IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-O) ,V^ 1.0 I.I 150 "^^ m m us 14^ 2.5 2.2 2.0 18 1 1.25 III JA III 1.6 < 6" ». V] Vl >^ <^1^ ^ 'V"V / Photograpnic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ■^9!^^ i^^ 4^ • "^^ CIHM/ICMH CIHM/ICMH ^ Microfiche Collection de Series. microfiches. vV Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notaa tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa anamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabH for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibliographically uniqua, which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction. or which may significantly changa tha usual mathod of filming, ara chackad balow. 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Toua laa autrM axamplairas originaux sont fllmte an comman9ant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una emprainta d'impraaaion ou dliiustration at wt tarminant par la damiira paga qui comporta una *-«lla amprainta. tin daa symbolas suivants apparaltra sur la damMra imaga da ehaqua microficha, salon la caa: la symbols — ^ signifia "A SUIVRE". la symbols ▼ signifia "FIN". Laa cartaa. pianchas. tablaaux, stc, pauvant «tra filmia 4 das taux da rMuction diff«rants. Lorsqua ki documant sst trap grand po jr 4tra raproduit an un soul clich4. ii est film4 i partir da i'angla supMaur gaucha. da gaucha h droita. at da haut an baa, 1% pranant la nombra dlmagaa n^caaaaira. Laa diagrammas suivants illustrant la m^thoda. 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 mm llil!pw«Pi|^"«^MiFiP«gpPMil!PP' '■ \ .«a i i mF hm; -^ ■7 / *" . ' ' 1 THB STATES AND TERRITORIES jf ov THE GREAT WEST; INOLUDIMO OHIO. INDIANA, ILUNOIS, MISSOUM, MICHIOAN, WISCONSIN, IOWA. MINESOTA, KANSAS, AND NEBRASKA; THBIB GEOGRAPHY, HISTORY, ADVANTAGES, RESOURCES, AWD PROSPECTS ; COMPRISING THEIR LOCAL HIS- TORY, INSTITUTIONS, AND LAWS. OITIKd A TABLE OF DISTANCES, AKD THl MOST DIRBCT KOCTIS AITO MODM OF OOHVBTANCE ; AMO, POIMTIITO OCT TBI lUt DISTWOTi FOfc AOBIOrLTCIUL, tJOMKIROIAL, LUMBKBIITO, ±SD HiNiira orsRATioira. WITH A MAP AND NUMEROUS ILLUSTRATIONS. -•*H BY JACOB FERRIS. NEW YORK AND AUBURN: MILLER, ORTON, AND MULLIGAN. BUFFALO : E. F. BEADLE. 1856. :'^ i ' '.> ' "'^mmgm^mr^'^ ■ »♦>• Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1866, By E. F. beadle, In the OlerVs Office of the District Court for the Northen>. DiBtrict of New York. " ■«♦ — 0. I. TILTOV, MHooTTm. nvnuM* mipiniip PUBLISHER'S ADVERTISEMENT. No parallel can be found in the world's history to the progress and the prospects of the Gkeat West. Within the memory of living men, it was, for the most, an unbroken wild — the abode only of wild beasts, or of wilder men ; and many of its most wealthy, prosperous, and inviting sections, scarcely twenty years since were untrodden by civilized feet. Now, in population, wealth, material progress, in the means of intercommunication, in liberal and perma- nent provision for the general and thorough educa- tion of its rising millions, she is without a rival. Her advancement, however, has but just begun. Her real greatness is yet in the future. The West is the common center— the grand rally- ing ground of the world's emigrants— of its popula- tion, its labor, and its capital. In view of what the West now is, and what each iv publishers' advertisement. year ia demonstrating she must become, who can esti- mate her future population, resources, and greatness? The history of a region so vast, so rich, and so rap- idly advancing, is one of the most interesting that can anyw:- j be found. In the work here offered to the public, the effort has been to give the rise, progress, and present condition of the States and Territories of the Great West. This book also supplies a great deficiency in our literature. Most other books upon the West are con- fined to some limited range of country, and are filled either with adventures across the plains and over the mountains, or with details of mere local interest. But this takes a comprehensive view of the whole West. It describes the earlier emigrations to the West, and presents a vivid picture of the modes of traveling, and of the difficulties and dangers of the way ; it takes a comprehensive survey of the vast water communications which connect the West with all other portions of the continent ; it contains a reli- able account of the first explorations of the Missis- sippi valley, compiled from the original manuscripts of the explorers themselves, affording information which has never before been placed in the hands of the gen- ■ ^ publishers' advertisement. ^ erd reader; it brings the general history of the West down to the present time ; it gives a sketch of the local history of the Western States and Territo- ries, including Kansas and Nebraska, together with such portions of their Constitutions and Laws as possess a general interest; it traces out the great thoroughfares by which the best regioBB^for agricul- ture, commerce and mining may be reached, together with tables of distances ; and gives an accurate ac-"" count of the mines of Lake Superior. On the whole, it is a book to be read — interesting to the general reader, and valuable to the emigrant and traveler. It is written in a style at once sprightly and elegant ; its details and its facts are often relieved by roman- tic incidents, and exciting and interesting adventures of Western Pioneer life. The author possesses a rare experience of the West, having visited almost every part of it this side of the Rocky Mountains, to obtain a knowledge of the country, the progress of settlements, and the manners and customs of tlie people. «%■<' CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. Early emigration to the West — Motives of the emigrmnta — Their in- dependence and perils — The " western fever" — The substantid settler — Conveniences for traveling fifty years ago — The open- hearted fronticranian — The solitudes of the forest — Modes of conveyance — The old-fashioned Jersey-wagon — The season for emigration — The preparation — The good-by start — Progress — The wayside meal — Incidents by the way — The buried treasure. 18 CHAPTER II. EARLY HISTORY OF TUB WEST. Territory included in the Great West — Water-shed, or divide — The rivers and their tributaries — The fur hunter's canoe-passage to the Gulf of Mexico — River system — Progress of the French mission- aries, as early as 1632 — Nicolet — His influence over the Indians — The journey of his life — His reception at Green Bay — Council with the chiefs — Iroquois war — Its effects on the missions — The great river west of the lakes — Claude Allouez, the first exploier of Lake Michigan — Frozen in on Lake Michigan — Sailing on the ice in a canue — Pitch Rock — Visit to the villages of the Illinois — M. Joliet and James Marquette explorers of the Mississippi — Their birth, education, and character — Marquette among the missions — Visited by the Illinois Indians — Contemplates exploring the Missis- sippi alone — Is stationed at Michilimackiuac — Arrival of Joliek with orders to explore the Mississippi — Prayers and thanksgiving for the favors conferred on them — Preparation and outfit — The Canadian canoe 28 CHAPTER III. EXPLORATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. Departure from Michilimnckinac — Wild oats — The tide at Green Bay — Ascending the Fox River — Indian village on the shore of Luke Winnebago — Wisconsin River — Its peculiarities — Joy at reaching the Mississippi — Strange fish — The abundance of game — Foot-prints on the shore — Discover an Indian village — Council — Feast of corn meal, fish, and boiled dog — Presented with a calumet — A strange plant — Monsters pain',^ on a rock — Frightful appearance of the water, at the junction of the Mis- ■oiiri — • Clay punt — Indian method of dealing with uusquitooe— ' ▼m CONTENTS. ••Snags" ond "Pftwycin"— Arknnnns Indinnn — Rotiirn up the llimtMippi Mrift Illinuifl — rortairi" to Cliicnpo— Anivul at (iroon B»y -— Jaiiic" Marquette sets out on a return to ('hicii;io, to uistruct tho Illinois IndiauH — Is detained all winter at the portage by wck- nefls — Rcaclicfl tho Illinoin country In April, and louiidn a inis- aion — Ilia maladay increasing, he m-L'^ out on his rtHurn to Michili. Tnackinac — Driven by wentcrly winds to tho mouth of the St. JoBcph's — Ueconics too weiik to proceed — Expires on a bed of boughs, on the shore of Luke Michigan go CHAPTER IV. THE ORBAT LAKP.S. Ottawa and French rivers — Robert Cavalier dc I^ Salle, first navigator upon the lakes — His patent for the monopoly of tho trade of tho West— •'The Griffin,'' the first sail vessel built on the Lukes — Her first and only trip — La Salle's ndsfortune ~ Descends the Mis- sissippi — Loses one of his hunters in the woods — Takes formal possession of the country at the mouth of the Mississippi — Plate engraved, and deposited in tho earth — La Salle goes to France — Returns with three ships — The store-ship dashed in pieces on the coast of Texas — One hundred men lost by sickness — La Salle and sixteen men set out overland for the Illinois — La Salle murdered by two of his companions, (J4 CHAPTER V. FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. Destruction of Montreal by tho Iroquois — Iroquois conquered — Treaty of peace — French cmigrntii.n — Fort Chartrcs — Mnnufac ture of flour in the Wabash country — The adaptation of the Ind'.in manners, etc., by the French — Its effects — Description of tho French settlements — Dress of the settlers — Inroads npon tho French — Attempts of the Spaniards to dispossess the French — Their defeat, aid overthrow of the SanU F6 expedition — Progress of English settlements toward the West — An English trader among the French — His fate — The Ohio Company's grant — Gov. Dinwiddle dispatches Goo. Washington with a "message to the French— Beginning of tho French war- The West open to English emigration — Taking possession of the military posts — Robert Rogei-8 — Rogers' Rangers — Character of the Rangers — The Rangers at Cleveland — Visit from Pontiac — Tho forts delivered to the English 78 CHAPTER VI. Manner of trading with the Indians — Early routes to the West— Tho Albany route — The Philadelphia route — The Indian trader — His dress — Trading stations— The Indian's notion of the surveyor's •pnwaw snd ctuin— Th« Acadiana— Destructioa of their prop- COrrCNTS. is •rty — Transported to tho flca-co««t — Thoy gather, and emigrate In a body to the Ficnch Hcttloinuuts — liuccivcd with great honpi- taUty — Tho Indian character, 99 CHAPTER VII. PONTrAn'S WAR. Pontittc — Indian method of drilling their warriors— Pontine Oflscm* blc9 a council — routine's Hpcocli — Ilia dream — The fort at De- troit — Poiitiac inspects the fort during acniumct dunce- Pontiac's coiiypiracy on tho fort at Detroit diAiited - - A general dentruc- tion of tho forts and settlements by t!io Indians — Strntagcms of tlie game of bull between tho Ojibways and Sncs, and destruction of Michiliinackinnc — Fall of Venango — Condition of the frontier set- tlements — Colonel Henry Bouquet — His victory near Fort Pitt — A council with tho chiefs — Their apology for tho war — Bouquet's reply- Orders the Indians to bring in all their prisoners before giving them tlie hand of friendsliip — Meeting of long-lost friends — (.Jonclusion o*" iho Indian war— Assassination of Poutiac. . . 110 CHAPTER VIII. CONQUEST OF THE WEST BY THE UNITED STATES. English and French settlements contrasted — Want of elbow-room — The Yankee pioneers— Their character— Recklessness — Peculiar dress — Tiieir houses, etc. — " Hog and hominy " — " Old Ned " — Tomahawk rights — Colonel Clark at tho West — His character — Descends the Ohio — Sinks his boats — Surprises Kaskaskia — Inhabitants declare for the United States — British Lieutenant- governor Rocheblane, captured — Vinconnes taken — Militia organ- ized—Clark among the Indians — » Courts of Illinois"— British Governor, namilton,de8cends the Wabash with one thousand men — Ruse of Captain Helm — Clark's winter march — Hamilton surren- ders—Territory held by Colonel Clark until the close of the ^W' 139 CHAPTER IX. THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. •Political organization — Permanent territorial laws — First and second grade — First church and schools — Cincinnati and North Bend — First civil court in the territory — Lawyers of the Northwestern Ter- ritory — Their manner of traveling from one court to another — The British posts in the territory surrendered to the United States. 166 CHAPTER X. OHIO. Division of the Northwestern Territory— State government— Early politios of the state — Rapid growth of the state — Its oliowta 1 CONTENTS. and soil — Minerals — Salt springa — Water communications - OTops-- Domestic conumerce — Railroads — Institutions of learn ing—Charches — Taxable property, etc igs CHAPTER XI. MICHIGAN. French agriculture — Population — Geography — Geology ~ The lower peninaula —White-oak openings — Burr-oak openings— "Cat- holes —Pine woods of the north— Windfalls — Soil and fruits of the lower peninsula —Pasturage — Settlements of Michigan — Com- mcrcial advantages — Detroit and other ports— Site for a great central city — The rivers — The lakes around Michigan— Improved lands — An-ual producia — Schools, churches, and other institu- tions— Attractions to the settler- Exemption laws. ... 