced retreating southward 
 and by offensive cavalry feints succeeded in placing the Osage 
 between him and his pursuers. Fremont still folh>wing, on the 
 28th of October the advance divisions of his army entered Si)ring- 
 field and drove a portion of the rebel force from tlie town. As 
 soon as he came up preparations commenced to give the enemy 
 battle, but unfortunately at this juncture when the army was 
 eager for the contest and e^'erything seemed to promise success, 
 he was relieved of his command. 
 
 This was not entirely unexpected as liis relations with the war 
 department had for some time been unsatisfactory. Its occur- 
 rence at this critical time, however, was a matter of regret, for 
 whatever errors may have been committed, the retreat of the army 
 and the abandonment of this portion of the State to rebels, which 
 followed, was far more disastrous. The failure to promptly send 
 troops to the relief of Mulligan caused a storm to break out against 
 him, and his enemies never afterwards became reconciled. He 
 was charged with defrauding the governnient in purcliasing sup- 
 plies for the army ; with surrounding himself with favoritesto the 
 exclusion of meritorious officers, and finally iucomi)etency in the 
 management of his department; it should, however, be jncn- 
 tioned in extenuation of these charges, thar the failure to relieve 
 Lexington was rafher the result of adverse circumstances than 
 the fault of Fremont ; that his attempt to free the slaves of rebel 
 masters, although rejected at the time, subsequently became the 
 policy of theg,overnme]it, and that had he been enabled to carry 
 out his plans for the descent of the Mississippi, wliich his succes- 
 sors months afterward adopted, it would have saved the country 
 thousands of lives and millions of treasure. 
 
 Battle of Monroe. — Besides the battle of Lexington, a numl)er 
 of minor engag-ements occurred in Missouri during Fremont's 
 administration, in which the troops of Illinois bore a distinguished 
 part. A spirited tight occurred between Col. E. T. Smith of the 
 16th Illinois and the rebel Gov. Harris, in command of 2,500 con- 
 federates stationed at Florida. The federal officer with a'ibrce of 
 GOO men detached from Ids own regiment and the 3d Iowa, left 
 his camp at Monroe, 30 miles west" of Hannibal, to engage the 
 enemy. On nearing the ford on Salt river, he was suddeidy 
 attacked and Gapt. McAlister of the lOth Illinois, mortally 
 wounded. Finding himself coidronted by greatly superior nuui- 
 bers Gol. Sndth fell back to Monroe and stationed his force in an 
 academy. Here he maintained his position till the arrival of re- 
 inforcements fiom Quincy, under ex-Gov. Wood, when the enemy 
 was charged and routed with a loss of 70 men and a large num- 
 ber of horses. 
 
 Battle of CharJesfon.—Ou the 19th of August an engagement 
 occurred at Gharleston, of whi<'h Gen. Fremont gives the'follow- 
 iug- account : " Keport from commanding officer at Gairo says that 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 751 
 
 Col. Dou,2;lierty of tUe 32(1 Illinois, with 3()() men sent out yester- 
 day at 7 o'clock liom Bird's Point, attacked the enemy at 
 Cliaileston, 1,200 strong, drove him back, killed 40, took 17 priso- 
 ners and 15 horses and retnrn<'d at 2 A. ivi. to Bird's Point, with 
 a loss of 1 killed and wounded." A correspondent of the New 
 York Trihune relates the following of Lt. Col. Ransom of the 11th 
 Illinois: "He was urging his men to the charge when a nnm 
 rode up and called out "Do you know you are killing our own 
 men f Kansom replied "I know what I am doing ; who are you?" 
 The reply was " I am for Jeff Davis." Eansom rei)lied, " You are 
 the man I am after," and instantly two pistols were drawn. The 
 rebel hred first, taking effect in Col. liansom's arm near the 
 shoulder. The colonel fired, killing his antagonist instantly. 
 
 Battle of Fredericl-toicn. — Another ^spirited engagement came 
 off on the 21st of October near Fredericktown. Gen. Grant then 
 commanding the southwest district of Missouri, with headquarters 
 at Cairo, hearing that the town was occupied by a rebel force 
 under Gen. Jeff. Thompson, sent Col. Plunnuer, of the 11th Mis- 
 souri, to operate against them. This regiment was composed of 
 Illinois men who enlisted in Missouri. The completion of the 
 quota rendered it impossible to obtain admission to the service at 
 home, and hence they went abroad. The force of the latter con- 
 sisted of his own regiment, the 17th Illinois, Col. Ross, the 20tb, 
 Col. Marsh, White's section of Taylor's Chicago battery and 
 Captains Stewart and Saunders' companies of Illinois cavalry. 
 On his arrival at Fredericktown he found it in ])ossession of Col. 
 Carlin, 38th Illinois, Avhose command, in addition to the o8th, 
 included the 21st aiul 23d Illinois, Colonels Alexander and Har- 
 vey and several companies of infantry and cavalry from Wis- 
 consin and Iowa. The entire force uiuler the leadership of Col. 
 P]und)er rapidly pursued and overtook the enemy, when a severe 
 engagement followed. The 17th Illinois and Taylor' s battery 
 commenced the attack in the rear, while the other regiments de- 
 ployed to the right and left as they came up and delivered their 
 tire. The left of the rebel force soon gave way, and their reti'eat 
 was (converted into a rout. The right under Thompson su])ported 
 by a battery maintained its position longer, but the battery 
 was at length captured and the rout became general. The 
 retreating foe was pursued a distance of 20 miles, and lost in the 
 engagement 200 men by death and 80 by capture. The federal 
 loss was 6 killed and GO wounded. 
 
 Gen. Hunter, who was senttosucceedGen. Fremont, arrived on 
 the 3d of IsTovember, and declining an engagement with Price com- 
 menced retreatingin the direction of St. Louis. Price followed him 
 and endeavored to destroy the ISTorthern railroad for the purposeof 
 cuttingoff communication with St. Louis. On the ISth of Novem- 
 ber Gen. Halleck reached that city, and relieving Gen. Hunter, 
 took command of the Western Dei)artment. He immediately 
 issued a proclamation fixing the penalty of death against all per- 
 sons engaged in destroying railroads and telegraplis, and by supe- 
 rior strategy succeeded in circumventing the designs of Price. 
 On the 7th of December Pope was placed in command of the 
 troops in Northern Missouri, and pusliing forward he occupied a 
 position between Warrensburg and Clinton. Operating from this 
 
752 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 positiou be enabled Col. J. C. Davis to meet aud completely rout 
 tlie enemy near the mouth of Clear creek. This victory was 
 immediately followed by an epeditionto Lexington for the purpose 
 of destroying a foundry and a small fleet in possession of rebel 
 troops. This was speedily accomplished, and with it almost the 
 entire regiou between the Missouri aud Usage rivers fell into the 
 hands of the federals. 
 
 Battle of Belmont. — In the meantime Gen. Grant made an 
 attempt to capture the rebel force at Belmont, on the Missouri 
 side of the Mississippi. Henceforth the history of this officer 
 is too well known to require recital. ^Vith his past history we 
 are not so familiar. Ulysses S. Grant was born in Clermont county, 
 Ohio, Aprd 27, 1822. At the age of 17 he was udmitted to 
 the military academy at West Point, and graduated June 30, 
 1843. Immediately after his graduation he received the brevet 
 of 2d lieutenant, and was placed in the 4th regiment of United 
 States infantry, then stationed in Missouri. During the war 
 with Mexico his regiment was ordered to join the army of 
 occupation under Geu. Taylor, and subsequently he participated 
 in the battles of Palo Alto, Keseca de la Palma and Monterey. 
 On the arrival of Gen. Scott he was transferred to his command, 
 and in the battles of Vera (Jruz and Molino del Pey liis bravery 
 was so conspicuous, he was made 1st lieutenant on thebattle tield. 
 In the battle of Chepulteiiec, which followed, he further distin- 
 guished himself and was again promoted, receiving the brevet of 
 captain in the regular army. Witli the cessation of the war he 
 returned home, resigned his commission and lived a private life till 
 the commencement of the rebellion. 
 
 In April 1861, he waited on Gov. Yates and tendered him his 
 services, modestly stating that he had been educated at the ex- 
 pense of the government; that he now thought it his duty 
 to assist in defending it, and would regard it a privilege to 
 be assigned to any position where he could render himself use- 
 ful. The first important duty with which he was entrusted was 
 the organization of the first regiments furnished by the State 
 under the call of April 15, 1801. Evincing in the performance of 
 this work his superior military qualifications, the governor plsiced 
 him in command of the 21st Illinois, his commission as colonel dat- 
 ing from the 15th of June, 1801. At the time he took command the 
 regiment was demoralized and incomplete, but in 10 days after- 
 ward he filled it to the maximum standard aud brought it to a 
 state of discipline seldom attained in so short a time. Being 
 ordered to Northern Missouri, his regiment proceeded on foot from 
 Springfield to the Illinois river, thence on the cars to Quiucy, 
 where its first duty was the protection of the Quincy & Palmyra 
 and the Hannibal and St. Joseph railroads. 
 
 On the 31st of July Grant was placed in command of the troops 
 at Mexico, in the l^orth Missouri District, commanded by Brig. 
 Gen. Pope. Early distinguishing himself in the field, his claims 
 for increased rank were recognized by his friends in Illinois before 
 his worth was fully appreciated in Washington. His vigorous 
 prosecution of the camijaign in ISTorth Missouri, however, soon 
 won universal recognition, and he was promoted August 23d to 
 the rank of brigadier general, his commission dating from May 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 753 
 
 ITtli. After liis promotion lie was placed in command of the Di.s- 
 ti'ict of Cairo, embracing in its jnrisdiction Soutlieru Illinois and 
 Missouri and tliat part of Kentucky west of the Cumberland. 
 The force now under his command consisted of two brigades num- 
 bering' 2,850 men. Thefirst under Gen. John A. McClernand con- 
 sisted of the 27th, Col. Buford ; 30th, Col. Fouke ; 31st, Col. J. A. 
 Logan ;Capt. Dollins' company of 4th cavalry and Taylor's battery 
 of light artillery. The second, under Col H. Dougherty, com- 
 prised his own regiment, the 21st Illinois, and the 7th Iowa, Col. 
 Lauman. The entire force except the last regiment was from Illi- 
 nois. 
 
 Grant's first movement was to seize Smithland and Paducah 
 resi)ctively at the mouths of the Cumberland and Tennessee, and 
 use them as the base of future operations in the rebel States. 
 Having" garrisoned these places, his next movement was to dis- 
 lodge a rebel force stationed at Belmont, on the.Missouri side of 
 the Mississippi. The entire force under his command was em- 
 barked on board the gunboats Tyler and Lexington and landed 
 November 7th, 1861, at Lucas' bend, about two miles from the 
 camp of the enemy. As soon as debarkation was effected a line 
 of battle was formed, Buford commanding the right, Fouke the 
 center and Logan the left. The advance toward the camp was 
 a continuous running- fight, in which a storm of the enemy's mis- 
 siles battered and tore down the timber in the faces of our men. 
 Passing over all obstacles and surmounting' all opposition the 
 three divisions vietl with each other for the honor of first reach- 
 ing the rebel position. The scene became terrific, men grappled 
 with men, column charged upon column, musketry rattled, can- 
 mm thundered and tore frightful gaps in the contending forces. 
 Presently the 57th planted its colors in the midst of the hostile 
 encampment, and a loud and prolonged shout was heard above 
 the din of battle. Next, the 21st captured a 12-pound gun battery, 
 one of the enemy's principal defences, when a final impetuous, 
 irresistible charge drove him in every direction and left the field 
 in i)ossession of the federals. The victory was complete. The 
 captured camp was immediately fired, and all the rebel baggage 
 and ammunition destroved. 
 
 In the meantime a heavy rebel force was thrown across the 
 river from Columbus and moved up to repair the disaster, while 
 batteries opened upon our men from the opposite shore. Unable 
 to cojie with such formidable numbers, a retreat became necessary 
 to avoid being cut off from the boats. The command was there- 
 fore given to retire, but before it could be executed the passage 
 became blocked up with rebel forces. The boys of Illinois and 
 Iowa, however, had fought their wayforwaid, and they now in 
 oi)position to a foe of greatly superior numbers fought their way 
 back. Every regiment suffered severely, but it was believed the 
 enemy suffered worse. Grant in his official report gives the loss 
 of the former at 84 killed and 150 wounded; that of the latter was 
 not known. 
 
 The object of the battle was to prevent the enemy from send- 
 ing reinforcements to Price and Thompson in Missouri. 
 But how this was to be done does not appear, when the 
 impossibility of holding the position under the heavy guns of 
 Columbus was apparent. Though the propriety/ of the expedition 
 48 
 
754 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 may be qnestiouedthe valor of Illinois wasiiTtdoubted. Gon. Mc- 
 Cleinaud was in the midstof danger display in fusreat coolness and 
 skill in handling hik forces. Gen. Logan exliibited the intrepid- 
 ity and judgment which distinguished him in subsequent 
 battles, and Col. Dougherty at the head of his brigade was three 
 times wounded and at length taken prisoner. Says McClernand : 
 
 "I cannot bestow too high commendation ui:)ou all I had the honor to 
 command on that day. Supplied with inferior and defective arms, many 
 of which could not be discharged, many bursting in use, they fought an 
 an enemy in woods with which he was fandliar, behind defensive works 
 which he had been prejjaring for montlis, in the face of a battery at Bel- 
 mont and under the huge guns at Columbus, and althougli numbering 
 three or four to our one, we beat him and captured several stand of colors, 
 destroying his camp and carrying off a large amount of jiroperty alieady 
 mentioned. To mention all wlio did well would include every man of 
 my command v/ho came under my personal notice. Both officers and 
 privates did their whole duty, nobly sustaining the character of Ameri- 
 cans and Illinoisaus. They shed new luster u])on the flag of their country 
 by holding it in triumph through the shock of battle and the din of arms. 
 The blood they so freely poured out proved their devotion to their coun- 
 try and serves to hallow a just cause with glorious recollections. Theii 
 success was that of citizen soldiers." 
 
 Battle of Pea Ridge. — The forces operating in Missouri at the 
 close of January, 1862, were combined under the connnand of Gen, 
 S. B. Curtis, a distinguished ofiicer of the U. S. nrniy. Early the 
 following mouth they pushed rapidly toward Sitriugfield, where 
 on the llith they encountered Price with about 4,000 men. Sharp 
 skirmishing ensued and the rebel general fleeing during tlie night 
 to avoid an engagement, was pursued for nu)re than 100 miles. 
 Stoi>ping in the vicinity of the lioston mountains he was re-inforced 
 by McCulloch and Van Dorn, whereby his army was augmented 
 to near 40,000 men, and he was again enabled to resume offensive 
 operations. Curtis thus threatened, had distributed portions ol 
 his command for garrison duty along his extensive line of com- 
 munication, and now had left only 12,000 men and about 50 pieces 
 of artillery. His several divisions had been sent in various direc- 
 tions for the purpose of obtaining forage and disi)ersing rebel 
 bands gathering at different i^oints hi the southeastern part of the 
 State. The 1st and 2d were under Sigel near Bentonville^ the 3d 
 under Davis near Sugar Creek, and the 4th under Carr at Cross 
 Hollow. Early in March intelligence was received that Van Dorn 
 who assumed chief command, was advancing to make an attack 
 
 A corresponJent of the Chicag'o Post, writing of Belmont, says : "An incident wor- 
 thy of being recorded occurrefl during- the recent battle. Col Phil. B. Fouke, of the 
 Slstlllinois, and Col. John V. Writjht, of the 13th Tennessee, both members of the last 
 congress, were wsirm friends and occupied seats together. When the war broke out 
 before they had left Washington, Mr. Wright received the aijpointment of colonel 
 from the governor of Tennessee. When about to separate Mr. Wright said ; 'Phil., I 
 am goiuir into the war, and I suppose you will be in it also, and I promise if we meet 
 on the battle field that I will take care of your men if you will take care of mine.' 
 The pledge was mutual, and the 'ext time thej-met was on the bloody field of Belmont. 
 At one time during the fight Col. Fouke's men were lying down waiting for the enemy 
 and he was standing on a log in full view waiting for them, when about twenty of 
 Wriglit's men leveled their muskets at him, which movement being seen by Col. Wright, 
 he looked in the direction and recognized Col. Fouke, ordered his men to desist, saying 
 that miin was his friend and he di(i not want him harmed. This interposition doubt- 
 less saved Col. Fouke's life bs these Tennesseeans are crack shots. Col. Wright was 
 was afterwards severely wounded, but the ne.\t day sent his adjutant to infoi'm Col. 
 Fouke that ho had not forgotten liis pledge. Before the battle was ended Col. Fouke's 
 regiment took a number of Col. Wright's men, and horeligously ohsesved his sharcof 
 the pledge, looking after the wants of the prisoners as though they were bis own 
 men." 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. * 755 
 
 and the several divisions of the Union forces were ordered to con- 
 centrate on Sngar Creek, a point re^ua.rded favorable for effective 
 resistence. Si<iel in brini^ing np his division was assailed by large 
 n ambers of tlie enemy, and for five lionrs compelled to cnt his 
 way throngh their midst to effect a junction with the others. 
 
 On the <!th of JNtarch, 1S02, the entii'e force wasbrongiit together 
 on tlie western edge of Pea liidge, and in anticipation of au 
 engagement, slept on their arms. The battle commenced at early 
 dawn and i'age<l furiously the whole d:iy, during which Van ]J)orii 
 succeeded in marching round the Federal army, and took a posi- 
 tion in tlie rear. Curtis was thus com[)elled to change his front, 
 and although exposed to the continued fire of the enemy, the 
 movement was executed with the most intrepid gallantry. In the 
 centi-e and on the left the battle raged with increased fury, and 
 when evening put au end to the carnage, McCulloch and JMc'Intosh, 
 two of the most etiicient rebel officers, were among the slain. The 
 weather was cold and the army lay down to pass a comfortless 
 night, being unable to kindle lires without drawing the attention 
 of the enemy. During the night the rebels effected a junction of 
 their forces, ami as the rising sun lighted up the battle ground, 
 they recommenced the contlict, coniident of overwhelming the 
 federals by superior numbers. The latter, however, were handled 
 with great skill and Sigcl served the artillery with such accuracy 
 tluit the rebel line in a- short time was seriously shaken and finally 
 forced from the field. The routed army fle(l in the direction of 
 Keitsville and was followed a distance of V2, iniles, when further 
 pursuit, in conse(]uence of the wooded and broken country, became 
 imi>racticable. That portion of the battle field pounded by our 
 artillery presented a ghastly scene of dismounted cannons, 
 shivered carriiiges and mangled bodies. Price's loss was estimated 
 at 3,000 in killed, wounded and missing. A novel feature intro- 
 duced at this battle was the employment of some 2,500 Indians 
 sedn(5ed from their allegiance by the rebels. They were of little 
 service to their allies in fighting the living but vented their brutal 
 ferocity in niutulating the bodies of tlie dead. 
 
 The Illinois troops i)articipating in the engagement were the 
 .35th, Col. G. A. Smith ; 3Gtb, Col. Greusel ; 37th, Col. ,J, White ; 
 57th, jMiijor Post ; 3d cavalry. Col. E. A. Carr ; a battalion of the 
 15th cavalry, Capt. Jenks, and Davidson's Peoria battery. All 
 acquitted themselves in such a manner as to reflect honor ujion 
 the State. D:iy P]lmore, a drummer of the 3Gth, exchanged his 
 drum for a- musket and fought with the bravery of a A'eterau dur- 
 ing the intire battle. 
 
 After this engagement large mimbers of the Missourians who 
 had fought with the rebels, were permitted to return home, and 
 on takiug the oath ot allegiance, the State for a short time en- 
 joyed comparativeqniet. In June, at the suggestion of Gen. Curtis 
 Missouri waserected intoa separatemilitary district, and Gen. J. M. 
 Schofield, who had served with distinction as chief of the lamented 
 Lyou's staff, was placed in command. Marauding bands again 
 began to be troublesome, and Schofidd, on the 22d inst., issued a 
 l)roclaiuation holding rebel syiupathizers and their jiropery re- 
 s])oiis!l)le for the depredations committed in their res[)ective dis- 
 tricts. Encouraged by Price at Helena, numerous rebel emissaries 
 next spread themselves over the State, and while oi)enly profess- 
 
756 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 iiig Union sentiments, tliey secretly organized a force estimated 
 at 40,000 men, and agreed upon signals whereby they could sud- 
 denly seize all the important points in the country. To prepare 
 for the conspiracy Schofleld obtained from the general government 
 authority to organize the niilitia, and as the loyal people readily 
 submitted to the enrollment, and the disloyal refused, thus dis- 
 closing the real character of each man. Some 20,000 men were 
 reported for military duty, and to raise funds for their support, 
 the wealthy in St. Louis county who refused to serve, were re- 
 quired to furnish $500,000. A bloody struggle w^as now going on 
 in the north-east portion of the State between bands of guerillas 
 and the militia. By the 1st of September as many as a hundred 
 small engagements had occurred in which Illinois troops largely 
 participated, and some 10,000 rebels were killed, wounded or 
 driven from the State. At this date the rebels under Hindman, 
 in northern Arkansas, numbering 50,000, were also contemplating 
 an invasion of south-western Missouri. As the result, battles of 
 considerable magnitude were fought at Fort Wayne, Cane Hill, 
 and Fayetteville, in which the rebels sustained such serious losses 
 that Hindman abandoned his designs. 
 
Chapter LVII. 
 
 1861-1862— ILLINOIS ON THE CUMBERLAND, TENNES- 
 SEE AND MISSISSIPPI. 
 
 Battle of Forts Henry and Donelson — Capture of Columbus. Neio 
 Madrid and Islayid No. 10. 
 
 We must now go back to the coinmencemeut of the operations 
 for opening the Mississippi. The course of this magnificent river 
 from north to south and the intercourse necessarily existing among 
 the inhabitants of its fertile valley will always render it impossi- 
 ble to form them into separate nationalities by arbitrary bounda- 
 ries. Running entirely across the rebel confederacy and making 
 it vulnerable to the assaults of a fleet, the government at an early 
 day commenced making i)reparatiou for offensive naval operations. 
 Columbus, Kentucky, situated on the east bank, 20 miles below 
 Cairo, had been seized as early as Sept. 1861, and so fortified as 
 to be termed the rebel Gibralter. Its massive works and heavy 
 guns rendering capture by a direct assault almost impossible, it 
 Avas determined to cut off its supplies and thus compel its aban- 
 donment by an expedition up tlie Tennessee and Cumberland 
 rivers. Near where these streams flow across the northern boun- 
 dary of Tennessee, the rebels had erected two strong fortifications 
 known as Forts Henr}' and Donelson. After mature deliberation, 
 Gen. Halleck decided first to attack the former of these strong- 
 holds, and then moving across the intervening land, attack the 
 latter. For this purpose Commodore A. H. Foote, as gallant an 
 officer as ever sailed the deep, with a tleet of 7 gunboats, the St. 
 Louis, Cincinnati, Carondelet, Essex, Tyler, Lexington and 
 Mound City, and Gen. Grant, with a co-operating land force from 
 Cairo and Paducah, were sent up the Tennessee. On the 5th of 
 February, 1862, the laiid forces disembarked from their transports 
 and prepared to spend the night, during which a thunder storm 
 burst on the encampment, portraying in its terrific grandeur, the 
 fury of the coming battle. Grant ordered Gen. Mc'Clernand com- 
 manding the first division, to take a position in the rear of the 
 fort for the two-fold purpose of guarding against reinforcements, 
 or preventing the escape of the garrison as the exigencies of the 
 engagement might require. His division consisted of 2 brigades 
 commanded respectively by Cols. Oglesby and W. H. L. Wallace; 
 the first comprising the 8th, 18th, 27th,' the 29th, 30th and 31st 
 Illinois infantry. Dresser's and Schwartz's batteries; the 2d, the 
 11th, 12th, 45th and 48th Illinois infantry, Taylor's and McAhs- 
 ters' batteries and 4th cavalry. 
 757 
 
758 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The 2d division under Geu. C. F. Smith, was tlirown across the 
 river and ordered to proceed up tlie Kentiiclvy sliore and occupy 
 the heights adjacent the fort, which tlie enemy had beguu to for- 
 tify. Tlie 9th, 12th, 28th aiul 41st Illinois constituted a part of 
 the force. 
 
 Owing to the badness of the roads, none of the land forces 
 arrived soon enough to share in its capture. About 10 o'clock 
 Foote steamed up toward the fort, Avhich standing in a bend of 
 the river, had complete command of tlie channel for a long dis- 
 tance below. Being a bastioned earth work and mounting 17 
 guns of the largest calibre, it was deemed capable of resisting any 
 assailing force however formidable. An island lay in the stream 
 abont a mile below, under cover of which the fleet advanced 
 without becoming exposed to the fire of its long ranged rilled 
 gnus. The wooden vessels remained at the island while the iron- 
 clads emerging from behind it, and proceeding in the direction of 
 the fort were met by the ponderous shot of the fort. The boats 
 immediately returned this greeting, and their screaming missiles 
 fell with such rapidity in and around the fort as to cause some 
 4,000 infantry to flee with precipitation. Coming within closer 
 range the breastworks were plowed up and dashed in the face of 
 the garrison, gun after gun was dismoauted, and within an hour 
 from the commencement of the engagement, the stronghold v/as 
 surrendered. Sixty prisoners and a large amount of military stores 
 fell into our hands. Unfortunately the infantry which fled at the 
 commencement of the engagement, were beyond the reach of pur- 
 suit, before Mc'Clernand and his Illinois men could arrive and in- 
 tercept them. The principal damage inflicted on the fleet was 
 sustained by the Es.-ex. A 24-pound shot pnssing in at a port- 
 hole, and plunging into one of her boilers, caused the steam to 
 escape and comidetely envelope the crew. Some in their terrible 
 agony throwing themselves out of portholes into the river while 
 others struggling in vain to escape, sank gasping for breath, 
 sctikled in the flery vapor. 
 
 This important victory was the first won on the western waters; 
 the telegram announcing the event was read in both houses of 
 congress, and a vote of thanks tendered Commodore Foote. The 
 fleet under Lieut. Phelps was sent uj) the river to capture two 
 rebel boats which were pursued so closely that their crews blew 
 them up to prevent their falling into the hands of the pursuers. 
 The expedition sailed u[) the river as far as Florence, destroying 
 the bridge of the M. & O. railroad coimectiug Bowbng Green, 
 Memphis and Columbus, and compelling the rebels to burn five 
 of their valuable steamers. All along the route Phelps met with 
 maiiy cheering evidences of loyalty among the people of Tennes- 
 see and Kentucky, old men and women flocking to the shore, and 
 shedding tears at again beholding the old flag. 
 
 Donelson. — The fall of Henry oi)ened the way for an advance 
 upon Donelson. This formidable rebel stronghold was situated 
 on the west bank of the Cumberland, and served as an outpost 
 for the defense of Nashville, 80 miles higher up the river. The 
 ground upon which it was situated is about 100 feet above the 
 level of the river, which at that point bends toward the west, and 
 after running a few hundred yards turns again and i)ursues its 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 759 
 
 general course iiortliward. To command the river northward and 
 guard against a naval attack, two batteries of heavy ordnance had 
 been i)lanted at the foot of the blutt" near the edge of the water. 
 T]ie fort itself was an irregular work enclosing about 100 acres, 
 and except on the river side surrounded at tlie distance of a mile 
 with rifle pits. On the west side a formidable abatis ran between 
 the Ibrt and ritie-pits, wliile from every commanding i>()int along 
 the whole line, howitzers and field-pieces, pointed their grim muz- 
 zles directly at the face of tlie besieging army. These almost 
 impregnable works were occupied by 20,000 impetuous fire eaters 
 from the southwest under comuuind of Fk)yd, Pillow, Buckner, 
 and Joiinson. Additional trooi)S being necessary to effect its 
 reduction. Gen. Grant ordered forward all the available forces in 
 his district, Avhile troops from Cincinnati and the right wing of 
 Gen. Buel's division from Kentucky-, under Gen. Crittenden, were 
 hurried forward and placed at his disposal. The army thus aug- 
 mented, consisted of 3 divisions under McClernand, Smith and 
 Wallace aiul numbered some 25,000 men, the elite of western 
 troops. 
 
 On the morning of the 12th, Gen, Grant, with Smith's and Mc- 
 Clernand's divisions started for Fort Donelsou and by noon 
 arrix ed within two miles of the enemy's out|)osts. After driving 
 in the rebel pickets, and investing the works. Col. Haynie of W. 
 H. L. Walace's brigade, McClernand's division, with the 17th, 
 4Sth and 49th Illinois, was sent to make an assault on the 
 enemy's middle redoubt. "Forming a line of battle they moved 
 in fine order across the intervening ravines and mounted witli the 
 coolness of veterans the steep height on which the redoubt stood. 
 The enemy screened behind their embaiUvments, poured into the 
 exi)ose(l ranks a terrible fire of musketry. Still the brave Illi- 
 noisaiis, undaunted, steadly advanced. But at this critical junc- 
 ture it was found that the line was not long enough to envelope 
 the works and the 45th Illinois was ordered to their support. 
 While these movements were being carried out the enemy sent 
 forward lieavy reinforcements of men and field artillery, which 
 soon swept the advancing line with murderous effect. But onward 
 l)ressed the undaunted regiments leaving their dead and woumled 
 strewing the slope till they came to the foot of the works, where 
 an abatis presented a tangled wall of jagged ])oints, through 
 which no soldiers under heaven could force their way in the face of 
 such a fire. Braver officers never led men to death, but they found 
 tht\N' had been seat to accomplish impossible work, and gave the 
 reluctant conunand to fall back,*" 
 
 This determined assault rendered it evident that the task before 
 the arjjiy was one of no ordinary magnitude, and it was deemed 
 best to await the arrival of Wallace's division and the fleet under 
 Foote, before attempting any further demonstrations. jMean- 
 while the pleasant weather which had previously cheered the army 
 suddeidy changed- A continous storm of sleet and snow pre- 
 vailed during tlie night of the 13th and the army, destitute of 
 blaidcets and tents, was compelled to suffer the unmitigated rigors 
 of winter. On the 14th an irregular fire of sharp-shootei-s occa- 
 sionally iuterluded with bursts of artillery, was kept up but uu- 
 
 • Headley's Rebellion 
 
7G0 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 attended by important results. The same day the expected re- 
 iuforcemeiits came up and the commander of the tleet put his 
 boats iu motion for an assault ou the batteries at the foot of the 
 blutf, the wooden vesse-ls in the rear and the iron-clads iu front. 
 Coming within range, the contest commenced and continued to 
 increase as the distance between the combatants diminished. The 
 loud explosions of the guns shook the adjacent shores and rever- 
 berating far inland, spread disnuiy among the rebellious inhabi- 
 tants. Still farther and farther they advanced, discharging their 
 heavy ordnance directly into the batteries, and in turn exposed to 
 the storm of shot and shell rained down upon the ri^'er. The fire 
 of the batteries at length began to slack, but unfortunately before 
 they were entirely silenced, a shot destroyed the steering appara- 
 tus of the Louisville and another disabled the St. Louis, and both 
 crafts unmanageable, rapidly drifted vv ith the swift current from 
 under the enemy's guns. 
 
 Grant now determined to strengthen his line of investment so 
 as to render egress impossible, and await the repair and farther 
 co-operation of the boats. The rebels, howe^■er, becoming alarmed 
 at finding themselves almost literally walled in by the besieging 
 forces, resolved to open an exit and escape to the country. Accord- 
 ingly early in the morning of the loth, the enemy, some 7,500 
 strong, emerged from his works and in separate columns, hurled 
 himself against McClernand's di\'ision ou the right of the federal 
 line. Ogiesby's l)rigade, the 8th, ISth, 20th, 30th and 31st Illiiiois 
 received the first concussion. Next Wallace's, the 11th, 20th, 13d 
 and 4(Sth ; Morrison's, the 17th and 49th, and McArthurs', the 9th, 
 12th, 29th and list were struck by the angry foe, and the entire 
 division for four hours alone contended with his overwhelming 
 numbers. It was an irregular battle-field of hill, ravine and foiest; 
 ami concert of action among the several regiments engaged at 
 different ])oints of attack was difficult. Stubbornly, gallantly, 
 enthusiastically, however, the sons of Illinois met the onslaught, 
 the advancing and receding roar of musketry and cannon through 
 the forest marking the shifting tide of battle. At length from the 
 incessant pounding of shot, shell, and cannister, the extreme 
 right of the line began to crumble away and the exultant enemy 
 concentrating at a single point, and hurling himself in overwhelm- 
 ing masses against the division, it was com})elled to fall back, not 
 however, till the regiments had exhausted their ammunition, and 
 some of them had lost near a tliiid of their men. 
 
 Never fought braver men than ours on that bloody day, some 
 of the cxmipanies remaining rooted to their ])osition till the 
 enemy's forces rolled about and swallowed them up. Some of the 
 regiments were literally cut to pieces, while the loss of officers was 
 great beyond i)roi)()rtion. Col. Quinn of the 20th, Major Tost of 
 the 8th, Captain liigby of the 31st, J^ieut.-Col. Smith of the 18th, 
 Capt. Craig, and Lieuts. Skeats ami Mansker of the ISth, Capt. 
 Shaw and Lieuts. Eoyce and Vore of the 11th, Adjutant Kirk- 
 patrick of the 13th, Capt. JMendell of the 7th and Capt. Brokaw 
 of the 49th, were among the many who laid down their lives on 
 the fatal field that liberty, right, and i)rogress might live. In the 
 retrograde movement, McAllister's batteiy having exhausted the 
 150 rounds of ammunition with Avhich it went into action, was 
 captured while waiting a fresh supply. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 761 
 
 111 the early part of the assault McClerDaiid, fearful lie might 
 be overborne by superior uuiubers, sent to Wallace, whose division 
 occniiied the center of the line, for reinforcements. The latter 
 sent Cruft's brigade to his assistance, but being imperfectly 
 guided, it was carried too far to the right to render successful aid. 
 The enemy still advancing, he next interposed Thayer's brigade 
 between them and the retiring regiments, which had expended 
 their ammunition. The force was immediately placed in line by 
 pushing forward Wood's Chicago battery to the road along which 
 the foe was moving, posting the 58th Illinois and 1st Ne- 
 braska on the right of the battery, and 58th Ohio and a portion 
 of the 32d Illinois on the left. Behind the line thus formed at 
 right angles with the road, the TOtli Ohio and IGth and 57th Illi- 
 nois were stationed as reserves. Hardly were these arragements 
 complete before the rebels emerged from the woods and dashed 
 up in front of the brigade. A blinding sheet of tlame burst forth 
 from cannon and musketry, causing the exultant foe to recoil and 
 fall back to the ele^'ated ground previously taken from McClernand. 
 Battered and buffeted by the blows which had been previously 
 dealt him, his further advance was stayed, and this was the last 
 ofleusive movement he was able to make. 
 
 At 3 o'clock Gen. Grant made his aiipearauce on the field, having 
 been in consultation with Commodore Foote iu reference to 
 another attack by the fleet. He immediately ordered the division 
 of Gen. Smith, containing tlie 7th, 13d, oOth, 57th and 38th Illinois 
 to move against the enemy in their front, and a renewed attack 
 on the right. At the request of Gen. McClernand, whose division 
 had borne the brunt of the battle, Gen. Wallace took the advance. 
 Placing the 8th Missouri and 1th Indiana in the lead, and pushing 
 the 17th and 19th Illinois far along the enemy's flank, he gave the 
 command, "forward." Knowing well the fearful object his men had 
 to accomplish, he gave them the simple instruction to ascend the 
 height in columns of regiments and then act as circumstances might 
 suggest. The men jflt'^ised \\ith the confidence reposed in their 
 judgment, and nerving themselves for the bloody work, moved 
 forward and commenced ascending the hill, when plunging volley 
 after volley tore through and decimated their ranks. Nothing- 
 short of annihilation, however, could stay their advance, and iu 
 the face of the murderous fire they bounded to the summit and 
 drove the rebels behind their mner works. 
 
 While this imiiortant success was achieved ou the right, Geu.S. 
 r. Smith, with the 2d and 7th Iowa and 52d Indiana, performed 
 an equally brilliant exploit on the left. After feigning an attack 
 in a diflerent direction, he commenced ascending the steep hill ou 
 which was posted the rebel force he proposed to attack. The 
 enemy j)erceiviiig his design at once opened a destructive fire upon 
 the advancing regiments, yet without discharging asingle gun in 
 reply, they swept np the slippery heights. IMounting higher and 
 higher they at length gained the summit from which volcano-like 
 had been hurled the storm of fiery projectiles encountered in the 
 ascent. A determined bayonet charge quickly ended the contest, 
 and high above and witliin the rebel ramparts their colors were 
 flung to the breeze, while a prolonged shout announced the wel- 
 come victory to their comrades on other parts of the field. The 
 
7G2 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 jiositiou was iunuediately fortified, and wLien the suu went dowu 
 the enemy was again confined within his works. 
 
 Convinced that they conkl not hold the works, Floyd and Pil- 
 low i)assed the command over to Buckner, and dniing the night 
 with about 5,000 men embarked.on board steamboats and escaped 
 np the river. The following morning, although our troops had 
 marched fi'om Fort Henry with only such food as they could carry 
 in their haversacks, and for three nights had been exposed to the 
 rigors of winter, yet at early dawn they eagerly awaited orders to 
 renew the coutlict. The besieged anticipating an immediate 
 attack, and satisfied that all further attempts to extricate them- 
 selves from the iron grasp with which they were bound would be 
 futile, ra]i up a flag as evidence of submission. Correspondence 
 was immediately interchanged respecting terms of surrender. Grant 
 to the o\xn'tures of the rebel general said: "i\^o terms other than 
 unconditional and immediate surrender can he accepted. 1 propost 
 to move immediately upon your worl:s.^^ Buckner thought the terms 
 ungenerous, but was compelled to submit, and Sunday morning 
 February 10th, 1802, Donelson, of almost fabulous strength, fell 
 into the hands of the federal conquerers. The spoils obtained con- 
 sisted of 40 cannon, 20,000 stand of arms, 3,000 horses and a large 
 amount of commissary stores ; while as the result of the victory 
 Bowling Green, Nashville and Columbus became untenable. The 
 federal loss in men was 440 killed, 1,735 wounded 5 that of the 
 enemy 231 killed, 1,007 wounded and 15,000 captured. 
 
 The people of the North expressed their appreciation of this 
 great victory by public meetings, illuminations aiid other similar 
 demonstrations ; Grant congratulated his soldiers upon the tri- 
 umph gained b}- their valor ; while Davis and other rebel author- 
 ities were deeply mortified at their disgrace, and Floyd and Pil- 
 low were suspended from command. 
 
 Besides the Illinois infantry already enumerated, Schwartz's, 
 Dresser's, Taylor's, Wood's, McAlister's and Willard's batteries, 
 McClernand's division and Stewart's, 0'Harnett's,Carmichaers, Kel- 
 logg's and Dickey's cavalry of the same comnumd also ])articipated 
 in the battle. The want of space renders it impossible to mention 
 the many instances of Illinois valor noticed in the reports of the 
 battle. Says Mr. Stevenson, author of Indiana's Roll of Honor: 
 "Upon McClernand's division was first hurled the rebel thunder. 
 Under fire from several batteries an immense mass of infjiiitry 
 charged upon his line. Sudden as was the attack, the gallant 
 sons of Illinois were ready to meet it. Into the enemy's teeth they 
 poured a steady, deadly fire. Taylor's battery and McAlister's 
 guns n)et them with a storm of graj^e and shell, and a brigade 
 charging drove four times their number back into their embank- 
 ments. The struggle was hand to hand. The bayonet, the bowie- 
 knife and the but end of the nuisket were freely used. Scarce a 
 regiment, company or battery from the State failed to distinguish 
 itself, and if tliere was failure it was for the want of oppoitunity. 
 A New England jjoet reading the telegrams of the battle as they 
 Ciinu' in, a,nd admiring the audacity of Illinois' daring, wrote the 
 following stanzas: 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION 763 
 
 •'Oh, gales that dash the Athuitic's swell 
 
 Along our rocky shores, 
 Whose thunder diapason swell 
 
 New England's glad hurrahs. 
 
 "Bear to the prairies of the West 
 
 The echoes of our joy, 
 The jirayer tluit springs in every breast, 
 
 God blessthee, Illinois. 
 
 "Oh, awful hours when grape and shell 
 
 Tore through the untliuchiug line. 
 Stand tirm, remove the men who fell, 
 
 Close up and wait the sign. 
 
 "It came at last, now lads the steel, 
 
 The rushing hosts deploy, 
 Charge boys, tiie broken traitors reel. 
 
 Huzza for Illinois. 
 
 "In vain thy ramparts, Douelson, 
 
 The living torrent bars. 
 It leaps the wall, the fort is won, 
 
 Up go the stripes aud stars. 
 
 "Thy proudest mother's eyelids fill, 
 
 As dares her gallant boy, 
 And Plymoutli Rock and Bunker Hill 
 
 Yearn to thee, Illinois."* 
 
 The news of the surrender reached ISTasliville as the people 
 uere assembling at cliiircli. A disi)atch had been received the 
 picvious evening from Pillow claiming- the victory, and now they 
 "ucre meeting in the sanctuary to offer thanks to the God of battles 
 foi- tlie success of their cause. The truth fell like a thunder- 
 bolt. Joy and exultation gave i)]ace to alarm, and the whole 
 l)oi)n]ation in a short- time was in commotion. Gov. Harris, it is 
 said, rushed wildly through streets crying, the enemj' will soon be 
 m tlse city, ajid the teirilied inhabitants seizing every available 
 means of conveyance Hed as if from certain destruction. Says 
 Pollard, "An earthquake could not have shocked the city more." 
 The congregations of the churches were broken up in confusion 
 and dismay. W^omen and children rushed into the streets wailing 
 with terror, trunks were thrown from three-story windows in the 
 rush of the fugitives, and thousands hastened to leave their beau- 
 tiful city in the nudst of the most distressing scenes of terror and 
 confusion and i>]under by the mob. 
 
 ()u the 24th of February, the Uniou forces under Buell entered 
 and took possession of the city. A general order was issued 
 lu'omising ijrotection to all peaceably disposed citizens, and on the 
 refusal of the municipal authorities to take the oath of allegiance 
 they were ejected from office. Andrew Johnson was appointed 
 military governor of the State, and while he was entering on 
 the vigorous prosecution of his duties the federal army was slowly 
 moving southward in the rear of the fugitive enemy. 
 
 Ocmipation of Columhus. — Columbus, from the formidable char- 
 acter of its fortiticatious called the Gibralter of the "West, was 
 
 •Atlantic Monthly. 
 
764 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 selected as the next place of attack. The force tlesiguated to 
 operate against it was the fleet under Commodore Foote, and a 
 co-operating- force of infantry under Gen. W. T. Sherman. The 
 latter consisted of the 27th and 55th Illinois and 74th Ohio, the 
 former of gun and 4 mortar boats in charge of Capt. Phelps, of 
 the United States navy. The ponderous mortars, of which there 
 was only one on each boat, Meighed 17,000 pounds, and threw 
 shells of more than 200 pounds a distance of three miles. Such 
 was the deafening effect of the concussion when fired, the gun- 
 ners were compelled to talvc refuge behind the timber work which 
 enclosed them to escape the shock. 
 
 With everything in readiness the entire force, the infantry on 
 transports, slowly and cautiously descended the Mississippi, till 
 on the 4th of March the bluffs of Columbus became visible. 
 Preparations were commenced to open fire when a strange flag 
 was discovered floating above the works, different from the rebel 
 colors, and it became questionable who were in possession of the 
 place, our own forces or those of the enemy. To solve the mystery 
 Capt. Pheli)S and 50 Illinois volunteers made a dashing recon- 
 noisance in a tug directly under the water batteries, but failed to 
 elicit a single hostile shot. It was now evident that thetownhad 
 been evacuated. A rush was made for the shore, and in less than 
 five minutes the flag of the 21st Illinois proudly waved ovei- the 
 fort which the chivalrous southrons regarded as impregnable. 
 Cheer after cheer from soldier and tar rent the air at this happy 
 consummation of the expedition. The strange bunting which had 
 been discried, proved to be a flag improvised from pieces of calico 
 by soldiers of the 2d Illinois cavalry, who the previous day, to the 
 nuuiber of 400, had galloped from Paducah and taken possession 
 of the town. Gen. Polk with 20,000 men had been intrusted with 
 the custody of this almost impregnable fortress, but finding him- 
 self completely turned on both sides of the Mississippi, the result 
 of Union triumphs in Missouri, and the conquests of Henry and 
 Donelson, he was compelled to evacuate it Avithout striking a 
 single blow in its defense. Says an officer in the expedition : "I 
 could not resist landing to examine the works, which are of im- 
 mense strength, consisting of tiers upon tiers of batteries on the 
 river front, and a strong parapet and ditch strengthened by a 
 thick abatis on the land side. The fortifications api)ear to have 
 been evacuated hastily considering the quantities of ordinance 
 stores, a number of anchors, the remnant of the chain which was 
 once stretched across the river, and a large sujiply of torpedoes 
 remaining. Desolation was visible everywhere, huts, tents and 
 barricades presenting their blackened remains, though the town 
 was spared." 
 
 Capture of Neiv Madrid. — The tide of victory following the cur- 
 rent of the Mississippi, Kew IMadrid and Island Ko, 10, were soon 
 added to the list of Union triumi)hs. On the 22d of February, 
 the anniversary of Washington's birth day. Gen. Pope was ordered 
 by Gen. Halleck to dislodge a large rebel force stationed at Ncav 
 IMadrid. On the 24tli of March his force arrived at Commerce, 
 and on learning that Jeff' Thom|»son with a rebel force, was in the 
 neighborhood, it was determined to give him battle. Accordingly 
 two companies of the 7th Illinois cavalry, and the' 20th Illinois 
 
THE WAR OP THE REBELLION. 765 
 
 infantry was sent in pursnit and soon encountered the foe, having 
 a mounted force of 2,000 men ami 3 pieces of artillery. A dash 
 ing charge was immediately ordered. The rebels after delivering 
 a scattering volley, hurriedly fled, with our men in i)ursuit. As 
 the chase was continued at short intervals, squads of the enemy 
 broke into the woods and tired at our men as they passed, till not 
 more than one-fourth of the original number remained in the road. 
 These to exi)edite their frantic flight, left their track strewed with 
 coats, hats, blankets, guns and other baggage ; 3 pieces of artillery 
 were run down and captured, and thus for 20 miles the precipi- 
 tate Hight and i)ursuit was kept up till the flying foe sought shel- 
 ter under the friendly guns of New Madrid. 
 
 The main column of our forces arrived on the 3d of March, 
 when Pope, not knowing the exact position of the enemy, sent 
 forward 3 regiments and a battery of artillery to make a recon- 
 uoisance. On coming within ranging distance they were met bj^ 
 shells from gunboats stationed in the river, when they fell back 
 and encamped beyond their reach. The rebel entrenchments might 
 have been easily carried, but it would have been impossible to 
 hold them in consequence of the destructive fire of the gun-boats. 
 It was therefore deemed best to order 4 seige guns from Cairo 
 before making the attempt. In the meantime a force under Col. 
 Plummer, consisting of the 11th Missouri and the 20th and 47th 
 Illinois, was sent with all speed to occupy Point Pleasant, 12 
 miles below, for the purpose of blockading the river and cutting 
 off reinforcements. This was successfully accomplished though 
 not till the rebel force was increased to 9 gunboats and 9,000 in- 
 fantry and several batteries of artillery. The rebel fleet was com- 
 manded by Commodore Hollins, and the land forces by McCown, 
 Stuart and Gant. The siege guns ari'ived at sunset on the 12th, 
 and the 10th and IGth Illinois, Cols. Morgan and Smith, were de- 
 tached to cover the position chosen for the battery, and assist in 
 its erection. Although exposed to constant volleys of musketry, 
 rifle pits were excavated, and the guns mounted ready for action, 
 within 35 hours after they had been shipped from Cairo. At 
 early dawn, on the 13th, the battery opened with telling eflect, 
 and in a few hours disabled several of the gun-boats and dis- 
 mounted the heavy pieces of artillery in the enemy's nuiin worlcs. 
 While this furious cannonade was nuiintained throughout the day 
 on the right, Paine's division, containing the 51st and G4th Illinois, 
 supported by Palmer's, forced their way up to the rebel works on 
 the right, compeUing the rebel pickets to seek shelter within their 
 w^orks. At nightfall, during a blinding thunder storm, the hostile 
 force hurriedly fled, leaving their dead unburied, their suppers 
 untasted on the tables, their candles burning in their tents and 
 other evidences of a disgraceful panic. 
 
 The details of the battle show that the Illinois troops who par- 
 ticipated in it fought with no ordinary bravery and success, and 
 added additional lustre to their previous record. Gen. Pope in his 
 official report says : 
 
 "The loth and 16th Illinois, commanded respectively by Cols. Morgan 
 and J. R. Smith, were detailed as guards to the proposed trenches, and 
 to aid in coustructiug tliem. They marciied from camp at sunset outlie 
 12th, and drove in the pickets and guard of the enemy, as tliey were or- 
 dered, at shoulder arms, and without returning a shot, covered the front 
 
7G6 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of the entrenching parties, and. occupied the trenches and rifle pits dur- 
 ing the whole day and night of the 13tli, under a furious and incessant 
 cannonading- from 160 pieces of lieavy artillery. At the earnest request 
 of theh- colonels, their regimental flags were kept flying over our 
 trenches though they ottered a conspicuous mark to the enemy. The 
 coolness, courage and cheerfulness of these troops, exposed for two 
 nights and a day to the incessant fire of tiie enemy at short range, and 
 the severe storm which raged the whole night, are above all praise." 
 
 Caphire of Island No. 10. — Pope now j^lanted Lis batteries on 
 tlie banks of the river and shut up the rebel fleet between liiiu- 
 self and Island ISTo. 10, the next place of attack. The island, sit- 
 uated just above New Madrid and 45 miles below Columbus, Mas 
 fortilied with eleven earth works and 70 heavy cannon. The day 
 after the capture of ]S^ew JMadrid, Foote, with the fleet, made his 
 appearance abo\'e it, effected a reeonnoissance of the adjacent 
 shores and })laced his mortar boats in position for attack. On the 
 morning- of the 10th of March, 1802, the bombardment com- 
 menced, but the rebel batteries were targets too small to be hurt 
 by shells thrown at an angles of 45 degrees a distance of three miles. 
 Tiie slightest breath of air operating on a projectile thrown so 
 great a distance was suiiiieient to frustrate the nicest mathemati- 
 cal calcuhitions, ami hence the cannonading continued day after 
 day without beneficial results. The gunboats could easily have 
 prevailed against the hostile works but for the danger of becom- 
 ing disableil and drifting helplessly in the swift current directly 
 under the enemy's guns. Pope was expected to co-operate Avith 
 the fleet, his plan being to gain the Kentucky shore, where he 
 could operate directly agains the foe and cut off his retreat in case 
 of an attempted escape. The want of transports being the only 
 difficulty attending the execution of this i)lan, the following- expe- 
 dient was adopted : 
 
 Near wlieie the Heet lay there was a slough running inland which 
 connected with a stream emptying into the river below the island, 
 not far from New JMadrid. Pope determined to opeii this for the 
 passage of transports round the island, having previously sent 
 Ool. Bissell to ascertain the practicability of the undertaking. 
 The levee was cut, and the surface inland being lower than the 
 bank of the river, when the oitening was effected water passed 
 through in a stream of suflicient depth to float ordinary trans- 
 ports. The route to be opened was 12 miles in length, one-half 
 of it extending through a growth of trees, many of which were 
 two feetin diameter. Toadmittliepassage of boatsitwasnecessary 
 to saw them off four feet below the surface of the water for the si)ace 
 of 50 feet in width. The machinery em ployed for this purpose was 
 placed on boats and operated by twenty men who, in some 
 instances consumed several hours in the removal of one tree. The 
 transports slowly advancing as the channel was opened, at 
 length again eidered the turbid Mississippi, the crew chanting 
 "On the other side of Jordan" in lieu of "Jordan is a hard road to 
 travel," with which they had i)reviously beguiled their labors. 
 
 ])nving the" accomplishment of this sjdcndid achievement of 
 engineering skill, two other feats were performcdequally biilliant, 
 but of a different character. The rebels in possession of Union 
 City, becoming very troublesome, Col. Puford, of the 12fli Plinois 
 iufautry, with his own regiment, two compaines of the 2d lUiuois 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 767 
 
 cavalry aud 400 otlier troops was ordered to dislodine tliem. Eii- 
 teriiiii' the town by forced marcliesho sar[)rised and dispei'sed a 
 lar<4e force of the enemy under the command of the notorious ITenry 
 Chiy King. Panic-stricken they lied iu every direction, leavingtheir 
 horses, arms aud a considerable amouutof otlier proi)erty ass})oils 
 for the victors. On thefollowingday Col.lioberts, of the 4lM Illi- 
 nois, with twenty of his uu)st daring men, having provided boats 
 with muflied oai's, made for the island for the i)urpose of dcistroy- 
 ing the upper battery. As the night advanced the surface of the 
 river became ruffled with litful gusts of wind ; })resently the cor- 
 rugated edge of a cloud rose up from the western hoiizon, and the 
 muttering of distant thunder presaged an a})proaching storm. 
 Favored by the darkness and the roar of the connng storm they 
 reached the shore and started for the battery about L*00 yards dis- 
 tant. When arriving at the ditch iu front of the works a vivid 
 flash of lightning made their presence known to the sentinel, who 
 fired his gun and fled, evidently thinking the whole Lincoln army 
 Avas after him. The flash also re\'ealed the situation of the guns, 
 an<I hardly had the reverberating thunder died away in the dis- 
 tance before that which a fortnight's bombardmeut had failed to 
 accomplish was consumnuited. Six heavy guns were si>iked, 
 among which wasa superb 9 inch pivot guu, called Lady Davis, in 
 honor of the rebel president's wife. The romance of war does 
 not furnish a deed of more <hishiug gallantry than the perform- 
 ance of these men, who all returned unharmed. 
 
 Before the transi)orts could be made available in moving troops 
 to the opposite shore of the river, it was necessary to get some of 
 the giinboats below the island to protect them in case of an attack. 
 Accordingly on the night of the -3d of Ai)ril, the Caroudelet with 
 her Nulnerable })arts protected, was cut loose and started down 
 tlie I'iver for the pur^tose of running the rebel batteries. A storm 
 of great fury had again burst on the river, and completely shroud- 
 ing the boat in darkness, it rapidly moved forward on its perilous 
 mission. As it a[>i)roached the island the soot in the chimney 
 caught tire and suddenly", with spectral glare, lighted up the river. 
 The flue caps were immediately opened and fortunately the flames 
 subsided before the enemy discovered their real character in tlie 
 blinding darkness of the storm. A secoml time while the crew were 
 congratulatiug themselves on their miraculous escape, the flames 
 burst forth, casting a brilliant light in the face of the foe, 
 rendering farther concealment imi)Ossible. Suddenly signal 
 rockets from the island and Kentu(;ky shore streamed up in the 
 darkness ; drums beat to quarters and cannon and musketry 
 oi)encd upon the boat in deafening roar. The storm was still 
 unabated, aiul warring elements i)layed iu wild response to hos- 
 tile batteries. Flashing guns alternating with gleams of light- 
 ning, peals of thunder answering to booming camion, and 
 drem-hing torrents of rain, intermingled with falling nnssiles, 
 enveloped the crew in a pageant of terrific grandeur, ('aim, 
 however, as if about to enter a peaceful harbor, they put on steam 
 and steered directly under the enemy's guns. Owing to the dif- 
 ficulty of depressing their guns so as to cover the vessel, she ran 
 the fiery gauntlet without sustaining the slightest injury. The 
 firing of a signal gun announced to friemls above aud below the 
 island, the successful result, aud as the boat ueared the wharf at 
 
768 HISTOET OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 New Madrid it was greeted with the wiklest euthusiasm. Sokliers 
 almost frantic with joy, seized the sailors and carried them up the 
 banks of the river to the nearest hotel, where they became objects 
 of absorbing- interest. On the uight of the 0th the Pittsburgh 
 also successfully performed the same feat, comi)leting the prei)a- 
 rations for the reduction of the island. 
 
 Paine's division, in which were the 22d and 51st Illinois was now 
 embarked and crossed over the wild floods of theMississippi, pre- 
 senting in its passage, one of the most magnificent spectacles ever 
 witnessed. Stanly and Hamilton's divisions followed, and by 12 
 o'clock the ensuing night, April 7th, all the force required, was 
 safe on the Kentucky shore. As soon as the rebels discovered 
 that a lodgment had been effected they evacuated the island as 
 untenable and concentrated at Tiptonville, situated at the 
 lower extremity of the 12 miles of batteries which stretched along 
 the Kentucky side of the river. The three divisions, Paine's 
 command in advance, immediately started in pursuit. The enemy 
 7,000 strong, under McCown, was -encountered and driven back 
 into the swamps, where he was forced to unconditionally surren- 
 der. Says Pope : "Gen. Paine fortunate in having the advance, 
 exhibited unusual vigor and courage, and had the satisfaction to 
 receive the surrender of the enemy. Three generals, 5,000 pris- 
 oners, 17 steamboats, 74 heavy pieces of artillery, 10,000 lbs. of 
 powder fell into the hands of the "sictors." 
 
 Besides the Illinois regiments mentioned, the 7th (cavalry) and 
 the 00th also participated in the battle and demeaned them- 
 selves with the alacritj', courage and prudence which should ever 
 characterize the citizen soldiery of the republic. Their acknowl- 
 edged efliciency furnishes ample proof that the soldier is not a 
 machine moved and controlled independently of his volition, but 
 that intelligence and moral worth are as essential to his success 
 as they are in other i:)ursuits of life, however exalted. 
 
 Maj. Gen. John Poj)e, to whom we are indebted for the two pre- 
 ceding brilliant victories, was born at Kaskaskia, Illinois, March 
 12tl), 1823. His father, i^J^athaniel Pope, w^as a prominent actor 
 in the early history of Illinois. His son John graduated at West 
 Point in 1812, fought his way through the Mexican war, and for 
 his meritorious conduct was made captain by brevet, his commis- 
 sion dating from Feb. 23d, 1840. In 1849 he commanded an 
 expedition sent out from Minnesota to test the practicability 
 of obtaining water by artesian borings in the great plain which 
 stretches Avith such terrible aridity between Texas and jSTew 
 Mexico. The enterprise proved a failure. The interval from 1854 
 to 1859 he spent in exploring the Eocky Mountains and was pro- 
 moted to a captaincy in the corps of topographical engineers. 
 When the rebellion commenced he was made brigadier-general of 
 volunteers and assigned to command the district of North jMis- 
 souri, where after dispersing the predatory rebel bauds, he made 
 his way to New Madrid and Island No. 10. 
 
Chapter LYIII 
 
 18G2— ILLINOIS m NORTH EEN MISSISSIPPI AND 
 
 ALABAMA. 
 
 Battle of Pittshurg Landing — Mitchell's Cam/paign — Siege of 
 
 Corinth 
 
 While tliese events were transpiring on the Mississippi a battle of 
 mnch grander proportions Avas ra(;inf;on the banks of the Tennessee. 
 The rebel line of defense, extending from Colnnibns eastward 
 throngh Forts Henry and Donelson to the Alleghanies, havingbeen 
 broken by federal forces the enemy fell back and established anew 
 one farther southward on the Memphis and Oliarleston railroad. 
 This great thoroughfare runs eastward from Memphis through 
 Corinth, Florence, Huntsville, Chattanooga and other important 
 places, hence the rebels regarded its defense essential to the pre- 
 servation of Northern Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia. The 
 Union forces, after having secured possession of the Tennessee, kept 
 it open by means of gunboats as far as Easti)ort, Mississippi, and 
 nmde it the base of operations. The rebel autliorities aware of 
 the tremendous issues at stake, commenced concentrating all their 
 available forces at Corinth, situated at the intersectiou of the 
 Memphis and Charleston and the Ohio and Mobile railroads. 
 Johnson after his escape from Donelson, led his forces through 
 Nashville to this strategic point, and hither also came Price from 
 Western Arkansas, Bragg from Peusacola, and Polk from 
 Columbus. 
 
 For the purpose of tapping this great central line of transpor- 
 tation reaching from the Mississippi to the sea, on which the 
 rebels were rallying, Halleck ordered forward the different diAis- 
 ions of the Union army. About the middle of March Grant, with 
 the conquerors of Donelson, moved forward to Savannah, when 
 the division of Lew. Wallace was thrown across the river at 
 Crumps landing, about 2 miles above, and those of Prentiss, 
 Smith and McClernand at Pittsburg lauding, 5 miles higher up 
 the stream. Buel, who with a separate army from the department 
 of the Ohio, had taken possession of Nashville, and on learning in 
 the meantime the destination of Johnson also started to co-oiDerate 
 with the forces on the Tennessee. 
 
 Pittsburgh Landing, where most of Grant's army was now 
 posted, was the point of debarkation for Corinth, Purdy and some 
 other towns on the west side of the river. The bank here rises 
 to a height of 80 feet and is cloven by ravines, through one of 
 which the Corinth road ascends to the general level of the coun- 
 49 769 
 
770 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 try wliere it sends off branches to neighboring towns. From the 
 river an irreguhir X)hiteau sweeps inhmd, bounded on tlie noith 
 and west by Snake Creek, on the south by Lick creek, both small 
 streams, emptying into the Tennessee 5 miles apart, one below and 
 the other above the landing. Variegated with ravines and ridges, 
 partly wooded and partly cultivated, it lay like a picture in a 
 frame, green with the opening verdure of April. Three miles 
 from the landing, on the Corinth road, near the centre of the tield, 
 was a small church styled Shiloh, from which the subsequent 
 battle received its name. On the 4rh of March Grant had been 
 superseded by C. F. Smith, one of his commanders, who shortly 
 afterwards was attacked by a fatal disease, when his division was 
 transferred to W. H. L. Wallace and Grant was re-instated. 
 
 Sunday morning, April 6th, the several divisions of his army 
 were situated as follows : Commencing on the right near the ri^•er 
 below, and sweeping round in the form of an irregular semi-circle 
 to the river above were the divisions of W. H. L. Wallace, 
 McClernand, Sherman, Prentiss and Hurlbut, while that of Lew. 
 Wallace was still at Crump's Landing. The confederate army 
 consisted of 3 corps and the following principal officers: 
 A. Sidney Johnson, first in commaiul, P. T. G. Beau- 
 regard second, and Polk, Bragg and Hardee, corps com- 
 manders. It was well known in the rebel camp that Buell was 
 rapidly advancing from Nashville to reinforce Grant, and it was 
 determined to attack and defeat the latter before he was strength- 
 ened. By the aid of spies Johnson was apprised of the daily 
 progress made by Buell, and when on the 3d of April his junction 
 with Grant became imminent, he started with all his available 
 forces for Pittsburg Landing, Owing to bad roads the whole day 
 was consumed m reaching the Union outposts, and after some 
 slight skirmishing the army encamped with the expectation of 
 making an attack on the morrow. Fortunately a severe storm 
 fell the next day and the contemplated attack was postponed till 
 the Sabbath morning following. Buell in the meantime pushed 
 forward with all possible dispatch over the muddy roads and 
 gained a day, which, as the sequel shows, was of vital importance. 
 The rebels, although unable to nmke an attack moved up to 
 to within a mile of the Union pickets, and though some skirmish- 
 ing had occurred, their presence in force was unsuspected. 
 
 As previously arranged, with the early gray of the Sabbath's 
 dawn, the confederate army started across the narrow belts of 
 woods which separated them from the unsuspecting federals. On 
 emerging from the timber such was the imi^etuosity of their onset 
 they swooped down in compact masses on our advanced out- 
 posts before the small force which had been sent out to reconnoi- 
 tre could return and apprise them of their danger. So sudden 
 and complete was the surprise of the federals that some of them 
 were overtaken preparing for breakfast, some sitting listlessly in 
 tbeir tents, while others still wrapt in unconscious slum- 
 bers, were bayoneted before they had time to riae from their beds. 
 Prentiss and Sherman who were considerably in advance, thus 
 rudely awakened by the thunders of battle, immediately dis- 
 patched messengers to the other divisions to apprise them of the 
 enemy's a])proach and request their co-operation. The latter by 
 his stirring appeals and the reckless exposure of his person in the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 771 
 
 midst of the greatest dangers, succeeded in restoring confidence, 
 and his divisions, in wliicli were the 40th and r)r)tli Illinois, half 
 dressed, fell into line. The sudden charge of the foe and 
 the want of preparatic«i to receive hi in, caused one of his 
 brigades to fall back in confusion and McClernand came up with 
 the 11th, 30th and 4od Illinois to fill the gap. Convinced from 
 the roar of cannon that the engagement was becoming general, he 
 apprised Hurlburt of Prentiss' danger and requested his assistance. 
 The contest along Sherman's line became desperate and bloody, 
 the rebels dashing up to the very muzzles of Waterhouse's guns, 
 and in a hand to hand tight, contending for their possession. 
 Although further reinforced by the 14th, loth and 4(5th Illinois 
 from Hurlburt's division and Schwartz's, Dresser's, Taylor's and 
 McAlister's batteries from McClernand's, his battered and bleed- 
 ing forces were driven from their position and their camp des- 
 })oi]ed by the the shouting enemy. By his protracted stand and 
 frightful sacrifice of men the enemy was, however, partially checked 
 and the army escaped the calamity of being driven into the Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 In the meantime the division of Prentiss, containing the 01st 
 Illinois, had become involved and almost annihilated. At the tii'st 
 intimation of danger, he hastily formed his line, but unlbr- 
 tuuately it was in an open field. The enemy soon came stream- 
 ing thiough the woods, and taking advantage of the shelter tlicy 
 afforded, ]>oured volley after volley into the ranks of the exposed 
 troops and coxered the field with their slain. While Prentiss 
 stubbornly refused to retire before this wasting slaugliter. llar- 
 <lee massing his impetuous brigades, forced them through the 
 gap between him and Sherman, and flanked him on the light, 
 while Jackson with his Mississippi fire-eaters, sweeping round 
 in an o})posite direction, turned his left. Hurlburt hastened to 
 his assistance but came too late. Batteries were immediately 
 opened on both sides of the division, and ploughing a passage 
 through it Prentiss and 3,000 men were surrounded and taken 
 prisoners. As the captured troops were borne to the rear of the 
 victorious foe, the remnant of the division, in a confused jnass, 
 was driven in the opposite direction. 
 
 We have seen that when the contiictcommenced the convexity of 
 the Union line was turned from the river, now, by the beating back 
 of the center, it formed an arc in the direction of the stream. 
 Prentiss and McOlenuind, constituting the two wings, still 
 retained their positions, and Hurlbut moving to the cmter had 
 been forced back. The conflict had been fierce, territic, deter- 
 mined and bloody ; great forest trees were riven into fragments 
 by the incessant crash of artillery, and the fatal field lay ghastly 
 with huge i)iles of victims, (irant, as at Donelson, was absent, 
 ami each conunaud was compelled to act upon its own responsi- 
 bility. 
 
 The division of McClernand, containing the 8th, 11th, 17th, 
 ISth, 20th, 29th, 31st, 42d, 43d, 45th, 4Sth and 49th Illinois, which 
 had supported Shennan in the tirst onset of the battle, when the 
 hitter fell back, became exposed to a dangerous flank movement on 
 the right. Dresser was ordered forward with his rifled guns to 
 the vulnerable point, and for a time checked the inflowing tide of 
 assailants. Schwartz and McAllister, in other parts of the line, 
 
HISTORY OF ILLTTsOIS. 
 
 rendered efficient aid, and rebel charge after cliarge was repulsed, 
 but only to make room for Iresli regiments to pour in and repeat 
 tbem with redoubled fury. When at length it became necessary 
 to retire before the overwhelming- pressure, there were not artillery 
 horses remaining alive sufficient to remove the batteries, and por- 
 tions fell into the hands of the enemy. By 11 o'clock the division 
 was driven back to a line with llurlbut. 
 
 The division of the latter, comprising the 14th, loth, 28th, 32d, 
 4l8t aiul Kith Illinois, as the others were falling back, took a 
 position in the edge of a wood fronting an open held over which 
 the enemy must pass to attack him. Thither also Sherman, with 
 a faint hope of saving- the army from annihilation, led the bat- 
 tered fragments of his conniiand. The rebel officers, determined 
 not to be checked in their advance toward the river, into which 
 they proposed to hurl the defenders of the Union, threw forward 
 their victorious legions with almost resistless momentum. Three 
 times they emerged from the timber on the opposite side of the 
 open space, and three times were they swept back by the hurri- 
 cane of fire which met them, leaving- their gory track covered 
 with the dead and dying. Gallantly leading' his columns in these 
 tremendous charges, Johnson was pierced with a ball, and stretch- 
 ing- out his arms fell on one of his aids and ez^pired. Unde- 
 terred by loss of men or leader, fresli regiments dashed into the 
 deadly vortex with renewed vigor, and finally exhausted and 
 overwhelmed by numbers, the federals weie compelled to retire 
 and join their discomfited companions in the rear. 
 
 After Prentiss had been driven from his position, the onset of 
 the enemy fell with tremendous force on the 7th, *Jth, 12th, oOtli, 
 52(1, oTth and 58th Illinois, a part ef the diA'ision of W. H. L. Wal- 
 lace, which had been moved to an advanced position in the Union 
 line. Serving his batteries planted on commanding ridges with 
 great skill, and his infantry fighting- with the determination of 
 battle-scarred veterans, four times he repulsed the enemy with 
 terrific slaughter. The other divisions had, however, given way, 
 and his also, under the concentrated fire of Folk's and Har- 
 dee's united columns, was compelled to yield, its brave 
 commander falling mortally wounded in his attempts to resist the 
 overwhelming- fiood. 
 
 It was now 5 o'clock. All day the battle had raged, but the 
 field cleft by ravines ami obstiucted by timber, had rendered the 
 contest irregular and indecisive. When it commenced Grant was 
 at Savannah, and until his arrival on the field each division com- 
 mander managed his own force to suit the exigencies of the en- 
 gagement. There was little unity of action. Hearing- the heavy 
 and continuous booming- of artillery, he hurried to the scene of 
 conflict and arri\ed about o'clock, but skillful generalship could 
 not then avert the evil caused by surprise, nor screen him from 
 the angry criticism which he encountered. In the desultory con- 
 flict the princi]>al resistance was afibrded by McClernand, W. H. 
 L. Wallace and Hurlbut, the divisions of Sherman and Prentiss 
 having- become too much demoralized by the morning's suri)rise 
 to render the aid which otherwise would have been furnished. 
 Lew. Wallace, at Crumi)'s Landing, had been ordered to form on 
 the Union riglit, but unfortunately was misled by a change in 
 the position of the army. What in the morning had been the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 773 
 
 federal right was now the enemy's rear. Though apparently he 
 might have hurled his fresh troops agaiust the jaded enemy, 
 doubled up his left and thus have given a more favorable issue to 
 tlie contest, he retraced his steps, and moviug along the river 
 did not arrive till nightfall, when the battle was over.* Had the 
 enemy known the vulnerable condition of our right and made his 
 principal attack in that direction instead of the left, his success 
 would doubtless have been more complete. 
 
 The tide of battle which had hitherto drifted adversely, was 
 now to change. The exultant threat of treason, that it would 
 overwhelm the defenders of the Eepublic in the dark waters of 
 the Tennessee, was never to be executed ; but, beaten and hum- 
 bled, its minions were to be driven from the held. The army 
 in the morning was extended out in a semicircle of 5 miles; 
 now it was in a compact body around the lauding, and though 
 bleeding and reduced in numbers, it still presented a bold front. 
 There was a lull in th,e contlict, caused, perhaj)s, by preparations 
 of the enemy for the linal cliarge which was to execute his threat. 
 This pause was also improved by our jaded and iu)perilled men. 
 Fortunately there had been deposited on the bluff a number of 
 siege guns and other heavy ordnance designed for future opera- 
 tions against Corinth. These with the fragments of field artillery 
 which had escaped capture Col. Webster chief of Grant's staff 
 hurriedly jilaced in position. This defeuse was rendered more 
 effective by a deep ravine which, on the left separated the Union 
 from the Confederate army, the latter now concentrated in that 
 direction. Hardly had our guns been mounted when a shower 
 of projectiles, some of which exploded on the opposite bank of 
 the river, announced his coming, and presently every avenue 
 of approach was crowded by his dark masses of infantry. 
 Streaming across the ravine they scaled the opposite gun-crowned 
 slo[)es. Jjutas soon as they had gained the summit they were 
 met by a blinding tire and swei»t back bleeding into the gorge. 
 Flushed, howe\'er, with previous success, they were easily rallied, 
 and while they were advancing and recoiling in a series of final 
 charges, the gun-boats Lexington and Tyler opened upon them 
 with their heavy guns. All day they had been anxious spectators 
 of the combat, moving restlessly ui> and down the river in vain 
 seeking an op[)ortunity toco-operate. Now, however, the foe was 
 in range and they sent their ponderous shells screaming dismally 
 and deathly into his ranks, opening huge gaps and exerting a 
 moral effect upon the hostile army more fatal than the physical 
 results of their death dealing explosions. The rebel ofdcers tried in 
 
 * \Vallace's arrival was awaited with all the anxiety which an imperiled condition of 
 the army fould inspire. The suspense increasiufr, about 3 o'clock a staff officer rode 
 up 1(1 the id battalion of the 4th Illinois cavalrj'and asked for volunteers to go on the 
 perilous mission of meetinsr and uifring upon him the importance of hurryins? for- 
 ward liTS division. Lieut. Frank Fisk and Sergeant Henry Sturges immediately rode 
 to the front ami called for others to join them. A party of sev-jn was soon formed, 
 and dashiiifi-by the enemy's left in easy ranjje of his musketrj-, and boundintr over 
 Owl Creek they found Wallace near its intersection of the Corinth road, made known 
 their errand, and advised a direct attack upon the enemy. He replied that his artil- 
 lery had not yet come up and the movenient would leave it exposed and liable to cap- 
 tiii-»;. They also pointed out the elevated f^round occupied by the rebels, and the im- 
 possibility "of his usin<^ his artillery, and insisted that it wae better to abandon his 
 own jruns than lose the advantage of an assault on the exposed rebel Hank. These 
 artrnments wore, however, rejected, and the heroic little band safely returned and 
 reported the ri'sult. They were then instructed to ride among the soldiers and pro- 
 claim that Wallace was at hand with lf!,000 fresh troops. The effect was electric, the 
 loud unswering shout of our almost overpowered men rising above the din of battle. 
 
774 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 vain to get tlioir men to face the new engines of destruction, but 
 were compelled to fall back beyond tbeir range. Sliortly after the 
 gun-boats came into action the glittering arms of Buel's advanced 
 division were seen across the river. It had arrived at Savannah 
 30 hours before, and ISTelson, the commander, detecting in the 
 deep and continuous roar of artillery theexistence of battle, pushed 
 forward to render assistance. A brigade immediately crossing 
 the stream and rushing directly to the front, greatly revived the 
 spirits of the exhausted army. 
 
 The sun now as if to end the slaughter, withdrew his light from 
 the gory field — a field literally covered over with piles of victims, 
 some torn into. fragments, others exhibiting but little evidence of 
 the means by whicli they had lost their lives; some still writhing 
 in the agonies of death, ami others less injured crying for help. 
 Interspersed among them were the fragments of guns and their 
 carriages, splintered trunks and branches of forest trees, all indi- 
 cating the fury of the battle storm which had wrought their de- 
 struction. Night came on but the period of repose which it 
 brought afforded little rest to either belligerent. As soon as the 
 position of the enemy was ascertained, the two gun-boats ngain 
 commenced throwing among them immense shells which, explod- 
 ing far inland, gave back reports resembli])g those of replying 
 guns. This heavy cannonade, with slight intermission, was con- 
 tinued the whole night, and the exhausted enemy aroused from 
 his imperfect slumbers, was forced back faither and farther from 
 the river. 
 
 The landing also became the scene of important operations. 
 Crittenden's division of Buel's army having reached Savanah, was 
 brought up on steamers and placed in position. The next news re- 
 ceived was that McCook's division had also arrived at Savanah, 
 but owing to the lateness of the hour, it was not brought np till 
 the next morning. The heavy explosions of artillery reverberat- 
 ing far up and down the Tennessee had ai)prisedthe commanders 
 of these gallant divisions of what was going on, ami regardless of 
 almost impassable roads they pushed forward to ]»articipafe in the 
 battle. With this augmentation of its forces the LTnion army was 
 able to act on the ofiensive and accordingly the several divisions 
 were assigned i>laces for an attack the next morning. Connnenc- 
 ing on the right and extending to the left weie the commands of 
 Nelson, Crittenden, Hurlbut, McClernand, Sherman, and Lew 
 Wallace, the latter including the divisions of Prentiss and W. H. L. 
 Wallace. Each took the place assigned it, and as is usually the 
 case after a heavy cannonade a storm arose and the remainder of 
 the night was spent in a drenching rain. When morniiig dawned 
 the Confederates beheld with surprise Buell's handsomely deployed 
 columns and doubtless with increased anxiety thought of the work 
 still before them. Their consternation was farther increased when 
 the strains of martial music announced the arrival of McCook's 
 division which at once advanced and took a position between 
 Crittenden and Hurlbut. 
 
 Nelson's and Critteuden's divisions, eager to measure their 
 strength with the foe, first commenced the attack. For a time 
 the contest was an artillery duel of gi'and porportions and pro- 
 portionately bloody. Notwithstanding the severe tire, one of Nel- 
 son's brigades charged across the open space between the two lines 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. . 775 
 
 and captured one of the hostile batteries. Before the prize, how- 
 ever, could be removed, its captors were driven back with a loss 
 of one-third their number. This reverse only partially checked 
 the forward movement of the division over the ground which theit 
 less fortunate comrades had lost the day before. Crittenden 
 next became involved; one of his brigades made a desperate at- 
 tack on a battery of the enemy, and this time after capturing re- 
 tained it. Exasperated by the loss of his guns he charged with 
 redoubled fury to recover them, stubbornly refusingto yield till the 
 ground was strewn with the victims of the bloody slruggle. The 
 tide of battle sweeping farther on the right at length fell upon 
 McCook, whose men fought with the heroism of veterans, driving 
 the enemy before them as they moved forward. 
 