178 CHAPTER XII. INDIANA. Yankee emigrants — Eroigration checked by the war of 1812 — Admission as a state— Rapid settlement of the state — Where the settlers came from — Soil of the state — The Ohio and Whitewater valleys — The White River Valley — The Wabash Valley — River navigation — Canals — Railroads — Agricultural products — Chaii- table mstitutions, churches, colleges, and schools 191 CHAPTER XIII. ILLINOIS. Extinguishment of the Indian titles— Admission as a state — Great emthquake of 18J1 — EflTect on the Mississippi — Effect on the In- dians-First steamboat on the Mississippi — Keel-boat naviga- u°° Tu^^'^l**^*'™®" "^ ^'^*"''® «f *he population — Length and breadth of the state— Number of counties — Lands improved and unimproved — Number of farms —Value of farming Iniplements — Annual products — The soil — The "American Bottom "— Prai-te lands —Grand Prairie— Coal regions— Yankee fences in Illinoid — Mode of forming settlements on the prairie — Plowing the prai- rie — The timber region — Minerals — Lead region — Chicago — Rivers, canals, and railroads —Varieties of climate — The winter of 1856-56 — Seasons of the greatest cold — Schools, colleges, and libraries — Exemption laws. . . 199 CHAPTER XIV. WISCONSIN. Or^nized as a ferritory — First pottlemente — Rapid emigration — bource of emigratiou — Admission as a state — Number of coun- ties, dwellings, and families — Naturp of the population — State laws, vsith raeear--^ *.-. ^.-.i.-._. n i._ T_i "^ . . ~*"*? wiui icgaxT* ly voters — Coiuts — Intt.'estmg provisions of CONTENTS. XI the constitution --Length, breadth, and general surface of the state — Southern Wiaconsin — Superior natural advantages— Prai- riea — Oak openings — Abundant p»»*.arages— Inducements to set- tlers — Southern Wisconsin compared with other states — Increase of agricultural wealth — Lead mines — Iron region — Lime- store— White marble— Northern Wisconsin — Extensive pine regions — Water-power— The Wisconsin pine — Annual amount sawed— Climate of Wisconsin — Haalth - Opinion of physi- cians — Commerce — Harbors — Milwaukie brick — Raiht)ads — liiducationalmstitutions and laws- Exemption laws, ... 217 CHAPTER XV. IOWA. The Black Hawk Purchase — Eirst settlements — Second Indian pur- chase — Reports of the surveyors -Erected into a territory — Garden of the West — Constitution formed — Provisions of the constitution— Refuses the terms of admission as a state — A new constitution -Admiosioa as a state — Length and breadth of the Btote — Population — Number of dwellings and families — Number of counties — Amount of unimproved lands — Excess of male pop- ulation — Source of emigration — Most populous counties — Land speculations — Advantageous geographicar position — Gener-l ap- pearaoce of the state - Agricultural condition and resources-^ Coal-fields — Limestone — Cedar Valley — Soil — Minerals -Com- merce—Shipping ports — Capital of Iowa — Iowa City — Rail- roads — Advantage to settlers — Public institutions, . . . 235 CHAPTER XVI. MINESOTA TERRITORY. ^^^Jt'J^'v"' ''I ^\^ ?P?^u Mississippi -Location of the territory - "The New England of the West "- Territorial boundary - LaWs - Counties — Population — Nature of the population — Crops —Gen- eral surmce of the territory -Geology- Above Crowing River - Chalk formation— James River -Buffalo pasture-ground - Bie Sionx River- Red Pipestone quarry- St. Peter's River - Bottom- lands -BLe Earth River -St. Peter's Valley - The paradise of SHr ~^M ^'P"' rJ^"^r°^ *'he lumbermen of the north - Srxr'";:^'L'* nce-Soi and its products-The Red River of if ili r?.P""f »?d Jakes -Minesota the Artesian fountain of the continent — Underground hydraulic power — BoiUng springs -Magnificent forest - Destiny of Minesota- Indian sum- mers—Manner of perfecting a squatter's title — St. Paul — Table of distances from Galena w St. Paul - Rates of fare, . . . 263 CHAPTER XVII. THE SUPERIOR COUNTRY. »^m '^i^^'^Z' *• '-"''T'- »» '-"S^" — .o-uchorage — jiarDors — Dan- ger of navigating the lake— Curious phenomena of the lak«- xu CONTENTS. Transparency of its waters-— The miraffv of Lake Superior — Islands — Isle Royal —Lakes in Isle Royal — Terennial ice — Effect of the extreme cold on the growtl; of the trees ~ Rock Har- bor — Streams emptying into Lake Superior — Appearance of the shore — Iron-works of Carp River — Porcupios Mountains — Table of distances — The La Grande Sables — Pictured Rocks — Onton- agon River— Montreal River — Sturgeon River — The Iron ra gion — The different beds, etc.— Geologists' opinion of the iron region — Location of good agricultural lands — Advantages of a raih-oad through the iron regions — The copper region of the Supe- nor country — Lake Superior reverenced by the Indians — The first Englishman who visited the copper region — Extract from his jour- nal — First mining company — Mining companies of Keweenaw— • Trap rock — Silver among the copper — Cliff mine — Copper Falia mme, rich m silver — Largest mass of copper — Table of the pro- ducts of foreign mines — Eagle Harbor — Game and speckled trout- Fisheries of Lake Superior— Climate, etc 273 CHAPTER XVIII. KANSAS AND NEBRASKA. Boundary of Kansas — Best lands open for settlement — Valleys of the tnbutaries of the Arkansas River, and of the Smoky HiU Fork of the Kansas — Pasturage — The land between the desert hills and the Rocky Mountains — The Kansas River— Valley of the Grand River — Timber— Coal — Springs — Council Grove — The Grand Jraine — The Upper Arkansas — Pawnee Rock — The mirage — Table of distances from Independence City to Pawnee Rock — The Santa F6 trade — Southern Kansas ores — Settlements of Eastern Kansas — Kansas laws for the recognition of land claims — In- dians of Kansas — "First right"- Table of distances from Fort Riley to Missouri border— Military roads — Climate of Kansas — Nebraska, ^qa CHAPTER XIX. KANSAS. Its history and politics 325 CHAPTER XX. Aid societies and preemptions , 889 TABLE OF DISTANCES, Vi& the principal thoroughfares, to the Great West . . . . «47 f ^ i t. H H O 'W STATES AND TERRITORIES OP THE GREAT WEST ■ ♦» CHAPTER I. Early ertrigration to the West — Motives of the emigrants — Their in- dependence and perils — The " western fever " — The substantial settler — Conveniences for traveling fifty years ago — The open- hearted frontiersman — The solitudes of the forest — Modes of conveyance — The old-fnshioned Jersey-wagon — The season for emigration — The preparation — The good-by start — Progress^ The wayside meal — Incidents by the way — The buried treasure. For more than half a century public attention has been directed toward the setting sun. At the beginning of that period, the West was regarded with mingled emo- tions of curiosity and dread. The ' wntemplation of a magnificent, boundless wilderness, was well calculated to excite the most sluggish imagination. But to the daring and resolute pioneer, the mystery that hung over the end- less woods was continually a temptation to explore the fur- thest regions concealed beneath their shade. There lay, undisturbed, the hunter's paradise, with every excitement necessary to savage life, from contact with wild beasts to warfare with human beings. Other motives, however, equally powerful, influenced n^e'. of widely different char- acters to resort to the western jountry. The criminal, w 14 THE GREAT WEST. flying from justice, made his escape into the woods. Those who disdained conformity to the usages of civil* life, who abhorred the restraints of fashion, who aspired to entire independence of all control, sought, instinctively, beyond the borders of civilization, for the wild freedom of nature. Also, the victims of misfortune looked to the West, as a proper field for renewing the struggle of life. It opened before them like another creation— rugged, unorganized; but this was charming to them. The dis- tribution of property would have to be begun over again, in their time. There could be no aristocracy of wealth or refinement in the woods. Abject poverty and heartless affluence could not meet together there for many years. Thg poor man, whose limited means were insufficient for the wants of a growing family, removed to the West; contented to endure its privations, and submit to its hardships; cheered by the certainty of securing a compe- tence to his children. But a small capital might there be made speedily to accumulate into a fortune, without hav- ing to wait upon the slow processes of industry. The speculator, eager to become rich, willing to place every- thmg at hazard, to whom the opportunities, in populous countries, for acquiring property, were unsatisfactory, or too few, hastened impatiently into the wilderness in search of water-power, and sites for future cities, delighting him- self in the solitudes, with the prospect of public streets, whose lines were blazed trees. And, at the close of the Revolution, many of the heroes of that war, having become impoverished, sought in the western plantations a restoration of their fortunes; carrying with them into the woods the patient endurance and discipline acquired in the army, and manifesting a most courageous" rliligence in subduing alike the wilder ness and its savage inhabitants. Rocky New England, EAELY EMIGRATION. 16 also, sent forth its hardy sons, mured to toil, laborious, calculating, frugal, and resolute, to plant in the new country the system of schools and churches that had been the blessing of their earlier days, and the pride of their fathers ; rejoicmg, moreover, to exchange the stubborn hill-sides, where they had been bom, for the productive plains and fertile vall^s of the West. To the young man, energetic, hopeful, ambitious, the new country was a theater for noble aspirations. He could grow with its growtli. Nothing seemed to be im- possible to him there. He could mingle with the brave, and participate in the glory of their achievements. He could associate with the wise, and share their renown. But another interesting class of men took part m the formation of the early settlements. The European emi- grant might well avail himself of the opportunities pre- sented to him by a new territory. He had heard the story of its fabulous advantages. Adventurous hunters, and soldiers returned from the Indian wars, had spoken of the marvels which their own eyes had seen. The men of the woods, seated at the hospitable firesides of the older states, and partaking of the good cheer of the long winter even- mgs, while the cider, and the apples, and the nuts were passing around, had recited to tingling ears the story of their long trails, and had stirred up afresh their smouldering camp-fires. The reports which had reached New York, New England, Pennsylvania, and Virginia, of the unex- ampled fertility of the West, of its early springs and lingering autumns, its forests of valuable timber, its sea- like lakes and majestic rivers, its prairies of waving grass, its abounding mineral wealth, had flown also across the Atlantic, and had awakened, universally, a desh-e to par- ticipate in the fortunes of so magnificent a country. But often the European emigrant was acted upon hy sterner t-m- «i 16 THE GREAT WEST. necessities. A political outcast, whose only crime con- sisted in his loving his native country too well, he looked for shelter to a foreign land. The interest with which he contemplated Republican institutions had strengthened bis attachment to a government whose sway he had never felt, and whose flag he had never seen. The sturdy peasants of France and Germanic the mountaineers of Switzerland, the yeomanry of England, the patriotic Irishmen fleeing from unnatural oppression, found an asylum in the wilds of America. It was to have been expected that, with these streams of population flowing in upon the West from unfailing sources, the center of political power in the Union would become removed beyond the AUeghanies. The founders gf the Republic seem, indeed, to have contemplated the formation of states to the north-west of the river Ohio; and they made ample provision for the integrity of them. It may well be doubted, however, if any of the framers of the American system of government could have fore- seen the splendors of that reality which has been unfolded before our eyes. But the West had its perils as well as its advantages; and the settler had to bravr the former, in order to the enjoyment of the latter. A homestead he could there have, at little expense beyond that of taking possession of the land, and reducing it into cultivation; but it would have tq be obtained at the risks incident to a howling wilderness. The soil might be fertile ; but it was covered over with dense forests. The exuberant vegetation of the prairies might furnish pastures for innumerable herds of buflFalo; but the Indian war-paths intersected these prai- ries in all directions. Life in the wilderness, evidently, was one of rugged independence ; free from officious neigh- bors, free from meddlesome impertinence of every sort; THE SUBSTANTIAL SETTLER. 17 free from the wholesome restraints, also, of established customs and laws. But such a life was clearly deficient in many things necessary to civilized man. It could furnish no security to person or property, beyond th« exercise of mere brute force in self-defense. It could not surround itself with those genial influences of civil- ization whicL call into play the finer qualities of human nature. The school was wanting. The church was wanting. Society was wanting. The majority of those, however, who contemplated removing to the West looked habitually on the brighter side of the picture! Visions of sunlit woods, of glittering streams and silvery lakes, of tables groaning with venison, of bams filled with gram, of days spent in wild, boisterous enjoyment, kept the mind feverish and impatient. If a dark shadow did occasionally flit over the view, it was but for a mo- ment only, and then the reaction carried the mind to a still higher degree of excitement. This was the "West- ern fever," a disease that has carried many a one ofl"— West. But the man of a cool head and clear judgment not unmindful of the difficulties of the undertaking; could see his way opening gradually before him to solids and enduring results. Brawny arms and a muscular frame could contend successfully with the trees of the forest that had swayed to the winds for centuries. In skillful hands, the American ax is a masterly weapon of warfare upon wood. The burning to ashes of great slashings of timber and underbrush would prepare the ground as well for seed as it could be done with the plow. A bountiful harvest would allay all anxiety respecting a scarcity of provisions. Incessant toil, in a few years, would turn the hunting-grounds into farms. Orchards could be planted. Buildings could be erected. Each isnlatPd bouse, m the new country, would be a point of attraction B )Sf *#1 4» THE GREAT WEST. ' \ i to future emigrants ; it would soon become the center of a growing neigliborhood ; and a society would be steadily forming, which, for a time, at least, would remain free from those odious contrasts which deform and corrupt more populous communities. Such was the prospect which was pleasing to the sub- stantial settler. But it is human to magnify anticipated results, and to diminish anticipated obstacles. The most diflRcult thing in this world is, to forecast so wisely that our calculations shall correspond to the rigid severity of experience. Before a single blow could be struck in the wilderness, before a place could be selected where to put up a temporary cabin, a long and dangerous journey had to be accomplished. And traveling, fifty years ago, to any considerable distance, was not an afiFair of trifling moment. The era of steamboats and railroads had not then dawned on the world. The canal which connects the Hudson River with the lakes, existed only as a dream in the mind of an enthusiastic statesman. The highways leading westward were little more than wheel-ruts cut deep in the soil. Bridges were rarely seen. The strug- gling teams were plunged into the waters at the fording- places. On approaching the remote frontier, the traces of a road had become more and more faint and indistinct ; a little further on, the road itself had dwindled into a horse- path, then a blind trail, and then, as a facetious traveler has said, " it turned into a squirrel track, and ran up a tree." New roadways and wagon-tracks are thrust forward by civilization, in advance of its great, general move- ments. When, therefore, the emigrant had passed all those, he had got beyond the border — he had come into the midst of the. great western woods. And there the fliflfimiH.iea nf~fli« wrav hAornn +r» f.Viiplroii ai>oim<^ Viim ITia THE OPEN-HEARTED FRONTIERSMAN. 10 perilous journey was but just beginning. For, although ho may have been traveling for weeks, since ho had left the eastern shore of Virginia, or the river counties of New York, or the hills of New England, his course thus far had taken him along the line of the settlements, where he had been sure of a cordial reception at every farm-house. The inhabitants of a country which has been brought recently into occupation, dwelling far apart from each other, are keenly alive to every opportunity for social intercourse. They live with an open door to strangers. The choicest fare is brought out, the best accommodations made ready which the house affords, to promote the traveler's comfort, so long as he shall choose to remain with them. The stranger is always welcome. The settler feels a manly pride in extending to all a free invitation to take shelter beneath his roof. To pass him by without so much as halting, or apologizing for such an apparent slight, is looked upon as an exceedingly shabby proceeding. It is contrary to all his notions of pro- priety. Instances have occurred of grave offense being given, by refusing to stop to dinner, or to stay all night with the rude, open-hearted frontiersman; who, actuated by a generous instinct, acknowledges that all new-comers have claims upon him, which he is anxious to make good; and who feels that he, in his turn, has demands upon them, for conversation, for news from down-country, for friction of mind upon mind, which they ought to sat- isfy. Indeed, a capital story is received as lawful tender for victuals and lodging, eyery where along the border. The unstmted hospitality of the settlers scattered along the ways leading toward the West greatly facil- itated the progress of emigration, by softening its hardships and lessening its expenses. But between the wide reaches of forest, and, further on. 20 THE aitEAT WEST. i} I I the unbroken wilderness. When, therefore, the emigrant had pressed forward beyond the established dwelling- places of men, his journey began to assume an entirely dilTerent character. Cultivated fields no longer opened before him, with the grateful assurance of plenty and welcome good cheer near at hand. No longer the smoko curled upward invitingly from the house by the roadside. Surrounded now by the grand old forms of nature, the emigrant felt isolated, cut off from all human associations. In the midst of savage sights and savage sounds, he was moving onward through perpetual shade. His present situation would bo apt to make the stoutest heart feel its weakness and dependence. Alone in the wilderness, the trees must be his companions by day and his shelter by night. The woods were before him, the woods were round about him. They interposed their huge trunks between him and the world. They lifted on high their umbrageous tops, and shut out the heavens. Many have turned back from their awful presence. But the solitude of the forest was far from being repulsive ; it was simply overpowering. Its terrors wer3 softened by many peculiar beauties. There was the witchery of its swinging shadows. There was the sunshine glancing from Innumerable leaves. And on every hand, opening down into the distant gloom, were long avenues of trees, arched over with waving branches and foliage, through which the struggling light pene- trated below, and danced to the musio of the winds A.t night, the stars hung out upon the tree-tops. If no hu- man voice was responsive to the emigrant's voice, j'';l tbo birds, morning and evening, poured their songs into his ear. And in the repose of midday, and in the silence of night, all was not hushed ; for the very stillness of the wcotl- u audible. The trees were continually sigh- ing thp KvoQ+hinrr ftir "Rnf. wliAn fttnrma MODES OF CONVEYANCE. 21 e emigrant dwelling- m entirely ;er opened plenty and the smoko le roadside, nature, the ssociations. ids, he was lia present cart feel its lerness, tho i shelter by were round ks between imbrageous urned back f the forest erpowering. itics. There lere was the And on ^loom, were g branches light pene- winds A.t If no hu- oice, y ^5l tbo igs into his the silence stillness of nually sigh- rliATi ainrma swept down upon them, they writhed, and shrieked, and clashed their rude arms, and roared upon a thousand trumpets. Day after day, amid scenes of solitary grandeur, the emigrant had to grope about in the woods with no other guides than the sun and stars, the courses of the hills and streams, hewing for himself a passage throiui;h i^i terminable windfalls of timber, winding around swaiups, 'afting over rivers — toward that distant point \There he was hoping to bo able to ascertain and secure his claim. In this present age of rapid and easy transi- tion from place to place, it is difficult to form a just con- ception of the length, the tediousness, the hardships of those earlier emigrations to the West. When men, alone, undertook to penetrate into the depths of the wilderness, they usually went forward on horseback, or on foot, as was best suited to their circum- stances or convenience. Quite frequently, however, a whole family was to be removed at once, together with the household goods, farming implements,'tools, and cattle. It must hiive required great resolution to break up the old attachments which bind men to the places of their birth. It must have required an heroic courage to do this for the purpose of seeking a new home, not only among strangers, but among wild beasts and savages. But the fathers and mothers, fifty years ago, seem to have possessed a spirit which rose above the perils of their times. They went forward, unhesitatingly, in their long and toilsome journeys westward, driving their slow-footed oxen and lumbering-wagons hundreds of miles over ground where no road was, through woods infested with bears, and wolves, and panthers, and warlike tribes of In- dians, settling in the midst of those dangerous enemies, and conquering them all. 22 THE GREAT WEST. After it had been decided upon to remove witk the family to the West, a mode of conveyance had to be pro- vided, suited to the feebleness of women and childreni and to the carrying of supplies for man and beast. A few were so fortunately situated on the banks of rivers that they could float down with the current in flat-boats, while their cattle were being driven along the shore; or if it was necessary to ascend toward the head-waters of a river, they could work their way up stream with set- ting-poles. But very many of the emigrants traveled wholly with teams. Some of those who went part of the way in brats had to begin or end their journeys on wagons. The vehicles which they provided on such oc- casions, for land-carriage. Were curiosities of wheelcraffc. The old-fashioned Jersey-wagon has long since given place to more showy and flexible vehicles. Before open buggies, or buggies with tops, had a being; before light farm-wagons or democrat market-wagons were ever thought of; before the miscreant was born that invented those airy nothings, consisting of thills and wheels, on which fools ride astraddle, with a horse's tail switching between their legs — the old-fashioned Jersey-wagon was an established institution. It once rolled deep in the sands between the Delaware ajid the Hudson. It once rumbled among the mountains of Pennsylvania. It once toted corn and tobacco on the eastern shore of Virginia. It once toiled heavily up and down the Mohawk. Where is it now? It used to descend with the family name, from father to son, without injury and without repair. But it has mysteriously disappeared. The old-fashioned Jersey-wagon, its broad fellies heavily tired, its solid-run- ning gearing, its liberal allowance of tongue, its high end- boards and curving side-boards, ribbed, and barred, and rivfitfifl. iDflflrinof in vorl T»flin+ vcraa nnf nrnffo« up f/w cili/\T(r THE PBEPARATION AND START. 