 About 10 o'clock the rebels rallied in some heavy timber, and, 
 under cover of a furious cannonade, threw themselves with great 
 impetuousity mostly against IsTelson and Crittenden and tiirned 
 them back. At this juncture the artillery was taken to the front 
 and opeued a murderous Are directly in the face of the shouting 
 foe, dashing np in pursuit of the retreating Federals. The move- 
 ment of both lines was arrested, but the incessant play of artil- 
 lery and musketry went on with increased effect, the commanders 
 on bothsides holding their men to the grim work as if to determine 
 which could stand })ouiiding the longest. In the meantime Buel 
 came up, and, seeing that the enemy's line was badl}' shaken by 
 the continuous volleys ploughing through it, ordered a charge as 
 the most successful method of cndingtlje contest. Cheer after cheer 
 rent the air as the war-begrinimed legions of the two divisions 
 swept down like a dark (;loud on the recoiling foe till all the ground 
 which had been lost in this i>art of the field the day before was 
 regained. Still unwilling to lose all the prestige of previous suc- 
 cess, the rebels again halted in front of McCook's division in a 
 cluni}) of timber near Shiloh Church where for an hour they stub- 
 bornly nndntaincd their position. KeinforcenuMits from Shenuan 
 and McClernand were, however, sent up, when an irresistible 
 charge swept them froiu their place of refuge and the battle on 
 this part of the held was over. 
 
 On the right the contest had been equally severe and bloody. 
 As Wallace in the morning moved forward he halted on an eleva- 
 tion overlooking the held in front, and suddenly a strong rebel 
 column emerged from the woods and formeii in line of battle par- 
 allel with his own division. Both immediately became engaged, 
 and AVallace threw forward shari>-shooters to pick off the" rebel 
 artillerymen till he could get his batteries with infantry supports 
 on the open lield in front. For an hour the flash aiul roar of guns 
 was incessant when Sherman with the remnant of his heroic di- 
 vision, came up, and, I'egardless of danger, dashed forward across 
 the held; midway between the two lines he met such a destruct- 
 ive hre he was compelled to return, having received a wound and 
 lost his horse by the fearless exposure of his person. Leaping 
 into the saddle of another, and arousing the enthusiasm of his 
 men, he gave the order, ''forward," and again they started on the 
 I)erilous mission with the brave Col. Marsh, of the 20th 111., as 
 their leader. Sweeping across the held and gaining in the woods, 
 beyond, a position that flanked the enemy, the latter retreated in 
 hot haste to another part of the timber farther from danger. Here 
 
776 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Lie made a deteimiiied stand and a second time compelled Slier- 
 man to recoil before his murderous tire ; but a second time he 
 rallied bis men and rushed into battle though bleeding from 2 
 Abounds, and having had 2 horses shot under hinj. Other forces 
 in the meantime came up, the position was taken and the discom- 
 fitted rebel hosts driven from the iield. Thus the action com- 
 menced on the left and, as if the foe was feeling for a vulnerable 
 point, swept along each division to the right when he struck his 
 last blow and retired. lu the final charge on this part of the 
 field, McOlernand's and Hurlbut's divisions participated and 
 added new laurels to those which they had previously won. 
 
 On the following morning Gen. Sherman with his cavalry and 
 two brigades, were sent in pursuit of the enemy. Proceeding 
 along the Corinth road they encountered the cavalry of the 
 enemy which temporarily checked tlieir advance. A line of battle 
 was, however, soon formed, and Col. I>icky's 4th 111. cavalry, 
 leading in a dashing charge on the rebel force, put themtofiight. 
 After caring for the wounded and burying the dead, the weary 
 troops returned, finding the roa<l strewn with blankets, haversacks 
 and muskets, which the rebels had abandoned in their fiight. 
 
 No official statements of the numbers engaged in this battle 
 was made by either party. In the first day's fight, however, the 
 Confederate army was considerably in excess, wliileon the 2d the 
 Federal having been reinforced byBuell,was largest. The loss 
 of the former was 1,728 killed; 8,012 wounded, and 959 missing; 
 that of the latter 1,735 killed; wounded 7,882; and 3,950 taken 
 prisoners. The rebels having fied, the mournful task of burying 
 the deiid of both armies fell to the lot of the conquerors. Nearly 
 4,000 victims, recently brothers of the same great national family, 
 lay pulseless and still in the slee]) of death. They were consigned 
 to their graves, and would that the demon of hate and the car- 
 nage of war had been buried with them. 
 
 Gov. Yates, who had already earned the appellation of "soldiers' 
 friend" by his devotion to tlie interest of those engaged in the 
 performance of military duty, immediately i»rticeeded to the battle 
 field to look after the wounded. His ai>i)eals for the means of 
 aftbrding relief met with a response from the people commensur- 
 ate with the extraordinary necessities that existed. Every city 
 and village of the State poured forth contributions; physicians 
 and nurses volunteeisied their services, and steand)oats laden 
 w'ith every appliance for ministering to the distressed, were sent 
 on their errands of mercy. Such an extensive slaughter had been 
 unknown in the history of the war, and notwithstanding the pro- 
 fusion of means which had been furnished, many ot the soldiers 
 still suffered from unavoidable neglect. The Governor therefore 
 returned home, and, procuring another corps of surgeons and 
 additional stores, a second time repaired to the scene of sulfer- 
 ing. As fast as transportation could be obtained, the wounded 
 were conveyed to northern homes and hospitals where facilities 
 for more skillful treatment could be furnished. 
 
 Illinois was more largely represented in the battle than any 
 single State. On its death-smitten field her citizen-soldiers traced 
 in characters of blood a record of deeds which will be read 
 not oidy in the patriotic homes of the broad prairies, but wherever 
 free institutions have a votary or the honor of the republic 
 awakes an echo in the human heart. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 777 
 
 It was upon the ti'00[».s of Illinois and those iiniuediately asso- 
 ciated with them in the first day's battle, that the enemy dealt 
 his heaviest blows and received in turn a stroke Avhich rendered 
 his subsequent defeat comparatively easy, both sustaining' a loss 
 hitherto without a ijarallel in tlie history of the war. Though our 
 divisions were driven back as the result of surprise and superior 
 numbers, the advance of the enemy was finally checked, and when 
 the gallant cohorts of Buellcame to their rescue, were i)reparing' for 
 offensive operations, and largely shared in the magniliceut charges 
 which subsequently bore our blood-stained banners triumphant 
 over the field. 
 
 The contest was one in which cannon and musketry played the 
 most conspicuous part. Yet, in the constant shifting of brigades 
 and divisions the cavalry guarded their movements, protected their 
 exposed wings or dashed over the field with imi)ortant dispatches. 
 The I'd, Ith, Charmichael's, O'Hariiett's and Uollius', were among 
 the organizations from Illinois, and distinguished themselves by 
 their soldierly conduct. 
 
 Among the bravest of the heroes who died on the bloody field 
 of Shiloh, that their country' might live, was Gen. William Henry 
 L, Wallace. He was born on the Sth of July, 1821, at Urban a, 
 Ohio. His father, in 1833, removed to Illinois, and settled in the 
 vicinity of LaSalle. After 4 years residence he removed to Mt. 
 Morris, Ogle county, for the purpose of giving his family the ben- 
 efit of tuition in I'ock Eiver seminary. Young W^allace completed 
 a course of study in the institntit)n and, after some preliminary 
 study of the law, repaired to Springfield to enter the office of 
 Logan and Lincoln, lawyers of great celebrity and legal ability. 
 While in the capital he formed the acquaintance of T. Lyle Dicky, 
 also a lawyer of ability, to whom he became attached and shortly 
 afterward went to Ottawa and entered the ofiice of his new friend. 
 He was admitted to the bar in 1845, but the Mexican war break- 
 ing out the following year, Wallace abandoned his profession and 
 enlisted in the regiment raised by the brave and eloquent Hardin. 
 He was mustered in as orderly sergeant, Co. I, commanded by 
 Judge Dicky, whom they elected as captain. After their arrival 
 in Mexico, the Judge, in consequence of his ill health, was com- 
 pelled to resign, and w^as succeeded by his 1st Lieut., B. M. 
 Prentiss, ami Wallace became adjutant. In this capacity he 
 bravely encountered the thunders of Euena Yista and was b^the 
 side of his gallant colonel when he was stricken down in this 
 memorable confiict. When the rebellion commenced he was 
 among the first to respond to the call of the government for 
 troops, and exerted himself to arouse the people to the magnitude 
 of the struggle. In May he Avas chosen colonel of the 11th regi- 
 ment, and June 20th, 18G1, was placed in command of Bird's 
 Point. In February following he was promoted to the command 
 of a brigade in McOlernand's division, participated in the capture 
 of Forts Henry and Do)ielson and acquitted himself with gieat 
 bravery in tlie heavy charges in the last day's battle. From Don- 
 elsou his brigade was ordered to Pittsburg Landing, and upon 
 the death of the brave C F. Smith, AVallace was placed in com- 
 mand of his division. In the api)alling fury of the first day's 
 confiict, his division, in conjunction with Hurlbut's, for a time 
 Stood between the army and destruction, but without supi)orts 
 
778 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 their isolated advance bad to be abandoned. Eeckiessly exposing 
 bis person in tbe acconiplisbment of this movement be was sbot 
 tbrongb tbe bead and fell insensible from bis liorse. His comrades 
 essayed to carry bini from tbe field, but, pressed by tbe pursuing 
 enemj", tbey sadly laid bim down on tbe field and abandoned bim 
 to bis fate. On tbe following day tbe lost ground was regained 
 and Wallace was found still alive. Tbe enemy, perbaps out of 
 respect for bis bravery, bad i)laced a pillow under bis bead and 
 covered bis body witb a blanket. His wound was, bowever, mor- 
 tal and be died, greatly regretted by tbe anny wbose confidence 
 and aflection be bad won by bis many noble qualities. 
 
 Beujnmin F. Prentiss, tbe brotber-in-arms of Wallace, was tbe 
 first lllinoisan to secure tbe commission of a brigadier general, tbe 
 first to comnumd a division, and tbe first to be captured. He was 
 born in 1819, at Belleville, Va., wbence bis fatber removed to Mis- 
 souri, and tlience in 1841 to Quincy, 111. His first military expe- 
 rience was in tbe Mormon war, being 1st Lieut, of tbe Quincy 
 rifies, conunanded by Gen. Morgan, wbicb visited Hancock county 
 during tbe prevalence of its civil feuds. In tbe call for volunteers 
 to serve in tbe Mexican war, be entered tbe same company with 
 Wallace, and as we have already seen by tbe resignation of Capt. 
 Dicky, be was elected to fill bis place. In tbe battle of Euena 
 Vista bis company won merited distinction for its superior drill 
 and soldierly efticiency. Returning to Quincy be engaged in mer- 
 cantile pursuits until tbe commencement of tbe rebellion. Wben 
 intelligence was received of tbe outrage on tbe national flag at 
 Suuiter, be reorganized tbe Quincy rifles, and witbin a week af- 
 terward was on bis way to Cairo. Here as soon as tbere was a 
 sufficiency of men to organize a brigade, be was elected its gen- 
 eral. At tbe close of tbe 3 montbs term, for wbicb bis men bad en 
 listed, be was made brigadier general by appointment of tbe 
 President and sent to Soutbern Missouri. Kext be was or- 
 deied to report to Gen. Grant at Pittsburg Landing, Avbitber be 
 arrived 3 days before tbe battle, and was selected to take com- 
 mand of a division. We bave already spoken of bis capture in 
 tbe battle. In bis passage tbrougb tbe Soutbern towns as a pris- 
 oner, it is said tbe Soutnrons crowded to see tbe Yankee general, 
 and tbat be made tbem a number of rousing Union speeches such 
 as bad not for many montbs been beard in tbeir sunny latitude. 
 He and bis men were conveyed to Montgomery, Alabama, where 
 they were parolled, after which they returned home by way of 
 Nashville. 
 
 Major Gen. Stephen A. Hurlbut, tbe commander of tbe 4th 
 division in the battle of Shiloh, was born at Charleston, S. C, 
 Nov. 29th, 1815. Having studied law in his native city, be moved 
 to Belvidere Illinois, and commenced tbe practice of bis profes- 
 sion. Two years afterA\'ard he Avas elected a member of tbe con- 
 stitutional cojivention, and subsequently served several terms in 
 tbe legislature. Lincoln, aware of bis ability and patriotism, ap- 
 pointed bim one of tbe first civilian commanders of the war. He 
 was first ordered to North ^Missouri, where be rendered efficient 
 service in protecting railroads against rebel marauders by bolding 
 tbe districts through which tbey ran responsible for their destruc- 
 tion. After having taught the " borderers " tbat treason was 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 779 
 
 exi)eiisive as well as dangerous and unlawful, he was transferred 
 to Grant's command, participated in the battle of Donelsou, and 
 thence moved to Pittsburg Landing. 
 
 Battles may be divided into 3 classes : decisive engagments, 
 such as bring them on and those that flow from them. Prom- 
 inent ainong the great battles of the first class was the contest of 
 Shiloh ; not only because it changed the complexion of the war in 
 the West, but oifaccountof the permanent advantages derived from 
 it. B()thi)arties claimed it as a victory, but it was some time after 
 the immediate reverberations of tlie battle before its true siguiti- 
 cam-e was fully appre("iated. Beauregard, the hero of Sumter and. 
 Miiiuissas, had been called west by a deputation of citizens to extri- 
 cate them from imi)ending danger, determined upon a change of 
 l^olicy. Hitherto the Confederates had ridged their broad valleys 
 with parallelsof earthworks and scattered their troops fordefensive 
 oi)erations, l>ut Beauregard, reversing the order, commenced 
 their concentration for aggressive movements. He proposed tirst 
 to nu)ve against Buell, but the prompt demonstrations of Grant 
 oil the Tennessee made a counteracting force in that direction a 
 more pressing necessity. Accordingly he assembled his troops 
 at Corinth where they were hurled upon Grant at Shiloh with the 
 intention next of overwhelming P)uell, and finally sweei)ing north- 
 ward through Tennessee and Kentucky to the Ohio. Shiloh was 
 then in a great measure a contest for supremacy in the valley of 
 the jNIississippi, and the terrible tierceuess with which it was 
 fought, only corresjionded with the momentous interests involv- 
 ed. From its terrible shock, the rebel army recoiled, too much 
 broken to afterward act on the offensive, while its commander 
 bitterly regretted the necessity which compelled him to abandon 
 his long cherished schemes of Northern conquest. But for this 
 success it would have been impossible to check the rebel army 
 till it had recovered all that portion of the great valley from 
 which they had recently been driven, and the war would have 
 thus been indefinitely jtrolonged. 
 
 Victory not only forced the foe to abandon all further attempts 
 to overrun the North, but caused the loss of a large addi- 
 tional scope of territory. As the fall of Donelson compelled the 
 relinquishment of the first Confederate line of defense, so the re- 
 l^ulse of Shiloh resulted in the abandonment of the second. Thus 
 the whole of Middle and Eastern Tennessee became exposed to 
 the Union army, whose columns could now penetrate to the very 
 centre of the Confederacy; but even here the effect did notecase. 
 The Confederate authorities becoming alarmed at the dangers 
 tlireate]iing their defenses on the ujtper Mississippi, commenced 
 the concentration of their naval forces at Memi)his. This transfer 
 proportionally weakened the means o£ protection at the mouth of 
 the river, and thus greatly facilitated the capture of New Orleans 
 which occurred shortly afterward. 
 
 MifchclFs Campaign. — At the same time the 3 divisions of Buell's 
 army left for Nashville to co-operate with Grant, 10,(100 men 
 start('<l southward under the command of Gen. Mitchell. The 
 objective i)oint of the expedition was Huntsville, Ala., where, by 
 severing the Memphis & Charleston Eailroad, it was proposed to 
 cut off reinforcements and supplies destined for Corinth. After 
 arriving in Nashville he remained there till the 4th of April, en- 
 
780 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 gaged iu organizing liis army, building bridges, and otherwise 
 preparing for his campaign. When everything was in readiness 
 tbe nuxrcli was resumed on the 7th, and Fayetteville was reached 
 and occupied without opposition. Here much anxiety Avas feltiu 
 reuardto the issues of the expedition, for sliould our army either 
 in Tennessee or Virginia, meet with a reverse, tbe destruction of 
 Mifcliell's force would be almost unavoidable. While harrassed by 
 tbese forebodings. Col. Turcbin of the 10th Illinois came forward 
 and asked permission to move at once upon Huntsville before delay 
 sliould add new perils to those which already tbreatened. Gen. 
 ]V1 itcbell assented and with the 18th and 37tb Ind., 4th O. cavalry and 
 tbe 19th and 21:th Illinois, he left Fayetteville on the morning of 
 April 10th, 1802. With the Illinois regiments in ach^ance the 
 brigade toiled over roads lendered extremely difficult by the pre- 
 cipitous hills, swampy glades, and tangled forests of tbe country. 
 Frequently it became necessary, iu consequence of its impassable 
 condition, to harness two or tbree teams to a single wagon and iu 
 some places to drag the guns by band. Tbe indoujitable energy 
 of Turcbin, howexer, pervaded his men, aiul they struggled on 
 over almost insurmountable obstacles witbout complaint. Wbeu 
 nigbtcame on they partook of a hearty re[)ast and threw them- 
 selves round their camp tires till the moon went down and the 
 march could be resumed witb greater security. The roads now 
 became better, and tbe progress being more I'apid, in the grey 
 ligbt of morning, the city became visible behind a grove of ce- 
 dars. A battery was immediately placed in position and present- 
 ly two trains came dashing up on the railroad toward Stevenson. 
 Tlie one in advance was chased a distance of ten miles by a squad 
 of cavalry, but the engineer crowded on steam and the iron horse 
 proved too fleet for those bestrode by tbe cavalrymen. The one 
 in the roar, less fortunate, was brought to by a shot from tbe bat- 
 tery and all its passengers were made prisoners. 
 
 In tbe meantime Col. Mahilotzy, of the 24th Illinois, dis- 
 patcbed a force to tear up tbe track in tbe direction of Decatur, 
 to prevent tbe escape of otber trains in the future. The order was 
 tben given to advance on tbe town, and an exciting cavalry race 
 ensued for the honor of tirstenteiing it. Three troopers becametbe 
 A\ iniiers, wbo, dashing far in advance of tbe others, entered and 
 captured 170 rebels before they had time to rise from their 
 coucbes. The inbabitants of the city were still Avrapt in sleep, 
 dreaming, perhaps, of "Southern Independence or troubled with 
 Yankee nigbtmares, " when the clatter of cavalry in the streets 
 first apprised them of danger. On being awakened they rushed 
 lialf naked into tbe streets to ascertain tbe character and object 
 of tbe unexpected visitors, and learned, with deep mortification, 
 tbat their beautiful city was in tbe bands of the enemy. A reign 
 of terror succeeded, all classes being seized with consternation, 
 except tbe negroes, wbo, though naturally tbe most timid, on this 
 occasion maintained a wonderful equanimity. Tbe mayor, after re- 
 gaining to some extent bis composure, determined to expel tbe in- 
 truders, but tbe otber forces soon came up and be abandoned bis 
 design. As tbe result of capturing tbe city, 17 locomotives. 150 
 cais and a large amount of war nniterial fell into the bands of tlie 
 victors. Tbe rolling stock was soon put in motion for tbe trans- 
 portation of troops, and within three days, not only Huntsville, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 781 
 
 Init Stc'veiisoii, Decatur, Tuscnmhia and 107 miles of railroad were 
 ill the i)OS«e.ssiou of the Unionists. The sijiiial guns of Turcliiii's 
 force which had occu[)ied Tiisctiuibia, could now be heard at Cor- 
 inth, the centre of the enemy's operations. 
 
 Tiie i,aeat disixMsion of ^Mitchell's division for the purpose of 
 Loldinj;' the ca]>tured towns and such a great extent of railroad, 
 soon rendered his situation precarious. The enemey began to gather 
 in force and threaten . him ; no reinforcements had reached him, 
 and a large part of the subsistence which had been sent by 
 Halleck was burnt to prevent its falling into the hands of the en- 
 emy. Gen.Turchin, tinding his position at Tuscumbia becoming 
 untenable, fell back to Decatur, where, after crossing the Tenn- 
 essee river, he burnt the bridge just in time to prevent the enemy 
 from following- him. This was the only crossing between Bridge- 
 port and Florence, hence its destruction was a severe blow on 
 rebel oi)erations in that part of the country. On the L'7th of April 
 Turchin evacuated Decatur and continued his retrograde move- 
 ment to lluntsville. 
 
 Shortly after an episode occurred at Athens, on account of 
 Avhich the I'Jtli Illinois was severely, but unjustly, censured. The 
 town had ju'eviously been occui»ied by anOhio regiment, to Avliich 
 the inhal)itants made loud iirofessions of loyalty. While in ])eace- 
 able custody of the place the regiment was unexpectedly lired 
 upon by a squad of rebel cavalry, and returned to Hnntsvillo 
 under the impression that the attack was made by a large force 
 of the enemy. As they left Athens, notwithstanding' the i)re- 
 vious professions of the inhabitants, guns were discharged at 
 them from dwellings; wome'ii derided them with the vilest epi- 
 thets, while a crowd of rebels followed iu the streets ami threw 
 upon them the most disgusting garbage. Turchin's brigade was 
 next ordered to take possession of the town, but no enemy was 
 found. The inhabitants were again loyal, but the 19th Illinois, 
 remembering' the indignities which had been offered their com- 
 rades, retaliated by the destruction of projierty. This outrage, as 
 it was termed. Avas the legitimate fruit of the previous i)r()Voca- 
 tion, and would never have occurred had not the i)eople who so 
 loudly complained, been the aggressors. 
 
 In the meantime the rebels were concentrating: a force at Bridge- 
 port, a small town near Chattanooga, which gets its name from 
 the bridge over the Tennessee at that point. Mitchell having 
 ascertained the position of the force, on the 29th of A\n\\ ap- 
 proached their encampment under cover of a hill, and made his 
 presence known by tiring a volley of grape and cannister into 
 their midst. Some immediately lied, while others, seizing their 
 guns, endeavored to make a stand, but the Federals, with tixed 
 bayonets, charged ui)on and quickly put them to tlight. In their 
 retreat they attempted to blow up the bridge, but were too closely 
 pursued to succeed. Another portion of the enemy stationed on 
 the railroad after the tiring commenced debouched into an open 
 field and formed a line of battle. By mistake, he moved u}) to- 
 ward one of Mitchell's batteries whicli had been planted for their 
 reception. When within easy range a terrific fire of cannister was 
 poured into their ranks, and botli cavalry and infantry, taken by 
 surprise, threw down their arms and fled in confusion. Thus ended 
 the battle of Bridgeport, and with it virtually terminated Mitch- 
 
782 ■ HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ell's caiupaign. In his report to tlie Secfetary of War lie said : 
 "The cauipaigu is ended an<l I now occnpy Hnntsville in perfect 
 secnrity, while in all Alabama, north of the Tennessee, there floats 
 not a flag but that of the Union. " As the sequence of his opera- 
 tions and successes in northern Alabama, anumberof minor expe- 
 ditions were sent in various directions after roving bands of rebel 
 cavalry, but the numbers engaged and the results accomplished 
 were not important. 
 
 Gen. Basil Turchin, whose genius and energy contributed so 
 largely to the success of the campaign, was born in the valley of 
 the Don, Russia, Jan. IS, 1822, At the age of 14 he entered the 
 military school of St. Petersburg, and after his graduation his re- 
 markable military talent rapidly gained him promotion. At the 
 outbreak of the Crimean war he received an appointment on the 
 staff of the Crown Prince, the present Emperor of Russia, phmued 
 and superintended the coast defenses of Fiidaiul, among the most 
 elaborate and scientific feats of military ingineering in Euro])e. 
 I]a\ ing in early life formed a partiality for free institutions, in 
 1850 he emigrated to the United States, and was employed as an 
 engineer on the Illinois Central railroad. When he saw thaf the 
 liberty for which he had abandoned his fatherland was in danger 
 of being blotted out by the overshadowing power of slaveiy, he 
 at once rushed to its rescue. He was ap[>oiiited Colonel of tlie 
 IDtli Illinois, one of the most maligned though efficient regiments 
 in the service. Immediately after its organization it became noted 
 for the excellence of its drill ; nor was it long in the held, as we 
 have seen, before the fighting qualities of botli men and command- 
 er made it the synonym of success. 
 
 Siege of Corinth. — While Mitchell was thus engaged in severing 
 the rebel communications bet ween the east and the west, two hostile 
 armies were gathering at Corinth for another deadly struggle. So 
 long as this strategic point remained in the hands of the rebels, 
 it endangered Nashville on the ojie hand, and retarded ojterations 
 against Memphis on the other. Hither Beauregard had led his 
 army from the fatal field of Shiloh, and hither Halleck had come 
 to superintend in person the operations of the Union fonies. Hav- 
 ing ordered Pope and his army from New Madrid, and reoi'gan- 
 zed his other forces, he assumed the leadership of the whole, 
 l)la('ed Grant second in command and transferred his army to 
 Thomas. Pope's command was i)laced on the right, Buell's in the 
 centre, and that of Thomas on the left, the entire army occupy- 
 ing a semi-circle of six miles and numbering 108,000 men. Thus 
 arranged the army began to advance but moved cautiously, it 
 being a part of Halleck's plan to a})proach the rebel works in 
 front after the manner of a siege while he cut the railroads in their 
 rear and on each flank. 
 
 On the 30th of April, 1862, a reconnoisance was made toward 
 Pui-dy, on the Ohio & Mobile railroad, about 20 miles north of 
 Corinth. The force detailed for this jturpose was commanded by 
 Lew VV^allace, consisting of 2 batteries of artillery, 2 regiments of 
 infantry and 3 of cavalry, 2 of the latter being tiie 4th and 11th 
 Illinois. At night the infantry and artiller^i encamped midway 
 between I'ittsburg Landing and Purdy, while the cavalry com- 
 manded by Col. T. Lyle Dickey, pushed on till they arrived at the 
 
THE WAE, OF THE REBELLION. 783 
 
 town. The prevalence of a .storin and tlie intense darkness of the 
 night, however, rendered inexpedient any attenii)t at the reduc- 
 tion of the place, and they retnrned to the encani[)nient. The 
 next morning' Col. Dickey again advanced on the to\\ n, and, having 
 severed its connection with Corinth by destroying a portion of the 
 railroad, the principal object of the expedition \\as acconipliished. 
 
 Farmington. — A second reconnoisance was made on the od of 
 May in the direction of Farmington, a- commanding i)osition fonr 
 miles east of Coriuth, in possession of a rebel force of o,(K)0 men. 
 Tlie men engaged in this expedition were almost entirely from 
 Illinois, consisting of the 10th, IGtli, 22d, 2Gth,27th, 4L'd,47th and 
 50th regimentsof infantry, Yates sharp-shooters and Houghtaling's 
 battery of light artillery, the wholeuuder thecommandof I'aineand 
 Palmer. The force moved forward hve miles on the Farmington 
 road where they met the enemy, and in a skirmishing light drove 
 him baclv some distance to an eminence from the sununit of which 
 his artillery for a time checked their advance. Honghtaling's 
 battery moved immediately to the front and opened such destruc- 
 tive lire on his position that he fell back to Farmington. Here 
 he again made a stand Avhen the same battery was brought up 
 and opened on his left, and an Ohio battery on his right, from the 
 combine<l fire of which he retreated with the federal cavalry iu 
 hot pursuit. Farmington fell into the hands of the Unionists. 
 Tlie enemy returned on the 0th and made a determined effort to 
 flank and cut off from themain army the forces which occupied it. 
 A fierce battle of live hours duration commenced, in whicli Paine 
 and I'abner, who were peremptorily ordered not to bring on a 
 general engagement, slowly retreated. This wasi)reminently an Il- 
 linois battle, and an exhibition of Illinois prowess, althoitgh theUd 
 Iowa (iavalry greatly distinguished itself in charging on the ene- 
 my's batteries. 
 
 Finally, on the 28tli of May, after some other fighting by 
 detached portions of both armies, Halleck sent forward three 
 heavy reconoitering colunuis against Corinth to feel the strength 
 of tlie enemy's entire line, and unmask hi.;, batteries*. The rebels 
 hotly contesting the ground at the several points of api)roach 
 on the right centre and left, but were driven back. On the 
 29th Pope and iSherman opened upon the rebel entrenchments 
 with their powerful guns and drove the enemy from his adNanced 
 battery. But while the movement of the federal army, entrenched 
 in su(;cessive parallels, was slowly converging on the hostile 
 works with their heavy siege guns, Beauregard, aware that he 
 Avas unable to cope with such a formidable force, was secretly 
 withdrawing from the town to prevent cai)ture. During the 
 entire succeeding night from Halleck's advanced position could 
 be heard the rumbling of cars and the shrieking locomotive 
 whistles, terminating at daylight with several loud explosions. 
 Skirmish parties were immediately thrown out and a general ad- 
 vance being ordered, the troo[)s entered Corinth and found it de- 
 serted. All the heavy ordnance had been carried away while com- 
 misary stores, powder and other valuable property, which, for the 
 want of transportation could not be removed, A>'as destroyed. 
 The news of the evacuation soon spread from regiment to regi- 
 ment and from division to division till the air echoed with jubilant 
 
784 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 sliouts ill every part of the widely extended field. The mayor came 
 forward and surrendered the town, and the national ensign was 
 hoisted over the public buildings where the rebel flag had so long 
 defiantly floated its treasonable folds. The rebels fled with great 
 precipitation notwithstanding their oft-repeated boasts to immo- 
 late the Yankees if they ever ventured beyond the Tennessee. The 
 pursuit of the fugitive enemy was immediate and the same day a 
 cavalry force overtook his rear guard on Tuscumbia creek 8 miles 
 south of Corinth. The retreat and pursuit was continued for sev- 
 eral days with skirmishing at various points, and finally ended 
 in the occupation of Guntown and Baldwin by the federals, and 
 Tupello hy the confederates. 
 
 The lengthening list of regiments which Illinois added to the cat- 
 alogue of battles in the siege of Corinth attained its greatest dimen- 
 sions. The following array of numbers constitute a roll of honor 
 which patriots and heroes will ever revere: The 7th, 10th, 11th, Jl'th, 
 14th, lath, IGth, 17th, 18th, 22d, 2Gth, 27th, 2Sth, 29th, 30th, olst, 
 34th, 35th, 38th, 41st, 42d, 43d, 45th, 4Gth, 47th, 48th, 51st, 52d, 
 53d, 55th, 57th, GOth, G4th, and GGth. Most of these were brigaded 
 and ofticered as at Shiloh and Island No. 10, and advanced upon 
 Corinth in Thomas' corps. Prominent among the many organiza- 
 tions which were distinguished in the fighting about the besieged 
 city were a portion of the 2d, 4th, 7th and 11th cavalry, and the 
 batteries of Waterhouse, Honghtaling, Bouton and Silverspare. 
 Lieut. Baker, of Yates' sharp-shooters was the first to enter the 
 rebel works, and Col. vStuart, of the 55th, was the first to hoist the 
 federal flag over the captured city. Gen. Sherman thus alludes 
 to Logan: "I feel under special obligations to this oflicer, who, 
 during the two days he served under me, held the entire ground 
 on my right extending down to the railroad. All the time he had 
 ill his front a large force of the enemy, but so dense Avas the for- 
 est he could not reckon their strength save what he could see ou 
 the railroad. " 
 
Chapter LIX. 
 
 ^802— ILLINOIS IN KENTUCKY, NORTHEEN MISSISSIPPI 
 AND MIDDLE TENNESSEE. 
 
 Battles of Ferrpville, Bolivar, Brittori's Lane, luM, Corinth and 
 
 Stone River. 
 
 Shortly after the reduction of Corinth important changes oc- 
 curred in the Army of the West. 
 
 On the 27th of June, 1802, Pope left to take command of the 
 Army of the Potomac. On the 23d of July Halleck, by order of 
 the President, assumed command of the armies of the United 
 States, and Grant occupied Northern Alabama and West Ten- 
 nessee. 
 
 Buell, on the 10th of June, started eastward to counteract the 
 designs of Bragg, who was collecting a large force for an offensive 
 movement northward. One corps of his army was stationed at 
 Kiioxville, under the command of E. Kirby Smith, and two at Chat- 
 tanooga under Polk and Hardee. The troops under the immediate 
 command of Buell numbered 25,000, with an auxiliary force of 
 13,000, at different places in Northern Alabanm and Middle Ten- 
 nesse, under the command of the gallant Mitchell. Buell's first 
 object was to repair the railroads which had jjreviously been de- 
 stroyed by raiding parties of rebel cavalry, and thus maintain 
 ready access to his depot of supplies at Nashville. The perform ■ 
 ance of this important work was entrusted to Mitchell, who soon 
 restored the road between Nashville and Murfreesboro ; but un- 
 fortunately, Forrest, with 3,000 cavalry, immediately afterwards 
 made a descent on the latter place, captured the small garrison, 
 again destroyed the railroad and escaped with his prisoners and a 
 large amount of booty to Chattanooga. Next the startling intel- 
 ligence was received that the force under Smith, had burst through 
 a gap of the Cumberland Mountains, for the purpose of invading 
 Kentucky. Passing without opposition through the State, he ap- 
 approached within seven miles of Cincinnati, but finding the 
 city prepared to receive him, he retired without attempting its 
 capture. 
 
 When war exists one of the belligerents must be subdued before 
 peace can be restored; and however prudently it may be conduc- 
 ted, the destruction of life and property is unavoidable. The 
 forces employed if divested of the restraint common to regular 
 military organizations, frequently forget the object of legit- 
 imate warfare, and plunder iiuliscriminately both friend and foe. 
 Such was the character of the marauding parties which the rebels 
 now employed as a means of obtaining supplies and avenging 
 50—785 
 
786 HTSTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlieir imaginary wrongs. Frequently they dashed into a village 
 or district and having seized the property of the inhabitants, if any 
 dared to resist they were either shot or dragged into captivity. 
 Lying in wait for railroad trains, they were not content with 
 destroying the road and robbing tlie mails, but murdered the 
 I)assengers. If dispersed at one point they suddenly appeared at 
 another, and renewed their depredations, seriously interfering with 
 the business of the country without leading to any decisive mili- 
 tarj' advantages. 
 
 Almost simultaneously with the passage of the Cumberland 
 Mountains by Smith, Bragg with an army of 60,000 men, crossed 
 the Tennessee for a similar oifensive movement. Buell had ex- 
 tended his line of operations along the Memphis and Charleston 
 railroad to Huutsville, where he had established his headquarters. 
 Owing to the manifold dangers which now beset him, instead of 
 penetrating farther eastward as contemplated, he found it neces- 
 sary to return for the purpose of guarding the movements of 
 Bragg. The latter proceeding by way of Pikeville, Sparta and 
 Carthage, entered Kentucky on the 5th of September. During 
 the march, Buell harrassed his rear ; on the 17th drove his forces 
 out of Mumfordsville, and deducing from his movements that he 
 was aiming at Louisville, he hastened thither in advance. 
 
 The inhabitants were laboring under the most serious appre- 
 hensions for the safety of the city, and when his advancing col- 
 umns awoke them fromtheirnightly slumbers, the cry ''Buell has 
 come," was repeated as when his advent was greeted hj the im- 
 periled army at Shiloh. Anticipating an attack by the rebel army, 
 a large number of fresh troops had been luiriiedly pushed forward 
 from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio for the protection of the city, 
 when some misunderstanding arising between Gens. Davis and 
 Nelson, as to whose command they belonged, the latter was shot 
 and killed by the former. After the adjustment of this difticulty, 
 Buell's army was reorganized, he being first and Thomas second in 
 command, and its three corps being commanded by Generals A. M. 
 McCook, Crittenden and C. C. Gilbert. 
 
 Battle of Ferryville. — Thus oiScered and numbering near 
 100,000 men, the army on the 1st of October left Louisville in pur- 
 suit of Bragg, who being unable to proceed farther northward, 
 commenced returning. Buell following in his wake by way of 
 Bardslown, heard there was a large force of the enemy at Perry- 
 ville. He determined to move against him and accordingly or- 
 dered his three corps to advance without delay by different roads. 
 On the 7th of October, ISGli, Gilbert's corps moved along the 
 Springfield pike to within 5 miles of Perryville when heavy skir- 
 mishing commenced. Mitchell's, the leading division, was formed 
 in line of battle across the road and Sheridan's division, contain- 
 ing the 36th, 44th, 73d, 8oth, 86th, 8Sth and 125th Illinois, was 
 shortly after brought up and stationed beyond Doctor's Creek 
 on Mit(!hell's right. This movement brought McCook's brig- 
 ade of Sherman's division, within 2i miles of the enemy's position 
 and early in the morning of the 8th he deployed the 85th Illinois 
 on his right, the 52d Ohio on his left, while the 125th Illinois was 
 placed as a reserve, and the 86th Illinois pushed forward as pickets. 
 The rebel pickets now commenced the contest by a severe fire on 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 787 
 
 the Sotli, which, without having- previously beeu under fire, charuecl 
 up the hill ou which the enemy Avas posted, and drove him from 
 his position. Exasperated at their discomfiture the rebels now 
 massed their forces on the right and left of the brigade, and for 
 an hour poured upon the devoted men a furious fire of shrapnel. 
 Stubbornly, heroicalh' they breasted the storm till Barrets' 2d 
 Illinois battery was brought into position when the rebels were 
 three times driven from their guns, which at length were perma- 
 nently silenced. The 125th IlUnois had in the meanwhile been 
 ordered up to sujiport the battery and so efficiently was the task 
 l^erformed that the rebels retired leaving the federals in posses- 
 sion of the field which they had so heroically won. 
 
 In the meantime Jackson's and Eousseau's divisions, A, M. 
 McCook's corps, the former containing- the oith, SOth, 89th and 123d 
 Illinois and the latter the 19th, 2J:th and 39th 111., were brought up 
 and formed on Gilbert's left. Bragg fearing the arrival of Critten- 
 den, determined to take advantage of his absence by an immediate 
 assault with his entire force. Accordingly about 11 o'clock his 
 batteries opened from different positions, and were answered by 
 the federal artillery, but no effect being produced on either side, 
 the firing- ceased. The lull, however, only presaged the coming- 
 storm. Again the rebel gnus opened with redoubled fury and 
 presently the dark masses of tlie enemy were seen emerging- from 
 the woods. Bragghad concentrated the flower of his army against 
 the left center of the Union line, while Buckner massing another 
 force, moved against Jockson's division fnrther to the left. The 
 latter gave way and Bousseau next becoming involved, for half 
 an hour the fighting was terriftic and the carnage fearful. In the 
 heat of the conflict the 2J:th Illinois was ordered up for the de- 
 fense of a vulnerable point in the line, and although frequently 
 assailed by overwhelming numbers, they tenaciously maintained 
 their position. While the battle was thus raging on the left 
 Gens. Mitchell and Sheridan attacked the enemy on the right and 
 driving him from the field, ended the contest. 
 
 During the afternoon Mitchell's division, in which were the 21st, 
 25th, 35th, 38th, 42d, 58th, 59th, 74th and 75th Illinois, had been 
 moved up to the support of Gen. Sheridan, who was hard pressed 
 by the enemy. Col. Carlin of the 38th Illinois, with a brigade, 
 pushed forward on the right and upon ascending a hill, dis- 
 covered a strong force of the enemy ready to hurl themselves 
 against Slieridan's overtasked men. Ordering a charge his men 
 met the advancing- rebels with such irresistable momentum as to 
 completely pierce their centre and put them to flight. He then pur- 
 sued the fugitives a distance of two miles, when finding in the 
 ardor of i)nrsuit he had isolated himself from the other forces, he 
 returned before the confused enemy could take advantage of his 
 situation. While in this advanced position his own regiment, the 
 38th Illinois, captured an ammunition train of the enemy, and its 
 guard, numbering- 110 men.* As an evidence of the heroism with 
 which the 59th and 75th exposed themselves and the deadly 
 ordeal through which they passed, the former lost 153 out of 
 325, and the latter 221 out of 700. In another part of the field 
 the 80th and 123d behaved with great gallantry, the first having 
 11 killed, 32 wounded, and 13 missing and the 2d 35 killed, 119 
 wounded and 35 missing. 
 
 * Mitchell's Report. " 
 
788 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 Other regiments, tliougli not specially mentioned in the reports 
 of the battle, fought as bravely, loved the cause as devotedly and 
 are as much entitled to our respect and gratitude as those" who 
 have a more pretentious record. That none could have shunned 
 danger is evident from the fatal effects of the battle, which Mc- 
 Cook says, for the number engaged, was the bloodiest conllict of 
 modern times. According to Buell's report, the entire federal loss 
 in killed, Avonnded and missing was 4,000; that of the enemy 
 being about the same. Had Crittenden's corps, Avhich did not 
 arrive till after the fighting was over, been present, the result 
 might have been difierent. 
 
 As Bragg retreated it Avas supposed he would make a stand on 
 Dick river, and Buell accordingly sent Gritteuden forward to en- 
 gage him in front while McCook and Gilbert were to turn his 
 flank and compel him to fight or surrender. The sagacious Gon- 
 federate, however, suspecting the design of his adversary, evacu- 
 ated his position and resumed his march. Possessing an accurate 
 knowledge of the country and skilfully using the advantages 
 which it afforded, he managed to elude the Union troops. The 
 pursuit was continued as far as London, when its farther prose- 
 cution was deemed inexpedient. Bragg thus escaped laden with 
 the rich spoils gathered in Kentucky; and Buell falling back to 
 Nashville, Avas superseded by Kosecrans. 
 
 The Kichmond authorities evidently supposed that the people 
 of Kentucky were ready to espouse the cause of the confederacy if 
 they could have some assurance of protection when the decisive 
 step Avas taken. One object of the invasion Avas, therefore, to in- 
 spire the necessary confidence, and much disappointment was felt 
 at the apathy Avith which these overtures Avere received, and, 
 therefore, except a large amount of supplies Bragg carried 
 with him to Tennessee, he deriA'ed no advantage from the exjie- 
 dition. 
 
 Battle of Bolivar. — After the reduction of Corinth Grant's army 
 occupied Northern Alabama. His forces haAing been seriously 
 weakened by detailing a portion of them for the defense of Lou- 
 isville, a strong rebel force of cavalry, under the command of 
 Armstrong, undertook the capture of Bolivar, for the jnirpose of 
 severing the railroad at that point and thus interrupting the fed- 
 eral lines of communication. Gol. Crocker Avith a small Union 
 force was in command of the town, and as soon as he learned the 
 intentions of Armstrong, he dispatched, on the 30th of August, 
 1862, two companies of the 11th and four of the 2d 111. (cavalry, 
 Cols. Puterbaugh and Hogg, and the 20th and 78th Ohio infantry, 
 to give him battle. About noon Gol. Leggett, Avho had charge of 
 the force, met a large body of rebels, Avho immediately eiuleavored 
 by a flank movement on the Middleburg road, to get in his rear. 
 Here with the two companies of the llth 111. cavalry and some 
 mounted infantry he engaged the enemy, and after an liour's fight- 
 ing, drove liim back. After the first struggle was over a portion 
 of the Ohio inlaiitry arrived, and Leggett, leaving a suflicient 
 force for the protection of his left, massed the remainder of his 
 troops on the road Avhere it was evident the enemy was making 
 preparations for a second attack, for the purpose of gaining his 
 rear. Hardly had this disposition of the forces been made, Avhen 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 789 
 
 the enemy charged with great impetuosity down the road, but 
 was twice rejiulsed by the deadly tire of the infantry. Finding 
 this part of the held impregnable, the foe next turned on the left, 
 where had previously been posted the four companies of the 2d 
 111, cavalry, under Col. Hogg. Col. Leggett soon discovered that 
 a full regiment of rebel cavalry was preparing to swoop down upon 
 and gobble up his small force, and sent him word to fall back if 
 he had any doubt as to his ability to resist the intended charge, 
 " For God's sake don't order me back," were the memorable words 
 of the daring cavalryman. "Then meet them," replied Leggett, 
 " and may God bless your eflbrt." Immediately giving the com- 
 mand '^ Forward" to his men, and putting spurs to his steed, with, 
 a daring that heeded not the dangers to which he exposed himself, 
 dashed forward in advance of his force. Thus isolated, he became 
 a conspicuous mark for rebel sharpshooters, and fell jiierced by 
 nine bullets. The next moment the two lines came together with 
 a crash, from the effects of which both recoiled. In the meantime 
 reinforcements of infantry came, and a. battery opening upon the 
 hostile force, drove them from the tield. The victory was com- 
 plete, but dearly bought at the sacrifice of the heroic Colonel. 
 Chivalrous, generous and daring, in his death Illinois lost one of 
 her noblest sons, liberty an adnnring votary and the profession 
 of arms a hero of more than ordinary courage. Says Col. Leggett 
 in his ofticial report: "The I'd 111. cavalry was on the tield so 
 short a time, I can only particularize their commander, the la- 
 mented Col. Hogg. A braver, truer man never lifted his sword 
 in defense of his country. He was brave to a fault, and fell 
 while leading one of the most gallant cavalry charges of the 
 war.' 
 
 BatfJe of Brlttoii's Lane. — Armstrong next attacked a force of 
 800 men under command of Col. Dennis, while on his way from 
 Estinaula, Aug. 30, 1802, to Jackson, Tenn. Having been ordered 
 to the latter place with his force, consisting of the 20th and oOtli 
 Illinois, two i)ieces of artillery and two companies of cavalry, on 
 the 1st of September his A-anguard encountered at Britton's Lane 
 a rebel cavalry force of 5,000 men. A battle immediately com- 
 menced, in which he lost his trains, yet after fighting heroically 
 for four hours he remained master of the tield, and indicted a loss 
 on the enemy of 400, while that of his own was only 5. The great 
 disparity iu nund)ers engaged in this contest and the results which 
 followed fully refutes the rebel idea that one Southron was equal 
 to tive iforthern men.* 
 
 Battle of luhi. — After the reduction of Corinth, Grant's line 
 of communication with Buell was threatened by the rebels 
 under Trice, who, after their destruction, proposed to cross 
 the Tennessee and co-operate with Bragg in his invasion of 
 Kentucky. With these designs iu view he had already taken pos- 
 session of Inka, a small town on the Memphis and Charleston 
 railroad, about 20 miles southeast of Corinth. To dislodge him 
 from this position Grant directed Gen. Ord, with 18,000 men, to 
 move forward by way of Brownville, and to make a <lirect attack, 
 wliileGen, Rosecrans witli another force was to proceed by way 
 
 • iioss' Report. 
 
790 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of Jacinto, to operate on the flank of the enemy and cnt off bis 
 retreat in case be sbonld make bis escape sonthward. At 10 
 o'cb)ck on the morning- of the 19th of September, 1802, Hamilton's 
 division of liosecrans' force enconntered the rebel pickets, and 
 drove tliem bade a distance of six miles. Tbe pursnit was tlieu 
 discontiuned, and Eosecrans waited, according to previous nuder- 
 stauding, to hear the sound of Ord's artillery as a signal to move 
 forward. About noon a dispatch was received from Grant revers- 
 ing the previous order of battle, and Eosecrans now becoming 
 the attacking party, pusbed forward till he discovered the enem}' 
 jjosted on a commanding ridge about two miles from the village. 
 Skirmishers were immediately thrown out, under cover of wbich 
 Hamilton's division moved up and commenced an attack. The 
 engagement soon became general; the rebels in overwhelming 
 numbei'S lighting with great determination till night put an end 
 to the contest. The 11th jVIissouri, composed of Illinois soldiers, 
 distinguished itself in the battle by the terrible blows which it in- 
 flicted on the enemy. At the time the brave men of tliis regiment 
 offered their services to the government, the quota of Illinois was 
 complete, and they went to Missouri where they sought and ob- 
 t-ained admission into the service. 
 
 During the night the troops lay on their arms expecting to re- 
 new the fight the next morning, but when tbe time arrived they 
 found the enemy bad fled. Eosecrans immediately sent bis cavalry 
 and the 47th Illinois after them, but not being sufficiently strong 
 to effect any important result, after a pursuit of 25 miles, tbe 
 force returned. Owing to some unfortunate mistake, the force 
 under Ord did not arrive at luka till the next day, and the enemy 
 thus doubtless escaped an overwhelming defeat. 
 
 Battle of Corinth. — Gen. Grant with a portion of the forces re- 
 tired to Jackson, Gen. Ord to Bolivar, and on tbe 20tb Eosecrans fell 
 back to Corinth, M'liere he soon learned that tbe enemy was col- 
 lecting his forces to again offer bim battle. Price, YanHorn and 
 Lovell were concentrating their forces, amounting in the aggregate 
 to over 40,000 men, for the purpose of crushing the comparatively 
 small Union force before it could be reinforced. Eosecrans, in 
 in bis preparations for an. attack, so arranged his defenses that if 
 he could draw the rebelforcesundertbem, they might be defeated, 
 notwitbstanding their superior numbers. For this purpose as 
 tbey approached, Davis' division, containing the 7tb, 0th, 12tb, 
 SOtli, 52d and o7th Illinois, was thrown out to meet them, and after 
 some heavy skirmishing and considerable loss, retired in the desired 
 direction, followed by tbe enemy. The next day Price moved his 
 forces up, as contemplated by the strategy, directly toward tbe 
 I)oint covered by the beav^^ artillery. When witbin range they 
 were met by a destructive fire, but despite the frightful rents 
 which were opened in their ranks, they steadily moved on till they 
 reached the crest of the bill where Davis' division was now posted. 
 Under tbe heavy pressure the division gave way and the assailing 
 force, seeing tbe advantage gained, rushed forward with redoubled 
 speed, Eosecran's headquarters being entirely engulfed by the 
 inflowing tide. Hamilton's division, containing the 50th Illinois, 
 "was next compelled to retire, andinstantly the rebels made for Fort 
 Stevenson, the key of the position. Here their first onset was 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 791 
 
 repulsed, but quickly rallyiug, tliey again came forward with in- 
 creased determination and commenced Iea])ing over tlie bulwarlvS 
 into the fort. At this juncture the 50th Illinois, which lurd been 
 concealed in a ravine, rushed forth as if rising from the earth, 
 and, charging into the fort, drove the astonished rebels out as 
 rapidly as they had entered. This onshiught was immediately 
 seconded by Hamilton's whole division which swept forward with 
 such resistless might tluit the rebel host broke wihlly for the 
 Avoods throwing awav their arms as auseless encumbrance in their 
 flight. 
 
 While Price was thus foiled on the right, VanDorn's men came 
 up on the left in front of Stanley's division, and, facing the heavy 
 guns of batterries Willaims and Eobinette, Col. Rogers leading 
 the charge with a body of Mississippi and Texas trof)i)S with a 
 heroism worthy of a better cause, colors in hand, leai)ed to the 
 top of the breastwoiks, when he was pierced with bullets and fell 
 back lifeless into the ditch. A concealed Ohio r(fgiment next rose 
 up and pouring into the ranks of his followers a continuous mus- 
 ketry tire at short range, put them to flight. 
 
 A supi)orting brigade, maddened by the terrible fate of liogers, 
 with wild shouts dashed upon tin^ 11th Missouri, composed of Il- 
 linois men, and some Ohio regiments, and instantly, friend and 
 foe were locked in a hand to hand death struggle. When bayo- 
 nets, pistols and sabres failed, the flst was i>sed as a substitute, 
 while the yells and imprecations which were uttered, sounded as 
 if wrung from the throats of demons. Northern brawn proved too 
 much for the impetuosityof the Southrons and the latter gave way. 
 As they fled the batteries double-shotted, i)layed upon and decima- 
 ted their ranks ; arms were thrown away to expedite their flight, 
 which soon become a rout, and terminated thebattle. The federal 
 loss was estimated at 315 killed, 1,812 wounded ; and that of the 
 enemy 1,423 killed, and from 5,000 to 0.000 wounded. Among the 
 wounded Union otflcers were Gens. Oglesby and McArthur, both 
 of whom exliil)ited undaunted bravery and great skill in the man- 
 agement of their comnumds. Yates' sharp-shooters went into the 
 fight on the morning of the 4th, and came out with a loss of 73 
 men killed, showing that ragardless of consequences they had 
 braved the battle's fiercest storm, adding new laurels to the 
 military renown which the trooi)s of the State had previously ac- 
 quired. The magnificent charge of the 50th has already been 
 mentioned. The 7th, 50th and 57th, for a longtime sustained the 
 pressure of a greatly superior force of the enemy, drove them 
 back and reca[)tured several guns previously taken by the enemy. 
 
 The rebels left closely pursued bya fresh brigade under thecom- 
 mand of McPherson, who captured a large nund^er of prisoners 
 and valuable materials of war. To ensure the safety of the fugi- 
 tive army it was necessary for it to detail a force to occupy the 
 Hatchie river bridge over which it must pass to prevent its fall- 
 ing into the hands of the federals. This movement was, however, 
 too late. Gens. Ilurlbut and Ord, aware of this necessity, had 
 sent a force in advance, and when the rebels came up and made a 
 stand on the north bank of the river, they were immediately 
 charged by the Union troops and driven across the river, losing 2 
 batteries and several huiulred prisoners. In this onset the 28th, 
 32d, 41st, and 53d Illinois, bore a conspicuous part and Gen. Lau- 
 
792 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 mail, who coinmaiKled the brigade, in liis official report highly 
 complimeuts his subordinate Illinois officers for their great skill 
 and bra^'ery iu leading the men in the charge. 
 
 Stone River or Murfreefihoro. — As previously stated Eosecrans 
 superceded Buell, and on the 27th of October commenced reorgan- 
 izing the army. His command was the remnant of the brave men 
 wlio, under Anderson, Mitchell, and Buell had repelled the inva- 
 sion of Kentucky and carried the national banners almost to the 
 centre of the confederacy through Middle Tennessee. A new mil- 
 itary district styled the Department of the Cumberland was crea- 
 ted in which it was to operate, comprising Middle and East 
 Tennessee and such }>ortions of Northern Alabama and Georgia, 
 as might be wrested from the power of the rebels. AVith his army 
 augmented and strengthened by new recruits he left Louisville, 
 his base of su[)])lies, and proceeding by way of Bowling Green, 
 reached Nashville on the 10th of November and took a position 
 near the city. From this time till Christmas he improved in dis- 
 ciplining the army and furnishing it with clothing and other in- 
 dispensible supplies. 
 
 Tlie rebels on the other hand, were not idle, and before the close 
 of Novend)er had massed at Murfreesboro' an army of about 
 50,000 men under Bragg. The rebel commander, under the im- 
 pression that Kosecrans was going into winter quarters, sent a 
 large cavalry force into Kentucky under JMoigan and another 
 under Forrest, into West Tennessee, for the purpose of destroying 
 the railroads and cutting off the communications of the advanced* 
 Union forces from their respective bases of su})i)lies. Bnigg's 
 army being weakened by these detachments, Kosecraus judged it 
 an opportune time to give him battle, and accordingly on Christ- 
 nuis eve, 1802, a consultation was held to concert measures for an 
 aggressive movement. Arrangements being perfected the next 
 morning, in torrents of rain the army started for Murfreesboro', 
 Thonuis' corps moving in the centre, McCook's on the right and 
 Crittenden's on the left. As the day wore away the tedium of the 
 marcii was relieved by the occasional rattle of musketry or the 
 explosions of cannon, heralding encounters with advanced 
 squads of rebel piclcets. Heavy rains prevailed and the army 
 was compelled to feel its way over the muddy roads through a 
 foggy atmosphere in o})position to skirmisliing parties of the 
 enemy. Sunday December 28th the army rested, Eosecrans being 
 averse to active operations on the Sabbath ujiless the exigency of 
 his situation urgently demanded it. In the afternoon of Monday, 
 Gen. Palmer leading the advance of Crittenden's corps moved up 
 in sight of Murfreesboro' and sent a dispatch back that the 
 enemy wasretreating,Crittenden, thereupou was ordered to occupy 
 the town but advancing and finding the rebels still in possession, 
 he fell back having exposed himself to great danger iu conse- 
 quence of the nusapprehension. 
 
 A stormy night supervened which so saturated the ground 
 that the following day the artillery carriages in passing over the 
 fi-Clds sank up to their axels in mud. Eosecrans rose at an early 
 hour and carefully pushed his columns forward over the miry 
 ground through cedar brakes in front of the enemy. By 
 uoon the army was iu position, stretching from Stone Eiver across 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 793 
 
 the country in a soutlierly direction as far as tlie Franklin pike, a 
 distance of 3 miles, Crittenden on the left with 3 divisions, Yan- 
 cleve, Wood, and Palmer, Thomas in the centre with two divis- 
 ions, Negley and Kousseau, and McOook on the right with 3 
 divisions, Sheridan, Davis' and Johnson's. Ontstretched between 
 the Union army and Murfreesboro' and parallel with the former 
 was the rebel line. Breckenridge's division lay across the river 
 on the extreme right, under Polk in the centre were 2 divis- 
 ions, Wither's and Cheatham's, and under Hardee on the extreme 
 left were 2 divisions, Cleburne and IVIcCown. The rebel centre 
 was masked in dense cedar forests, while the river was in the 
 rear, which being fordable, could in case of necessity readily be 
 crossed and imide available as a means of defense. During the 
 uight the rebels massed their forces on the right of liosecraus, 
 who inferring their intention, met with his corps commanders and 
 planned the battle of Murfreesboro. It was decided to hold the 
 right stationery, while the left under Wood and Vaucleve cross- 
 ing Stone river, were to drive Breckenridge from his position, 
 occupy Murfreesboro and finally get in the rear of the enemy. 
 Bragg had also decided to act on the offensive, his plan being- 
 similar to that of his adversary. Both intended to strike with the 
 left of their respective lines, and had accordingly massed their 
 forces to suit their plan of operations. 
 
 At early dawn on the last day of the year, while Eosecrans' left 
 was crossing the river, McCown's division emerging from the fog 
 whi(;h had settled on the battle-field and striking our right under 
 Johnson, hurled it back at a single blow and captured two of the 
 batteries before a gun could be fired. The next division under Davis 
 in which Avere the 35th, 59th, 73d and 75th Illinois, after a deter- 
 mined resistance, met with a similar fate. It was only Avhen the 
 exultant foe came in contact witli Sheridan's, containing the 3()th, 
 44th, 51st and 88th Illinois that its terrific onset was stayed. 
 Directly in front of a battery vomiting forth death, and exposed 
 to a cross fire from two others, the hostile columns moved till 
 within close range when a musketry fire poured into the faces of the 
 men sent them staggering back. Ballying again and strengthened 
 by the victorious divisions which, had crumbled Johnson's and 
 Davis' command to fragments, thej^ again bore down on Sheridan 
 with the determination to overwhelm him. Hastily attaching his 
 right to the rear of jS"egly's division, and placing his artillery in 
 the angle formed by the two lines, lanes were plowed through the 
 advancing masses. Repnlsed they three times renewed the 
 assault but with such appaling slaughter that Vaughn's brigade 
 of Polk's division lost one third of its men and all the horses of 
 its brigade and staff' oflicers except one were killed. Sheridan 
 was seriously damaged, having all his brigade commanders killed 
 and losing 1,(>30 men, AVith his ammunition exhausted he also was 
 compelled to retire, loshig 9 guns, owing to the difticulty of getting 
 them through the dense cedar thickets which covered his rear. 
 !Negly, exposed by the movement, was soon outfiaidced and com- 
 pelled to cut his way out of overwhelming numbers. A nmgnifi- 
 cent charge by the i9th Illinois, 11th Michigan and 21st Ohio, 
 forced the enemy back in confusion and the environed divisions 
 passed out, removing their guns in safety. The force of the rebel 
 
794 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, 
 
 onset next falling on the division of Palmer, his two rigbt brigades 
 were soon pushed back with the others, leaving Hazen alone to 
 cope with the hostile surging masses. 
 
 By the sndden and terrific assault of the enemy, Rosecrans' of- 
 fensive movement on the left was paralyzed, and he commenced 
 massing his artillery on a knoll in the plain whither his shattered 
 di^'isions had retreated. He also commenced forming a new line, 
 on the completion of which entirely depended the ability of Palmer 
 to maintain his i^osition till the broken forces coidd be restored 
 to order and placed in i)osition. He saw at a glance the danger 
 which threatened the entire army, and with a determination com- 
 mensurate with the stupendous interests involved, determined to 
 maintain his position or perish in its defense. The rebels on the 
 other hand, aware tliat he was the only obstacle between them and 
 victory, rushed on him with tenfold fury, only to be swept back by 
 the terrific fire which met them. 
 
 Time was thus gained and the new line sufficiently perfected to 
 receive the enemy, and presently the gray costumed confederates 
 emerged from the cedars, their long lines of burnished weapons like 
 a forest of glittering steel flashing in the sunlight, as the}" swept for- 
 ward over the plain. With fearful grandeur the pageant moved uj) 
 within range, when the federal batteries, which had been previously 
 posted on the eminence, opened upon them with merciless volleys, 
 gashing and distorting their compact ranks. Eosecrans observing 
 the effect of the fire on the enemy, dashed uj) to the line where hos- 
 tile shot were falling like a hail-storm, and ordered a charge. The 
 men catching the inspiration of their leader, sprang to their feet 
 and with a shout swept them back to their cedarcoverts. Four times 
 they rallied and returned to the conflict, but the tempest which as- 
 sailed them, more fatal than the blasts of the simoon, piled up the 
 plain with heaps of their mangled carcasses. Finding at length that 
 neither numbers nor desperate daring could prevail against Eose- 
 crans' front, they determined to make a final attempt on his left. 
 Breckenrid|;e's division of 7,000 fresh troops was brought into the 
 contest. Advancing in an imposing manner till they encountered 
 the fire of the Union artillery, when they turned and disappeared 
 from the field. The day's fighting was over; manj' a dying sol- 
 dier looked for the last time on the azure sunset, and soon the 
 ghastly field was enshrouded in the pall of night. 
 
 A council of war was held during the night to consider the pro- 
 priety of continuing the contest. There was a scarcity of ammu- 
 nition, seven generals and 20 colonels had been killed, and 7,000 
 men or about one-seventh of the entire army were either killed, 
 Avounded or missing. It was found, however, that there was am- 
 munition sufficient for another day's battle, and after making- 
 slight changes in the disposition of his forces, Eosecrans waited 
 till morning for a renewal of the conflict. Morning came, but the 
 enemy had been too severely punished to make another aggressive 
 movement, and New Year's day was mostly spent by both armies 
 in recruiting their exhausted energies for another death struggle 
 on the morrow. At 3 o clock Jan. 2d, a double line of skirmishers 
 was seen advancing from Breckenridge's position across the river, 
 with heavy columns of infantry a short distance in the rear. Soon 
 the moving mass burst like a swollen torrent on VanCleve's divis- 
 ion, and partially forced it back into the stream. Prior to the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 795 
 
 assault, Itcsecraiis was iiKikiiig preparations to execute the orig- 
 inal plan of swinging- bis left round against Breckinridge, and 
 securing the hight on which his division was posted. For this 
 purpose he had mounted 58 guns on an eminence enfilading the 
 attacking force, and so destructive was the cannonade, that in less 
 than half an hour Bragg lost 2,000 men. 
 
 Bleeding and torn, the euemy turned and fled as if from the 
 crater of an exploding volcano, closely pressed by the Union 
 troops. A violent storm prevented the renewal of hostilities on the 
 3d, and the succeeding night Bragg retired to TuUahoma, leaving 
 his antagonists in the possession of the field. The Union army was 
 again victorious, but another such a victory would have ruined 
 it. It had lost one-third of its artillery and one-fourth of its men, 
 neariy 2,000 of them being killed. Tlie loss of the Confederates 
 was equally severe, being in killed, wounded and missing 14,700. 
 Just prior to the battle they had celebrated the festivities of 
 Christmas by dancing in halls carpeted with American flags; now 
 defeated and humiliated, they were compelled to depart, leaving 
 the national emblem which they had insulted proudly floating over 
 the city of their giddy revels. 
 
 The battle of Stone River, with its fearful perils, persistent 
 fighting and deeds of desperate daring, furnished a rare o})}»ortuni- 
 ties for the troops of Illinois to further distinguish themselves. 
 Nor Avas it misimproved, as the i^roud record of their skill and 
 biaver}' in the midst of the most appalling dangers abundantly 
 prove. Many of the Illinois regiments were, however, placed in 
 situations where overpowering rebel assaults in greatl}' superior 
 nund)ers rendered success frequently impossible. Yet there is as- 
 sociated with the stern resistance which was offered a moral sub- 
 limity that almost surpasses the glory of victory itself, es})ecially 
 when we remwnber the patriotism which prompted and the adverse 
 circumstances attending it. 
 
 - No regiment in the battle evinced more intrepid courage or reu 
 dered greater service than the old regiment of Gen. Kirk, the 34th 
 Illinois. Early on the morning of the first day's conflict, when 
 the rebels, in overwhelming numbers assaulted the right of the 
 Union line, Kirk's brigade became exposed and the 34th Illinois, 
 stationed in front, soon became engaged. Although exposed to a 
 terrific fire, they stood as if rooted to the earth, and by their well 
 directed volleys kept the rebel host at bay till reinforcements 
 could come to their sui)port. A flank movement of the enemy at 
 length rendered Kirk's position untenable, and brought the 34th 
 into a hand to hand contest. In the bloody strife which ensued five 
 color bearers heroically laid down their lives to i)reventthe stand- 
 ards of their regiments from falling into the hands of the enemy. 
 But neither courage nor skilful generalship could cope with supe- 
 rior numbers, and the old flag was at last seized by traitors, a]id 
 Kirk compelled to fall back. In directing his troops he had two 
 horses shot under him, when, atter receiving a severe wound and 
 faint from loss of blood he was carried to the rear. Col. Dodge 
 took command, and with a portion of the men fell back to the 
 Nashville Pike. The remainder joined the 29th. 30th and 34th 
 Indiana, supported by the 79th Illinois, and hurriedly prepared to 
 again meet the advancing rebels.. The latter coming up and hurl- 
 ing themselves with great violence on the Union flank, the 79th 
 
796 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 receiving the principal shock, was compelled to fall back, followed 
 by the rest of the foree. Another stand was immediately made, 
 and again the 79th was exposed to a destructive artillery tire, and 
 withdrew to the Xashville Pike, where liosecrans was forming a 
 new line. Among the fallen heroes, with which the track was 
 strewn was the mortal remains of its Colonel, the brave Sheridan 
 P. liead. While gallantly leading his men regardless of menacing 
 dangers, he was shot and instantly expired. 
 
 When on the morning of the first day's battle Gen. Kirk's brig- 
 ade was broken to pieces by the fierce onset of the enemy, the 
 fragments fell back through the 89th Illinois, which brought that 
 regiment into action. The men lay down on their faces till all the 
 fugitives had passed from their front, when they arose and deliv- 
 ered a well directed fire into the ranks of the foe oidy 50 yards 
 distant. Before this volley the colors of the rebel advance were 
 lowered, but the other regiments were falling back and the S9th 
 was ordered to follow. 
 
 From this time till nightfall, at every available point they iu- 
 flicted heavy blows on the enemy, and suffered terribly " from the 
 iuces;;ant fire of rebel musketry and artillery. As an evidence of 
 the fiery ordeal to which they were exposed, they came out of the 
 conflict with a loss of 1^9. Though Marring against fate itself 
 and success impossible, the regiment seriously dauuiged the enemy 
 and won a proud name by its heroic and determined resistance. 
 
 But to no regiment from the prairie State nor to any engaged 
 in the battle does the country owe a greater debt of gratitude for 
 what it accomplished, than the 19th Illinois. Reference has al- 
 ready been made to its magnificant chiirge on the morning of the 
 first day's battle. A more daring feat was, however, executed in 
 the afternoon of the second day. Vancleve's division having been 
 thrown across the river to operate against Breckenridge, the lat- 
 ter at the head of his own and two other divisions hurled them with 
 irresistible force against his antagonist. Two of theUnion brigades 
 were instantly shivered by the concussion, and the other pushed 
 back into the river, when ISTegiey, riding to the frout and compre- 
 hending the situation shouted, " Who will save the left f " The 
 19th Illinois," was the immediate response of Scott, the com- 
 mander of the regiment. Then giving the command, "forward," 
 his men sprang to their feet and pouring a destructive fire into the 
 face of the foe, leaped forx^ard with fixed bayonets. Plunging 
 into the river they scaled the opposite banks despite the volleys 
 and bristling bayonets of a whole rebel division posted on the 
 stream to dispute their advance. On gaining the summit of the 
 shore, the rebels, astounded at the audacity of the charge, turned 
 and fled for the protection of their batteries. The 19th Illinois, 
 11th Michigan and 7Stli Pennsylvania in close pursuit. In vain 
 the Confederates endeavored to rally at every available point, or 
 sought to secure themselves by intervening timber, but deter- 
 mined men were after them, and not even an army of devils could 
 have interposed an obstacle to their progress. With accelerated 
 velocity charging uj) to the nmzzles of the enemy's guns, and leap- 
 ing the parapets, the battery was captured.. The victory was com- 
 plete, but more than a third of the inen had fallen or disap[»eared 
 along the highway of death which the}' so gallantly trod. 
 
THE WAR OP THE REBELLION. 797 
 
 Another cliarge spleudidiii execution and important in results, 
 was made by the SStli and 3Gth Illinois. A heavy rebel columu 
 was advancing across an open held, on the border of which these 
 regiments were drawn up to receive them. The S8th lay down 
 till the enemy approached within 40 yards, when they arose and 
 after tiring two rounds, both regiments bounded forward and 
 swept their a(h"ersary from the held. 
 
 Gen. Woodruff, who was on the right of the Union line, highly 
 comi>limented the officers and men of the 25th and 3orh Illinois. 
 Three of their companies under Major Mcllvain as skirmishers iii 
 front of the brigade, behaved with great gallantry, and both regi- 
 ments during the entire battle intiicted heavy blows on the enem^-. 
 He says : "I desire to call the attention of the commanding offi- 
 cer to the gallant conduct of Lt. Col. Chandler, commanding the 
 35tli Illinois, whose cool, steady courage, admirable deportment 
 and skillful management, evinced the soldier true and tried ; 
 and who, at all times, proved himself worthy of the trust beholds. 
 Major Mcllvain, of the same regiment, who had the supervision of 
 skirmishers, I cannot praise too much. His good judgment and 
 skillful handling elicited encomiums of well merited compliments 
 at all times. He was cool, determined and persevering. Ca])t. 
 W. Tciggart, who succeeded to the command of the 25th Illinois, 
 behaved as a soldier should, efficient and ever ready to execute 
 orders." 
 
 "'While we remember the noble dead let us pay a tribute of re- 
 spect to thegalhint Col. L. ]). AVilliams, of the 25th Illinois, who 
 died in the performance of his duty. He fell with his regimental 
 colors iu his hands, exclaiming: "We will plant it here, boys, and 
 rally the old 25l:h around it, ami here will we die!" The 25th 
 lost in killed, wounded and missing 142 men, the 35th, 81 men. 
 
 The 74th Illinois, Col. Marsh, while on its Avay to Murfreesboro, 
 intiicted serious damage on a greatly sui)erior force of the enemy, 
 and in the subesequent battle it established a reputation for 
 bravery and other soldierly' (jualities. The 100th and 110th in con- 
 junction with the 41st Ohio, kei)t back the heavy masses of the 
 enemy in his efforts to overwhebn the brigade of Gen.Hazen. The 
 amunition of the 110th becoming exhausted, the men clubbed their 
 muskets and fought with the coolness of veterans, although they 
 Lad never before been under tire. The 21st, 22d and 84th, in com- 
 mon with other Illinois regiments, i)assed through the battle's 
 caninge and can)e out reduced in numbers but with increased 
 reinitation. Where the shafts of tlie enemy fell thickest, or valor 
 most needed, they were found with strong arms to battle for the 
 nation's life. 
 
 The moral prestige atteiuling the battle of Murfreesboro was 
 greater than the resulting material beneht. The rebel authorities 
 during the early part of the summer had pushed forward their 
 aggressive movement with comparative innnunity beyond the 
 bounds of the Confederacy. Expectation raised by the brilliant 
 spring campaign in the West had become disappointed at the results 
 of the army in the East. The public mind was brooding over the 
 repulse and frightful slaughter of Fredericksburg. When there- 
 fore the tidings of IMurtieesboro were read in the cities andhandets 
 of the Xorth, the people became more hopeful, and with increased 
 determination, resolved that the nation's honor and integrity 
 
798 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 sliould be maiiitaiued. If the Uiiiou army bad received a blow it 
 was evident it had dealt a counter-stroke which sent its reeling 
 and disabled enemy from the field and its sacrifice was not in 
 vain. Moreover the skillful generalship and determined fighting- 
 which had triumphed when the first onset of the battle had placed 
 success almost in the grasp of the foe gave additional lustre to the 
 victory. But while its moral effect gave confidence to the fed- 
 erals it correspondingly' depressed the confederates. In the shock 
 of Stone Eiver the spirit of Bragg's army was broken and subse- 
 quent efforts were feeble, compared with the dash and vigor of its 
 first campaign. As a remote sequence Eosecrans next planted 
 his standards within the rocky bulwarks of Chattanoooga from 
 which the enemy was unable afterward to dislodge him. The 
 Union army thus entrenched in the heart of the confederacy won 
 new triumphs under Grant, and subsequently Sheruum sent its 
 veteran columns to Atlanta and thence to the sea. 
 
Chapter LX 
 
 ILLINOIS IN THE VICKSBUEG CAMPAIGNS. 
 
 1862-1863 — Movements on the Mississi2)pi — Battle of Coffeeville, 
 Holly Springs^ ' Farler^s Cross lioads, Chiclmsaic Bayou and 
 Arkansas Post. 
 
 Topographically considered North America must ever be the 
 home of oue people. The destiny of the Mississippi Valley, the 
 repository of the vast resources which past ages have accumulated 
 for the beuetit of man, will be the destiny of the continent. The 
 immense river system by which it is drained, having its source in 
 the regions of the remote north, and its outlet in the distant south 
 will, through the agency of commercial intercourse, neutralize the 
 diversity of race, caused by climatic difterences and thus i)reveut 
 the rise of separate nationalities. Further more the wide area 
 thus bound b}^ commercial ties, is not only inseparable but will so 
 dominatein population andpowerover the continental borderswhich 
 sijrround it as to extend over them the same institutions and a 
 common government. Should an attempt be made to close the 
 gateways to the Pacific through the Rocky Mountains, there are 
 not elements of power in the region beyond to cope with the force 
 that would be arrayed against it. The St. Lawrence, the principal 
 outlet to the Atlantic, although now subject to foreign jurisdic- 
 tion, must ultimately become wholly subservient to the great val- 
 ley. Nor is access to the sea through the INIississippi anymore 
 likely to be permanently disturbed by a rival power on the south 
 than are its resistless floods to be held by artificial barriers. The 
 great heart of the continent with its exhaustless resources must 
 through the vast river systems with which its surface is furrowed, 
 send life sustaining supplies to its most distant extremities. 
 
 At least so thought the hardy race of freemen who dwell on the 
 Mississippi audits hundred tributaries, when the rebels attempted 
 to obstruct its navigation, and in their might resolved that its 
 commerce, in common with its waters, should flow undisturbed to 
 the sea. Measures for the accomplishment of this object were 
 first i)rojected by Fremont, and commenced by the formation of the 
 fleet ami army under Foote and Grant at Cairo. Subsequently it 
 gave character to the military operations of the West and ended 
 with some of the most brilliant victories of the war. 
 
 In erecting defences for the Mississippi the confederate authori- 
 ties had to make them sufficiently formidable to withstand the 
 attacks of the Union fleet on the one hand, and the operations of 
 the land forces on the other. In the first particular they were far 
 more successful than in the second, as the fate of nearly all their 
 fortified forts was determined by contests between armies on the 
 field. Columbus, the first position taken by the rebels, although 
 
 799 
 
800 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 invincible in a naval assault, when uncovered by the capture of 
 Done! son, its ,ifuns and garrison were transferred to Island JTo. 
 10. Foote with the navy, followed to the saiue place, but after a 
 bombardment of three weeks, he was unable to prevail against it. 
 Pope's victory on the Kentnckj' shore, in the meantime, however, 
 rendered it untenable and its munitions were sent to Fort Pillow, 
 situated on Chicasaw bluff, 75 miles above Memphis. This strong- 
 hold withstood a bombardment of six weeks without sustaining 
 serious injury, but at length becoming entangled in the evil for- 
 tunes attending the Confederate army at Corinth', it was like the 
 other places nmxvoidably abandoned. 
 
 Commodore Foote, suffering severely in tlfe meantime from 
 a wound received at Donelson, was relieved of his com- 
 mand and Capt. Davis appointed in his place. The latter 
 immediately started in pursuit of the rebels who next tied to* 
 Memphis, and on the 5th of June anchored his squadron 
 above the city and i>repared for an engagement the next day. 
 Five boats and two rams constituted his naval force, while the 
 rebels had 7 boats, which in addition to their armament of guns 
 were so constructed as to act as rams. The following morning, as 
 the lofty spires of the city were glittering in the rising sun, the 
 federal fleet slowly drifted down the river till that of the enemy 
 was discovered near the western shore. Davis then ordered his 
 boats to steam up the stream to give the men an opportunity to 
 breakfast before going into the light. The rebels regarding this 
 as a retreat and elated with the hope of an easy victory, imme- 
 diately started in pursuit, firing round after round as they a^l- 
 vanced. The contest now commenced with terrible earnestness, 
 and in an hour and twenty minutes the entire rebel feet, excej^t 
 one boat, was either captured or destroyed. Van Dorn, the rebel 
 leader, who sat upon his horse a si)ectator of the fight, exclaimed: 
 " It is all over Avith us," and galloped away. The federal tars, 
 none of whom had been killed, were now ready for brealvfast. On 
 the 4th of June, 18G2, the fleet proceeded southward to the mouth 
 of White river, which it ascended for the i>urpose of removing 
 rebel obstructions and opening communications with northwest- 
 ern Arkansas. 
 