88 '■^m'- It made no pretensions to beauty. It was altogether a substantial piece of work. What has become of the old- fashioned Jersey-wagon, with the four horses sweatmg along before it, the driver on the near wheel-horse, twitch- ing at a single rein ? The old-fashioned Jersey-wagon was the great original of the emigrant wagon of the Wesi,. The spring of the year was the season usually selected for moving. Much preparation had to be made before entering upon a journey which would require months for its completion. During many weeks previous to the appointed time, the emigrant had been anxiously providing against the possible accidents and probable discomforts of the road. The wagon-box had been fitted up with flat, iron staples, about eighteen inches apart, along its sides, and in those had been placed, upright, ashen hoops, that stood some five feet above the bottom-boards, tiie forward hoops projecting considerably over the hounds, and the back ones over the end of the reach, which stuck out behind. Over this frame-work had been drawn a covering of canvas or cotton, puckered up a little around the edges in front, but drawn together, like a bag, behind, and tied with a string. Upon one side of the wagon-box had been fastened cleats, to secure the axes, spades, chis els, and augers ; and on the other side, a rack, for pots, kettles, and pans. Beneath the hinder axletree, from a staple driven into the firm wood, swung the tar-bucket Across the back end of the wagon-box, extending out ward, its ends even with the wheels, was suspended the feeding-trough for the team, strongly secured in its place by iron straps. An extra log-chain had been coiled around the reach, underneath the wagon. The crowbar was flung into the feeding-trough. • Having made sale of his surplus goods at an old-fasb ioned vendue, where his neighbors had bought manv arti- \ Ife u M THE GREAT WEST. clesaakeepsa\es; having had one more friendly gather- ng beneath his roof, to bid all good-by, the emigrant loaded his wagon, and was ready to start. Now, when the teams had been brought up, the Women and children took their places on the chests, and boxes, and bundles of bedding. The little baby-girl sat on its mother's lap sucking its thumb, wondering. The youngest boy crouched at his grandmother's feet; and he inquired of her, as soon as they were fairly out of the pate, if they were not most there now. Slowly trudged the oxen along with the huge, high, awkward, rattling load. The biggest boy walked alongside the team, the po.t of honor dnving. Now he would pat "Old Buck" affectionately on the neck, at which the patient brute would keep lolling out his tongue, and flapping his ears; then he would look thoughtfully mmway between the wheels; or speak u!^ Tl.7T''u^" r'^ ^''''^ «""^^ tl rough her tears The other boys drove the cows, and "Bose" jog- ged along under the feeding-trough, his nose just clear of the tar-bucket. I do not intend to follow the emigrants tliroughout their long jonrncyings toward the West. Oaptivatins as a tramp ,nto the woods may seem to he to those who «re Imng withm the glare of hick walls, it is. in reality, a laborious wearisome undertaking. Sweating through the brush, chmbing over logs, slumping into marches, turn blmg over roots, m fair weather, is downright hard work to say notMng of those nuisanees, the mosquitoes „d gnats. There .s poetry, it is true, in standing under rees dunng a shower, listening to the pattering drop, and «^„g the leaves lift themselves „p to dfink the Tr^' 1^ i°- F ™' ""'" '"^"'^•'^ t° ^'^V *l>o skin d»y. And the mterest gives way to terror, when the trees. INCIDENTS BY THE WAT. 25 bending and swinging in the wind, knock off their branches overhead, or the lightning shivers down their huge trunks. 1 he daily experiences of those who penetrate into the woods of a country fit to become the future abiding- place of men are, indeed, quite uniform. And the inci- dents therefore, that befell the emigrants were character- ized by a tedious sameness, which, after a while, began to blunt the senses, and weigh down upon the spirits. The' most attractive scenery, if perpetually before the eyes, will lose Its power to please, by losing its power to fix the attention. This effect was hastened by the constant recur- rence of vexations, cares, and annoyances, which, although they did not strip from the road through the wilderness Its grand and beautiful objects, indisposed the mind to the perception and enjoyment of them. When man is placed under unfavorable circumstances, deprived of those beneficent influences Ihat flow from intelligence and re- finement, he will assume an insensibility which makes him blmd to the most beautiful creations, and his spiritual activity will become greatly irregular, flashing forth, on some sudden emergence, with terrific power, and then subsidmg as quickly into habitual, uniform stolidity. Life, m proportion as it deteriorates from civilization toward the conditions of the savage state, may sometimes, indeed, be intensely pleasurable in its excitements; but it will have lost the elasticity of its spring, and be incapa- ble of vibrating, except when some opposing force is hurled violently against it. The eniigrants, ere long, found that the wilderness had lost the charm of novelty. Sights and sounds that were at first pleasing, and had lessened the sense of discomfort poon ceased to attract attention. Their minds, solely occupied witk obstacles, inconveniences, and obstructions, at every step of the way, became sullen, or. at th« }..J 26 THE QKEAT WEST. indiflFerent. For the first few days in the woods, they had had a wild satisfaction in the wayside meal, beneath the high, o'erarching canopy of foliage. "Buck" and "Bright," at the feeding-trough, were up to their eyes in bran and shorts. The cows straightened out their jaws in a line with their throats, and chewed awkwardly upon the hard nubbins of corn. The flames were crackling. The pork sputtered in the frying-pan. The children, among the wild violets, were playing at fighting roosters. With the wreathing smoke went up the grateful incense of tea. How they cracked jokes over their victuals, seated around on the carpet of leaves, and laughed, and shouted, and poked ftm at each other. Al- together, it was a delightful picnic. But picnics, three times a day for a month or two, will become odious. In this manner the earlier emigrants went forward. Driving before them their heavy teams and cattle by day, they slept around the camp-fire at night. There was little variety in the work that had to be done during the journey. Old, moss-covered logs, rotting on the ground, bad to be cut away. Rude bridges had to be built over the creeks. Sometimes the wagons would sink to the hub in a slough-hole, and would have to be pried out; and then, the "haw"-ing, and "gce"-ing, and shouting, and the curses, rough enough to take the bark off the trees, would give full play to the lungs and throat. But when they had come to a deep river, they could resort only to the raft. The casualties of life clustered thickly around the emigrants upon the road. They were exposed to great personal risks. An unlucky step might wrench an ankle. The ax might glance from a twig, and split a foot open, A broken leg, or a severed artery, is a frightful thing, where no surgeon can be had. Exposure THE BURIED TBEASUBE. B, they had 1, beneath, luck" and eir eyes in their jaws irdly upon crackling, children, g roosters. ) grateful aver their aves, and ther. ^l- Qics, three iious. ; forward, le by day, ["here was luring the le ground, built over nk to the )ried out; shouting, rk off the oat. But iild resort 7 around exposed it wrench and split «ry, is a Exposure 27 to all the changes of the weather— sleeping upon th« damp ground, frequently brought on fevers; and sickness is a great calamity, always, to the traveler. It must have been appalling in the woods. Many a mother has carried her wailing, languishing child in her arms, to lessen the jolting of the wagon, without being able to render it the necessary assistance. Many a family has paused on the way to gather a leafy couch for a dying brother or sister. Many a parent has laid in the grave, in the lonely wilderness, the child he shall meet no more till the morning of the resurrection; and then has gone on sorrowing. Many a heart, at the West, has yearned at the thought of the buried, treasured beneath the spreading tree. After-comers have stopped over the little mound, and pondered upon the rude memorial narved in the bark above it; and those who had sustained a similar loss, have wrung their hands and wept over it, for their own wounds were opened afresh. But in spite of every obstacle, in the face of every con- sideration of personal ease and convenience, in defiance of every peril, known and unknown, the earlier emigrants pressed forward- the pioneers of civilization in the West. This view of their hardships, and difficulties, and suflFer-* ings, tends to show what a noble race of men they were. A heroism was displayed by them, as grand, as exalted, as that of an army marching and conquering through a hos- tile land. Among the benefactors of mankind, a place should be given to those who, led the way in reducing a howling wilderness into a flourishmg empire. 28 THE GREAT WEST. CHAPTER II. EARLY HISTORY OF THE WEST. Territory included in the Great West — Water-shed, or divide — The rivers and their tributaries — The fur-hunter's canoe-passage to the Gulf of Mexico — River system — Progress of the French mission- aries, as early as 1632 — Nicolet — His influence over the Indians — The journey of his life — His reception at Green Bay — Council with the chiefs — Iroquois war — Its effects on the missions — The great river west of the lakes — Claude Allouez, the first explorer of Lake Michigan — Frozen in on Lake Michigan — Sailing on the ice in a canoe — Pitch Rock — Visit to the villages of the Illinois — M. Joliet and James Marquette, explorers of the Mississippi — Their birth, education, and character — Marquette among the missions — Visited by the Illinois Indians — Contemplates exploring the Missis- sippi alone — Is stationed at Michilimackinac — Arrival of Joliet with orders to explore the Mississippi — Prayers and thanksgiving for the favors conferred on them — Preparation and outfit — The Canadian canoe. The region of country denominated the West has been constantly decreasing in extent of surface on the eastern side, although the land still lies just where it was fashioned by the hand of God. It once spread out from ocean to ocean. But it first began to recede when an opening was made in the woods at Plymouth and at Jamestown. Since then, the growth of population has steadily driven the wilderness before it, over the moun- tains, and beyond the great lakes. And the progress of civilization will continue to sweep away westward, nar- rowing the limits of wild beasts and Indians, until the sound of the woodman's ax shall mingle with the roar of the waves along the coast of the Pacific. But that time has not yet come. The West may still be found, without AS THE mVEIlE AND THEIR TRIBUTARIES. 29 following the apocryphal directions of an old hunter, who said, that it was situated " about half a mile this side of sundown." The eastern slope of the Rocky Mountains descends, gradually, through a distance of five hundred miles, to the Mississippi River. That elevated table-land, channeled by rivers, dotted and belted with forests, its openings undulating as the sea, with the exceptions of Iowa, Missouri, Arkansas, and the settlements of Mine- sota, Nebraska, and Kansas, is the hunting-ground of savage tribes. And all around the southern shore of Lake Superior, and in the lower peninsula of Michigan north of the Grand River, in the north-western portions of Wisconsin, and the western part of Iowa, is the great wilderness of woods, still standing in the solitary mag- nificence of Nature. The West properly includes, also, the states of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. There is not another region on the face of the earth, comparing with this in size, that is so abundantly sup- plied with running water. It is laced all over with a vast net-work of rivers. The streams, flowing toward all the points of the compass, converge, at last, and pour their accumulated floods far out into the gulfs of Mexico and St. Lawrence. Between the Alleghanies and the Rocky Mountains is an extensive water-shed, or divide, more than two thousand miles in length, which gives rise to three distinct river systems, of incalculable advantage to the West. Commencing in the county of Cattaraugus, in the state of New York, the general direction of this water-shed is south-west, through a part of Pennsylvania, and west, through Ohio and Indiana; thence passing up, in a north-westerly direction, through Illinois, within sixty miles of Chicago, through Wisconsin, and the north-eastern part of Minesota, it turns away westward. It consists of a ridge of land so slightly elevated that 30 THE GREAT WEST. it can scarcely bo perceived to be either ascending or de- scending. It separates the western waters, which flow into the Red River of the north, and into the St. Law- rence, and into the Mississippi. Through these great natural channels of water communication, the West may- draw to itself the manufactures of the East, and the trop- ical productions of the South, and the furs of the North. Through them, also, it may send its inexhaustible sup- plies of grain, and beef, and pork, to all the world. And when a connection shall have been established between the Missouri and the Colum!)ia rivers, it may hold com- mercial intercourse with the four quarters of the globe. Distinguished from all other water-sheds, which, like the Andes, the Pyrenees, and the Alps, are mountainous and uninhabitable, this is surpassingly fertile. Those seem to have been formed with a design to divide and separate nations; this, to bind a whole continent into one. Far away, in the interior of North America, between the forty-sixth and the forty-seventh parallels of latitude, where they are intersected by the sixteenth degree of longitude, west from Washington, is a sandy plain, six miles wide, which alone separates the head-waters of the St. Lawrence from the waters of the Mississippi. And in the central portions of Minesota there are two streams of water, flowing within three miles of each other, through an open prairie, — the one, a branch of the St. Peter's run- ning southward to the Gulf of Mexico ; the other, a branch of the Red River of the north, emptying into Hudson's Bay. The St. Lawrence, including also the great lakes— which are but vast expansions of its stream — is the most remark- able river of which we have any knowledge. Rising in the center of the great American plain, it runs east and north-east, through a fertile and beautiful country, for 1 LAKES AND RIVEBS. 