 The first movement for opening the mouth of the Mississippi 
 was the occupation of Sliip Island in December, 1801. The fol- 
 lowing winter Gen. Butler took charge of the land fbrces, number- 
 ing 8,000 men, and prepared to co-operate with the fleet under 
 Commodore Farragiit. The latter arrived at the Island on the 
 20th of February, 1862, and by great labor got his heavy ships 
 over the bars into the river and commenced ascending its turbid 
 currents. At 3 o'clock on the 24th of April he came within range 
 of Forts Jackson and St. Philip and the rebel navy, when 500 
 cannon opened with deafening roar their poiulerous missiles, 
 weaving a iiery net work on the face of the sky, and falling with 
 a thunderous crash into the midst of the opposing forts and fleets. 
 Breasting the furious battle storm thefederalsquadron continued on 
 its way toward the city of New Orleans, whitlier it anived on the 
 25th to the great astonishment of its rebellious inhabitants. Gen. 
 Butler took immediate possession and a portion of the fleet was 
 sent up the river under Commodore Lee. It was not known 
 what obstructions the enemy had interposed in the long 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 801 
 
 stretch of miles tlirough the confederacy, and the expedition 
 moved slowly and cautiously. Taking po.ssessit)n of Baton liouge, 
 Natchez and other places, on the 15th of May arrived at Vicks- 
 burg and the city at once became famous in the annals of the 
 rebellion. 
 
 Only three days before the arrival of Lee, Beaureoard had com- 
 menced the erection of batteries on the high bluffs overlooking 
 the river. Had he come three days sooner the vast exi)enuiture 
 of treasure and blood which the subsequent reduction of the 
 place cost the country, might have been saved. The work of for- 
 tifying was prosecuted with such energy that when Lee demanded 
 the surrender the rebels were ready to defend it and refused to 
 com[)ly. Concluding that his force was insufticient for the reduction 
 of the works he wated till the 28th, when having received addi- 
 tional boats from New Orleans, he commenced the bond^ardment. 
 Still the force proved inadequate for the enemy meanwhile had 
 proportionally increased the strength of the fortifications. The 
 seige, nevertheless, was continued till Farragut with the entire 
 fleet of gun and mortar boats, about the middle of June, anchored 
 in the river below the city. Four regiments of infantry under 
 Gen. Williams, also came up up and commenced cutting a canal 
 across the narrow peninsula west of the city that the boats in 
 passing might avoid the batteries located on the channel of the 
 river. The fleet of Commodore Davis next came down the river, 
 and it was determined with the combined force to again attempt 
 the reduction. Accordingly the bombardment was renewed at 
 close range and broadside after broadside was fired into the bat- 
 teries without apparent efl'ect. Although the gunboats were 
 unable to silence them, several succeeded in running by them and 
 joining the fleet above. 
 
 July the 15th the monotony of naval warfare was broken by the 
 appearance of the powerful iron plated ram Arkansas, which 
 steamed down the Yazoo, and after disabling two of the federal 
 gunboats, sought safety under the fortifications. It was now 
 feared the ram might destroy the morter fleet below, and the boats 
 whi(;h had passed up the river were ordered to return, and finally 
 on the 27th, the entire squadron withdrew from the city. Farra- 
 gut fell down the river to New Orleans, while Davis in connection 
 with Curtis, made a successful expedition up the Yazoo. The 
 canal also proved a failure, and Williams retired with his force to 
 Baton Rouge and the 70 days of the Vicksbnrg seige were at an end. 
 During its continuance some 25,000 shot and shell were thrown 
 into the town by the fleet when it became evident that like the 
 other strongholds on the river above, it would require the co-oper- 
 ation of the land forces to efl'ect its reduction. Let us now see 
 liow this was to be effected. 
 
 We have seen that after the second battle of Corinth, Ken- 
 tucky and Middle Tennessee became the principal theatres of 
 western military movements, and a large portion of Grant's force 
 was sent to augment the army of Buell and that of his su(;cessor, 
 Eosecrans, and hence he found it impossible to co-operate with the 
 naval operations for the opening of the Mississippi. When, how- 
 ever, in the latter part of the year 1802, he could command the 
 requisite number of men, a movement against Vicksbnrg, the 
 great stronghold of the river, again became the principal n)ilitary 
 51 
 
802 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 enterprise of tlie west. The line held at this time by the Union army 
 was the Memphis and Charleston railroad, the ri<;ht wing resting 
 on Memphis and the left on Corinth. In front andoccnpying the 
 line of the Yazoo and Tallahatchie its principal tribntary, were the 
 forces of Van Dorn and Price, which, dnring the mouth of Novem- 
 ber, were concentrated under Gen. Pembertou. To eliminate this 
 force the real defense of Vicksburg from the numberless bayous 
 and swamps peculiar to the country occupied, was now the prob- 
 lem which Grant had to solve. 
 
 He accordingly oixlered Sherman, commanding the right wing 
 of the army at Memphis, to fall down the river and operate against 
 the rebel linenear Vicksburg, a cavalry force from the trans-Missis- 
 sippi army to cross the river and menace the railroad connections 
 in Pemberton's rear, while he proposed to press him in front. The 
 cavalry force under Geus. Hovey and^ Washburne, as arranged, 
 crossed the river at Helena and des'troying the railroad, Pem- 
 bertou was forced to fall back to Grenada 100 miles further 
 south. Grant immediately followed and on the 3d of December, 
 established his headquarters at Oxford, making Holly Springs 
 through which he passed, his i)rincipal depot of supplies. As the 
 result of these movements 3 engagements occurred with the ene- 
 my, in rapid succession. 
 
 Battle of CoffeevUle. — After the occupation of Oxford Colonels 
 Di(;key and Lee, with the 4th and Ttli Illinois, and three other 
 regiments of cavalry, on the 6th day of December, 18G2, advanced 
 from Watervalley for the purpose of capturing Coffeeville,. sit- 
 uated 11 miles north of Grenada. A short distance from the town 
 they encountered the enemy, and after vainly endeavoring to dis- 
 lodge him from his position. Col. Leepuslied forward a 10-pounder 
 and opened upon them. A full rebel battery immediately replied 
 and soon after a large force of infantry rose up from the ground 
 where they had been concealed and poured volley after volley into 
 the ranks of the federal skirmishers, compelling them to retire 
 with severe loss. The Union officers, seeingtheir inability to cope 
 with such a large force prepared to fall back, leaving part of the 
 4th Illinois to cover their retreat. This snmll protecting force, 
 however, was immediately driven by five regiments of rebel in- 
 fantry who soon overtook the principal force and a retreating fight 
 commenced. For a distance of three miles the contest was stub- 
 boridy maintained, the retiring force halting at difterent points, 
 sufficiently long to pour a volley into the ranks of their iiursuers 
 and then resume their march. Night at length terminated the 
 work of death and the federals retired without further molestation 
 to their camping ground. The loss of the 4th Illinois in killed, 
 wounded and missing was 17 ; that of the 7th, 34, and that of 
 the entire force 99. Among the killed was the veteran McCulloch, 
 Lieut. Col. commanding the 4th, who fell at the head of his regi- 
 ment. 
 
 Battle of Holly Springa. — Among a number of other important 
 cavalry expeditions thrown out in difterent directions, that of Col. 
 Dickey was sent to destroy a portion of the Mobile and Ohio rail- 
 road. He left camp with the 7th and a portion of the 4th Illinois 
 cavalry and subsequently joined by some trooj)ers from Iowa, on 
 
THE WAR OF THE EEBELLilON. 803 
 
 the IGth and 17th they destroyed tlie railroad from Okalona to 
 Saltillo, a distance of 34 miles. The force was now ready to re- 
 turn but hearing that there was a large body of rebel cavalry at 
 Pontotoc, Dickey determined to move in that direction and take 
 observations. In the reconnoisance some 22 regiments were dis- 
 covered which subse(inently proved to be the cavalry of Van Dorn 
 who was on his way to cai)ture Holly Springs. The next day the 
 force hastened to return, and without further detention arrived at 
 Oxford and reported the movement of the rebel cavalry to Gen. 
 Grant. The latter immediately divined VanDorn's object and 
 telegrajdied Col. Murphy, the commandant of Holly Springs that 
 he would be attacked the next day, and that reinforcements would 
 be sent to him. 
 
 As intimated, on the 20th of December the rebel cavalry dashed 
 into town and the infantry guarding the government stores, only 
 100 in number, were soon overwhelmed and forced to submit. The 
 remaining infantry dis[)ersed in (bfferent parts of the town on 
 picket duty, unable to act in concert. Mere captured in small de- 
 tachments. Theca\alrv, coni})anies of the 2d Illinois, were com- 
 pelled to cut their way through thousands to avoid a similar 
 fate. The rebels had come prepared with canteens tilled 
 Avith tur[)entine and immediately used it in firing the rail- 
 road trains, one of whi(;h was laden with cotton. Soon all the 
 railroad buildings, some 30 dwellings, 1,800 bales of cotton, and 
 the great arsenal which the rebels themselves had built, and in 
 which Grant had deposited immense quantities of army sn])plies, 
 were wrapped in flames. By degrees the contlagration spreatl to the 
 square where large quantities of powder had been stored, and sud- 
 denly an explosion occuiTed which shook the earth and tore all the 
 adjoining buildings to fragments. Whiskey was found among the 
 sj)()ils and the rebel soldiery previously intoxicated by victory 
 and now maddened by the effects of spirits, shouted and yelled 
 in unison with the raging elements. It was known to Van Dorn 
 that a number of cotton buyers were in town and squads of cav- 
 alry were detailed to go round ami conduct them to his head- 
 quarters. Each was closely questioned as to his business, then 
 searched, and his money handed over to a receiver. In this man- 
 ner more than .$100,000 were taken from private individuals.* 
 
 As Mnri)hy's force of 1,800 men was sutticiently large to defend 
 the pla(!e till the arrival of aid, he was severely and justly censured 
 for his cul[)ability. In pleasant contrast with his cowardice was the 
 conduct of the Illinois cavalry, which was thus conqjlimented by the 
 corres})ondent of the j\fissourl Democrat : '• Six companies of the 
 2d Illinois cavalry were completely surrounded in the town by at 
 least as many thousands, and were called on to surrender, 
 to which demand they made reply by dashing on the 
 enemy's forces a-iul nobly cutting their way out. Not a more gal- 
 lant deed has been done during the war. Six hundred against 
 8,000, and still they hewed their waythrough them and escaped.'' 
 
 * Some of the speculators managed to save ihcir funds by placin<r them in the cus- 
 tody of the ladies with whom they were boardiny: One {lentlenuin who had arrived in 
 town only the day before, entrusted some S40,000 to his landlady who, althoutrh a strong 
 secessionist, faithfully returned It. It Is said a number of ladies wore belts during 
 the rebel occupation of the town, containing nortliern funds amounting in some ia- 
 stances to $50,000, and in no instance was the trust reposed in them betrayed. 
 
804: HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Battle of Parker^s Cross Roads. — Grant's communicatious were 
 also tlireateiied by tbe operations of Forrest. Ou the 18th of 
 December, Gen. Snllivan in command of Jackson, learning that 
 Forrest in charge of a band of rebel cavalry, had crossed the Ten- 
 nessee to captnre the town, commenced preparations to prevent 
 the consummation of his design. Having been reinforced by two 
 brigades under Gens. Fuller and Brayman, the next day he sent 
 out the 43d Illinois to oppose the advance of the enemy. The 
 regiment having concealed itself, awaited the appearance of 
 Forest, when it tired a destructive volley into the midst of his 
 men. Not being sufficiently strong to check the rebels it slowly 
 retired till Gen. Brayman's brigade was thrown out and drove them 
 back. Having heard on the 21st that detachments of Forrest's 
 men had destroyed a portion of the Mobile and Ohio Eailroad, 
 and cai>tured Humboldt, Trenton and a number of other sta- 
 tions, Gen. Haynie was ordered to rei)air the damages. With the 
 100th, the 110th Illinois, 1 company of the 18th and 90 men of tbe 
 11th Illinois cavalry, and a brigade of Iowa troops, he proceeded 
 ou the railroad to the first break and commenced repairing it. 
 Having put the road in running order he moved to Humboldt, 
 where he was reinforced by the 120th and the 122d Illinois and 
 the 7th Tennessee. Thence moving to Trenton he learned the 
 situation of Forest and communicated the information by tele- 
 graph to Gen. Sullivan, who immediately joined him with all his 
 available force. Forrest was advancing toward the Tennesse which 
 he desired to cross and Gen. Sullivan at once seized the bridges 
 on the most available routes, and the enemy, as the only alterjia- 
 tive, moved southwest and got on the Lexington road. The fed- 
 eral commander soon became apprised of this movement and sent 
 Col. Dunham of the 5th Indiana, with a brigade, to intercept him. 
 On the morning of the 31st of December, 1802, the force reached 
 Parker's Cross lioads, a short distance south of Clarksburg, and 
 Col. Dunham was surprised to find himself confronted by several 
 thousand rebels, commanded by the redoubtable Forrest, and the 
 road through which he must pass nearly encircled by rebel cav- 
 alry. Escape being impossible. Col. Dunham formed his men in 
 solid column and soon they were enveloped in a storm of shot and 
 shell. 
 
 Although outnumbered two to one they returned the fire with 
 such well directed aim and invincible determination, that the en- 
 emy Avas kept back till their amunition became exhausted when, 
 by a sudden flank movement, they were completely surrounded. 
 Bayonets were now substituted for poAvder and bullets, and still 
 the}' persisted infighting. Forrest, believing their position hoi)e- 
 less and not knowing Avhether it was possible for a Yankee gen- 
 geral ever to consider himself whipped, ordered a cessation of 
 hostilities and sent a flag of truce to demand a surrender. Dun- 
 ham rei)lied, "Give my compliments to the general and tell him I 
 never surrender. If he thinks he can take me let him try." Some 
 of this pluck and independence was doubtless based on an expec- 
 tiition of reinforcements. Nor was this anticipation unfounded. 
 "While the rebel general was considering Avhat course to pursue. 
 Gens. Sullivan and Haynie came up Avith their forces and pre- 
 l);ued for action. Stricken with amazement at their sudden ap- 
 pearance the rebels fled, despite the almost frantic exertions of 
 
THE "WAR OF THE REBELLION. 805 
 
 tlieir officers to hold them in position. The loss of the enemy in 
 killed, wounded and prisoners, as reported by Forest himself, 
 to a captured federal officer, was fully a thousand. The national 
 loss was one hundred, mostly sustained by the V22d Illinois. This 
 gallant regiment and a portion of the 18th Illinois, constituted 
 part of Ool. Dunham's brigade and were thu« complimented in. 
 his report : "The 122d 111. deserves especial notice. It is compara- 
 tively a new regiment and part of it was at one time more exposed 
 to the enemy's lire than any other ; at any rate it suffered more in 
 killed and wounded. Its gallant colonel fell severely wounded, 
 yet its courage never flagged and it met every duty and danger 
 with unwavering resolution. The detachment of the 18th Illi- 
 nois acted for the most part with it and deserves the same com- 
 mendation." 
 
 The frequent raids on Grant's communications and the destruc- 
 tion of his stores at length compelled him to fall back to Holly 
 Springs and abandon his original plan of formiug a junction with 
 Sherman on the Yazoo. 
 
 Battle of Chicasaiv Bayou. — The latter in the meantime had em- 
 burked his division in transports at Memphis, steamed down the 
 Mississipj)!, formed a junction with the fleet of gun-boats under 
 Admiral Porter, ascended the Yazoo and at Chicasaw bayou made 
 an assault on the enemy. This bayou is the northern portion of 
 an old channel of the Yazoo extending from the present river to 
 the Mississip[)i near Vicksburg and with the exception of one or 
 two i)hices was still tilled with water. Immediately east are the 
 Walnut Hills, a high range of land trending northeasterly from 
 Vicksburg to Haines' bluff where they impinge against the Yazoo. 
 From tiie Mississippi, a distance of 15 miles, the sides and sum- 
 mits (if the highhmds frowned with rebel rifle i)its and batteries, 
 wbih', at their base, ran the Vicksburg and Yazoo City road 
 ahnig which the enemy could [)ush his artilley and infantry if any 
 attempt siiould be made to cross tlie bayou. 
 
 It was this exterior line of the Vicksburg defenses that Sher- 
 man intended to pierce when, on the 20th of J^ecember 1802, he 
 debarked his army of some 4(),(>0(> men. The bayou could only be 
 crossed at 3 points, where the torrents from the hills had washed 
 sufficient quantity of material to form a natural causeway for the 
 passage of tro()[)S. On the morning of the 27th Steele's division 
 on the right, passing around the north end of the bayou, endeavor- 
 ed to move along the west side to silence a battery commanding 
 one of the passages, Morgan's division, containing the 118th Il- 
 linois, proceeded around the south end, while INlorgan L. Smith's, 
 and A. J. Smith's, the former containing the ooth and lloth Illi- 
 nois, and the latter the 77th and 108tlj, further southward ad- 
 vanced toward the lagoons connecting the bayou and the Missis- 
 si[)pi. Beibro, however, the engagement pro[>er]y commenced, 
 Steele found it impossible to reach the hostile battery, and was 
 ordered to icturn and reinforce iAlorgan L. Smith, the united force 
 moved rapidly forward and soon connnenced skirmishing with 
 the encnry wiio, during the entire <lay, stnbbornly resisted but 
 were slowly driven back. Blair's brigade of Steele's, andDecour- 
 cev's, of Morgan's division, while feeling the enemy, unmasked a 
 battery which immediately opened on them. The battery was 
 
806 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 soon silenced and tlie 13tli and 16tli Illinois made a gallant charge 
 on the rebels, and when nightfall ended the contest they were 
 driven a quarter of a mile from their original line. 
 
 During the night the enemy received reinforcements, and at 
 dawn on the 2Stli, heavy cannonading was commenced on Blair's 
 brigade and Morgan's division. The latter also brought forward 
 artillery, and after a sharp exchange of shot and shrapnel, prepa- 
 rations were made for a charge. Blair's brigade and Gen. Wyman 
 with the loth and lOtii Illinois, were drawn up for the assault. 
 The order was given to advauce and Gen. Wyman i>]acing him- 
 self at the head of the loth, arrived within 80 yards of the rebel 
 batteries and succeeded in unmanning 2 of the guns. Here rais- 
 ing his s\vord in the air, as he was about giving tlje conunand to 
 charge, he was pierced through the body by a minnie ritle ball. 
 Col. Gorgas immediately ran to his assistance, when he raised 
 himself up and seeing his regiment in confusion, exclaimed, "For 
 God's sake Colonel, leave me and attend to these men." As 
 directed Col. Gorgas at once rallied the men, took the battery and 
 in conjunction with Gen. Blair drove the enemy from the held. 
 Wynuin's wound proved to be mortal ami he died in the arms of 
 an attendant on the battle ground immortalized by his valor. He 
 had entered the service as Colonel of the loth Illinois, and for 
 his bravery on the field, was commissioned brigadier-general by 
 the president and was highly esteemed for his many virtues by 
 all who knew him. 
 
 On the 29th it was proposed to make a concerted attack with a 
 view of crossing the bayou and carrying the heights beyond. 
 Morgan's division reinforced by the brigades of Blair and Tliayer 
 moved forward as a storming columu under a furious cannonade. 
 Blair's men succeeded in crossing the bayou and cai)turiiig two 
 lines of rifle pits, and while he returned to get reinforcements, 
 fought with desperate energy to reach the summit of the hills. 
 The rebel riflemen whom they had driven back, retired into a 
 growth of willows higher up the hill. Into this covert the the 13th 
 lllimjis fearlessly charged, and in a hand to hand contestqnii;kly 
 dislodged them. Thayer's brigade also gained the rifle pits, but 
 being unable to get sui)ports, both brigades were compelled to 
 retire. An assault by M. L, Smith's division was likewise unsiic- 
 sessful. One regiment, the 0th Missouri, crossed the bayou but 
 the opposite bank was too abrupt to be ascended and the suceed- 
 ing night it Mas ordered back. A. J. Smith's division bridged the 
 bayou within two miles of Vicksburg, but the enemy was so strong 
 in his front an assault was not deemed advisable. The day thus 
 ended with defeat, although the national troo^js fought and ex- 
 XJOsed themselves with almost reckless daring. The 13th Illinois 
 esxiecially exhibited a bravery which neither overwhelming num- 
 bers nor the territic fire to which they were exposed during most 
 of the battle could effect. Tiie loss of the federal troops was, 
 killed, 11)1; wounded, 982; missing, 750. 
 
 Tlie position of the enemy naturally strong, was rendered almost 
 impregnable by every a|)plian(;e of military art. Signals were 
 established on the highest peaks and batteries planted on every 
 available bluff" and their guns wherever an assault was attempted, 
 could be turned with destructive effect. Sherman, therefore con- 
 cluding it impossible to force the confederate line of defences 
 
THE "WAR OF THE REBELLION. 807 
 
 deteriniued to throw a large force in transports up tlie Yazoo to 
 pass round tliem. It was proposed to effect a landing at Haines' 
 Bluff during tbe night, and Steele's division was embarked for this 
 purpose, but a heavy fog settled on the river and the euterjirise 
 was abandoned. 
 
 The entire army now got aboard transports and sailed down the 
 Yazoo to the ]Mississii)pi where Gen. Mc'Clernand awaited in the 
 steamer Tigress to assume comnumd. The conception and organ- 
 ization of tlie expedition was in a great measure the result of his 
 sagacity and labors aiid he was now regarded as a suitable person 
 to conduct its future operations. As early as the 28th of Septem- 
 ber, while on a visit to Washington he subndtted an elaborate 
 plan for the opening of the jMississippi. It not only contempla- 
 ted the reduction of Vicksburg by moving a column of some 
 00,()0() men by way of the Mississippi and Yazoo, but proposed to 
 follow up the advantages of victory by siezing important (titles, 
 railroad centers and other points of military value, east of the 
 river. Its author, as the subsequent events of the war in the 
 Southwest abundantly prove, had grasped the full significance of 
 the enterprise and the best method of conducting it to a success- 
 ful completion, lie sums up its imi)ortance in a military view as 
 follows: 
 
 1st. Because it would afford the means of cheap and easy communica- 
 tion between our troops dispersed at different points on the Mississippi 
 river and its navigable tributaries, and because it would facilitate tlieir 
 concentration at any one or more of tliose points. 
 
 2d. Because it would cheapen the cost of sui^plying our men and ani- 
 mals at or near New Orleans, witli provision and forage. It would do 
 that by substituting tiie overflowing granaries of the Northwest for tlie 
 remoter sources of such supplies in the East. 
 
 3d. Because in securing to us the command of the Mississippi, it would 
 enable us to stop tlie communication between the revolted States and 
 their armies east and west of Red river, thus isolating each section as to 
 the other, destroying the unity of their plans and combinations and cut- 
 ting off the rebel forces east of that river from their wonted source of 
 supplies in Texas. 
 
 Tlie president and secretary of war having approved his i)lans 
 as early as October, he received the following dispatcii from the 
 latter, urging him to hasten forward the expedition. jMr. Lincoln 
 in the order which conferred u[)ou him the authority for this pur- 
 pose, thus speaks of this enterprise: "I feel a deep interest in 
 the su(;cess of the expedition and desire it to be pushed hu'ward 
 with all possible despatch, consistent with other parts of the ndli- 
 tary service." 
 
 In accordance with these instructions, Gen. McClernand for- 
 warded from Illinois, Indiana and Ohio, some 40,000 men for this 
 pur[)ose, and on the 18th of December the following des})atch 
 was sent from the War Department to Gen. Grant at Oxford, 
 Miss. "The troops of your department including those from 
 Gen. Curtis' command, which join the down river expedition will 
 be divided into 4 corps. It is the wish of the president that Gen. 
 McClernand's cori)s shall constitute a ])art of the river expedi- 
 tion and that he sluill have the immediate coinnnind under your 
 direction." Gen. McClernand left Springfield on the liath of De- 
 cember for Mem})his where he received (jommunications from 
 Grant in relation to his new command. Thence descending the 
 Mississippi to the mouth of the Y^azoo, he assumed command as 
 previously stated. 
 
808 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 He now styledliis forces the Army of the Mississippi, and desiring 
 to devote bis undivided attention to the general interests of tlie 
 expedition, retained Gen. Slieriuan in coiuinand of tlie loth army 
 corps, and assigned the 13th to Gen. Morgan. The former con- 
 sisted of two divisions commanded by Steele and Stuart, the tirst 
 containing the 13th Illinois infantry, the 3d and acompany of the 
 loth lUinois cavalry; and the L'd the 113th and llGth Illinois in- 
 fantry, Willard's and Taylor's batteries and two com])anies of 
 Thielman's battalion of Illinois cavalry. The latter corps also 
 consisted of two divisions, the 1st commanded by A. J. Smith, 
 containing the 77th, 97th, 108th, 131st Illinois infantry, and the 
 Chicago Mercantile battery ; the 2d commanded by P. J. Oster 
 haus, of the llSth Illinois. 
 
 Capture of ArMnsas Post. — The same day he assumed command 
 he started with the army for Arkansas Post, or Port Ilindmau, 
 situated on a bend of the Arkansas river about titty miles from 
 its mouth. It was a strong bastioned fortitication surrounded by 
 a deep moat and furnished with ten guns. Two of them were 
 Columbiads surrounded by immense casements, one on the river 
 side and tiie other in the northeastern bastion. On the bank of 
 the river below was a hue of riHe pits and a number of embra- 
 sures made in the levee for the use of cannon. This rebel strong- 
 hold formed the kej' to Little Rock, 117 miles above and was 
 the source whence a number of rebel detachments had proceed- 
 ed for the purpose destroying the supplies destined for the forces 
 operating on the Mississippi. Only a few days before the lilue 
 Wing a governmont transport laden with valuable stores had 
 been destroyed by a predatory party of this kind and Gen. McCler- 
 uand now in'oposed to end these annoyances by the cai)ture of 
 the fort. 
 
 The expedition ascended the Mississippi to the mouth of White 
 Eiveraud after a short pause entered its narrow channel which 
 wound serpent like through dense forests centuries old and grey 
 bearded with Spanish moss, whose dim aisles strangely rever- 
 berated with the whistles of the struggling engiju's and sent 
 back in weird echoes the voices of men on board the tieet. Af- 
 ter threading this mere ribbon of waters the boats turned into 
 the Arkansas where the channels of the two rivers unite and con- 
 tinued to ascend the latter stream. On arriving within three 
 miles of the fort they drew near a great plantation on the 
 eastern side of the stream for debarkation. jSTight came on be- 
 fore this could be effected and a strong picket force was thrown 
 out between the tieet and the rebels who could be heard busily 
 engaged in felling trees iu the woods beyond to strengthen their 
 defense. 
 
 At early dawn the work of landing commenced, each boat ap- 
 proaching the shore and pouring forth its crowds of soldiers, Eeg- 
 iments, brigades and di\isions soon collected and commenced 
 stretching out in line to the right for the purpose of investing the 
 works. After toiling for several hours in this direction, impassa- 
 ble bayous and swamps were encountered and the right and cen- 
 tre of the line were compelled to return. AVhen night came on. 
 they entered a more practicable route near the enemy's works 
 ami by a o'clock the next morning reached the opposite side of 
 
THE WAE, OF THE REBELLION. 809 
 
 the bend and were able to command the river above and be- 
 low the fort. When the investing;- Ihie was thus made complete, 
 Steele's divison occupied the ri<;ht, and those of Stuart, Snuth, 
 aud Osterhaus exteniled toward the left in in the order mentioned. 
 
 Admiral Porter with three iron clads and a tieet of light draft 
 gunboats had accompanied the expedition to co-operate with the 
 land forces. While the latter was making the necessary detour to 
 surround the fort, Porter i)ushed forward the ileet to ascertain 
 the range and strength of the enemy's guns. Oi)eiiing within 400 
 yards of the works he soon demonstrated the superiority of his 
 fire by partially silencing the hostile batteries. During the en- 
 gagement the Katler, one of the light draft boats, ran by the fort 
 and commenced an enfilading fire, but becoming entangled among 
 snags was compelled to return. The attack was made late in the 
 afternoon of Saturday, and night soon conung on ended the con- 
 test. Sunday morning, the 11 th of January 1SG3, the enemy, 
 finding himself greatly outnumbered, had retired to his inner 
 defenses, where, owing to their great strength he hoped to make 
 a successful resistam:;e. All the federal batteries having been 
 placed in position at 1 o'clock, a simiultaneous assault commenced 
 by both iKivy and army. The fire was terrific, the rebel batteiies 
 sweei)ing the plain in front of the works withcannister while they 
 hurled at the gunboats their own shot recently taken from the 
 Blue Wing. Twice charges were made by different commands, 
 but so destructive was the fire they were (compelled to return 
 without reaching the coveted goal. Meanwhile a tremendous con- 
 centrated fire from the surrounding federal batteries on land and 
 water was rapidly silencing those of the fort. Their huge shells, 
 after continual pounding at tlie great casemates at length affected 
 an entrance, and, explodijig within, tore the rebel artillerists into 
 fragments. As the afternoon wore away the fire was increased 
 till the bomb-proofs were battered to jneces and all the heavy 
 guns were either broken or dismounted. The infantry had, in the 
 meantime, fought its way foward and Just as it was about to 
 charge into the fort a white flag was run up and the battle ceased. 
 At 4^ o'clock the national troops took possession of the works. 
 Seven staml of colors, 17 cannon, 5,000 prisoners, besides large 
 numbers of other munitions fell into the hands of the conquerors. 
 The loss of the latter was 129 killed, 831 wounded, and 17 missing. 
 
 This signal triumph coming after the reverses of Grant and 
 Sherman, greatly encouraged the army and thus prepared for the 
 arduous labors yet to be performed in the reduction of Vicksburg, 
 the [>rimary object of the campaign. The government became 
 more hopeful, and its chief magistrate returned thanks to Gen. 
 McClernand and his brave army for the important services which 
 they had rendered the country. One fourth of the troops Mho 
 fought in the battle and shared in the glory of victory were from 
 Illinois. The commanding general, John Alexander McClernand, 
 Avas born in Kentucky of Scotch parents, who while he was young, 
 removed to Shawneetown, Illinois. Here he studied law and soon 
 rose to distinction in the practice of his ]i)rofession. His first mil- 
 itary experience was acquired in the Black Hawk war, during which 
 in the performance of a number of gallant actions, he evinc-ed 
 superior address and daring. In 183(> he was elected a mendier 
 of the legislature, in which he was made commissioner and treas- 
 
810 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 iirer of the Illiuois and Micliigau Caual. lu 1S38 lie was ten- 
 dered tbe office of lieuteu ant-governor, wliicli he declined, not 
 having attained the constitutional age of 30 years. He served two 
 additional terms in the legislature, and while still a member in 
 184:3, was elected a representative to the 2Sth cougress. During 
 the session, as one of the committee on jiublic lands, he brought 
 forward a bill donating land to aid in the completion of the Illi- 
 nois and Michigan Canal. He was four times re-elected to con- 
 gress. During tlie summer of 1850 he prepared and introduced 
 the first draft of the famous compromise measures and the same 
 year drafted a bill, granting land to aid in the construction of 
 the Illinois Central Eailroad. While still a member of congress, 
 in 1801, at the instance of Gov. Yates, he took command of a 
 volunteer force at Cairo and assisted in sui)pressing the contra- 
 band trade then carried on by means of the Mississippi and Ohio 
 rivers. We have already spoken of his operations at Donaldson 
 and Shiloh. As a soldier he was vigilant, sagacious and brave. 
 As a memorial of Illinois valor, one of the broken guns of the 
 fort was sent to Gov. Yates, and is still preserved as a State 
 relic.-' 
 
 I* The following- correspondence occurred in connection with its presentation: 
 "iJiS Excellency Richard Yates, Govenior of lllhuiiH: 
 
 "I have the honor to send j'ou a broken Parrott piece, captured by the force under my 
 command at Arliansas Post. The piece was broken by a shot from one of the guns of 
 my batteries. Please accept it on behalf of the noble State you so worthily represent, 
 as an humble testimonial of the esteem and admiration of the brave men whose valor 
 wrested it as a trophy from the enemy. J. A. McCLERNAND, 
 
 "Major-General Commanding." 
 
 "Maj. Gen. J. A. McClernand, Vicksburo, Sliss. 
 
 "Dear sir : I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of the broken Parrot gun 
 captured by the army under your command at Arkansas Post, and to express ray ac- 
 knowledgement in the name of the i)eople therefor. It also gives me great pride 
 and satisfaction to do so, from the fact that I regard the victory at Arkansas Post,' 
 gained under able and energetic generalship Qf a distinguished olhcer and citizen of 
 Illinois, as second in importance and consequence only to Fojt Dotielson, in which that 
 officer also prominently i)articipated. Fort Donelson and Arkansa,-* Post, dear general, 
 I regard as the two great and positive victories of the war in the West. May your par- 
 ticipation in the third be equally promment and attended by as substantial advanta- 
 ges and glorious results. 
 
 "With sentiments of respect and esteem, I am your most obedient servant. 
 
 KICHAKD YATES, Governor." 
 
Chapter LXI. 
 
 1863— ILLINOIS IN THE VICKSBUEG CAMrAIGNS. 
 
 Baffles of Fort Gibson, Raymond, Jaclison, Chani^non Hills and 
 BJacli River, Griersou''s Raid — lSie(je and Capture of VioJcshurg 
 
 Md'Cleriiaud next proposed to strike a blow at Little Eoek, but 
 Gen. Grant arriving at the fort a few days after the battle, or- 
 dered the army to Yonng's Point opposite the mouth of the Yazoo 
 whitlier he arrived on the 29th of January, 1803. His forces, 
 greatly strengtliened by the addition of McPherson's corjjs from 
 the river above, and the fleet under Commodore Porter, he was 
 ready to resume more immediate operations for the reduction of 
 Vicksbnrg. For this purpose it was necessary to get his army on 
 the east side of the Mississippi and in the rear of the city, a feat 
 Avhich lie found extremely difficult to perform. Five different ex- 
 pedients were tried, tiiree of which were to get around the bat- 
 teries on the Mississii)i)i at Yicksburg, and two round those of the 
 Y^azoo at Haines' Bluff. The first was an attempt to complete the 
 canal commenced by (jcn. AVilliams, but unfortunately when nearly 
 hnished a flood in the Mississii)pi rendered it im}»racticable. Tiie 
 second was a- canal from Millikin's I>end tlirongh a number of 
 bayous communicating with the Tensas river, and thence to the i\lis- 
 sissij)pi at New Carthage. The third was an inland passage by 
 wa,v of Lake Providence, the Tensas, Washita, Black and Eed 
 rivers. The 4th and most promising plan was to get from tlie 
 Mississippi into the Yazoo above the batteries at Haines' l>lufl 
 through Moon Lake and the Coldwater and Tallahatchie rivers. 
 The 5th was to efl"ect a circuit of the Haines' lUufl" batteries by 
 way of Steel's bayou, connecting with the Y^azoo 7 miles above its 
 mouth thence by Bhick bayou, Dear Creek and Sunflower 
 river to the Yazoo, sonu' (JO miles above its mouth. 
 
 Such is the remarkable hy(lrogra[)hical character of the region 
 in which the army was oi)erating, that by cutting the levees ol' the 
 Mississippi, and renn)ving obstructions from the chaniu'ls of 
 bayous, passages could be opened for the advance of the gun- 
 boats and transports along the several routes mentioned, A'ast 
 labors were exi)ended and the whole of February and ]\!arch 
 consumed in attempts to avoid the hostile batteries by these routes, 
 and when in two or three instances success was almost attained, 
 some unexpected or unavoidable obstacle intervened and they 
 Avere all finally abandoned. A man of less determined libre than 
 Grant would have been overwhelmed b}' the icpeated lailures. 
 Defeat, however, only nerved him for renewed exertions. AVhen 
 one expedient failed another Avas quickly substituted, and at 
 length the city Avhich had so long delied the approach of his army 
 Avas laid under seige and com])elled to surrender. 811 
 
812 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 TliG number of probable operations for its reduction was now 
 reduced to one, tbat of moving the army on tbe west side of tlie 
 river, crossing- below the rebel fortifications and ascending on tbe 
 Vicksburg side. The conception of this plan was easy, but its 
 execution appalling. As a requisit gunboats and transports must 
 descend the Slississippi in opposition to the hostile batteries to 
 furjiish facilities for crossing, and the army, when on the eastern 
 side of the river, must cut itself oft" from its base of supplies and 
 depend upon the contingency of beating the enemy in the field 
 before another could be established. The commanding general 
 unmoved by these perils, determined to hazard a trial. Accord- 
 ingly the 13th army corps, commanded by McClernand, consisting 
 of 4 divisions in charge of Gens. Osterhaus, A.J. Smith, Carrand 
 Hovey, and containing the 33d, 77th, i)7th, 99th, 108th and 120th 
 Illinois infantry, portions of the 2d and 3d Illinois cavalry and the 
 Peoria and Chicago Mercantile batteries, on the 29th of March left 
 Milliken's Bend above Vicksburg for Kew Carthage below\ 
 McPherson with the 17th corps, followed as fast as the imperfect 
 roads would pernut. Vast bogs intersected with bayous were 
 encountered, and it became necessary to construct causeways over 
 the o]ie and bridges over the other. Arriving at Xew Carthage it 
 was found to be an island, the rebels having flooded the entire 
 region round by cutting the adjacent levees of the Mississippi. 
 Under these circumstances the march was continued to Grand 
 Gulf farther down the river, where the lowest of the Vicksburg 
 works was located. 
 
 In the meantime Porter was making i)reparations to execute the 
 fearless enterprise of descending the river with a portion of the 
 fleet. It being deemed best not to compel the crews of the boats 
 designated for this purpose to accompany them, volunteers to man 
 them were called for. Soon more men ofle red their services than 
 could be accepted. Logan's division of the 17th corps, alone 
 furnishing the number required. Of the G5 men furnished by 
 the Illinois troops for this daring feat the 81st furnished 10, the 
 Sth 11, the 45th 13, the 31st 9, the 20th 8, the 30th 4, and the 11th 
 1. It was arranged that 8 gunboats should proceed in sin- 
 gle file down the river and engage the batteries, while 3 a(;com- 
 panying transports should pass unnoticed near the western shore. 
 A little before midnight the boats with their lights concealed, 
 moved like huge phantoms down the stream. Despite the at- 
 tempt at concealment they were discovered and suddenly a sheet 
 of flame, keeping pace with the advancing boats, flashed along 
 the 8 mile of rebel batteries which lined the .bank of the river. 
 Simultaneously the fleet rei)lied, and for miles distant the tor- 
 tuous windings of the Mississii>pi echoed with the thunders of 
 artillery. It was hoped in the general commotion the frail trans- 
 ports might escape unobserxed, butsuddeidy a huge bonfire threw 
 aglareoverthe w^aters with such brilliancy that the most miiuitc ob- 
 jects could be seen, and they soon became targets for the enemy's 
 guns. From the effects of shot oneof them was set on fire and soon 
 became a mass of flame, while another was rendered unmanagable, 
 but fortunately a gunboat towed it beyond the range of the bat- 
 teries without further injury. The rest of the fleet, although ex- 
 l)Osed for an hour to an incessant fire, i>assed through in safety, 
 and with the excex^tiou of one killed and t^^ o Avounded, the crews 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 813 
 
 were fjivored Avith like immunity. Tiiis nnexpeeted success in- 
 duced Grant to order G more transports and lU barges to run the 
 blocicade, and from the list of eager api)licants who at once volun- 
 teered to man them in the dangerous experiment, tlie requisite num- 
 ber waschosen by lot.* With the comi>letion of tliepreparations the 
 boats started down the river, and witli strange good fortune nu>st 
 of them got below without injury. Having now a sutticient num- 
 ber of transports and gunboats to attbrd the necessary protection 
 it wiis determined to effect a i)assage of the river at Grand Gidf. 
 The rebels in the meantime, had erected batteries on the adjacent 
 heights and a combined hind ami naval attack was })lanned for 
 their reduction. Porter commenced the assault but a bombiird- 
 nu^nt of 5 hours failing to make any serious impression, andGraut 
 being unwilling to expose his men in an attack by land, ordered a 
 continuance of the march to Bruinsburg, farther down the river. 
 "When night came on the gunboats again opened on the batteries, 
 and undercover of the fire the transi>orts, safely passed below while 
 the laiul forces passed unobserved through the forest to the place 
 selected for crossing. The next day, without farther disturbance, 
 the army was ferried to the opposite shore, and Grant as the re- 
 ward of unparalled perseverance, at length had the satisfaction 
 of seeing it in a situation Avhere he could effectually operate 
 against the enemy. This result was partly due to the vigor with 
 which it had been executed, and partly to the success with which 
 the attention of the enemy had been drawn in a different direc- 
 tion. Sherman, with Blair's division, had steamed up the Yazoo, 
 and feigning an attack, successfully diverted the attention of the 
 rebel commander from the real object which Grant sought to 
 accomplish at Bruinsburg. 
 
 xVfter the passage of the river, McClernand with the 13th corps 
 pushed forward in the direction of Port Gibson, and on the 18th 
 of i\Iay encountered the enemy tour miles from the town. The 
 force proved to be 11,0U0 men under Gen. Bowen whohad marched 
 from Grand Gulf, when it became known that Grant had suc- 
 ceeded in crossing the river. Carr's division in advance was met 
 by a light fire of artillery and musketry which it soon silenced. 
 The troops rested on their arms the short remainder of the night, 
 where at dawn the enemy was found strongly posted on a narrow 
 ridge with impassable ravines on either side. McClernand having 
 made a reconnoisance of the situation at an early hour, a i)ortion 
 of the 3oth Illinois was moved to the rear of the position sigmil- 
 ized by the night attack with orders to hold it till relieved by 
 Gen. Osterhaus. In a few minutes their skirmishers were at the 
 outposts of the enemy and a sharp fire of artillery* and musketry 
 ensued. Osterhaus soon marched to their relief and in a fierce 
 struggle of an hour's duration succeeded in driving the enemy 
 from this position. While he was thus engaged on the right Gen. 
 Carr made an assault on the left which, after several hours' furi- 
 ous fighting, terminated in a nmgnificent charge by the division 
 of Gen Ilovey. As the result, the enemy Avas driven back several 
 miles and lost one stand of colors, two guns and 400 prisoners. 
 
 * One incident will illustrate the spirit which animated the troops. A small boy 
 whom the fates had favored with a successful number, was offered SlOO for liis privi- 
 lege which he refused to accept and afterwards lived to tell of the part he performed 
 in the dangerous feat. 
 
814 HISTOEY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 A second position was taken by tlie retreating army in tlie bot- 
 tom of a creeli >Yhere it was sheltered by timber and had the advan- 
 tage of an open liekl in front. The commands of Carr and Hovey 
 followed till they arrived at the slope ON'crlooking the creek when 
 the battle again commenced. The rebels massed a large force for 
 the purpose of turning the federal right but their exposed tiank was 
 X)roniptly supported by Smith's division till Hovey got his artillery 
 in })osition and drove them back. A second time they concentrated 
 their forces for a similar purpose but Carr's division with detach- 
 ments from Hovey's and Smith's, and after an obstinate 
 struggle again beat them back, when night ended the 
 contest. Tlie confederates hastily retreating nnder cover of dark- 
 ness across Bayou Pierre, burnt the bridges in their rear, 
 while the Union army the next day occupied Fort Gibson. 
 
 The loss of the latter in killed and wounded was some GOO, but 
 the victory was worth the cost. ri\ e guns and 4,000 prisoners 
 fell into the hands of the victors. Furthermore, Grant had now 
 secured a tirm lodgement on thehigh plateau east of the river u[)on 
 which, as exigency might demand, he could move against any 
 l^oint of the rebel line. Also with the retreat of the vanquished 
 army the garrison withdrew from Grand Gulf and it became the 
 base of sup[>lies for the Union army. 
 
 Illinois was largely represented in the battle, and its auspicious 
 termination was largely owing to the sturdy blows dealt by her hardy 
 sons. As Logan's division of McPherson's corps came up in time 
 to participate in the action, the Illinois troops engaged were de- 
 tachments of the 2d and 3d cavalry, the Peoria light artillery and 
 Chicago Mercantile batterv, ami the 8th, 11th, liOth, 30th, ' 31st, 
 33d, 4oth, 77th, 81st, 97th DDth, 108th, and llSth regiments 
 of infantry. Of the latter the 33d, 99th andll8th, are men- 
 tioned in the ofiticial reports of the battle as having fought with 
 great success and daring. 
 
 Boweu, after his defeat at Port Gibson, crossed Big Black 
 river and was ordered thence by Pend)erton to the vicinity of 
 Vicksburg. As the result of the victory Grand Gulf was evacu- 
 ated and Grant changed his base of sui)plies from Bruinsburg to 
 that place, and foUowed the retreating rebels as far as Hankin- 
 son's ferry, where they crossed the river. Here, while awaiting the 
 arrival of Sherman's corps, he made a feint in the direction ofYicks- 
 bnrg to conceal his contemplated operations eastward. General 
 Johnson, who at this time had supreme command of the confed- 
 erate forces of the West, was with Bragg in Tennessee, but in con- 
 stant communication with Pemberton. Grant was therefore afraid 
 to move directly on Vicksburg lest Johnson with a force from the 
 East should assail him in the rear. To avoid a contingency of 
 this kind he directed McClernand and Sherman to move along the 
 eastern side of Black river so as to strike the Vicksburg railroad 
 at Edward's station, while McPherson was to make a detour far- 
 ther eastward and destroy the rebel stores and lines of commuid- 
 eation. 
 
 Battle of Raymond. — On the morning of May 12th Mcl^herson's 
 advanced cavalry met near Baymond a. strong body of rebel in fan try. 
 A severe engagement ensued in which the 2d Illinois cavalry be- 
 haved with great gallantry and lost several men. Owing to the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 815 
 
 situation of the foe iu the woods, it was found impossible for 
 mounted men to dislodge him, and Logan's division was ordered 
 forward to 7nake an attack. The column advanced toward the 
 wood and fought with great determination although exposed to 
 the murderous fire of an almost concealed enemy. Shortly after 
 the fighting commenced a battery was pushed forward to assist 
 in dislodging hini and made such havoc that after an attem[)t to 
 charge and take it, he was compelled to fall back to a new posi- 
 tion. Here he was again assailed by the same troops strength- 
 ened by additional forces. In resisting an attempt to turn our 
 left flank the 20th Illinois fought with Spartan courage. Having 
 lost their colonel, Stevenson's brigade containing the 8th Illinois, 
 with fixed bayonets bounded forward to the rescue and the rebels 
 were driven in wild disorder from the field. 
 
 Battle of Jaclison. — Retreating to Jackson they were followed 
 by the 3d corps of the Union army. Sherman and McClernand 
 had been ordered to Edward's station but Grant iu the mean- 
 time learning that fresh accessions of rebel troops were daily ar- 
 riving at Jackson, and fearing that McPherson's force might not 
 be adecpiate to cope with them, countermanded the order. On the 
 morning of the 14th, McPherson's advanced divisons, closely fol- 
 lowed 1)y Sherman's, came uj) with the nuiin force of the enemy 
 about three miles from the city. Artillery was opened on both 
 sides and after firing for sometime without any decisive results, the 
 infantry were led into action. With measured tread and colors 
 flying the Union columns slowly ascended the hill on which the 
 rebel force was posted, suffering terribly from the tremendous 
 volleys hurled at them from the sunmiit. When within oOO paces 
 they delivered their first fire and with a shout that rose above 
 the report of artillery rushed upon the astonished confederates 
 who broke and fled in the wildest terror, throwing away their 
 knapsacks, blankets and muskets, to accelerate their flight. 
 
 This was one of the most si)irited charges of thecamx)aign and 
 no regiment engaged in it fought with more bravery and success 
 than "the oGth Illinois. The 3()th, 33d, 4Sth, 114th and 118th also 
 participated in and largely contributed to the successful issue of 
 the battle. Among the generals of this ami the two preceding 
 engagements. Gen. Logan was conspicuous for the indomitable 
 energy and skill with which he handled his men. 
 
 The rebels retreated northward on the Canton road and the re- 
 bellious capital of Mississippi became the prize of the conquerors. 
 The governor and others holding ofiicial relations with the local 
 and confederate governments left the day before with the funds 
 and archives of the State. 
 
 Battle of Chaminon Hills. — Grant leaving Sherman to destroy 
 the railroads, bridges, arsenals and other public property, turned 
 the remainder of tlie army westward to pay his respects to Pem- 
 berton. The latter illy conceiving the military necessities of his 
 situation, now rapidly became entangled in toils from which at 
 length extrication was impossible. Johnson in the meantime had 
 arrived and beheld with regret the confederate army separated in 
 detachments with that of Grant between them. He saw that with 
 his interior communications now cut off by the destruction of the 
 
816 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 railroad to Jackson, that Vicksbnrg- might become the grave of 
 an army bnt could be of no possible use to the confederacy. He 
 therefore ordered Pemberton to make a detour northward round 
 the federal army and form a junction with the forces wliich had 
 been expelled from Jackson. Pemberton, however, had a plan 
 of his own which was to inove in the opposite direction and 
 cut oft' Grant's supplies. AVith this intent he set his columns in 
 motion in the afternoon of the 15th, moving from Edward's sta- 
 tion in the direction of Eaymond. But Grant, now had no base 
 of supplies, having cut himself loose from Grand Gulf as early 
 as the 11th, and was now pushing forward with the intention of 
 overpowering all opposition and opening a new base on the Mis- 
 sissippi by way of the Yazoo. Little recked he of communicat- 
 ing with Grand Gulf, and theluckless Pemberton was sallying forth 
 on a bootless errand. Nor had he gone far before the advancing 
 Union pickets convinced him that his movements instead of harm- 
 ing his adversary, was only compromising his ov;n safety. He 
 therefore resolved to return to the station and then move north- 
 ward in the direction of Brownsville in conformity with the pre- 
 vious advice of his superior officer. This was a good resolution but it 
 came too late, for while he was dallying, the Union army had moved 
 up to the same place and was ready with its heavy guns to dis- 
 pute his advance. As the only alternative the confederate force 
 was hastily drawn up for action, the left division under Steven- 
 son occupying a thickly wooded height of Champion Hills, while 
 the centre and right divisions under Bowen and Loring extended 
 across Baker's creek to a number of abrupt elevations and yawning 
 ravines. Logan's and Crocker's divisions of McPherson's corps, 
 were thrown round the above mentioned height so as to tlank the 
 confederate left. Hovey's division of McClernand's corps ad- 
 vanced agaijist Stevenson leaving the other division of the corps 
 to engage Bowen and Loring. 
 
 A courier was sent to Jackson with orders for Sherman to has- 
 ten forward with his connnand, and in less than an hour he was 
 on the road to the scene of conflict. Hovey's division which 
 first engaged the enemy was in deadly grapple with him before 
 the others, owing- to the unfavorable nature of the ground, could 
 come in striking distance. The situation in which he oi)erated 
 compelled him to contract his lines aud expose his men to the 
 fierce fire of the rebels who, under cover of heavy timber, suffer- 
 ed little. After facing, with heroic tenacity for an hour, the re- 
 lentless fire of au enemy greatly exceeding him innumbers, and hav- 
 ing every advantage of position, he was compelled to give way. 
 He, however, retired only a short distance when two brigades of 
 Crocker's division were sent to his aid and he reformed and 
 again went into action. Logan in the meantime had turned the 
 enemy's left and commenced operating in his rear which partially 
 relieved thei)ressure in front. Seeingtheadvautagesoftheposition 
 he had gained he rode up to Grant and informed him if Hovey could 
 make another dash at the enemy, it would enable him to come u]) and 
 capture the greater part of the confederate forces. Prei)arations 
 for this purpose were made, but before it was executed Pember- 
 ton, seeing his position was compromised, commenced drawing 
 off. Simultaneously the national troops pressed forward and the 
 rebel host breaking, fled in a panic and rout from the field. Al- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 817 
 
 though the brunt of the battle fell on Logan and Hovej', there 
 was severe tightingon the enemy's right by Carr and Osterhaus. 
 The impassable character of the ground on which they fought 
 prevented them from getting into action as soon as the others, 
 but when at length tliis difliculty was overcome they greatly as- 
 sisted in turning the tide of battle in our favor. 
 
 A great many instances of heroism are mentioned in the reports 
 of the battle. Logan's division, composed largely of Illinois 
 troops, engaged the enemy on his left and succeeded in capturing 
 more than 1,000 j^risoners and 12 i)ieces of artillery. An officer 
 was sent to inquire how the contest was going on in his front. 
 "Tell Gen. Grant," he replied, "my division can't be whipped by 
 all the rebels this side of hell. We are going ahead and won't 
 stop till we get orders."* Gen. Leggett commanding his second 
 brigade, containing the 30tli Illinois, was ordered up to protect the 
 right of Hovey's division, seriously threatened by the enemy. 
 The rebels suddenly emerged from the woods and prepared for an 
 attack, when the 30th Illinois charged upon them and drove them 
 back in confusion. In the afternoon, on the extreme right, the 
 8th Illinois and 32d Ohio charged upon and repulsed one of the 
 enemy's most effective batteries. A section of Co. D, Illinois 
 artillery is also favorably mentioned in the rei)orts. 
 
 Besides the regiments mentioned, the 17th, 31st, 55th, 5Sth, 72d, 
 75th, 77th, 79th, 81st, 03d, 97th, 108th, 113th, 118th and 124th 
 were a part of the troops engaged in the battle, and with the aid 
 of their comrades from other States added another victory to the 
 list of Union triumphs. 
 
 Pemberton's force was estimated at 30,000, somewhat exceeding 
 the Union troops engaged, as all of Grant's divisions did not 
 arrive in time to participate in the battle. The victory cost us in 
 killed, wounded and missing, 2,500 men, but gave in exchange 200 
 l)ieces of artillery and 1,500 prisoners, besides inflicting a serious 
 loss of killed, wounded and missing on the enemy. 
 
 Battle of Black River Bridge. — So quickly was the retreating 
 army followed that Loring's division became completely detached 
 and was compelled to make a circuit in a southwesterly direction 
 round the federal army and report to Johnson. The main force 
 retreated to Black Eiver, and with the exception of two brigades, 
 crossed the stream. The latter to dispute the advance of the pur- 
 suing army took a position within a bayou which leaves the rixer 
 above and sweeping round in the form of a semi-circle, unites with 
 it below. In addition to the natural defences offered by the miry 
 channel of the bayou, breastworks were thrown up, and cannon 
 placed within the enclosure swept the plain beyond and com- 
 manded the bridge across the river. On the morning of the 17th 
 of jNIay, McClernand's and McPherson's corps moved directly 
 against the i^osition of the enemy, while that of Sherman ad- 
 vanced in the direction of Bridgeport, higher up the river for tlie 
 purpose of crossing at that point. The rebel pickets were soon 
 encountered and McClernand, who was in advance, hastily* deploy- 
 ing his division, on each side of the road brought on a hot engage- 
 ment in the forest which skirts the banks of the river. Artillery 
 was placed in position and served with such effectiveness, that 
 
 * Ciacinnati Commercial 
 
818 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the enemy soon fled behind liis works to escape its I'nry. McCler- 
 nand now resolved to carry the works by storm and Gen. Lawler's 
 brigade of Carr's division immediately signified their readiness for 
 the charge. By moving' ronnd on the right under cover of the 
 river bank, he had gained a position from which the rebel defences 
 might be easily assaulted. The order forward was given, and the 
 eager men plunging across the bayou and scaling the breastworks, 
 regardless of the fatal fire that covered their tra(;k witli fallen 
 comrades, with fixed bayonets, drove the rebels from their guns. 
 The victory was complete. To Oarr, one of Illinois bravest officers, 
 and his gallant division more than any other, its honors are due. 
 Constituting the advance of McClernaud's corps, they not only 
 commenced the engagement, but ended it in the splendid charge 
 which placed them in possession of the skillfully constructed 
 w^orks. Prominent among the regiments which distinguished them- 
 selves were the 33d, 48th and 77th Illinois. The fruits of the vic- 
 tory were 1,500 prisoners and 18 pieces of artillery. 
 
 The army on the opposite side of the river, witnessing the de- 
 feat, set tire to the bridge and hastily retreated in the direction 
 of Vicksburg. The afternoon of the same day the inhabitants of 
 the city were startled by the influx of the fugitives, who, exhaust- 
 ed by privations and hardships, tumbled almost helplessly 
 into the surrounding entrenchments. The night after the battle 
 bridges were thrown across • Black river, ami Sherman, still 
 holding- the right, took possession of Haines' Bluft", as the demor- 
 alized confederates departed, while Mc(31ernand and McPherson, 
 moving- farther southward, closed in on the doomed city. 
 
 In the daring- and successful passage of the Vicksburg and 
 Grand Gulf batteries, in the audacity Avhich abandoned one base 
 of sui)plies, with the necessity of crushing an enemy of unknoAvu 
 strength before another could be established, and in the deter- 
 mined courage and endurance which wrung- success from the 
 most untoward circumstances in five consecutive victories, the 
 campaign may be regarded as one of the most brilliant furnished 
 by the annals of the war. The celerity of movement and 
 strategy by which the enemy was separated and beaten in detail, 
 rank it with Napoleon's celebrated Itahan campaign. Port Gib- 
 son, Raymond, Jackson, Champion Hills, and Black river, will 
 always occui)y a proud place in the history of the nation, endure 
 as a monument of Illinois valor, and perpetuate the names and 
 generalship of Grant, McClernand, Carr, McArthur, and other 
 brave men of Illinois who so gallantly maintained the reputation 
 of the State. 
 
 It was now evident, if the siege was successfully' maintained that 
 famine would ultimately bring' the garrison to terms. Johnson, 
 however, was making great eltbrts to collect a relieving' force, and 
 Grant, therefore, to avoid all possible contingencies, determined 
 to make an attempt to carry the place by storm. The demoralized 
 condition of the force within favored immediate action, and 
 accordingly an assault was made in the afternoon of the 17th. 
 l!fo jiermaneiit advantage was gained, although the 127th Illinois 
 and S3d Indiana, succeeded in planting their colors on the exte- 
 rior sloi)e of the enemy's entrenchments. Notwithstanding the 
 Avant of success, it was beleved under more favorable circum- 
 stances, a second attempt might be attended with better results, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 819 
 
 and the two succeeding' days were spent in making' the necessary 
 preparations. At 10 o'clock on tlie morning of tlie 2-Jd tlie od 
 cori)s, Sherman's on tlie right, McPherson's in the centre, and 
 McOlernand's on tliQ left, moved forward, but such was the nature 
 of the ground that only narrow fronts could be brought into ac- 
 tion. The garrison reserved its tire till the storming ibree were in 
 close range, when they ojiened Avith the most deadly effect. ]Many 
 turned bade as if from instant destruction, but others, disdaining 
 to retire, pushed on,, and ])ortions of each cor})s succeeded in reach- 
 ing the breastworks. Cons[)icuous in McPherson's corps, was 
 the brigade of Gen. liansom, containing the 1 1th, 72d, l»5th and 
 110th Illinois. The brigade sprang forward with a shout when 
 the order was given to advance. At the distance of a few paces 
 a storm of grape and caunister tore through the different regiments 
 disabling Col. Humi)hrey of the 9oth, killing Col. jSTevins of the 
 11th, and for a short time checking the advance. At this juncture 
 Gen. Eansom ruslied forward to the head of the brigade and, 
 seizing the cok)rs of the 95th, and waving them overhead, shout- 
 ed, "Forward men, we must and will get into the fort. Who will fol- 
 low?" The column again moved forward directly in the face of the 
 wasting volleys, and, on reaching the works, fought for half an hour 
 to eft'e(;t an entrance. Finding at length this A\as im})ossible, the 
 regiments were reformed and marched back without the slightest 
 confusion or the appearance of a single struggle. Within 15 min- 
 utes after the charge was ordered, Gens. Lawler's and Landrum's 
 brigades, the latter containing the 97th,108t]i and 131st Illinois, 
 were at the works. Twelve men entered a bastion, 11 of whom 
 were killed, wliile the survivor, aided by sharp-shooters on the 
 parapet, ca|)tured and brouglit out 12 rebels. It being instant 
 death to the force within to expose themselves above the works, 
 they ht the fuse of shells and threw them among the federals who 
 coolly picked them up and threw them back in time to explode. 
 Tne Mercantile battery of Chicago, approached within a few feet 
 and fired into an embrasure, and as a reward for their bravery 
 Gen. McClernand presented them with two ISTapoleon guns caj)- 
 tured at Black river. I^t) permanent entrance could be effected 
 and at night the forces were recalled. 
 
 Gnmt, now concluding tluit the position of the enemy was too 
 strong, botli by nature and art", to be carried by storm, sat down 
 before it in regular siege. 
 
 Griersoii's Raid. — Leaving the beleagured stronghold to the 
 care of the investing army, we will now relate one of the most 
 brilliant episodes of the war, the raid of Gen. B. 11. Grierson. 
 W'hiie Grant was closing round Vicksburg with his gallant troo])- 
 ers, he was dashing through Mississii>pi to destroy the railroads 
 and i)re\'ent the enemy from sending forward supplies and rein- 
 forcements. 
 
 On the 17th of April with 3 regiments of cavalry, the 6th and 
 7Th Illim)is, and the 2d Iowa, he left Lagrange Tennessee. Arriv- 
 ing at Houston on the 2()tli. Col. Hatch witli the 2nd Iowa was 
 sent to Columbus to destroy a- j)ortion oCtlie Mol>ile & Ohio Bail- 
 road, and it able to capture the town. (>n the way he was attaciced 
 by 800 rebel cavalry, which he repulsed, and at night reached 
 the railroad at Okaloua. Having burnt the depot, barracks 
 
820 HISTORY or ILLINOIS. 
 
 aud hospital, lie started ou his homeward inarch. Bel'ore going" 
 far, a force of cavalry made a dash at his rear, aud again he over- 
 threw them, intiicting" ou them a loss of 26 men while his own sus- 
 tained little injury. The remainder of the march was without 
 opposition aud the regiments arrived in Lagrange with 20 priso- 
 ners, 50 negroes and 500 horses and mules. 
 
 Col. Grierson was now left with only the Illinois regiments to 
 cope with the numerous forces of rebel cavalry which were scour- 
 ing the country in every direction to intercept him. Their oppo- 
 sition ami the attending dangers, however, instead of disconrag- 
 inghim and his brave followers, only gave zest to the enterprise 
 wliicli they now proposed to finish by a headlong dash to Baton 
 Rouge, througii the heart of Mississippi. To divert attention 
 from their principal movemeuts and damage the enemy, Ca];)t. 
 Forbes, with 35 men, were sent on a detour eastward to destroy 
 the telegraph and another portion of the M. and O. 11. 11. at 
 Macon. They left their comrades with stout hearts but little 
 hope of seeing them again, as they would have to pass througii a 
 country swarming with enemies and march at least 50 miles 
 farther than the main force. Capt. Graham, Avith a battalion was 
 also sent to burn a shoe factory in the neighborhood, and suc- 
 ceeded in destroying a large amount of leather and several 
 thousand boots, shoes, hats and caps, besides capturing a quar- 
 termaster, who had come to get suiiplies for the rebel army at 
 Port Hudson. 
 
 With these preliminary arrangements, Col. Grierson pushed 
 forward for Pearl river bridge, the reaciiingof which was now an 
 object of vital importance. Hostile bands of cavalry were on the 
 alert, and should their scouts who preceeded him destroy it, the 
 result would be fatal. With an earnestness, therefore, commen- 
 surate with the risk involved, they urged their way forward. 
 Grierson with his kindling eye and thoughtful face, leading the 
 van. Nearing the bridge and hearing the sound of persons en- 
 gaged in its destruction, they drove si)urs into their foaming 
 chargers to increase their speed, and swooping down on the de- 
 stroyers as an eagle in pursuit of his prey, quickly dispersed 
 them. The entire party reachhig the opposite shore in safety, 
 again dashed forward, and on the 24:th reached jSTewton Station 
 on M. & O. li. JK. Here they captured 75 rebels, tore up the 
 railroad track, burnt 4 car loads of ammunition and 2 ware- 
 houses filled with commissary stores, and destroyed the bridges 
 on the west side of the station. Tarryhig only long enough to 
 complete the work of destruction, they were again on the wing, 
 and after an exhausting ride by way of Garlandville, Ealeigh and 
 AVestville, were ready to recross the river at ^Georgetown ferry. 
 Gaining the ferry, as in case of the bridge, was a matter of life or 
 death; for although they moved with great rapidity, the news of 
 their exploits usualy preceded them, and it was believed that the 
 citizens were now arming to stop their i)iogTess. Arriving at the 
 river the proprietor of the ferry made his appearance, and in a 
 careless way, asked if they wanted to cross, supposing them to be 
 a force of Alabama cavalry which Avas expected in the neigh- 
 borhood. Col. Prince of the 7th, imitating his provincial vermicu- 
 lar, replied in the affirmative, and added that "it took more time 
 to wake up his negro ferryman than to catch the d — d conscripts." 
 
THE WAK OF THE REBELLION. 821 
 
 Tliorouglily deceived bj' his Yankee iuterlocutor, and apologizing 
 for tlieir detention, he awoke his negroes, who ferried tlieui over, 
 and then with true southern hospitality, invited them to breakfast, 
 believing he was entertaining the 1st regiment of Alabama cavalry. 
 As soon as the repast was over the party resumed their march 
 and shortly afterward captured a courier, flying with the startling 
 intelligence that the Yankees were coming and that the ferry must 
 be destroyed. At Hazlehurst on the New Orleans and Jackson 
 railroad, the next place visited, a large number of cars were 
 destroyed, containing powder, shell and other supplies for the con- 
 federate army. 
 
 At this point Capt. Forbes sent to destroy the railroad at Ma- 
 con rejoined them. In bis return he unwittingly became the hero of 
 a daring adventure. Entering Newton station where he expected 
 to meet with the men under Griersou he was astonished to find 
 himself in the midst of 3000 rebels in the act of debarking from 
 the cars. With renmrkable presence of mind he hoisted a flag of 
 truce, and, boldly riding up, demanded the surrender of the force, 
 in the name of CoL Griersou. The rebel ofdcer in conunand, sup- 
 posing- Grierson's whole force which rumor had magnifted to a 
 migbrliy host, was close at hand, asked an hour to consider the 
 demand. Forbes granted the. request with feigned reluctance, 
 and started for the pretended troops in reserve to whom the con- 
 federate was to send his reply at the expiration of the time. The 
 raiders, amused at the sell, dashed away, giving the enemy a long- 
 time to consult in reganl to terms of the capitulation, and a 
 longdistance to travel before tliey could nmke tliein known. The 
 entire command left Hazlehurst on the 27th and, pushing alongthe 
 N. O. & J. R. II., through the stations of Bahala, Brookhaven and 
 Summit, tore up the railroad destroyed its rolling stock, and 
 immense quantities of commissary's stores and munitions on 
 tlie way to Vicksburg, Port Hudson and Grand Gulf. On leaving 
 the railroad they reached Baton llouge on the 2d of May, the ob- 
 jective point of the expedition. Within the last '30 hours with- 
 out eating or sleeping, they had ridden SO miles, destroyed a num- 
 ber of bridges and large quantities of military stores, swam one 
 river, had three skirmishes with tiie enemy, and took 42 prisoners. 
 So exhausted were the men that they slept on tlieir horses till the 
 report of carbines roused them to action, and when the fray was 
 over again relapse into slumber. 
 
 A resume of their operations shows that in the brief interval 
 of 16 days they had ridden from the northern to the southern 
 part of Mississippi, and, although operating between two great 
 rebel lines of communication, theMobile& Ohio andNew Orleans 
 aiidJacksou railroads, by skillful nsanueuvers, usually succeeded in 
 eluding the enemy. In their march of SOO miles liiey took 500 
 prisoners, destroyed from 50 to <K) miles of railroad, 2 locomotives, 
 200 cars and military stores, and other property valued at$40,000 ; 
 while they crossed into the Union lines with 1,200 horses and mules 
 and 500 negroes. 
 
 The most determined efforts were made to capture them. 
 A tliousand cavalrymen from south of Port Hudson, 1,300 from 
 Mobile, and 2,000 from the vicinity of Columbia, were sent for 
 (his i)urpose, but Grierson's strategy rendered their efforts abor- 
 ti\ e. Their safe arrival in Baton Kouge, whither the story of 
 
822 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlieir adventure had ])receded tliein, created the greatest enthusi- 
 asm and rejoicing. Many refused to believe what they had heard 
 till they savf the men and listened to a recital of their feats. So ini- 
 inent were the dangers and so complete the success, it seems more 
 like a feat of romance than an occurrence of actual life. The reb- 
 els were taught, notwithstanding the efiicieucy of their cavalry, 
 they could be "outrode, outwitted and out fought," and hence the 
 moral results achieved were no less iu]portant than the physical. 
 
 Biege and Surrender of VicJcshurf/. — From the investment of the 
 city till the surrender, little occurred to diversify the routine of 
 duty performed by the investing army. On the 22d of Jane, the 
 rebels in a sortie drove the 14th Illinois from their trendies which, 
 as a working party, they were engaged in excavating round the 
 city. The succeeding night the -list Illinois and some otlier forces, 
 were ordered to the same trenches and the rebels again sallied 
 forth and deujanded their surrender. The colonel of tlie ilst in- 
 stantly ordered the artillery to open and in a severe fight the reb- 
 els were driven back to their works. 
 
 Oji the 25th the miners of McPherson's corps blew up 
 the rebel Fort Hill. Having deposited a ton of powder in an ex- 
 cavation under the fort, and selected the 4oth Illinois to occui)y 
 the breach, the mine was sprung. Almost noiselessly the ground 
 was lifted up as if some subterranean monster had suddeidy risen 
 from his lair and tossed aside his covering of earth. Ayawning cra- 
 ter some 20 feet in width was opened, and hardly had tiie cloud 
 of white smoke which issued from it cleared away, before thi; bat- 
 tle-scarred veterans of the 45th were at their i)ost. The rebels 
 crowded up to the breach with great rapidity, and the fight on both 
 sides was one of desperation. For want of room the federal regi- 
 ments subsequently engaged, went in one at a time, and as each 
 exhausted its aiuunition another took its place. In this manner 
 the 2od, 25th, 31)th, 31st, 4Gth, 5Gth and 124th, Illinois, success- 
 ively entered the vortex of fire and struggled like demi-gods to 
 quench its flames. 
 
 The object of these mining operations was to possess important 
 l^oints in the enemy's line of defenses and thereby press him back 
 toward the river. When, however, it became evident that the 
 garrison was short of provisions, the excavations of parrallels 
 and mines was discontinued. The sni>i)]y of food, tlu)ugh it 
 had been carefully husbanded, and the flesh of mules extensively 
 used, was now nearly exhausted. A failure of amunition also en- 
 sued, the ardor of the garrison was dampened by protracted pri- 
 vations, and the citizens living in caves to avoid danger, found 
 their suffering too great to longer continue the siege. 
 
 Induced by these stringent necessities, Femberton, ou the 2d of 
 July, displayed a white flag on the ramparts in view of the invest- 
 ing army, and an officer being sent to ascertain its meaning 
 learned that he wished to confer in regard to terms of capitula- 
 tion. Correspondence was interchanged, resulting in a personal 
 interview between the two chiefs of the contending forces, and 
 finally in the unconditional surrender of the city and confederate 
 army. So great was the inimber of prisoners to avoid the expense of 
 their maintai nance and transportation tonorthernprisons, they were 
 paroUed. It was also believed that the demoralization consequent 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 823 
 
 upon tlieir return home after defeat, ^A'onl(l more than counter- 
 bahiuce the efforts of those who might be again induced to take 
 up arms. The stars and stripes were lioisted over the conquered 
 stronghold, thus symbolizing the nation's majesty in the presence 
 of her erring and rebellious children. 
 
 Only three days after the fall of Vicksburg, as the immediate 
 result of the victory. Port Hudson surren<lered to the besieging 
 force under Banks. The campaigns fov the opening of the Mis- 
 sissippi were now at an end. To Illinois far nu)re than to any 
 other State, the nation is indebted for this successful termination. 
 Her representatives in the long list of bloody battles and brilliant 
 victories were the 8th,llth, i3th, 14th, 17th,2Uth,23d,25th,L»Sth,l!9th, 
 30th, 31st, 32d. 33d, 35th. 38th, ilst, 45th, 40th, 47th, 48tli. 51st, 
 53d, 55th, 57th,'63d, 72d, 75th, 76th, 77th, 81st, 03d,'J5th, 97th^ l)9th, 
 108th, 113th, 114th, 110th, 118th, 120th, 124th, 120th, 127th and 
 131st regiments of infantry, Willard's Peoria and the Chicago and 
 Mercantile battery, the 0th, 7th and portions of the 23d. 15tli and 
 Thiel man's ca\alry. 
 
 Step l)y step they had hewed their way toward the gulf, strong- 
 hold after stronghold had fallen beneath their stalwart blows, and 
 now the last fetter which treason liad forged to bind the Father of 
 Waters, was riven asunder. No victor^' of the war was so decisive 
 in its results as the capture of Vicksburg. It has been truthfull}- 
 said that the ])ossession of the ^Mississippi valley is the possession 
 of Anjerica. Had the Pichmond government been able to maintain 
 the i)0wer it setui)in the lowerpart of the great valley, the upper 
 portion would have gravitated into the (confederacy as naturally as 
 its waters fall into the gulf. Furthermore the river not only served 
 as a means of defense but was the dividing line between two great 
 sections of the revolted territory. That lying on the west, although 
 less im[)ortant than the Atlantic region, was nevertheless the 
 vast storehouse whence supplies had been drawn for the su})[)ort 
 of the armies in Virginia and Tennessee. Now isolated Texas 
 could no longer contribute her vast herds of cattle, Arkansas 
 her serials and Louisiana her sugar. AMth a tleet of federal gun- 
 boats patrolling the river, concert in the military operations of tlie 
 severed States was impossible, and in those of the west the war 
 was virtually at an end. 
 
 To the material effects of the blow the moral must be added to 
 fnlly ai)i)reciate the extent of the damage sustained by the con- 
 federacy. The surprise and consternation consequent upon the 
 Mississi[)i)i disaster fell like a- thunderbolt from a clear sky on the 
 IJeople of the south. The spirit of their high vaulting chi\ahy 
 Avas broken, and gloomy doubts brooded in the minds of numy as 
 to the iK)ssibiIity of ever realizing the success of their cause. The 
 coji federate authorities were early convinced of the importance of 
 the Mississii)pi. At the time Grant commenced his descent against 
 Vicksburg, Jefferson Davis harangued the people of Jackson on 
 the necessity of preserving the Mississippi, as the great artery of 
 the country and the only means of securing the perpetuity of the 
 new government. Pollard in referring to its loss, says: "It com- 
 pelled as its necessary consequence, the surrender of other posts 
 on the Mississippi and cut the confederacy in twain. Its defense 
 had worked exposure and weakness in other quarters. It had 
 about stripped Charleston of troops j it had taken many thousand 
 
824 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 of men from Bragg's army, and it had made such requisition on 
 his force for the newly organized lines in Mississippi tliat he was 
 compelled or induced, wisely or unwisely, to fall back from Talla- 
 hassee, Tullahoma to give up the country" on the Memphis and 
 Charleston railroad and probably to abandon the defences of Mid- 
 dle Tennessee." 
 
 Brigadier-General John A. Logan, whose deeds and fame 
 are so inseparable blended with the opening of the Mississii)pi, 
 was born at Murfreesboro, Jackson county, February Uth, 
 1826. In common with others, at that early day in Illinois, 
 his educational privileges were limited. Natural ability, however, 
 triumphed over all obstacles, and he early become noted for the 
 proliciency of his attainments. At the outbreak of the Mexican 
 war he entered as a lieutenant in the 1st regiment of Illinois vol- 
 unteers, and valiently fought with his comrades till they returned 
 home. Resuming the duties of civil life, he commenced the study 
 of law in the ofdce of his uncle A. M. Jenkins, formerly lieuten 
 ant-governor of the State. On the completion of his studies he 
 rapidly rose in his profession and obtained a wide-s})read popularity. 
 In 1S52 he was elected prosecuting attoi^ney of the 3d judicial dis- 
 trict. In the fall of the same year he was chosen to represent the 
 counties of Franklin and Jackson in the legislature, and was re- 
 elected in 1850. After the exi>iration of his last term in the legis- 
 lature he was twice elected to congress, and while still a niend)er 
 in 18G1, he returned home, and upon the organization of the olst 
 Illinois, was chosen its colonel. Of his subsequent operations in 
 the war we have already spoken. From the iron hbre of his com- 
 position and his deeds of tiery valor, he has been styled the Murat 
 of Illinois bravery 
 
Chaptee, LXII. 
 
 1863— ILLINOIS m THE CHATTANOOGA CAMPAIGN. 
 
 Battles of Cliicamauga — Wauhavkie — Loolcout Mountain and Mis- 
 sion Ridge — Relief of Knoxville. 
 
 After the battle of Miirfreesboro several months were spent by 
 Eosecraus in recruiting his army, procuring supplies and opening 
 up lines of communication to again advance on Bragg. Rigid 
 discipline was enjoined and no effort spared to create in the 
 minds of his men a i^roper appreciation of the work before 
 them. 
 
 AA'hile these preparations were going on a number of minor en- 
 gagements occurred in Middle Tennessee, in which Illinois troops 
 were prominent actors. On the 3d of February, 18()3, Forrest 
 made a determined attack to recai)tnre Fort Bonelson, garriso]ied 
 by tlieSod Illinois, but was repulsed. March L'Oth the 8th, 80th 
 and 123d Illinois and some other troops under Col. Hall had a se- 
 vere encounter with Morgan's cavalry near Milton, and the latter 
 Avere forced to retreat. Again on the 20th of April the 24th, SOth, 
 98th and 123d Illinois, assisted by a force of cavalry, overtook a 
 body of rebels at Woodbury and drove them from the town. 
 