31 ling or de- rhich flow St. Law- lese great West may I the trop- the North, itible sup- rid. And I between hold com- the globe. t, like the inoiis and 36 seem to [ separate J. between ' latitude, iegree of plain, six srs of the pi. And streams ', through ter's run- a branch Hudson's 3— which t remark- Etising in east and intry, for more than three thousand miles, to the Atlantic Ocean. Other rivers there are, which expand in picturesque ba- sins, and which have been celebrated in story and in song. The Hudson has its lake at Saratoga, and its Tappan Zee; the Rhone has its Lake Geneva; the Oswego has its broader lakelets, Oneida, Owasco, Skaneateles, Cayuga, and Seneca. But the St. Lawrence spreads out into five principal aeas, whose waves, roused up by tempests, dash and roar like the billows of the ocean; whose harbors, also, thronged with shipping, present their forests of masts in rivalry with seaport towns. It is worthy of notice, that the largest of those lakes, Huron, Superior, and Michigan, are placed furthest inland, as if to invite a display of commercial enterprise, on a grand scale, hi the heart of the continent. The Mississippi is not so long, following its main chan- nel, as the St. Lawrence; but it takes hold on a much wider reach of country, by reason of its larger tributaries. Upon the eastern side, the Tennessee, rising in the moun- tains of North Carolina and Virginia, bends round through the f.tates of Alabama, Tennessee, and Kentucky, and sciids its branches down into Georgia and Mississippi. The Ohio comes flowing from Carolina and Virginia, the confines of Maryland and New York, through 'vlvania, and forms the boundary of five great states. ii.e north-east come the Wabash, Kaskaskia, II- liiioia. Rock, and Wisconsin rivers. And on the western side, the Red River of Louisiana, and the Arkansas, pour through northern Texas the waters accumulating among the mountains of New Mexico and Utah. While the Missouri, and its branches, the Kansas, the Platte, and the Yellow Stone, are swelling with the floods of the Rocky Mountains. The imagination can not grasp the extent of the inland 32 THE GREAT WEST. water communication of the West with all the other por- tions of North America. The very fur-hunter himself, on the frozen shores of the Arctic Ocean, by paddling his canoe along Hudson's Bay, and up the Red River of the north, and by drifting down with the current of the Mis- sissippi, may float, at last, in the Gulf of ]\f xico, having traversed the entire length of the continent fro ^i sea to sea, by water alone, with the single exception of a port- age of only three miles. The warm, sunny South, and the cold, icy North, meet together in the West. The land of perpetual summer, where the orange-tree blooms in the fragrant air, where the cotton-plant flowers, and the sugar-cane yields its sweetness, is bound fast, by a continuous chain of rivers, with the dreary regions of everlasting snows. But the water communications across the continent are no less wonderful. These, also, open through the West. A traveler embarking at Pittsburg, on board a steamboat, may pass down the river Ohio, and up the Missouri, so far, that the asthmatic coughing of the escape-pipe will frighten the buffaloes feeding at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. And the most astonishing feature of this latter voyage of three thousand miles ^ .would be, that, throughout its whole length, in its begin- ning, and in its continuance, and in its ending, it is every- where hundreds of miles inland from the ocean. The fertility and beauty of the western country, sup- plied with those magnificent river systems, make it, in- deed, the garden of the world. But whoever has stood at Niagara, and contemplated the mighty volume of the waters of the St. Lawrence, forever pouring into the abyss; or on the levee, at New Orleans, and watched the turbulent flood of the Mississippi, seething and rolling along at his feet, may well have wondered whence comes the supply of these exhaustless rivers. The problem •(7 SPANISH AND FEENCII TREATMENT. 83 would seem to have been solved. The trade-winds sweeping across the broad surface of the Pacific Ocean reach the American shore, heavily laden with moisture' condensing into clouds in the cooler air. they hang for a' While on the pinnacles oi the mountains; then, sailing away to the eastward, they discharge their contents over the West. We are in the habit of thinking and speaking of the region beyond the lakes, and upon the upper tributaries of the Mississippi, as a new country. It is new in the sense that it has only lately been opened and occupied by permanent settlements. Notwithstanding that, it has a history which extends through a period of two hundred years. In 1G32, Canada, which had previously fallen into the hands of the English, was restored to the possession again of the French. The colonies of France seem to have rivaled those of Spain, in the energy with which i hey prosecuted their discoveries in the New World But they adopted a widely different system of exploration. Ihe Spaniards sent forth armed bands of marauders, with the pomp and splendor of war, through an unknown territory, to reduce all before them into submission. Thev precipitated themselves with crushing force upon the illy- prepared and unsuspecting people. In this manner, under the lead of Cortez, the Spaniards achieved the conquest of Mexico; and under the lead of Pizarro, the conquest of Peru. But their violence aroused the vindictive hatred of the native population, and that has been kept alive against them to the present day. The French, on the contrary, sent forward, in advance, the olive-branch, in- stead of the sword. With a wiser policy, they humanely sought to win over the people among whom they had oome to dwell, and to attach them to the crown of France. With great fleribility of character, they readily adapted * Mf- 84 THE GTIKAT WEST. themsolves to tho lRnp:iift<,'Ofl, miinncrs. and onstoms of the Indian trihi's, troutin^ Ihclr chiefs with the consider- ation duo to their runk, und awulicninK |)crs(iiiul attach- ments. They also interniarried with the tawny nuiidens, and strengthened the ties of friendship with thoso stronger ties of kindred and family. Oreat (-onsequences followed from this prudent course. Ins ead of being hemmed in, like most other colonists, by a barrier of exasperated savages, the French were invited into the interior of the continent. It was the missionaries of France, not her soldiers, that first penetrated into the depths of the wilderness. And now, since the province was restored, the work of exploring tho country and Christainizing the Indians, which had been abandoned upon the conquest by the Eng- lish, was prosecuted with uncommon vigor. The indefat- igable Jesuits struck boldly into the woods in all direc- tions. From V\e St. Lawrence, ihey crossed over to the coast of Maine, where they had established a settlement. The North was not so terrible but that they could lead the way, overland, from Quebec to Hudson's Bay, and commence the exploration of its waters. Curious to know more of their own great river, they had followed up the St. Lawrence into Lake Ontario; and had there struck off to the south, into New York. They were the first to discover the celebrated salt-springs of Onondaga. But the country to the westward had more powerful at- tractions for them. Their eyes had seen the astonishing vision of an ocean of fresh water, high above the level of the sea, far ir.land, spreading out from its wooded shores beyond the horizon. From an unknown region, the waves came rolling toward them, and broke in thun- der along the beach. Indian rumors had told them of greater waters, also, still beyond. A world of wonders EARLY MISSIONS. was about opening before them in the wilderness. The love of the marvelous was conibining with national pride and religious enthusiasm in urging them onward toward the West. As early as 1640, the missionaries had followed up the chain of the lakes as far as Lake Superior. Within twenty years after the Pilgrims of New England had landed at riymouth, and at the very ti)ne when the Dutch at New York were regarding the Hudson River as a terror, the French missionaries were at home in the center of North America. It may be painful to contrast their activity with the sluggishness of the Dutch, and with the indiffer- ence of the English colonists. While the Dutch were yet swapping tobacco-pipes and trinkets for peltry, with the Indians around their forts, and several years before Elliot, the Puritan missionary, had spoken to the Indians in the vicinity of Boston harbor, the Jesuits had planted the Cross at Sault Ste. Marie, and were preparing to descend into the valley of the Mississippi. But no great river from the far interior came flowing through New York or New England, inviting the adventurous to enter upon a career of exploration. Canada, in this respect, had a superiority over the other colonies of the Atlantic. Yet Canada was not a flourishing colony. Its climate was not favorable. Its soil was not the most productive. Its government was military, and despotic. The simple, credulous colonists were deficient in energy, and had rather dream away exist- ence, after the fashion of the Indians in their wigwams, than endure additional hardships in extending the bound- aries of knowledge, that had conferred so few of its favors on them. But the missionaries, indeed, were noble exceptions, possessing rare attainments for that age, and an enthusiasm which sustained them under the severest 36 THE GREAT WEST. trials. Fortunately for them, the colony had an able officer in the person of its interpreter and commissary, who encouraged the thorough exploration of the country, and bravely led the way himself. The gallant Nicolet had come out to Canada, in 1618. His great abilities had placed him, at once, in active service. From the time of his arrival to the conquest by the English, he had been kept employed among the In- dians ; and he had become a great favorite with them. He spoke their languages. He understood the Indian character better than any other man of his tim^s. In- deed, so constantly had ho been with the Indians, that he had almost become an Indian himself; but without los- ing that stubborn integrity which makes good faith pos- sible among men in the savage state. Nicolet was the negotiator for the colony at all the Indian councils. His character for probity had sent its influence far out into the wilderness. When he spoke, chiefs listened and be- lieved; and they called him the Straight Tongue of the French. He had been dispatched on the hazardous un- dertaking of treating for peace with the Iroquois, after their terrible war upon Canada, and he had succeeded n inducing them to bury the hatchet. As a reward for hia services, upon the restoration of the colony, he had been appointed interpreter and commissary. Seven years afterward, he undertook the great journey of his life. In ihe spring of 1639, as soon as the accumulated ice of a long winter had been broken up, and the St. Law- rence set free, Nicolet took his departure from Quebec, for the purpose of completing the explorations of the lake region. He had previously been as far as Lake Huron ; and along its shores, and the shores of Ontario, the Cross was already planted. But the journey which he was now entering upon ffust have possessed peculiar attrac- TREATY OF EVERLASTING AMITY. 87 tions to him. For, two seasons before that, when treat- ing with the Indians that had come down from the regions around Lake Superior, he had learned that the Great Waters existed, also, to the southward, and to the west- ward of their country. But the Men of the Sea, as the Indians of the Mississippi Valley were called, had been represented to be powerful, and engaged in frequent wars with the Indians of Lake Superior. After having assisted in establishing a mission at Sault Ste. Marie, and taken a survey of that interesting river, Nicolet passed through the Straits of Michilimackinac. Following along the shore, he entered an opening to the west, and reached the head of Green Bay. The season was advancing. But a council had to be called. So runners were dispatched to the hunting-grounds, giving notice of the arrival of strange white men. After awhile, the Men of the Sea gathered, at Green Bay, four or five thousand warriors. It was a sublime spectacle "f savage life, even to Nicolet, who had spent twenty years in the wilderness. Never before had he seen such gigantic trees as there darkened the woods at noonday. Never, since the great council with the Iroquois, had he been among so powerful and warlike a people. At Green Bay, Nicolet's capacity as a negotiator shone forth most con- spicuously. He not only accomplished a treaty of ever- lasting amity between the Men of the Sea and the French, but he made peace, also, between them and the tribes of Lake Superior. During that council, the chiefs, in speaking of the Great Water, had stretched forth their arras toward the West. It would seem, however, that Nicolet did not understand them to mean a river. Ho was not sufficiently well acquainted with the language of the Men of the Sea, and he thought they applied the term Great Water to the 38 THE OEEA T WEST. ocean, for the lakes, surely, were great watera; and each of thosa had a distinctive name. He was confident that the western ocean was not far distant; and he left that impression upon his return to Quebec. The season was drawmg o its close. But Nicolct was too adventurous not to make an attempt U, reach the Great Water, before retracmg his steps. Accordingly, paddling up the Fox tkJw "''"''"«' "^ P'"''»«'' '"' '""'■'*«« his «™oe on cumnt that helps to swell the mighty volume of the M ssiss pp, He, however, did not reach the main chan- nel of that nver, though he was the first to explore one of Its head streams. For some reason which has never transpired, he was obliged to go back to Green Bay, and from thence to Quebec. Nicolet had, indeed, been within thee days-sail of the mysterious Great Water; but it was not h,sdestmy ever to lift the veil which hung over it. The exigency of affairs detained him, during the two sue ceeding years, iu the vicinity of Quebec. Ind in 1040, havng been sent on an errand of mercy, to rescue a poo Christian prisoner from the hands of the Pagan Indians his boat, on the last day of October, at sunset, was cTp: Thelir.S'''T '"'"^'■'""' ^'™'^' was drown d. Ihe httle that is known concerning him deserves to he vaUey of the Mississippi by the way of the great lake« The road to the Mississippi could now seem to have been ft.rly opened. Fifteen missions dotted the shorls of t lie akes, and brought the distant St. Mary's into com- tnunication with Quebec. But a greater calan^ty Zn No" I h it"' '" """^"^'"^ »™ ""^ feebre lolony No sooner had the waves closed over the late interprets and ^mmissary than the Iroquois war broke out'wth ten-fold fuo', and raged for more than fifteen years. All t^-'-^ -J. MASSACRE OP THE FRENCH. 39 the province was drenched in blood. The Indian allies of the 1 rench were driven with fearful slaughter beyond lirl^^''' ^''T^' itself was besieged. And in IGuO, ail Upper Canada was a desert. Not a single mis- sion-not an Indian village remained. The pastor and his flock had been butchered together. Six of the fifteen the most frightful ortures. Breasani was beaten, man. naked through briars and thickets; scourged by a whole viJ age; burned, tortured, and scarred; he was an eye- witness of the fate of one of his companions, who was boiled and eaten. And. although the knowledge of the interior country survived until the return of peace, yet the work of establishing missions and military posts had all be gone over again. But danger continued a great while lingering along the shores of the St. Lawrence In I606, Garreau set out for Lake Superior, in search of his scattered flock; but he was waylaid and tomahawked before reaching Lake Ontario. GroseiUas. with a single companion, more fortunate in their undertaking, escaped the lurking enemy, and wintered two years later at St Mary s. There they met with the returning bands of the tugitive Indians, who. more than ten years before, had been swept away from their hunting-grounds and the graves of their fathers, by the tempests of war. And from them they obtained a clear idea of the Great River, ^hich flows toward the south. A vivid impression may be had of the terrible sway of the Iroquois over the continent, by contemplating this feeble i^mnant of their enemies, creeping back, broken and dispirited, from the plains beyond the Mississippj. The evidences of the existence of a great river to the west of the lakes bad begun to multiply rapidlv. Th« 40 THE GREAT WEST. into an'otherX nd fed 1 ^ ^''""'' ''"'' ''''' «'"«'' ard, for many yea .a if ^ """ "-'"■ ^"^ "> "GO, Men- an old man S "Xerr "T^ *'"' ^"™'"' ""^ soul of a hero sk ted 1 rT' ""'""'''''•'""'"'' the a nnV.0, on^t'^tS^tL^ Tt'ot ^"""'* quently of the Grpnf P,v T. ' ^^^' ^^ard fre- B«t he was called aty in aCherlr " '*'' "'■»• after perished, at a Ion* pTa^ " t "' """^ ^"'"' the banks of the Menominee wilderness, on i.is^lrte7i^zf:n rT '".fr ^^"- -•* explorer of Lake MichtnT^' '''' '^"''""^' tie first name with the pfolr.;f ,r''*''''^ *™ left Quebec on thTCrte Ltl irofJ"' '^"'- ^e reached St. Mary's!, *!,„«! . ^ ^^^^ "««' and -y delay, he ^Z^.^'l^^^::"';^^^!- S^"''™' and suryeyed the whole southern shor H„l "'""'' to h,m must haye been the yiew uoon ^"^ '^""'"^ sea, whose waters contrast so Z rXJi" J"'* '"''""' scenery on the land- for th. l' "'^"'y ™th the fantastic Of the yolcanic nrt^. which ^^d Z ^ ''•" """'' thousand capricious forms, and poneVtT """ "" over them, as if i„ sport. He spS t- T ."" ""PP" and dedicating his chapel. VCtht !'"•'" "'"''"^ to the north, he yisited'in tbel,^ stte 'tr™' *! ""''' once poweriul tribe of Indians IT^lVu °'°''"' '"' » way to the frozen ocean by 1 fi ^ '^™» i""""- .nois. Aliouez passed thCernr/aJr''' '^^ and early in Aoril of ti,„ 7 ^ "t Green Bay, Eiver to lake wi:2t h? ^f^''"'""^^ *" ^« flie lake, foUowtarun iK 1^ '""'^ *"* "^™' beyond owmg up Its three principal streams. Then DISCOVESr OP PITCH EOCK. « crossing over to the Wiaconiii, o„j head m the lakes and marTs T' ""^'"^ ""* "' down with the waters wtTrel^rtlr'"". ""'''''' Nioolet had done thirty yj. Z^^^fZ'Z'A^ the missionarifsV:' -n Tfi, "^ "'''""' "' "" St. Mary's, in 1671, of'thf Frl ." ^""" """"""• "' the Indians, to assist L il ? """nmnder with missionaries tumTther "f/^'""- ^'t^' that, the southern tribes """""' '"^^--^ the more Near the close of Octohep ifi'vc i. • preparations fo, fom.^^ZiXltZw'"'"''''*^ "'^ Allonez, and two others embark!," ""^ "'"""^ """"try, waters of Lake MiehkrW T^^ * "'"""' "l^"" *« lier than comln anf tl ^ -"""^^ ''' '" "'™'' ^'>'- further progrTs "i tbe l^T T"^ '"" P'^™"*"* their orthe bL^s - '-:•„ f:v::^;:t™tter tir:?\„t,;rhi:trr"-^^^^^ camp was established,Che^%L *! ftir "'" """''' " howling tempests, AI louez waiteTfm T '"""'' "'"' February, for the i™ f„ i! '" '" *''« "'<»'th of port them Itelv J i. """"; '"^'""'^^ '"^ *» ^"P" again, he arZ'rnote.ll^ra Jtk ""'°^ ^"^^ The canoe was drawn upon t^e fee tb. ^ "".gation. away they glided before the wind Tb^ ?'"'*' """ day, was ve.y much edited braterslr""'^' ""' eight feet out of the water 7J T\ 1 ^ "'™" ""■ circumference, which Tey 'catd PitehT/'"T''r "■" they saw the pitch running down it in Lf. ^"''''"'• «Me which was warmed by thTsun It ^ r""''."" ""' good to piteh the canoe « J in ^^^ ^"""^ *» ^ letters, illoue'. ^tTan^i^'r^- T'' " '" -"' ■>« "' ""^^ •'"« nver which leads 42 THE GREAT WEST. to the Illinois. That must have been at Chicago The Indians received him handsomely. " The chief." he said "advanced about thirty steps to meet me, holding in one hand a firebrand, and in the other a feathered calumet As he drew near, he raised it to my mouth, and himself llT TnA 4- y^ V\ n ..-1 A n i_^l. * .1. 1 1 • ■« soke," .corn- lit the tobacco, which obliged me to preter The Reverend Father, it would seem, was plished in the use of the weed. A few days afterward, in company with these Indians. Allouez proceeded inland to the principal village of the Illmois, which was found to be situated on the rising ground, a little way back from the river, and upon the edge of a prairie of vast extent. It was composed of several hundred cabins, made of double mats of flat rushes sewed together, scattered along in a single street, and all of them fronting toward a marsh which skirted the river. The Illinois Indians are described as having been tall of stature, strong, and robust; in character, proud and valiant. The richness and fertility of the country gave them fields everywhere. They ordinarily carried the war-club, bow, and a quiver full of arrows, which they could discharge so adroitly and quickly that men armed with guns had hardly time to raise them to the shoulder. They had bucklers, also, made of the skms of wild cattle, which were arrow-proof, and cov- ered the whole body. The warriors had as many wives as they might choose to have, often selecting several sis- ters, that they might better agree together. The men had no great reputation for gallantry; they made jealous husbands, and would cut ofi^ their wives' noses on the slightest suspicion. The women are represented to have dressed modestly, and behaved well; while their lords, in the summer-time, strutted about in all the dignity' of painted faces, and well-greased skms, without a particle MISSISSIPPI BIVER. 43 of covering, except a few feathers stuck on the ton of the head. ^ The time for Allouez' departure having arrived ho went back to the North, intending to return the next sea- son to the Illinois. But others were sent there in his stead. And in 1680, that tribe was scattered, and the mission broken up, by an inroad of the Iroquois and Miamis, from the eastern shore of Lake Michigan Ib the meanwhile, the information which the missionaries possessed of the country to the westward of them had been enlarging. The traders, who had shared with them all the dangers of the wilderness, had felt an interested curiosity as to the courses and directions of the streams that might open to them new avenues for trafficking The Great River had become known to them by its name-the Mississippi. They had learned from the Indians its gen- eral features, and the nature of the country through which it was flowing. It jieemed to them to encircle all the lakes, rising in the north, and running to the south, till it emptied into a sea, which they supposed to be the Gulf of California, or the Gulf of Mexico; and some even imagined that it wound around to the east as far as Chesapeake Bay. Rumor always runs far in advance of our knowledge of a new country, and keeps the mmd per- plexed between curiosity and doubt. But the time had at length, arrived, when all those uncertainties respecting the river were about to be dispelled. The men to whom belongs the honor of subjecting the Mississippi to the dommion of the white man, were already preparing for their memorable voyage. Of M. Joliet but little is now known, beyond the cir- cumstances which cluster more immediately around his celebrated adventure down the Mississippi. He was a native of Canada. But the remembrance of the particular u THE OEEAT WEST. place of his birth has quite faded away from amore men. Joiiet „„.,d his education to the Jesuit "110"""? Q ebee where he is said to have been a elassmate of the first Canadian that was advanced to the priesthood After quitting the oollege, he had proceeded to 1 „ West' penod of his life, he is known to have acquired the know edge and experience which induced the g'vernn, n to select him as the explorer of the Jlississ^pi. TMs for JolW^T/""".""' *" *'"'^'°«*«™ missionaries for Joliet had always been on terms of close intimacy with them. His equally illustrious companion of the voy^ ago James Marquette, has given us a sketch of M Jo- Iiet s character, which shows him to have been eminently fitted for the arduous and perilous undertaking. Mar- quette says: "The Sieur Joliet was a young man, bom eon d be r •'':■ ""^ '"""'''^ ""^ ^'"y ^"=""y that eould be desired m such an enterprise. He possessed experience, and a knowledge of the languages of ho Ottawa country, where he had spent several years He had the tact and prudence so necessary for the success of a voyage equally dangerous and diffleult. And laX Im had he courage to fear nothing, where all is to be feai^d " quette as ,t ,s advantageous to the character of M. Joliet city of Laon ,n the mountainous department of Aisne m 1 ranee. He accordingly was thirty-six years oldwhen' family of the Marquettes is the most ancient family of Laen; and ,t has always been characterized by a martial spirit, whieh drove its members into the armies o?" xn pursuit after distinction. And the United sTa"es' also, are under obligations to cherish the memory of tha^ THE DESERTED MISSIONS. 45 distinguished family, for three of its sons accompanied the French army to our own shores, and perished on the hat- tle-fields of the American llevohition. James Marquette was as ardent and enthusiastic in following the Cross as tJie others of the name have been in following the sword At his own request, he was removed from the province of Chanipaigne, which contained no foreign mission, and was transferred to the province of France, which contained the missions in the far West. Having, at the earliest opporaimty sailed for that new field of labor, he had amvcd at Quebec on the 20th day of September, 1666. 