 At length, the Washington authorities, believing that Bragg's 
 army had been weakened to strengthen that of Lee's, insisted on 
 a forward movement. The rebel comnmnder, after his defeat, re- 
 tired to TuUahoma and Shelbyville, making Duck Eiver his line 
 of defense. His position in the towns was strongly fortitied, while 
 the occupation of the roads leading south, as well as the natural 
 features of the country gave him additional security in case of 
 an attack. liosecrans determined to neutralize these advantages 
 by a Hank movement on the left and compel him either to retreat 
 or tight outside of his fortifications. Accordingly on the 24:th of 
 June the Union army set out from Murfreesboro, Thomas' corps 
 in the centre, McCook's on the right and Crittenden's on the left. 
 By a feint on Shelbyville with a portion of his army, he deceived 
 the enemy, causing him to uncover Liberty, Hoover's and other 
 principal gaps in the Cumberland Mountains through which the 
 main advance was to be made. After hard fighting these Avere 
 possessed by the national troops, the enemy's position at Shelb}- 
 ville fianke<l and Bragg con)pelled to evacuate his works and es- 
 cape to Tullalionui. Dispositions were immediately made to get 
 in liis rear and destroy his communications at the latter place, but 
 he immediately abandoned it and retired in the direction of Chat- 
 tanooga, i)ressed as far as practicable by the Union troops. Thus in 
 a campaign of nine days, during which the roads were rendered 
 
 825 
 
826 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 nearly impassable by one of tlie most extraordinary raiu storms 
 ever known in the country, the enemy was driven from his en- 
 trenched position and Middle Tennessee relieved from rebel domi- 
 nation. Also in the various rencouutres which occurred, there 
 were captured 1,034 prisoners, six pieces of artillery and a large 
 amount of stores. 
 
 The next step in followhig up the enemy was Chattanooga, the 
 approaches to which were strong by nature and rendered more so 
 by art. Eosecrans haviug put the railroad in operation to Ste- 
 venson for the transportation of supplies, commenced crossing the 
 Cumberland Mountains, whose towering masses of rock lay be- 
 tween him and the stronghold he wished to subdue. Availing 
 himself of the mountain passes previously captured, he reached 
 the Tennessee and, descending it, ])repared to cross in the vicinity 
 of Chattanooga. The city being impregnable to a direct attack, 
 Eosecrans decided to flank it on the west and south, and either 
 force Bragg to evacuate it or suffer isolation from his base of sup- 
 X)]ies. With the exception of Hazen's division the enemy crossed 
 the river below the city and commenced moving into Lookout val- 
 ley. This, with the parallel valleys of ChattanoogaandChicamauga, 
 extends southward from the Tennessee, which, at this point, runs 
 in a westerly direction. Creeks bearing the names and coursing 
 through each valley fall into the river, the two most western be- 
 low the city and the one farthest east above it. Separating 
 the waters of the creeks are Lookout Mountain and Mission Eidge, 
 the former abutting on the river opposite Chattanooga and the 
 latter a short distance above.^ 
 
 Hazen was instructed to watch the fords and make Bragg be- 
 lieve that the main body of the national troops was still on the 
 north bank of the river. His force, although numbering only 7,000 
 men, was accordingly so dispersed ; the heads of columns and 
 cam})-xires could be seen simultaneously at the fords along the 
 river a distance of 70 miles. So adroitly was the ruse managed 
 that McCook's corps had advanced up the valley 45 miles, and 
 Thomas' 13, while Crittenden was on the river only 8 miles from 
 Chattanooga before it was discovered by Bragg. He was now in 
 a (piaudary. He could easily maintain himself against any as- 
 sault of his adversary within his fortitications, but how lo7ig could 
 he defy starvation when the investing army had cut off his sup- 
 plies. If he attempted to defend both Chattanooga and his coni- 
 ninnications his army would be divided and easily beaten in 
 detail, and, if he abandoned the city, it would provoke a clamor, 
 ainong the people of the South eagerly watching his movements. The 
 last expedient was, however, chosen as the least of three evils, and 
 abandoning the city and its well constructed fortitications, he 
 moved his army up Chicamauga valley in the direction of Lafa- 
 yette. 
 
 Crittenden having taken possession of the town without opjio- 
 sition, was ordered to leave a brigade as a garrison, and Avith the 
 remainder of his corps pursue the retiring army up the valley. 
 Eosecrans, believing that Bragg was in full retreat, and that his 
 chief object should be to intercept him, McCook and Thonms were 
 ordered through the passes of Lookout and Mission mountains to 
 get in advance of him on the south. In making this disposition 
 of his forces, like nmny other good generals before him, he ^^'as 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 827 
 
 deceived. Bragg was uot retreating, but eonceiitratiiig, iu the vi- 
 cinity of Lafayette, the most mmierous army tliat had ever fought 
 under rebel standards west of the Alleghanies. Buckner had 
 be<'n summoned from Knoxville, Johnson had been drawn upon 
 for one of his strongest divisions, and Lee, satistied that Bich- 
 mond was not in (Umger, dispatched Longstreet's heavy corps of 
 veterans from the Bapidan. Ere this was known Crittenden, 
 deilecting easterly, had collided with a portion of his force in tlie 
 vicinity of Binggold. Thonnxs had developed it near Lafayette, 
 and IVlcCook had conii>letely turiuMl his position on the south. 
 
 In this detached condition of the Union corps a rare opi)ortu- 
 uity was offered Bragg to crush them in detail. All it reijuired 
 was to fall on Thomas with such a. force as to overwhelm him, 
 then turn down Chicamaugii valley, and throwing himself between 
 the ii\ty and Crittenden crush him, and tinally, turning up Lookout 
 valley, iutercei)t and capture McCook. Failing to immediately 
 avail himself of his advantages our generals discovered their mis- 
 take and rapidly commenced concentrating to avoid its conse- 
 quences. Thouias at once pushed down tiie valley to within sup- 
 porting distance of Crittenden, while ]McCook, whose isolation 
 was greater, marched back into Lookout Valley and descen<ling 
 it, recrossed the mountains at Stephen's Gap. By this zig-zag 
 course he effected a junction wiih the other corps and eluded 
 Bragg, who had posted a heavy force to intercepr, him in the 
 dirci't route, down the Chicamanga. In the meantime affairs on 
 the Chicainauga had assumed an alarnung aspect. Bragg had re- 
 ceived reinforcements, and, endeavoring to get between his antago- 
 nists, and Chatanooga, a race commenced between their res})ective 
 arinieson opposite sides of thecreek in tliedirection of the city. This 
 movement evinced a deternunation on the part of Bragg to turn our 
 left, and Thomas was ordered to that end of the line, leaving 
 Crittenden's an<l McCook's on the right. Its 7 divisions. Wood's 
 Van Cleves', Palmer's, Iteynold's, Johnson's, Baird's and Braii- 
 nan's, now concentrated, extended down the west bank of the 
 Chicamauga in the order mentioned, some V2 miles southward of 
 Cliattanooga. Xegley's, Davis' and Sheridan's" were yet several 
 miles south of the uniin force, and Granger's at liossville, but 
 after the commencement of the battle, they came up and partici- 
 pated, swelling the entire force to some 5;"), 000. 
 
 Early on the nu)rning of the 10th of Se[)tend)er, 18G3, clouds of 
 dust were seen hanging over the road beyoml the creek, caused by 
 the heav}' columns of the enemy moving in the direction of Chatta- 
 nooga. At 10 o'chxdv the loud ex^dosion of artillery on the ex- 
 treme left sigiuilled the commencement of battle, and Thomas, 
 riding forward to ascertain the nature of the attack, fouiul Jiran- 
 uan's division hard pressed. To liis surprise, also, the enemy had 
 crossed the creek, and all the advantages which it afforded as a 
 means of defense was lost. The imi»etnosity of the assault came 
 near sweeping his entire corps from the field before it C(mld be 
 rallied and reinforced. When at length this was effected, its 
 stnrdy regulars, stung by the disaster they had sustained, and 
 catcliing the resolution of their commander, threw themselves 
 with irresistable force against their assailants. Even Longstreet's 
 veterans strove in vain to check the advance, and were swept back 
 the distance of a mile, and all the lost ground recovered — the 
 
828 IIISTOUY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 charge which struck the left, extended toward the right, causing 
 that end of the line to sway backward and forward according to 
 the varyhig success of the combatants. At the centre such was 
 the violence of the assault that Davis, who had come into the 
 fight, was thrown to the right and Van Cleve to the left, 
 and the rebels pouring into the gap the battle seemed to be 
 lost. At this juncture Hazen massed some 20 pieces of 
 artillery at the threatened point and discharging a cross- 
 fire of grape and canister into the charging columns, 
 for(;ed them back. On the extreme right no very serious demon- 
 strations Avere made till the afternoon, when several rebel brig- 
 ades charged on one of our batteries and captured 3 of its guns. 
 These were afterward retaken and the assault at this end of the 
 line in the end proved a failure. At different times during the 
 day victory was almost within the grasp of the enemy, but when 
 night ended the conflict, the two armies stood face to face on 
 ground that offered little advantage to either. 
 
 During the night, Longstreet with additional veterans from the 
 army of Virginia, reinforced Bragg, sw^elling his army to 70.000, 
 ami giving him an excess over liosecrans, of 15,000. The latter 
 made some slight changes in the disposition of his divisions to 
 strenghten the left, against which it was expected the rebels would 
 next hurl their greatly preponderating forces. With these prepa- 
 rations the troops rested in the bleak September air of the moun- 
 tain region on the ground where they had so persistently fought. 
 
 At daybreak the armies were drawn np for battle, but a dense 
 fog filling the valley and rendering objects invisible, it did iiot 
 commence till near 8 o'clock. The time was im})roved by further 
 strengtening Thomas, whose force now constituted about half of 
 the entire army. Eude breastworks were also thrown up on his 
 front, which afforded great i)rotection in the subsequent battle. 
 As soon as the fog disappeared the rebel squadrons moved up in 
 an orerwhelming charge. Thomas received the brunt of the on- 
 slaught. Bragg was again endeavoring to interpose his army 
 between that of Eosecrans and Chattanooga, which the preceding 
 day he had failed to effect. For a time the battle raged with 
 frightful carnage and varying success. The rebels, however, when 
 repulsed, continued to swarm up with fresh troops and augmented 
 numbers, and at length threw themselves with such momentum on 
 Thomas as to force him back. A new position was, however, 
 taken and all further attempts to turn his fiank and get into Chatta- 
 nooga proved abortive. 
 
 The right, in the meantime, had suifered irreparable disaster. 
 Negley's and Van Oleves' divisions, having been ordered to the 
 sup[)()rt of Thomas, opened a gap wliich the division comnmnders 
 on the right "were ordered to close, but owing to a misunderstand- 
 ing in regard to the movement and the consequent delay. Long- 
 street threw Hood's command into the breach. The result was 
 fatal. Davis' division moving up forthesame purpose, was struck 
 and severed by the blow which smote it. Palmer and Van Cleve 
 on the opposite side, shared a similar fate, and soon the whole 
 right wing crumbled into fragments, was sent in impotent dis- 
 ordci- ill the direction of Chattanooga. Eosecrans,with other i)romi- 
 neiit ollicers was swept along by the tide, and t)n an'iving in Tiic cit^' 
 he commenced preparations todefeud the place and sa\'e the irag- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 829 
 
 nients of the army, for it seemed to be utterly routed and at the 
 mercy of the enemy. The result, though sultieieutly bad, did uot 
 prove in the end so disastrous as was su})])osed. 
 
 Thomas, subsequently styled the rock of (Jhicaniauga, g-athering 
 his bleeding forces and massing his guns in a semicircle on the 
 side of Mission Hidge, stood like a wall of adamant between the 
 routed divisions and the enemy. S(|uadron after squadron at- 
 tempted to breast the terrilic iire of his artillery but were melted 
 away like frost work in the blaze of the morning sun. Four of 
 the !J divisions of the army had been swept entirely away, ami 
 with the remnants of the remaiiuler he ke|)t the entire rebel army 
 at bay. About 4 o'clock a new peril threatened him. The enemy 
 pressing him in front and on both tlanks, discovered a goige on 
 the right crossing' the ridge on which he was posted, and com- 
 Qienced streaming through it to get in his rear. The danger was 
 seen, but he could not spare a single man to avert it. In a few 
 minutes he would be surrounded by a shouting foe and com- 
 pelled either to surrender or be cut to pieces. Fortunately, at the 
 very moment on \vhi(;h hung the fate of his army, Granger came 
 Lip and ottered the necessary assistance. 
 
 Posted at Rossville, and hearing- the continuous thunder of bat- 
 tle in the direction of Thomas, he waited impatiently — anxiously for 
 orders to join the coutiict. As the tumult swelled and deepened, 
 though contrary to orders, he was unable to resist its loud a})peal 
 for lielp, and started where his intuitions told him assistance was 
 needed. On arriving he reported hinjseLf to Thomas, and was at 
 once ordered to the point of danger. His troo})s, in which was the 
 llorh Illinois, although new recruits, comprehending' themomentoua 
 issues at stake, were soon breast to breast with the veterans of 
 Hindnmn, now i)ouring' through the gap ami triumphantly 
 shouting. In 20 minutes the gorge was carrie<l and Thomas was 
 saved, but l.OUO of our biave men had been killed and wounded 
 in the charge. Longstreet, the rebel Achilles of the battle, deter- 
 mined to retake it, and repeatedly charged up to the very muzzles 
 of our guns, double-shotted with grape and canister. Finding 
 at length this point impregnable, Bragg determined to inq»rove 
 the remainder of the day in a linal assault on the front and left. 
 The national troops, having exhausted their ammunition, waited 
 in the gathering gloom of twilight with tixed bayonets, to receive 
 them. When within striking dista^ice, they precipitated them- 
 selves on the enemy with such vigor as uot only to rout him but 
 ca}>ture some 200 prisoners. 
 
 Eosecrans, having informed Thomas to use his own judgement 
 as to the propriety of longer holding his position, he concluded to 
 fall back to Kossville — the want of ammunition, food, and water 
 being the princii)al inducenu'uts for the change. After reaching 
 this place a new line was formed and the advance of the enemy 
 aAvaited. Although hovering near, he had been too severely pun- 
 ished to renew the attack, and on the night of the 21st Tliomas 
 fell back to Chattanooga. Eosecrans estimated his losses in 
 the bloody coutiict at 36 ])ieces of artillery and 1(!,000 men and 
 claimed the capture of 2,000 prisoners. Bragg admitted a loss^of 
 18,000 men and claimed the capture of 51 guns and 8,000 prison- 
 ers. He also vauntingly announced a great victory, yet he evi- 
 dently either lacked the ability or the courage to improve it. 
 
830 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Thomas offered bim battle tlie next day, and altboiigli outmiui- 
 beriiig the federals two to 0]ie, he declined it. Furthermore, if 
 Bragg had gahied a victory its fruits were confined to the battle- 
 field, while liosecrans had secured Chattanooga, the strategic 
 object of the campaign. The key to the mountain system 
 extending to the heart of the confederacy, it also served as an 
 impregnable bastion to command the rebel lines of communica- 
 tion which traversed its rugged passes. 
 
 Says Pollard: •' Rosecrans still held the prize of Chattauooga 
 and with it the possession of East Tennessee. Two-thirds of onr 
 nitre beds were in that regiou and a large proportion of the coal 
 which supplied our founderies. It abounded in the necessaries of 
 life. It was one of the strongest countries in the world, so full ol:" 
 lofty mountains that it has been called, not inaptly, the Switzer- 
 land of America. As the possession of Switzerland opened the 
 door for the invasion of Italy, Germany and France, so the pos- 
 session of East Tennessee gave easy access to Virginia, North 
 Carolina, Georgia and Alabama." 
 
 The representatives of Illinois in the bloody conflict were the 
 10th, Kith, 19th, 21st, 22d. 21th, 25th, 27th, 3ith, 35th, oGth, 38th, 
 42(1, 41th, 51st, 73d, 74th, '75th. 78th, 71»th, SOth, 84th, S5th, 80th, 
 88th, 89th, 92d, 98th, 100th, 101th, 110th, 115th, 123d, 125th iuid 
 127th. Cols. Chandler and Mihalotzy and a long list of others, 
 were among the slain. The 21st lost 238, 22d 235, 35th 152, 38th 
 18, 51st 90,\ind 79th 121. 
 
 Tlie battle of Chicamauga was made the subject of remark both 
 among rebels and Unionists. Bragg, by failing to take advan- 
 tage of tlie victory which he so pom[)oasly claimed, com})leted the 
 overthrow of his reputation, which had been tottering since the 
 battle of Stone River. liosecrans, suffering greatly in fame, was 
 finally relieved of -his command, and Thomas, whose superior 
 fighting qualities had saved the army from destruction, wns 
 placed in his stead. 
 
 To secure greater unity of design and co-operation, and thereby 
 greater efficiency, the separate armies operating in the regiou of 
 Cbattanooga were placed under the comnnind of Grant. He ijn- 
 mediately telegraphed Thonuis to hold Chattnnooga at all haz- 
 ards, and received in reply assurances that starvation was the 
 only contingencj' that could lead to its abandonment. Had he 
 been forced to relinquish it, all its possession had cost would have 
 been thrown away, and the struggle for ascendancy in the valley 
 of the Mississippi again to re-enact. To prevent such a disaster 
 Grant immediately commenced preparations to forward supplies 
 and reinforcements. .On the 22d day of September, Sherman, 
 then on Big Black river, was notified by a dispatch to send over 
 one of his divisions, and the next day Osterhaus was steaming up 
 the Mississippi on the way to Chattanooga. Four days after, in 
 accordance with further instructions, Sherman and his entire corps 
 embaiked in steamboats and started for the same place. At Mem- 
 l)liis he commenced the repair of the Memphis and Cliarleston R. 
 R., with the design of using it for the conveyance of his sn[)plies 
 as he advanced. While vigorously engaged in pushing forward 
 this* enterprise directly in the face of tlie enemy, he was ordered 
 to abandon it and proceed directly forward to effect a junction 
 with the other forces at Chattanooga. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 831 
 
 The partial reverse at Oliicamanga also induced Halleck to de- 
 tach two divisions from tlie army of the Potomac and send them 
 under Hooker to operate in the same Held. Grant himself arrived 
 on the 23d of October, and seeing the [)recarious condition of 
 supplies, instituted measures to place them beyond the i'ea(;h of 
 future contingencies. Both troops and animals were already 
 suffering for the want of provisions which had been bronght iu 
 wagons over the numerous mountain ridges separating Chatta- 
 nooga from Middle Tennessee. Bragg, aware that he coukl neither 
 flank nor carry by storm the stronghold which he had so recently 
 lost, was endeavoring to getpossession of the river and the raih-oads 
 leading to it with the intention of starving our army out of it. 
 
 For the two-fold purpose of obtaining relief and facilitating the 
 operations of Hooker, who was a])proaching the city by way of 
 Lookout valley, Grant determined to seize the heights on the 
 west side where it connects with the Tennessee. Atter a recon- 
 noisance, 1,500 pi(;ked troops under Ila/en were sent in pontoons 
 down the river to Brown's ferry adjacent the heights, while a co- 
 operating force of 2,500 secretely followed on the north bank of 
 the river. The i)ontoons carrying tbe advance party noiselessly 
 floated down the stream to the i^oint chosen for debarka„tion. 
 Here a picket alarm aroused t!u^, neighboring camps of the enemy 
 and Hazen's men jumped quickly ashore and formed to repel an 
 attack. The former, wholly taken by surprise, after a feeble re- 
 sistance retreated up the valley, and the spurs on the east side of 
 it were seized and fortiiied. The pontoons were next employed 
 to pass over the force on the opposite side, and at daylight the 
 heights, which gave Grant the key to Bragg's position, were made 
 im})regnable. During the day Hooker came down the valley, 
 and having dispersed the rebel forces on the river below, it was 
 opened to navigation and all fears of starvation removed. A 
 bridge was thrown across the river opposite, and should JJragg 
 mass his forces either against Hooker or Chattanooga, we now 
 had the shorter line of concentration. 
 
 Battle of Wai(hatchic. — The rebels, alarmed at the demonstra- 
 tions in Lookout valley, determined, on the night of the 28th of 
 October, to interpose a counteracting movement. Bragg, unable 
 to cope with Hooker's entire corps, made an assault on Geary's 
 division encamped at Wauhatchie, the point where he had effect- 
 ed an entrance into Lookout valley. About midnight they rushed 
 forward with loud yells and great impetuosity, but found their 
 antagonists wide awake and ready to receive them with a fire 
 fierce and deadlier than their own. Hooker, hearing the report 
 of guns, and anxious for the safety of Geary, immediately sent 
 forward Sctuu-z's division of Howard's corps to his aid. As the 
 force rapidly marched forward in the mooidight they Avere sud- 
 denly and unexpectedly fired upon by 2,000 rebels posted on an 
 adjoining hill. One of brigades moved on to the assistance of 
 Geary while the other halted to charge the heights. The latter, 
 immediately scaling the steei) acclivity with fixed bayonets. clear- 
 ed the rirte pits on its summit. In the meantime the wild hills 
 whicli girt Geary about were ablaze with flashes of nuisketry and 
 exploding shells. Although several times nearly overwhelmed, 
 
832 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 lie clmig to liis position and at length forced his assailants back 
 and compelled them to seek refuge in their works on Lookout 
 Mountain. 
 
 Tbe lOlst Illinois was amouglhe heroes of the battle, and ma- 
 terially aided in the enemy's overthrow. 
 
 Battle of Lookout Mountain. — Bragy, weakened by detaching 
 Lougstreet's corps to operate against Burnside atKnoxville, now 
 concluded to remain in his trenches and act on the defensiAa^ His 
 position stretched across the valley of Chattanooga, and bigli on 
 the western and northern slopes of Lookout and Mission liidge 
 was one of great natural strength. Tlie valley here is narrow and 
 was so entiladed by batteries jdanted on the sides of the ad- 
 jacent mountains as to render it wholly impregnable to a direct 
 asscault. Hooker, holding the valley of Lookout, confronted the 
 enemy on the adjacent mountain. Thomas occupied a central po- 
 sition in the valley of Chattanooga in the front of the city, and 
 Sherman was ordered to seize the northern extremity of Mission 
 Eidge. With the 15th army corps he moved from Bridgeport and 
 on entering Lookout valley, dispatched Ewing's division u]) it to 
 tlireaten Bragg's extreme left and thus divert attention from 
 his right, wherehe was ordered to operate. With the remainder of 
 his force hecrossed the bridge at Brawn's ferry, and, proceeding 
 unobserved along the north bank of the river, he recrossed it 
 near the mouth of the Chicauiauga and seized thejiosition assign- 
 ed him before the rebels had time to interpose any serious oppo- 
 sition. Ewing's division was now ordered back to rejoin Sher- 
 man, but the bridge having given away, he returned and fought 
 under Hooker. 
 
 The latter in the meantime climbing the precipitous steejis of 
 Lookout, had planted his veteran standards high on its cloud- 
 capped summit. To favor Sherman's movement he had been di- 
 rected to threaten the enemy. AVith this object in view, on the 
 morning of the 24th his forces were in motion, but the rain of the 
 previous days had swollen Lookout creek and swept away the 
 pontoons prepared for crossing it. W'hile rebuilding the bridge 
 Geary was ordered to move up the valley and cross at a more 
 available point. Favored by a heavy mist the force unobserved 
 crossed the creek and secured a lodgment on its western bank. 
 By 11 o'clock the bridge was comi)leted, and the force augmented 
 to some 9,000 men, swept down between the creek and the moun- 
 tain, carried the rifle-pits at its base and captured a large number 
 of prisoners. iSText commenced the fearful ascent of the moun- 
 tain, our men enthusiastically climbing over splintered crests and 
 yawning chasms, directly' under the muzzles of the enemy's bat- 
 teries. Soon the flashes and thunderi>eals resembling the c^^ash 
 of heaven's artillery, announced the storm of war raging in the 
 clouds above. When the dense masses of fog that had become 
 banked againstthe side of themountain rolled away, and the splen- 
 did pageantry of battle burst on the vision of the thousands w ho had 
 been shrouded in the mist-clouded valleys below, charging 
 squadrons, shouting multitudes and clashing arms appeared high 
 above them, as if the gods, having espoused thecause of the con- 
 teudhig armies were warring to decide their fate. Our columns, 
 flushed by success, in the faceof a plnnging^re of lieavj^ ordnance, 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 833 
 
 rusbed on the foe capturing inaiiv prisoners and linrling' tlie re- 
 mainder of his forces down tlie i)ri('ipitons eastern declivity of 
 the iiioLiutaiii. The entire army witli almost painful excitement 
 having witnessed the sublime scene, responded with loud acclaim 
 to the shout which rose from the conquering columns, till tlie wild 
 mountain gorges became vocal with the echoes and seemed to par- 
 take of the rejoicing. 
 
 The Illinois regiments in and otherwise connected with the bat- 
 tle were the 12th, 34th, 3oth, 59th, GOth, 73d, 75th, 101st and 115th. 
 
 Battle of Mission EMge. — Sherman, after having gained a foot- 
 hold on Mission Ridge, improved the succeeding night in fortify- 
 ing liis position, ami was ready on the morning of the25tli to move 
 against the enemy. The ridge he occupied was not continuous 
 but a succession of eminences. A deep gap lay between him and 
 the elevation on which the enemy was posted, and should he get 
 possession of this, there was still a second higher and farther 
 back whose guns commanded it. At early dawn Gen. M. L. Smith 
 "was directe<l to move along the east base of the ridge. Col. Loomis 
 the west base and Gen. Corse with the 40tli Illinois, supported by 
 the 20th and 40th Ohio, along the crest. The latter advanced to 
 within 80 yards of the enemy's works where he gained a second- 
 ary crest and commenced an assault, but was unable to 
 carry the works of the rebels, and they unable to drive him 
 from his })osition. Smith and Loomis were however gaining 
 on each tlank, and Bragg massing his forces to protect the 
 most vulnerable points of his position, the battle raged with con- 
 stantly increasing fury. From every salient point and projecting 
 spur, batteries tlamed and thundered, wrappingthecombatantsin a 
 cloud of smoke. As the day wore away this fearful pounding was 
 (;outinued without intermission and without either belligerant gain- 
 ing any decided advantage. Grant meanwhile had been listening to 
 the stern work in which his favorite lieutenant was engaged, and 
 anxiously waiting for the time to come when he could relieve him 
 by a move on the centre. At length, when Bragg had weakened 
 this part of his line to support his right, and Hooker had come 
 down from the heights of Lookout without a co-operating force, 
 Thomas was ordered to advance. 
 
 That portion of Bragg's position which he w%as now to assail lay 
 on a bald rugged height of Mission Kidge, 800 feet above Chatta- 
 nooga. A line of ritle pits protected its base, while on its summit 
 were batteries which had achieved fame in previous battles support- 
 ed by veteran regiments. As soon as the command was gi^en 
 Wood's, Baird's ami Johnson's divisions under Granger, immedi- 
 diately started rapidly forward. So openly and deliberateh* was 
 the movement that the enemy regarded it as a review, and those 
 in the ritle pits, surprised, tied precipitately up the mountain as 
 the assaulting columns approached. The rebels gi-eatly astonished 
 at the attack nnide at the l)aseof the mountain were more so when 
 theybeheldthe national troops climbingits precipitous sides to assail 
 them on its summit. Nearly 30 pieces of artillery commenced hurling 
 at them grai^e and canister to dispute the ascent yet the works were 
 carried sinudtaneonsly at six different points. A shout made known 
 the result, ami soldiers clinging to steeps and spurs and deei) in 
 the vallev below, answered with a loud response. Bragg, seeing 
 53 
 
834 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 111! was lost, commenced withdrawing-, closely followed till niglit- 
 fall, \vhi(;li put an end to fuitlier movements. The next day the 
 pnrsnit was continued and the enemy overtaken in a- gap of the 
 mountains near liinggokl. Here he made a stubborn resistance 
 but was tinally forced from his strong position, tiie 13th Illinois 
 bearing an honorable part in the fight. 
 
 The Illinois regiments in the uuiginficent charges of Mis.sion 
 Ridge and the co-operative struggles, were the llith, the IDtii, lj2d, 
 2Cth, 27th, 35th, 4lid, 44th, 48th, olst, 59th, 63(1, 73d. 79th, 8()tli, 
 S4th, 86th, 88th, 89th, 93d, 104th and 115th. Tlie 26th lost 101 
 men, the 42d, 45 and the 51st, 30. They were first in Sherman's 
 and first in Thomas' advance, and first to surmount the battery 
 crowned crests of the ridge. 
 
 Considering Bragg's abnost impregnable })osilion on the sum- 
 mits of the mountains and the daring and skillful generalship used 
 in wresting it from his grasp, the battles in the vicinity of Chatta- 
 nooga must be regarded among the most remaricable on record. 
 Though outnumbered toward the close of the canipaign, the lofty 
 eyry in which he had perclied his forces gave him decidedly the 
 advantage. Failing to hold it the passes which it overlooke<l and 
 comnuxnded now became salient points for the farther a-<l\aiice 
 of the national armies, and Chattanooga became henceforth as ser- 
 viceable in the cause of the Union as it had hitherto been defiant 
 to loyalty. The Union loss in the series of engagements, termi- 
 nating in this auspicious result, was reported 5,600; that of the 
 enemy in killed and wounded at 2,500 5 prisoners 6,000 ; artillery 
 40 guns. 
 
 Siege and Relief of KnoxviUe. — The sequence of the campaign 
 was the relief of Burnside at Knoxville. While in command of 
 the department of the Ohio before it had been merged into that of 
 the Mississipi)i and Grant assumed connnaiui, Burnside under- 
 took an expedition into East Tennessee to relieve tlie loyal inhabi- 
 tants. The peo])le of this region had been devotedly attached to the 
 Union and as aconsequenceliad suffered terribly from conscri[)tion 
 persecution ami spoliation. The dungeon, bullet and halter, used to 
 crush out their loyalty,had only served to intensify it, and Burnside 
 was welcomed among them Avith every exi)ression of de- 
 light. He immediately took possession of Knoxville, and shortly 
 after the battle of Chicamauga Longstreet was sent with an army 
 of 20,000 to crush him before he could be reinforced. 
 
 After severe fighting the city was closely environed and prei)a- 
 rations made to carry it by storm. The garrison, consisting in 
 part of the 65th and 112th Illinois, entertained no doubt of their 
 ability to defend themselves, but their supplies were nearly ex- 
 hausted and the danger of starvation com}>elling a surrtMulcr was 
 iminent. Messengers had informed Grant of their destitution 
 and as soon as the fate of Chattanooga was decided Granger was 
 ordered to Knoxville with a relieving force. Grant, however, 
 on finding his command inadequate, substituted Sherman's, 
 containing the 27th, 44th, 48th, 60th and 80th Illinois, although it 
 Nvas imposing a severe task on his brave but exhausted men. 
 Leaving their surplus clothing behind to augment their speed, 
 they had nuirched b^' land from Memphis, fought their way 
 through the battles of Chattanooga, and now, without a moment's 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 835 
 
 respite, and without suitable api)aral for tlie altered tem- 
 perature of the advanced season — without a word of complaint 
 they cheerfully set out the night after the order was issued, and by 
 morning they had made 15 miles, and at night of the succeeding day 
 20 more, though the rebels had dehiyed their advance by burning 
 bridges and otherwise interposing obstacles. 
 
 Longstrect had entertained hopes that star^'ation would iiuluce 
 Burnside to surrender, but after hearing of Bra-gg's defeat and 
 that a relieving force was coming, determined, on tlie 29th of No- 
 vember, to carry the place by storm. A storming column accord- 
 ingly nuide its a])pearaiice, and for hours a deadly struggle ensued. 
 More than 1,000 in killed and wounded was tiie cost of the assault, 
 but the fort was not taken. Sherman, fearing the garrison might 
 despair of success, when his army was within 40 miles of the be- 
 leagnred phice, sent forward a brigade of his tieetest ca^'alry to 
 ainu)unce his coming. The clatter of their hoofs were heard on 
 the night of the 3d of December, and the beseiged army with in- 
 expressible delight received the welcome intelligence. The march 
 was continued till the night of the 5th, when news was received 
 that Long-street had raised the seige and retreated into Virginia. 
 Sherman immediately halted the army, and after personally visit- 
 ing Knoxville and having an interview with Burnside, returned 
 with it to Chattanooga. 
 
Chapter LXIII. 
 
 18G4— ILLI^^OIS IN THE ATLANTA AND NASHVILLE 
 
 CAMPAIGNS. 
 
 Battles of Eoclcy Face Mountain^ Besaca, Neic Hope Church, Feach 
 Tree Greek, Atlanta, Jonesboro\ Alatoona, Sjjring Hill, Franklin 
 and Kashville. 
 
 Grant, the former colonel of the 21st Illinois, had now fully 
 won the confidence of the people, and congress reviving the grade 
 of lieutenant-general on the 2d of March, 1864, he was commis- 
 sioned as the generalissimo of the nation's armies. For a long 
 time there hadexisted a feeling of dissatisfaction in regard to the 
 want of concert in the movements of the armies in the east and 
 west. It was too frequently the case when a success occurred in 
 one part of the field the enemy was permitted to send a relieving 
 force from another, and thus neutralize tlie effect of victory. 
 Whether this was the fault of Ilalleck or not, public opinion re- 
 quired a new head for the army, and Grant whose fitness was 
 wisely estinmted by his past successes, was raised to the high po- 
 sition which only Wasbington before him had filled. 
 
 If the task before him was not more diiticult than that of his 
 predecessor, the field of his operations was far more extensive. 
 "Never before bad one commander surveyed such a vast field of 
 operations and looked over such a mighty array subject to his sin- 
 gle control. From the Potomac to the Eio Grande, for 5,000 miles 
 arose the smoke of camp fires, and the shouts of embattled hosts, 
 evoking liis leadership. To aid him in the gigantic task before him 
 GOO vessels lined tbe rivers and darkened coasts for 2,500 miles, 
 while 4,000 guns lay ready to send their stern summons into rebel 
 defenses.* 
 
 As a consequence of Grant's promotion, Sbennan was 
 placed in command of the dei)artment of the Mississii)pi, com- 
 prising tlie armies of the Cumberland, Tennessee and Oliio. Tbe 
 army "of the Cumberland, consisting of the 4tb, 14th and 20tb 
 corps, was comnmnded by Thonuis; tbe 4th corps by Howard; and 
 its divisions by Stanley, Newton arid Wood, the 14th by Pahner, 
 audits divisions by Davis, Johnson and Baired; the 20tb cor])s 
 by Hooker, and its divisions by Williams and Buttertield. 
 The army of the Tennessee, consisting of the 15th corps and por- 
 tions of the 10th and ITtb, was under McPlierson ; the 15th cor[)S 
 was under Logan audits divisions under M. L, Smith, J. E. Smitb, 
 
 * Heudle . 
 
 836 
 
THE WAR OP THE REBELLION. 837 
 
 Osterhaiis and Harrow; the IGtli corps under Dodge and its divis- 
 ions under Eansoui, Corse and (Sweeney; the 17th corps under 
 Blair, and its divisions under C. 11. Woods and Legget. The army 
 of the Ohio was under the leadership of Schotiehl. 
 
 The cavah-y consisted of Kil[)atrick's and Garrards' divisions of 
 tlie army of the Cumberland, E. McCook's brigade of the army of 
 the Tennessee and McCook's division of the army of the Ohio. 
 
 Sherman, the central figure of the drama now about to be 
 enacted in Georgia, had by great energy and skillful generalship 
 ac(piired a prestige of great value and assistance in playing- the 
 ditlicult role that fell to his lot. He had won high scholastic hon- 
 ors in the military curriculum of West Point. As the commander 
 of a brigade at Bull Bun he exhibited noticeal)]e soldierly skill; 
 at Sliiloh, as the head of a raw di\ision, both Grant and llalleck 
 declared that they were indebted to him for the success of the 
 battle; and finally, in the well earned plaudits as the commander 
 of a corps in the recent battle of Chattanooga, other laurels 
 were won and his present promotion secured. His principal sub- 
 ordinate officers were men of repute, generals whom the stern 
 ordeal of war had tried and proved to possess a high order of mil- 
 itary talent. 
 
 Grant, befoi'e repairing to his new field of labor, had a long in- 
 terview with Shernum, in whi<;h the plans of the cnin[)aigns it was 
 pro[H)sed to institute ag'ainst BJchmond and Atlanta were fidly 
 discussed. It was decfded to simultaneously move from the Bapi- 
 dan and Tennessee, with two great armies southward, and so vig- 
 orously press tite confederate forces both east and west that re- 
 lieving parties could not be sent from one department to another. 
 It was also settled that the campaigns should coinmen(;e about 
 the first of May, and Sherman accordingly set out from his winter 
 quarters around Chattanooga, with an army of near 100,000 men 
 and -54 guns. 
 
 Johnson, who assumed command after Bragg's ill-starred cam- 
 paign, confronted him with an army of some 00,000 men, consist- 
 ing of' 3 corps under Polk, Hardee, and Hood. To compensate 
 for his want of numbers he had selected and foitified his position, 
 an<l the national army, as it followed him into Georgia, was forced 
 to keep open a long- line of comnumications, whicli greatly re- 
 duced the number of men available for the field. His army lay 
 at Didton, so strongly fortified that an attack in front was impos- 
 sible. Barring- his approaches in this direction was Bocky Face 
 Mountain, here cknen by Mill Creek, on the banks of which the 
 railroad fouiul a passage to the town. This narrow defile, the only 
 gateway tothe rebel positiou, was artificially flooded and swept by 
 artillery placed on its ro(!ky apaulments, while inaccessible spurs, 
 frow ning with batteries protected his flanks. 
 
 Battle of Rocl-y Face ^fountain. — Sherman now commenced that 
 series of movements which won for him the appellation of the "Great 
 flanker,''' and by which he i^roposed to turn Johnson's craggy cita- 
 del and compel him to figlut outside of its impregnable fastnesses. 
 Besaca is situated 18 miles farther southward on the railroad, and 
 f(u- this purpose jNlclMierson was sent on a westward detour 
 through Sliip and Snake Gaps to cut ofi' the confederate commu- 
 nications at that point. To cover this movement Thomas entered 
 
838 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 tLe Mill Creek Gap, aiid on tlie 8tb and 9rli of May, 18G1, made a 
 bold push for the summit of the uiouutaiu, the 42d, 4irh, 51st, 
 51)th, 79th, 8Sth, 89th and 107th Illinois, tl^litino- with great deter- 
 miuatioii, but without dislodging- the enemy. His attention was, 
 however, diverted from McPliersou, who unmolested arrived wiihiu 
 a few miles of liesaca. 
 
 Battle of Resaca. — A reconnoisance, however, showed that the 
 town was too strong to be carried, Johnson having provided for 
 such contingency by sendiiig thither troojjs at the first intimation 
 of danger. It was designed not only to make the enemy retreat 
 southward by gettiug on his base of supplies, but to have ]\[c- 
 Phersou strike him ou the tlank and the rest of the army in the 
 rear after he had been dislodged from his position. McPhersou 
 being unable to accomplish his part of the programme, all the le- 
 maining forces, with the exception of Howard's cor])s, wlii('h was 
 left to watch Halton, were sent to his aid, and Johnson, seeing his 
 positiou was no longer tenable, su(hlenly evacuated it and fell 
 back to Resaca. Sherman finding him strongly fortified, deter- 
 mined to institute another Hank movement, and turn him out of it. 
 Eor this purpose ou the 14th he pontooned the Ostenaula, which 
 crosses the railroad south of Eesaca, and on the 15th Sweeney's 
 division and a force of cavalry were sent to break the raih'oad be- 
 hind Calhoun and Kingston. Simultaneously, M(*Pherson's, 
 Thomas' and Schofield's forces assaulted the right and centre of 
 the rebel line. The former driving Polk from his i)osition, planted 
 his artillery on commanding heights, and swept the coidederate 
 bridge over the river, while Sweeney, unmolested, crossed farther 
 down the stream. The crossing of the stream, as is usually the 
 case in exposed situations, was attended with a number of bril- 
 liant incidents. As Hodge's corps moved up to Lay's ferj y a 
 heavy fire was opened upon them from the opposite baidv to pre- 
 vent its crossing. Six companies of the GOth Illinois and 81st 
 Ohio were sent across in pontoons to dislodge them, dni-ing which 
 a storm of bullets was encountered, topi)ling many of them over 
 into the water, and ruefully singing their requiems as they disap- 
 peared beneath the waves. Undaunted by the loss of their com- 
 rades, they gained the shore, and charging up the bank, soon 
 drove the enemy from his position. The next day and succeeding 
 night the fight was renewed. Hooker, driving the enemy trom 
 several points, captured 4 of his guns and a large number of i)ris- 
 oners. A short time after midnight the enemy gave way and re- 
 treated across the Ostenaula, leaving Eesaca the prize of the in- 
 Aading army. In the several engagements our loss amounted to 
 some 5, GOO, that of the confederates being much less, as they 
 fought behind breastworks. 
 
 The Illinois regiments present were the 27tii, 42d, 44th, 48th, 
 51st, 52d, 59th, GOth, G4th, 75th, 80th, 84tli, 8Gth, S8th, 89th, 92d, 
 98th, 101st, 102d, 104th, 105th, 107th, 111th, 112th, 115th and 
 127th. Outnumbering tlie troops of any other single State, the 
 victory was largely an Illinois triumi)h. On one occasion our men 
 had been ordered back, which evoked exultant shouts from the 
 enemy, who supposed we were repulsed. The color-bearer of the 
 127th Illinois, becoming exasix'rated, and, regardless of danger, 
 returned to an embrasure and defiantly Haunted his standard in 
 
THE WAR OP THE REBELLION. 839 
 
 the face of tlie astoiiislied eiiemj. ITis life wastiie foreit of liis te- 
 merity, for lie and otliers after liim who atteiiiiited to take up the 
 color.s were f^liot. 
 
 Battle of Neip Hope Church. — The main body of the army now 
 moved after the retreating- enemy, wliile Davis' division, following; 
 the Ostena.ula to Konie, captunnl 8 heavy i)ieces of artillery and 
 destroyed rollin;^- mills and foundries of great value to the enemy. 
 At Adairs\ille and Kingston, Johnson held strong' itositionin, but, 
 after a shar[) brush with the pursuing- army, in Mhich the 4LM, 
 44tli, 50th, 8(>tli, 84:tli and S8tli Illinois became engaged, he aban- 
 doned them and ()ccui)ied Altoona, a place strong- by nature and 
 mnro so l)y art. By Johnson's last movement, the valley of the 
 Etowah was abandoned to Sherman, who now began to think it 
 was the intention of his adversai-y to draw the Uiuon army far 
 into the interior before risking- a general engagement. He never- 
 theless accepted the issue, and determined to make another at- 
 tempt to draw liim out of his entrenchments foi- the })urp()se of 
 lighting him on ()])en ground. Accordingly, with su}»plics tbrl'O 
 days, on the L'Oth of ^lay, he set out with the army on a. westward 
 detour to Dallas, intending', after arriving- thither, to seize and de- 
 stroy the railroad west of the town. Johusou quickly divined 
 the object of the movement, and Hooker, in our van, encountered 
 a stubboin resistance at New Hope church, in the vicinity of Dal- 
 las. Altooi)a had been evacuated and the rebel army ^Yas stretch- 
 ed from Dallas to iMarietta on the railroad, tlie rugg'ed character 
 of the ground occupied giving- it every IVunlity for opposition and de- 
 fensive oi)erations. Sherman, pushing up Ins forces toward the 
 enemy's entrenchments, brought on heavy skirmishing, which, on 
 theL'JIth, culminated in a tierce assault on Johnson's position, the 
 assailants suft'ering heavv loss and gaining no permanent ad\'au- 
 tage. 
 
 'rhe next day the rel>els made an assault on Mcrherson, occu- 
 l)ying- the Union right. Our men were sheltered by earthworks, 
 uj) to which the rebels advanced in one of those overwhelming- 
 charges for which they weie distinguished, and, with a shout 
 Avliich rose above their crashing volleys. The federals reserved 
 their tire till the surging masses came within deadly i-ange, when 
 tiiey op(Mied with such destructive effect that the storming ])arty 
 was comi)elled to retire. Again and again they rallied and march- 
 ed ui> almost to the muzzles of our guns, refusing to desjst till the 
 ground on which they fought was covered with heaps of dead 
 and dying. In the terrible onslaught the former colonel of the 
 52(1 Illinois, now styled Bull Dog Sweeney, on account of his stub- 
 born lighting qualities, with his division twice received the rebels 
 and sent them in disorderly masses from the field. The Illinois 
 regiments engaged at Xew Hope church ami its vicinitv. were the 
 4L'd, Uth, 4St!i, 51st, 5lM. 5l)th, 60th, (J4th, TOth, 80th, 84th, 
 8(>th, 88th, 101st, 104th, 105th and 111th. 
 
 Battle of KeiViU'saiv Monntahi. — Alter this death gra]>})le, sev- 
 eral days were s})ent in skirmishing, when Sherman again deter- 
 mined to turn the position of the eneniy. He therefore gradually 
 mo\ed his forces in the direction of the railroad and Johnson, 
 closely watching him, led his troops to Mariettaj whence he fell 
 
840 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 back to Keune.fiiw inouiitain. This towering" lieiglit, and its al- 
 most equally tbiiiiidable neighbors, Pine and Lost mountains, now 
 loomed up before the i)ursuing' army, dark witii panoplied hosts 
 and their inaccessible spurs frowning with batteries. Sherman, 
 after reconuoitering the new situation of tiie enejiiy, commenced 
 forcing' a passage between Pine and Keunesaw, which caused him 
 to concentrate on the latter so as to cover Marietta and the rail- 
 road, lu eft'ecting these changes, the fighting' was desultory, but 
 severe, the rebels from their high i)osition being able to minute- 
 ly scrutinize the movements of our men and i)uurdown upon their 
 heads a pelting' rain of iron.* 
 
 Johnson, seeing the Uinon army gradually api)roaching' his posi- 
 tion, on the'1^2d of June, ordered Hood to make an assault on 
 Hooker's corps, which had moved to an advanced position. The 
 onset was fierce and determined but repulsed witli hea\y loss to 
 the enemy in killed, wounded and prisoners. Sherman now de- 
 termined to deal a counter blo'w, and, on the 27th, after a lieavy 
 cannonade, Thomas and McPherson, at different points, moved 
 sinudtaiieously up to the rebel works. Soon the mountain, volca- 
 no-like, became wrap]»ed in fire and shook from base to summit 
 under the incessant peals of heavy guns. Our nuMi fought with 
 unparalleled devotion, and i»ortions of ISewton's and Wood's divi- 
 sions succeeded in capturing the first line of rebel works, but 
 the side of the mountain above them was abrupt ami inaccessi- 
 ble, and they were compelled to return. 
 
 The entire loss of the army in the fatal charge was 3,(H)0. A 
 large part of this fell on the Illinois trooi:)s, as might be ex{)ected 
 from the long list of regiments. The 12th, 27th, 31st, 32d, 3.3tl!, 
 38th. 42d, 44th, 48th,5'lst, 52d, 55th, 59th, OOth, G4th, Gotli, 7*)th, 
 80th^ 84th5 8(>th, S8th, 89th, lUlst, l()4th, 107th and 111th, were 
 in the hottest part of the engagement and correspondingly suf- 
 fered. 
 
 This was Sherman's first defeat and perhaps the greatt'st ]nis- 
 take of the campaign. He had so frequently outfianked the ene- 
 my that an idea prevailed, both among his own and the rebel 
 oflicers, that he would not make an assault, and Ije says he or- 
 dered the attack partly for the moral effect. The best method of 
 procedure in every case is to secure victory with the least ex[)e]i- 
 diture of life, and, therefore, his pretext hardly seems satisfactory. 
 Besides, in this instance, the chances of success were in faN'or of 
 the enemy, and the assault proving unsuccessful, the moral effect 
 was in his favor also. 
 
 After the bloody repulse he buried his dead and again resorted 
 to flanking, which, as the result shows, should ha\e been tried in 
 the first place. McPherson was sent on the right toward the 
 Ohattahoochi(% and Johnson, as soon as he became aware of the 
 movement, dei)arted from his fortified heights, and also hurried to 
 the ri\-er. Sherman pushed after him with the hope of striking a 
 
 *While thus making- observations, Gen. Polk, the Episcopal bishop of Louisiana, was 
 struck by a 3-)nch ball from our ijuns, and instantly killed. In company with John- 
 sou and" Hardee, the group was discovered on its lofty lookout, and, at the in- 
 stance of Sherman, a frun was turned upon it and fired. The missile passed diie^tly 
 over the party, which caused them to dismount and retire to a place of safety. Polk, 
 however, refusing- to remain under cover, returned, and a second shot directed with 
 unerring aim, struck and tore his body into fragments. Ou- uien having discovered 
 the meaning- of the sitiiials emplc>.\ed by the enemy by reading the dispatches sent 
 along hi§ lioes, lgai-n(;d soon lUterwurds that be had been killed. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 841 
 
 filial blow wlieu he attenii)te(l to cross, but tlie wary coiilederate 
 liad provided for this contingency by seizing and fortifying a po- 
 sition on its banks. This ^vas held till the passage of the men was 
 effected when he retired into his works around Atlanta, where he 
 was destined to meet his hnal overthrow. 
 
 Battle of Feach Tree Creel: — The Chatahoochie here is a large 
 stream running in a southwesterly direction and near where the 
 railroad crosses it, receives the waters of Peach Tree creek, a deep 
 tributary falling into it from the west. Within the angle formed 
 by the streams and 8 miles distant from each, Athinta, the prin- 
 cipal objective point, is situated. The rebels, taking advantage 
 of the peculiar conformation of the streams, had arranged their 
 Hues of defense with a view of disputing the passage of these nat- 
 ural barriers which lay between them and the national army. To 
 surmount this difticulty was the problem which Sherman had to 
 solve. AVith his army on the west side of the river below^ the 
 mouth of Peach Tree creek, he could easily approach the city on 
 the south and west where it was comparatively defenseless, but 
 to cross it in the face of a powerful foe, and risk a battle with 
 it in his immediate rear, was adangerous undertaking. Another 
 l)laii was to cross the river above the mouth of Peach Tree creek, 
 where little o]>position would be encountered, an<l then turning 
 soutlnvard, risk the contingencies of crossing the snniller stream. 
 Tiie latter alternative was adopted as the least difticult, but, du- 
 ring its execution, Johnson was relieved of his command. 
 
 This was only one of the many acts of stui>endous folly which 
 characterized the Kiclimond authorities during the latter days of 
 the confederacy and materially hastened its downfall. Ua had 
 skillfully used the advantages of defense offered by the rugged 
 mountain passes through which he had been driven ; yet, because 
 he had failed to annihilate his adversary, who exceeded him in 
 luimbers, the rebel president was displeased and superseded him. 
 Says Pollard : " He lost 10,000 men in killed and wounded, and 
 4,700 more from other causes, a fact which proves his men never 
 failed to meet the inva(iing army whenever an opportunity offered 
 to strike a damaging blow." The iiery and impetuous Hood was 
 placed in his stead, and, commencing a furious offensive warfare, 
 and remorselessly slaughtered his men when there was little pros- 
 l)ect of success. Hood, in takingconnnandof the rebel army, found 
 it, in consequence of reinforcements, some o,000 stronger than at 
 the commencement of the cami)aign, while that of his adversary 
 had also been kept up to the original standard, and, flushed with 
 triumph, was better prepared than at first to grapple Avith the 
 foe. 
 
 As the army was developing a line along Peach Tree creek, 
 Thomas on the right, Schofield in the centre, and McPherson on 
 the left. Hood, on the 20th. massed his forces and emleavored to 
 penetrate a gap between Thomas and Schofield which Shennan 
 was trying to fill. The assault, although as sudden as a thunder 
 clap, was received by l*almer's. Hooker's and Howard's coips, 
 Avith such determined resistance that defeat was impossible. Mus- 
 ketry and artillery mowed them down by hundreds, yet, with a de- 
 votion worthy of a better cause, they continued to c.owd up in the 
 wasting fire which no amount of blood was able to quench. The 
 
843 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 great sacrifice did not avail, for, after a five-liours' battle and the 
 loss of 5,000 men, they were driven back to their entreuchinents. 
 
 Battles of Atlanta. — The main army now closed in on the fated 
 city, iu the form of a semi-circle of two miles radius, and Hood de- 
 termined to strike another offensive blow to extricate himself 
 from its toils. Moving; u}) on the extreme left, the most vnliiera- 
 ble i)art of our line, he massed his forces for an assault. McPher- 
 son, in command of this wing, had made a wide circuit by way of 
 ])ecatur, and it was Hood's intention to fall on aiul crush him be- 
 fore he could properly get in position. Accordingly, on the 22d 
 the latter was impetuously assaulted, the charging squadrons 
 sweeping along the whole line, for a time it seemed almost irresist- 
 able. The first blow fell on Blair's corps, but soon that of Dodge, 
 which, moving around him in the rear to form on his left, became 
 imolved. Dodge, finding his right about to be turned, ordered a 
 charge on the enemy's flank by the 12th Illinois and 81st Ohio, 
 which, swee])ing up to the foe, captured two stand of colors and 
 left the grouiul covered with his dead. Plardee had entered a 
 gap between the two corps, when Sweeney's division met him, and 
 by stubborji fighting, in which the 9rh Illinois bore a distinguish- 
 ed part, kept him at bay till otiier forces could arrive and assist 
 him. AVhile Dodge roughly handled the rebels and took many of 
 them ]>risoners, their assaults on Blair were more successful. 
 AVith their customary daring they rushed up and both armies 
 fought on opposite sides of the same breastworks on which Avere 
 planted their respective standards. The orders of officers were 
 unheard, and each c^batant rallyijig round his colors struck 
 such blows as seemedlRel}' to do the greatest execution. 
 
 In the meantime a heavy force of the enemy got in our rear and 
 captured 12 guns. Sherman sent word to Logan, whose corps was 
 on Blair's right, that he must charge and retake them. Two bat- 
 teries placed on comnuinding hills, were now ordered to open upon 
 the enemy, and under cover of their converging fire, he massed 
 and pushed irresistibly forward his charging columns. All the 
 guns were retaken except two, which had been carried from the 
 field, and when night put an end to the contest, Hood found him- 
 self again foiled, and his forces exhausted. 
 
 The Illinois regiments in the two preceding battles were the 
 IGth, 2Gth, 27th, 30th, 31st, 35th, 38th, 42d, 44th, 48th, 51st, 52d, 
 53d, 55th, 59th, GOtli, 64th, 73d, 74th, 75tli, 80th, 84th, 80th, 88th, 
 89th, 92d, 101st, 102d, 104th, 105th, 107th, 111th, 112th, 115th and 
 129th. In the heavy charging and countercharging of the opposing 
 forces in the battle they frequently became intermingled in hand 
 to hand contests. On one occasion, Ool. Flynn, of the 
 129th Illinois, met a rebel colonel, iu\d Mhile their regiments were 
 engaged in a death graj)ple they had a combat from behind trees, 
 with guns, each dodging round his covert so as to give and avoid 
 shots. One of our batteries planted on the Atlanta road did such 
 terrible execution upon the enemy, a heavy column was sent up to 
 capture it. The 74th Illinois, stationed on the right of the road, 
 and the 88th on tlie left, poured into the assaulting force such a 
 destru(;tive fire, it was comi)elled to forego the ])rize, and ])ay 
 dearly for the attempt to get it. One staiul of colors was cap- 
 tured by the 12yth, two by the 105th. The 104th distinguished 
 
THE WATl OF THE REBELLION. 843 
 
 itself by the determined stand it made iu an advanced position, 
 where the enemy first came thun(hning' down on onr lines. In 
 this stubbondy coiitested battle, the rebel loss was 18 stand of 
 colors and 8.000 men, of whom 3,000 uere killed and 1,000 taken 
 l)ris()ners. Onr own loss amoniited to 3,000, of whom 1,000 were 
 made prisoners. 
 
 Among' the dead was Gen. McPhei'Son, who, at the time he lost 
 his life, was riding un})rotected in the rear. While proceeding in 
 faiiicied secnrity he came unexpectedly n[)on a detachment of 
 rebels who shot him, and his steed escaping wonnded and rider- 
 less ont of the forest, gave the tirst intimation of his fate. lie 
 was a young man of fine personal ap})earance, of rare ability as 
 an ofticer, and i)ossessed a heart abounding in kindness and win- 
 ning for him the esteem and affection of all who came lu^ar him. 
 It is said Sherman burst into tears when he heard of his death, 
 and the whole army ex])ressed the most intense sorrow. ]>y order 
 of the president, Gen. Howard assumed command of the Army of 
 the Tennessee. Gens. Plooker and Palmer resigned, iind their 
 resi)ective i)laces were filled by Gens. Stanley and Davis. 
 
 With this assault the direct operations on the north and east 
 terminated. Sheriinin deternnned to try a flaidc movement 
 on tlie- south and west. To assist in this movement Stone- 
 man, witli .J. 000 cavalry, was ordered to move round the city on 
 the left, and McCook, with 1, 000 on the rigid, to destroy Hood's 
 coiumunications. The latter moved along the west baidc of the 
 Ohattahooclne, and crossing the West Point railroad, tore u]) a 
 portion of the track, and proceeding thence to F;iy(4teville, cap- 
 tured L'.jO }trisoners, 500 wagons and 800 mules. Next Lovejoy, on 
 th(^ ]\Ia('.on railr(Kid, was visited, to form a junction with Stoneman. 
 wiio iiad aiTanged to meet him at that i)lace. The latter failing to 
 coiin'. lie destroyed part of the road, after which, being contVonted 
 by a force of Mississip[)i infantry on their Vi'ay to join Hood, he 
 was ioiced to return with a h)ss of 500 men. Stoneman had 
 stiuted with the magnificent project of sweeping down the Macon 
 road, capturing the city, and then turning on Andersonville and 
 releasing our suffering soldiers <;ontiued in its prison. Sherman 
 gave ills assent to it, with tlie understanding that he should meet 
 IMcOook at Lovejoy, and with the united forces i)roceed to Ander- 
 sonville. Stonenuin, however, failed to comply with liis part of 
 the engagement, and as the result he made his appearance before 
 ^lacon with an inadequate force, and in attempting to retire he and 
 1,000 of his men were captured by tiie cavalry of the enemy. 
 
 The army of the Tennessee now moved round the city on the 
 ]-ig!it, and Hood, detecting the movement, prei)ared to risk anotlier 
 otb'usive battle. On tlie 28th his infantry i)onred in dense masses 
 from the west side of the city, and moved in magnitic(Mit style up 
 to Logan's corps on the l>ell Ferry road. Our ti'ooi)s having 
 learned from experience Hood's method of warfare, hurriedly 
 made breastworks, and with C()mi)arative immunity, as the rebels 
 came within range, slaughtered them by hundreds, forcing theia 
 to retire. Six ditierent times, however, they were i^eformed and 
 l)ushed np to our works by their infuriated officei's, and it was 
 only when their loss reached some 5,000 men, and the survivors 
 could no longer be driven to the slaugliter, that the battle ceased. 
 
844: HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Sherman now continued the movement of h\s force on theri^lit, 
 with the view of disabling the railroad on which the city dei)eii(U'd 
 for supplies. Hood also determines to make a siiuilar attempt 
 ayaiust the communications of the Union army. Wheeler, in com- 
 mand of his cavalry, was therefore sent northward and succeeded 
 in breaking' the Chattanooga railroad and capturing 900 beeves, a 
 part of our su])plies. Sherman, however, foreseeing emergencies, 
 of this kind had builtand garrisoned blockhouses for the protection 
 of his bridges. In these he had stored vast quantities of provisions, 
 whereby he could subsist his army till any ordinary breakage in 
 his line of communication could be restored. The witlidrawal of 
 Wheeler, therefore, while it would not be of any serious conse- 
 quence to Shernum's supplies, was on the whole an advantage. 
 AVithout any effective opposition, he now sent his own cavalry to 
 operate on the roads m Hood's rear, while he followed with the 
 rest of the army to complete the work of destruction, compel his 
 ad\ ersary to abandon the city. 
 
 Battle of Joneshoro. — Sending the sick, wounded and surplus 
 stores ,to his entrenched position on the Chatahoochie, and leaving 
 Slocum with the 20th corps to guard them, the advance of the re- 
 nniinder of the army was continued in a southwesterly direction, 
 lielore Hood was ai)prised of the movement, the West Point road 
 Avas destroyed and the army approached Jonesboro to tear np the 
 Macon road. For the want of cavalry Hood had sent one-half of 
 his army under Hardee to the same place to guard his communi- 
 cations, and on the morning of August 31st, each arm^' learning 
 the position of the other, prei)ared foi' battle. Howard was on the 
 right, Schotield in the centre ami Thomas on the left, or iiearest 
 Atlanta. Hood attacked the former with great vigor hoping to 
 o\{u\vhelni hini before the others ct)uld come to his assistance. 
 Our men, expecting an assault, had hurriedly thrown up breast- 
 \\()rks, and, with conijiartively slight losses, frightfully slaughter- 
 ed the chaiging columns. After two hours of carnage the assail- 
 ants retired, having lost in the attack 2,500 men, of whom 400 
 Avere killed. Sherman, hearing the din of battle on his right, 
 pushed forward Thomas and Schotield in the direction of the con- 
 flict. At 4 o'clock Davis' corps came up and at once charging on 
 the enemy's position, captured 8 guns and inflicted on him a loss 
 of ."3,000 men. Almost one entire brigade was captured. 
 
 The Illinois regiments in the battle were the o8th, 42d, 44th, 
 48th, 51st, 52d, 55th, 60th, G5th, 79th, 80th, 84th, 8Gth, 88th, 89th, 
 92(1. 104th and 111th. Side by side with their equally brave com- 
 rades of other States Mi ey fought for the Union which, instead of 
 being disrupted by treason, is destined to ex^iand by the acces- 
 sion of new States till one language, the same institutions ami a 
 common government extend over the whole continent. 
 
 The succeeding Jiight ominous sounds were heard in the direc- 
 tion of Atlanta, 20 miles distant, which yyioved to be the lebel 
 magazines which Hood was blowing up j)reparator3' to leaving the 
 city. After destroying a large amount of other property by the 
 light of 1,000 bales of cotton to which he had applied the torch, he 
 led tlie bleeding remnant of his army from the scenes of his bloody 
 and bootless assaults. He was ])ursued the next day a distance 
 of 35 miles, when our army, greatly fatigued, returned and occu- 
 pied the stronghold which they had so valoiously won. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 845 
 
 The effect produced on the despondent public niiml by the cam- 
 paign now closed, was almost magical. When the two great Union 
 armies started southward in the early spring, it was believed by 
 many the succeeding summer would witness the end of the rebel- 
 lion. 
 
 But how often are the fondest anticipations dispelled by the 
 stern logic of events. Midsummer came aiul Virginia, the great 
 charnel lw)use of the nation's defendt-rs, was again dug over to 
 niaice graves for the army which had crossed her l)orders. Before 
 summer was ended more Union tro()i>s had perished than in all the 
 pi-evious caini)aigns of the war on the same ill-fated held. 
 
 As the months wore away ho}>e was succeeded by sober retlec- 
 tion and iinally by despair, when it beame known that Lee had 
 destroyed a force equal to his own army, and was still detiant. 
 In the midst of this gloom and national l)unnliation, Sherman's 
 series of victories was crowned by the fall of Atlanta, and the 
 shout which rose from the sturdy sons of the West was taken up 
 and prolonged by pealing bells, booming cannon and the loud le- 
 sponses of millions throughout the North. A joy as hopeful as the 
 preceding despair had been gloomy, succeeded, ami never, after 
 the autumn of ISOi, was a reasoiuible doubt entertained that the 
 re[)ul)lic would not only live, but nuiintain intact the integrity of 
 her wide domain. 
 
 But the material advantages must not beoverlooked. Atlanta 
 was one of the principal manufacturing cities of the South, from 
 whose rolling mills, foundries ami other labratories, had proceed- 
 ed large supplies of munitions for the rebel armies. It was the 
 centre of the great railway system, commencing in the eastern 
 and western portions of the confederacy, and the heart of the 
 rich grain-growing region of Georgia which had contributed large 
 quantities of serials for the sustenance of Lee's army. All these 
 sources of supply, after the capture of the city, became tributar3' 
 to Slierman's army. A rebel newspaper, in expatiating upon the 
 consequences, declared that the fall of Richmond in anuiterial 
 point of view could not have been half so disastrous. 
 
 Nashville Campaign. — As the result of Sherman's inroad into 
 Georgia and the downfall of Atlanta, the southwest suddenly be- 
 came the principle focus of confederate ahirm. As soon as its 
 signiticance become fully known, the Richmond president hur- 
 riedly made his appearance at the scene of danger ami found the 
 defiles of the Alleghanies, which he had claimed would furnisli 
 citadels for a century's warfare, pierced in a single campaign, and 
 the stalwart invader ready, by another advance, to bisect the re- 
 mainder of his domain. By frantic api)eals to the desponding Geor- 
 gians he succeeded in reinforcing Hood, but still being unable to 
 cope with the federal army in oi)en tiehl, he proposed to draw it 
 out of Georgia by operating on its long line of communications. 
 With this intent he left his camp at Palmetto, and re-crossing the 
 Chatahoochie on the 5th of October, 1804, made an assault on 
 AUiitoona for the i)uri)Ose of breaking the railroad and capturing 
 Sherman's supplies. The latter, sending Thomas to guard against 
 demonstrations north of the Tennessee, and leaving Slocuin in 
 possession of Atlanta, started after Hood, and came up in time 
 to save his supplies. 
 
846 HISTOKY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 A fierce battle had been raging, in wliich the little garrison lost 
 700 men or near a third of its entire number. From the Spartan 
 valor with which the 39th Iowa and the 7th and 03d Illinois met 
 the enemy, Gen. Corse, their commander, was styled the Leonidas 
 and Allatoona pass the ThermopyhB of the cami)aign. 
 
 Hood next appeared before Kesaca, but remembering his bloody- 
 reception at Allatoona, he was content after disabling the railroad 
 to leave without molesting the town. Sherman, endeavoring to 
 bring on a general engagement, followed him as far as Gaylesville 
 on tlie Coosa, when it became evident that the object of the re- 
 treat was to transfer the war from Georgia to Tennessee, and the 
 pursuit was abandoned. 
 
 The national commander, accei)tiiig the issue, ordered the 4ili 
 and 23d corps, niuler Stanley and Schotield, and all the cavalry, 
 excej)t one division, under Kili)atri(*k, to report to Thouuis at 
 Nashxille, who was now entrusted with the department of the Ten- 
 nessee, with disoi'ctionary power's as to the use of all its available 
 military resources. iSTot, however, intending by this disposition 
 of his forces to be deprived of the fruits of his victories in the 
 pre\ious campaigns, he lead the remainder of his command back 
 to Atlanta preparatory to making his grand march to the sea. 
 
 Hood approached the Tennessee at Decatur and nnule an 
 attack on it as a feint to cover his crossing at Florence, farther 
 westward. Schoheld and Stanley were ordered to keep the held 
 and check his advance as much as possible till Thomas could con- 
 centrate bis forces, scattered at widely separated i)oints of his de- 
 partment. November 24th they encountered Hood at Columbia, 
 and while Schofield renuiined to prevent his crossing Duck river, 
 Stanley followed our heavy trains to Spring Hill, whitljer he arriveil 
 just in time to save them from capture by the rebel ca\'alry. The 
 enemy, in the meantime, effected a, i»assage of the ri^•er 6 miles 
 above the town, ami when night fell, Schotield started after Stan- 
 ley and found the rebels encamped in force at Spring Hill, oiily 
 half mile from his line of retreat. More anxious to place IIar[>eth 
 river between them and our long trains than to interfere with their 
 nocturnal rejiose, he pushed on with all possible dispatch. 
 
 Battle of FranJdln. — Marching and fighting the next day and 
 night, November 30, he halted on the south side of I'^ranklin for 
 his trains to cross the Harpeth, and get faiily on their way to 
 Nashville. The river on the north and east sides of the village 
 forms a right angle, and slight breastworks thrown up on the south 
 and westsides, formed a rude s<pKire, which inclosed aiidprote<-ted 
 the most of the Union army. Works were also tlirown up on Car- 
 ter's 41111, a few hundred yards in advance of the position where 
 it is crossed by the Fraidclin and Columbia pike. Hood in close 
 l)ursuit, came up the same day at 4 o'clock, and with his accus- 
 tomed imi»etuosity, commenced an attack. Expecting to crush our 
 little army by sheer weight of numbers, he shouted to his men : 
 "ibeak these, and there is nothing to withstand you on this side 
 of the (!)hi() river." So overwhelming was the onset that AVagon- 
 er's di\ision, occupying Carter's Hill, was swei)t back through our 
 general line, aiid 8 of his guns captured without materially check 
 ing its progress. The exultant victors rai)idly formed on the in- 
 side of the Union works to follow up the advantages of their tri- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 847 
 
 iimph, when Opdyke's brigade, of Wood's division, suddenly moved 
 against tlieni, tlieir bayonets tlashing back tlie rays oftlie setting 
 sun as tliey were brouglit down for a cliarge. A struggle, fierce 
 aiMl bloody, followed, terminating in tlie expulsion of the enemy 
 from their entrenchments, the recovery of all our guns, tlie cap- 
 ture of 10 battle-dags and 300 prisoners. Hocxl, more exaspera- 
 ted than disconcerted li)y his revei-se, moved round to the right of 
 our line, and made a number of bloody assaults to again break it, 
 luir without success. At 10 o'c^lock the battle ceased. Hood 
 having sustained a loss of 701' jtrisoners, 3,800 wounded, anu)ng 
 whom were 7 generals, and l.ToO privates, and G geneials killed. 
 The T^niou loss was officially reported at bSU killed and 1,014 
 wounded, the latter including Gen. Stanley, who was temporai-illy 
 superseded by T. J. Wood. 
 
 The severe blow iiiflicted on the enemy at Franklin, assured his 
 defeat at ]S"ashville. To none, more than the troo}>s of Illinois, are 
 we indebted for this desiral)le result. The 44th, 73d, 74th and 
 SSth constituted a part of 0[)dyke's brigade, which was accorded 
 the honor of saving the battle. Gen. Wood, to whose division it 
 belonged, accom[)auied by Gen. Thomas, sought out the colonel of 
 the8Sthand thus addressed him : "Col. Smith I desire to report to 
 yon, in the presence of Gen. Thonnis, that which Gen. Stanley said 
 to me respecting you and the troo])s you command: that with the 
 ex(;eption of Gol. Opdyke, commanding the bi'igade with whom 
 you share the honor, to your special gallantry and exertions, more 
 than any other num, is owing the repulse of tiie rebel columns and 
 the safety of the army." The olst lost 149 men, and the 72d 9 
 ofl&cers and 152 men. The 72d, having lost its colors, subsequently 
 retook them and captured 2 tlags belonging to the rebels. The 
 other Illinois regiments in the engagement were tlie 38th, 42d, 
 49th, 59th, 65th, 84th, 89th and 112th. 
 
 Battle of Kaski'iUe. — Schofield, having saved his valuable 
 trains and dealt the enemy a fatal blow, drew out of his defenses 
 about midnight, ami by noon tlni next day was safe in the shel- 
 tering fortitications of j^ashville. Hitherto Hood, with a force 
 of some 40,000 infantry and 12,000 cavalry, had oidy to con- 
 tend with 20,000 Unionists, but when he arrived at Nashville the 
 res[)ective strength of the two arnues was reversed. The original 
 garrison of the city had been reinforced by a portion of the IGth 
 corps under A. J. Smith, Steedman's division from Chattanooga, 
 ami now by the accession of Schotield's army, so that when he ef- 
 fected to lay the place under siege, it was evident that Thomas 
 considerably outnumbered him iu the way of infantry. The latter 
 was, however, greatly infeiior in cavalry, and, on this account, 
 deferred an engagement till additional forces could be procured 
 and he should be able to follow up his advantages when he put his 
 adversary to flight. The Secretary of War was immediately ap- 
 ])rise(l of the fact, and Gen. Wilson, chief of cavalry, was ordered 
 toimpiess all the serviceable horses he could find in Tennessee 
 and Kentucky, to su]>ply the defticiency. Grant, becoming ner- 
 vous over the delay and the displays of rebel audacity in the heart 
 of Tennessee, left his cami) near Richmond and started westward 
 to superintend in ])erson the movements of the national troops. 
 On reaching Washington and hearing the Nashville reports, he 
 
848 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 was satisfied that his Tennessee lieutenant was fully equal to the 
 einerueiicy of his situation, and, like Sherman of Georgia, did not 
 require any supervision. 
 
 The eiupk)yes of the commissary, quartermaster and railroad de- 
 })artinents were immediately set to work on the fortiticiitions, 
 and soon two lines of defense, furnished with forts, redoubts and 
 rifle i)its, encircled the southern side of the city. On the nortii 
 side the Cumberland was patrolled by a fleet of gun-boats, m liich 
 served as a defense to the city, and to prevent Hood from throw- 
 ing cavalry across the river to operate on the national line of com- 
 munication. Hood occupied a range of hills some four or five 
 miles from the city, and evidently wished to completely invest it, 
 but the fieet prevented the consumuuition of his design. By the 
 14th of Decend>er, the day preceding the battle, Thomas' for(;es 
 were collected and placed in [)osition, Steedman holding the ex- 
 treme left. Wood, in comnuind of Stanley's corps, the left centre, 
 Smith, with the 16th corps, the right centre, and Wilson's cavalry 
 the right, while Schofleld, with the 23d corps, was held as a re- 
 serve. 
 
 The plan of battle ordered for the next day, December loth, 
 was to make a feint on the enemy's right, and then, falling with 
 an overwhelming force on the left, force it back on the centre. 
 The ]i!oruing broke auspiciously, and Steedman pushed forward a 
 heavy force of skirmishers, who drove ba(;k the enemy's pickets till 
 the movement was checked by a deep railroad excavation defended 
 by batteries. Hood at an early hour was aroused by firing on his 
 right but before he could ascertain the cause, Wood and Smith struck 
 his left, which now became the focus of solicitude. Crumbling to 
 pieces under the heavy concussion it was soon hurled back in con- 
 fusion on the centre. Wilson's cavalry, meanwhile hanging like a 
 thunder cloud on their flank and rear, captured two batteries and. 
 dismounting, turned them on their late owners. The centre and 
 principal salient of the rebel army rested on Montgomery Hill, to 
 which his hurrying squadrons of infantry and artillery Avere now 
 sweeping to reverse the unproi)itious tide of battle. At 10 o'clock 
 Wood moved against this strong position and carried it, Col. 
 Post, of the 59th Illinois, leading the ^charge. Efforts in other 
 parts of the field were attended with similar success, and 
 Hood was compelled to abandon his entire line of defense and 
 seek a new position at the foot of Harpeth Hills, two miles in the 
 rear of the first. 
 
 The national troops fought with great alacrity and success, and 
 their day's labor was rewarded with the capture of several battle 
 flags, a large luimber of small arms, 10 pieces of artillery, and 
 1,2(10 prisoners. The disposition of the Union troops for the next 
 day's battle remained the same as on the first, with the excep- 
 tion ot Schotield's army, which, during the day, had moved into 
 position between Wood's corps and Wilson's cavalry. Hood, con- 
 tracting his line from six to three lines in length, took a strong 
 liositiou on Overton's Hill, where he awaited tlie coming battle. 
 
 At an early hour the next day Wilson was ordered on a recon- 
 noisance round the enemy's position, and if practicable, to cut oft' 
 his line of retreat in the direction of Franklin. Hood was supe- 
 rior to Thomas in the strength of his cavalry, but he had nmde 
 the mistake of sending a portion of his force down the Cumber- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 849 
 
 land after our transports, and siiflered a portion to dash itself to 
 pieces against tlie impregnable defenses of Murfreesboro, which 
 left Wilson almost without opposition. While the cavalry was 
 executing this movement, the entire front of the Union army ad- 
 vanced to within GOO yards of the enemy's line, and Wood and 
 Steedinan made an assault on Overton's Hill, Post, as on the day 
 before leading the charge. The enemy, anticipating an attack, 
 had covered the slopes of the hill with abattis, and, opening with 
 grape, canister and musketry, repulsed the assailants with heavy 
 loss. 
 
 Meanwhile Smith and Schofield, farther to the right, with level- 
 ed beyonets had marched straight over the works in their front, 
 and in one fell swoop completely turned the enemy's flank. Hear- 
 ing the victorious shouts. Wood and Steedman immediately re- 
 formed their broken line and a second time moved against the 
 key of the rebel position. Scaling the hill and charging over the 
 abattis directly in the face of aterrible fire, they captured the foi't 
 and its 9 pieces of artillery, which had so fearfully slaughtered 
 their comrades in the first assault. The charge was final ; the 
 discomfitted rebels hurriedly fled through Brentwood Pass lead- 
 ing to Harpeth river, and the day being spent the Union army 
 rested on the field it had so nobly won. 
 
 Wilson's cavalry started in pursuit earlj- the next day, and four 
 miles north of Franklin captured 413 of the rear guard. Again 
 attacking them at the village, they were forced to decamp, leaving 
 1,800 of their wounded in the hands of the pursuers. The fugi- 
 tive army was followed till it crossed the Tennessee, but, as it 
 burned the bridges after it, and heavy rains rendered the roads 
 almost impassable, it was not again overtaken. 
 
 Among the batteries which achieved distinction at the battle of 
 Nashville, none thundered louder or sent its bolts with more 
 deadly effect, than that of Lyman Bridges. During the engage- 
 ment it was commanded by Lieut. White, Oapt. Bridges having 
 become chief of artillery. The 72d Illinois had a number of severe 
 encounters with the enemy, and in a high degree exhibited the 
 soldierly qualities for which it had been pre viouslv distinguish- 
 ed. Tlie 47th, 48th, 114th and 122d were in A. J. Smith's com- 
 mand, which on the morning of the 15th, made the magnificent 
 charge on the enemy's left, crumbling it to pieces and hurling it 
 back on the centre. The o9th Illinois lead the storming columns 
 against the rebel works on Montgomery Hill, and was the first to 
 plant its colors within the entrenchments. The next day it was 
 in the famous assault on Overton's Hill, in which it lost one-third 
 of its number. The 80th captured 3 guns and 100 prisoners ; the 
 122d 4 pieces of artillery and one battle flag. The other Illinois 
 regiments in the battle were the 38th, 42d, 44th, 49th, 51st, 65th, 
 73d, 79th, 84th, 88th, 89th, 107th, 112th, 114th, 115th, 117th and 
 119th. 
 