1 hat was a period of deep interest in the history of the colony, and in the progress of discovery in the interior of the continent. The long war of extermination waged by the Iroquois upon the French and their Indian allies had been brought to a conclusion; and, with the return of peace the prospects of the missionaries had begun t6 brighten The region of the western missions, so long aid waste and neglected, had been reopened, and was hen bemg enlarged. All New York, from Onondaga to t^ Jsiagara lliver. had been explored. The deserted n.sH)ns had been revived along Lake Huron, and at GreeliBa' ''"^''^^^''''' ^''^' ^"P"™'' ^^^ ^^ mouth of the Saguenay— a most strange river that pours neai y a fathomless tide into the shallower St. I awr'^ Ihat was not more important as a mission than as a place of traffic with the Indians; who, since the war was over, yearly flocked to it from Nova Scotia, from Hud onsBay,andfrom Lake Superior. During the sea"on tor iradmg, religious instruction alternated with sharn bargams. The twists which conscience received in the daytime could hardly be taken out by a fow hours' devo! 46 THE GREAT WEST. tion in the evening. The missionaries, however, managed their affairs with great prudence, mollifying the irritated feelings of the Indians, and rebuking the rapacity of the traders. Much of human nature in its wildest aspects was to have been learned there, as well as the Indian languages, and a general knowledge of the surrounding country. At the conclusion of that period, Marquette had been ordered to Lake Superior. In going there, he followed up the usual route of the western missionaries, ascend- ing the Ottawa River, thence down the French River to Lake Huron, and across that lake to St. Mary's. It was both a toilsome and a dangerous journey. At St. Mary's, Marquette built his cabin on the American side, just at the foot of the rapids, where he continued instructing the Indians that were returning from their long flight from the Iroquois, until after Allouez' departure for Green Bay, and the Fox and Wisconsin Rivers. Marquette had been dispatched, next after that, to La- pointe, the most distant mission on Lake Superior, and also the most dangerous. There he added considerably ro the information which he had already obtained respect- ing the Mississippi. The occasion of a visit from some Illinois Indians, who had come a thirty-days' journey from the south, by land, and some part of the way along that river, aflforded him an excellent opportunity for pros- ecuting his inquiries. Thoy told him that that river ran so far to the south that they did not know where it might terminate. They described a portion of the Missouri also, and named over various tribes on both those rivers, even so far down as those that raised two crops of corn in a single summer. All these things Marquette had care- fully written down, and he had begun digesting a plan for exploring the whole course of the Mississippi, and MISSION OF LAPOINTE. 47 would have set out alone. But the mission at Lapointe was a disastrous one, and had to be abandoned, soon after that, in consequence of a threatened inroad of the Uacotahs, a fierce race, with long, black, streaming hair, and who wore stone knives in their belts. The poor Christian Indians, who had been driven, years before, across the Mississippi by the Iroquois, were now driven back again across Lake Superior by the Dacotahs. Making their escape in a fleet of canoes, they reached the foot of the lake, and from thence went down to Michili- mackinac, and established themselves on the northern shore of those straits. A mission had been attempted the previous year on the neighboring island of that name, but it had become deserted. The spot which Marquette had there selected as a new home for his flock was, indeed, bleak and ster- lie, surrounded by tempestuous lakes; but the waters were teeming with fish, and would aflford them an easy communication with all the other missions. A rude chapel of logs was speedily erected, its roof covered over with bark. The Indians built, near by, a palisade fort, as an additional security against the danger of being again dislodged by their enemies. There they have remained to this day. The mission of St. Ignatius, at Michilimackinac, was founded in the summer of 1672. And it was while engaged in laying the foundation of that mission that Marquette received the joyful intelli- gence that the government was preparing an expedition to the Mississippi, and that he had been appointed to accompany it. Joliet, however, did not arrive there, on his way from Quebec, until late in the fall, when the navigation of the lakes was about closing; but he brought with him the commissions, and the instructions to proceed, as soon as 48 THE ORRAT WEST. It should become praellcablo, to the JIi.H«ls«in„| „„/, 2 ore i.. water. He was received at ,li,,. n „ „f he great favor conferred on tl.en, „f bei„K sen^ ,« . „,„ • the way Into a new rerfon, repnted to bo . Ucd W h marvels and wonders. The succeeding winter wass™ It toi mno,eal,2ethc,rnan,es,and by Its results affect ilm d »t.ny of nations. Ail that before ll.en bad b . „ ! known concerning; tbo Mississippi, and the co ntrv rd nations along i,s banks, was iircfully reviewed ''J h! compaied with the reports of Ibe Christian Indians nn„v of Whom ad crcssed over the plains as far T^'^l eal in . "'" '""'''"™ '""' S""'"-^" '■■>'<• Marq„ettc'.s heard in that distant country. The figurative }m.,mjl the Indiana had to be stripped of its'exube ant S phors, and reduced into harmony with well-known hu respecting other rivers and other 'countri . 1 ."d „ in ha gloomy abode in the center of the North A e ican V. derness ,n midwinter, Marquette and Joiiet drew Z„ «.e ground, for want of a table, the first rude map of fto ' M™,pp, EHer and the water-courses that n.g/, ^ rsoi^I^srtre^;- --•:-- When at length the dissolving snows indicated th. »ear approach of the season for lake and! v r „av g 'til^ very dLerentl/'L Z^^: Xrre— THE OANADUN CANOE. 4, on the Hudson and the Delaware m^ ™i,i 1. occionally be ,een on our wert^'a„d Z^,"^ ""^ "»' The latter I, n,„re p^per.y eined " 'du g- „ ^ ''l'''''"'- byw .ch it I, known throughout the Tuft'^'-r: Canadian canoe consists of a frame wnrk Tf 1 T' * splints, running lengthwise frnr!T f ''™'*" ''"" "Pon ribs of spruce, anleucrdlr. '"'IT' '""'""'*•'' bark, which is securely fasZd is, • T"^ " '''«* .n.e.red along the seams ^itpitcr if ""' ""''• "" cient strength, and, at the same^tae Is so TrV"- tTzratr-xrradT^'™'^^-^^ 3 D •0 THE GREAT WEST. CHAPTER III. t EXPLORATION OF THE MISSISSIPPI. Doparture from Michilimackinac — Wild oats — The tide at Green Bay — Ascending the Fox River — Indian village on the shore of Lake Winnebago — WiBConsin River — Its peculiarities — Joy at reaching the Mississippi — Strange fish — The abundance of game — Foot-piinta on the shore — Discover an Indian villitge — Council — Feast of corn meal, fish, and boiled dog — Presented with a calumet — A strange plant — Monsters painted on a rock — ■ Frightful appearance of the water at the junction of the Mis- jouri — Clay paint — Indian method of dealing with musquitoes — "Snags" and "Sawyers" — Arkansas Indians — Return up the Mississippi and Illinois — Portage to Chicago — Arrival at Green Bay — James Marquette sets out on a return to Chicago, to instruct the Illinois Indiana — Is detained all winter at the portage by sick- ness — Reaches the Illinois country in April, and founds a mis- sion — His malady increasing, he sets out on his return to Michili- mackinac — Driven by westerly winds to the mouth of the St. Joseph's — Becomes too weuk to proceed — Expires on a bed of boughs, on the shore of Luke Michigan. On the seventeenth day of May, 1673, M. Joliet and James Marquette set out from Michilimackinac in two bark canoes, to explore the Mississippi River. They ■were accompanied from that place by five men. The whole stock of provisions for the voyage consisted of Indian corn and some dried meat. But they were firmly resolved to do all and suffer all for so glorious an enter- prise. Marquette says, in his narrative, "Our joy at being chosen for this expedition roused our courage, and sweetened the labor of rowing from morning till night." They made their paddles play merrily along the straits, and across Lake Michigan and Green Bay, to the mouth THE TIDE AT GREEN BAT. 61 of the Menominee River, then called the Wild Oats from the quantities of that grass growing in its vicinity,' whe.„ they remained several days with the Indians, who had taken their name, also, from the river. The wild oats, or wild rice, as it is now called, is the principal food of the north-western Indians, and might be raised in all parts of the country where there are rivers that annually overflow the rich bottom-lands. The experiment was tried in the state of Connecticut, a few years ago, and proved to be successful. The wild oats are a kind of grass which grows spontaneously, at the West, in little rivers with slimy bottoms, and in marshy places. They resemble the wild oats that grow up among our wheat. In the month of June, the stalks, which are jointed at intervals, begin to shoot up through the water, and continue growing till they float about two feet above it. The grains are not thicker than our oats, but are as long again, so that the meal is much more abundant. The wild oats ripen in September. The Indians boil the grains in water with meat or grease, and in this way they make a dish about as palatable as rice would be when not better seasoned. The voyagers then proceeded up to the head of Green Bay, where, Marquette says, "It is easy to remark the tide, which has its regular flow and ebb, almost like that of the sea." This tidal movement has been frequently observed at that place, and it may be accounted for by the pressure of the winds upon the distant parts of Lake Michigan, making the waters to rise and fall along the shores of Green Bay. From thence they ascended the Fox River to Lake Winnebago, and in doing so, their feet were very much cut by the sharp stones, while drag- ging their canoes up through the rapids of that river. They stopped some time at the Indian village, which was I '^#, 62 THE GREAT WEST. built on a hill, overlooking the lake and a beautiful and picturesque country. On every side, the prairies spread out as far as they could see, and were dotted with groves of lofty trees. On the tenth day of June, they again embarked, with two Miamis for guides to tne portage between the Fox and the Wisconsin rivers, and set out, in sight of a great crowd of I'.idians, who were wondering and amazed to see the Frenchmen daring to undertake so strange and so hazardous an expedition. The distance to the Wisconsin was already known from the explorations of Nicolet and Allouez. The course bore by compass west-south-west; but the river branched off through so many marshes and iittle lakes, and the channel was so concealed by the wild oats, that it was ea^y to have gone astray. But the guides led them safely to a portage, twenty-seven hun- dred paces across, helped them over with the canoes, and then returned to Lake Winnebago, leaving the voyagers alone in an unknown country, in the hands of Providence. Marquette and Joliet were soon afloat upon the waters of the Wisconsin River. They had got to the westward of the streams which flow into the St. Lawrence, and were passing quietly down with a current that was bear- mg them still further into the wiMerness. They found the Wi«. insm to be a broad river, its sandy bottom having formed mto shallows, which rendered navigation difficult It was filled with little islands, that were grown up to shrubbery and covered with vines; and the long branches bent over from the shores, and trailed in the water Along the banks were, sometimes, woodland and hills, but more generally prairies. They saw no fish in that river The timber consisted of oak, walnut, white- wood and another kind of tree whose branches were wmed with long thorns. Deer were plenty, and they THE ABUNDANCE OP OAME. ss would frequently spring out of the ialand covers, «nd dash and splurge through the water to the shore "d hen bound away, their white stub-tails teetering up .nd down m the a,r, as far as the eye could follow then. *i, V / f;™'*''"*!' day of June, just one montt, after they had left Miehilimackinac, the Toyagers pasTd out the n,o„th of the Wisconsin into t'he'lonSdl M,^i3s,pp, Great was their joy at beholding%he broa^ sweep of .ts waters. They immediatsly cast their nets wth M ^'"»:/'»;g^'"'. »^ » very extraordinary Ssh which Marquette describes as follows : "It resembles a smaller eyes and snout. Near the latter is a large bonej .ice a woman's busk, three iingers wide, and a cubit long the end .s circular, and as wide as the hand. In leaping lh.s was the^„/3,<,rf„ .patula,-,, very rare fish, and but seldom found in the Mississippi appeared to have undergone an entire change. There be met with, and moose, bustards and wingless swans • &r those la ter are said to shed their pluLs in S H, IT' T'^, '™ * ^*^' "^y enormous fish, with black, broad, ugly heads; and one of these struck against the canoe so v.olentIy that Marquette took it for a large tree about k, knock them to pieces. It was undoubtedhr