 To the confederacy the results of the Nashville campaign were 
 overwhelming. Thomas, in auditing his accounts after its bril- 
 liant actions, found he had captured 1,000 officers, over 12,000 
 men, while more than 2,000 threw down their arms and took the 
 oath of allegiance. Among the spoils were 3,000 small arms, 72 
 heavy pieces of artillery and immense quantities of militarv stores. 
 ' 54 
 
850 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 But the crowning stroke was the destruction of the confederate 
 army of the West. With the elimiuation of the invaders from 
 Tennessee, it only remained for the Union army to resolve itself into 
 separate columns and proceed to other fields. Sherman, with his 
 veterans of a hundred battle fields, was now enabled to reach the 
 Atlantic almost without opposition. Schofield, with a heavy body 
 of infantry, proceeded to the coast of North Carolina to co-oper- 
 ate with him and converge on Richmond ; and Canby, witli an- 
 other large force, advanced by way of the Mississippi to IMobile 
 for the reduction of the adjacent forts, while Wilson, without a 
 foe to confront in the West, dashed in a raid through Alabama 
 and Georgia. The days of the rebellion were numbered and the 
 silver tracery of the dawn of peace began to light uj) the cloud of 
 war. 
 
Chapter LXIV. 
 
 18<U— 18(35— ILLINOIS m THE MERIDIAN CAMPAIGN— 
 RED RIVER EXPEDTTIOX— REDUCTION OF MOBILE 
 —SHERMAN'S MARCH TO THE SEA— REDUCTION 
 OF WILMINGTON— MARCH THROUGH THE CAROLI- 
 NAS— CLOSE OF THE WAR. 
 
 Consequent uj^on the reduction of Vieksburgand the opening 
 of the Mississippi some militar}- movements occurred in the South- 
 west, in whicli our troops wexe honorably engaged. 
 
 Meridian Campaign. — After Sherman marched to the rebef of 
 Knoxville, he returned to Vicksburg and organized a force to op- 
 erate against Bishop Gen. Folk, in command of an army at Meri- 
 dian, also to destroy the Southern Mississippi and the Ohio and 
 ^lobile railroads. For this pnri)ose Gen. W. S. Smith, with a 
 large cavalry force was ordered to proceed from Memi)his on the 
 1st of h'ebruary, bS61, while Sherman, with 2 divisions of the lOth 
 army corps under Ilnrlbut, and 2 of the 17th under McPherson, 
 left Vicksburg on the 4th. Meeting Avith little oi)position they 
 entered i\[orton on the 0th, where McPherson was halted to tear 
 up the surrounding railroads. Hurlbut moved on to Meridian, 
 but Polk, a])prise(lof his approach, decamped, covering his retreat 
 with a cavalry force uiider Lee. 
 
 Smith failing to arrive with his cavalry, pursuit was deemed 
 useless. Having no enemy to figlit, a warfare was commenced on. 
 tlie railroads entering the town — Hurlbut on the north and east 
 destroying (!0 miles of track, one locomotive and eight bridges, 
 and ]\IcPherson on the south and west, o.j miles, 53 bridges, 10 lo- 
 comotives and 28 cars. The Tond)igbeebeingnow between the army 
 and Polk, and no other foe in striking distance, Shernnm headed 
 his columns toward the Mississippi, whither he arrived without 
 further noticeable incidents. 
 
 His losses in the campaign were 21 killed, OS w<mnded ami 81 
 missing. The Illinois organizations in the exjiedition were the 
 Sth, L5th, aoth, 31st, 40th,\58th, 70th, 112th, 117th, 110th, 124th 
 the 5tli cavalry aiid Powell's battery. Its leader, as we have seen, 
 next repaired to Chattanooga preparatory to entering upon his 
 Georgia campaign. 
 
 Ked River Expedition. — During the spring of 1804 an expedition 
 was i)rq)ected to drive Price from Arkansas, Taylor from Louis- 
 iana, and Magruder from Texas. This was to be effected by tlie 
 joint efforts of three columns, one moving under Steele, from Lit- 
 
 851 
 
852 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tie Rock, ai)otlier under Banks from Brownsville, and a third un- 
 der A. J. Smitli, from Yicksburg:, concentrating' at Slireveport. 
 On the 12th of March, 1864, Admiral Porter, with the fleet, and 
 A. J. Snnth with the 1st and 3d divisions of the 16th army corps, 
 and the 1st and 4th of the ITtli, in transports, started up Red 
 Ri\er, ou which the objective point is situated. At Semmesport 
 Smith debarked liis forces and started to o])erate against FortDe 
 Rnssy, a strong quadrangular work furnished with bastions and 
 covered with railroad iron. The assailants moving upon the 14th, 
 Dick Taylor, in command of the fort, marched out to meet them, 
 when Smith, by a skillful movement, threw himself between the 
 rebels and the fort, which, after a sharp fight, he forced to 
 surrender, the 47th, 49th, oSth, 81st, 95th, 117tii and 119th Illi- 
 nois demeaning themselves with great gallantry in the engage- 
 ment, the 5Sth being the first to plant its colors on the works. 
 As the expedition again moved toward Shreveport, the force 
 under Banks, en route for the same point, encountered a rebel 
 force atPleasant Hill, and Smith, advised of the situation, marched 
 to his assistance. Gen. Robinson, commanding the advance Union 
 cavalry, had engaged that of the enemy under General 
 Green, after which the latter fell back to Saline Cross Roads where 
 the main force under Taylor lay masked in the forest. Thither he 
 was followed on the 8th of April by the Union cavalry, now rein- 
 forced by two divisions of the loth army corps under Gen. Ransom. 
 The latter suspecting danger, proposed to await the arrival of the 
 force under Smith, before renewing the attack. Banks, however, 
 overruling his advice, ordered an assault. Taylor's men concealed 
 in the woods Avere posted in the form of the letter V, into the 
 open base of whicli our men unwittingly advanced. The 2 wings 
 of the enemy were immediately thrust forward and like huge ten- 
 tacula closed in on them and before they could escape lost 2,000 
 men and 16 guns, 6 of which belonged to Taylor's Illinois battery. 
 
 Battle of Pleasant Hill. — The remainder of the forces returned 
 to Pleasant Hill, whither had arrived Gen. Franklin with the 19th 
 corps and the force under Smith. The troops of the latter were 
 placed in position behind a low ridge on the right the 19th corps 
 on the left. Ransom'smen intherearasareserve,and4guus of Tay- 
 lor's battery ou au eminence commanding the approaches of the 
 enemy. On the 9th he advanced and made an assault on Emery's 
 division thrown in advance of Smith, which, according to pre- 
 vious arrangement, fell back. This brought the assailants directly 
 u]> to the crest of the ridge behind which were concealed the 
 Vicksburg veterans of Smith, who, to the number of 7,000, imme- 
 diately rose u]), and, pouring an incessant blaze of musketry fire 
 into their faces, caused tliem to stagger back, when a bayonet 
 charge was ordered which swept them from the field. 
 
 The 49th, 58th, 77th, 117tli and 119th Illinois bore themselves 
 honorably in the contest and largely contributed to the result. 
 
 Tlie Union losses in the two battles aggregated the enormous 
 number of 3,000 men, 21 pieces of artillery, 130 wagons, and 
 1,200 horses and mules. Steele, in playing his part of tlie pro- 
 gramme, was equally unfortunate, and Avith hesiA-y losses aiul 
 great difficulty, fought his Avay back to Little Rock, whence he 
 
THE WAR OP THE REBELLION. 853 
 
 bad started. Thus eudes in irretrievable disaster, the ill-starred 
 expedition, which, in its return, came near being entirely cutoff in 
 consequence of a low stage of water in the river. 
 
 Brigadier-Geueral T. E. (Jr. Ransom, who at Sabins' Cross Roads 
 warned his superior oflftcer of danger, and made such heroic efforts 
 to reitair the disasters caused by his mistake, was born at Norwich, 
 Vermont, November 20, 1834. Having completed his education in 
 the university of his native town, in 1851 he removed to Peru, Illi- 
 nois, and engaged in the practice of engineering. At the organi- 
 zation of the 11th Illinois, in April, 18G1, he was elected a major. 
 For his bravery and skill in the battle of Donelson, he was pro- 
 moted to the colonelcy of his regiment; again, as the reward of 
 distinguished service at Shiloh and Corinth, he was raised to the 
 rank of nmjor-general. After the battle of Pleasant Hill, in which 
 lie commanded a division and received a wound from which he 
 never recovered, he temporarily took charge of the 17th army 
 corps in Georgia. While gathering new laurels in the Atlanta 
 cajupaign, he died of a disease contracted by i^revious exposure. 
 He was retiring, modest, and unusually brave. Devotedly at- 
 tached to his men, while an invalid he was frecpxently advised by 
 his physician to quit the field, but replied, " I will stay tvith my 
 command till I am carried aioay in my coffin.'''' 
 
 Reduction of Mohile. — After the disastrous Red River expedi- 
 tion, the department of the Arkansas and Gulf, including Texas, 
 and Louisiana, M'ere united in one, styled the West Mississippi, 
 and Major-Gen. Canby placed in command. In the spring of 1801, 
 all the rebel posts had either been successfully blockaded, or caiJ- 
 tured, except Wilmington and Mobile. To Canby was now as- 
 signed the task of reducing the latter, while the former, as we 
 shall see further on, fell beneath the sturdy blows of the con- 
 querors of Nashville. 
 
 The entrance to Mobile bay is by two inlets, one on each side of 
 Dauphin Island. They were guarded by Forts Gaines on the 
 island, and ^lorgan and Powell on the mainland opposite. Hither 
 Farragut led his ileet of some 18 vessels, and as a co-o])erating 
 land force, Canby in July, ordered 5,000 men under Granger, 
 from New Orleans. The latter were debarked on Dauphin Island, 
 on the Ith of August, to operate against the adjacent fort, and the 
 following morning the fleet moved up the principal channel, its 
 gallant commander lashed in i\\e maintop of the Hartford to over- 
 look the field of action. Seeing his vessels arrested by torpedoes, 
 he <lashed ahead under the tremendous volleys of the enemy's 
 gnns, and in an hour and a quarter was above the forts. The 
 others, animated by his fearless heroism, followed, emptying 
 broadsides after broadsides into the hostile works, and partially 
 checking their fire. Next commenced the capture of the great 
 iron-clad ram Tennessee, which Farragut declares was one of the 
 " fiercest naval engagements on record." During the month the 
 3 forts surrendered, ainl the door wasopened for a farther advance 
 toward Mobile. 
 
 This Avas not effected till the following spring. In the mean- 
 time the 13th corps, under Granger, was reinforced hj A. J. 
 Smith with the 16th, arriving mostly by way of New Orleans, and 
 a force iu command of Steel from PensacolU. The army marched 
 
854 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 up on the east side of the bay in the direction of Forts Spanish 
 and Blakely, which it was necessary to reduce before the fleet 
 could reach the city. The first being- more accessible, an invest- 
 ing force containing- the 8th, 11th, 28th, UOth, o3d, 17th, 72d, TTtli, 
 81st, Dlst, 95th, 99tli, 108th, 117th, 119th and 124th Illinois, was 
 pushed up, the artillery, a part of which was Coggswell's bat- 
 tery, placed in position, and on the 4th of Ajml a tremendous 
 bond^ardment opened ou the fort. On the 8th the assault was 
 renewed, and after a furious cannonade, at 3 o'clock, 2 brigades of 
 Carr's division, containing- the 72d, 81st and 124th llHnois, mo\'ed 
 forward in an impetuous charge, and mounting the ramparts, car- 
 ried 300 yards of the works. The advance position Avas held till 
 the next day, when the garrison tinding that further opposition 
 was useless, capitulated. 
 
 The same day Gen. Steel made a successful assault on Fort 
 Blakely. Amidst a furious battle storm, shells exploding o\ er- 
 head, and torpedoes underfoot, Garrard's division nuide its way \^\) 
 in front, and Einnaker's and Gilbert's brigades on the right, and 
 simultaneously leaping the parapets, the stronghold was won. 
 The 8th Illinois was the first to enter and hoist its colors over the 
 works; the 58th and 117th are also honorably mentioned in con- 
 nection with the charge. The other Illinois organizations in the 
 engagement were the 11th, 29th, 33d, 72d, 70th, 77th, 81st, 91st, 99th, 
 119th, 122d infantry, and Coggswell's battery. Our loss in the 
 assault was 1,000 men, while the fruits of the victory were more 
 than 3,000 prisoners, 4,000 stand of arms, and 32 pieces of artil- 
 lery. 
 
 Mobile was now uncovered and the national columns put in 
 motion to effect its cai)ture. On the 12th, however, news 
 was received of its evacuation, and the army entered with- 
 out opposition. Its approaches had been carried with un- 
 paralleled gallantry, caused l)y the exciting- intelligence of the fall 
 of Kichmond and other great events, marking the close of the 
 Avar. The beginning of the end was at hand. 
 
 Brigadier-Ge7ieral Eugene A. Carr, who so brilliantly closed his 
 rebellion record in the assault on Fort Blakely, was born in Erie 
 county, New York, March 30th, 1830. In 1848 he renujved with 
 his father to Galesburg, Illinois, which, up to the time of the rebel- 
 lion, was his recognized home. At the age of 10 he entered the 
 Military Academy of West Pomt. After his graduation he was 
 commissioned 2d lieutenant of mounted riflemen, and for several 
 years was engaged in snppressing Indian hostilities on the west- 
 ern i)lains. Subsequently he was assigned as aid to Gov. Walker 
 in the border ruftian war of Kansas. As a cai)tain in the regular 
 army, he took an active part in the battles of Si)ringfleld and Wil- 
 son's Creek, Missouri. Next we find him at the head of the 3d 
 Illinois cavalry and a division commander under Curtis. In the 
 latter position he served with such distinguished success that on 
 March 7th, 1802, he received the commissiou of brigadier general 
 of volunteers. 
 
 March to the Sea. — Sherman, after sending a portion of his forces 
 to co-operate with Thomas in Tennessee, still retained under his 
 immediate command some (30,000 infantry and artillery, and 5,000 
 cavalry. These forces were organized in two great wings, the right 
 
THE WAR OP TELE REBELLION. 855 
 
 ancler Howard, comprising tlie 15th corps, Gen. Osterliaus, and 
 the 17th, Gen. Bhxir ; and the k^ft under Slocnin, comprising- the 
 14th corps, Gen. Davis, and the 20th, Gen. Williams. The cav- 
 alry was led by Gen. Kilpatrick, a daring trooper, who liad already 
 won distinction by his tearless encounters with the enemy. For 
 the results of the campaign, so valuable to the cause of the Union 
 and so fatal to that of the rebellion, the nation is largely indebted 
 to Illinois organizations: the 7th, 0th, 10th, 12tli, 11th, i5th, 10th, 
 20th, 20th, 30th, ;Jlst,32d, 31th, 10th, list, 15th, 48th, 50th, 52d, 
 53d, 55tli, 50th, 57th, 00th, 03d, 01th, OGth, 78th, 82d, 85th, 80th, 
 90th, 1)2(1, 93d, 101st, 102d, 103d, 101th, 105th, 110th, 111th, 110th, 
 125th, 127th, 12Uth regiments of infantry, companies C and H 1st, 
 and company I, 2d artillery and 11th cavalry. As his troops 
 woidd have to subsist on tiie country through which they marched, 
 Siierman issued stringent regulations to prevent, as far as possible, 
 the excesses nicident to this method of obtaining supplies. Brig- 
 ade commanders were ordered to organize foraging parties, under 
 one or more discreet ofticers, to collect i:)rovisions, aiming always 
 to keep on hand 10 days supply for the men and 3 days for the 
 horses. Soldiers were not to enter the houses of the inhabitants, 
 and were to leave with each family a reasonable amount of food 
 for its maintenance. The cavalry and artillery were authorized 
 to press horses and wagons when needed, discriminating between 
 the rich and the poor. Corps commanders were empo^^'ered to ac- 
 ce[)t the services of able-bodied negroes, and to burn mills, bridges, 
 cotton gins, &c., whenever local hostilities were manifested; but 
 no such devastations were to be suffered if the inhabitants re- 
 mained quiet. 
 
 Could these humane regulations have been properly enforced, 
 nniny unpleasant occurrences connected with the exi)edition would 
 have been avoided. Says an otiicer who commanded in it: "In 
 all cases where the foraging parties were under the direction of 
 discreet ofhcers, no im})roprieties were committed, and oidy neces- 
 sary supplies were taken." Following, and preceding them, how- 
 ever, were swarms of strangers and vagabonds, such as alwj-ys hover 
 about large arnnes, to indulge their propensities for violence and 
 plunder. These, with impunity, frequently entered the houses of 
 the plauters and relieved them of their silks, jewelry and other 
 articles of value, and to climax their de])redations, burnt the 
 houses of their victims and committed acts of violence upon their 
 persons. 
 
 Before Sherman put his columns in motion, Rome was set on fire 
 and its foundries, machine shops, hotels and stores were burnt, and 
 everything that could be of value to the army was taken. A few 
 days afterwards the torch was also applied to Atlanta and all its 
 public buildings, theatres and costly mansions were consumed in 
 a conunon conflagration. The few remaining inhabitants alarmed 
 at the devouring flames, rushed through the streets and tied from 
 the i)erishing city. The railroads in the rear were destroyed, and 
 about the middle of iSTovember the famous march was commenced. 
 
 Howard with the right wing moved along the Georgia Central 
 liaiiroad, and Slocum with the left along the parallel road leading 
 to Augusta. The latter tore up the track as he advanced, reached 
 Madison without opposition, and while the soldiers were engaged 
 in destroying its depot, a band of stragglers becoming drunk on 
 
856 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tbe contents of wiue cellers, sacked the stores aud slio])S of the 
 citizens. Tbe ravages werecontiuued till the main body of tlie 
 army came up, when it was quickly brought to a close and guards 
 stationed to protect what remaiued of the town. From ]\Iadison 
 Slocum moved directly on Milledgeville, and the legislature then in 
 session, hurriedly fled, carrying with them tlie funds, archives and 
 other valuables belonging to the State. The rebels at tirst sup- 
 posed that Sherman was only on a raiding expedition, but iu)vv 
 they were compelled to admit that a powerfnl invading army was 
 moving directly through the heart of Georgia, and unless it could 
 be met the most disastrous circumstances must follow. 
 
 Howard, in the meanwhile, had advanced and destroyed the rail- 
 road after liim till within a few miles of Macon, where there was 
 a large force protected by breastworks well mounted with cannon. 
 The rebels supposed of course the city would be laid under siege, 
 but Sherman not attaching as muck importance to it as its de- 
 fendants, concluded to pass it by with but slight i^ecognition. 
 Wishing, however, to cross without opi)osition the Ocmulgee, 
 wiiich runs by the place, Kilpatrick was sent to make demonstra- 
 tions against it and thus conceal the real movement intended. 
 The latter charged up to the breastworks of the town, and wliile 
 the alarmed garrison was preparing for defense, Howard quietly 
 slipped across the stream at Griswoldville below the city. Leav- 
 ing here a portion of the ] 5th corps to cover his rear, he ))nshed 
 on in the direction of Milledgeville, whither he arrived the day 
 after its occupation by Slocum. 
 
 The Macon rebels, exasperated at finding themselves out- 
 witted, made a furious assault on the force left at Griswoldville, 
 but were repulsed with the loss of 1,000 men. 
 
 The army having now consumed a week, aud marched a dis- 
 tance of 95 miles, was again united in the capital of Georgia. At 
 Milieu, located on the Central railroad, some 80 miles soutli, was a 
 great i)rison pen where thousands of our captured soldiers had suf- 
 fered unspeakableprivations, aud Shernum's next object was to lib- 
 eratethem. With this design in view Kilpatrick was directed to move 
 in the direction of Augusta, to create the impression that that 
 place, rather than Savannah, was the objective point of the expe- 
 dition. Wheeler, with the rebel cavalry, was encountered on the 
 way, and, after some severe skirmishing with him, Kili)atrick 
 learned that the enemy had removetl the prisoners from Millen, 
 and, deeming it useless to persist iu the hazardous march after 
 the motive which prompted it had ceased, commenced falling 
 back. Closely pursued he retreated and fortified a strong posi- 
 tion, and when Wheeler came up, although lie fought witli the 
 greatest determination, he was repulsed at all points without dif- 
 ficulty. 
 
 After the attack Kilpatrick joined the left wing and mo^•ed on 
 its flank. Though the prisoneis had not been liberated, the cav- 
 alry demonstrations served to keep the enem^' in doubt as to 
 the real destination of the expedition, and consequently unable 
 to concentrate his forces at any salient point. Sherman meanwhile 
 with the other wing, leaving Macon far in his rear was advancing 
 on Millen, whither lie arrived on the I'd of December. 
 
 The railroad aud other public property behind him Avas com- 
 pletely destroyed, while the country traversed abounding iu the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 857 
 
 ueces.saries of life, wus des[)()ile(l of larg'e quantities of provisions. 
 His men had fared suniptnously on chickens and turkeys and a 
 profusion of other hixuries, besides collecting' hirjie quantities for 
 future consumption. This was a necessary precaution, for the army 
 was now about to enter a long- strip of country covered with pine 
 forests comparatively destitute of food. Milieu being the seat of 
 the above mentioned bastiles where large numbers of Union pris- 
 oners had sickened, starved and died, it required great eii'orts to 
 keep our indignant men from laying it in ashes. The prison was 
 a stockade inclosing 15 acres, and hard by was the burying ground 
 containing 650 graves as the result of one month's mortality. 
 
 From Milieu Sherman next swept down on each side of the 
 Ogeechee in the direction of Savannah, Kil])atrick careering in 
 front and nmking the green arches of the pine forests echo with 
 the tramp of his squadrons and the shrill notes of his bugles. On 
 the 9th of ISToveinber, Howard struck the canal connecting the 
 Ogeechee and Savannah, 10 miles in the rear and west of the city. 
 The thunder of signal guns could now be heard booming over the 
 swamps from the fleet, awaiting Sherman's advent upon the coast. 
 Col. Duncan was sent down the Ogeechee, and three days after- 
 ward, stepping on board of one of Dahlgren's vessels, once more 
 put the anny in communication with the outer world. The next 
 day Sherman advanced to within 5 miles of Savannah, and laid the 
 city umler siege, the 26th, 30th, 32d, 4Sth, 53d, 61th, 93d, and 
 IOlM Illinois constituting a part of the investing force. Having, 
 however, only brought held pieces in the long nuvrches througli 
 Greorgia, it was necessary to get siege guns from the fleet before 
 he could nuike a successful assault. These could only be brought 
 up tlie Ogeechee, hence Fort McAlister, commanding the mouth, 
 must fust be reduced. 
 
 The enemy, in guardingagainst the fleet, which had previously as- 
 sailed it, failed to strengthen its landward defenses, and Sherman 
 ordered a bold attack on this point, hoping its vulnerable charac- 
 ter might facilitate its capture. Hazen with his well tried division 
 and a detachment of the 17th corps, consisting in part of the 26th, 
 48tli, 90th, 111th and 116th Illinois, was selected for this purpose, 
 but having to throw a long bridge over the Ogeechee in the place 
 of one previously burnt by the rebels, it was not- till the afternoon 
 of the 13th of December that the fort was reached, and i)repara- 
 tions completed for the assault. The fortress stood on the right 
 bank of the river and could oidy be reached over a level plain 
 three-fourths of a mile wide swe|)t by heavy cannon. These opened 
 upon the charging columns as soon as they commenced uu)ving 
 up, but produced little danmge as the advance was made in a 
 single line. The plain, however, Avas sown with torpedoes, which, 
 exploding, threw up ])iles of dust on the men and sent many of 
 tliem mangled and lifeless into the air. Pushing on regardless of 
 danger they tore open an abatis, forced a passage over a ditch 
 thickly studded with pikes, and, with a bound, made for the par- 
 apets. Rushing in, on every side for an instant was heard the clash 
 of steel and the whistling of bullets, mingled with the shouts of 
 the combatants, and victory was complete. 
 
 Sherman, who had witnessed the cliarge from the top of a rice 
 mill across the Ogeechee, when he saw the national colors run up, 
 called for a boat, and being rowed over, warmly congratulated 
 
858 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 Hazeu and bis brave troops for having captured the key to Savau- 
 nali. Communication was opened with the fleet, and Sherman 
 visited Admiral Dahlgren and made arrangements with him to 
 send some heavy siege pieces from Hilton Head for the reduction 
 of Savannah. The guns arrived on the 17th and Slocum 
 was ordered to place them in position. At the same time 
 Sherman started to secure the co-operation of General Fos- 
 ter, commanding the department of the South, in intercepting the 
 rebels, should they attempt to make an exit in the direction of 
 Charleston. Encountering high adverse Avinds he did not proceed 
 far before he was overtaken by a steam vessel and informed that 
 Hardee, in command of the garrison, had already accomplished that 
 wliich he was endeavoring to prevent. The movement at the time 
 was unsuspected, and when discovered the fugitives were beyond 
 the reach of pursuit. Before leaving they destroyed the navy 
 yard, two iron clads and a large number of smaller vessels, be- 
 sides great quantities of military stores and provisions. Gen. 
 Geary pushed up to the city next day and received its surrender 
 from the mayor, and Sherman, returning, sent the following dis- 
 patch to the president : "I beg to present you as a Christmas 
 gift the city of Savannah with 150 heavy guns and plenty of am- 
 munition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton." 
 
 Thus auspiciously ended the campaign which the European 
 press had predicted would meet with toal failure, and which many 
 of our own journals spoke of as one of doubtful issue. Much of 
 its success was due to the skill with which Sherman had deceived 
 the rebels respecting his objective point whereby the large forces 
 stationed at Macon, Augusta and Savannah, which might have 
 been concentrated to oppose his advance, were rendered ineffect- 
 ive. 
 
 Its results may be summed up as follows : The army in the 
 brief space of 24 days had destroyed 320 miles of railroad sub- 
 stantially made, a conquest of Georgia and again divided the 
 confederacy. With an inconsiderable loss of men, 1328 of the 
 enemy had been madeprisoners, there had been captured 1G7 guns, 
 25,000 bales of cotton, and foraged from the country 1,300 beeves, 
 16,000 bushels of corn and 5,000 tons of fodder. This abundance 
 had been gathered in the region where the Union prisoners of An- 
 derson ville had been starved to death, or idiocy, under the pre- 
 text that their captors were unable to furnish them with tlie 
 necessaries of life. Some 4,000 mules and 5,000 horses had been im- 
 pressed into the service, while 10,000 negroes, abjuring the servi- 
 tude of their masters, followed the national flag, and thousands 
 more would have been added to the number had not some of the 
 ofiflcers driven them back. Sherman partially atoned for this cru- 
 elty by assigning lands on the sea islands, deserted by the rebel 
 owners, to those who were so fortunate as to reach the coast. 
 
 Sherman remained in Savannah over a month, resting his army 
 and ])reparing fbr more arduous labors. Correspondence had been 
 interchanged between him and Grant, respecting his future move- 
 ments, and the South looked with alarm at his anticipated depar- 
 ture from the city. Some thought he would strike at Charle.stoii, 
 others Augusta, but a greater object was to be accomplisluid than 
 either. As arranged by Grant, he was to lead his gallant army 
 through the heart of the Carolinas, and after destroying the rail- 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 859 
 
 roads and seizing their capitals, he was to co-operate with the 
 forces operating' against Eichmond. One rebel army watched him 
 at Augusta, and another at Charleston, thus attbrding him an op- 
 l>ortunity to pursue his favorite strategy of threatening both 
 l)htces and preventing the concentrating ota force against Ids real 
 line of march. Howard, on the right, was ordered to i*ocataligo, 
 a station on the railroad leading to Charleston, to menace the city, 
 smd iSU)Cum on the left and Kil[)atrick with the cavalry to threaten 
 Augusta. The former started on the 15th of January, 1S(>5. the 
 ITtli corps going by water, and the 15th by land. At Pocataligo, 
 a depot of su2)plies was established and demonstrations made in 
 the direction of Charleston, causing the rebels to keep all their 
 avail;i!)Ie forces ready for the didense of the city. 
 
 Incessant rains prevailed, and Southern South Carolina- being a 
 region of swamps, became saturated with water and the roads 
 abnost imi)assable. The streams, which lay in front of 
 Sherman, unable to carry off the surplus water, the country for 
 miles on each side of them was submerged. These difficulties 
 proved far more formidable than those offered by the rebel army, 
 altliough Gov. McUrath had imjjressed every white nnde citizen 
 of the State, between the ages of 16 and 60, to augment its num- 
 bers. 
 
 Tlie next point aimed at by Howard, was midway on the South 
 Carolina Kailroad. Before this could be rciiched it was necessar}^ 
 to cross the Salkahatchie, behind which, at River Bridge, was 
 posted a rebel force and artillery, to dispute its passage. I^Iower's 
 and G-. A. Snutlrs divisions, however, affected a lodgment on the 
 opposite side below the bridge, by wading for 3 nules through 
 cliilly waters, from 2 to 5 feet in depth. The rebels fled precijji- 
 tantly beyond the Edisto, while the Union corps pushed rai>idly 
 for the railway at Midway, which it reached on the 7th and com- 
 menced tearing up the track. 
 
 Tlte extraordinary freshet in the Savannah had detained Slocum 
 in the city till the 2d of February, when the flood i)artially sub- 
 siding, he succeeded in crossing the stream. The demonstrations 
 of Iviipatrick kept the force at Augusta shut u}) in its tbrtilica- 
 tions, iippreliending an attack, while Slocum, encountering little 
 opposition, nu)ved rapidly forward, and also struck the South 
 Carolina raih-oad farther westward, and assisted in its destruction. 
 Slicniian's nrmy now lay between Augusta and Charleston, and 
 the f()rces stationed at the two places hoju'lessly divided and una- 
 ble to act in concert. Leaving the left wing still engaged iu 
 breaking up the railroad, the right started northward for the 
 Edisto. where they found the bridge partially destroyed, and a 
 force on the opposite side to prevent their crossing. Forces' 
 division dropping down the river, landed a nundjer of pontoons, 
 and passing over, pounced ui)on the astonished rebels and i)ut 
 them to flight. The bridge was soon repaired, and the national 
 trooi)s on the south side of the river rapidly moved on Orange- 
 burg, again waking up the enemy. After a slight brush \\ ith him, 
 in which the 30th, 31st and 32d Illinois became engaged, they tore 
 u}) the railroad. 
 
 Sweeping on through the heart of the rebellious State, Howard 
 on the 16th drew up on the banks of the Saluda, in front of its 
 capital. Abnost simultaneously Slocum apiieared ou the same 
 
860 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 stream, having- met with no opposition, except from Wilson's 
 cavahy, which Kilpatriclv ahwe was sufficient to keep at a prudent 
 distance. The 15th, 30th, 31st, 32d, 4Sth and 63d Illinois, with 
 other advanced forces, drove back the rebel cavalry and the I'iver 
 was crossed Avithout opposition. The mayor, finding- the city at 
 the mercy of the Union guns, surrendered it, Shernnm, before 
 entering-, issued au order for burning- the public property, its 
 schools, colleges, asylums and other buildings, which could not be 
 made available in war, being exempted. The main body of the 
 army passed west of the city, and the 15th corps marching- through 
 it, encamped on the Camden road beyond. 
 
 Col. Wade Hampton, commanding the rear guard of rebel 
 cavalry, ordered all cotton belonging to the inhabitants to be col- 
 lected "and burned. Piles of the intiammable material were ignited 
 in the heart of the city, and, swept by the wind, soon communica- 
 ted tire to the adjacent buildings. At dark the flames got beyond 
 the control of the brigade on duty in the city, and W^ood's entire 
 division was brought in to assist in subduing- them. Still the 
 devouring^ element raged unconti'olable, lighting uji the midnight 
 sky with the brightness of noonday, and tilling- it with myriads of 
 brands, which drifting in eddying circles ou the buildings, ex- 
 tended wider and wider the conflagration. At 4 o'clock in the 
 morning the wind ceased and the tire was checked, but the princely 
 abodes of many who had been prime movers in the rebellion, 
 together with the old state-house, which 4 years before had rung 
 witii acclamations at the passage of the first secession ordinance, 
 were now shapeless masses of glowin,g embers. Says Sheinian : 
 "I disclaim, on the part of my army, any agoicy in the fire, but ou 
 the contrary, claim that we saved what of Columbia remains un- 
 con sullied. And without hesitation, I charge Gen. Wade nami)toii 
 with having- burned his own citv of Columbia, not with malicious 
 intent, or as the manifestation of a silly Roman stoicism, but from 
 folly and the want of sense, in filling- it with cotton and tinder. 
 Our officers and men on duty worked well to extinguish the flames, 
 but others, not on duty, including the officers long imprisoned 
 there, rescued by us, may have assisted in spreading- the fire after 
 it had once begun, and may have indulged in unconcealed joy to 
 see the ruin of the capital of South Carolina." 
 
 The fall of Columbia involved that of Charleston. Hardee, de- 
 clining- isolation and capture, evacuated the city. This he efi^ected 
 on the 18th of February, by the westerly line of the coast railroad, 
 the only avenue of escape which the federal blockaders and in- 
 A^asioii had left intact. Before his departure he fired the arsenal, 
 commissary stores and cotton warehouse, the latter containing 
 4,000 bales, which perished in the flames From the burning cot- 
 ton, fire was communicated to a large quantity of powder stored 
 in the northwestern depot, causing- an explosion which sent the 
 building- a whirling- mass of ruins through the air, destroyed 200 
 lives, and shook the city to its foundations. Spreading thence, 
 the fla-mes were soon leaping- and cracikling among the adjoining 
 buildings, and 4 squares were consumed before they could be ex- 
 tinguisiied. The city was formally surrendered to Gen. Gilmore 
 and the national flag again hoisted over the ruins of its public 
 buildings, where, for the first time in the history of the rei)ublic, it 
 had been ruthlessly assailed by those who owed it allegiance. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. SGI 
 
 Forts Sumter and Ripley and Castle Pinkney snbinitted gracefidly 
 to !i: similar embellishment, and the formidable^ armaments un- 
 harmed passed into our possession. Gen. Gilmore reported 450 
 pieces found in all the defences, many of them 8 and 10-inch 
 columbiads, and 7-inch ritled cannon of foreign construction. 
 
 History funiislies few such reverses as that wliich in the brief 
 space of 4 years had befallen the city. Here rebellion had been 
 spawned for the purpose of renderiiiii peipetual tlie servile condi- 
 tion of tlie black nnin, and now a reginu^nt of the emanci))ated 
 race, wearing" the national uniform, was the first to march as con- 
 querors through its scarred and blackened streets. Everywhere 
 ruin had been wrought by the long and continuous bombardment 
 of the fleet. Many of the once palatial buildings were now the 
 blackened wrecks of conflagration, some yawning and tottering" 
 with seams caused by exploding" shells, or pounded to a mass of 
 rubbish and strewn in the adjacent streets. As if to make the 
 desolation more complete, a large part of the city which had 
 escaped the guns of the besiegers had been set on fire by its 
 defenders and thus met a common doom. 
 
 There was a feeling prevalent in the army that South C-ar- 
 oliiia, the cradle of secession and rebellion, should be made to feel 
 some of the evils which she had been so active in bringing on her 
 sister States. Hence not oidy her cities, but her rural dwellings, 
 rice mills, and pine forests and other property, were fired and 
 served as a bon-fire to signalize the advance of the invading 
 army. In Georgia little private ]»roperty was destroy e<l ; here 
 little escaped. The devastation was forbidden, but could not be 
 prevented where so many of the army, if not directly connected 
 with it, evidently regarded it as justifiable retaliation. 
 
 Let no one imagine that he can see in the deplorable fate of 
 South Carolina the special displeasure of an angered God. Let 
 liim rather regard her calamities as the inevitable penalty wliich 
 always attends the infraction of moral and i^hysical law; whether 
 the wrong" doer be an imlividual, State, or nation. Our forefathers 
 wantonly disregarded the rights of the neg'ro when they kidnapi)ed 
 him on the coast of Africa and introduced him a slave into the 
 American colonies. Again they were guilty y)f a moral breach 
 when they sought to make his degradation ]>erpetual by tolerating 
 slavery in the national constitution. From this abnormal element 
 in our political and social fabric sprang sectional discord, treason, 
 and civil war with its rapine, burnings and slaughters. The blood 
 shed by the sword in the war was tlie penalty for that which had 
 been drawn by the lash from the backs of the bondsmen ; the deso- 
 lation caused by the destruction of cities, was the price paid for 
 the wealth which had been piled up by long years of unre- 
 quited toil ; and the wail which went up from homes all over the 
 land had its precurser in the cry wrung from the families of the 
 oppressed when ruthlessly torn asunder by the dealers in human 
 souls. Crime and punishment are cause and effect and cannot be 
 separated. Ko one can trample on the jnst and inevitable laws of 
 God without suffering, an<l if the transgression is continued he 
 must of necessity perish, not by a special bolt from heaven, but 
 as the unavoidable consequence of his own crime. 
 
 Sherman, leaving" at Columbia provisions to sustain for some 
 time its destitute and houseless population, resumed his march, 
 
862 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 moving- ill the direction of Charlotte. Hitlier liad preceded liiin 
 iiiuler Beauregard tlie garrison of the devastated capital, and 
 liitlier Clieatliain had lead the dilapidated divisions of Hood's old 
 army which had survived the blowsintiictedon it in Tennessee. jSTot- 
 withstanding theheavy storms and almost impassable roads, he con- 
 tinued in his course till the 23d, when suddenly, heading his col- 
 umns for Fayetteville, X. C, Charlotte, like other points which 
 had been threatened, was left far in the rear. His line of inai(;h 
 now lay across the Catwba and Great Pedee. which. lUO years 
 before, liad enabled Green to elude the pursuit of Lord Cornwal- 
 lis. Kili)atrick. while nnnuruvering' with the enemy, toenable our 
 army to cross the river without opposition, was surprised by a 
 force of rebel cavalry and driven back into a swamp, losing all 
 his guns and most of his staff. He, however, rallied his men, 
 and. charging upon the rebels while they were i)lundering liis 
 camp, put them to flight and retook his captured guns. 
 
 The army having rapidly c]-ossed Pedee, bringing the 30th and 
 31st Illinois into action and capturing 25 guns, the opposing 
 force, the ill-starred garrisons of Mobile and Charleston, under 
 the luckless Hardee, hurriedly retreated to Fayetteville. Hitlier 
 they were closely followed, and, after a sharj) fray, on the 
 lltii of March, with the loth, 30th and 31st Illinois, retreated up 
 Cape Fear river. 
 
 While the army lay in Fayetteville. the steam tug- Davidson, 
 and gun-boat F^olus steamed up from Wilmington, bringing news 
 of the capture of that city and other important events, which had 
 transpired during' the six weeks that our army had been forcing- 
 its way through the interminable swamjis and over the swollen 
 streams of the Caroliuas. 
 
 Reduction of Wilmington. — The capture of Wilmington, in 
 which the 65th, 107th and 112th Illinois participated, was inti- 
 mately connected with, and had an important bearing- on the oj)- 
 erations of Sherman. As tending to facilitate his movements 
 Grant, on the 14th of January, ordered Schofield from Tennessee 
 to the seaboard of Xorth Carolina. His instructions were to de- 
 bark at Wilmington if the place should be captured, but if not, to 
 land at ^^ewberii. lu accordance with this arrangement he trans- 
 ported his corps to the latter place, but detached Cox's division to 
 co-operate with Porter in the reduction of Wilmington, still in pos- 
 session of the enemy. The only obstacle which now remained to 
 j)revent the advance of our fleet to the city, was Fort Anderson, 
 a place of immense strength inclosing- about 4 square miles. To 
 efl'ect its overthrow, a movement was commenced up the river on 
 the 11th of February, and. on reaching the fort. Cox's division, by 
 wading through adiflicult swamp, took a position in the rear. On 
 the 18th the gun-boats opened on the works, while Schofield made 
 arrangements to intercept the garrison in case of retreat. Hoke, 
 in command, finding himself likely to be surrounded by a formid- 
 able force, and Sherman's army in a }>osition to isolate him as it 
 had done Hardee at Charleston, the succeeding- night evacuated 
 the place and pushed iiortliward to form a junction with Johnson. 
 The works were oc(uipied. and 700 prisoners and 50 pieces of artil- 
 lery passed into the hands of the victors. 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 863 
 
 Sbermaii now directed Scliofield to meet him in Goldsboro, juid, 
 after destroying the arsenals of Fayetteville, and costly raacliinery 
 which bad been brought from the armory of Harper's Ferry, re- 
 sumed his march. Hardee having tied on the approach of our 
 army, moved further up the river and fortified a position on the 
 left bank near Areysboro. Here he encountered the COth, 80th, 
 101st, 102d and l()5th Illinois, under Slocum, who was moving in 
 the same direction to make a feint on Raleigh and thus conceal Hiier- 
 nian's movement on Goldsboro. The enemy's position was almost 
 inaccessible on account of swamps, yet it was necessary to dis- 
 lodge him, and Wood's division of the 20th corps wasthr<»wn for- 
 ward to develoi) his lines. Immediately charging u])()n tiie outer 
 works the division captured three guns and a considtnable num- 
 ber of prisoners. Kil})atrick, farther to the right, was, however, 
 vigorously attacked and driven l)ack, gallantly fighting. Slocum 
 in the meantime had ordered up three additional divisions, which, 
 falling ui)on the enemy, forced him to retire within his entrench- 
 ments, where he waf5 held during the remainder of the day. The 
 succeeding night being stormy, under cover of the darkness Har- 
 dee abandoned his position and retreated over the road to Smith- 
 field. 
 
 Hitherto Sherman had succeeded in interposing his army be 
 tween the scattered detachments of the rebel forces, but now they 
 were rapidly concentrating, and it became necessary to move with 
 more caution. There were gathering about him Cheatham, with 
 Hood's forces from Tennessee; Hoke, with the recent garrison of 
 Fort Anderson; Hardee, with that of Charleston, and Wheeler's 
 cavalry reinforced by Wade Hampton. These forces, numbering 
 40,000 veterans, were under the comuiand of Johnson, Sherman's 
 old antagonist, rendering it necessary for the latter to keep his 
 columns within supporting distance. Slocum, after making the 
 feint on Ealeigh, wheeled to the right and took the road to Golds- 
 boro, whither Howard, on his right, with his forces was also march- 
 ing. 
 
 Hopes were entertained by Sherman that the army might reach 
 its destination without further opposition. Suddenly, however, 
 as Slocum on the 18th neared Bentonville, he found himself con- 
 fronted by the whole of Johnson's army. Beforedispositionscould 
 be made to receive the unexpected enemy, two brigades were 
 driven back on the main force with a loss of three guns. Slocum, 
 as soon as possible, deployed four divisions behind barricades and 
 stood on the defensive. Kilpatrick hearing the roar of artillery, 
 also dashed up and moved his forces on the left. Hardly had 
 these preparations been made when Hoke, Hardee and Cheatham 
 SM'ept up their massive columns, hoping by sheer weight of num- 
 bers to overwhelm and break the Union line. The whole fury of 
 the assault spent itself within an hour, yet, in this time the rebels 
 made six successive charges, all of which were successfully re- 
 pulsed. The rapid volleys of our batteries did immense execution 
 upon the foe, wlio, divesting himself of artillery, had hurried up 
 expecting to crush Slocum before he could be supi)orted. How- 
 ard, however, in obedience to orders from Sherman, came up the 
 next day, and the rebel general finding himself opposed by an 
 army of 60,000 strong, decamped the succeeding night, and re- 
 
864 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 treated in the directiou of Ealeigii. The following day, the 23d 
 of March, the army, without farther opposition, entered Golds- 
 boro, whither Schotield two days before had preceded it. 
 
 The battle of Bentouville, honored by the presence of the 30th, 
 53d, 5(>th, 60th, 63d, 04th, 80th, 92d, 101st, 104th and 105th 
 Illinois, was the last engagement of the campaign. It is needless 
 to say they, in common with the rest of tlieir comrades, fought 
 well. The results speak for themselves. A track of country from 
 Savannah to Goldsboro, 40 miles wide and nearly 500 long, had 
 been successfully overridden. The immediate fruits of the march 
 were Mobile, Charleston and Wilmington, which, hitherto, had 
 defied some of the most destructive naval enginery the world has 
 ever seen, while it largely contributed to the downfall of the con- 
 federate capital. Walled in on one side by the army of Grant, 
 with Sherman rapidly approaching on the other, its evacuation 
 was a military necessity. 
 
 Close of the War. — Sherman temporarily turned over his array 
 to Schofield and hastened to City Point, where he had an inter- 
 view with Gen. Grant and President Lincoln. The object of the 
 meeting was to concert measures for striking the death blow of 
 the rebellion. An important part in the closing drama was as- 
 signed to the army of the West, but the end was at hand. Before 
 any important movement could be effecte<l, Lee surrendered, and 
 the civil war, whose throes had convulsed the continent and dis- 
 turbed the commerce of the world, existed only in history. 
 
 The slave power, corrupt, defiant and rebellions, had now meas- 
 ured its strength Avith the republic, and the latter had triuin})hed. 
 Not a stripe was erased from her banners; every star still revolves 
 in the frame work of the constitution; her domain is unbroken. 
 May she still continue toi)rosper till her expanding dominion is oniy 
 limited by the billows which at every point of the compass, breali 
 upon the ocean's shore ; till her i)roud destiny becomes a realiza- 
 tion of the prophecies written in her coal-fields, beds of iron and 
 seams of gold ; till all nations, taught by lier example, are released 
 from political oppression, and man attains the full measure of 
 ha])piness forshadowed in the divinity of his nature. 
 
 How much the nation is indebted to Illinois for the auspicious ter- 
 mination of the war, may be inferred from the fact that in the two 
 great movements which severed the insurgent States, and so greatly 
 paralyzed their eftbrts, her soldiers were more largely represented 
 than those of any other member of the Union. Furthermore, we 
 must place on the credit side of her balance sheet a large amount 
 of legal talent, superior generalship and executive ability ; for 
 Trumbull was our lawyer, Grant our soldier, and Liucolu our 
 president. 
 
 From the scene of its dangers and triumphs, Sherman's army 
 proceeded to the national capital to share in the great reAiew, 
 which came off on the 23d and 24th of May, as a fitting close of 
 the struggle in which it had been so long engaged. At the ap- 
 pointed time, in presence of the president, the members of his cabi- 
 net, foreign ministers, and other eminent personages, the united 
 armies of the East and West moved along Pennsylvania avenue. 
 Never had more gallant legions been entrusted with the destinies 
 of empire than those which received the congratulations of the 
 
THE WAR OF THE REBELLION. 865 
 
 dense masses which packed the spacious streets. Tlie pageaut 
 was grand, yet grander far was the scene when the miglity host 
 which covikl have overrun a hemisphere, peacefully, joyfully 
 melted away into regiments and returned to their distant homes. 
 
 Again the cities and villages of Illinois were aglow with enthu- 
 siasm when the lengtiiened trains and crowded steamboats poured 
 forth the thousands who had gone forth to battle. Everywhere 
 they were met with expressions of welcome. Ovations were pre- 
 pared for their reception, and long absent friends who had fol- 
 lowed them with their sympathies through weary marches and 
 perilous battles, gave them a happy greeting. The greatest re- 
 ward, however, was the proud consciousness of having served and 
 saved their countr3'. Laying aside their military costume, they 
 again assumed the habiliments and duties of civil life, and to-day 
 the State is bounding forward in the career of greatness and 
 power as the result of their thrift and enterprise. 
 
 Many who had been instrmnental in saving the nation, never 
 lived to see the consummation of their labors. On the Father of 
 Waters; where the Tennessee wanders; by the southern sea; along 
 the track of the great contending armies, may still be seen their 
 last resting places. As long as vernal suns shall cause the earth 
 to bloom, may the sons and daughters of freedom strew with flow- 
 ers their graves and from the remembrance of their deeds , 
 gather new inspiration to direct them in discharging their duties to 
 the country they died to save. 
 
 65 
 
Chapter LXV. 
 
 POLITICAL AND PARTY AFFAIRS DURING THE RE- 
 BELLION. 
 
 Sentiments of the Illinois Democracy in the Winter of 1860-1861 — 
 Fatriotic Feeling on the breaking out of Hostilities, irrespective 
 of party, as inspired hy Douglas — Revival of Fartisan Feeling- 
 Constitutional Convention of 1862— Its high pretensions— Confiict 
 With the Governor— Some Features of the Instrument framed; it 
 becomes a party measure— The vote upon it — Farty Convention of 
 l^&l—The last Democratic Legislature— Frauds in passing hills— 
 Beaction among the People against the Peace Movement — Mili- 
 tary Arrests— Suppressing the Chicago Times — Secret Folitico- 
 Military Societies— Democratic Mass Convention of June 17th, 
 1S63 — Repuhlican Mass Convention, September, 1863 — Feace 2lcet- 
 ings of 1861 — JVofe, Chicago Conspiracy. 
 
 During tlie winter preceedingMr. Lincoln's first iuaugnration as 
 president, wlieu State after State was sliooting niadl}^ from the 
 orbit of tne Union by passing secession ordinances, conservative 
 men generally, to avoid the horrors of impending civil war, were 
 anxious to conciliate the existing misunderstanding and restore 
 harmony between the diiferent sections of our country. Several 
 propositions were offered in congress as plans for compromise ; 
 one by Mr. Douglas ; one by Mr. Crittenden, and one known as 
 the "Border State Proposition." With the feeling of compromise 
 the democracy of Illinois were fully imbued, and for the sake of 
 peace, they would have conceded much. 
 
 On the i6th of January, 1861, a Democratic State convention, 
 met in Springfield to give expression to their sentiments upon the 
 state of tlie Union. Ninety-three counties were represented by 
 over 500 delegates. The venerable Zadock Casey presided. More 
 than 28 years before he had presided over the Illinois senate, when 
 the legislature declared the position of the State upon the nidlifi- 
 cation of South Carolina, sustaining President Jackson in his 
 proclamation, and instructing our senators and representatives in 
 Congress "to unite in the most speedy and vigorous measures on 
 the ]»art of the government for the preservation of the peace, in- 
 tegrity and honor of the Union; and we do most solemnly pledge 
 the faith of our State in support of the administration of the laws 
 and constitution of our beloved country;" resolving further "That 
 
YATES AD3IINISTR,ATION. 807 
 
 disimioii by armed force is treason, and should be treated as such 
 by the constituted authorities of the nation." But this convention 
 of 1861 adopted a preamble and set of resolutions, counselling 
 concession and compromise, and the acceptance of any of the 
 propositions })ending in congress to restore harmony between the 
 sections; declared that an eftbrt to coerce the seceding- States, 
 Avould plunge the country in civil Mar, and denied the military 
 power of the government to enforce its laws in any State, except 
 in strict subordination to the civil anthorities; believed "that the 
 perilous condition of the country had been i)r()duced by the agita- 
 tion of the slavery question, creating discord and enmity between 
 the diflerent sections, which had been aggravated by the election 
 of a sectional president;" condemned the party leaders, madly 
 bent on fraternal strife; did not recognize any conflict in the 
 diversity of the domestic institutions and industries of the coun- 
 try, but rather discovered groumls for a more lasting aiul perfect 
 union in its variety of soil and climate, and modes of thought of 
 the people; denied the right of secession ; commended the i)roposed 
 Louisville convention, and proposed a natiomil convention to 
 amend the constitution so as to produce harmony and fraternity 
 throughout the whole Union.* 
 
 In the proceedings of this conventi(m nmy be found the names 
 of men, Mho, in antagonism to the high national ground occupied 
 by Mr. Douglas, ever sougiit to ])lace the democracy of Illinois in 
 a false light before the country during the rebellion. These reso- 
 lutions foreshadowed the views which two years later, in a modi- 
 fied form, re-ap[)eared in the Armistice resolutions of the 23d gen- 
 eral assembly, and again in tlie eiumciations of the so-called D(;mo- 
 cratic mass convention of the 1 7th of June, 18(i3. But the full force 
 of the rebellion was not yet, iiirJanuary, 1801, realized. The bluster 
 of extremists M'as so great in those days that much of it was dis- 
 regarded. When the war was actually upon us, numy other names 
 seen there as participants, by their i)atriotic and gallant comluct, 
 gave the lie to these enunciations. And prior to this, in IJecem- 
 ber, 1800, the Hon. John A. JMcClernand, a leading representative 
 democi'at in congress from this State, in the discussions incident 
 to the state of the Union, had exclaimed that 
 
 " The sacred obligations of patriotism would prompt everj^ loyal citi- 
 zen, whether in the North or iu the tSouth, to defend and maintain the 
 integrity of the Union and the authority of its common government 
 against the inroads of violence. "•'■ * Is it coercion of a tState for 
 us to do wliat we are sworn to do— to support tlie constitution and the 
 laws and treaties as the supreme law of the laud ? Is it coercion for us 
 to maintain peaceably if we can, forcibly if we must, possession of the 
 treasure and other property of tlie United States? Is it coercion for us 
 to stay the violent and lawless hand that would tear down the noblo 
 structure of our government? iSir, it is a perversion of all language ; a 
 mockery of all ideas, to say so." 
 
 jMr. Douglas, devotedly attached to the Union, and anxiously 
 laboring for conciliation and compromise, exclaimed to the South : 
 '• What are you afraid of? Von have now. and will have m hen Mr. 
 Lincoln becomes president, two-thirds of the goverinnent, the 
 su])reme court, and both branches of congress." L'nable to assign 
 a sufficient reason, it was answered that they could not endure 
 
 • Illinois state Register, Jan. 17, 18G1. 
 
8G8 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tlie disgrace of a man in the Wbite House, elected president by 
 the Kepublicans. "Well," replied Douglas, "If the South se- 
 cedes and takes up arms against the government, there ^Yill then 
 be au end of compromise. You and your institutions will perish 
 together." 
 
 The legislature of Virginia had adopted resolutious, exteudiug 
 invitations to the other States of the Union, to appoint commis- 
 sioners to meet at Washington, February 4:th, ISGl, with similar 
 commissioners from that State, to consider and suggest plans for 
 the adjustment of the unhappy differences between the Xorth and 
 South. The basis of adjustment suggested by Virginia was the 
 " Crittenden Compromise;" or to so amend the federal constitu- 
 tion that "property in African slaves should be effectually x>i'0- 
 tected in all the territory of the United States, now held, or here- 
 after to be acquired south of the parallel of 36 deg. 30 min., dur- 
 ing the continuance of territorial governments therein." The 
 legislature of Illinois (Eepublican) authorized the governor to ap- 
 point 5 connnissioners, as above, to be at all times, liowever, sub- 
 ject to the control of the general assembly, but disclaimed any 
 admission, by their response to the invitation of Virginia, that any 
 amendment of the federal constitution was requisite to secure the 
 people of the slaveholding States adequate guarantees for their 
 rights, or that it was an ai)proval of the basis of settlement pro- 
 posed by Virginia; and declared it simply an expression of their 
 willinguess to unite in an earnest effort to adjust the present un- 
 happy controversies. The resolutions in that form did not meet 
 the approval of the democrats. In the senate every democrat, but 
 one, voted against them. The governor appointed the following 
 gentlemen as commissioners: Ex-Governor John Wood, Ex-Gov- 
 ernor Koerner, (who declined, and the Hon. John M. Palmer was 
 named instead). Judge Stephen T. Logan, Hon. B. C. Cook 
 and Hon. Thomas J. Turner, all republicans. The conference of 
 these commissioners, known as the "Peace Congress," was duly 
 held at Washington, but their labors were nnsatisfactory from the 
 start, incurring the severest criticism from every direction and 
 their recommendations resulted in nothing. 
 
 The first determined expression from leading republican sources, 
 and supposed to reflect the views of the new administration as to 
 the course to be pursued with the rebels, came, also, froia 
 an Illinoisan. On the 28th of March, 18G1, Mr. Trumbull, 
 in the senate of the United States, offered a resolution that " in 
 the opinion of the senate the true way to preserve the Union [was] 
 to enforce the laws of the Union ; that resistance to their enforce- 
 ment, whether under the name of anti-coercion or any other name, 
 was disunion; and that it was the duty of the president to use all 
 the means in his power to hold and protect tlie public property of 
 the United States, ami to enforce the laws thereof, as well in the 
 States of South Carolina, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, Florida, 
 Louisiana and Texas, as within the other States of the Union." 
 It was not acted on; no fixed policy was settled upon or seemed 
 to exist at the time. 
 
 When the news of the rebels opening their batteries upon Fort 
 Sumter was received at Washington, Douglas, the great champion 
 of poi)ularrights,who truly represented more than nine-tenths of the 
 mass of the Illinois democracy, freed immediately of all partizan feel- 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 809 
 
 ing, rose at once to the duty of the hour. He called upon President 
 Lincoln and tendered him his sympathy and support in his efforts 
 to preserve the Union and maintain the government. It was a 
 touching scene to see these old political antagonists thus meet to 
 bury the political hatchet and address themselves only to the pa- 
 triotic work before them. The presidejit was deeply gratified by 
 the interview. To the west Douglas telegraphed, " I am for my 
 country and against all its assailants." The fire of his x)atriotism 
 sinead to the masses of the north, and democrat and republican 
 rallied to the supi)ort of the flag. In Illinois the democratic and 
 republican presses vied with each other in the utterance of patri- 
 otic sentiments. From the former we quote a few sentences: 
 
 "The fratricidal blow has been struck! Civil war is upon us. The rebels have opened 
 batteries on Sumter, and the prospect of a long- and bloody strite is before us. * * 
 The government has been resisted in the performance of its legal functions. Rebels 
 to the national authorities have lired upon the Hag of the country and assaulted one 
 of its garrisons when effort was being made to reinforce and provision the noble An- 
 derson and his gallant little band. * ' Whatever maybe men's opinions as to 
 the causes which have brought war upon us, there is but one feeling, and that is in 
 behalf of the natunial gorernment and the flag of the Union. This is as it should be 
 with the true patriot. Whatever may be his opinions of the causes of the war with his 
 country's enemies, he is for his country and his country's flag, and tiis hearty support, 
 morally and physically, if necessary, should be rendered to the country's cause. * * 
 Civil war is our present condition, and the patriot can only sympathize with his govern- 
 ment and with the flag, beneath the folds of which we have achieved our national 
 eminence, with which are associated so many glorious memories, and with which are 
 blended all our h(5pes of future greatness, happiness and prosperity of civil and relig- 
 lousliberty, and the cause of democratic republican government." ''Whatever may be 
 our party leanings, our party principles, our likes or dislikes, when the contest opens 
 between the country— between the Union and its foes, and blows are struck, the pa- 
 triot's duty is plain— take sides with the stars and stripes. As Illinoisans, let us rally 
 to one standard. There is but one standard for good men and true. Let us be there; 
 through good and tlirough evil report, let us be there; first, last and all the time."* 
 
 Large and numerously attended mass meetings met, as it were with 
 one accord, irrespective of parties, and the people of all shades of 
 political opinions buried their party hatchets. Glowing and elo- 
 qnent orators exhorted the people to i<;;nore political differences in. 
 the present crisis, join in the common cause, and rally to the flag 
 Oi the Union and the constitution. It was a noble truce. From 
 the many resolutions of that great outpouring of patriotic senti- 
 ment which ignored all previous party ties, we subjoin the follow- 
 ing : 
 
 '•Resolved, That it is the duty of all patriotic citizens of Illinois, without distinction of 
 partj' or sect, to sustain the government through the peril which now threatens the 
 existence of the Union; and of our legislature to grant such aid of men and money as 
 the exigency of the hour and the patriotism of our people shall demand." 
 
 Governor Yates promptly issued his proclamation, dated the- 
 loth of April, convening the legislature for the 2'M inst. in extra- 
 ordinary session. 
 
 That body remained in session ten days. Their labors were 
 chiefly addressed toward placing the State in proper position for 
 defense, and to enable it to respond to the requisitions of the 
 general government. In addition to the (5 regiments under thecall of 
 the president, they authorized the organization, by the State, of ten 
 regiments of infantry, one of cavalry, and one l)atallion of light 
 aitillery, to repel invasion, suppress insurrection, »S:c. The entire 
 militia of the State, inclnding all able-bodied men between the 
 ages of 18 and 45, was to be organized; 8.'i,;jU0,0((0 were api)r()pri- 
 a ted for war jiurposes : |1,()()(),()()0 for the e<iuipment of the tea 
 regiments of infantry ; $500, 000 for the purchase of arms and the 
 establishment of an arsenal, and $2,000,000 for general war pur- 
 poses. 
 * Illinois State Eegister. 
 
870 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The opinion of the Supreme Court, tlien sitting at Ottawa, was 
 first taken as to the power of the legislature to transcend the con- 
 stitutional limitation of 150,000. The extraordinary emergency 
 was dec'ided to be sufficient. 
 
 The Executive department was also provided with a fund of 
 $50,000 for extraordinary expenses. An act was also passed re- 
 quiring war claims to be audited by three commissioners. Messrs. 
 J. H. Woodworth, of Chicago, Wm. Thonias, of Jacksonville and 
 C. H. Lap])hier, Springtield, (the latter a democrat,) were by the 
 governor appointed. 
 
 Politi(;al or party questions were not obtruded to mar the har- 
 mony of the special session, other than a resolution by Aaron 
 Shaw — "That, while we are ever ready to stand by, aiul defend 
 with our fortunes, and our lives, the constitution, the honor and 
 flag of our country, we will frown u})()n and condemn any eifort, 
 on the part of the federal government, which looks to the subju- 
 gation of ihe Southern States." Mr. Burr, democrat of Scott, from 
 the committee on federal relations, rep(jrred a substitute, which was 
 adopted by 07 to 0, disclaiunnga purpose to subjugate the peo])le 
 of an}" State to any other duties than those imposed by the con- 
 stitution ajul laws made in pursuance thereof. 
 
 On the evening of the 25th of April, Mr. Douglas, who had ar- 
 rived at the capital the day before, addressed the general assem- 
 bly and a densely packed audience, in the hall of representatives, 
 in that masterly effort, which must live and be enshrined in the 
 hearts of his countrymen so long as our government shall endure. 
 Douglas had ever delighted in the mental conflicts of party strife ; 
 but now, when his country was assailed by the red hand of trea- 
 son, he was instantly divested of his ]>arty armor and stood forth 
 l)anoplied only in the pure garb of a true patriot. He taught his 
 auditory — he taught his country, for his speeches were telegraph- 
 ed all over it — the duty of patriotism at that i)erilous hour of the 
 nation's life. He implored both democrats ami republicans to lay 
 aside their party creeds and })latforms; to dispense with party or- 
 ganizations and party appeals; to forget that they were ever di- 
 vided until they had tirst rescued the government from its assail- 
 ants. His arguments were clear, convincing and unanswerable; 
 his appeals for the salvation of his countr}', irresistible. It was 
 the last speech, but one, he ever made. 
 
 Thus everything moved in accord, as it should at such a time. 
 The demon of party seemed swallowed u}) in the awakened patri- 
 otism. Everything was harmony, concord and unity, actuated by 
 but one jRirpose, to uphold the flag and nuiintain the integrity of 
 the Union. 
 
 The first ripple across this smooth sea, in which apparently was 
 engulplied all party animosity, arose from the appointment of a 
 successor to the lamented JJouglas, who died on the 3d of June, 
 ISni. Some of the leading republican newspapers of the State, 
 acituated b,y sentiments that rose above party, demanded of Gov. 
 Yates the aj^poiutment of a Democrat to fill the vacancy. Lut 
 the lesser though more numerous republican lights, who, so long 
 as there was nothing to lose or gaiii, had been loud in praise of 
 burying the party hatchet during the war for the Union, now, 
 however, oi)i)()sed this magnanimous concession, so well cahaila- 
 ted to promote harmony, and severely denounced this step and the 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 871 
 
 indecent liaste of their party associates to guide the i^olitical sen- 
 timents of the State. They did not want to tlius bu}- the h)yalty 
 of the democracy, thej' said. Tlie democracy was not to be 
 trusted in the emergency which threatened the perpetuity ot the 
 Union — citing the anti-coercion resohitions of the January State 
 denu>cratic convention, that the government had no constitution- 
 al power to put down insurrection by miUtary force. From this 
 domestic warfare the (h-mocracy stood aloof ; they did not expect 
 the senatorship, a political offiee, as a gift, at the hands of the re- 
 publicans. But it may well be inuigined that the taunts and 
 flings of the latter were not promotive of the amity and unity of 
 feeling so auspiciously begun. While the advocates of such ap- 
 l)ointment gave thus an earnest to sink the paitizau out of view 
 during the war, they ought to have foreseen the imibility of his ex- 
 cellency to throw off party shackles and rise to the grandeur and 
 independence of such an act. Their good intentions resulted only 
 in harm. The governor appointed a lepublican, the Hon. O. H. 
 Browning, (»f Qiiincy, a gentlennin who, by his legal attainments, 
 occupied a front rank at the bar of Illinois, and who, by educa- 
 tion, large acquaintance with public affairs, natural ability and 
 gifts of oratory, was in every way qualified to adorn the senatorial 
 office. 
 
 In the meantime the national adjuinistration proceeded with 
 tlie work of oflicial decapitation fully as much as in times of pro- 
 found peace, with no common danger threatening and no other 
 public feeling than party animosity, and a scramble fortheloaves 
 and fishes. While the dominant party press cried "Union" and 
 "no party" during the war, they approbated at the same time the 
 course of the administration, and said: "The democrats belong to 
 that political tribe which, for years, have been giving aid and com- 
 fort to Southern traitors, and are now only for the Union by the 
 force of circumstances and not incliinition ; that the republican 
 party, after driving the disunioin'sts out of oflice at Wasliington, 
 should not allow their syjnpathizers to hold office anywliere else 
 in file country ; that the people expected the political axe to be 
 applied."* 
 
 Democrats and re})ublicans had alike rallied with alacrity to the 
 defense of the nation. Tlic foiiner ^'oted unlimited sup])]ies of 
 nu)ney, men and credit, to an administration which, in its civil ap- 
 pointments, drew the line of strict party separation — a poor re- 
 quital, indeed, for the generous surrender of party feeling in the 
 moment of great peril to a common government; and while the re- 
 publicans were thus revelling in the full enjoyment of the spoils 
 of party victory, it could hardly be expected that partizan feeling 
 should be entirely sunk out of view by the democracy thus irrita- 
 ted. 
 
 The Constitutional Convention of 1802. — In November, 1801, 
 quite an imitortant ele(-tion was to take place for delegates to re- 
 vise the constitution. This convention had finally been autlun^- 
 izedby a vote of the people, after sevei-al previous attem])ts and 
 failures. The legislature at its winter session of 1801, with some 
 reluctance, owing to the changed condition of the nation, had 
 
 *See Republican press of the period. 
 
872 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 passed the act for the election aud uieetiugof this important body. 
 When the convention was called times were good and the State 
 in a prosperous condition; now they were hard, banks daily 
 breaking, money worthless, and i^roduce extremely low. 
 
 It was to consist of 75 members, corresponding to the number 
 of representatives in the lower house of the general assembly, to 
 be elected from the same districts. The legislature elected iu 
 1860 Avas republican — the house by five majority and the senate 
 by oue. Yet the election of delegates to the constitutional con- 
 vention, but oue year later, resulted in 45 democrats, 21 republi- 
 cans, 7 fusiouists, and 2 doubtful; the latter 9 acting in the con- 
 vention mostly with the democrats. From this result, which was 
 entirel}^ unexpected by the republicans, it may well be inferred 
 that the democrats, like their opponents, had also not, when the 
 scramble for ofiHee was at stake, sunk all party issues out of view 
 while the war should last. Indeed, for party organization and 
 alertness, democratic leaders huxe ever out-maneuvered their op- 
 ponents, probably because the rank and tile of tlieir party have 
 ever been tractable. It seems that the democracy in some repub- 
 lican districts readily agreed to a fusion u])on an equitable or satis- 
 factory division of candidates, but in districts where they had clear 
 majorities, this cognate rule was ignored, a straight party ticket 
 brought out, and elected. 
 
 Among the delegates were many well-known politicians of the 
 State. Iu the listof names may be recognized ex-governors, ex- 
 congressmen, ex-State ofticials, ex legislators, learned jurists who 
 held ou to their seats upou the bench while they were remodeling 
 the organic law, distinguished lawyers, experienced editors, and 
 able civilians. 
 
 The convention assembled January 7th, 1862, and at once took 
 the high position that, after due organization, the law calling it 
 was no longer binding, and that it had supreme power; that it 
 represented a virtual assemblage of the whole people of the State, 
 and was sovereign in the exercise of all power nec^essary to efiect 
 a peaceable revolution of the State government, and to the restab- 
 lishment of one for the "happiness, prosperity and freedom of 
 the citizen,"limitedonly bythe federal constitution. Notwithstand- 
 ing the law calling the convention required that, before entering 
 upon their duties, the members should each take an oath to sup- 
 port the constitution of the United States, and of this State, they 
 utterly refused to include the latter, denying the right of the leg- 
 islature to prescribe their oath of oflice, and holding it inconsistent 
 for them to swear to maintain what it was their duty to tear to 
 pieces.* 
 
 Tliey claimed their authority from tlie vote of the people at the 
 election of 1860, and not from the subsequent act of the legisla- 
 ture, which had exhausted its power by authorizing their election 
 and could attach uo condition to their duties; that if the legisla- 
 ture could bind them in their oath, it could in the articles to be 
 amended, and thus in advance render null the voice of the peo- 
 ple and the labors of the convention. 
 
 "See remarks of Mr. Anthony, of Cook, a republican, who first called attention to 
 this view. 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 873 
 
 They went farther, and asserted their supremacy, not only with 
 reference to the framing' of a constitution, but assumed the right 
 to control the executive departments of the State govern- 
 ment — the governor and subordinate State officials — the courts 
 and all cognate matters ; that they were sovereign with regard 
 to both existing laws and the constitution, as it was their pleasure 
 to will. This was high and extraordinary ground to take, though 
 not entirely new. ]!^or did the couventiun stop with the mere 
 claim of these extraordinary powers — it essayed to exercise them. 
 This led directly to an onslought from the republican press of the 
 State, which grew in sharpness as its sitting progressed. The con- 
 vention was [denounced as an illegally organized body — a mere 
 mob, exercising usurped powers, &c. 
 
 The legislature, at its special session of April, 18G1, had, it will 
 be remembered, with a liberal hand, appropriated $3, .500, 000 for 
 war purposes. When the convention met it speedily ascertained 
 that the governor had not stopped with the expenditure of the 
 appropriation, but, without authority of law, had greatlj' exceeded 
 its limits — the aggregate claims audited by the military auditing 
 board amounting to §4,885,880. This was in express violation of 
 the law. But these liabilities had been contracted in a crisis of 
 extraordinary peril to our country, to feed, clothe, equi]) and or- 
 ganize the troo])S of Illinois at a time when the government itself 
 was inexperienced in ever}' step it took, and should certainly not 
 have caused the arraignment of the governor as being false to his 
 official trust and obligations. He had a right to and doubtless 
 did rely upon the people for his acquittance, so long as it was 
 shown that these expenditures were necessary, and the money 
 was rightfully applied, to promote the comfort and efficiency of 
 our trooi^s. Besides, the general government was under obliga- 
 tions — which it has fully discharged — to reimburse the States for 
 necessary expenditures in theequipment of their volunteers. 
 
 But in the fall of ISOl, the U. S. quartermaster's dejiartment 
 sent its agent to Springtield to take charge of all expenditures in- 
 cident to the sui)plies and equipment of Illinois troops.* 
 
 This did not accord with the wishes of his excellency. To tho 
 agent's request to relieve the State, the governor replied that he 
 availed himself of the right conferred by act of Congress upon 
 each State to furnish sup[)lies for its troops. Contracts for sup- 
 plies were still given out, one for clothing alone amounting to 
 over 1800,000.* 
 
 The State was for a time threatened with a loss of $130- 
 000, on account of inferior clothing purchased by the gov- 
 ernor's agent, in Philadelphia. Finally, but not till in January, 
 18Gl*, upon a sharp dennind from the Secretary of War, the ex- 
 l)enditures and rich drippings of the quartermaster's department 
 were tnrned over to the general government. In this instance, 
 however, the conduct of the governor, by thus fixing a liability npon 
 the State beyond the war fund provided, in thefaceof the demand 
 of the war department to relieve the State, cannot certainly be ex- 
 tenuated upon the grounds of necessity. 
 
 *See Q. M. Gea. Meigs* letter to the Governor Sept, 28, 1861. 
 *See correspondence of Q. M. Gen. Meigs. 
 
874 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 TliecoiiveiUion inade many of these matters the subject of in- 
 quiry. They demanded of the governor, by resohition, to know 
 "wbether the general government had notified liim of its readiness 
 to relieve the State of the further expenditures in the organiza- 
 tion, equipment ami maintenance of troops enlisted in this State 
 for the service of the U. S.; whether the general government had 
 not sent its agent here for that purpose, and if so why the arrange- 
 ment had not been made; also all correspondence with the gen- 
 eral government in relation thereto. They called uj^on him (by 
 resolution of Mr. Wentworth, republican) to furnish the conven- 
 tion the names and pay of all persons appointed to office by him 
 since the beginning of the war, and out of what appropriations 
 they were paid ; what civil officers or agents he was empowered to 
 appoint under the constitution ; and whether the militia of the State 
 calledinto service had been permitted to elect their own officers, and 
 if not, by what authority he had exercised those functions, &c. The 
 Illinois Central It. li. Company, which, in its grant of land from 
 Congress, was bound, in exi)ress terms, to render to the general 
 government transportation for troops and numitions of war, free 
 of charge, had brought against this State a claim for military 
 trans[>ortation of -SllG,?!!), which had been audited and approved 
 by a majority (Messrs. Thomas and Woodward) of the State mili- 
 tary auditing board. The company Avanted to set off this claim 
 against the semi-annual dividend of 7 per centum of its gross 
 earnings. The convention instructed the new board of army au- 
 ditors (the auditor, treasurer and governor,) to suspend all action 
 iu relation to this claim until further notice from them. His excel- 
 lency, in several lengthy communications, complied with the de- 
 maiuls of the convention, setting forth in detail all his transactions 
 inquired about; but finally, in a short letter, dated February 5th, 
 1S02, after stating that he had, from the beginning, maintained 
 that the claims of the Central railroad could not be brought 
 against the State of Illinois, but were pro})erty chargeable against 
 the general government, he shari)ly delined his independence by 
 saying, "he did ]K)t acknowledge the right of the convention to 
 instruct him in the perforinance of his duty." 
 
 The convention went still further. Instead of revising the con- 
 stitution simply, it also assumed legislative powers and put its 
 finger into ahnost every conceivable State affair. It attempted 
 to crush the free banks by instructing the auditor not to issue to 
 any more bank notes to circulate as money, unless the bank first 
 showed, by the affidavits of two credible witnesses that it had 
 on hands, always previous thereto, a cash capital of not less than 
 $50,000 ; that it had never refused to redeem its circulation in 
 specie; and that at the time of application for further issues, it 
 had actually, and in good faith, a paid in capital of $50,000. The 
 requirements of these impossibilities from the banks was, per- 
 ha})s, well enough, to save the people from further losses by 
 " stump-tail " currency. 
 
 It also passed, by a vote of 39 to 23, an ordinance ratifying the 
 anicndnu'nt to the constitution of the U. S., proposed by joint res- 
 olution of Congress, March 2, 1801: Article XIII — "Ko amend- 
 ment shall be made to the constitution which will give to Con- 
 gress the power to abolish orinterfere within any State with the do- 
 mestic relations thereof, including that of persons held to labor 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 875 
 
 or service by tlie laws of said State." The convention had not 
 been called for tlie purpose of ratifying- this aniendinent, and Con- 
 gress, which has the selection of theniode of ratitication, had des- 
 ignated the legislatures. Some leading democratic meud)ers 
 protested against this step, not that they did not a])])rove 
 the aiuendment, but because the convention had not legislative 
 power to act in thei>remises. 
 
 A resolution was inti-oduced to in(piire into the feasibility of 
 electing a U. S. senator in place of the appointee of the governor. 
 And this step was encouraged by the democratic press, as it en- 
 couraged all the proceedings. In these ways the bitter hostility of 
 the entire republican press of the State was provoked, and it did 
 not halt or hesitate, but came to the charge with a will. The cry 
 of usurpation was raised. It was charged that the convention 
 went ont of its legitimate sphere to provoke a collision with the 
 State authorities ; it was denounced as a mob of political dema- 
 gogues who sought by every means to discredit tlie Avar for the 
 Union, destroy the government and build np secession democracy 
 on its ruins. The strictures of the press were unparalleled in gross- 
 ness and severity.* 
 
 And now, February IS, 1802, the convention, by a vote of ~A) to 
 16, passed an ordinance a])])roi)riating ^HOIMIOO for the exclusive 
 purpose of relieving tlie wants and sutferiugs of Illinois side and 
 wounded soldiers battling for the Union and the constitution. 
 To raise the necessary funds, 10 per cent, bonds were to be iinme- 
 diatel}' issued, redeemable at the pleasure of the State. The 
 governor, treasurer, and tinance committee of the convention 
 were constituted a commission to [iroperly exjiend this fund. But 
 this most generous action was characterized by Kepublicans as a 
 Deuiocratit; effort to make political cai)italout of the war. The con- 
 vention was ridiculed as having gone off' on a buncomb ordinance, 
 and its members sneeringly denounced as eleventh-hour patriots. 
 The bonds bearing the enormous rate of 10 per cent, interest, it 
 was argued, would astoiush the tinancial cejitres of the conn tiy; 
 that the whole scheme was meant to aim a blow at the credit of 
 the State, to give aid and comfort to the rebellion. So difticult is 
 it for one party to please another, with the most liberal acts even, 
 in favor of a cause espoused by l)()th. Notwithstanding a resolu- 
 tion directing the ])repai'ati()n of the bonds and their sale, the 
 State officials, all Iie{)ublicaus, wholly ignored the behests of the 
 convention, and the ordinance l)ecame a dead letter. The sick and 
 wounded Illinois soldiers received no State aid, said the Demo- 
 crats, because it was not the act of the domiiuint party. As the 
 convention possessed [)rol)ab]y no legislative power, the ordinance 
 was doubtless a nullity, and the bonds would have been worthless 
 in market. 
 
 Some Features of the Instrument framed: 
 
 Sec. 30, Article 11, provided that " The peoi)le of this State have the 
 exclusive right of governing tliemselves as a free, sovereign and hule- 
 j)eudeut State, and do and forever shall enjoy and exercise every power 
 
 *A correspondent of the Chieas-o Tribune boldly ebarofed that 31 members of the 
 convention lielonged to the Kniiihts of the Golden Circle -commonly reputed to be a 
 treasonable political organization in sympathy with the rebellion. This foolish and 
 unsupported charge was dignilied by the convention with the consideration of a 
 resolution to inquire and ferret out whether any member did belong to any such or- 
 der, or was in treasonable correspondence With the Confederacy; the resolution 
 went to its grave by reference.] 
 
876 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 pertaining thereto, which is not and may not tliereafter be by tliem ex- 
 pressly delegated to the people of the United States of America, or pro- 
 hibited to the State by tlie constitution of tlie United States." 
 
 In this Rcpublicaus discovered lurlcing the abominable heresy 
 of State sovereignty and tlie right of secession, which set a State 
 above the nation, and had proven the bane of the Union 5 which 
 fostered sectionalism and made of one's own countrymen aliens. 
 Long before the labors of the convention were concluded, blind 
 partisanism, lashed into fury, was arrayed against whatever might 
 be produced by it, good or bad. When the work was finally com- 
 pleted and i)ublished, it was at once ruthlessly attacked by the 
 liepublicans, notwithstanding its many excellencies and great im- 
 provement upon the old constitution. Its provisions were such 
 that where responsibility could be attached it was done; every- 
 thing was fixed, determined and rigidl}' enforced upon the respec- 
 tive departments of government, with nothing left to chance or 
 mischievous interpretation. It guarded the interests of the people, 
 lessened taxation, and sought to compel an honest administration 
 of public affairs generally. It relieved from the useless 2 mill tax 
 of the old constitution, saving to the people $1,000,000 annually. 
 It abolished the grand jury system in all cases except felony. 
 This inquisitorial institution, though venerable with age, is a cum- 
 brous and expensive machinery in the administration of justice 
 •illy adapted to the llexibility of our day. TLe statistics of 1861 
 showed that out of 1,682 indictments found in this State, but 330 
 convictions were had, leaving upon the residue an indelible stain 
 for the finger of scorn to point at, perhaps to the second genera- 
 tion. The constitution placed a curb upon railroad corporations, 
 both existing and prospective, and effectually limited all monopo- 
 lies. The 7 percent, fund, arising from the gross earnings of the 
 Central Eailroad, was definitely fixed so that no future legislature 
 might be tampered with for its removal. Special legislation was 
 prohibited, cutting up, by the roots, the occupation of the lobby 
 cormorants. All of which provoked the ardent hostility of the 
 many large and influential interests affected, which thus reinforced 
 the partisan opposition to it with a powerful auxiliary. 
 
 But upon the other hand, it should also be said that in contradis- 
 tinction of the ancient theory, that the State is the fountain of jus- 
 tice which can do no Avrong, it contained a provision for briiiging 
 suits against the State prostrating its sovereignty at the feet of every 
 one, and opening a Pandora's box to let loose all manner of frauds 
 upon the common treasury. Apportionments, whether fair or 
 otherwise, always give i^artisan offense, and it was so with the 
 V7ork of the convention. A revision of the census of 1860, entitled 
 Illinois to 11 instead 13 congressmen, the State having been 
 apportioned for 13 by the legislature in 1861. The convention 
 plan gave to each political party 7 members; but as the Ile2)ubli- 
 cans felt that they had a popular majority in the State, they pre- 
 ferred a congressman at large. The o])iK)nents further charged 
 that while by the census of 1860, the ltei)ublican counties con- 
 tained a po[)ulation of 912,005, and the J )enioc;ratic 769,718, yet 
 by the apportionment for members of the legislature, the latter 
 would ha\'e 19 of the 33 senators, and 57 of the 102 reju'csenta- 
 tives, an<l that it was so contrived that if tlie former should carry 
 the State by a popular majority the general assembly would still 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 877 
 
 be (lenioeratic. In making State oflBcers elective biennially instead 
 of qiunlreiniially, the convention committed its gravest blnnder by 
 dismissing from office tlie incumbents, whose terms would be bnt 
 half expired, and ordering a new election in ISTovembei', 1802; 
 Avhile the circnit nnd county clerks, mostly democratic, were re- 
 tained till the expiration of their full terms. Tliis Avas an nvijust 
 partisan discrimination, whicli the people would not brook, and 
 they defeated the instrument in ,lune following. Six <lilfereut 
 ])ropositions were separately submitted to a vote of the i)eoi)le. 
 TIjc constitution jtropcr, the article prohibiting banks, and the 
 congressional apportionment, were all defeated, the former by a 
 majority of 10,or)l. ]>ut the article prohibiting negroes and mu- 
 latroes from settling in tlie State, was carried by 1()0,.">I)0 maj(n-ity ; 
 that prohibiting their voting, by 176,271, with only 35,019 votes 
 against it; and the requiring these provisions to be carried into 
 effect by appropriate legislation, by 151,521 majority. Such was 
 then still the overwhelmingly dominant sentiment of the people 
 of this State with regard to tlie i)olitical status of the black man. 
 Three months after tins overwhelming expression of the pe()i)]e of 
 Illinois, jMr. Lincoln issued his preliminary proclamation of freedom, 
 to the African bondsmen of America; and in November following,the 
 State, which in June cast over 10,000 votes majority against the 
 constitution as a party numsure, went largely against the liepnb- 
 licans, the Democrats electing 9 out of the 11 congressmen, in- 
 cluding the congressnnin from the State at large by 10,355; the 
 State Treasurer and Superintendent of Public Instruction, ami 
 carried both houses of the general assembly. The summer of 
 1802 had witnessed tli(^ great ui)rising of the people in the ready 
 volunteering of 000,000 men, and more, until the government re- 
 fused them. After the proclamation, contrary to the jiredictions 
 of Greeley, Andrew and Yates, such patriotic scenes were not 
 again witnessed. The couscrii)t law, threatened drafts and local 
 bounties afterward supplied the demand. Had the constitution 
 been adopted in June, the State, by the election of a governor and 
 State officers in November, would have wholly passed into the 
 bauds of the democrats — whether for good or evil, is left to the 
 conjecture of the reader. 
 
 Bcmocratic and Bepuhliean Conventions of 1803. — On the 10th 
 of Sei»tend)er, 1802, the State Democratic Convention was held at 
 Springtield in Cook's Hall. The attendance was uot full, the ci\\l 
 being for 529 and the attendance 381. The contest for congress- 
 man at large lay between Col. T. Lyle Dickey, of LaSalle, a war 
 democrat, himself and sons having eidisted in the service for the 
 Union, and James C. xVllen, of Crawford. The latter was iu)nn- 
 iiated on the first ballot, by 17 majority, whicli was regarded as 
 an anti-war triumph. Alexander Starne, of Pike, was chosen as 
 the candidate for treasurer, and John P. Brooks, of Rock Island, 
 for superintendent of public instruction. At this stage of the pro- 
 ceedings no little commotion Avas produced by W. B. Scales, of 
 Gen. McClernand's staff, offering a series of resolutions, faAoring 
 a vigorous i^rosecution of the war, " whether slavery survived or 
 l>erished," adopting the language of Mr. Lhicoln; and using the 
 language of Mr. Douglas — " There are only two sides to the ques- 
 tion — every man must be for the United States or against it. 
 
878 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 There can be HO ueutrals in tbis war; only patriots and traitors. 
 Tlie more stnpendons onr preparations, the less blood shed and 
 tAie shorter the struggle;" that it was the <lnty of American citi- 
 zens to rally around tlie Hag of their country : api)roving, also, of 
 the president's call for G0(),000 vohinteers. The resolntions were 
 immediately tabled by a large m:\joiity. 
 
 Of the resolutions reported by tlie comnnttee on platform, 
 tlirough the Hon. W. A. liichardson, and unanimonsly adopted, 
 Ave give the first and second in full, with a synopsis of the re- 
 mainder: 
 
 "Zfcsoh'crf, That the constitution, and laws made in pursuance thereof, are. and must 
 remain the supreme law of the land; and as such, must be preserved and maintained 
 in their proper and rightful supremacy; that the rebellion now in arms ag-ainstthem 
 must be suppressed; and it is the duty of all good citizens to aid the general f>^ovoru- 
 ment in all legal and constitutional measures necessary and proper to the accomplish- 
 ment of this end. 
 
 ^•Resolved, That the doctrines of Southern and Northern extremists are alike incon- 
 sistent with the federal constitution, and Irreconcilable with the union and har'pony 
 of the country. The first have ah-eady involved us in civil war, and 1 he latter, if per- 
 mitted to retain ascendency, will leave the nation but little hope of the restoration of 
 the Union in peace." 
 
 They further protested against congress pledging the nation to 
 pay for all slaves that sliould be emancipated ; condemned as 
 tyrannical, the recent arbitrary arrests of our citizens by the gen- 
 eral government, and their transportation beyond the State, de- 
 manding their immediate restoration for trial at home; denounced 
 the military interference Avith the freedom of speech and the 
 press; viewed Avitli alarm the reckless extravagance pervading 
 every department of government; considered the ncAv excise hvw 
 as unjust and o[)pressive to the agricultural States; commended 
 strict economy in State affairs, and the i)ayment of taxes in United 
 States treasury notes ; sustained the i)resident in his recent deelar- 
 ation to "save the Union the sliortest way under the constitution ;" 
 asked from the authorities of Illinois the enforcement of the negro- 
 exclusion clause, recently added to the constitution ; and ten- 
 dered their thanks to the A'olunteei's of Illinois, for their gallant 
 services at Belmont, Donelson, Shiloh, Lexington and Frederick- 
 town. The convention was held about a week prior to the issu- 
 ance of the i)roclamation of freedom.* 
 
 The Republican, or Union State Convention, as it called itself, 
 met September 24, 1862, two days after that proclanuition. Out 
 of 340 delegates entitled to, 328 attended. For congressman at 
 large there were a dozen candidates, but the Hon. Eben C Inger- 
 soll, of Peoria, a strong Avar democrat, who, immediately alter the 
 adjournment of the Democratic CouAentioii, had taken occasion, in 
 a published letter, to denounce its secession proclivities, and made 
 a strong call for a State convention, conqjosed of true, loyal 
 democrats, who would draw a line between union and disunion, 
 Avitliout an "if" or a " but," was now taken up by the Republi- 
 cans, and nominated on the 4th ballot, his strongest opponents 
 being such original republicans as H. P. H. IJromwell and Jack- 
 son (Irimshaw. William Butler, of Sangamon, Avas nominated for 
 treasurer, and Xewton Bateman for superintendent of public in- 
 struction. 
 
 The committee on platform, through LaAvrence Weldon, made 
 their report, which was adopted, and Avhich we condense. It de- 
 nounced the rebellion as the most causeless known to historj' ; 
 
 . See Illinois State Kegister, Sept. 17, 1862. 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 879 
 
 acknowledged but two divisious of the people — tlie loyal, ready to 
 make any saciitice for the integrity of the Union and the pre.ser- 
 vation of liberty, and those ^vhu openly or covertly endeavored to 
 sever the former and yield the latter; called upon all patriotic 
 citizens to rally for an undivided country and one flag", and the 
 prosecution of the war to any extent or sacrihce; cordially ap- 
 proved the proclamation of freedom as a great and imperative war 
 measure essential to the salvation of the Union, i)ledging all 
 truly loyal citizens to the snp])ort of the ])resident in its enforce- 
 ment; commended the i)atriotic and eflicient aid of loyal demo- 
 crats, but deprecated the course of those })olitical leaders, who, 
 while studiously avoiding all harshness toward the cons})iratorsof 
 the south, found fault with the administration fur its manner of 
 X)rosecuting the war ; favored a system of direct taxation to sup- 
 I>ress the rebellion, but demanded an e<iuitable mo<li(1cation of the 
 existing excise law; commended, as a work of great national im- 
 portance, the construction of a shij) canal, connecting Lake ^lichi- 
 gan with the Mississipjii river; expressed gratitude to the gover- 
 nor for his labors to bring- into the field the Illinois troops, and 
 his efforts to care for them in sickness; and that the Illiiu>is \'ol- 
 uuteers were entitled to our lasting' gratitude for nobly periling 
 their lives in battle, from Kansas to the Potomac* We have 
 akeady stated that the election in November, 1802, resulted in a 
 coiuplete victory for the democrats. The State ticket was carried 
 by an average of over 10,000 majority, showing a change of oL',000 
 votes since June, when the Eepublicans defeated the new consti- 
 tution by 10,000 majority. Democrats attributed this remarkable 
 change in the sentiments of the people to the proclamation of free- 
 dom of September 22, 1802. 
 
 The Last Democratic Lc()isJaiure of IlJInois. — The political status 
 of the 23d General Assembly, elected Kovember, 1802, was as 
 follows: Senate, democrats lo, republicans 12; House, democrats 
 54, re[»ublicans 32. With tlie meeting of this body on the 5th of 
 January, 18(>o, Hushed with the(lenu)cratic triumph at the i)olls, 
 Bot only in Illinois, but other Xorthern States, a large outside 
 force of well-known politicians, like vultures to their feast, also 
 collected at the capital. These, joined by some of the members, 
 arranged a public meeting at the Hall of Eepresentatives for the 
 evening of the first day of the session, in which every part of the 
 State was rej)resented. V. Hickox, of the State Democratic Com- 
 mittee, presided, and Capt. Thos. W. McFall, of Quincy, was made 
 secretary. A committee of 10 on resolutions, one from each con- 
 gressional district, and three from the State at lai'ge, was ap- 
 j)ointed, embracing the following i)rominent names : I. i^. jMorris, 
 L. W. Ross, John T. Lindsav, E. D. 'Lavlor, S. A. Buckmaster, 
 John T. Stuart, John Schotield, O. B. Ficklin-, W. A. Hacker, H. 
 M. Vandeveer, A. C. Harrington, M. Y. Johnson, C. H. Lanphier 
 and ]}. L. Caultield. JMessrs. W. A. liichardson, S. S. Marshall, 
 liichard L. Merri(dc and W. C. Goudy addressed the vast audi- 
 ence, denouncing the i)resi(lent as a usuri)er, criticising the c(m- 
 duct of the war in unmeasured terms and characterizing it as bar- 
 barous and disgraceful. 
 
 * See Illinois State Journal, Sept. 25, 1863 
 
880 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The comiuittee reported tlie following resolution, which was 
 vociferously applauded and unanimously adopted : 
 
 Rcsiilrcd, That the emancipation proclamation of the President of the U.S. is as 
 unwarrantable in military as in civil law; a fri^antic usurpation, at once converting 
 the war, professedly commenced by the administration for the vindication of the au- 
 thority of the constitution, into the crusade for the sudden, unconditional and violent 
 lilberation of 3,000,000 of negro slaves; a result which would not only be a total sub- 
 version of the federal Union, but a i-evolution in tlie social organization of the Soutli- 
 ern States, the immediate and vcmote, the present and the tar-reaching- conseouences 
 of which to both races cannot be contemplated without the most disrrial foreliodings 
 of horror and dismay. The proclamation invites servile insurrection as an element in 
 this emancipation crusade -a means of warfare, the inhumanity and diabolism of 
 Avhich are vvithout example in civilized warfare, and which we denounce, and which 
 the civilized world will denounce, as an ineffaceable disgrace to the American name." 
 
 The committee were instructed to report further on the evening- 
 of January 8th, to which time the meeting adjourned— a day sa- 
 cred from its patriotic associations — when tliis scene was again 
 rehearsed. 
 
 At that time the Hon. I. N. Morns, of the committee, reported 
 a set of 11 resolutions, condemning the administration for susjieii- 
 ding the writ of habeas corpus in the arrest of private citizens, and 
 their incarceration in political bastiles ; the dismemberment of 
 Virginia; and "That while we condemn and denounce the flagrant 
 and monstrous usurpations of the administration, and the en- 
 croachments of abolitionism, we remain equally hostile to the 
 Southern rebellion." Tliey further commended a cessation of hos- 
 tilities with the rebellious foe, to allow, as they said, the people 
 of the North and the South to express their wishes for peace, 
 and a maintenance of " the Union as it was and the constitution 
 as it is," through a national convention to meet at Louisville, 
 Kentucky, to which the legislature was invited to send a suita- 
 ble number of discreet commissioners in behalf of Illinois. In 
 these resolutions we find foreshadowed and prescribed the subse- 
 quently notorious armistice or peace resolutions of the legislature, 
 which were attended with so much partizan strife and loss of 
 time. ■ 
 
 The speeches made in support of the resolutions were of the 
 most inflammable anti-war character. The speakers on this oc- 
 casion were Judge O'Melveny, Hon. O. B. Ficklin, E. L. Merrick, 
 B. Caulfield and T. Lyle Dickey, the latter the onlj^ one who coun- 
 selled moderation, saying that to stir up a counter-revolution to 
 oppose revolution could only result in the destruction of our whole 
 political fabric. Detraction of the president for issuing tlie pro- 
 clamation of freedom, denunciation of the policy of his adminis- 
 tration, criticism of the conduct of the war, and opposition to it, 
 were indulged as on the i>recediug occasion, with added force and 
 bitterness of expression. They charged that the war had been 
 perverted, for political reasons, from a war for the restoration of 
 the Union, to a costly struggle of blood and treasure, purposely 
 protracted for the accomplisliment of partizan ends. It was de- 
 manded that not another dollar or a single man should be contri- 
 buted to carry on such a monstrous contest. The people of the 
 Kew England States were charged with causing all the trouble 
 leading to the deplorable war ; and a reconstruction of the Union 
 by joining with the South, leaving them out, was advocated. Not 
 a word was uttered in denunciation of the rebels. The inconsist- 
 ency of the republican party was shown by quoting the Chicago 
 platform of 1800: "That the maintenance inviolate of the 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 881 
 
 lijilits of the states, aud especially the rights of each State to 
 Older and control its own domestic institutions, according to its 
 own judgment exclusiv^ely, was essential to that balance of power 
 on wiiich the perfection and endurance of our political faith de- 
 peM<ls." The violation of the president's promise to the country 
 was shown by quoting from the iiniugural address : " I Inive no 
 purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of 
 slavery in the States where it exists; I believe I have no lawful 
 right to do so, and have no inclination to do so. " And the repub- 
 lican congress, after the Bull Kun disaster, had pledged the na- 
 tion " that this war was not waged, on their part, in any spirit of 
 oppression, or for any purpose of conquest or subjugation, or pur- 
 pose of overthrowing or interfering with the rights or established 
 institutions of the States, but to defend and maintain the suprem- 
 acy of the constitution, and to preserve the Union, with all the 
 dignity, equality and the rights of the several States uuiin- 
 X)aired."* 
 
 But the numerous military arrests for treasonable utterances 
 which the general government had, for some time, caused to be 
 made — some of the sufferers being present — afforded the orators the 
 rarest held for the display of their declamatory powers, and li. T. 
 Merrick, gifted with a singular i)ower of eloquent denunciation, 
 shone with unwonted brilliancy. Forcible resistence to these un- 
 lawful aggressions upon the rights of the citizen Avas freely coun- 
 seled. This was doubtless a political blunder on the part of the 
 general government by which little good was accomi)lished. In 
 manj' instances insignificant, if uot contemptible treason-spouters 
 were arrested and imprisoned, men never heard of before beyond 
 their immediate neighborhoods, who, upon their return found 
 themselves notorious, sympathized with, and, often by many 
 sanctified into martyrs and heroes. 
 
 Thus duly impressed, aud their course mapi)ed out for them by 
 the democratic leaders, the dominant partizans of the 23d Gen- 
 eral Assembly were not slow to follow it. They refused, for a 
 long time, to print the usual number of copies of the governor's 
 long and able message. In the House, M. W. Fuller, of Cook, 
 on the 8th of January, introduced a resolution adroitly quoting 
 the language of Gen. Jackon's farewell address : "The constitu- 
 tion cannot be maintained, nor the Union preserved in opposition 
 to public feeling, by the mere exertion of the coercive powers of 
 the government." Mr. Wenger, of Tazewell, one to the effect that 
 after an unsuccessful war of two years' duration to crush the re- 
 bellion, hostilities ought to be immediately suspended and a na- 
 tional convention appointed to settle the difficulty. In the Senate, 
 Mr. Vandeveer, of Christian, on the 21st of January, offered a pre- 
 amble and set of resolutions, to the effect that the people of the 
 loyal States had acquiesced in, rather than approved of the coer- 
 cive policy of the federal administration ; that the government 
 was impoverished, the people weighed down with an onerous 
 debt and the land filled with cripples, widows and orphans, with- 
 out restoring the Union ; and that as the Union was brought about 
 by concession and compromise, they should memorialize congress 
 to obtain an armistice aud cessation of hostilities for a national 
 
 *Crittenden resolution, 1861, 
 
 56 
 
882 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 couveutioii to assemble at Louisville to adjust tlie diffieulties. Mr. 
 Uudeiwood, of St. Clair, also, with a like view, offered a preaujble 
 autl resolution solieitiug- eougress to obtaiu the eouseut of the 
 States to call a natioual couveutiou to aineud the constitution of 
 the U. S. 
 
 And now the legislature took a i)leasure trip to Joliet and 
 Chicago. At the latter place a large democratic mass meeting 
 for the occasion gave expression to the popular opposition to the 
 Lincoln misrule, as it was called. Members participated in the 
 proceedings, and, by resolution, the Springtield meetings of the 
 5th and 8th of January were approved. 
 
 On the 4th of February, Mr. Wike, of Pike, from the commit- 
 tee on federal relations, reported to the House the notorious ar- 
 mistice resolutions : 
 
 The preamble asserted the supremacy of the constitution in time ol' war as well as 
 peace, and its suspension, whether by the North or South, to be alike disunion ; that It 
 could not be maintained bj' coercion, bui by appeal to the people peacefully assem- 
 bled through their representatives ; that to it the allegiance of the citizen was alone 
 due— not to any man, officer or administration; that the act of the federal administra- 
 tion in suspending the writ of Itabcas corpus, the arrest of citizens not subject to mili- 
 tary law, without warrant or authority, transporting them to distant Btates, incarcer- 
 ating them in political prisons, without charge or accusation, denying them the right 
 of trial by jury, witnesses in their favor, or counsel for their defense; withholding 
 from them all knowledge of their accusers, and the cause of their arrest; answering 
 their petitions for redress by repeated injury and insult; prescribing, in many cases, as 
 a condition of their release, test oaths, arbitrary and illegal; in the abridgement of 
 freedom of speech, and of the press, by imprisoning the citizen for expressing his sen- 
 timents, by supnressing newspapers by military force, and establishing a censorship 
 over others, wholly incompatible with freedom of thought and expression of opinion, 
 and the establishment of a system of espionage, by a secret police, to invade the sacred 
 privacy of unsuspecting citizens; in declaring martial law over States not in rebel- 
 lion, and when the courts are open and unobstructed for the punishmerit of crime: in 
 declaring the slaves of loyal, as well as well as disloyal citizens, in certain Suites and 
 parts ot States, free; the attempted enforcement of compensated emancipation; the 
 proposed taxation of the laboring white man to purchase the freedom and secure the 
 elevation of the negro; the transportation of negroes into the State ol Illinois, in defi- 
 ance of the repeatedly expressed will of the people; the arrest and impiisonmenl of 
 the representatives of a free and a sovereign State; the dismemberment of the State 
 of Virginia, erecting within her boundaries a new Slate, without the consent of her leg- 
 islature are,eachand all, arbitrary and unconstitutional— a usurpation of the legislative 
 functions, and a suspension of the judicial departments of the State and federal gov- 
 ernment— subverting the constitution— State and federal — invading the reserved 
 rights of the people, and the sovereignty of the States, and, if sanctioned, destructive 
 of the Union^establishing, upon the common ruins of the liberties of the peo- 
 ple, and the sovereignty of the States, a consolidated military despotism. And Ave 
 hereby solemnly declare that no American citizen can, without the crime of infidelity 
 to his country's constitutions, and the allegiance whicii he bearsto each, sanction such 
 usurpation. Believing that our silence will be criminal, and may be construed into 
 consent, in deep reverence for our constitution which has been ruthlessly violated, wo 
 do hereby enter our most solemn protest against these usurpations f power, a d place 
 the same before the world, intending thorby to warn our public servants against fur- 
 ther usurpations. Therefore, 
 
 Resolved Jnj tlie Houseof ReprcscnUttives, the Senate conciirri )uj here in , That the army was 
 organized, confiding in tli« declaration of the president, in his inaugural address, to 
 Avit: that he had no purpose, directly or indirect! j', to interfere with the institution of 
 slavery in the States where it existed, and that he believed he had no lawful right to do 
 so ; and upon the declaration of the federal cong ress, to wit: that this war is not Avaged 
 in any spirit of oppression or subjugation, or any purpose of overthroAviug any of the 
 institutions of any of the States; and that inasmuch as the Avhole policy of the adminis- 
 tration, since tho organization of the armj% has been at Avar Avith the declaration afore- 
 said, culminating in the emancipation proclamation, leaving the facts patent that tho 
 war has been diverted from its first uvoAved object, to that of subjugation and the abo- 
 lllton of slavery, a fraud, both legal and moral, has been perpetrated upon the brave sons 
 of Illinois, who have so nobly gone forth to battle for the constitution and the laAvs. 
 And Avhile aa'c protestagainst the continuance of this gross fraud upon our citizen sol- 
 dier.v, Ave thank them for that heroic conduct on the battle field that sheds imperisha- 
 ble glory on the State of Illinois. 
 
 lletiolved. That we believe the further prosecution of the present war cannot result 
 in the restoration of the Union and the preservation of the constitution as our fathers 
 made it, unless the president's emancipation proclamation is AviihdraAvn 
 
 Remlved. That while we condemn and denounce the flagrant and monstrous usurpa- 
 tions of the administration, and encroachments of abolitionism, Ave equally condemn 
 and denounce the ruinous heresy of secession, as unAvarrantable by the constitution, 
 and destructive alike of the security and perpetuity of our government, and the peace 
 and liberty of the people ; and fearing, as we do, that it is the intention of the present 
 congress and administration, at no distant day, to acknoAviedge the independence of 
 the Southern Confederacy, and thereby sever the Union, Ave herebj' solemnly declare 
 that we are unalterably opposed to any such severance of the Union, and that Ave never 
 can consent that the great Northwest shali be separat(;d from the Southern States com- 
 prising the Mississippi valley. That river shall never water the soil of two nations, 
 but, from Its source to its confluence with the Gulf, shall belong to one great and 
 United people. 
 
TATES' ADMINISTRATION. 883 
 
 The fourth resolution recoininended the assembling of a na- 
 tional convention at Louisville, Ky., to adjust our dilliculties, re- 
 store peace, fraternity and political fellowship among the States. 
 
 Resolved further, therefore. That to attain the object of the foregoing resolution, we 
 hereby memorialize the congress ot the U. S., the administration at Washington, and 
 the executives and legislatures of the several States to take such immediate action as 
 shall secure an armistice, in which the rights and safety of the government shall be 
 fully protected for such length of time as may be necessary for the people to meet in 
 convention as aforesaid. And we therefore earnestly recommend to our fellow-citizens 
 everywhere, to observe and keep all theirlawful arid constitutional obligation.'?, to ab- 
 stain from violence, and to meet together and reason each with the other, upon the 
 best mode to attain the great blessings of peace, unity and liberty. 
 
 And he it further rexolred. That to secure the co operation of the States and the gen- 
 eral government, Stepht-n 'J\ Logan, Samuel S. Mnrsball, H. K. S. O'Melveny, William 
 C. Goudy, Anthony Thornton and John D. Caton,are hereby appointed commissioners 
 to confer immediately with the congress and the president of the IT. S., and urge the 
 necessity of prompt action, to secure said armistice, and the election of delegates to, 
 and early assembling of said convention, and to arrange and agree with the general 
 government and the several States upon the time and place of holding said conven- 
 tion, and that thes' report their action in the premises to the General Assemblj- of this 
 State." 
 
 The resolutions elicited a lono- and acrimonious debate in both 
 houses, to the delay of nearly all other business. Every parlia- 
 mentary expedient to retard leiiislation, centering' chielly upon 
 the appro}»riation bills as usual, was resorted to. Tlie [)ubUci)ress 
 took sides, tlie r<'[>ublicaiis auainst, of course, and the democrats 
 for. But ainonj;' the latter there were many notable, ex(;eptions 
 who deprecated the extreiitity to which the resolutions looked ; 
 who ai)pealed to tln^ ma<;nanimity of the democratic majority to 
 cease the bitter strife, unlock the wheels of legislation and allow 
 tho important labors of tlie session to go on. This went unheeded; 
 and finally, two days before the recess, the resolutions were 
 adopted in the House by a vote of 52 yeas to 28 nays. 
 
 1'lius did the House of l\ei)resentatives of the State of Illinois, 
 a body fresh from a loyal people whose patriotism never flinched, 
 after being- first systematically debauched in their sentiments by 
 the political meetings at the opening- of the session, commit them- 
 selves upon the record, and attempt to thrust the State also into 
 the erroneous position before the world, that the Avarfor the Union 
 was a failure, that secession was a right under the constitution 
 whicli could not be met or defeated by the sword, and that a ces- 
 sation of hostilities with an armed and defiant rebellion was ne- 
 ces.^ary. ISTay, if we construe tlie last clause of the od resolution 
 with the rei)eated utterances of their si)eakers and leaders, as well 
 as the entire resolution, wherein a man of straw is set up regard- 
 ing their fears of recognition of the Southern Confederacy, we see 
 a (pnisi declaration for a union of the Northwest with tlie South 
 as more desii^able than the connection with the hateful abolition- 
 ists of the East. 
 
 These legislators were not elected for the purpose which mainly 
 engrossed their attention; they assumed unauthorized power and 
 pioved themselves recreant to their trust. No i)eace could have 
 l)een made with the defiant rebels at that time, nor for a long time 
 afterwards. It was folly to talk of peace at that stage of the war. 
 Tlie Indiana legislature at the time passed similar resolutions.* 
 
 *■ It was a curious conjuncture that on the 2(ith of January, 186;?. a preamble and set 
 of 8 resolutions were introdu -erl into the Confederate Congress at Richmond by Henry 
 S. Foote, of Tennessee, the lift h of which reads as follows: 
 
 "The government of the Confederate States, in consideration of the change in the 
 public sentiment, which has occurred in se\er;il Northern States, wherein political 
 elections have been recently held— sympathizing most kindly with those by whose 
 manlv exertions that change has been brought about— would bo willing to conclude a 
 
884 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Part of tlie programme in couuectiou with the i)assage of the 
 l^eace resolutions was the joint resohition of Senator Underwood, 
 providing- for a legislative recess from the 14th of February till 
 the 2d of June, by which time the peace commissioners might re- 
 port progress of their negotiation for an armistice. This resolu- 
 tion was violently fought in the senate, and when a vote could be 
 staved crif no longer, the republican members bolted the chamber, 
 leaving tbe senate without a quorum; but enough were finally 
 brought in and the resolution passed. When it was brought up 
 in the house a similar attempt was there made, which failed like- 
 wise, and the resolution was adopted. 
 
 But the armistice resolutions shared a different fate in the senate. 
 They had been tlie subject of acrimonious debate in that body, 
 the same as in the house, for a longtime, having been deferred 
 from time to time, and now, early in the week (the recess having 
 been fixed for the following Saturday,) to avoid a vote, the repub- 
 lican members absented themselves, breaking the quorum for 
 business. The further consideration of the distasteful resolutions 
 Avas deferred till Friday night. The republicans came in and 
 business progressed. In the meantime the democrats lost a mem- 
 ber by sudden death, in the person of Senator Kogers, of Clinton. 
 This left the senate a tie, with the presiding ofiicer, Lieut.-Gov. 
 Hoffman, who had the casting A'ote in such contingenc}', against 
 the democrats. And thus the armistice resolutions failed of adop- 
 tion in the senate and went over to the June session 5 whereat a 
 portion of the democratic press sent up its wailings and lamenta- 
 tions about the great disappointment which the people would feel 
 at this result; and the democratic members of the senate, who had 
 consented to the staving off' of a vote upon the resolutions to the 
 evening before the close of the session, were handled without 
 gloves. 
 
 As a fitting commentary ujion this wasted session, and also to 
 indicate the violence of party feehng, we will reproduce the nota- 
 ble speech of Jacob Funk, a senator from McLean, made a day or 
 two before the close of the session, the occasion being the intro- 
 duction of some trifling resolutions to stave off" a vote upon the 
 general appiopriation bill. It also deserves to be preserved for its 
 uniqueness, and as offering a fair but now curious oratorical type 
 of the earl^- settler of the West, and his manner of settling dis- 
 putes; true, brave, and patriotic, though devoid of the breadth of 
 diction imparted by education. It created a great sensation at 
 the time, aiul was republished all over the Northern States. It 
 was delivered in a stentorian tone, gathering in the people from 
 around the capital square, till the hall was densely j)acked. The 
 speaker's great fervor and pathos, born of conviction, wrought 
 the audience to the highest pitch of excitement, and upon its con- 
 clusion, both members and spectators thronged about him with 
 con gratulation s : 
 
 just and honorable peace with any one or more of said States, who (renouncing- all 
 political connection with New Enfrland) may be found willing- to stipulate for desisting- 
 at once from the further prosecution of the war agrainst the South, and in such case, 
 the fiovernraent of the Confederate States would be willing to enter into a league, 
 offensiveanddefensive, with the States thus desisting, of a permanent and enduring 
 ciiaracter." But in the4th resolution, the confederates declared their unalterable op- 
 
 gosition, in the event of ]5eace, to form any commercial treaty with the New England 
 tates, -'with whose people, and in whose ignoble loveof gold and brutifying fanati- 
 cism, this disgraceful war has mainly originated." 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 885 
 
 "Mr. Speaker — I can set in my seat no longer and see so much by- 
 playing going on. These men are trifling with the best interests of the 
 country. They should have asses' ears to set off their heads, or they are 
 traitors and secessionists at heart. I say there are traitors and secession- 
 ists at heart in this senate. Their actions prove it. Their speeches prove 
 it. Their gibes and laughter aud cheers here nightly, when their speak- 
 ers get up to denounce the war and the administration, j)rove it. I can 
 set here no longer and not tell these traitors what I think of them ; and 
 while so telling them, I am responsible, myself, for what I say. I stand 
 upon my own bottom. I am ready to meet any man on this floor in any 
 manner, from a pin's point to the mouth of a cannon, upon this charge 
 against these traitors. [Great applause from the galleries.] I am an old 
 man of sixty-ftve. I came to Illinois a poor boy; I have made a little some- 
 thing for myself aud family. I pay $3,000 a year in taxes. I am willing 
 to pay $6,000; aye $12,000! [striking his desk with a tremendous blow, 
 sending the ink whirling in the air.] Aye, I am willing to i)ay my whole 
 fortune, and then give my life to save my country from these tx'aitoi's 
 that are seeking to destroy it. [Tremendous cheering.] 
 
 Mr. Speaker, you must excuse me ; I could not sit longer in my seat 
 and calmly listen to these traitors. My heart, that feels for my poor 
 country, would not let me. My heart, that cries out for the lives of our 
 brave volunteers in the field ; that these traitors at home are destroying by 
 thousands— would not let me. My heart tliat bleeds for the widows and 
 orphans at home, would not let me. Yes, these traitors and villains in 
 the senate [striking the desk with his clenched fist, that made the 
 chamber resound] are killing my neighbors' boys, now fighting in tlie 
 field. I dare to say tliis to tliese traitors right here, and I atn rer^ponsi- 
 ble for what I say to any one or all of them. [Cheers.] Let them come 
 on now right here. I am sixty-five years old, and I liave made up my 
 mind to risk my life right here, on this floor, for my country. [This 
 announcement was received with great cheering. Here tlie crowd gath- 
 ered around him — his seat being near the railing — to protect liim from 
 violence, while many sympathetic eyes flashed defiance.] These men 
 sneered at Col. Mack, a few days since. He is a small man, but I am a 
 large man. I am ready to meet any of them in place of Col. Maclv. I 
 am large enough for any of them, and I hold myself ready for them now 
 and at any time, [Cheering from the galleries.'] 
 
 ]Mr. Speaker, these traitors on this floor should be provided with 
 hempen collars. Tliey deserve them. They deserve hanging, I say [raising 
 his voice and striking the desk w^ith great violence.] Tlie country would 
 be the better of swinging them up. I go for hanging them, and I dare 
 to tell them so, right liere to their traitorous faces. Traitors should be 
 hung. It would be the salvation of the country to hang them. For 
 that reason I must rejoice at it. [Cheers.] 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I must beg the pardon of the gentlemen in tliis senate 
 wlio are not traitors, but true, loyal men, for what I have said. I only 
 intend it and mean it for secessionists at heart. They are here in this 
 senate. I see tliem gibe aud smirk and grin at a true Union man. Must 
 I defy them? I stand here ready for them and dare tiiem to come on. 
 [Cheering.] What man, Avith the heart of a patriot, could stand this 
 treason auj^ longer? I have stood it long enough. I will stand it no 
 longer. [Cheers.] I denounce these men and tlieir aiders and abettors, 
 as rank traitors and secessionists. Hell itself could not spew out a more 
 traitorous crew than some of the men that disgrace this legislature, this 
 State aud this country For myself I protest against and denouuce their 
 ti'easonable acts. I have voted against their measures; I will do so to 
 the end. I will denounce them as long as God gives me breath ; and I 
 am ready to meet tlie traitors them.selves here or anywhere, and fight 
 them to the death. [Prolonged cheers.] I said I paid .'ro.ooo a year taxes. 
 I do not say it to brag of it. It is my duty, yes, Mr. Speaker, my privi- 
 lege to do it. But some of these traitors here, who are working night 
 and day to put some of their mi.serable little bills ami ciainis through the 
 legislature, to take money out of the pockets of the jieople, are talking 
 about high taxes. They are hypocrites, as well as traitors. I heard 
 some of them talking about high taxes in this way, who did not pay $5 
 to the support of the government. I denounce them as hypocrites as 
 well as traitors. [Cheers.] 
 
886 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 The reason they pretend to be afraid of high taxes is that they do not 
 want to vote money for the relief of the soldiers They want to embar- 
 rass the government and stop the war. They want to aid the seeession- 
 ists to conquer our boys in the field. They care about high taxes ! They 
 are picayune men anyhow, and pay no taxes at all, and never did, and 
 never hope or expect to . This is the excuse of traitors. [Cheers,] 
 
 Mr Speaker, excuse me. I feel for my country, in this her hour of 
 danger, from the tips of my toes to the ends of my hair. That is the 
 reason I speak as I do. I cannot help it. I am bouud to tell these men 
 to their teeth what they are, and what the people, the true, loyal people, 
 think of them. [Cheering, which the speaker attempted to stop by 
 rapping on his desk but really aided, not unwillingly.] 
 
 Mr. Speaker, I have said my say. I am no speaker. This is the only 
 sjieech I ever made, and I don't know that it deserves to be called a 
 speech. But I could not sit still any longer and see these scoundrels and 
 traitors work out their hellish schemes to destroy the Union. They have 
 my sentiments ; let them one and all make the most of them. I am 
 ready to back up all I say, and I repeat it, to meet these traitors in any 
 manner they may choose, from a pin's point to the mouth of a cannon." 
 
 With a parting whack on liis desk, the loyal old gentleuiau re- 
 sumed his seat, amidst the diu of cheeriug aud the clapping of 
 hands. 
 
 Legislative Feauds. — The very last hour of this session was 
 disgraced by the perpetration of one of those parliamentary 
 swindles which in modern times are not infrequent in de- 
 liberative bodies. The partisan strife which obtained between 
 the constitutional convention and the governor, was, if anything, 
 intensified between this legislature and that functionary. At the 
 special session of 18G1 the. executive department had been pro- 
 vided in the most liberal spirit with a fund of $50,000 for extra- 
 ordinary and contingent expenses, whicli was largely looked to as 
 aid for the sick and wounded Illinois soldiers in the field. But 
 owing to the great number of agents employed to visit different 
 camps aud accompany the regiinents, to look after the sanitary 
 wants of the volunteers*, extra surgeons sent down the rivers in 
 anticipation of battles ; steamboats chartered, also in expectation 
 of battles, to go and bring home the wounded and disabled sol- 
 diers, all of whicli, and much more, was in constant operation 
 during the winter of lSGl-2, prompted doubtless, by the most 
 charitable of motives, but exhibiting in some instances a prodigal 
 disregard of economy and a lavish display of means, amounting 
 almost to recklessness, and resulting in the wounded aiul disa- 
 bled soldiers, for whom ostensibly much of this parade was made, 
 receiving only $1,119 out of the $50,000 appropriated."- 
 
 Much fault had been found by the Democracy at home with his 
 excellency in the distribution of this fund. Both he and his jininy 
 agents were charged with havitig been more zealous during their 
 perigrinatious among the Illinois volunteers in distributing docu- 
 ments to defeat the new constitution than in alleviating their suf. 
 
 ' The state Treasurer. June lo, i»d3, gave tne loiiowing- irems or c.\peii(iiLiires, as 
 mid out of that appropriation : Steamboat trips by the jiovernor and party: 55f*.S87: for 
 lie quartermaster's department, $9,874: receipts of .John Wood, !t53,264: for Adjutant 
 Jeneral's office. $7,748; Commissary General's Office, $3,043; trips to Wasliuijiton by 
 
 The State Treasurer. June 16, 1863, gave the following- items of expenditures, as 
 
 paid ' , . n.„ „„- 
 
 tilt 
 
 Ge --, ... 
 
 Messrs. Yates, Trumbull. Kellog}?and others, $4,449; messenger and clerk hire in jrov- 
 ernor's office, $8,463; J. K. Forest to Cairo and back, $l:iO; sick and wounded Illinois 
 soldiers, who fouK^ht at Belmont, Forts Henry aud Donelson, and at Shilob, $1,119. 
 The war d(^monstratcd sanitary efforts to be most efficient in the hands of private en- 
 terprise. Untold blessings were meted out by the sanitary bureaus in charge of noble 
 and devoted men and women, who, unlike politicians in the employ of the State, did 
 not seek personal glorification among the volunteers, but truly to mitigate the suffer- 
 ings of the sick and wounded. 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 887 
 
 ferings. Indeed, Gov, Yatos iu all the exubenuice of his patriot- 
 ism, was ever charged by the Democracy as being actuated by 
 partisan motives, and guided by considerations of personal ambi- 
 tion ; that in all his transactions with the raising of tlie vast num- 
 ber of Illinois volunteers and in his appointments, he looked for- 
 ward to political aggrandizement ; and that in his ardent desire 
 to earn the honorable soubriipu't of the " soldiers' frien<l," he dis- 
 covered nntold i)referment to liimself. And botli the convention, 
 iind now the legislature, doubtless mainly fronj ]»artisan moti\'es, 
 refused further to solely entrust him witli tlie distribution of more 
 sanitary funds. Early in the session (January 7tli) an ap])ro])ria- 
 tion of $10,000 in gold had been made for the Illinois sick and 
 wounded soldiers in view of the battle of Murfreesboro, and the 
 probable advance upon Yicksburg. Three commissioners, (Lewis 
 I). Erwin, W. W. Anderson, and Ezekial Boyden), were api)ointed 
 to distribute this fund, who sold the gold for paper, realizing a 
 large premium, and the whole, it seems, was carefully expended 
 with great relief and benefit to the needy soldiers, who leceived 
 over 80 per cent, of it. But the Governor was anxious for another 
 $50,000. He sent in a special message upon the subject, couched 
 in terms of rare beauty and felicity of expression, evincing a noble 
 sympathy for our struggling soldiery in upholding the Hag of our 
 country. It was a plea su(;h as few men are capable of making, 
 and should have gone to the most caloused heart. 
 
 The senate had passed two appropriation bills of precisely simi- 
 lar titles. These bills were numbered respectively 1502 ami 203; 
 they were in the same handwriting, and when folded looked alike, 
 except as to their numbers. Ko. 203 provided for the i)ayment of 
 the salaries of executi^'e officers, the ordinary expenses of the ex- 
 ecutive dej)artnient, the adjutant general's office, and the various 
 otbicr usual items of appropriation. This was acceptable to the 
 Democrats. No. 202 provided besides all these items, u contin- 
 gent fund of $10,000, and $2,500 for the hire of a gardener, both 
 to be expended at the option of the governor; and an appropria- 
 tion of §50,000 to the " aid of the sick and wounded Illinois sol- 
 diers; to defray the contingent exi)enses of the executive depart- 
 ment; for the pay of clerks in the governor's office; ofnu^ssen- 
 gers on public service; of assistants in the adjutant general's 
 office, quartermaster general's oftice and the commissary general's 
 office, lithography, postage and other incidental exx)euses," all to 
 bo ex[)ended by order of the governor. 
 
 From this array of participants in the $50,000 fund, the sick 
 and wouiuled soldier, although first mentioned, it may be A\ell 
 imagined, would very likely be the last to receive a sleiuler share. 
 The Democrats opi)Ose(l No. 202, as providing his excellency with 
 a '^ corruption fund," but were willing to i)ass No. 203. When 
 the latter came up for action in the house, a short time before the 
 adjournment, it was ni)on demand twice read at large to be cer- 
 tain that the $50,000 item was not in it. The third time tlie bill 
 was read by its title oidy and passed, 50 to 2. The chief clerk who 
 had been out, came in as the roll was being called upon the pas- 
 sage of the bill, and being informed that it was necessary to use 
 haste in reporting the bill back to the senate, as the hour of ad- 
 journment was at hand, he sat down to write the message to that 
 effect, but at this juncture, by some adroit prestidigitationj the 
 
888 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 obnoxious bill, No. 202, was substituted and received the eudorse- 
 ment of having- passed, due to No. 203. It was immediately re- 
 ported back to the senate, as hastily sent to the governor, 
 approN'cd, and returned to the senate where it orgiuated. 
 
 The house had not proceeded far with other business, when the 
 Doise and apparent exultation among Eei)ublican members at the 
 north end of the hall, and the adjacent lobby, re\ealed the fact 
 that Democrats, notwithstanding their vigilance, had been tricked 
 in the passage of this obnoxious measure. A scene of the wildest 
 confusion ensued. Information was menacingly denuxnded of the 
 speaker ; a resolution was introduced, recalling the bill from the 
 hands of the governor, but, as nnuiy members had in the meantime 
 left for home, it failed for want of the requisite three-fourths vote. 
 A protest, detailing the circumstances of the fraud, was signed 
 by 41 Democratic members and spread upon the journal. The 
 treasurer was requested not to honor any drafts ui^on the fund 
 thus fraudulently appropriated. Accordingly, when the governor 
 shortly after drew upon the fund, he foun<l that guardian of the 
 people's strong box, (a Democrat), recalcitrant. A writ of man- 
 damus was sued out of the Supreme Conrt, then sitting at Ottawa, 
 a dav before its adjournment, against the treasurer, requiring hira 
 to show cause why he did not pay the warrants drawn ui>on that 
 fund ; but before answer could be made tlie court adjourned. It 
 is probable that it was designed in advance by the suitors that the 
 case should not go to trial, rendering public all tlie facts connected 
 with the passage of the bill, in which rumor at the time involved 
 a certaiiV noted Democrat, a member and high official of the house. 
 And thus the perpetrators of this legislative swindle have escaped 
 deserved exposnie and merited public disgrace.* 
 
 The winter session of the 23d general assembly proved a most 
 unprofitable one to the people. The dominant party, engrossed 
 with the peace resolutions, passed but one measure of public ad- 
 vantage, that of abolishing the State quartermaster and commis- 
 
 • Another most audacious legislative swindle, well illustrating the careless 
 manner of enacting laws under the old constitution, and the tricks by which cor- 
 rupt men, lioth as lobbrists and members, gained advantages, was the "Chicago Grid- 
 iron bill," as it was nicknamed, passed l)y this general assembly at the June session. 
 The 'itle of the bill, "An act to iueorporate the Wabash Railway Company," was calcu- 
 lated to convey the deceptive Idea ot a railroad in the Wabash region of the State, 
 instead of which it gave to a few sharpers in Chicago most extraordinary franchises 
 over tlie streets of that city. It provided for the exclusive construction of horse- 
 railways through 18 of the principal streets of Chicago, across 4 of its most impor- 
 tant bridges, and on any common highways in either or all of the towns of South 
 Chicago, Hj'de Park, Lake, Worth. West Chicago, Lyons, Jefferson, Cicero. and Proviso, 
 adjacent to the city, and from to time to change, enlarge and extend the location 
 thereof. It allowed the corporators to impose and collect such tolls as it should fix, 
 without restraint from the city council. This was an immense monopoly, affecting the 
 material interests of the whole city. It was a suiyect prtjporly tor the city council 
 of Chic;igo, but neither that body nor the people. whulitlic\- represented, knew aught 
 of this monstrous movement which sought to fllph from thciiithe control of their own 
 streets and highways, though the recess had intervened between its passage in the 
 senate and in the house. 
 
 It was introduced into the senate by a member from the southeastern part of the 
 State, which added to the deception, and in a loose way permitted to pass that body in 
 January, without being read other than by its title, the Senate relying upon the state- 
 ment of the member introducing it, that it was simply a bill for an ordinary railroad 
 charter, containing the usual privileges. Its provisions were not generally known to 
 senators who passed it. or to the public until a few days before it was maneuvered 
 through the house on the 8th of June, under the pressure of interested members and 
 a powerful lobby intluence. And now, the swindle having transpired, the aiigrj pro- 
 tests against it from the people of Chicago came loud and deep, the newspaper press 
 of the State joining its voice to the indignant refrain. The govurnor vetoed it. and in 
 his message of June inth, 1863, exposed its horrid enormity very fully. This message was 
 addressed to the general assembly which he had dissolved nine days before— the "rump"' 
 being still iu session. 
 
YATES ADMINISTRATION. 889 
 
 sary departments, which, since their supercedure by the general 
 government, not withont rehictance from Gov. Yates, as we have 
 seen, had become useless and expensive encnmbrances. Every 
 other of its party measures met Avith disaster. The habeas corpus 
 and illegal arrest bills; the prohibition of negro immigration ; the 
 congressional apportionment, and the armistice resolutions — suc- 
 ceeding alone with the recess resolution; while the Kepublicaus, 
 by their vigilance, tidelity and courage, succeeded in the del'eat of 
 all these, they were also balked, as we have described, in the full 
 fruition of their only affirmative measure, the $50,000 approi)ria- 
 tion for the sick and wounded Illinois soldiers. 
 
 Reaction among the People against the Peace Movement of the Leg- 
 islature. — Both during the session after the armistice resolutions 
 had been brought forward and throughout the recess, the people, 
 being awakened by these schemes of the politicians who thus 
 sought to place Illinois on record as an anti-war State, held public 
 meetings all over the State, giving expression to their loyal senti- 
 ments, and evincing the strongest devotion to the Avar for the 
 Union. From Egypt the Douglas democrats sent out their re- 
 solves "that, as citizens of Illinois and as democrats, Ave are in faA-or 
 of the continued and vigorous prosecution of the Avar until the su- 
 premacy of the constitution is acknowledged in CAery State of the 
 Union ; that the errors of the adnanistration, Avhile they should 
 not be adopted by the peoi)le, form no excuse for any loyal citizen 
 to withhold his sui)port from the goA^ernment ;" that they were in- 
 flexibly opposed to the secession heresy of a JSTorth western Con- 
 federacy, &c., recommending to the "true democracy to organ- 
 ize and be i>repared to resist all schemes of disloyal men looking 
 to a further disruption of the Union." 
 
 It was a gloomy period of the Avar. The turning point in the 
 great civil conflict had not been reached. Vicksburg — strong and 
 defiant — had not only not surrendered, but repulsed the national 
 trooi)S under Sherman in January i)receding. Nor had Gettys- 
 burg been fought. The great captains of the Avar had not been 
 revealed on our side. In the West, the battles of Shiloh, Perry- 
 Aille and Murfreesboro had proven little better than defeats ; 
 Avhile in the East, Fiedericksburg, speedily followed by Chaucel- 
 lorville, had spread a general gloom. Said the New York Ti'ibune: 
 " If 3 months more of earnest fighting shall not serve to make a se- 
 rious impression on the rebels — if some malignant fate has de- 
 creed that the blood and treasure of the nation shall ever be 
 stiuandered in fruitless efforts, let us bow to our destiny, and make 
 the best attainable peace." It Avas at the tinu^ no doulit honestly 
 believed by many that the States could not be re-united by mili- 
 tary coercion — that the war Avas a failure. 
 
 Gold, the most sensitive index of the fortunes of the war, Avas 
 steadily on the rise. Rebel bonds bore a premium in the London 
 market. The picture Avas a dark and dreary one and, in the West, 
 relieved only by the brilliant military exploit of Gen. McGlernand 
 in the capture of Arkansas Post. 
 
 But amidst all these di'cary scenes — the demand of the democ- 
 racy for peace, the low ebb of the tide in the fortunes of the war. 
 and the discouragement of the many staunch friends of the 
 Union — the heart of the soldier remained undismayed. HartUy 
 
890 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 an Illinois regiment, learning the situation at home, and the false 
 and dishonorable attitude in Avhich the legislature sought to place 
 the State before the country, but what held meetings and ex- 
 pressed their abhorrenceof the " tire in the rear, " as it was termed 
 — repledged their loyalty to the Union and devotion to the flag — 
 breathing the noblest of patriotic sentiments commingled with 
 purposes of the most determined valor. These resolutions poured 
 in in great jirofusion, the columns of the republican press being 
 fairly laden with them. The democracy charged the voluminous 
 loyal expressions to be merely the dictates of those " whose 
 shoulders were adorned with the stars, eagles and bars. " If such 
 was the case it but showed discipline in the right direction. Few 
 of the masses, even under our form of government, exercise either 
 original or independent political opinions. 
 
 It was the unworthy action of this legislature that precipitated 
 the defection of such men as John A. Logan, Ishani IST. Hainie, 
 John A. McClernand, and a host of others from the democratic 
 ranks. 
 
 In his address to the soldiers of the 17th army corps, dated 
 Memphis, Feb. 12th, 18G3, Gen. Logan, in allusion to the ''falsify- 
 ing of public T^entimeut at home," said: "Intriguing jiolitical 
 tricksters, demagogues and time-servers, whose corrupt deeds are 
 but a faint reflex of their corrupt hearts, seem determined to drive 
 our people on to anarchy and destruction. The day is not far dis- 
 tant when traitors and cowards, North and South, will cower before 
 the indignation of an outraged peox)le. March bravely onward ! " 
 Gen. Hainie, in a private letter, gave his unqualified endorsement 
 to every paragraph, line and word of Gen. Logan's address. Gen. 
 McClernard, in his letter to John Van Buren, dated Feb. 22d, 
 1863, denounced these democratic factionists as "Northern peace 
 mongers, who 'will be carried away,' if not by the torrent of pub- 
 lic opinion, eventually by force of arms." For the expression of 
 such sentiments, these gentlemen were now read out of the party 
 by the peace organs of the democracy. 
 
 There were also a number of anti-war meetings held in differ- 
 ent parts of the State under the management of the democratic 
 leaders, declaring hostility' to the policy of the war as then prose- 
 cuted by the national administration, which culminated in the large 
 mass meeting of the 17th of June, at Springfield, of w^hich more 
 further along. 
 
 The party nomenclature of the period as applied to democrats 
 also evinced deep i)artisan feeling and was of the most insulting 
 character: "Copperheads," "Snakes," "Butternuts," "Secesh, " 
 &G. The origin of these opprobrious epithets, we will not stoj) to 
 give. 
 
 Military Arrests. — Of the many arrests of our citizens by 
 military authority we can only relate one or two of the most 
 notable. A Capt. Linsley, by order of Col. Carrington of Indian- 
 apolis, was stationed at Teire Haute to arrest deserters in Vigo 
 and surrounding (counties of Indiana, nothing being said about 
 Illinois. In March, 1803, he sent two sergeants into Clark county 
 of this State who arrested four deserters. The mother of one of 
 them, at the instance of the Hon. John Schofield, acting as her 
 attorney, to procure her son's release swore out a warrant charg- 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 891 
 
 ing" tLe officers with kidnapping. The sergeants were arrested and 
 taken before the Hon. Ohas. H. Constable, circnit judge, the court 
 being then in session at Marshall, In their examination the judge 
 doubted the sufficiency of the papers exhibited as authority for 
 the sergeants to make the arrests in Illinois. Their attorney, li. 
 L. Dulaney, then attempted to prove that the men alleged to be 
 kidnai)[>ed were in fact deserters from the federal army, whom 
 any one might arrest as in the case of any crijuinal. This was 
 not allowed to be shown by the judge. Pie bound them over 
 in a bond of $500 and discharged the deserters. At the request 
 of the sergeants. Judge C. gave them a written statement: 
 
 '"That Messrs. McFarland and Thomas Long, have been arrested and brought before 
 me for examination on a ehartre of kidnaijping-, and that I have deemed it my duty to 
 hold tbeuiover In a bond of $500 to af)pear next Thursday morninjr, to answer farther 
 to said chargre, and I have ordered the discharge from custody of James Gammon, 
 Hujih Scott, M. Belcher and Jno. Tanner, four men whom they liad arrested upon the 
 ground that they were deserters from Co. K, oOth 111. Vol." 
 
 The sergeants procured bail without difficulty, though they were 
 strangers. Subse(]|uently, on the day of their trial, and while it 
 was in progress, Col. Carrington,with a force of UoO infantry, sur- 
 rounded the court house at Marshall, and with 50 dismounted cav- 
 alrymen iu citizens' dress entered the court room without exciting 
 surprise, and at the very moment the adjournment of court for 
 dinner was annouii(;ed, stepped forward and arrested Judge Con- 
 stable before he had quitted the bench. The infantry were sta- 
 tioned outside to quell any attempt at rescue by the citizens. 
 There was no molestation, however. Judge Constable, who was 
 taken by suri)rise, was considerably unmanned at this summary 
 exliibitiou of military power.* 
 
 The prisoners were released, ami the judge trying tliem was 
 torn from his judicial seat in the midst of his labors, his court 
 adjourned by military power, and he conveyed a prisoner to a 
 foreign State. Could audacity, apparently, in a free go\'ern- 
 nieiit, outside of the theatre of actual war, go further? Yet of all 
 the military arrests made in this State, this was the most justilia- 
 ble. Tlie offense consisted in no mere disloyal gasconade, but in 
 substantial acts which, by the discharge of four deserters and the 
 imprisonment of two officers, was an actual interference with and 
 injury to the military effort of the government to su])press the 
 relx^Uion. 
 
 About the 1st of April Judge Constable was brought from In- 
 diaiia]»olis to Si)ringtieldand delivered over to the civil authorities. 
 An affidavit was tiled before the U. S. Commissioner, charging 
 him with encouraging desertion by oixlering the release of the four 
 deserters from the custody of the officers. By agreement the ex- 
 amination was had before Judge Treat, of the U. S. district court, 
 the di.strict attorney, Lawrence Weldon, appearing for the gov- 
 ernment, and Stuart & Edwards for the prisoner. After hearing 
 all the evidence, the defendant was discharged. 
 
 Later in the spring of 1803, W. H. Green, a State Senator from 
 Massac, and G. AY. Wall, of Terry, were arrested by order of the 
 provost marshal. The cluirges do not appear. In the Senate Mr. 
 Green had signalized himself as an ardent supporter of the armis- 
 tice resolutions, laboring earnestly to bring that body to a \ote 
 ui)(>ii them. The republican press brought forward many of his 
 
 *See Terre Haute Express. 
 
892 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 anti-war utterances, suck as '' we (he and liis constituents) stand 
 upon the border as peace makers, and we intend tliat unless it be 
 over onr dead bodies, there shall be no fraternal blood shed," &c. 
 Mr. G. took occasion to deny some of these charges, in a published 
 letter. He was also found fault with for wearing a " butternut" 
 suit, &c. General Buford required each of these gentlemen to 
 take the oath of allegiance to the U. S.; to write letters to the com- 
 mander of the post confessing the acts for which they had been 
 arrested, with expressions of regret and promises of future con 
 duct comporting with that of loyal citizens ; and to declare they 
 had not aided deserters to escape nor discouraged enlistments, 
 whereupon they were released from arrest,* 
 
 Many others of our citizens too numerous to mention were ar- 
 rested, some taken to Washington bastiles and others incarcera- 
 ted in Fort Lafayette, in New York li arbor. It was about this 
 time that the noted arrest of Mr. Vallandigham of Ohio was 
 made. 
 
 Suppression of the Chicago Times. — But the general government 
 did not stop with military arrests and imprisonment of the citi- 
 zen for his exercise of the right of free speech ; it also laid its 
 hand of power upon the freedom of the i)ublic press. The 
 suppression of the Chicago Times — a newspai)er which ex- 
 ercised an unusual license in its criticism of the policy of 
 the administration and the conduct of the war — fonued the 
 most notable event of that sort in Illinois. This was done by or- 
 der of Major Gen. Burnside, in comnmnd of the department of 
 the Ohio, dated Cincinnati, June 1st, 1803. Brig. Gen. Jacob 
 Ammen, in command of the district of Illinois, stationed at Camp 
 Butler, was charged with its execution. The cause assigned in 
 the order was "the repeated expression of disloyal and incendiary 
 sentiments" by that newspaper. The same order (No. 81), in par- 
 agraph 1, included the N. Y. World. Gen. Ammen was directed 
 to allow no more issues of the paper to appear, and if neccessary 
 to "take military possession of the Times office." The editor was 
 also notified of the order by telegraph ftom Gen. Burnside, June 
 2d. Late in the night of that day jNIessrs. Storey and Worden, 
 the proprietors, made application to Judge Drnmmond, of the U. 
 S. court for the Northern district of Illinois, for an injunction to 
 restrain Gens. A. E. Burnside, Jacob Ammen, and Capt. Jas. 
 S. Putnam, of Camp Douglas, detailed to act, from carrying 
 into effect the order of suppression. About midnight the court 
 granted a temporary restraining order upon the defendants, until 
 the application could be heard and determined in open court. Learn- 
 ing which, Capt. Putnam hastily departed to hispostatCamp Doug- 
 las, gathered a sufficient military force, returned, and about 4 o'clock 
 in the morning of the 3d, executed Gen. Burnside's order by 
 taking possession of the Times office, in defiance and contem[)tof 
 the order of the civil tribunal. In the meantime the Times issues 
 of the 3d of June, in great part, had been struck off and found 
 circulation. 
 
 Here was presented the giave question of a collision between 
 the civil and military authority of the U. S. A stay of proceed- 
 ings in court was granted on the same day to give time for service 
 
 *See Illinois State Register, May 6 1863 
 
YATES ADMINISTRATION. 89^ 
 
 ou Geu. Ammeii. Judge David Davis, presiding in the U. S. 
 Circuit Court at Spriugfield, was telegraplied to come to Chi- 
 cago aud joiu in hearing the ai)pIicatiou for tlie injunction, with 
 which he complied. 
 
 Meantime the excitement created in Chicago was intense. Ou 
 tlie evening of the same day a huge concourse of citizens met nnd 
 ex])ressed their deep indignation against this military des])otism. 
 Ou tlie following day the intensity of the popular feeling having 
 steadily increased, fears were entertained that an outbreak of 
 mob violence would attaclc the Tribune establishment (rei)ublican). 
 A secret meeting of prominent republicans, and a few democrats, 
 was now held in the circuit court room, to devise wa.ysto preserve 
 the peace of the city. It was participated in by Seimtor Trum- 
 bull, Hon. I. K Arnold, Wm. ii. Ogde:i, Judge Van Higgius, (a 
 heavy stockholder iu the Tribune,) H. W. Fuller, Jas. ¥. Joy, 
 C. Beckwith, A. C. Coventry, Judge Dickey, S. S. Hayes, 
 A. W. Harrington aud others. A petition to the president 
 was prepared representing that the peace of the city, if 
 not the Avelfare of the country, would be promoted bj' rescinding 
 the order supi)ressing the Times; that this was asked upou the 
 ground of expediency alone, without regard to party ; aiul his fa- 
 vorable consideration was respectfully asked. The petition was 
 telegraphed to the president. Messrs. Trund)ull and Arnold sent 
 an additioiml dispatch especially inviting his prompt ami serious 
 consideration of the very grave state of affairs. By half-past six 
 p. m. of the same day, he replied by telegraph unconditionally re- 
 voking the order of suppression. But one number of the Tinien' 
 issues, that of Thursday, June 4th, failed to appear. Pecuniarily 
 it may well be guessed tlie paper was not long injured, as by this 
 it gained largely in its sales. 
 
 After thus saving it from the fury of the gathering mob, the 
 Tribune said : " The order of revocation was, and is uidversally 
 felt, to be a most unfortunate blunder. * As the matter stands it is 
 is a triumph of treason. The minions of Jeff. Davis have won a victory 
 by which they will not fail to profit. * Oh ! for a Geu. Ja(;ksou 
 while this war lasts, and it would not last long." The republican 
 press was generally chagrined at the wavering conduct of the 
 president, and in a tone of irony exclaimed : '' It is not true that 
 any republican has telegraphed to Washington to seek the ])resi- 
 deutial revocation of Geu. Grant's order to sui)i)ress Pemberton's 
 issues of shot and shell at Vicksburg." The Belleville Zeitung 
 (Germau re})ublican), somewhat profanely said : " May the devil 
 take the 'honesty' of Lincoln and his cabinet. We are for the en- 
 ergy and power of action of Fremont. Let Fremont be our next 
 l^resident." 
 
 In the meantime Judges Davis aiul Drummond had been hear- 
 ing the able argumenrs of counsel on the application for an in- 
 junction, but the president's revocation stayed all further proceed- 
 ings in court, and, what is to be regretted, no opiinou was ren- 
 dered upon this very interesting question. From Judge Dium- 
 mond's remarks upon the motion to defer the api)lication till after 
 service, we gather the following: 
 
 "As the officer of the grovcrnment, I wiU seek to maintain that grovernment, but 
 I believe that the constitutiou and the laws furnish ample means to suppress 
 the rebellion. * When there are military operations g'oing on— when thero are 
 armies in the field in hostile array, in battle, in movement, then the civil law ceases 
 
894 HISTORY OP ILLINOIS. 
 
 and then comes in the martial law. But the armies of the U. S., the major prenerals of 
 the U S., act u!)dcr theautliority of law, and the military law is just as inucli under 
 the constitution and under the law as is the civil law, precisely. * It is desiral)le 
 that we should know whether we live under a government of law or under a "ovein- 
 mcnt of force. * 1 believe that we live under afiovernment of law. and I trust that 
 ev^ery citizen of the community also rests under the same belief, and that all, each for 
 himself, will remember that we live under a government of law." 
 
 Secret Folitico- Military Societies.— The year 1863 was also pro- 
 lific in the organization of secret ])olitical orders with seiui-iiiili- 
 tary attributes. Tliey were variously known as "Kni<;hts of the 
 Goideii Circle," ''Union Leagues," the "S. B's," (whatever that 
 stood for) &c. The former of these was of democratic and the two 
 latter of republican origin. Various circumstances contributed to 
 the wide extension of these orders. The open clamor for peace on 
 the part of many leading democrats; the t)piniou that the war 
 was a failure — indirectly conceded by some of the stauiichest re- 
 publican newspapers; the unpoi>ularity of the conscrii)t law with 
 the $300 exemi)tiou clause and its frequent denunciation, these, 
 joined with the political excitement by the peace resolutions of 
 the legislature, and the many expressions from public meetings in 
 opposition thereto, produced a serious impression among the peo- 
 jtle not uumingled with feelings of personal insecurity. During 
 this year, too, nuiny deserters were at large, })rowling about the 
 neighborhoods of their homes, often leading their friends or rela- 
 tives into difficulties with the secret agents of the government in 
 pmrsintof them, who, when they became known, of course swaggered 
 and boasted notalittle of their i)rowess and the terrible retribution 
 to be visited upon certain localities sujtposed to harbor them. 
 There were also at home rather an unusual number of soldiers on 
 furlough — roistering blades, pompous in their neat, blue uniforms 
 — into whose ears were poured by partizan Iriends tales of liorror, 
 how the venomous -'Copperhead democrats" purposed resisting 
 the draft, subvert the State government, and form an alliance 
 with the rebel confederacy. The soldiers, thus incited by narrow 
 and prejudiced republicans, often swaggered about insulting good 
 citizens and nuiking threats of dire vengeance, which they felt it 
 their duty and privilege to wreak, and sometimes they went so 
 far as to actually perpetrate indignities and outrages upon really 
 unoffending democratic civilians. The general government, too, 
 as we have seen, was making numerous military arrests for the 
 mere utterance — often but an idle or thougiitless boast — of dis- 
 loyal sentiments. 
 
 There was con.^equently little open discussion of the war in- 
 dulged on either side in many portions of the State. A <leep feel- 
 ing of mistrust regarding the thoughts and piiri>oses of one's own 
 neighbor was all-pervading. The air was rife with wliis[)ers of 
 direst portent as to the treatment to be visited u[)on this or that 
 (jitizen, wdio should have uttered this or done that disloyal thing. 
 The State was under martial law ; and it was generally felt that 
 outrages growing out of the political condition of the times, or 
 l)er[)etrated atsuch a period, would either meet with ready excuse 
 and escai)e of punishment, upon the one side, or a summary visita- 
 tion of revenge from the other. Each was thus steeled against the 
 liist overt act. Under these circumstances men of prior partizan 
 afliniteis, even if not then in full accord npon the great question 
 of the war, instinctively sought to bind themselves together by 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 895 
 
 ties of tlie strongest oaths for mutual protection, uliicli doul)tless 
 did not always stop with provisions against personal indignities 
 and local outrages alone, but may have included purposed resist- 
 enceto the lawful demands of the government in the enforccnuMit 
 of the conscript law to carry on a war odious to their political 
 sentiments. 
 
 For greater efticiency, here ami there these (;ond)inations, on 
 both sides, partook of' the character of military organizations; 
 but it is questionable if any were furnished with arms other 
 than home aliairs, shot guns, etc. The dialling was often done with 
 cornstalks. The associations of one side caused the other to do 
 the same ; while the utmost quiet ])revailed as to the usnal 
 wrangles and discussions incident to all })nblic questions of gi'eat 
 interest in this country. Both si<les feared ami gnarded against 
 precii>itating a general collision. JsTo one knew what a personal 
 affray might instantly de\'elop as to the number of sworn assist- 
 ants on either side, nor what wea])ons were concealed, ready to leap 
 forth ui)on the first enu^rgency. To such considerations an active 
 imagination was of course ready to add its legions of numbeis and 
 dire results. In some respects this mutual Ibrbearance, born of 
 caution, may have been well. But these secret associations by 
 skillful and industrious agencies w^ere extending their power and 
 influence all over the country. 
 
 All secret political societies are dangerous to the State and to 
 the liberty of the peoi)le. The very fact of their secrecy stamps 
 them as wrongful and hazardous. Secrecy eviscerates true de- 
 mocracy or republicanism of its essential i)rinciples. To deny an 
 open comparison of views and a free discussion of questions af- 
 fecting the public weal, or the rights of the citizen, is to remove 
 the uiuierlying safegmirds of an intelligent liberty. It is but jnst 
 to say that the democratic press counselled the people against 
 them. 
 
 Tlie republican press, with untiring industry, circulated reports 
 that the democrats were preparing and intended to resist the 
 draft under the conscript law. A regiment was organized and 
 armed by the State, by order of Adjutant General Fuller, '-for 
 the i>urpose of guard and i^rotection of the State of Illinois" — • 
 meaning that it was to aid in enforcing the draft. Col. li. IT. 
 Hough was assigned to its connnand. This ill-advised step, one 
 would suppose, was rather calculated to i)r()voke the armed col- 
 lision so much dreaded. Many indeed feared, tliat, by these" va- 
 rious means, a struggle might be brought about in the State. 
 Judge O'iMelveny, a fierce anti-war democrat, wrote: "I still 
 thiidv we are nearing convulsion in the Xorth. It must be with 
 us the last alternatix'e, but free speech ought to be made the issue 
 — lu) ])ointnu)re available; to sui-irnder it, is toi)erish; and if fate 
 and destiny so will it, let the democracy go down with the consti- 
 tution and with liberty in one common struggle forlife and power." 
 So nuudi was said of secret traitorous political organizations, and 
 their threatened violent resistance to the draft underthe c()nsci-ii)t 
 law, that Judge Davis, of the U. S. circuit court, during the June 
 term at Si)ringtield, charged the grand jury that there were 
 secret organizations with '-grips, signs and pass-words, having for 
 their object, resistance to law, and the overthrow of the govern- 
 meut. * K anywhere in this State bad men have combined 
 
896 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 togetlier for such wicked purpose, bring them to light and let 
 them receive the puuishmeut due tlieir crimes" — charging them 
 further with reference to any kind of resistance or obstruction to 
 the enforcement of the draft, and the aiding or abetting of de- 
 serters by advice, assistance or harboring them. 
 
 While the many rumors of lawless conduct on the part of these 
 organizations, with which the press teemed, were exaggerated, all 
 was not smoke. A number of atrocious murders were committed, 
 and armed resistance offered to the arrest of deserters 
 in many portions of the State, which we have neither the 
 space nor disposition to give in detail. Of the counties 
 in which these disreputable proceedings occurred, we nuiy 
 mention (commencing south and proceeding north) Union, Wil- 
 liamson, Richland, Clark, Coles, Fayette, Montgomery, Greene, 
 Scott, Tazewell and Fulton. The most pertinacious resistance 
 was offered in Scott and Greene, whither a detachment of over 100 
 mounted soldiers was sent to ferret out the camps of lawless men 
 hid among the glades and swamps bonlering the Illinois river. 
 The nujst fatal collision occurred in Coles, at Charleston, on the 
 22d of March, 1864, between (;itizens in attendance upon circuit 
 court, under the lead of Sheriff O'llara, and the re-enlisted veter- 
 ans of the o4th Illinois regiment. Four soldiers were killed and 
 8 wounded, one mortally; of the citizens, 3 were killed at the time; 
 one accidentally. Some time after, two of the O'Haras were way- 
 laid and assassinated in the woods.* Assaults upon various men 
 were made in Edgar and some other counties. A raid, projected 
 from Cass, was made upon Jacksonville to intimidate the federal 
 authorities in the discharge of their duties. In Hancock, Adams, 
 Pike, Calhoun and other counties bordering the Mississippi, incur- 
 sions w'ere made by rebel " bushwhackers" from Missouri, avIio 
 were said to be but too freely countenanced and harbored. It is 
 also doubtless true that these sceiies of lawlessness uniformly 
 occurred in regions where unconditional unionism Avas in minority 
 and the loyal sentiment of the people overborne. I^ut aside from 
 these comparatively petty outbreaks of a few misguided, perhaps 
 lawless men in scattered localities, no serious jjurpose to any con- 
 siderable extent really ever existed to resist the draft in Illinois, 
 or to obstruct the operations of the laws of the general govern- 
 ment. The great mass of the people. Democrat as well as Re- 
 publican, were ever willing and ready to obey the law, both State 
 and national, dutifully, quietly and cheerfull}'. 
 
 Prorogation of the Last Bemocratic Leglslatiire. — The 23d gen- 
 eral assembly, upon the expiration of its recess, met again, June 
 2d, 18(53. Besides a number of bills of a private or local character, 
 patriotic resolutions, resolutions of thanks to the Illinois volun- 
 teers for their valor in the field, and resolutions of a political char- 
 
 * Much disaffection obtained between citizens (who often gave vent to treasonable 
 utterances by shouting for Jeff. Davis, &c .,) and soldiers, and many personal indigni- 
 ties were inflicted by the latter upon the former. In Colts, it is said that soldiers, per- 
 haps when intoxicated, out of mere wantoness, would seize farmers, (many of them 
 doubtless, bolong-insr to the order of the Golden Circle), from their wagons and compel 
 their, to take an oath of allegiance manufactured for the occasion: "You solemnly 
 swear to support the administration, j^bi-aham Lincoln, all proclamations now issued, 
 and all that may hereafter be issued, so help you God." At Vandalia a Mr. Smith was 
 made to take the oath, and afterwards, in an altercation, killed. One of the soldiers 
 escaped, and his associates, on examination were discharged. Citizens, doubtless Amer- 
 ican Knights, to the number of 50 or 60, sought to revenge the murder, but failing ia 
 this, burnt a railroad bridge and committed other depredations. 
 
YATES' ADMESriSTRATION. 897 
 
 acter, covering the military order suppressing the Chicago Times, 
 the military arrests of Illinois citizens, particularly the case of 
 Judge Constable, v:evQ numerously introduced. The con- 
 sideration of the latter character of resolutions elicited warm de- 
 bate and consumed nuich valuable time. At this time the army 
 in the West, containing nearly all the Illinois troops, had been 
 active iu its apiiroaches ujion Vicksburg, and all the se- 
 vere fighting in the investment of that rebel fortress was 
 over. The casualties to Illinois volunteers were great, and the 
 demands for sanitary aid pressing. On the first day of the ses- 
 sion, therefore, in the senate, Mr. Green, who had but recently 
 been the subject of military arrest, as we have seen, introduced a 
 bill, appropriating $50,000 for the sick and wounded Illinois sol- 
 diers. In the house a similar bill was introduced by Mr, Fuller, 
 appropriating $100,000 to be disbursed by a commission, consist- 
 ing of Messrs. John T. Stuart, C. H. Lanjihier, and W. A. Turney, 
 all oi)posed to the administration policy of the war. A bill for 
 taking the Illinois soldiers' vote was also introduced. 
 
 On the 3d day of the session, in the senate, a proposition to 
 adjourn sine die was extensively discussed and made the special 
 order for the following day. On Monday, June Sth, three Demo- 
 crats being absent, tlu^. senate, on motion of Mr. Yandeveer, a 
 Democrat, jiassed a resolution by a vote of 14 to 7, to adjourn sine 
 die on that instant, at C p. m. This the house amended by insert- 
 ing the 23d of June at 10 A. m. instead. The senate refused to 
 concur by yeas 11 to nays 12. . By the constitution, in case of dis- 
 agreement between the two houses with respect to the time of 
 adjournment, the governor was empowered to adjourn the assem- 
 bly to such a day as he deemed projier. Such conjuncture now 
 obtained. On the 9th the senate transacted but little business. 
 There Avas also disagreement upon the house soldiers' relief bill, 
 the senate having added the names of the governor aiid the treas- 
 urer to the commission, to which the house refused to acceed. 
 On the morning of June 10th, in the house, shortly after a motion 
 by Mr. Lawrence to take up the general appropriation bill had, 
 at the instance of Mr. Fuller, been laid on the table, and while 
 not a Democrat was dreaming of such a move, the governor's pri- 
 vate secretary entered the hall, and being announced by the door- 
 keeper, but without recognition from the chair, (Mr. Burr), read 
 hurriedly, but in a loud tone, his message adjourning the gerieral 
 assembly to the Saturday next preceding the 1st Monday iu Jan- 
 uary, 1805. 
 
 This unexpected stroke fell upon the dominant party like a clap 
 of thunder from a clear sky. Their chagrin and anger knew no 
 bounds. They were beaten by the hated governor in parliamen- 
 tary tactics. Amidst the unexampled din and confusion, all sorts 
 of motions were made. The Republican members at once with- 
 drew, breaking the quorum. The speaker vacated the chair, and 
 the house took an informal recess. In the senate, upon the read- 
 ing of the i)rorogation message, a similar scene of excitement took 
 place. Lieutenant-CTOvernor Hofiraan said: " In obediance to this 
 order, I do now adjourn this senate until the Saturday preceding 
 the 1st Monday in January, A. D. 1865." He then vacatetl the 
 chair and retired from the chamber. Senator Underwood was 
 called to the chair. In the afternoon 13 senators were present — 
 57 
 
898 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 the 12 Republican members bavins left. lu the bouse 44 mem- 
 bers were present; a maiority in either house, but not euoufih to 
 do business, the constitution requiring- the presence of two-thirds 
 of the members iu each house to constitute a quorum. Regarding 
 the prorogation as illegal both houses continued the session. 
 
 It is probable the absconding- members knew of the governor's 
 purpose, judging- from the promptness with which they and the 
 lieutenant-governor took their departure. Yet upon the other 
 hand, in the senate, Mr. Vandeveer, a Democrat, made the motion 
 to adjourn, on which the disagreement occurred. 
 
 Prior to the prorogation in the house a motion had been adop- 
 ted for a conference committee to reconcile the differences upon 
 the soldiers' $100,000 relief bill. This was, in the present strait, 
 proffered to be accommodated by the house agreeing to the senate 
 amendment to insert the names of the governor and treasurer 
 with the other commissioners. A joint resolution was thereupon 
 adopted, inviting the co-operation of enough Republican members 
 to help pass this much needed measure. If a quorum had been 
 obtainecl and the bill regularly passed, it would have been void 
 because of the legality of the prorogation, as subsequeutly decided 
 by the supreme court. But the Republicans showed no disposi- 
 tion to acceed to this request, although the legality of the adjourn- 
 ment was then generaly doubted by both parties. The hat had 
 gone forth, political capital was a stake, to' retract was to prove 
 vacillating and contemptible, and they braved it through. 
 
 The sincerity of the Democrats — who believed the bill might be 
 leg-all}' passed if a quorum could be obtained — in making this 
 proi)ositiou, has been doubted, as inferred from the fact that there 
 had been ample time to pass the bill. True, they had showed no 
 haste, but after the disagreement, there was at stake the pride of 
 consistency with either house, for which some allowance should be 
 made. It cannot be possible that such trilling was intended; that 
 the olive branch was held out only as a lure and deceitful snare. 
 It may also be safely asserted, that the bill would have passed had 
 more time been allowed and the prorogaiion not been interposed. 
 But for the sake of gratifying the vanity of partisan tri- 
 umph, the law-makers were dispersed, and this beneficent measure 
 failed. Besides this measure, which appealed directly to one's 
 sympathy and humanity, there were others pending of great pub- 
 lic utility, which were thus also defeated; the bill for the sale of 
 coin and the payment of interest in treasury notes ; an appropria- 
 tion to the State Normal University ; the general appropriation 
 bill ; an appropriation for the erection of a monument to Douglas, 
 and some needed local measures, all in an advanced state of ma- 
 turity. 
 
 Immediately after the prorogation the Democrats prepared a 
 protest, setting forth in detail the injurious consequences to the 
 public of the governor's "monstrous usurpation" of power, signed 
 by 5Q representatives and 13 senators. A counterblast to this, 
 addressed to the people of lUinois, was published by 3 Republi- 
 cans of the senate, and 6 of the house, acting as a committee for 
 this purpose, in defense of the Republican members and the act 
 of the governor. Both were extreme partisan documents, full of 
 accusations of corruption, and devoid of neither errors of fact noi 
 intemperate language. 
 
YATES' AD^nNISTRATION. SDO 
 
 After the proroiiJitioD, the "rump," or moot ]e<;islature, as it 
 was varionsly called, still kept up the session teehnieally. The 
 roll call was studiously avoided so as not to have it appear from 
 the journals that a quorum was not present, and tlnis tlie le<iality 
 of their acts would turn upon the validity of the prorogation 
 alone, which was to be tested in the Supreme Court. On the 23d 
 and 24th of June business was transacted. The governor was in- 
 formed that they were about to close, asking if he had any Jur- 
 ther communication to lay before them. He replied that he had 
 not, and did not recognize their legal existence. A joint resolu- 
 tion was thereupon passed, taking a recess until Tuesday after 
 the tirst Monday in January, 1804. 
 
 Before the close of the year a decision Avas obtained from the 
 Supreme Court, sustaining the validity of the prorogation. Tliis 
 was the tirst political question that had been before the Supreme 
 Court since the aben case in 1840. A portion of the Democratic 
 press assailed the court (which was Democratic in political senti- 
 ment) with great virulence, charging that the 
 
 "Decision was not only ^vholly wi-onfr, but had been made from un^YOl•tby motives. 
 It was time tliat jvidges wlio made wroag decisions, to avoid the lasli and propitiate 
 the impending aiiger of their political opponents, sliould be made to feel the indigna- 
 tion of their former friends whom they had thus betrayed. The Democratic 
 party had asked, and would asli for nothing but impartial fairness at the liands of the 
 judges, and no considei-ation of delicacy would impel it to silence, if it felt that nnwor- 
 thv personal motives had moved them to deal unfairly with it. We had fondly hoped 
 that in Illinois there wasa State court in whom the people could confidently repose as 
 a biirrier to fri<rhtful Invasions of executive power. This hope is dispelled, and we are 
 overwhelmed with sorrow and mortilicationin view of it.''* 
 
 The deep chagrin of the Democrats at the dispersion of the 
 legislature by the governor is eloquently portrayed by a member, 
 before the Su[)reme Court, in his capacity as attorney in one of 
 the cases involving the validity of the prorogation. He exclaims : 
 ••^lalignant partizanship could go no farther. The annals of 
 political warfare display no grosser infraction of the dignities 
 and amenities of private oroflicial life. * * Snice the members 
 of the long parliament were driven from their seats with oppro- 
 brious epithets by Cromwell, there has been no such exhibition of 
 virtuperative lawlessness."- 
 
 We will carry this parallel further by adding the concluding 
 part of CromwelFs address to the commons, and see where it leads : 
 "But now I say, your time liath come. The Liu'd hath disowned 
 you. The Got! of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, hath 
 done with you. He hath no need of you any more. So, he hath 
 judged you and cast you forth and chosen litter instruments to 
 Hiiii to execute that work in which you have dishouiued Him."' 
 History repeats itself. The chronicler of the scene adds: '•Sullen, 
 humiliated and unpitied, for they had lost the respect of honest 
 men of all denominations, the members of that parliament now 
 sneaked away to lind a miserable refuge in the disi)ised obscurity 
 of private life, deserted by the people in their turn, whom they 
 Hist deserted at the dictates of a depraved and poor ambition." 
 
 The Great Democratic Mass Convention of June 11th, 1803. — The 
 Democratic State committee had issued a call on the 2Sth of May 
 for a mass convention to assemble at Springfield, eJune 17th, 1803, 
 being the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, for the pur- 
 pose*^of consultation and deliberation upon the state of the coun- 
 
 * From the Chicago Times. 
 *SeeM. AV. Fuller's brief. 
 
900 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 try, and to give expression in an authoritative form to the views 
 of public policy entertained by the Illinois Democracy. Prom- 
 inent democratic orators from foreign States were advertised to 
 be present to speak, confer and counsel with the Illinois Democracy. 
 The result was the most extraordinary gathering, in respect of 
 numbers, fine personal appearance, high character of the men in 
 attendance and the spirit which pervaded them, that ever 
 assembled in Illinois. Not less than 40,000 men were present, 
 representing all parts of the State. It was not a gala day assem- 
 blage of men, women and children, but of solid looking, well 
 attired men, whose countenances betokened thought, earnestness 
 and determination. They were evidently political leaders of more 
 or less influence in whatever sections they belonged. Their out- 
 ward appearance indicated not only this, but also that the great 
 body of them were men of means. While all classes were more or 
 less represented, the solid element greatly predominated, giving 
 tone and character to the whole. No drunkenness, brawling or 
 semblance of unseemly conduct marred the occasion. No taunt- 
 ing acts of disloyalty by the display of secession liags, shouting 
 for Jeft' Davis, or like conduct calculated to provoke a breach of 
 the peace, was manifested. A disturbance of the peace while this 
 immense crowd was in the capital city, leading to a serious out 
 break, perhaps a collision with the soldiers, was greatly feared by 
 some prominent of&cials. Gen. Ammen, commandant of Camp 
 Butler, took the precaution to order that no soldier be allowed to 
 leave camp during the whole of that day. But this crowd, though 
 large, was not a mob. It was composed rather of respectable*, 
 well-to-do and reflective citizens who — whatever their opinion 
 regarding the war, and that was for peace — would not pre- 
 cipitate a collision voluntarily. Yet it may be well considered, 
 had it been forced upon them they were not the men to quail ; 
 doubtless mau,y were well prepared for such a contingency. They 
 had come, not for an excursion to seek relief from and var;y the 
 monotony of home life, but, moved by a feeling of deep earnest- 
 ness, to compare views and take counsel of one another, and 
 repledge their devotion to that democratic faith that was in them, 
 which stood steadfast for the "Union as it was and the constitu- 
 tion as it is ;" to condemn the aggressions of arbitrary power both 
 State and National, and denounce the "abolitionizing" of the con- 
 duct of the war. Prominent republicans had themselves asserted 
 that "the problem would be [when the war was past] to com- 
 bine the forms of republican government with the powers of a 
 monarchical government."* They met to place their ban upon the war 
 at a time when many earnest hearts were trembling for the cause of 
 the Union, and when discouragement might be doubly effective. 
 In the west, A'^icksburg was invested, it is true, but it had not 
 fallen. In the east the victorious legions of Lee, fresh from the 
 blundering contests on the Eappahannock, and inspired by a 
 contempt for the Union forces under Hooker, with the utmost 
 audacity moved clear around him, boldly crossed into Maryland 
 and deliberately pushed forward to Pennsylvania, while the coun- 
 try stood amazed, and the deepest anxiety pervaded every breast. 
 Gettysburg, though not far in the future, was not foreseen. 
 
 'See Forney's Press. 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 901 
 
 The meeting- was held at the old Fair Ground or Cam}) Yates, 
 about oue mile due west of the old State House. The day was 
 oppressively warm. To give au idea of some of the leading par- 
 ticipants w^e will append a few names : 
 
 Senator W. A. Kichardson. president ; vice presidents ; Hons. (Jhas. A. Constable, 
 Wm. McMurtry, Peter Sweat, J. M. Young, Aaron Shaw, O. B. Ficklin, Wm. F. Tiiorn- 
 ton, J. W. Merritt, H. M. Vandeveer. B. F. Prettyman, Chas. D. Hodges, John S. 
 McDonald, James Rolib, W H. Gilnian. Virgil Hiekox, James E. Ewing, B. D. Tay- 
 lor, A. D. Wright, l.P Rogers, John V. Ayer, A. Withers, David A. Gage, Sargent 
 Gobble, John Cunningham, Noah Johnson, M. Y. Johnson, B. S. Edwards, S. Staats 
 Taylor, John Pierson. C. L. Higbee, R. L.- Merrick, S. S. Hays, Cyrus Epler, R. M. B. 
 Wilson, JohnD. Wood, S. A. Buckmaster, Jacob Bowman, S. J. Cross, J. M. Epler, 
 Robert Halloway, Henry Dresser, J. L. D. Morrison, J. K.Stitt, JamesC. Robinson, 
 W. A. J. Sparks, F. C. Sherman, J. S. Bogan, John C. Champlin, C. A. Walker, and 
 Dr. N. S. Davis. Among the spcakei'S in attendance from abroad we notice the names of 
 Daniel Voorhees, of Indiana, 8. S Cox of Ohio, and Chris. Kribben and Gen. MeKini- 
 Btry, of St. Louis, and from our own State, Kichardson, S S. Marshall, J. K. Eden, 
 Jas. C.Allen. Ex Gov. Jolm Kcynokis, J. C. Robinson, Greathous, Bryan, Connolly, 
 Wescott, Chas T. E. Merritt, M. Y. Johnson, J. L. D. Morrison, W. M. Springer, 
 and a host of others. Speaking was constantly had from six different stands, enthusias- 
 tic crowds thronging about each.* 
 
 The i)osition of the Democracy of Illinois was declared at 
 length in 24 separate paragra[)hs, which we summarize, except the 
 two last. They declared the supremacy of the constitution 
 of the United States, as well in time of war as peace, 
 wliieh they were ready and willing to obey, as also all laws nmde 
 in pursuance thereof, so long as they remained upon the statute 
 books, claiming the right to constitutionally change them; they 
 quoted the bill of rights, and upon it arraigned the federal admin- 
 istration for violating ueaily every one of its guarantees to the 
 citizen ; they condemned the arrest and banishment of Vallandig- 
 liam, demanding his restoration ; denounced the arrest of Judge 
 Constable and the imprisonment of Hon. W. H. Oarlin and other 
 citizens of the State, demanding their release; condemned the 
 suppression of the Chicago Times; declared their determination 
 to exercise the right of electing public officers ui defiance of the 
 demands of power ; adhered to the doctrine of State sovereignty ; 
 denounced martial law in this State ; condemned the recent act of 
 prorogation of the legislature by Gov. Yates as a highhanded 
 usurpation by one department of governnient of the rights of 
 another ; charged the governor with not only not protecting the 
 citizen in his constitutional rights, but violating them himself; 
 denounced secession as a ruinous heresy, and offered their cordial 
 co-operation in securing to the seceded States equal rights if they 
 Avould return to their allegiance. 
 
 "23. That the further offensive prosecution of this war tends to subvert the consti- 
 tution and the go\'erument, and entail upon this nation all the disastrous consequences 
 ot misrule and anarchy. That we are in favor of peace upon the basis of a restoration 
 of the Union, and for the accomplishment of which we propose a national convention 
 to settle upon terms of peace, which siiall have in view the restoration of the Union 
 as it was and the securing, by constitutional amendments, such righs to the several 
 Stares and the people thereof, as honor and justice demand. 
 
 "•Zi. That we denounce as libellers of the Democratic party, and willful Instigators 
 of mischief, those fanatics who are engaged in representing the democracy as wanting 
 in svmpathy for our soldiers in the field. Those soldiers are our kindred, our friends 
 and'our neighbors, whose interests are identilled with our own ; whose prosperity is 
 our pleasure ; whose suffering is our pain : and whoso brilliant achievements are our 
 pride and admiration. Promptly rushing to arms as they did, in answer to the call of 
 their country, they merit our warmest thanks, our sympathy and our support ; and 
 we carnestlv request the President of the United States to withdraw the " Proclama- 
 tion of Emancipation," and permit the brave sous of Illinois to fight only for the 
 "Union, the constitution and the enfor-cemeutof the laws." 
 
 The assembled multitude testified their faith in the last of these 
 declarations by their works on the spot, in contributing the muni- 
 ficent fund of $47,4:00 for the sick and wounded Illinois soldiers. 
 This very liberal response was one of the noblest and most touch- 
 
 "See Illinois Register, June 18th, 1863. 
 
903 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 iiig' scenes ever wituessed. Wlieu the call of tlie couimittee for 
 tills purpose was aDuoiiuced, wallets Hew out of i)Ockets thick aud 
 fast, and thousands of upraised hands held Avaiving aloft innumer- 
 able greenbacks, inscribed with the interesting $ hgures of 5's, 
 lO's, liO's, oO's, &c., impatiently waiting for the passing hats to 
 come round to gather them in. The hats were filled and crammed, 
 passed to the committee, emptied, passed back again and as 
 quickly refilled. Some individual subscriptions were as high as 
 $500. And thus the errand of mercy prospered; the glorious con- 
 tagion of a philanthropic entluisiasm spreadiiig the while, en- 
 couraged with inspiring cheers, while many a thoughtful eye, set 
 perhaps iu a stern countenance, droi)ped a silent tear in sym[)a- 
 thy with this beautiful manifestation of a grateful patriotism. 
 Thus were wrought up those tender emotions of love of country, 
 which transported the fond recollections of affectionate hearts 
 after the absent ones, gallantly defending the union and our 
 homes against the cohorts of treason. The Marm hearts of these 
 contributors pulsated in unison witli a genuine patriotism, albeit 
 their unyielding heads, influenced by partisan feelings, 
 enunciated what we now know to have been a wrongful stand 
 against the further prosecution of the war for the Union. Doubt- 
 less they were thoroughly honest in their belief at the time, but 
 its results upon tliis nation, if carried out, must have been attended 
 with unnumbered woes. 
 
 In this munificent oifering " the soldier's friend " and his 
 goading backers, who, rather than forego the opportunity of 
 wreaking a partisan triumph by the prorogation of the legisla- 
 ture in defeating the appropriation of $100,000 for tlie sick 
 sick and wounded Illinois soldiers, doubtless discovered a merited 
 rebuke. It has been asserted that this feeling prompted the large 
 contribution rather than the dictates of a generous i»hilanthropy. 
 But a good deed should Jiot be attributed to bad motives; to do 
 good to those that despitefully use you, is of the highest christian 
 spirit. Crowds of men are not likely to seek revenge in such 
 noble and generous actions; neither was this assemblage the legis- 
 hiture which had been affronted. Col. W. li. Morrison was selected 
 to disburse the fund raised at this meeting, for the relief of the 
 sick and wounded Illinois soldiers. 
 
 While this meeting was "called" to give authoritative expres- 
 sion to the views of i)ublic policy entertained by the Illinois demo- 
 cracy, the position here assigned to them in the 23tl declaration, 
 was but the position of those who framed it, or of that assemblage, 
 not that of the great mass of the party. It was not a delegate 
 but a mass convention, each attendant representing himself and 
 no one else. By this declaration it was proposed precisely to do 
 all the rebels had ever asked — to be let alone. It did not express 
 the sentiments of the Democracy of Illinois. The Democracy had 
 ever been the war party of the country, in all the wars it ever l^ad. 
 The great body of the rank and file were loyal to the core and 
 unconditionally for the war, conteiuling, with rare exceptions, that 
 there was no other honorable alternative but to prosecute it until 
 tlie authority of tlie government was acknowledged and respe(;ted 
 over all the broad domain of our country. The leading spirits of 
 this meeting forsook the exalted loyal stand of the party as cor- 
 rectly defined by Mr. Douglas, and placed themselves iu perfect 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 903 
 
 antagonism witli liis patriotic utterances, that wliile the war lasted 
 there could be but two parties in the country — " jiatriots and 
 traitors." They assumed to speak for the Democracy of Illinois, 
 witliout delegated authority so to do, and assign to them a posi- 
 tion before the country which they abhorred. Their uuAvorthy 
 efforts met with a withering rebuke from the people and they dealt 
 the party a last blow, from which it has not recovered. If not iu 
 articuJo morfis, it has been i)aralized ever since in the State. 
 
 The first fruit of these legislative and convention pi'oceedings 
 was exhibited in the elections of November, 1803, for county 
 oflicers, which resulted in fiivor of the Eepublicans by an aggre- 
 gate majority of 30,0(H) votes. A full vote was not polled, it is 
 true, yet there was an actual Union gain t)f 5,0(10, and a compar- 
 ative gain of 40,000 votes over the preceding year.* 
 
 On September 3d,lS<;;3 — the country having been in the mean time 
 encouraged by the \ictory of Gettysburg and the fall of Vicksburg — 
 the meeting of the 17th of June was offset by an immense Union 
 gathering at Springfield. lions. Henry S. Lane, J. E. Doolittle, 
 Zacliary Chandler, Gov. Yates, Gens. E. J. Oglesby, John A. 
 McClernand, I. ]Sl. Haynie, B. M. Prentiss and many others, 
 addressed the vast assemblage. Mr. Lincoln sent a long and 
 l)atriotic letter, addressed to the chairman, J. C. Conkling, which 
 was read. Many other patriotic letters from prominent gentle- 
 men in various parts of the country were likewise read. A vigor- 
 ous prosecution of the war for the Union was urged by all the 
 speakers, and in all the letters — that that was the only true way 
 to an honorable peace.* 
 
 The peace eff'orts of a faction of the Illinois Democracy nuiy 
 be said to have culmiuiited in 1803. With the api)roacli of 
 the election contest of 1861 we discover a manifest weakening in 
 the wonted unanimity of their demands for peace. The desire for 
 party success was stronger than any other political sentiment. 
 The leaders, not unmindful of the expression of the people of 
 Illinois at the polls in Novend)er, 1803, were inclined to greater 
 caution in taking advanced unconditional peace grouiul. Indeed 
 many were the other way. ^l(;Clellen had loonu'd up as the most 
 available Democratic candidate for the presidency. It could not be 
 expected that the hero of Antietam, who it was sui)posed would 
 carry the soldiers' vote to aiiian, could consistantly be run as an 
 unconditional peace man. Accordingly when the first State Dem- 
 ocratic Convention of 1864 met at Springfield, June 15th, they 
 contented themselves with appointing delegates to the national 
 convention, and State presidential electors, withoutputting a ticket 
 in the field,or adopting a platform, deferringthat matter by an over- 
 whelming mnjtuity to the action of the national convention shortly 
 to meet at Chicago. A bunu^omb resolution was adopted tostiind 
 by Yallandiuhani (who had just returned from exile), and the de- 
 mocracy of Ohio (then, also, "assembled in convention) in the preser- 
 
 *Oiitofthe resolutions of the ITth of June sprunt? a curious quarrel between the 
 T)eac(> policy and no policy factions of that meeting, led respectiyely by Col. 
 Kiehardsonand Gen. Sinsrlcion. The "declarations." it seems, were prepared and 
 passed upon the day before by a self constituted committee of confen-essmen, .ludfics, 
 officeholders and office seekcr.s, whose retreat, the latter as he a.sserted for ^ Ion? 
 time, could not discoyer. He claimed the paternity of the ~Md "declaration with 
 only the word "offensive" in the lirst line added by the committee. Doubtless honors 
 are epsy upon that point by this time. 
 
 ♦Sec Illinois State Journal, Sept. 9lh, 1863. 
 
904 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 vatiou of their liberty, but the reiteration of the former bold stand 
 for peace, for which the masses in Illinois in their expression at 
 the polls liad shown no relish, was shrewdly avoided. This was 
 regarded as a McClellen triumph, and a rebuke to the i)eace-ou- 
 auy-term's party. But the peace faction against which the tide 
 was thus strongly setting, M-as not to be squelched without making 
 an eflbrt. With tjie view to influeuce the approaching State con- 
 vention, a mass meeting to the number of perhaps 20,000 assem- 
 bled at Peoria, August the 3d, under the management of the lead- 
 ing peace men of the State. The meeting was also said to have 
 been called by "a secret organization whose members acted with 
 the Democratic party. "*General Singleton, author of the 23d dec- 
 laration of the 17th of June, 18G3, presided; and Amos Green, 
 GrandCommander of the Order of American Knights in Illinois, 
 who, subsequently, in the trial of the Camp Douglas conspirators 
 at Cincinnati, turned state's evidence, H. M. Vandeveer, W. W. 
 O'Brien and others, reported a series of resolutions, in the 2d 
 of which they "declare that the coercion and subjugation of sov- 
 ereign States was never contemplated as possible or authorized 
 by the constitution, but was pronounced by its makers an act of 
 suicidal folly. But whatever may be the theory of constitutional 
 power, war, as a means of restoring the Union, has proved a fail- 
 ure and a delusion," etc. ; and in the 3d, "that the repeal and 
 revocation of all unconstitutional edicts and pretended laws, an 
 armistice, and a national convention for the peaceful adjustment of 
 our troubles, are the ouly means of saving our nation from unlim- 
 ited calamity and ruin."* 
 
 In the meantime another Democratic mass convention had 
 been called to assemble at the capital. The Peoria meeting, 
 doubtless fearing that the i)olicy to harmonize all the discordant 
 elements manifest in the party would there prevail, now resolved 
 to then re-as^emble at Springfield, being the ISth of August fol- 
 lowing, and stamp that meeting, also, with their character. Accord- 
 ingly, upon that occasion. General Singleton claimed that the 
 Springfield meeting, which was very largely attended, was but a 
 continuation of the Peoria meeting ; that the officers were already 
 chosen, and nothing remained to he done but for him as president 
 to call the multitude to order, listen to the speaking, and pass the 
 Peoria peace resolutions. But his assumptions met with earnest 
 protest; however, for the sake of harmony, it was agreed in cau- 
 cus that Singleton should preside, that the Peoria resolutions 
 should be reported stripped of two objectionable clauses, and in 
 addition to pledge the party to the Chicago nominees. This was 
 strenuously o})posed by the ultra peace faction, who declared they 
 would appeal to the people. Tlie meeting was forthAvith called to 
 order. General Singleton became chairman and addressed the 
 masses in a forcible and able speech. He was followed by Henry 
 Clay Dean, of Iowa, in an eloquent effort. The Peoria resolutions 
 unchanged were then offered for adoption, as also those of June 
 17th, 1863, and by the chair declared passed. The caucus resolu- 
 tion pledging the efficient support of the Illinois Democracy to the 
 Chicago nominee for j)resident, whoever he might be, was then 
 
 *See correspondence Chicago Times. 
 *See Illinois Register, Aug. 5th, 1864 
 
YATES' ADMINISTRATION. 905 
 
 offered. It was sharply attacked and laid on tlie table. Next 
 the Peoria and 17th of June resolutions were offered for adoption 
 at stand No. 2, and there, also, declared passed. The resolution 
 pledging unconditional support to the Chicago nominees was 
 now again offered. A bitter debate, not unmixed with gross per- 
 sonalities, was instantly aroused, resulting this time in the adoj)- 
 tion of the resolution. And now the cloven foot luiving been 
 revealed to the multitude, when the latter resolution was again 
 moved at stand No. 1, amidst much confusion and op])osition it 
 was there, also, vociferously adopted. The presiding oflicer, who 
 had been assailed as a disorganizer, thereui)on retired from the 
 meeting in disgust.* 
 
 Thus this meeting, after adopting the Peoria and 17th of June 
 resolutions, demanding an armistice, i>rououncing the war for 
 the Union a failure and Unconstitutional, and proposing an almost 
 unconditional peace with defiant rebels, in the next breath pledged 
 themselves in advance to sui)port a war Democrat for the presi- 
 dency. But this glaring inconsistency only indicated after all that 
 many of the democratic leaders, in their ardent and ultra opposi- 
 tion to the war for the Union, had been really less disloyal in their 
 true feelings and sentiments than i^artisan and factious. They were 
 anti-war men because it was not, as they thought, the war of their 
 party. They did not love the Union less, but ofilce more. The 
 partisan strife for place, power and position is a terrible thing in 
 our country, and not at all on the wane. 
 
 Nor was this meeting more inconsistent than the Chicago Dem- 
 ocratic national convention of 18G4, which met a few days later, 
 in the adoption of their platform and the choice of a candi- 
 date to be placed upon it. 
 
 The 2d resolution declared it as the sense of the American people "that after four 
 years of failure to restore the Union by the experiment of war, duringr which, under 
 the pretense of military necessity or power hi<rher than the constitution, the consti- 
 tution itself has been disregarded in every part, and the puV)lic liberty and [irivate rights 
 alike trodden down, and the material prosperity of the country essentially impaired ; 
 justice, humanity, liberty and the public welfare demand that immediate otlorts be 
 made for the cessation of hostilities, with a view to an ultimate convention of the States 
 or other peaceable means to the end that at the earliest practicable moment peace 
 may be restored on the basis of the Federal Union of the States. 
 
 To which the distinguised military chieftain, Gen. McClellen, a 
 strong war Democra't, who had dispersed the Maryland Democratic 
 legislature at the point of the bayonet, replied in his letter of 
 accepance : 
 
 "But the Union must be preservec? at all hazards. I could not look in the face of my 
 gallant comrades of the armv and navy, who survived so many bloody battles, and tell 
 them that their labors aud the sacrifice of so manyofour slain and wounded bretbrea 
 have been in vain." 
 
 CHICAGO CONSPIRACY. 
 
 During the autumn of '64 a (vmspiracy was detected at Chicago, which had for its object 
 the liberation of the prisoners at Camp Douglas, the burnmg of the city, and the in- 
 au'^uration of rebellion in the north. Gen. Sweet, who had charge of the camp at 
 the time flr^t had his suspicions of danger aroused by a number ot enigmatically 
 worded letters which passed through the Cump postoffice. ;„f „„*;„„ «f tho 
 
 From subsequent developments he became convinced it %vas the intention of the 
 conspirators to carrv out their nefarious designs during the session ot the National 
 Democratic Convention in August, but before the time arrived defensive measures 
 were in«t'tuted, and the leaders deemed it best tn postpone the consummation ol tlicir 
 obiect till the presi.icntial election. They were, however, again destined to be loi ed. 
 Onthe2 of November, a citizen of St. Louis, an avowed seees.'^.omst but in reality 
 q^"overnment detective, followed a criminal from that city to Sprin-field, and th<-nce to 
 Chica-o. Here, while on the alert for the fugitive, he met^a lormer ac.,UH,ntance, a 
 memberofthe order of American Knights, from who m he learned that the rebel 
 
 *See Illinois Kegister, Aug. 19th, 1864. 
 
906 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Marraaduke was in the city. After a short interview he met Dr. Edwards, a citizen of 
 Chicago and a rebel sympathizer, who asked him if he knew Southern soldiers were in 
 town Ihe detective answering in the nesative, his interlocutor further inlornied 
 him that xMarmaduke was sto^lping at his house under the assumed name of Burling, 
 and mentioned asa "good joke ' that he had a British passport made out under the same 
 cognomen by the American Consul. The detective, in his report to the Provost Mar- 
 shal tTcneral of Mo., says: "The same evening I again met with Dr. Edwards on the 
 streetgoing to my liotel. He said Marmaduke desired to see me and 1 accompanied 
 nim to his house. There in the course of a long conversation Marmaduke told me that 
 he and several officers were in Chicago to operate with other parties in releasing 
 the prisoners of Camp Douglas, and in inaugurating a rebellion in the north. He said 
 the movement Avas under the auspices of the American Knights, and was to begin ope- 
 rations on the day of the election. The detective immediately called on Col. Sweet and 
 communicated to him the startling intelligence, and ihe latter telegraphed for troops. 
 J here were in the camp 8,000 prisoners, among whom were Morgan's freebooters, 
 Texas Hangers and others precocious, daring and ready for reckless adventure. To 
 guard the large force there were only 700 etfective men, and the commandant felt 
 as though there was a mine beneath him, and only TO hours remained in which to pre- 
 vent its being sprung with disastrous consequences to the garrison and adjacent citv. 
 Disclosures soon reached him from other sources whereby he learned the full partic- 
 ulars of the gigantic scheme. The blow was to be struck on the 8th of November, 
 and Camp Douglas was the first objective point. The 8.000 prisoners when liberated 
 were to be joined by the 5,000 knights of Chicago, making a nucleus of 13,000about which 
 wonid gather Canadian refugees, bushwhackers from Mo., prisoners from otherCamps, 
 and members of the same' order in other localities. The city of Chicago was first to be 
 sacked and burned., after which a similar fate was to be meted out to the other cities 
 of the north. A general uprising of the traasonable element in the loyal States was to 
 follow, and simultaneously Hood was to move on Nashville, Buckner on Louisville, and 
 Price on St. Louis. 
 
 It must not be supposed these seemingly extravagant arrangements were without 
 some prospect of success. Investigations before military commissions in diflerent 
 partsof the west indicated the existent e of treasonable societiesof almost fabulous ex- 
 tent. A report of the Judge Advocate General of the U.S. disclosed "the existence 
 of a military or!.:;nnzatii)n having its commander-in-chief, general and subordinate 
 officers, and .500,000 ciirnllfd membei-s, all bound by a blind obedience to their superiors, 
 and pledtied to take \)]> anus against any power found waging war against a people 
 endeavoring to establish a government of their own choice." 
 
 Col. Sweet duly apprised the police of Chicago of the presence of the conspirators, 
 and at 2 o'clock in the morning preceding the election, made a descent on their respec- 
 tive places of lodging. Among the arrests were the rebel officers Grenfell, Morgan, 
 Adjutant General Marmaduke. brother of thegeneral, Cantrell, of Morgan's command, 
 Buckner Morris, treasurer of the Sons of Liberty, Charles Walsh, a member of the order 
 were also arrested. In the house of the latter were found two cart-loads of loaded 
 pistols, and in another iiart of the city two boxes of guns. The startling intelligence 
 of the arrests spread with lightning rapidity, and as the sun rose up from the bosom 
 of the lake and looked down on the milesof palatial residences, stores and well-filled 
 houses marked out for rapine and burning,their inhabitants were inarms, patrols were 
 marching and countermarching through the entire city which presented the appearance 
 of an extended military encampment. Thus in one short hour the scheme which was 
 to transfer the theatre of the war to the free states, and apply the torch to northern 
 cities, collapsed and its reckless projectors were in the custody of the officers in the 
 narrow cells of a prison. 
 
 Early in January, 1865, Gen. Hooker, commandant of the Northwestern Depariment, 
 convened a court martial in Cincinnati to trj- the leaders of the conspiracy. They were 
 charged with violating the laws of war by attempting to release the prisoners confined 
 at Curap Douglas, and conspiring to lay waste the city of Chicago. 'The trial lasted till 
 April, when Walsh was sentenced to three years' imprisonment in the penitentiary, 
 Grenfell to be hung, Rafael Semmes, captured after the first arrests, to two years im- 
 prisonment. Of the other prisoners one committed suicide by shooting himself, one 
 escaped from custody and the remainder were acquitted. After remaininig in prison 9 
 months all the convicts except Grenfell, whose sentence was commuted to imprison- 
 ment for life, were pardoned. 
 
Chapter LYI. 
 18G5—1SG9— ADMINISTRATION OF GOV. OGLESBY. 
 
 Repuhlican and I)cmocratlc IState Conventions of 18G4: — Lives and 
 Character of Oglcshy and Bross — Prosperity and Condition of the 
 tState during the liehellion — Legislation, Politieal and >S/«'e/((/, in 
 1865--7 — Board of Equalization established — I^oeation of Agricul- 
 tural College — Lllinois Capitals and their removals — History of 
 the Penitentiary. 
 
 The liepublican, or Union State Convention of 1.SG4, ^yas lield 
 at S[>i'ingtiel(l, May 2oth. A. J. Knykendall, of Jolmson, was 
 clio.sen to preside. For Goveriior fonr names were proposed. On 
 the tirst or informal ballot, Allen C. Fnller, of Boone, received 220 
 votes; liiehard J. Oglesby, of 3Iaeon, 283 ; Jesse K. Dubois, of 
 Sangamon, 103 ; and John M. Palmer, of JMacoupin, 75. On the 
 next ballot Oglesby was nominated, receiving 358 out of 081 
 votes cast. William Bross, of Cook, was nominated for lieuten- 
 ant governor J Sliaron Tyndale, of St. Clair, for Secretary of State; 
 O. II. Miner, of Sangamon, for Auditor; James H. Beveridge, of 
 Delvalb, for Treasurer; Newton Bateman, of Morgan, for Sui)er- 
 intendent of Public Instruction ; S. W. Moulton, of Shelby, for 
 Congressman for the State-at-large. Thus far all was harmony, 
 but now came trouble. The committee on platform gave the na- 
 tional admini>strati()n but a quasi endorsement, saying that the 
 president's "war measures were planned with an honest purpose; 
 that it was not necessary to approve of every act of the adminis- 
 tration to enable them to say Mr. Lincoln was an honest man and 
 Xnnident statesman ; and that in the main the acts of the admin- 
 istration had been highly conducive in sui)pressing the existing 
 rebellion, and .should Mr. Lincoln receive the nomination of the 
 Baltimore convention thev would give him their earnest sup- 
 port."* 
 
 This resolution excited intense opposition and was laid on the 
 table. Anew committee was appointed and in the evening a new- 
 set of re:-oluti()ns were reportecl and adopted after a ])rotracted 
 sitting. The administration was strongly indorsed, and the dele- 
 gates to the Baltimore convention instructed to use all honorable 
 
 •See Illinois State Register, May 28th, 1864. 
 
 907 
 
908 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 means to secure the re-iiomhiation of Mr. Lincoln for tlie })re.si- 
 dency; a determination was expressed to prosecute tLe war until 
 the cause of the Union triumphed; slav^ery was charged as the cause 
 of the rebellion ; they breathed the sentiments of a genuine patriot- 
 ism and noble sympathy for the soldiers ; extended thanks to the 
 governor and all the State officials ; indorsed the 13th amend- 
 ment abolishing slavery ; aud asserted the Monroe doctrine — that 
 it was the duty of the U. S. to reinstate republican institutions 
 on the continent of America, which looked to the French ojiera- 
 tions in Mexico. 
 
 The Democratic State Convention of 1864 also met at Spring- 
 field, but not till September 6th. The Hon. S. S. Hayes, of Cook, 
 presided. The Chicago national democratic platform was adopted. 
 James C. Kobinson, of Clark, was nominated for Governor; S. 
 Corning Judd, of Fulton, for Lieutenant Governor; John Hise, of 
 LaSalle, for Auditor ; Alexander Starne, of Pike, for Treasurer ; 
 William A. Turuey, of Morgan, for Secretary of State; John P. 
 Brooks, for Superintendent of Public Instruction, and James C. 
 Allen, of Crawford, for Congressman for the State-at-large. 
 
 The election in November, 1864, resulted in favor of the repub- 
 licans on the State ticket by an average majority exceeding 31,- 
 000 votes. The estimated gain of the republican vote on 1862 
 was over 69,000. The Legislature was republican, as follows : 
 Senate 14 republicans to 11 democrats; House 51 republicans to 
 34 democrats ; Union majority on joint ballot 20. Eleven out of 
 the 14 congressmen elected were also republicans. 
 
 Eichard J. Oglesby was born July 2oth, 1824, in Oldham county, 
 Kentucky. Bereft of parents at the tender age of eight, his 
 early education was neglected. When 12 years old be removed 
 with an uncle to Decatur. He was subsequently apprenticed to 
 the carpenter's trade, worked occasionally at farming, studied law, 
 essayed to practice it at Sullivan, this State, returned to Decatur, 
 volunteered in the Mexican war, was elected 1st Lieut. Co. "C," 
 4th Illinois regiment, aud participated in the battle of Cerro 
 Gordo. On his return he sought to perfect bis law studies by at- 
 tending the lectures at Louisville, took the gold fever then raging 
 and crossed the plains to California, returned, and, in 1852, first 
 appeared in politics as a Scott elector. Later he visited Europe 
 and the Holy Land, returned, and, in 1858, offered for congress, 
 but was beaten by the same competitor he had for governor in 
 1864. In 1860 he was elected a State Senator, but the following 
 spring when the rebellion broke out, his ardent nature quickly re- 
 sponded to the demands of patriotism, and, as colonel of the 8th 
 regiment, he tendered it as the second raised by the State for that 
 confiict. He was shortly entrusted with important commands, and 
 for a time stationed at Bird's Point and Cairo. At Fort Donelson his 
 brigade was in the van, and, on the morning of the last day, the 
 first to be attacked by the enemy, resulting in the loss of 500 
 men before reinforcements came to his support. At Corinth his 
 and Hackleman's brigades held the rebels at bay during a large 
 jjart of the afternoon; but in a daring charge the latter was 
 killed, and Oglesby dangerously wounded in tlieleft lung was borne 
 from the field in expectation of immediate dissolution. On his re- 
 covery he was promoted for gallantry to a major generalship, 
 
OGLESBY'S ADIVnNTSTRATION. 909 
 
 autl ill the spring of 1863 assigned to the command of the loth 
 army corps, but owing to the trouble of liis wound, (he carried 
 the rebel lead iu his person) he relinquished active service withiu 
 three mouths after. 
 
 Governor Oglesby is a line appearing affable man, with regu- 
 lar, well defined features and rotund face. In stature he is a little 
 above medium height, large frame and somewhat fleshy. His 
 pliysical appearance is striking and prepossessing, while his 
 straight-out, not to say bluff, manner and speech are well calcula- 
 ted to favorably impress the average masses. Ardent in feeling 
 and strong in party bias, he inspires deep i)artisan prejudices 
 iu others. He is quite an effective stump orator. With a vehem- 
 ent, passionate and scornful tone and gestures, tremendous phys- 
 ical power, which, in speaking, he exercises to the utmost ; with 
 frequent descents to the grotesque, and with abundant homely 
 comparisons or frontier figures, expressed in the broadest vernacu- 
 lar and enforced with stentorian emphasis, he delights a i)romis- 
 cuous audience beyond measure; while his bitter invective, be- 
 stowed without stint upon the opposition must gratify the 
 extremest feeling of i^artisan hatred and animosity. 
 
 Lieut. Gov. Bross was born in Sussex county, New Jersey. 
 His youth was mostly spent in the wilds of Pennsylvania, aiding 
 his father in the hard toil of a lumberman and rafting on the JDel- 
 eware. He acquired, however, a classical education, and after- 
 wards, for many years, taught school. In 1SI8 he removed to 
 Chicago and became a partner in the publishing house of Griggs, 
 Bross & Co. But iu Illinois he ischiefly known by his career as 
 an editor. In 1852 he united with John L. Scripps and started the 
 Democratic Press, a political and commercial newsi)aper. He was 
 originally a democrat, but with the repeal of the Missouri com- 
 promise this paper forsook the democracy and aided in forming 
 the republican party. In 1858 it was "consolidated" with the 
 Tribune, and in 1860 the name of "Press" was dropped. Xo 
 jiaper has perhaps exercised a larger influence upon the politics 
 of Illinois, while at an early day it Avas the leadhig commercial 
 medium of the northwest. Mr. Bross is a man of sound piac- 
 tical sense, varied and extensive information, exact, thorough, 
 and untiring in effort. He had shown himself an able statistical, 
 commercial and political writer. Energy and resoluteness are of 
 the essence of his nature, and with wonderful rapidity of utter- 
 ance, as presiding ofiicer of the senate, he was ca|)able of dis- 
 patching a large amount of business in those days of omnibus legis- 
 lation. He is of medium height and robust frame, with angular 
 features, high forehead, and ruddy complexion. Honest himself, 
 lie despises the tricks and arts of the i)olitician ; and his own 
 achievements being the result of industry, he entertains little rev- 
 erance for genius.* 
 
 Governor Oglesby was duly inaugurated January the 17th, 
 lS65,*butbefore proceeding with his administration it is properthat 
 we take a short retrospect at our material prosperity during the 
 rebellion. 
 
 *Sfce Ward's speech in senate Jan. 11, '69, and Western Monthly, June, '69. 
 
 •The day before the time first set for Gov. Oglesby to assume the duties of his office, 
 death visited his home at Decatur, and took therefrom his only son, an intellijrent and 
 sprigrhtly lad of 6 years, a great favorite with the bereaved parents. This caused the 
 inauguration to be postponed for one week. 
 
910 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Xotwitlistaiuling tbedeiiiaiids ofrhe war had diawii u})oii Illi- 
 nois to tlie extent of near 200,000 men — bale, vi<iorons and witli- 
 ont pbysical blemisb, taken from the most active producing 
 classes — the great industries of tbe State bad not only speedily 
 recovered from thisenormous draft, but ber material prosperity, 
 retarded tbe first one or two years, was unparalleled by any other 
 State. Tbe census of 1805 revealed ai^opnlation of 2,111,510, be- 
 ing ?.n increase of 429,559, or near 25 i)er cent, since 1S60 ; and 
 nearly every department of production and industry exhibited a 
 like ratio in advancement, as evidenced by the area of land under 
 cultivation, and its yield of agricultural wealth, the triumph of 
 invention and substitution of machinery for manual labor, the aug- 
 mentation of skilled laborers and mechanical production, the rapid 
 growth of our cities, villages and increase of fixed capital, the 
 excellent remuneration f(ir all em})loyment, the high prices for all 
 X^roducts, and above all the abundance of money which stimulated 
 all manner of business to unusual activity. 
 
 While this material prosperity prevailed with the close of the 
 war, and for some time before, the times were hard with us during 
 the first two years of the civil conflict. The writer saw corn, our 
 great staple, sell in 1SG2, in Central Illinois, as low as 9 cents a 
 bushel. Tbe failure of our local banks, which in a manner left us 
 Avitbouta currency, contributed not a little to the condition of tbe 
 times. Pros[»erity during the war was first experienced in the 
 Eastern States, where the lavisli expenditures of the government for 
 clothing and numitions of war caused nu)ney to be profusely scat- 
 tered from the outset. With us, beef and pork, ami the products 
 of the soil, were the first to experience an advance in prices. 
 
 Corn, our most unfailing crop, made its first great bound up- 
 ward immediately after the severe frost of August 29th, 1803. 
 Lands remained lor a long rime a drug. This class of proi)erty 
 the experience of centuries has shown to ever be the last to rise 
 in juice, but once starting it excels all other, as it affords the 
 safest and surest investment, and not nnfrequently tbe largest 
 speculative return. Finally the tide of abundant money set into 
 Illinois and began to influence realty. jSTow, to many of our })eo- 
 ple, was heard abroad in the land the pleasant voice of the stran- 
 ger inquiring the price of lands, and seeking to invest his abund- 
 ant and daily cheapening money in lots, lands and farms. Popu- 
 lation, with a renewed current, was pouring over our borders ; 
 houses in cities and towns became scarce ; rents rose beyond pre- 
 cedent, and the prices of lauds passed tbe most sanguine expecta- 
 tion. An enhancement of 100 per cent was not unusual ; many 
 of our people never dreamed of such prices, and that all in cash 
 too. Many transfers were made, tbe proceeds le-invested to bet- 
 ter advantage, and comparative independence acquired b^' owners. 
 Tbe abundance and cheapness of money, and high prices of prop- 
 erty enabled others of ourpeoi)le to extinguish mortgages, which 
 had hung like a pall over their homes ; and thus thousands of 
 families were ])laced in comfortable circumstances and rendered 
 hajjpy. While an intestine war i)iled a debt on tbe nation by the 
 billion, upon tbe individual were conferred benefits and unexi)ect- 
 ed indepemlence. But, while some, for years dissatisfied, now that 
 they could get perhaps double their prices, were content to hold 
 their property and neither loose nor profit by tbe times, others, 
 
OCrLESBY'S ADjVnNISTRATION. 911 
 
 it is sad to relate, \^lio liad never hoped to realize old values, eager- 
 ly sold with the tirst advance of prices, failed or neglected to rein- 
 vest, easily spent or s(inandered the proceeds, and are to-day 
 renters. It was generally l)ctter to bu\' than sell — to be in debt 
 for lands purchased than hold credits for property sold. Debts 
 did not increase excei)t by accruing interest, while the money 
 wherewith to pay them, cheapened sometimes in a few days 2o to 
 50 percent, taking gold for a standard. 
 
 The permanent debt of the State, funded and unfunded in 
 1805, was -$11,178,564, being an increase since 1800 of oidy about 
 $1,000,000, notwithstanding our heavy war appropriations and 
 expenditures. But the general government, it may be remarked 
 I)arenthetically, largely refunded to the States their advances on 
 account of the war. From ])ecember, 1801, to December, 1808, 
 our bonded debt was reduced $7,051,790, leaving a balance of 
 $5,989,158. The total taxable property of the State in 1801 was 
 $356,878,837 ; in 1808, $175,379,191. The total number of acres in 
 cultivation for 1808, was 8,003,599, of which 5,193,717 were in corn. 
 
 Legislative. — After 1801 our field is barren of interesting or im- 
 portant political or party events. Peace came to tlie Union in the 
 following spring ; and the results of elections in the State have 
 since been uniformly the same, and generally so overwhelmingly 
 republican as to not only afford little show for equal party con- 
 tests over aiiy question, but to well nigh crush all hope in the 
 democratic bosom. That party has made in consequence several 
 ineffectual flank movements and taken new de|)artures, until, in a 
 manner, its time-honored tenets are abandoned, and it seems to be 
 in the throes of dissolution. Gov. Oglesby, in his inaugural mes- 
 sage, commenting upon the majority of the preceding election, said: 
 " So marked, indeed, has been the expression of the popular will, 
 
 1 do not fail to recognize in it the absence of mere party triumph." 
 The political events of the legislative session of 1805 were the 
 
 election of Ex-Gov. Yates to the U. S. Senate, and the ratification 
 of the 13th amendment to the constitution of the United States 
 abolishing slavery. Early in the session a joint resolution was 
 passed, instructing our delegation in congress to vote for this 
 amendment. On the 1st of February, a telegram was received by 
 the legislature tiom Senator Trumbull, announcing its passage in 
 congress. The utmost precipitation now obtained in both houses 
 to ratify the measure so immediately as to place Illinois in the 
 van of prompt loyal States, and it was passed the same day. 
 
 This legislature also signalized itself by repealing the notorious 
 " bliick laws," part of which, although a dead letter, had held 
 their i)lace upon the statute books since 1819, to the disgrace of 
 this free State, in the opinion of many of our citizens. In oppo- 
 sition it was earnestly argued by the democrats that these laws 
 were a positive requirement under the amendment to the State 
 constitution adopted by an overwhelming majority of the people 
 in 1802. The governor had urged the repeal in his message, 
 petitions numerously signed by colored men of the State and sent 
 in, prayed for the same. Another partisan measure was the cut- 
 ting down of the 4th judicial circuit, Judge Constable's, from to 
 
 2 counties, to punish that functionary for his decision in the 
 Clark county deserter-kidnapping case, some 2 years previously. 
 This was done in the face of the remonstrance of the people of the 
 
912 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 circuit. Aucl iu the very opening the honse, it seems, passed a 
 resolution, inviting only " the loyal clergy of Springfield to open 
 each day's session with prayer." The law requiring the regis- 
 tration of electors was also enacted at this session. The imjtosi- 
 tion of this restriction upon the elective franchise has ever l)een 
 most distasteful to democrats ; and they opi^osed its passage by 
 all the arts known to parliamentary rules. By recent modili- 
 cation it now applies only to cities of 5,000 inhabitants and over. 
 
 But it was this legislature wliich, oAving to the increasing demands 
 of activity throughout the State, first gave itself up ahuost 
 wholly to the enactment of special, local and private laws. The 
 pressure of an insatiate lobby was extraordinary all winter long. 
 Now was entered upon in full plenitude, that pernicious legisla- 
 tion, continued afterwards with a njost prodigal hand, of granting 
 special privileges and protection, by charter, for every conceivable 
 object of association or business, without reserving a check or 
 right of subsequent control in case of oppression. And to-da}-, in 
 answer to the loud demands of the people to curb and repress one 
 class of these corporations in their exorbitant and ruinous charges 
 for freight and passage, they defiantly set up their vested rights 
 and chartered franchises, and it is the great question whether or 
 not the legislature is powerless in the premises. 
 
 Among the measures of general interest, not political or parti- 
 san, were the increased fees allowed to county officers. To com- 
 pass this, a systematic pressure was brought to bear upon the 
 legislature. Conventions of sheriffs, circuit clerks, county clerks, 
 and prosecuting attorneys were held at the capital. These re- 
 spectfully deliberated upon their schedules of fees and pre])ared 
 their bills to be enacted into laws, and as to the demands of these 
 county officials, who are a power in elections, what could the 
 august legislature of the State of Illinois do but to yield to them. 
 The raising of the fees, which were already ample, has cost the 
 people many millions. To wind up for instance a small estate by 
 passing through all the various stages of the courts and the hands 
 of these officers, it would be found at the end to be wound up in- 
 deed! And the most difficult feat of legislation is the reduction 
 of fees or the abolishment of an office, however oppressive the one 
 or useless the other. 
 
 ■Gov. Oglesby interposed his veto to but one bill during the ses- 
 sioD, which was an amendment to a charter for a Chicago horse rail- 
 way, granted in 1859 for 25 years and now sought to be extended 
 99 years. This long period of time was an insuperable objection 
 "with his excellency, which he elaborated at length, but as the 
 measure was promptly passed over his veto by both houses, he 
 doubtless deemed it useless to further attempt to check their head- 
 long career. 
 
 The various appropriations made at this session amounted to 
 $1,120,000. The constitution limited the expenditures of the legis- 
 lature to 1^ mills on the dollar of assessed value of the real and 
 personal property- of the State, then aggregating about $333,000,000 
 and yielding, at this rate, $759,000, which made an excess in the 
 appropriations of $36^,000, and which was regarded as invalid and 
 denounced by the Democrats as prodigal. 
 
 The members, finding there was gold in the State treasury, that 
 commodity being then at a high premium in market, coveted it in 
 payment of their mileage and per diem. But in this enterprise 
 
OGLESBT'S ADMHSriSTRATION. 913 
 
 they were baulked. The auditor possessed no authority to issue to 
 them warrants different in cliaracter from those for any other iiur- 
 pose and Avithouta specification to that effect thetreasurer could not 
 pay out the gold; thus tbis precious little scheme was nipped in 
 the bud, which gave very general satisfaction to the people. iSTo 
 law of a general useful character or public interest was perfected 
 at the session of 1805, if we except the turning over of the canal 
 to Chicago to be deepened. 
 
 1867. — The session of 1867 was still more productive of private 
 and special acts than Jthe preceding. Indeed this class of legisla- 
 tion now reached perhaps its culminating point in successful 
 audacity. The omnibus* was very active throughout the session, 
 and tbat vehicle, by which laws were passed by the wholesale, was 
 time and again freighted with bills, exceeding 200 in number. The 
 occasion was most propitious for every axe i)resented to receive ready 
 grinding. The contests over the location of the Industrial College, 
 the Capital, the Southern Penitentiary, and the canal enlargement 
 and Illinois river improvement, dominated everything else. For 
 these engrossing measures members yielded a ready assent to all 
 others. It was a long and arduous session of 53 days, during 
 which an unprecedented amount of work was accomplished. The 
 monopolists and corporation kings, in faultless attire and Avith 
 amiable manner, were out in full force. The lobbyists, which fairly 
 swarmed the halls and toyed with the "rings," gloated in the 
 magnitude and numl)er of their successes. The senate, as a par- 
 tial i^rotection against the wiles of this ubiquitous and cheeky 
 race, adopted a resolution, forbidding any one but senators and 
 clerks of committees demanding the i)erusal of bills in the custody 
 of the secretary. 
 
 There were also a number of very important public laws passed. 
 Among these may be mentioned the act establishing the State 
 Board of Equalization. This measure was advocated by the gov- 
 ernor in his message. The great need of it may be inferred from 
 the varying assessments of the same kinds of projierty in differ- 
 ent portions of the State. Horses, in Kane county, Avere valued 
 at $15 52 per head— in Franklin, at $6008 ; cattle, in Piatt, $24 04 
 — in Jo DaA'iess and Putnam, $4 36; mules, in Madison, $129 S6 
 — in Hamilton, $10 69 ; swine, in Douglas, $3 50 — in Jelferson, 50 
 cents. The burdens of taxation ought ever to be distributed 
 with the utmost uniformity. 
 
 There was also x>a'Ssed the imjjortant law enabling parties to 
 suits or civil actions to testify as witnesses, which worked a rad- 
 ical change in the time-honored rule of the common law. And 
 there was the law, adopted at the instance of the philantbropic 
 Mr. Bovee, which, in a manner, abolished capital punishment — 
 or rather which alloAVS the jury in case of murder to fix the punish- 
 ment either by hanging, or imprisonment in the penitentiary not 
 less than 14 years. 
 
 But the question of most absorbing sectional interest, not ex- 
 cepting that of the capital removal, the canal enlargement, or the 
 Southern penitentiary, was the location of the Agricultural or In- 
 dustrial College. This had been a disturbing element two years 
 before. Under the terms of the land grant the question liad now 
 
 • This was the term applied to the passage of bills by the bundle, practiced under 
 the constitution of 1S48. 
 
914 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 to be met. Congress, by act of July 2, 18G2, donated to the sev- 
 eral States and territories, wliicli should, Avithin fiveyears from the 
 date thereof, provide colleges for the benefit of agriculture and 
 the mechanic arts, land, or its eqnivalent in scrip, at the rate of 
 30,000 acres for each senator and representative in Congress. The 
 amount apportioned to Illinois was 480,000 acres. The legislature 
 in 1863 had signified to the Secretary of the Interior the accep- 
 tance of the grant, and the government land scrip was now in the 
 hands of the governor. If one such college at least was not pro- 
 vided by July 2d, the State should return the scrip or pay for it. 
 
 To this munificent grant from Congress many places in the 
 State were eager to add further donations, in some instances ex- 
 ceeding that of Congress, to secure the location of the college. 
 In the bidding for that object, invited by the legislature, there was 
 a generous competition. Jacksonville, Lincoln, Pekin, Blooming- 
 ton and Champaign, particii)ated in it. The best offer was that 
 of the last named place, and consisted of 970 acres of farm land, 
 a large college building (completed with special reference to this 
 object) and its site of 10 acres of ground in the city, and $100,- 
 000 ten per cent, interest-bearing Champaign county bonds, the 
 whole estimated at $555,400. The Bloomington bid, estimated at 
 $470,000, was the next best. A legislative committee was charged 
 with the duty of visiting the various points contending, and of 
 inspecting the property proffered to be donated. It was also a 
 season of luimerous legislative visits, and the enterprise of the 
 friends of Champaign caused one to be made to that place. 
 
 Champaign being the highest bidder, it was next sought to 
 stave off the location and refer it to a commission. But this fin- 
 esse did not succeed. Having invited competition the legislature 
 could not consistently do otherwise than accept the best bid and 
 make the locatiou accordingly; and it was but proper and emi- 
 nently just that Champaign was selected as the Industrial Uni- 
 versity seat. 
 
 Little time of this long and laborious session was wasted in par- 
 tisan debates, a circumstance as unusual as it was praiseworthy. 
 The political events were the re-election of Lyman Trumbull to the 
 U. S. Senate, and the adoption of the 14th amendment to the 
 constitution of the U. S. conferring citizenshii) upon the blacks, 
 which was resisted, on the part of the democrats, by ail the known 
 rules of parliamentary warfare. A set of resolutions was adopted 
 by the House, 43 to 15, against rebels settling in Illinois, and ex- 
 ercising the elective franchise which none but the truly loyal 
 should exercise, and that a bill should be framed forever exclud- 
 ing from office all traitors voluntarily taking the oath of allegi- 
 ance to the rebel coufederac}', and those who left home to escape 
 the draft, encouraged or concealed deserters, or by force of arms 
 opposed the draft. The feelings here manifested are by this time 
 greatly mitigated. 
 
 Illinois^ Capitals — Our Several Seats of Government. — The loca- 
 tion of the Caj^ital of any country has ever been a subject of 
 prime importance ; and it is no less so with the States of this 
 Union than it has been with the empires of the old world. It is 
 a subject Avhich, for obvious reasons, has ever been attended with 
 bitter disputations, jealousies and rivalries between contending 
 points for the honors or fancied benefits to be derived from it. 
 
OGLESBY'S ADIMINISTRATION. 915 
 
 County seat questions are notoriously acrimonious, and often for 
 a considerable time work a blight upon the prosperity of the sec- 
 tions contending-. In some States the seat of government ques- 
 tion has only found a quietus by the establishment of two capitals, 
 while in others, particularly in the growing West, the flow of pop- 
 ulation, or possibly the desire of legislators to serve the interests 
 or caprices of their constituents, has prevailed to keep the sub- 
 ject in a ferment, causing frequent changes. Illinois, in her short 
 career as a State, has had three locations for her capital, and 
 more agitations for its removal. The first seat of government iu 
 Illinois was at Kaskaskia, where it remained during the years 
 of our territorial existence and for two years afterward. It was 
 then removed to Vandalia, where it remained for 20 years, since 
 when it has been at Springfield. 
 
 When Congress, in 1809, erected Illinois into a separate terri- 
 torj', it was provided that Kaskaskia should be and remain the 
 seat of government until the legislature should otherwise direct. 
 
 "The sessions of this august body were held in a largo, rougrh building-, in the centre 
 of a square, iu ibe village of Kaskaskia. the body of it being of uncut limestone, the 
 gables an 1 roofs, \Thich was of the f;r,iiibrel style, of unpaintcd boards and shinurles, 
 ■with dormer windows. The lower tioor..a larfre and cheerless room, was fitted up for 
 the House, whilst the council satin a small chamber above, around a circular table, 
 and, it is said, when the labors of the day were over, the interestin<? (itune of "Loo"' 
 at once succeeded. This venerable siructure was, during- the time of the Frencli oc- 
 cupancy or the country, prior to 1763, the headquarters of the military commandant, 
 and doubtless within it, many an arbitrary edict was framed, to be executed with all 
 the severity attendant upon the administration of military law l)y military men."* 
 
 The Convention which framed the first State Constitution also 
 met in this "old stone house." 
 
 '•It was provided by this instrument that the seat of government should remain at 
 Kaskaskia until the general assembly should otherwise direct; and that body was re- 
 quired, at its til St session, to petition Congress to grant to the State a quantity of land 
 of not more than four and not loss than one section, or to give to the State the right 
 of pre-emption in the purchase of that quantit.y, the land to be situated on the Kaskas- 
 kia river, and as near as might be, east of the third principal meridian, on that river. 
 Should the petition be granted, the general assemblj-, at their next session, were re- 
 quired to appoint five commissioners to make the selection of the land, and provide 
 for laying out a town upon it; which town, it was declared, should be the seat of gov- 
 crnnient for the torin of 20 years. * When the question was before the conven- 
 tion two points were in contemplation by the niembors and outsiders; one was Car- 
 ]yl",.iust then located on the Kaskaskia river by two Virginia gentlemen, and an ele- 
 vated site, higher up the river, known as 'Pope's Bluff,' the property of Nathaniel 
 Pope. He and his friends were of course very desirous the seat of government should 
 be located there, while the iiroprietors of Carlyle had no less desire that the latter 
 place should ho the favored spot. While tlie subject was under discussion in doors 
 and out, there come to look in upon tliat body a noted hunter and trapper, one 
 lieeves bj' name, who had hisfcabin still higher up the river, and near where the third 
 prineiparmeridan crossed the stream. He spoke in glowing terms of the beauties of 
 Keeves' Blulf ; "that Pope's Biuff nor Carlyle, wasn't a primin' to his bluff,' &c. Such 
 was the force of his representation, that the language 'on tlie Kaskaskia river, as 
 near as might be east of the third principal meridian,' was adopted by tiie convention; 
 and when the legislature, at the session of 1S19, appointed the commissioners to select 
 tfjc hind granted by congress, they fixed upon the old hunter's home, 'Reeves' Blutf.' 
 It proved to be a rnost beautiful S!)ot, a heavily wooded tract, covered by gigantic 
 trees under whose shades the former lords of tlie soil might have held grave council. 
 A town was laid out with a handsome public square and broad streets, and christened 
 'Vandalia.' but these vandals did notsuffer one of these forest kings to remain on the 
 square, but cut them down to theground, leaving not one to sigh in tlie summer wind 
 or bend to the blast.'' 
 
 Gov. Ford, page 35 says : 
 
 "After the place had been selected, it became a matter of great interest to 
 give it a good sounding name, one which would please the ear, and at the same 
 time have the classic merit of perpetuating the memory of the ancient race of 
 Indians by whom the country had first been inhabited. Tradition say3 that a wag 
 vvho was present, suggested to the commissioners that the 'Vandals' were a;)owerfiil na- 
 tion of Indians who onoe inhabited the banks of the Kaskaskia river, and that 'Van- 
 dalia,' [firmed from their name, would peri,>etuate the memory of that extinct but 
 renowned people. The sugcestion pleased the cfimmissioners, the name was adopted, 
 and they thus proved that the name of their new city (if the.v were fit representatives of 
 their constituents) would belter illustrate the character of the modern than the an- 
 cient in habitants of the country." 
 
 •.Judge Oaton's address at the laying of the corner stone of the new State House, 
 Oct. 5, 1868, using .Tudge Breeso's language. The headqutirtersof the French military 
 commandants were at Fort Chartres. ''the centre of life and fashion in the West." 
 Monette's Val. of the Miss. Vol. 1, 164-2 Ibid. 
 
916 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The location was iu the midst of the wilderness, northeast of 
 
 the settlements. 
 
 "Lots were sold at public auction on credit, at fabulous prices, few of which were 
 paid for in full. The enterprising' and scheming' came to it, some from the old world, and 
 soon the nucleus of a town was formed. Measures were inaugurated for the erection 
 of a State House which culminated in a plain two-story frame building', of rude archi- 
 tecture, set upon a rough stone foundation and placed in the centre of the S(iuare, the 
 lower floor of which was devoted to a passa<?e and stair-way to the upper story, and a 
 large, plain room, devoid of ornament, (for the accommodation of the House;) the up- 
 per floor was divided into two rooms, the largest for the accommodation of the Senate 
 and the smallerone for the office of Secretary of State, the Auditor and Treasurer oc- 
 cupyintr detached buildings, hired for that purpose. Noceretionies were observed in 
 laying the corner-stone of this unsightly structure; no music disturbed the solitude 
 of the forest, then in its primeval beauty; no crowd in pageantry lent excitement to 
 the scene ; no sound was heard save the rap of the mason's hammer and the sharp 
 click of the trowel."* 
 
 The archives of State were removed from Kaskaskia to Vanda- 
 lia early in December, 1820, at one load in a small wagon. They 
 were in the care of Sidney Breese, then clerk to the Secretary of 
 State, Mr. Kane, and the route being quite difficult, the driver 
 and he had to cut a road through the woods at sever.al points. 
 The Auditor, Elijah C. Berry, with his family, occupied the new 
 State House at the time, but soon moved out into a cabin. The 
 day on which the session of the legislature opened in Yandalia, 
 was most beautiful. "The sun shone in cloudless splendor and the 
 temperature of the air was autumnal ; all was excitement and all 
 seemed pleased." This structure was destroyed by fire about 2 
 o'clock iu the night December 9, 1823. So rajudly did the flames 
 spread that not a single article of furniture was saved. The U. 
 S. Laud Eeceiver's office was kept in one of its rooms, and the 
 books, papers and everj' article pertaining to the office was con- 
 sumed. The cause of the fire was not ascertained. The house 
 had been occupied the day preceding for the sale of non-resident 
 lands for State taxes. A subscription paper was immediately 
 started by the citizens of Yandalia to rebuild it. In three days 
 $3,000 was raised. " It was succeeded by a commodious brick 
 building, of sufficient dimensions, built in part at the expense of 
 the citizens of Vandalia. The corner-stone was laid without any 
 public display ; it still stands, renovated and embellished by the 
 people of Fayette county, and is now devoted to the administra- 
 tion of justice and the various public offices of the county."* 
 
 Eight years before the expiration of the 20 years' term 
 for which the capital was to remain at Yandalia, the question 
 of removal was already agitated in the legislature. The initiative 
 came from Greene county, strongly seconded by the delegation from 
 Sangamon. The house passed a bill providing for the appoint- 
 ment of commissioners to permanently locate the seat of govern- 
 ment; but the senate amended it by striking out all after the 
 enacting clause and submitting the following places to be voted 
 for by the people at the next election for the legislature : The 
 geographical centre of the State, Jacksonville, Springfield, Alton, 
 Yandalia, and Peoria, the point or place receiving the highest 
 number of votes to be the permanent seat of government. The 
 house, at the instance of Cyrus Edwards, sought to further amend 
 this by having the two places receiving the highest number of 
 votes voted for again at the succeeding general election. The 
 
 •Caton's address— Breese's words. 
 *Caton s address— Breese's words. 
 
OGLESBY'S ADjnNISTKATlON. 917 
 
 senate ameudinent, after some reluctauce by the house, Mas fiually 
 agreed to. As the time for taking the vote approached, the places 
 ambitious for this high and honorable distinction in the State be 
 stirred themselves to obtain concert of action. Spirited addresses 
 were iKssued to the peojile, ably setting forth the many excellen- 
 cies and great adv^antages of the respective places contending. 
 The election took jjlace in August, 1834. Alton received 7,511 
 votes; Vandalia, 7,148; Springfield, 7,044; the geographical cen- 
 tre (Illiopolis), 744; Peoria, 486; and Jacksonville, 272.- 
 
 Alton was thus designated as the seat of government after the 
 20 years at Vandalia should expire. But it requires something 
 besides votes to erect capitol buildings. Ko api>ropriation was 
 made or further steps taken by the legislature to second this choice 
 and nothing came of it. Still the removal question would not 
 down ; it continued to be canvassed by the press at the various 
 points whose expectations had been raised by the election and in- 
 fluenced the local elections in many parts to no inconsiderable de- 
 gree. Springfield, particularly-, felt greatly encouraged by the 
 vote of 1834. By the apportionment of 1835 Sangamon county 
 was accorded 2 senators and 7 representatives in the legislature. 
 That county, in the incredibly short space of 15 years, had become 
 the most populous in the State. The tide of emigration had begun 
 to set into the north part of the State with a steadily augmenting 
 current, and it became apparent that the seat of government could 
 not be long retained at Vandalia, so far from the centre of popu- 
 lation. It was a period before we had railroads, and travel to and 
 from the capital, conducted in the same primitive manner it had 
 been all over the world since its earliest dawn, made distance no 
 inconsiderable object. 
 
 In the summer of 1836, the great fever of land and town lot 
 speculation of that peiiod spread from Chicago, like an epidemic, 
 all over the State, and the legislature at the session of 1836-7 
 fully embarked in the disastrous policy of the State internal im- 
 provement system. And now the opportunity for the actual re- 
 moval of the capital had come. In the general rage for de^'elop- 
 ing the infant resources of the State, the delegations from almost 
 every county had improvement axes to grind, and to attain their 
 objects hesitated not to lend their aid in grinding those of all the 
 rest. What we call in modern parlance " rings," were thus 
 readily formed, and every bill of importance was passed without 
 inquiry, until everybody was satisfied, including that for the re- 
 moval of the seat of goNcrnment. The Sangamon delegation of 9, 
 known as •' the long nine," because they averaged 6 feet in hight, 
 some more and some less — there being precisely 54 feet in the 
 stature of them — were able, persistent and dextrous manipulators, 
 acting upon all questions as a unit, and exercising thus a most 
 potent influence. They gave it doubtless, a long pull, a strong 
 pull, and a pull altogether. They were: Senators — A. G. Hern- 
 don and Job Fletcher; Eepresentatives — Abraham Lincoln, 
 Xinian W. Edwards, Dan Stone, John Dawson, W. F. Elkin, An- 
 drew McOormick and Eobert L. Wilson. 
 
 Tlie act required that the two houses meet in Eepresentatives 
 Hall on the 28th of February, 1837, at 10 o'clock, A. M., and pro- 
 ceed to select a suitable point or place for the pernuiuent location 
 of the seat of go\ernment, after the expiration of the coustitu- 
 
918 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 tioual term at Vaiidaliii. The. election was to be coudueted iirncli 
 after the niauiier of choosing- a U. S. Senator. During the balhjt- 
 ings, 29 places were voted for, of which we will oidy giv^e the 
 highest. Springfield started with 35, and on the 4th received 73, 
 a majority; Vandalia started with, and continued to receive 
 throughout the 4 ballotings, 10 votes ; Alton started with 15 and 
 ran down to 6; the highest Jacksonville received was 15, and the 
 lowest 10; Peoria came in on the 2d ballot with 8, increased to 11, 
 but on the 4tli was down to 8; Illiopolis started with 3, increased 
 to 10 and fell back to 3. No other place received a higher num- 
 ber than 4 votes. $50,000 was appropriated for the purpose 6f 
 erecting a state house, but the act vras to be null and void unless 
 $50,000 more was donated by individuals secured by their bond, })ay- 
 able to the treasurer by the 1st of May following, to be api)roved 
 by the governor, and to become due as he should direct; and also, 
 unless not less than 2 acres of ground, upon which to erect the 
 State House, be donated and conveyed without expense to the 
 State. The donation of $50,000 was to be exclusively ap})lied 
 toward the erection of the building. The act of February 5, 1833, 
 was repealed. By a supplemental act of March 3d, 1837 the 
 county commissioners of Sanganjon county were authorize'd to 
 convey to the State, for the use of the people, the public square at 
 Springfield. Archibald Job of Morgan, and A. G. Henry and 
 Thomas Houghton, of Sangamon, were appointed commissioneis 
 to superintend the erection of the State House at Springiield. 
 They gave bonds in $10,000, and received a per diem couii>ensLi- 
 tion of $3 each. The legislature first met at Springfield (in ex- 
 traordinary session), December 9, 1839; but as the new capitol 
 was not then completed, the house was accommodated in the 2d 
 Presbyterian church, the senate in the 1st Methodist (an old frame 
 structure) and the supreme court in the Episcopal.* 
 
 As early as during the war of 1812, the troops and rangers, in 
 their various expeditions against the hostile Indians on the Peoria 
 Lake, noted the country of the Sangamon as one of surpassing- 
 attraction. The Indians well ai)preciated this fertile region, for 
 in the Potawatamie tongue the word Sangamo meant "the coun- 
 try where there is plenty to eat," in our phrase " the land flowing 
 with milk and honey." It was not, however, until some years 
 after the close of that war that the hardy pioneer pressed into it. 
 Then, with little delay, along the borders of the timber, the log- 
 cabin of the adventurous settler begau to rear its humble walls, 
 and the smoke from its ample chimney went curling heavenward. 
 The " St. Gamo Kedentry," as it was pronounced in the vernacu- 
 lar, so:;n became famous, and emigration set freely in that direc- 
 tion. In the autumn of 1819, a weary emigrant family, originally 
 from North Carolina, with its teams, encamped on the right bank 
 of Spring Creek, in the west part of the i)resent city of Spring- 
 field. This was the end of their journey. Soon the camp Ibvs 
 were lighted, and parents and children gathered about the homely 
 
 * Spi-ingfleld afterwards paid off ouc-tbird of her 5550,000 bonus withthe evidences of 
 State indebtedness, which after the failure of the internal improvement system, at oi.e 
 time, as wo have seen, touched 14 cents on the dollar in market But this transactioii, 
 which has been occasionally animadverted, was perfectly lej^itimate. The last install- 
 ment of $16,666 67 was obtained from the State Bank on one year's time, at 6 per cent , 
 101 of the best citizens exccutins- their promissory note to the bank ; and it was this 
 note that v/as afterwards paid olT with internal improvement scrip, which the State 
 has ultimately redeemed dollar for dollar. 
 
OGLESBTS' ADINISTRATION. 919 
 
 su})per-board for the first time on the spot of their home in the 
 wilderness. In the morning- the echoing ring of the ax resounded 
 in the adjacent forest, and in a few days a rough cabin home shel- 
 tered John Kelly and family, the first white settlers of the site 
 since become the capital of this great State. The connty of San- 
 gamon was organized in 1S21. On the 10th of April, the same 
 year, the temporary county seat was fixed at Kelly's, the stake for 
 a court house being set at the northwest corner of the present 2d 
 and Jefferson streets, and in honor Spring Creek and Kelly's field, 
 was christened Springfield. On May Ist, a term of court was 
 held at Kelly's cabin. In 1823 the public lands having been pre- 
 viously surveyed, were offered for sale by government. A town 
 had been laid off and plotted under the name of Calhoun, but as 
 settlers came in, the name of Calhoun was gradually dropped and 
 that of Springfield revived. In the name of Springfield for the 
 capital of this State, there is nothing suggestive of meaning or of 
 origin— nothing to perpetuate any aboriginal race, deed, or histori- 
 cal name. Besides it is so common that in using it the name of 
 the State has ever to be added to give it definiteness. When you 
 spea!-: of Kaskaskia,Vanda]ia, Peoria, LaSalle, Chicago, or lUiopo- 
 lis — the last best of all — your reference is clear, without adding 
 Illinois. iS^ot so when you mention Springfield, for there are 
 jjlaces of that name in many States.* 
 
 Springfield, at the time of the location of the seat of govern- 
 ment, contained some 1,100 inhabitants. The corner stone of the 
 Capitol was laid July Itli, 1837. The brilliant orator, E. 1). Baker, 
 then a resident of the place, ])ronounced a beautiful and thrilling 
 address on the occasion. The estimated cost of the structure was 
 $130,000, but this, as usual, in such cases, proved too low by 
 nearly 100 percent. 
 
 When the Capitol was first reared it was the wonder of the 
 country round. It was admired by the people as a model of arch- 
 itectural beauty, and supposed to be ample enough to answer 
 the purposes of the State for all time. But such has been the 
 march of Illinois to empire that in less than a quarter of a cen- 
 tury the public demand became rife for a new structure commen- 
 surate with our growth, our pride and pretensions. Our popula- 
 tion in that time has been more than quadrupled, being, in 1840, 
 470,183, and in 1805,2,141,510. If, under the restrictions of the 
 constitutions of 1848 in the number of our legislators, we did not 
 actually lack for room to accommodate the two houses, our pride 
 as a State was touched whenever we cast a glance at the squat 
 
 * The present eapitiil gave early promise of rare capacity for legislative finesse. 
 The county seat of Sangamon was permanently located at Springfield in 1825. Prior 
 to that an election for the legislature turned upon the question of location. One of 
 the candidates, W. S. Hamilton, favored Sangamo Town, a beautiful elevated bluff oa 
 the river, T miles northwest from the city, a most charming town site. .Jonathan H. 
 Puu-li was the Springfield candidate. Hamilton, son of the great Alexander Hamilton 
 of Uovolutionary fame, was elected, and the aspirations of Springfield seemed crushed. 
 But unwilling to yield, she raised a fund and sent her defeated candidate, a man of 
 considf^rable ability, to Vandalia as a lobby member. His tact and skill in the manage- 
 ment of h'-norablu members made him more than a match for his competitor on the 
 fiooi-. HaniilLon failed of having an act passed, fixing the county seat at Sangamo 
 Town; Pugh did succeed in having special connnissioners appointed to make tlie loca- 
 tion. These came to Springfield to examine the sites. Conveyance was prepared to 
 take them over to Sangamo Town. On the way they passed over somuch low and wet 
 ground, and through so many sloughs and mud holes, partieularl.y as they approached 
 the proposed site, that their minds were made up. Thej' decided in disausl that it 
 would never do to fix a county seat at a point so surrounded by swamps. Whether the 
 route was chosen by accident or design does not appear, but it has been shrewdly sus- 
 pected that so much good luck for Spriagfleld wasnot wholly accidental.— Taken from 
 a volume of the Springfield City Ordinances. 
 
920 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 and unshapely pile representing the Capitol of the fourth State 
 of the Union, Public edifices in all ages and countries have been 
 t^pes, or marked the greatness and dignity of the rulers or peo- 
 pie who have reared them. This seems to be a law of man's civi- 
 lization. 
 
 In 1865 Senator Lindsey introduced a bill into the legislature to 
 remove the seat of government to Peoria. This was the first renewal 
 of the agitation. Chicago, Jacksonville and Decatur, (the latter 
 probably dreaming of benefits because one of her burghers 
 occui)ied the gubernatorial chair), were also clamorous for the 
 capitol. The Chicago Tribune, in an elaborate leader, favored 
 removal, and so did many other paj^ers. Springfield was much 
 faulted for its inferior hotel accommodations and their exorbi- 
 tant charges. The senate special committee, to which the ques- 
 tion had been referred, reported in favor of removal to Peoria, 
 and no little alarm was experienced in Springfield. Later the 
 Chicago bill was laid upon the table in the house by 61 to 16, and 
 the star of capital removal, erst so refulgent, waxed dim, and 
 gradually dipped its bright disk below the horizon. But it was 
 apparent that the question must be again confroiited with the 
 dawn of another legislature. The building of a new State House 
 could not be much longer delayed. 
 
 Intimations from various parts of the State began to be early 
 thrown out that powerful intiuences would be brought to bear in 
 favor of removal at the next session of the legislature. To the 
 various objections brought against Springfield as the capital, 
 that city, keenly appreciating the consequences which might en- 
 sue to her prosperity, did away with the chief one, the want of 
 hotel accommodations, by building the Lelaud, than which, except 
 perhaps in size, there is not a more elegant and commodious hotel 
 in all its appointments, in all the State. Slie further resolved to 
 take the threatening question by the forelock, and in November, 
 1866 one of her most capable public-si)irited citizens, the Hon. 
 J. C. Conkling, was elected to the lower house of the legislature. 
 All the tact and address of her i>rominent citizens were besides 
 brought into requisition. The county board agreed to take the 
 old State House and square for a court house at $200,000; the 
 city council offered to furnish the Mather lot, some six or eight 
 acres, which cost $62,000, and cause it to be conveyed free to the 
 State as a site for the new capitol — which was to be so elegant 
 and ornate in architecture, so grand and ample in its i)roportions, 
 as to control by its cost and magnificence the seat of government 
 question for a long time. Upon the assembling of the legislature, 
 the honorable members became the objects of nuich polite atten- 
 tion. The ladies, with all the agreeable arts of the sex, lent the 
 charm of their presence in attendance upon the sittings of the 
 two houses. Invitations to pleasant social gatherings, to parties 
 and receptions at elegant private mansions, were frequent. The 
 Lelaud, just finished with the commencement of the session, was 
 opened with a grand ball and supper, to which the members and 
 high dignitaries from various parts of the State present in the 
 city, with their ladies, received free tickets of invitation. And 
 now, with the assemblj* in a proi)er frame of mind, the bill pro- 
 viding for the erection of a new State House at Springfield, was 
 
oglesby's administration. 921 
 
 iiitiodaced. It appropriated $450,000, as a commencement, $200,- 
 000 of which were to be tlie proceeds of the sale of the old State 
 House to the county of Sangamon, its use being reserved until 
 the new one should be completed.* 
 
 The bill Avas not free from opposition in the legislature ; 
 but from many other local measures pending, such was the high 
 expectation of benefits in various parts of the State, that, Avhile 
 each section looked to its own interest, little was done toward 
 forming combinations for the defeat of this. One of the very ear- 
 liest to be introduced was the location of the Industrial Univer- 
 sity. It was the general understanding of the people that the 
 legislature at that session would take steps to secure the congres- 
 sional grant for that school. A number of places were bidding 
 high for its location. Jacksonville, Pekin, Lincoln, Bloomingtou ; 
 and Chicago wanted to divide the fund ; but in the eastern por- 
 tion of the State the Champaign interest was all-absorbing and 
 dominated everything else. The south was moving for the South- 
 ern penitentiary, while Chicago was engrossed with her park bills 
 and the canal extension and enlargement, in which Peoria and 
 the Eock River country were also deeply interested. The imme- 
 diate opposition to the State House bill was therefore in the main 
 narrowed down to the efforts of Decatur, which ]>resented the 
 very munificent offer for its location of a fine 10-acre lot of 
 ground, and $1,000,000 in money from Macon county, whose entire 
 taxable wealth on realty amounted to only $2,422,000. The proposi- 
 tion was said to be backed by the Illniois Central K.R. Much indig- 
 nation was vented upon this effort to huckster or hawk the loca- 
 tion of theseatof government. Thenames of seven commissioners to 
 superintend the erection of the building and disburse the funds 
 ai)propriated, were also so judiciously chosen and distributed as 
 to impart to the measure much strength.f Besides, it was urged 
 that the present capital had become historic ground ; that it was 
 illustrated by the life and residence of the best, the purest, and 
 the noblest of American statesmen, Abraham Lincoln, and sacti- 
 fied by his grave.l 
 
 The bill became a law February 25, 1867. This was the senate 
 bill of Mr, Cohr's ; it limited the total cost of the new capitol 
 to $3,000,000. 
 
 The commissioners, in March, advertised for plans and specifi- 
 cations to be submitted by July 15, offering $3,000 for the success- 
 ful design. But, while the act for the new State House met gen- 
 erally with approval, some leading Chicago newspapers,* chagrined 
 probably over the canal legislation, continued their assaults ui)Oii 
 the measure, bitterly charging it to he a fraud and swindle upon 
 the people. The. aspiring city of Decatur, too, illy brooked her 
 disappointment in not becoming the Capital. And now, May 13, 
 18G7, at her instigation and cost, a writ of quotcarranfo — an in- 
 quiry into the right or power to act — was granted against Philip 
 Wadsworthand the other commissioners, impleaded by Judge Wil- 
 soTi of the Superior Court of Chicago, and judgment of ouster en- 
 tered. The legal objection urged, was that the commissioners 
 
 'For a copv of Voris' humorous bill to dislocate the Capitol, see the Til. State 
 Register, Feb. 23, 1807. It provided tor a peri;?Tinating leg'islatiire by railroad, to Stop at 
 every pliice vrhcre a notice appeared that legislation was wanted. 
 
 tSee Bailey's speech. 
 
 ijrHurlbut's speech. 
 
 ilTimes and Tribune. 
 
1J22 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 Avere officers, whose appointment under the constitution should 
 have been made by the governor and confirmed by the senate, 
 and who could not be designated in the bill as had been done. 
 Oil appeal to the Supreme Court, that body, at the September 
 term tollo^Ying, reversed the decision of Judge Wilson, holding 
 that the Commissioners were not officers, and therefore rightfully 
 entitled to carry out the law. 
 
 From the great number of designs submitted by architects from 
 various parts of the Union, that of J. 0. Cochrane, of Chicago, 
 was chosen and adopted. Its style does not exclusively follow any 
 one of the ancient or classic orders of architecture, but harmo- 
 niously blends these with modern art, imparting massiveness, 
 strength and durability, while preserving external grace and airy- 
 ness. The ground plan is in the form of a great cross or 4 wings, 
 whose grand outlines are 359 feet north and south by 266 east and 
 west, exclusive of the porticos. The basement story, excavated 
 to the depth of 10 feet, will contain the boilers for the heating- 
 apparatus and the elevators, storage room for fuel, and other 
 weighty articles. Next above is the first stor^', 19 feet high, on 
 which are located the adjutant-general's office and museum, the 
 geological museum of specimens, and artists' rooms, &c. The floor 
 is to be laid in mosaic marble, imbedded in cement, the whole sup- 
 ported by brick arches. That part of the ceiling constituting the 
 floor of the rotunda, is to be of glass. Next above is the princi- 
 pal story, 22 feet in bight. The grand corridors, running the 
 wliole length and breadth of the building, crossing each other at 
 right angles on the glass floor of the rotunda, will be beautifully 
 finished with variegated marble pilasters projecting from the walls, 
 forming panels, aiul opening from them on this floor are located 
 all the rooms of the different State departments, including the Su- 
 preme Court-room and Clerk's office, and the state geologist's 
 office. "S^'ith the Treasurer's office are connected 4 massive stone 
 fire proof vaults. The floors are supported by wrought iron beams 
 imported from Belgium. The next, or 2d principal story, is 45 
 feet in altitude. Here is the great hall of the house of repre- 
 sentatives, in the southern arm of the cross, 66 by 100 feet, and 
 the senate chamber, 62 by 75, in the northern wing. Here too, on 
 the main floor, are rooms for the speaker, clerks, sergeants-at- 
 arms, post-office, State library, &c., &c. On three sides of each 
 of the grand legislative halls, half way up, are to be magnificent 
 galleries, from which will extend back floors, divided up into com- 
 mittee rooms. The means of communication between the differ- 
 ent stories are by grand marble stairway's and two steam eleva- 
 tors. The roofs over each wing are to be of the mansard style, 
 slated on the sides and covered with copper. Through the centre 
 of these will rise the stately dome 320 feet from the ground, sur- 
 mounted by a lantern 16 by 25 feet, crowned with ball and pinna- 
 cle. An iron stairway will ascend inside the dome to the floor of 
 the lantern. The rotunda is to be 76 feet in diameter, and from 
 its glass floor to the fresco painting on its ceiling, will present a 
 clear, dizzy view of 217 feet. The north, south, and east wings 
 are to have porticos of ten stone columns, each 45 feet in eleva- 
 tion. The east wing is to be the principal front, and here, from 
 each corner of the i)ortico, 90 feet wide, Avill rise a turret 13L* feet 
 in altitude. The north i^ortico will be surmounted by a statute of 
 
oglesby's administration. 923 
 
 Lincoln, aiultliaton the south by cue of Douglas. The outside 
 ■walls of the structure are of cut stoue, taking" 750,000 cubic feet, 
 and tlieir linings, together with the partitions, will take 20 inillions 
 of biick; 1,200 tons of -wrought iron and 1,800 tons of cast iron 
 -sviil l)e consumed in its buiUling. Such is but an imperfect out- 
 line of the new capitol, which, in its massiveness, durability, sym- 
 metry, beauty and grandeur, will symbolize the extent, the re- 
 sources, the power and pride of our young giant State. 
 
 Owing to the litigation, the year 1SG7 was little fruitful of re- 
 sults in building. The next year the foundation, 8 feet thick, was 
 ■well brought under -^vay, and the <'orner stone laid, October oth. 
 In 18G'J the legislature approi»riated $050,000, to be expended oulv 
 after ascertaining that tlie work could be brought "witli in the origi- 
 nal maximum limitation of $3,000,000, and reduced the number of 
 commissioners from 7 to 3. Tlie stone work was to be procured 
 from the penitentiary at Joliet. The constitutional convention, 
 intiuenced by the constant cry of a portion of our State press, 
 forbade the legislature expending more than $3,500,000 on the 
 groun<ls, construction and furnishing of the new State house, with- 
 out tirst submitting the question to the voters of the State. 
 
 In 1871 a further appropriation of $000,000 was asked. Bills 
 for this purpose were early introduced, and that in the senate 
 readily passed. But in the house opjiosition was developed. The 
 canal and Illinois river improvement project was again on foot. 
 Tlie Chicago press, perhaps with a view to making it a lever for 
 the river imi)rovement measure, attacked the State house appro- 
 priation bill with exceeding virulence. Startling developments 
 in regard to the building contracts, the character of the work, &c., 
 were threatened. The removal of the capital was advocated. 
 Peoria caiJie forward with a proposition to reind)urse the State to 
 the lull amount ($805,303 08) already expended on the new struc- 
 ture, donate a beautiful ten acre lot as a site, and furnish free of 
 rciir, tor 5 years, accommodations for the meetings of the general 
 as.sembly,- in consideration of the location of the capital there. 
 An offer so muuiticent was well calculated to arrest attention. 
 This, with her other indebtedness, would have x>laced Peoria 
 under obligations to about half of all her taxable Avealth. To 
 a\ oid the constitutional objection which forbids the creation of a 
 dcli)t exceeding 5 percent, on assessed values, her ])rivate citizens 
 of undoubted cliaracter and am])le means tendered their bond for 
 the amount. The capital removal question now ran up to fever 
 heat all over the State. A large committee from Peoria, duly em- 
 powered, visited Springtield, and for a time creature comforts 
 lacked in neither style nor abundance. The two houses accepted 
 an invitation of a free excursion to Peoria. The occasion proved 
 one of unusual enjoyment to the mend)ers, who were treated with 
 distinguished consideration. Upon arrival thei'e (,'arriages were 
 l)ro\ided and the visitors taken to view the site for the ca})itol on 
 the bluff, than which there is not a more charming and command- 
 ing spot in all the State. A steamboat trip past the city and a 
 few miles up the lovely lake was next in order^ followed by a ban- 
 quet at the hotel, and a grand ball at night. On their return the 
 ujembers were accompanied l»y a large lobby force. 
 
 These movements were of a character and magnitude to fairly 
 alarm the capital city. Its council hastened to pass an ordinance, 
 tendering a guaranty of additional ground for the capitol. The 
 
924 HISTORY OF LLLINOIS. 
 
 gallery of the bouse aud the lobby were daily thronged by her 
 anxious citizens, deeply intent on its proceedings. To remove the 
 capital it was necessary fii'st to defeat the aijpropriation bill. This 
 was the test. The bouse was a large, unwieldy body of 177 mem- 
 bers, and its rules were such that by dilatory motions — parliamen- 
 tary " fillibustering" — time could easily be consumed so as on no 
 day to reach the order of business in which the bill stood on the 
 calendar. All manner of parliamentary tactics were practiced to 
 kill time and tire out the bouse. Quantities of weary memorials 
 on the capital question found their way in and were diligently' in- 
 sisted upon to be read at length, and when this was refused 
 speeches were made on the right of petition. Thus the time of 
 adjournment for the recess, AprU 17th, was reached without action 
 on the bill, notwithstanding a majority of the house were for it. 
 
 The feeling of depression at Springfield was very great. Gov. 
 Palmer next convened the legislature on the 24th of May, and re- 
 quired, iamong many other important measures omitted, action on 
 the State bouse appropriation. Bills for this puri)ose were again 
 introduced and pressed duly forward under the rules. The pre- 
 vious scenes were re-enaeted by the opposition ; but the calendar 
 was not so full. And now the move was to tack on a submission 
 clause. The Peoria lobby, reinforced from other parts of the State, 
 was again on hand. Day by day the beauty and fashion of 
 Springfield thronged the galleries of the bouse like a bright gal- 
 axy, as they were, and patiently set out the weary hours with the 
 punctuality of members, eagerly and anxiously watching the dili- 
 tory movements below. Gradually but slowly the measure was 
 pressed along in its order Finally, when every parliamentary re- 
 sistance was under the rules exhausted, a vote was reached at 10 
 o'clock at night, June 7th, and the bill passed by 100 yeas to 74 
 nays. Peoria's ajiple of hope was turned to ashes. The senate 
 the next day substituted the bouse bill and passed it. It provided 
 for a bond of the citizens in the penal sum of $500,000, condi- 
 tioned that the obligors procure such additional ground as the 
 State might require, not exceeding 4 acres, to be demanded within 
 two years after the building is ready for use. Thus ended the 
 last eftbrt to remove the capital. The agitation of the question 
 bad a most depressing eftect upon the building business aud the 
 price of real estate at Springfield for a full year or more. 
 
 The Penitentiary — A Resume of its History. — In June 1867, Gov- 
 ernor Oglesby convened the Legislature in extraordinary session, 
 inviting action upon ten subjects, chief of which was to provide 
 for the taxation of the shares of banks, State and National. The 
 assembly, however, acted ui^on but five. But before the session 
 was two days gone another occasion arose to again convene that 
 body, which was done for the 14th inst. This was the abandon- 
 ment of the penitentiary by the lessees, w^hich threw upon the 
 bands of the State 1,058 convicts to be immediately provided for, 
 fed, clothed and put to work. 
 
 To go back 40 years, the first step taken toward the estab- 
 lishment of a i^eniteiitiary in this State was at the legislative 
 session in 1826-27. The need of a State's prison had been greatly 
 felt for some time. The jails of the country v/ere very iiifciior, 
 and the breaking of them by the more energetic and desperate 
 
oglesby's administration. 925 
 
 offenders was of frequent occurrence. The State was poor and 
 oppressed by the broken currency of the First State Bank. There 
 was, however, at the time a project on hand for the legishiture to 
 memorialize congress to allow the State to sell 30,000 acres of the 
 Ohio and 10,000 acres of the Vermillion Saline lands. The Saline 
 reserves, which had been granted to the State in 1818 on condi- 
 tion that they be never sold, had become useless for the manufac- 
 ture of salt, but they retarded the settlement of the country. 
 Congress readily made the concession, the laiuls were sold, and 
 the proceeds, according to previous arrangements, were divided 
 between the eastern and western sections of the State — the former 
 applying its share toward the improvement of the Great Wabash, 
 the draining of Purgatory Swamp opposite Vincennes, and of the 
 Cache river Hats ; the latter devoting its share toward the building 
 of a iieniteutiary. Governor Edwards opposed the measure, and 
 great efforts were made to further divide the fund for the benefit 
 of local river improvements, but all failed. 
 
 Ex-Gov. Bond, Dr. Gersham Jane and W. P. M'Kee were ap- 
 pointed the first penitentiary commissioners. They selected the 
 site at Alton, for which ten acres of ground were donated. Be- 
 sides the proceeds of the Saline land sales, the legislature, in 1831, 
 api)ropriated $10,000 toward the completion of the penitentiary. 
 The first building, which was a neat stone structure, contained 24 
 cells, and was ready for occupation in 1833. The system of State 
 prison confinement in Illinois has ever been (except in the case 
 of some special sentences) what is known as the congregated iu 
 contiadistinction of the dreadful solitary plan, in vogue in Penn- 
 sylvania and elsewhere. 
 
 The criminal code had been adapted the preceding legislative 
 session to the penitentiary system by abolishing the barbarons pun- 
 ishment of whipping, the stocks and pillory, and substituting con- 
 finement and hard labor. A close observer of the effects of this 
 change (Gov. Ford) states that the increase of crime for 15 years 
 following greatly exceeded the relative increase of the population 
 in Illinois. 
 
 For the first 5 years the State conducted the prison herself. A 
 warden was biennially elected by the legislature, who received a 
 salary of $600, and 3 inspectors were also elected, whose powers 
 and duties were much the same as those of our present i)eniten- 
 tiary commissioners. They received $2 a day each for the time 
 actually employed, not to exceed $100 each annually, however. 
 Whether candidates for this position were numerous or not we are 
 unable to say. 
 
 Under the law of 1837 the inspectors were authorized, in their 
 discretion, to farm out the convicts and give a bonus of $800 
 annually besides. Accordingly, on the 10th of June, 1838, the 
 penitentiary, then containing 38 convicts, passed from the control 
 of the State into the hands of a lessee, Mr. S. A. Buckmaster. 
 Thence forward the lease system was continued for 29 years — from 
 1838 to 1867. In 1812 it was leased to Isaac Greathouse and JST. 
 Buckmaster, but without a bonus from or expense to the State. 
 In 1815 it was re-leased to S. A. Buckmaster for a term of 8 years, 
 the bonus— $5,000 annually— -now coming to the State; besides 
 which he agreed to feed, bed and guard the prisoners, pay physi- 
 
926 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 ciaiis' bills, fees of the inspectors, and save the State L armless from 
 all expense. The lease was subsequently extended 5 years on the 
 same terms. Under the lease system the lessee was vested with 
 the powers of a wiirdeu. 
 
 As the number of convicts increased additional cells were built 
 from time to time, and other buildings, such as the warden's resi- 
 dence, etc., for all of which the State paid. In 1847 there were DO 
 cells authorized to be constructed. By 1857 the cells numbered 
 250, and the convicts, averaging two to a cell, far exceeded the 
 capacity of the institution. At this time the penitentiary was 
 leased to S. K. Casey for 5 years, ou the same terms as tbe Buck- 
 master lease of 1815. The legislature at the same session pro- 
 vided for the building of a new prison with 1,000 cells, which, it 
 was thought, would be ample for generations to come; but the 
 limits of its capacity were reached in less than 7 years. The old 
 l^risou Avas to be sold. The inspectors were discontinued, a 
 superintendent provided, and 3 commissioners charged with the 
 supervision of the new structure. They Avere instructed to con- 
 tract with the lessee and employ the convict labor in the build- 
 ing of it. The new prison was located at Joliet on a tract of 
 72 19-100 acres of laud. Its construction was commenced the same 
 year, temperary structures for the worknjeu being provided, lu 
 May, 1859, prisoners were forwarded in batches of 40 or 50, and 
 in June, 1800, the Alton penitentiary was linally abandoned. An 
 area of 10 acres is at present inclosed within the main walls of tiie 
 Joliet prison, which are feet thick and 25 high. The i)ri,s()n 
 proper contains 900 congregate cells, 100 separate, and 100 for 
 females. 
 
 In 1863 a 6 year lease was given by the State to J. M. Pitman, 
 who was to keep, provide and work the convicts, and save the 
 State harmless and free of all expense. No bonus was to be paid 
 either way. Three others, Boyer, Buck and Buckmaster, each a 
 one-fourth interest, bought in under Pitman. Owing to disagree- 
 ment between them, Buckmaster, in April, 1864, bought out all 
 his partners and received an assignment of the lease to himself, 
 Pitman surrendering his charge as warden to Gov. Yates. Buck- 
 master took in a number of partners, the two Mitchells, Acres, Job 
 and Judd, he retaining a one-third interest. 
 
 At this time, 400 cells were completed, but 500 in the west Aving 
 still remained unlinished. The commissioners, under the pressure 
 for room (the nmiiber of i)risoners being A-ery great and steadily ou 
 the increase), authorized the new firm to finish these cells, Avhich, 
 together with repairs and other changes, made a claim against 
 the State by January, 1807, considerably exceeding $100,000. 
 
 It now became apparent that State appropriations beyond a lim- 
 ited amount of a few thousand dollars could no longer be looked 
 forward to, and the firm having found purchasers, on the 28th of 
 January, 1867, in consideration of $200,000, transferred the slock, 
 fixtures and lease to Messrs. Burns and Hatch. The latter ad- 
 mitted to the partnershii) three others— -Bane, Osburn and Dus- 
 tin— and sanguine in their new vocation, the firm obtained from 
 the legislature an extension, or rather a ncAv lease for 8 years from 
 and after the expiration of their assigned lease in 1869, upon the 
 same terms. They Avere thus the less'ees till 1877. 
 
oglesby's adbonistration. 927 
 
 Up to this time, owing to tlie State's expenditures for work done, 
 which was well paid fur, as puldic corporations always pay, the 
 leasing of the convict labor had proved more or less protitable to 
 the lessees, notwithstanding the high prices of i)rovisions and 
 clothing, and the constantly augmenting number of convi(ds dar- 
 ing the war and immediately after, many of whom were physically 
 disabled. But now, with the speedy completion of the building, 
 State appropriations must cease, and the lessees were thrown upon 
 their own business enterprise for manufacturing contracts and 
 outside jobs. These things had been for a long time of secondary 
 consideration. The penitentiary work had consequently suffered 
 in character and it could illy comj^ete in price with other like man- 
 ufactured articles. 
 
 The new lessees in a short time apprehended the situation, but 
 instead of attempting to improve the management of the concern, 
 the discipline of its inmates and character of the work like busi- 
 ness men of energy and pluck, they were appalled by the prospect. 
 They saw nothing but utter ruin before them, as they alleged, 
 and threw upon the State their threatening losses. They notitied 
 the governor they should abandon the institution on tlie oOtli day 
 of June, 18G7. It is ever thus in contracts between States and 
 individuals ; the former are bouiul, but the latter will find methods 
 to either secure profits to themselves, or if loss threatens, to cast 
 it upon the State. 
 
 In this emergency the governor, as we stated in the outset, (!on- 
 vened the legislature to take action in the premises, either by again 
 leasing the peiutentiary, or to provide for the State taki]ig control 
 of it. The policy of State control had been mooted before upon 
 humanitarian grounds. It was ugred as the duty of the State to 
 retain custody and control of its convicts, provide them employ- 
 ment, look after their welfare, and seek to reform them ; and that 
 the hiring of them out for private gain was unchristian and in 
 conllict with public morals. The governor advocated an 
 abandonment of the lease system, believing that the pen- 
 itentiary could be made self-sustaining. A committee was 
 appointed to make a thorough investigation of the conduct and 
 workings of the prison during the recess, which the leigislatnre 
 took until the 2oth of June, ensuing. At this time it was deter- 
 mined that the State retain control of the penitentiary. Three 
 commissioners were provided for (to be then appointed but made 
 elective at the next regular election), a warden, chaplain, physi- 
 cian, matron, &c., and thus, on the 1st day July, 18G7, the i)eni- 
 tentiar}' passed again into the control of the State, the tirst time 
 for 29 years. At this time 900 cells and the warden's reiiidence 
 Avere comi)leted ; $175,000 had been expended thereon, the orig- 
 inal estimate of the entire cost being but $5oO,000. It is how- 
 ever, a superb structure, complete in all its appointments and 
 fully equal to any in the United States. The convicts numbered 
 1,000. It proved a grievous burden to the State at tirst. Large 
 sums of money were demanded and obtained. Everything was to 
 buy almost — machinery, sto(;k and tools. The sum of $300,000 was 
 appropriated. In 18G9, $350,000 more were ai)propriated to de- 
 ' fray its expenses, $50,000 going to pay the late lessees for stock, 
 machinery &c. In 1871 $175,000 more were required to pay de- 
 ficits. 
 
928 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The choice of commissioners by the people, rendering them in- 
 dependent of executive supervision, did not tend to promote that 
 harmony and unity of action among them requisite to the attain- 
 ment of success. In the spring of 1869, they were found to dif- 
 fer widely upon imi^ortaut points in the management of the es- 
 tablishment, and in 1871 tlie legislature thoroughly revised the 
 law for the government of the penitentiary. The appointment 
 of commissioners was vested in the governor after the expiration 
 of the terms of the then incumbents, and they were to be subject to 
 removal by him at his discretion. It was also made the executive's 
 duty to semi-annually visit the penitentiary and examine its af- 
 fairs thoroughly. The commissioners were empowered to hire out 
 the labor of the convicts on sealed bids, a special or semi lease 
 system which seems to be the secret of its present success. Since 
 then its management has steadily improved, the discipline is of 
 the highest order, and under the last year of Gov. Palmer's ad- 
 ministration the penitentiary has become self-sustaining and in 
 future will probably yield a surplus. 
 
Chapter LXVII. 
 
 1869-1873— ADMINISTRATION OF GOVERNOR PALMER. 
 
 Bepublican and Democratic State Conventions — Life and Character 
 of Governor Palmer — Legislation^ the Tax Grabbing Laiv, LaJte 
 Front Bill, Land Companies, etc. — The Constitution of 1870 — 
 The Great Chicago Fire. 
 
 When, iu 18G7, Geu. Palmer failed to obtain tlie Republican 
 caucus nomination for U. S. senator, the feeling in his party be- 
 came very general to reward him for his eminent services with the 
 governorship, and he was thence tacitly looked forward to as the 
 liei)ublican candidate for that office in 1868. But the object of 
 this high distinction was far from seeking it. In March, 1865, he 
 wrote that the invalid condition of one of his children would com- 
 pel his absence from the State duriug the ensuing campaign, and as 
 he would consequently be unable to do his full share of labor in 
 tlie canvass it was not proper that he should become the head of 
 the ticket. Aspirants enough now sprang up for the exalted posi- 
 tion, but they had no desire to embarrass Gen. Palmer. The Hon. 
 R. G. Ingersoll, under date of Chicago, April 3d, asked him to 
 state exidicitly whether he was a candidate or Avould accept the 
 nomination. He answered by telegraph, "I am not, and do not in- 
 tend to be a candidate for governor." But his objections, it was 
 thought by some of the Republican press, might be overcome, and 
 the Carlinville Free Democrat, his former home organ, thought 
 that ''for some time past it had observed strenuous efforts made in 
 certain quarters to compel Gen. Palmer to announce a priori that 
 he would not serve the Republican party if nominated for gover- 
 nor j" that the party had not asked him to take the position ; that 
 while he was not thrusting himself forward, it spoke with assur- 
 ance, he would not decline the nomination if tendered him by the 
 Peoria convention. To this the Illinois State Journal replied : 
 " We are requested to state that this is not the position which 
 Gen. Palmer occupies." Still it was thought he was iu tlie hands 
 of his friends ; that if the nomination was pressed upon him he 
 would regard the voice of the convention as a summons to duty 
 which nuist be obeyed.* 
 
 The Republican State convention of 1868 met at Peoria, May 
 6th. Franklin Corwin presided. An informal ballot to select a 
 candidate for governor resulted: For John M. Palmer, 263 votes ; 
 Robert G. Ingersoll, 117; S. W. Moulton, 82; J. K. Dubois, 12. 
 
 • Chicago Post. 
 
 59 
 
930 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 The friends of Aiisou S. Miller refused to submit liis name against 
 Gen. Palmer. After a spirited debate with reference to Palmer's 
 candidature, Gen. Rowett from Macoupin telegraphed to him : "It 
 is asserted that you will be nominated for governor. Will you 
 accept f He replied promi)tly, " Do not permit me to be nomi- 
 nated. I cannot accept." Whereupon he was immediately nomi- 
 nated ; the first formal ballot being, for Palmer, 317; Ingersoll, 
 118; Moulton, 52; Dubois, 17. Pz-evious to this, however, a let- 
 ter from him to Horace White had been read, stating that if nomi- 
 nated he would be governed by the duty of the hour. But for 
 Gen. Palmer's repeated objections, he would undoubtedly have 
 been selected by acclamation. He more than came within the 
 Jeffersonian rule, neither to seek nor refuse office. 
 
 The remainder of the ticket was made up, either on the first bal- 
 lot, or by acclamation, of John Dougherty of Uiuon, for lieuten- 
 ant-governor ; Edward Eummel of Peoria, secretary of state; 
 Charles E. Lippincott of Cass, auditor ; B. N. Bates of Marion, 
 treasurer; Washington Bushnell of LaSalle, attornej'-geueral ; 
 and for penitentiary commissioners, after some delay and discus- 
 sion, the old board, Andrew Shuman of Cook, Kobert E. Logan, 
 of W^hiteside, and John Reid of Will, were re-nominated. Gen. 
 John A. Logan was nominated for congress from the State at 
 large. 
 
 The platform reannounced the Republican doctrine; condemned 
 the i)olic3' of President Johnson ; denounced all forms of repudia- 
 tion, and affirmed that the indebtedness of the United States 
 should be paid according to the letter and spirit of the law under 
 which it was contracted; that the principal of the debt should be 
 a heritage of the future ; instructed in favor of U. S. Grant as 
 the Republican nominee for president and the natural successor 
 of Abraham Lincoln ; and oddly enough declared in favor of " the 
 most efficient means to raise the moral standard of the people." 
 
 The Democratic State Convention met at Springfield, April 15, 
 1868. Hon. A. L. Thornton, of Shelby, presided. The i)roceed- 
 ings were not harmonious. The disturbing question was that of 
 paying the national debt in " greenbacks," as proposed by Mr. 
 Pendleton of Ohio. The committee on resolutions brought in 
 majority and minority reports, the former, (which Avas adopted), 
 made by eight, favoring payment of the 5-L*0 bonds, the vast bulk 
 of the national debt, in legal tender notes, but where the faith of 
 the government was pledged to pay gold, to so fulfill the obliga- 
 tion ; favored the abolition of the national bank system ; and in- 
 structed the delegates to the national convention to vote as a unit 
 for the nomination of George H. Pendleton as a candidate for 
 president. The minority report, made by five members, insisted 
 upon paying the 5-20 bonds in "the lawful money of the country," 
 gold; and opposed trammeling our delegates to the national con- 
 vention by instruction in favor of Pendleton. For a candidate for 
 governor, the names of S. A. Buckmaster and John R. Eden were 
 presented. On the first ballot, when it was found that Eden was 
 largely in the lead, the name of Buckmaster was withdrawn and 
 Eden was nominated by acclamation. The remainder of 
 the ticket was made up of William Van Epps of Lee for lieuten- 
 ant-governor; Gustavus Van Hoorbecke of Clinton, secretary 
 
PALIVIER'S ADMINISTRATION. 931 
 
 of state; Jesse J. Pliillips of Montgomery, treasurer; Johu R. 
 Shaiuion of Kaiulolph, auditor; W. W. O'Brien, of Peoria, con- 
 gressmau at large; and for penitentiary commissioners, John 
 W. (Jonnett of Cook, W. W. Garrord of Edgar, Calnev Zarlev 
 of Will. 
 
 Tbe canvass of 1868 Avas unattended by interesting events, and 
 the election in November resulted in favor of the Republicans by 
 large majorities, that for governor being 41,707. 
 
 John McAuley Palmer was born on Eagle Creek, Scott county, 
 Kentucky, September 13th, 1817. During his infancy his fatlier, 
 who had been a soldier in tlie war of 1812, removed" to Christian 
 county in Western Kentucky, wliere lands were cheap. Here the 
 future governor of Illinois spent liis childliood and received such 
 meagre schooling as the new and sjKirscly settled country aflbrded, 
 to which he added materially by diligent reading, for' which he 
 evinced an early aptitude. The father, an ardent Jackson man, 
 was also noted for his anti-slavery sentiments, which he thoroughly 
 im])ressed upon his children. In 1831 he emigrated to Illinois and 
 settled in Madison county. Here the labor of improving a farm 
 was pursued for about two years, when the death of the mother 
 broke up the family. About this time Alton College was opened 
 on the " manual labor system," and in the spring of 1831 young 
 Palmer with his elder brother, Elihu, afterward a minister of the 
 gospel and noted for his learning and eccentricities, entered this 
 school and remained 18 months, ^^ext, for over three years, he 
 tried variously coopering, peddling and school teaching. 
 
 During the summer of 1838 he formed the acquaintance of 
 Douglas, then making his first canvass for congress, who, young, 
 eloquent and in political accord, won his confidence, fired his am- 
 bition, and hxed his purpose. The following winter, while teach- 
 ing near Canton, he began to devote his spare time to a desultory 
 reading of law, ami in spring entered a law oflice at Carlinville, 
 nmking his home at his brother Elihu's, stationed at that place in 
 the ministry. On the next nu'cting of the Supreme Court he was 
 admitted to the bar, Douglas, who took a lively interest in 
 him. being one of his examiners. He was not immediately 
 successful in his profession, and would have located elsewhere 
 than Carlinville, but for the want of means. Thus his early 
 poverty was a blessing in disguise, for to it he now attributes the 
 success of his life. From 1839 on, while he diligently pursued the 
 practice of his })rofession, he was more or less involved in local 
 l)olitics. In 1843 he became probate judge; in 1847 he was 
 ele<;ted to the (;onstitutional <'on\eiition, where he took a leading 
 l)arr. In 1852 he was elected to the State Senate, and at the 
 s[)ecial session of February, 1854, tine to the anti-sla\'ery senti- 
 ments bred in him, took a firm stand in opposition to the repeal 
 of the Missouri com{)romise on two sets of resolutions then 
 before the legislature; and when the ISTebraska question was made 
 a i)arty issue he refused to receive a renomination for senator at 
 tlie hands of the Democracy, issuing a circular to this effect. Still, 
 as if hesitating to break with his party, a few weeks later he i)ar- 
 ticipated in the congressional con\('ntion which nominated T. L. 
 Harris against Richard Yates, and which ai)i)roved unqualitiedly 
 the principles of the Kansas-Nebraska act. hut later in the cam- 
 
932 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 paigii he made the plunge, and running for the senate as an anti- 
 Nebraska democrat, was elected. The following winter he put in 
 nomination for the United States Senate Mr. Trumbull, and was 
 one of the five steadfast men who voted for him until all the whigs 
 came to their support. In 1856 he was made chairman of the 
 Republican State Convention at Bloomington. In 1859 he was 
 defeated for congress. In 1860 he was a republican elector for the 
 State at hirge. In 1861 he was appointed one of the five delegates 
 (all republicans) sent by Illinois to the peace congress at Wash- 
 ington. In that body he advocated the call of a national conven- 
 tion for an adjustment of the country's difficulties, and that 
 proposition failing, he favored the measures of compromise finally 
 recommended.* 
 
 When the civil conflict broke out, he oflered his services to his 
 country and was elected colonel of the 14th regiment. Of the 
 engagements in which he participated may be mentioned the cap- 
 ture of Island No. IO5 Farmington, where he skillfully extricated 
 his command from a dangerous position ; Stone Eiver, where his 
 division for several hours, on the 31st of December, held the 
 advance and stood like a rock, and for his gallantry here he was 
 made Major General of volunteers ; Chicamauga, where his and 
 Van Cleve's divisions, for two hours, maintained their position, 
 ■when, by overpowering numbers, they were cut off. Under Sher- 
 man ]\Iajor General Palmer was assigned to the command of the 
 14th army corps, and participated in the Atlanta campaign. At 
 Peach Tree Creek his prudence did much to avert disaster. When 
 Gen. McPherson fell, and Gen. Howard, a junior ollicer, was pro- 
 moted to the command of the army of the Tennessee, both Generals 
 Hooker and Palmer asked to be relieved. 
 
 In February, 1865, Gen. Palmer was assigned to the military 
 administration of Kentucky. This was a delicate post. Ken- 
 tucky was about half rebel and half union, the latter daily 
 fretted by the loss of their slaves. He, who had been bred 
 to the rules of the common law, he has said, trembled at the con- 
 templation of his extraordinary power over the i)ersons and pro- 
 perty of his fellowmen, with which he was vested in the capacity 
 of military Governor. But it is not our province to detail his 
 administration in Kentucky. Suffice it, notwithstanding the many 
 objections urged against him, it is now conceded that he blended 
 a conspicuous respect for municipal law consistent with his func- 
 tions as a militarj^ commander. 
 
 The business of Gov. Palmer's life has been the pursuit of the 
 law. Few excel him in an accurate appreciation of the depth and 
 scope of its ]ninciples. The great number of his able veto mes- 
 sages abundantly testify not only this but also a rare capacity to 
 point them out. He is a logical and cogent reasoner, and an inter- 
 esting, forcible and convincing, though not fluent nor ornate, 
 speaker. Without brilliancy, his dealings are rather with facts 
 and ideas, which he marshals in solid phalanx and leads to invin- 
 cible conclusions. And while he ever betrays the hedgings of legal 
 rules, he is a statesman of a very high order. Physically, he is 
 above the medium hight, of robust frame, ruddy complexion and 
 sanguine-nervous temperament. Nature has endowed him with a 
 
 ' Taken from "Annals of the Army of the Cumberland," a volume of biographical 
 tketchos. 
 
palmer's administration. 933 
 
 large cranial developmeut. He is social in disposition, easy of 
 approach, unostentatious in bis Labits of life, correct in deport- 
 ment, democratic in bis manners, and as a man of tlie people, be 
 bas a large sympathy for his chiss. He has been indifferent to the 
 acquisition of wealth. 
 
 On the meeting of the legislature, in January, 1869, the first 
 thing to arrest public attention was that portion of Gov. Palmer's 
 inaugural message which took broad State's rights ground. In 
 discussing the rights of railroads, their oppressive chaiges, and 
 the remedies, he called attention to the proposition in some quar- 
 ters to enlist the national government in the creation of rail- 
 road corporations to construct railways in this and other 
 States and operate them, Avhich be deprecated : "Already the au- 
 thority of the State is in a measure paralyzed by a growing con- 
 viction that all their powers are in some sense derivative and sub- 
 ordinate, and not original and independent ;" he asserted that " one 
 of the best established and most distinctly recognized [principles 
 which underlie our system of government, was] that the federal 
 government is one of enumerated powers ;" that it was " the clear 
 duty of the national government to decline the exercise of all 
 doubtful powers when tbe neglect to do so Avould bring it into 
 fields of legislation already occupied by tbe States;" and that "a 
 frequent recurrence to the fundamental i>rinciples of government 
 [was] essential to civil liberty." 
 
 Such old democratic doctrine was distasteful to many re})ubli- 
 cans, who, with a portion of their press, took ground in opi)osi- 
 tion to it. The democrats, on tbe other band, M'ere heartily 
 pleased with it, and it was moved by them in tbe house that 35,- 
 {)()() copies of the message be printed, which i)assed with consid- 
 erable reluctance. In the senate the republicans moved to cut 
 down this number to 2,000, and here also the democrats became 
 the champions of the republican governor in a debate whit^h fol- 
 lowed, characterized by no little acrimony. Indeed, the cordiality 
 in the dominant partj , between the legislative and executive de- 
 partments, was for a time threatened with interruption. Finally 
 the senate concurred with the house, only to reconsider its vote; 
 after the lapse of near two weeks, and the intliction of many 
 speeches, tbe resolution was agreed to. 
 
 The session of 18(59, the last under the flexible constitution of 
 1848. a revision of which had then been authorized by the people, 
 was moved upon by the monopolists, the k)bl)yists and the "rings" 
 with a thirst for advantages and spoils, unprecedented in the his- 
 tory of legislati(»n in this State. Their action was characterized 
 by an audacity, a prodigality, and an abandon never before ex- 
 hibited. Their remarkable success in 18G7 had but whetted the 
 appetites of the cormorants. Notwithstanding Gov. Palmei',in his 
 message, characterized special legislation as anti-republican and 
 dangerous to the lil)erties of the people, saying: "i\Iany of the 
 most important functions of government are now claimed and ex- 
 ercised by incorporations by si)ecial laws ; they take i)rivate i)i()p- 
 ertv and irai)Ose and collect taxes; they consn-uct railroads and 
 canals, and, in many instances, by tbe exercise of their vast pow- 
 ers, control the course of trade, and distract the business of the 
 whole country" — notwithstandingthis warning, bills to thenumber 
 of 2,178 were introduced, covering every conceivable object for 
 
934 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 corporate purposes, uearlj^ all of which sought some advantage 
 over the general laws of the State or the people. The then lead- 
 ing organ of the dominant party was constrained to .say that '' no 
 previous legislative body has exhibited such unblushing disregard 
 of all the requirements ot common decency as the legislature now 
 in session," — that it was " reckless beyond precedent."* 
 
 But it was early found there was anincumbentof the executive 
 office with both the will and industry to look intotheirlittleschemes 
 before they became laws, and with the courage and capacity to 
 exx)ose their many machinations. Perhaps this exercised some 
 restraining influence. In obedience to his determination to care- 
 fully overhaul every bill before signing it, and to give him time to 
 do so, the legislature took a recess from March 8th to Aprill 7th. 
 Of the 2,478 bills introduced nearly 1,700 were passed, an im- 
 mense mass of dry legal verbiage, but none escaped his patient 
 scrutiny — a labor and investigation never before bestowed uj)on 
 the acts of a legislature. He sifted from the mass a large number 
 which he deemed inimical to the constitution, or to public policy, 
 and at great pains reduced his objections to writing, in terms re- 
 spectful and indicating the ripe jurist and forcible reasoner. But 
 his vetoes in nearly every important instance were overridden by 
 a determined bodj-, unwilling to brook what they were pleased to 
 characterze an arrogance of both legislative and judicial functions 
 by the executive. The veto under the constitutiou of 1848 was of 
 little value further than as a short stay of proceedings to induce 
 the legislature to pause and reflect upon their action. Its free 
 use by the executive was not without an interpretation as being 
 only a gTeater exhibition of insubordination to partisan require- 
 ments, after his first avowal of State's rights doctrines. With a short 
 session of three days, the veto messages were disposed of; and 
 after voting each member |40 in addition to the $300 previously 
 A oted to each for room rent, fuel and contingencies, over and above 
 his ]:)erdiem, in utter violation of the constitution, the general as- 
 sembly of 18G9, on the 20th of April, adjourned sine die. 
 
 Among the acts of general interest passed at this session, was 
 one limiting railroad charges for passenger travel to a maximum 
 rate of 3 cents per mile. The governor fulminated his veto against 
 it, liolding that when a charter is once accepted by those to whom 
 it is made, it '^in all essential circumstances, takes upon itself the 
 qualities of a contract, and at that instant passes from legislative 
 and becomes subject to judicial control. Such a contract upon 
 well settled principles of constitutional law, cannot be impaired." 
 It was passed over the veto, but has been a dead letter ever since. 
 If law grows out of the necessities of a people, then it is high time 
 that our courts overruled the Dartmouth College case, or revolu- 
 tion will do it for them. 
 
 AVhatis known as the "tax grabbing law" to pay railroad sub- 
 scriptions, passed at this session, is such a reprehensible specimen 
 of legislation as to well merit consideration. It provided tliat all 
 counties, townships, cities or towns having contracted bonded 
 debts in aid of the construction of railroads through any of them, 
 were entitled to register such bonds with the State Auditor, where- 
 upon it became the duty of the treasurer to set apart to their 
 
 *ChicafeO Tribune. 
 
palmer's administration. 935 
 
 credits, to be applied toward tke payment of their railroad in- 
 debtedness, aiinnally, for 10 years, (1) all tli<3 taxes for any purpose 
 whatsoever, ari.sing from the property of a railroad so aided and 
 situate within such municipality }. (2) so much of the State tax as 
 miyht be collected upon an increased assessment on all the i)rop- 
 erty of any such municii)ality oxer and above the year 1868, ex- 
 cepting in both cases the li mill and State school taxes. It was a 
 question whether this was an appropriation of public money, which 
 the Supreme Court had decided to ii)e within the province of the 
 legislature under the power to appropriate money, or whether it 
 was violative of the principle of equality of taxation recognized 
 by the constitution. The governor took the latter view, and in a 
 very able message vetoed the bill; but it was passed over his veto. 
 The act is very ingeniously drawn with reference to these two 
 views and by its terms, really only diverts the taxes paid upon 
 the proi>ert3' concerned, the same as other property, however the 
 proceeds may return to the corporation or nninicipality. The late 
 S. K. Casey, senator from Jefterson, championed it, but it is said 
 to have been framed by a Mr. Cassells. It was designed for the 
 benefit of Southern Illinois, which had fallen behind in the race 
 of railroad developement, and met with violent opposition from the 
 north, being denounced as wrong and unjust by every prin- 
 ciple of law and honesty. It i)layed an important part in the 
 combinations, rings, and manouveriug generally, during that re- 
 markable session, and became a law. The bonds registered under 
 the act anu^unt to about $13,000,000, and the tax annually di- 
 verted by it amounts to over $(30,000, which will probably be 
 largely increased under the revenue act of 1873. This was not the 
 first and only time that a portion of the State tax has been di- 
 verted for the benefit of the localities which yield it. In 1867 a 
 law of that kind was passed for the benefit of Mound City, and at 
 this session another to relieve Alexander county for her support 
 of negro paupers. 
 
 LalxC Front Bill. — Chicago, like a modern Briareus, besides many 
 private measures, now grasped for four parks; parks the north, 
 south, west and east of her; the three first named to be connected 
 by a grand boulevard or avenue, 400 feet wide. These 3 parks 
 were to embraee hundreds of acres of land, much of which would 
 have to be acquired by process of condemnation, ami which, un- 
 less duly guarded by just and proper legislation, was liable to be 
 converted into a business whereby to dis})ose of unsaleable lands 
 at high i)rices, and to acquire the i)oor man's lot without due com- 
 pensation, by setting oft" benefits against damages. 
 
 But of these park measures wliat was known as the Lake Front 
 bill was by far the most important. To raise a park fund it was 
 pro[)osed to confer upon the city council of Chicago power to 
 sell all the right, title, and interest of the State to a strip of canal 
 laud, 310 feet wide, lying east of Michigan avenue, and extending" 
 from Bark Bow north to Monroe street, containing 32 acres, land 
 and water; to confirm the Illinois Central railroad in its rii)arian 
 ownership to, and further for the State to nndie a grant to it of 
 the submerged lands constituting the bed of Lake Michigan, east 
 of its railroad track, extending north and south nearly two miles 
 in front of the city, and covering an area of 1,050 acres, over 
 
936 HISTORY OF ELLINOIS. 
 
 wliich tlie navigable waters of the lake rolled to a depth of from 
 10 to 25 feet. This, of itself was regarded as an imperial grant; 
 but it was further proposed that the State transfer to the three 
 railroad companies centering there, her 3 blocks of ground north 
 of Monroe street and east of Michigan avenue, in consideration 
 of $800,000, paj'able to the city of Chicago, for park purposes, in 
 four equal installments — a ijrice so ridiculously low as to fall short 
 of its actual market value by $1,800,000. And, as if anticiiiating 
 objections from Chicago, which claimed title by dedication, it was 
 provided that if the city council did not quit claim to the raihoad 
 companies within 4 months, being prior to the maturing of the 
 second installment, they should be released from further i)aynient 
 and yet hold the property by fee simple title from the State for 
 one-fourth the sum offered. These lands, except the bed of the 
 lake, had been dedicated for public use, but while the State had 
 l^arted with her beneficial proprietory title, they were still regarded 
 as subject to her paramount authority and might control or dis- 
 pose of them as would best promote the puri)oses of dedication.* 
 
 The bill was passed contrary- to the wishes of a large majuriry 
 of the })eople of Chicago and her representatives. The governor 
 vetoed it on account of the inadequacy of price to be paid for the 
 3 blocks of ground ; of there being no limitation fixed for the coiu- 
 mencemetof the outside harbor improvements; of the State having 
 reserved no right to limit charges for the relief of commerce, and 
 because the property was not to be subject to taxation, lint it 
 was promptly repassed over the veto. It was one of the measures 
 in the charmed circle of legislation, ordained to become a law.t 
 Steps under the law, however, have been arrested by injunction, 
 issuHig from the U. S. Circuit Court at Chicago. 
 
 Of the Hood of local and private acts pernicious in principle aiul 
 contrary to i)ublic policy, we can only cite a t'aw from the many 
 that iiicurred the governor's veto. A number of localities — 
 Bloomington, Joliet, Canton, Bond county, &c. — sought franchises 
 to enable them to employ the taxing power of the State to raise 
 money to be expended for mere private speculative or fanciful 
 objects, such as to induce railroad comi)anies to locate their ma- 
 chine shops and erect depots; to start private manufacturing 
 establishments; build hotels, &c., all supposed to be of general 
 value to the place securing them, and toward which those most 
 deeply interested sought to coni])ell all the helpless, voiceless and 
 reluctant, to contribute alike of their [)roperty. 
 
 Then there were acts for the incor})oration of land coini>anies 
 (already numerous), whose sole aim was to create huge land mono})- 
 olies, escape the embarrassments attaching to personal ownership; 
 the casualities incident to trade and business ; distribution after 
 death ; and keep out of market for a long term of years, with the 
 speculative intent of enhancing its value, i)roperty needed for 
 homes for the people, which in the hands of private parties would 
 be improved and rendered more valuable to the State.| A nota- 
 ble instan(;e was the "Illinois Land Coini)any," which owned some 
 1,200 acres in East St. Louis, sought to be controlled as above, for 
 
 ♦ Gov. Palmer's Message. 
 
 + There is a not a very secret scandalous history connected with the passage of this 
 measure which we do not care to revive here. 
 $ Gov. Palmer's Message. 
 
palmer's administration. 937 
 
 a period of 25 years. But the most presiiinptuons of these cor- 
 porations, niider a title at the same time the most seductive, not 
 excepting that of the " Illinois Benevolent Loan Company" for 
 a pawn -broker's establishment, was that of the " Southern Emi- 
 grant Aid Society," a title, as the governor said, which " suggests 
 ideas of weary strangers, feeble and poor, on the one hand, and of 
 benevolent men on the other, ministering to their wants, feeding 
 the hungry and clothing the naked;" but which really established 
 oflices in about 30 counties of this State, (the prin(;iple one at 
 Cairo), to speculate in lands that emigrants would be likely to 
 need, and receive their money and other valuables on depost, buy 
 and sell exchange, and by means of a captivating title, win their 
 confidence. * Not one provision of this act contemplated the aid 
 or relief which its title imported. 
 
 An important event of this session was the ratification of the 
 15th amendment to the constitution of the United States, giving 
 suflrage to the blacks. 
 
 Our Neiv Constitution. — The year of grace, 1870, will be distin- 
 guished in the annals of Illinois for the peaceful revolution of her 
 organic law. It is a grand feature in the governments composing 
 this Great Eepublic that they frequently undergo most radical 
 and important transformations without tumult or outbreak from 
 the populace, showing that their will is the source of power. The 
 constitution of 1818 had tor years been systematically violated in 
 its plain and positive provisions by nearly every department of 
 State. The last executive under it, himself records that " The 
 history of American States presented no example of a government 
 more defective than that of Illinois." Officers received or took 
 compensation for their services under authority of laws known to 
 be inconsistent with the constitution ; and what was designed by 
 its framers to be a most economical government, became, in fact, 
 extravagantly expensive. The clear limitation upon the powers 
 of the general assembly was overborne, and legislation was 
 often hasty, imprudent and depraved until the people felt 
 that their public and private rights were' unsafe ; that the oflicers 
 charged by the constitution with the enactment, the interpreta- 
 tion, and the enforcement of the laws were alike unworthy of their 
 full confidence, t The notorious evasions of the plain requirements 
 of the constitution, and tlie i)ernicious practices thus indulged, 
 tended to sap the integrity of the public service generally, while it 
 uuist have also contributed to lessen the respect if it did not beget 
 the contempt of the peoi)le for all law. A popular reverence for 
 law is the most essential guaranty for the stability of the State, the 
 peace and good order of society, and the protection to life, liberty 
 and property of of the citizen. 
 
 It was therefore high time to erect new limitations upon the 
 jiowers of the several departments, instead of those persistently 
 disregarded, and viewed as obsolete. Upon the question being 
 submitted to a vote of the people, at the election of November, 
 1S()8, the revision of the old constitution was by them ordered. 
 The succeeding legislature authorized the election of delegates, 
 
 * Gov. Palmer's Veto Message. 
 + Palmer's Message, 18T1. 
 
938 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 (apportioned to the districts and corresponding in number to tlie 
 representatives in tbe lower house of the general assembly.) who 
 were to meet at Springfield, December 13, 18C9, to alter, revise, 
 or amend the constitution. Of the 85 members returned, 44 were 
 set down as republican in politics, and 41 as democratic. But 15 
 ■were elected on independent tickets, all in republican districts, of 
 whom 8 were democrats and 7 republicans. Thus neitner party 
 had a majority in the convention, and the "independents" held 
 the balance of i^ower, of which they made the most. Its members 
 were composed of learned jurists, experienced statesmen, and pro- 
 found thinkers, whose work, prepared with much care, has been 
 very generally pronounced the best and wisest in its limitations 
 and restrictions that the union affords. Whether time will approve 
 this high encomiun] remains to be seen. We can allude to only a 
 few of the prominent features wherein it difters from the old, and 
 "Which are regarded as salutory reforms. 
 
 The change from the fee system to that of fixed salaries, fair 
 and ample in their amounts, will tend more perhaps to eradicate 
 the vice of evading the law and elevating the standard of 
 the public service than anything else. The salary system, 
 in the option of county boards, may also be extended to county 
 oflficers, and if settlements with these are properly enforced, 
 will both save and increase materially the revenue.— Special 
 legislation has been very greatly circumscribed, and iiTevocable, 
 private franchises and immunities are prohibited. This does 
 away with a most fruitful source of corrui>tion in that de])artnient 
 of government. It breaks, in a measure, legislative rings and 
 destroys the business of the professional lobbyist, and the result is 
 the halls and corridors of the capitol and hotels are thronged no 
 more by this shrewd, genial and elegantly attired class, ever on 
 the alert and ready with a hint to this member and a whisper to 
 that, and an adroit suggestion to another. — While the number of 
 members of the general assembly lias been about double, the steps 
 to be pursued in the euactment of laws are retarded and hedged 
 by wise provisions ; the former practices of reading bills by their 
 titles only, and their j)assage by the bundle, known as the omnibus 
 system, are prevented ; and while the per diem compensation of 
 members is allowed to be raised, being now |5, the reprehensible 
 practices of entering into speculative contracts or "commutations" 
 with State ofificials or others, for stationary, fuel, etc., voted to 
 themselves, which at the last session under the old constitution 
 a\eraged $500 for each member, and aggregated $54,000, besides 
 their pay of $2 a day, and charges for committee rooms, often 
 neither occupied nor perhaps rented, are all efiectnally squelched, 
 and instead members are allowed but $50 each. — To the go^•ernor, 
 who lieretofore as part of the law-making power, was a mere ad- 
 visory agent and for want of power destitute of influence, has 
 been given a qualified veto for the first time in the history of the 
 State, with good results so far as exercised. Prior to this a bare 
 majority of the legislative dejiartment of government was practi- 
 cally the supreme power in the State. — One of the grossest wrongs 
 to individuals heretofore was the taking of private property 
 by municipal and other corporations for public use, as it was 
 called, without compensation, by setting oil' fancied benefits, no 
 matter how general to the vicinity, against the damages of the 
 
palmer's administration. 939 
 
 owner. This cannot now be done, Neither can a majority (often 
 representing- little or no property) of any municipality, now vote 
 to lend its credit or impose a debt upon the property of the min- 
 ority for th(! benetit of some corporation or improvement. — The 
 general assembly is prohibited from discharging- any county, city 
 or town from its proportionate share of taxes, the commutation of 
 such taxes, or the diverting of them from the treasury, as timkr the 
 railroad tax-grabbing law of 1869. — The revenue aiticle of the old 
 constitution has been rendered more eftlcient, and with late legis- 
 lation will bear more evenly upon the property of the State. — The 
 two-mile tax was abolished, — Minority representation in the legis- 
 lature, by means of cumulative voting, is a new but promising 
 feature in the organic act, adopte<l for the first time by any State 
 in the union. — Our judiciary system has been rendered uniform, 
 and greatl}' modified, whether for good requires to be ascertained. 
 To county courts, as supplemented by a late law, have been given 
 exteu<led civil jurisdiction, and they are authorized to try minor 
 criminal cases with a view of sa^"ing to counties large expenditures 
 for boarding prisoners while awaiting the terms of the circuit 
 courts. — But the provision which seeks to control the railroads of 
 the State, prohibiting parallel or competing lines from consolida- 
 tion, and which declares all railroads public highways, requiring 
 the general assend»ly to establish reasonable maximum rates of 
 charges, and to prevent unjust dircriminations and extortions, is 
 one which, if sustained by the courts, promises to be one of the 
 most important in its beneficial results to the people, as it is one 
 ]U)w eliciting the greatest i)ublic interest. The question whether 
 a power has grown up in the State greater than the State itself is 
 now in process of solution. 
 
 The Great Chieago Fire. — Chicago was first laid off in 1830, at 
 the mouth of the river of that name. Prior to that the point was 
 kuowu as Fort Dearborn, built by the government in 1804. By 
 an unprecedented growth and prosperity, Chicago had by 1871 
 attained to a city of 300,000 souls. As the radiating centre of 
 nun-e than a dozen trunk lines of railroads, reaching far into the 
 interior, with their iniuimerable branches and connections, she is 
 enabled to grasp with Briarian hands, as it were, the products of 
 a vast and fertile region ; possessed of an extended lake, canal, 
 and river commerce, and a large manufacturing interest, and ani- 
 mated by enterprising and sagacious capitalists, eneigetic mer- 
 chants and pushing business men generally, she was truly, not 
 only the chief city of Illinois, but the emporium of the great 
 northwest — the pride of her State and the wonder of the civilized 
 Avorld. While slie had miles upon miles of structures of the most 
 combustible nature, being wood, her large business centre was 
 built up of brick, stone and iron blocks, massive in size and of 
 rare architectural beauty ; her palatial residences, profusely scat- 
 tered through many parts of the city, but particidarly toward the 
 lake front, were the admiration of every visitor, besides hernumy 
 well built, superb, and costly church edifices and various elegant 
 public institutions, all these were solid, non -combustible struc- 
 tures, regarded as tire proof. But in the great contlagration, 
 which, like death, knew no distinction, the stately block and most 
 onuite column, as well as the lowliest wooden shanty of the poor, 
 fouiul a common leveler. 
 
940 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 It was on the iiigbt of October Stli and 9tli, 1871, that the ocean 
 of tlame burst upon the doomed city. For eighteen consecutive 
 hours, borne by a inarched and stroug southwesterly gale, the Fire 
 Fiend, gathering strength and volume as he marched, strode 
 through the fated city. The fire broke out in a poor quarter 1^ 
 miles southwest from the business centre, which uas closely built 
 up of inferior structures that kindled like tinder and blazed like 
 a bon fire. The flame, fanned by the gale, was so intense that the 
 fire department was powerless before it. At midnight, having 
 devoured 500 buildings, and burnt over an area of 175 acres, 
 reaching the southern limits of the burnt district of the fire of the 
 night proceeding, which was of no incousiderable magnitude ordi- 
 narily, and Avhich it was expected would arrest it, the licking 
 column, casting a shower of kindling brands far in advance, easily 
 leaped the south branch of the river, lighting where several blocks 
 of wooden rookeries, the abodes of squalor and vice, aflbrded it 
 vivifying food. Sending off flanking columns to the right and 
 left, it pursued a due northeast course before the driving wind to- 
 ward the court house, the lai'ge stone, brick and iron structures in 
 its way, commonly called fire-proof, many of them among Chica- 
 go's handsomest blocks, crumbling and melting down by its su- 
 X)er-heated breath as completely, if not so speedily, as those of 
 wood. All hope of staying its progress was now abandoned, and 
 the eftbrts suspended. The court house, from whose basement, 
 (the common jail) 150 prisoners were released to save their lives, 
 was built of large blocks of stone, and though standing isolated 
 in the middle of a square, succumbed, its great bell falling from 
 the dome with a last dying peal. At this time, as if instinct with 
 a deadly strategy, the fire disabled the pumping engines a mile 
 in advance at the waterworks, which cut ofl' the supply of water. 
 Buildings now would suddenly ignite all over, and the danger to 
 human life became exceedingly great. 
 
 The left flanking column of flame, gathering volume as it pro- 
 ceeded, swept all that part of the city in the angle made by the 
 south branch and the main river. The right also gathering head- 
 way as it went, took a detour almost due east from the south 
 branch toward the lake and northward, nmking a wide swath and 
 rioting in the destruction of the most superb hotels, splendid bus- 
 iness blocks, and elegant dwellings in the city. Here, in the south 
 di\ision, the fairest and most ornate portion of Chicago, and the 
 great centre of her wealth and commerce, 460 acres were swei)t over 
 by the terrible flames and 3,050 buildings laid in ashes. But aside 
 fronj the great value and beauty of this portion of the city, less 
 than one-third in territory, or the number of houses, was as yet 
 swei)t over, or cunsumed. The three colums of flame, toward noon 
 on the 9th, (Monday) intensified by their union, now vaulted across 
 the river, and, marching in solid i)halanx at double-quick, licked 
 up everything in the way; the ocean of flame with a terrible 
 crackling roar as it advanced, in a few hours burnt over an area 
 of 1,470 acres of the 2,533 in the north division, leaving only 500 
 buildings standing out of the 13,800 which it contained, and ren- 
 dering homeless 75,000 people. 
 
 As a spectacle the conflagration was at the same time the sub- 
 limest and most api);dling — terrifying to the weak and unnerv- 
 ing the strong. The roaring flame and crackling wood, the crash 
 
palmer's administration. 941 
 
 of falling buildings, the detonations of explosive material in 
 tlieni, and the maddened Babel of hnman voices, all intermingled, 
 were awful and terrific in the last degree. 
 
 The scenes in the streets of the burning city beggar description. 
 All the baser attributes of the human heart found manifestation. 
 Fear, precipitancy, profanity, insults, obscenity, rapacity, tlieft, 
 robbery, arson and assassination, all wrought to the highest pitch, 
 witli intoxication, and amid the noise, confusion and turmoil, found 
 A^ent and ran riot. Great crowds, fascinated by a mingled feeling 
 of horror and admiration at the grandeur of the terrible spectacle, 
 moved with the dazzling columns of fire as it proceeded. Now and 
 then the crash of a wall near at hand, the report of explosive oils, 
 or the rumor that thej' were surrounded by the fire, or that a 
 bridge was burnt to cut off their retreat would scatter them in 
 precipitate ilight, panic stricken. In many cases, people were 
 driven into the lake for refuge against the scorching flames. Capi- 
 talists, rushing to their vaults to save their valuables, were over- 
 powered by the suftbcating heat, and never seen again ; others, 
 loaded with treasure, were stricken down by assassins and robbed. 
 The speed of the conflagration and its great heat were such that 
 it was impossible to save much property. Besides, owners of ve- 
 hicles, taking advantage of the occasion, charged enormous prices 
 for taking loads; $10 to $50 was common and $1,000 is recorded. 
 Stores were opened and the crowds invited to help themselves to 
 goods, as they must all go at any rate, while others were entered 
 by hordes of plunderers unasked ; and goods piled up in the streets 
 to be carted away, were seized and freely borne off. The torch of 
 the incendiary, for purposes of plundering, was added to the gen- 
 eral conflagration. Saloons were thrown open, and under a free 
 invitation, their contents flowed unchecked, maddening the vicious 
 and stimulating to ruttianism. Amid.st the turmoil of the crack- 
 ling and roaring fire, falling walls, dazed animals dashing about, 
 streets gorged by passing vehicles and crowds of peoi)le, and the 
 shouting and uproar of men, families became separated, children 
 cried for parents, wives and mothers wailed and became distracted 
 and husbands and fathers, skurrying hither and thither in vain 
 searchings for the lost ones, were frantic with agony and despair. 
 It was a night of unspeakable horrors. Many incidents of tenants 
 occupying rooms in the upper stories of high busiuess blocks wrapt 
 in flames, suddenly appearing at their windows begging for assis- 
 tance from the frantic crowd below and some of whom found succor 
 and others that perished, are related with thrilling effect in the 
 papers of the time. 
 
 The loss of human life, which can never be accurately ascertained, 
 lias been estimated at 250. During the first two weeks following, the 
 remains of 107 persons, consisting often of but fragments, or so 
 charred that few could be identified, were collected by the coroner 
 and inten-ed. It is sui)])osed that the intensity of the heat in 
 many cases wholly consumed the bodies, leaving no vestige be- 
 hind. The whole area burnt over, including streets, Avas 2.124 
 acres; number of buildings destroyed, 17,500; sidewalks burnt, 
 121 miles; total Arabic of property swallowed up by the devouring 
 element, $195,000,000, on which there was an insurance of some 
 $45,000,000, leaving a net loss $150,000,000— these figures being 
 approximate.* ^ 
 
 • See History of Chicago and the Great Conflagration. 
 
942 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 About 98,500 people were bereft, not only of homes, business, 
 and iHoperty, but even shelter. These collected at points on the 
 beach of the lake, in the ohl cemetery south of Lincoln Park, but 
 mostly on the bleak prairie back of the city. Many were blinded 
 from smoke and blistered with heat. Not less than one hundred 
 women were thrown into premature parturion from fright and the 
 excitement caused by the terrible scene. All, the sick and help- 
 less, the young and old, the vile and vicious, the beggar and mil- 
 lionaire, were here promiscuously huddled together. Without suf- 
 Hcient clothing in the chill October rain, which set in during the 
 night of Monday; destitute of food since Sunday, and all more or 
 less, exhausted from hunger, the sufferings of the smitten ones 
 was exceedingly great. 
 
 And now Avas manifested on the part of the people of this broad 
 land and the civilized portions of Europe, whither the shock had 
 thrilled, a noble sympathy and i)ractical benevolence, attesting 
 the brotherhood of man. First the peoi)le for hundreds of miles 
 in every direction, in prompt response to the click of the telegraph 
 (and but for this modern handmaid to the business of the world, 
 many must have perished), sent in hundreds of car loads of cooked 
 food and provisions of all kinds and raiment of every description, 
 in quantities more than sufiicient to relieve the wants of the suf- 
 ferers. Bureaus, to systematically distribute the donations, were 
 organized. Next, and almost simultaneously, followed most liberal 
 contributions of money in large sums by nearly all our great and 
 many small cities and some from Europe, aggregating some 
 $7,000,000. Governor Palmer, deeming it a proper occasion, con- 
 vened the general assembly in extraordinary session on the 4th 
 day after the lire, and that body donated virtually to the stricken 
 city, $2,955,340 from the treasury of the State — tinding in the 
 great emergency a way to evade the strict provisions of the new 
 constitution for this purpose by redeemiug the canal from the lieu 
 of its deepening by Chicago, which, though a valuable improve- 
 ment to that city, is dead and unyielding capital to the State ; but 
 no one will blame the legislature for this benevolent act so neces- 
 sary under the circumstances. Six per centum bonds, payable in 
 10 years, were to be issued for that amount. Not less than one- 
 fifth nor more than one-third of the proceeds were to be used in 
 restoring the bridges and public buildings on the old sites, and 
 the residue in payment of the bonded debt of the city, and to 
 maintain its fire and police departments. 
 
 Immediately succeding the tire, stories of incendiarism for i)ur- 
 poses of plunder became rife; that theft, robberies, and arson 
 were the order in the unburnt i)ortionsof the city, and that hordes 
 of "roughs" fronj other large cities were on the point of invasion. 
 The ignorant, desperate from their losses, were represented as 
 possessed bj- a nmnia for further destruction ; others in great 
 masses, together with the police, as taking the law into their own 
 hands, shooting down, beating to death, or hanging to lamp-iio.sts, 
 numerous alleged offenders, without close sciutiny as to their 
 guilt or innocence. These stories which were utterly untrue, 
 gained credence in the city at the time and a considerable panic 
 prevailed. Telegiams disseminating them were sent broad cast 
 over the land, and the flying fugitives from the city, whose exodus 
 by the IGth, amounted to 00^000, iuipressed with these stories. 
 
palmer's adxMINIstration. 943 
 
 sj>read reports of seeiug blackened corpses of robbers and incen- 
 diaries liauging to gibbets. Gen. Anson Stager, a prominent cit- 
 izen, telegraplied Gov. Pahner on tlie lOtli that great consterna- 
 tion and anxiety existed on acconnt of tbe presence of ^'rouglis" 
 and thieves, plundering in all directions, and that two incendia- 
 ries were shot the mght preceding while in the act of firing build- 
 ings. 
 
 Under the apprehensions i)re vailing, the police force was largely 
 increased, 1,500 being sworn in on the west side, aiul 500 on the 
 south. Indeed, on Monday morning, Major Alstruf had tendered 
 the services of a battalion of three militia companies to the su- 
 perintendent aiul were accepted. Gov. Palmer, in answer to Gen. 
 Stager's dispatch, proffered a military force to tlie city, to preserve 
 property and enforce order, which, in the reply by telegra})h, was 
 immediately requested by the mayor, to be sent by special train, 
 and later on the same day, 1,000 nuiskets and amunition was also 
 asked. Adjutant Gen. H. Dilger, at once, by telegraph, ordered to 
 Chicago, the "Bloomington National Guards," "Champaign 
 Cadets," "Sterling City ^Guards," Rock Fall Zouaves," "Eock 
 Island Light Artillery" with four pieces; and under his immediate 
 charge, the "Springfield Zouaves," "O'Mara Guards," and Capt. 
 Donigan's colored company, 200 num, the latter arriving there 
 early the next day, the 11th, and before evening the other militia 
 companies also arrived, making a military force of 510 men, well 
 armed and equiped to protect the property, maintain order, and 
 enforce the laws in the city. But Gen. Dilger now found the wild 
 rumors of lawlessness to have been greatly exaggerated, and the 
 nuiyor, professing no knowledge of the dispatches calling for 
 State troops and, at the time, confiding in the strong arm of the 
 military power of the U. S., was ready to issue his proclamation 
 entrusting the peace of the city to Lieut. Gen. Phil. H. Sheridan, 
 of the U. S. army, who was stationed there. The State authority 
 being thus superceded by that of the U. S., Gen. Dilger, with a 
 jjortion of his force, after some three days time, returned. Some 
 of the police authorities, jealous of the military occupation thus 
 assumed, protested against it for the reason thatpolicenuiin were 
 acqainted with the people and possessed large discretioiuiry pow- 
 ers in the arrest of parties, the prevention of breaches of the 
 I)eace, ami the commission of crimes; while a soldier was the rig- 
 id instrument of orders, regardless of consequences. The city, 
 however, was surrendered to the military, U. S. regulars being 
 ordered thither from Omaha, Forts Leavenworth and Scott, and 
 from Louisville. The police were ordered to act in conjunction 
 with the military, good order was maintained throughout, and, 
 what was perhaps of more importance than all else, confidence 
 was restored. 
 
 At the time that the city was thus turned over to military 
 rule, Gen. Sheridan directed a citizen of Chicago, Gen. Frank T. 
 Sherman, to enlist and organize a regiment of infantry lor 20 
 days, to serve as guards in protecting the ])roperty of the city. 
 They swore allegiance to the U. S. and obedience to the oflicers ap- 
 pointed over them; they were to arrest all citizens who, in their 
 judgment, might be suspicious i)ersons, and fire upon, woiuid or 
 kill any one refusing to obey their commands to halt, after a cer- 
 tain hour in the night. In the regiment was a company of cadets 
 
944 HISTORY OF ILLINOIS. 
 
 — students from tlie University of Chicago, mostly young and 
 non-residents. To this regiment, asserted by high authority to 
 have beeu illegally called into being, Gen. Thomas W. Gros- 
 veuor, a citizen of Chicago, who had earned his title by mereto- 
 rious conduct in the late war and was maimed for life, became a 
 martyr. About 12 o'clock in the night of the 20th of October, 
 while quietly i:)roceeding to hiis home, he was ordered by a young 
 cadet to halt and give the countersign or pass-word, and, disre- 
 garding the order, was deliberately shot down, expiring in a few 
 hours after. 
 
 The Governor, who it seems was not advised until about the 
 ITthof the full extent of the military occupation of Chicago, which 
 he deemed a violation of law, both State and uatioiuil, had in the 
 meantime, written a letter to the mayor, couched in no ambiguous 
 terms, vigorously' protesting against that functionary's virtual ab- 
 dication of his office and turning the city over to the military 
 control of the U. S. soldiery, asserting the adequacy of the State 
 to furnish all needed protection to the smitten city. The mayor, 
 stung by the lecturing epistle, replied that when the lives and 
 property of the people, the i)eace and good order of a large city, 
 were in danger, it was not the time to stop and consider ques- 
 tions of policy. But the killing of Grosvenor was a circumstance 
 to awaken reflection upon the anmalous posture of affairs, and 2 
 days after, at the request of the mayor, the occupation was discon- 
 tinued. 
 
 His excellency, however, did not allow the matter to drop here. 
 He Avrote and urged the State's Attorney of Cook county to bring 
 the murderer of Grosvenor before the grand jnrj, and to advise 
 that body to include in the indictments, besides the party doing 
 the act, R. B. Mason, the mayor. Lieutenant General Sheridan, 
 and Frank T. Sherman, colonel of the 20 day regiment, as being 
 equally guilty. A sharp and not very elegant correspondence 
 followed, and the matter getting into the public press, much criti- 
 cism was evoked. Later General Sheridan was again appealed to 
 by prominent citizens, to cause 4 companies of U. S. soldiers to be 
 stationed at Chicago for the protection of the immense amount 
 of stores in charge of the lielief fund and Aid Society, and upon 
 his request at Washihgtou they were granted. This still further 
 intensified the matter, and the governor, in a letter to President 
 Grant, protested against this step, asserting the abundant ability 
 of the State to protect every interest of the people dependant 
 upon its internal peace and good order. The letter was referred 
 to Gen. Sheridan with instructions to rescind all orders in conflict 
 with the laws or constitution of this State. Protesting now against 
 an officer of the army passing upon a matter so grave and impor- 
 tant, Gov. Palmer brought the whole subject before the legisla- 
 ture and that body, after a thorough investigation by a commit- 
 tee, who brought in majority and minority reports, on the 25th of 
 January, 1872, sustained the former, declaring "as unlawful, and 
 an infraction of the constitution, both of this State and the tJ. S., 
 the so-called military occupation of Chicago ;" but the federal au- 
 thorities Avere exonerated from intent to wilfully trespass upon 
 the constitutional rights of this State, or to interfere with its 
 properly constituted authorities during the emergency of the 
 great fire. 
 
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