a huge catfish on which they were so ne-Hy snagged The voyagers soon came into the region of wild turkeys and bufl-aloes. All othe- game had disappeared. The urkeys would sometimes fly in vast flocks across the Z'u 7?, * """ ''''=»"'« ^"'•y »ith the flight would tumble into the water. A number were obtained In that way. With the buffaloes the Frenchmen wsre H THE GREAT WEST. very much interested. They saw immense droves of them every day, trampling and bellowing along the banks. The voyagers had floated down with the current sev- eral hundred miles, without discovering anything more dangerous than beasts and birds. Yet, they kept well on th^ir guard,, making only a little fire on the shore at night, to cook their meal; and then, anchoring the canoes far out m the river, they took turns watching and sleeping on the water. At length, on the twenty-fifth day of June! they perceived some foot-prints of men by the water-side, and a beaten path entering a beautiful prairie. Following along that path four or five miles, they came to a large village of the Illinois Indians, and were there received by them m a very friendly manner. A council bad to be held as IS usual upon the arrival of strangers into a country occupied by a particular tribe of Indians. Speeches were then made and replied to, presents given, and presents received. The council was succeeded by a feast; and the Indians, bemg the hosts, got it up and conducted it after their own fashion. The Frenchmen were the passive reci- pients of the savage favors. The first course consisted of a great wooden di«h, full of corn-meal, boiled in water, and seasoned with grease. The master of the ceremonies, with a spoonml of that greasy pudding, presented it three or four times m succession to the mouths of the guests, as we would do with little children. For the second couU he brought m a second dish, containing three fish, and took some pains to remove the bones with his fingers; and having blown upon it to cool it, he put it into their mouths, as we would do in feeding young birds. The thnd course was boiled dog; but that was going beyond even French capacity to eat. of all living creatures,'and had to be withdrawn, as M. Joliet had discovered an •ntrail danghng from the kettle. The fourth, and last PRESENTED WITH A CALUMET. 55 course, was a piece of bufTalo-beef, the fattest portions of which were put into their mouths on the end of a stick. After the feast came the process of lionizing; which, also was conducted after the Indian mode. The guests had to march slowly through the whole length of the village, and back again, an orator stepping along just before them,' constantly haranguing and gesticulating, to oblige all to come out and see them, without being troublesome. Thpsfi Indians gave to the Frenchmen an additional evidence of their kindly disposition, in presenting them with a beautiful «''» Kivor, and there dying, his thWv ol " T"""'"' *" "^ ""^o™- ^ "nndred and tey.one years later, Joliot and Marquette had com-' Wisconsin was known. In 1C80, Louis llennei.in a ZZfTIM^^'""''' '«' ""- "p the mTs S;p X years a7''',^'*'''^'"™^'"«'™'- O-hundredJd mty years after Hcnuopm-» captivity, the Unit..,! «*„* "' freTdTth""'"'?"'''' "^"'^ « B^oot ^p^ Id Siou^ ^rth""" 7'"' ""^^'^ •"'' ^^Wppewa anu oioux. In the performance of that mission !,« crossed over from Lake Superior and the S Lo^ Ei'ver foitnes oTm ""'rJT''"^ ,^ "*«« ^-^er to follow the loiiunes ot M. Joliet and James Marquette Bnfh J them had written complete narratives of T! . ^ capsized among the Eanids of thA«f ™™"' l^'S. was h- papers, and only S tli!:^"^' '"''"^ "*" srfriirr'f^^^^^^^^ I5EATri OF JAMES MARQUETTE. 68 and oven the p,.ee of Jao.tU ilZZ^' '" '"'^'=""^' Mp. which ,0 imd „!rr^f' ^''°"»'" "" ^y "«■ '»"-»'-. wbere the, ^o^^it^;:^ z^zf::!^::;;^' 64 THE GREAT WEST. CHAPTER IV. THE GREAT LAKES. Ottawa and French rivers — Robert Cavalier de La Salle, first navigator upon the lakes — His patent for the monopoly of the trade of thti West— "The Griffin," the first sail- vessel buUt on the Lakes— Her first and only trip — La Salle's misfortune ~ Descends the Mis- sissippi — Loses one of his hunters in the woods — Takes formal pOBoession of the country at the mouth of the Mississippi— Plate engraved, and deposited in the earth — La Salle goes to France — Returns with three ships — The store-ship dashed in pieces on the coast of Texas — One hundred men lost by sickness — La Salle and sixteen men set out overland for the Illinois — La Salle murdered by two ot his companions. Next after the discoveries in the Valley of the Missis- sippi, onr attention is attracted to the exploration of the great lakes, from the Falls of Niagara to Green Bay. The lower lakes had all along been so infested by war parties of the Iroquois, that safety, as well as directness, had led to the adoption of another route. The earlier adventurers, leaving the St. Lawrence at Montreal, fol- lowed the courses of the Ottawa and French rivers to Lake Huron. But those stream.s were interrupted by frequent and toilsome portages. It led through a region horriblo with forests. All day long, they had to wade or handle the oar. Around thirty-five wat«r-falls their canoes had to be carried on the shoulders, through tangled woods, and over rough stones j and be dragged by hand up through fifty rapids. The new rn"t«: by the way of the lakes, made more accessible the whole inte.-ior of the continent J and, sweeping further south, elviig Lake Erie, ROBERT DE LA SALLE. ^ opened at once into the beautiful and fertile regions of the Ohio. The missionaries had heretofore taken the lead in the progress of discovery at the West. A merchant was now about to enter the field. Religious enthusiasm waa to he superseded by commercial enterprise Robert Cavalier deLaSalle,the first navigator upon the akes was a native of Rouen, in the north of France. His intellectual endowments were of a high order. He had been brought up exclusively for literary pursuits. Aocom- phshed in all the sciences, especially the mathematics, he had spent en years of his life teaching and studying in the Jesuit colleges. But all his plans for the promotion of learning were broken up by the loss of his inheritance, which had been stripped from him by the uiyust provisions of the French law ; and he had been compelled to seek, in a new emplojment, and in a new counti-y, the means of restoring his fortunes. The precise time of his coming out to Canada can not now be ascertained ; but it must have been as early as 1670; for, two years later, we find hunm command at Frontenac -a military post at the foot of Lake Ontario, near the site of the (dty of Kingston. He obtained a grant of the lake and its dependencies, together with a monopoly of its traae ; but upon the con- dition tliat he should maintain a fort upon its shores, and a sufBcient garrison, at his own expense. In compliance with this condition, La Salle, in 1675, built a regular stone fort, with four bastions, inclosing the old fort? and commanding a bay, m which a considerable fleet of vessels might have ridden with safety. The governor of Canada went .up to Frontenac each year, at the assembling of the cmefs of the Iroquois nations; and, by distributing among them flattering presents, secured the alliance and com- merce of that powerful confederacy. Although La Salle bad met with M. Joliet, at Frontenac. 66 THE GREAT WEST. when that distinguished adventurer was returning from the West, and had inspected the journals and maps which, soon after that, were lost in the Eapids of the St. Lawrence, yet he was so much occupied with his own plans of making a fortune out of his monopoly of the trade of the lake that he does not seem to have been desirous of participating then in securing the traffic upon the Mis- sissippi. Three years later, however, finding that his monopoly had aroused the jealousy of all the other traders, who, scattered throughout the wilderness, were thwarting him in every possible manner, he conceived the vast enter- prise of shipping the furs of the Mississippi and its tribu- taries direct to France, by the way of the Gulf of Mexico. The Indians would have to be conciliated, the Spaniards expelled, forts and trading stations established; but La Salle had a genius for commerce, and a courage that was equal to any hazard. In 1677, he made a voyage to France, to press his new application ; and upon receiving his patent for the monopoly of the trade of the West, he returned in September, bringing with him Tonti, an Italian soldier, as hi« lieutenant, and a body of mechanics and sailors, together with all things necessary for his expedition. Such was the speed with which this extraordinary man perfected his arrangements, that, on the eighteenth day of November, he embarked, at Frontenac, in a brigantine, with his company, and set sail for the Niagara River. But contrary winds prevented him from reaching the place of destination until the sixth day of December. A site for a fort was immediately selected, where the yawning chasm opened toward the lake, to obtain the control of'-the outlet of the. upper lakes, and give addi- tional security to the commerce of Ontario. Above the cataract, near the present village of Schlosser, La Salle THE GEIEFBf. «7 caused the ways to be laid down, and commenced tho construction of a vessel, for the purpose of goin^ round by water to the IHinois country. Soon, the ringin^g Zl of axes and of hammers was heard in the grand dd woods, mmglmg with the deep booming of Niaf™" M he sam. t.me that the Dutch were paddling about on tt Mohawk m broad-bottomed skiffs, between Schenectady and Albany, and just as the Puritans were beginnirg the P r^cous war upon witches in Massachusetts, the brave ironeh merchant was bailding ships in the profoundelt depths of the American wilderness o'oundest Meanwhile, the enemies of La Salle were busy raising, clamors aga.nst him, and throwing obstacles in his wav^ and they succeeded so far as to awaken distrust aZ; o^tario, loade/wL ^.^]i^::::^-z^ ordinary 0,1 " T ""^ ' T" '» "» """eartened by of his vesTat vlt ^°™f ^ Prosecuted the building h. TJT f ^'"gara; and at the close of July 1670 Hetve it t'h "" "V""'"* " ^'''^ into tie wate' -lot Co„n"tT F "?'"" '"I"""' '" ''°»'" "' '^e ^^o / , ^ "^ Fronteiiac, then governor of Ton cnth da^if A*"" "/^^ P7arations, On the sev- nart „f I • ^ ' ^"""^ embarked with (he ereater c e t r Z^ "-' -' ""-t stemming thf :;S^ Jown behind tll/f "f '%"'" '""'™''' «"'"» u^uiim me dark Canadian foro^U T1,o n -ir t%'an plowing her way through the „" w.'„,'3'.\.^:''!'" on lUe route to the West " " ^™' 63 THE GREAT WEST. La Salle had with him during the voyage Tonti, his lieutenant, several friars, and sixty sailors, boatmen, hun- ters, and soldiers. After a quick passage — considering that it was, in part, upon unknown waters — they arrived at Green Bay in twenty days, and cast anchor at its head, having traced out a channel which has already become one of the great highways of commerce. The GrifTm was sent back with a rich lading of furs, under orders to return with provisions and merchandise, to be conveyed to the head of Lake Michigan; whither La Salle was preparing to go, forthwith, with a fleet of bark canoes. Traversing ^de whole length of that lake in those frail vessels, he spent th:^ autumn in erecting a fort at the mouth of the St. Joseph's River, in sounding the channel, and establishing a depot for supplies and goods. Impa- tiently awaiting the return of The Griffin until the snows began to fall, he crossed over to Chicago, and remained there some weeks, in hopes that she still might arrive. But upon returning he got no tidings of her. Misfortune seems to have followed upon misfortune. The Griffin was wrecked on her homeward voyage. Hearing nothing more of her. La Salle proceeded south to the Kankakee, a branch of the Illinois, and, descending the latter river, below Peoria, he passed the winter in building another fort, which he called Crevccoiur, (Heart-break,) to signify how great was his disappointment. But he spent no time in lamenting his losses. His resolution appears to have risen in proportion with his disasters. He laid the found- ations of a new vessel at the foot of Lake Peoria, but was obliged to abandon it for want of materials. In March, 1680, La Salle determined upon a plan to hasten or replace the necessary supplies; and for that purpose he set off, with only three attendants, and fol- lowing along the water-shed, or divide, which separates THE LOSS OF THE GRIFFIN. 69 the streams that flow into the Ohio River from those which flow into Lake Erie, he traveled the entire length of the wilderness on foot, and reached Frontenac in safety There, however, new difficulties awaited him. He found his afi-airs in the utmost confusion. With the loss of the Griffin had come the report of La Salle's death, which had been eagerly circulated by his enemies. His property had been seized upon by his creditors. That would seem to have been sufficient to have made his cup of bitterness run over. But the invincible man was not to be made to be dead before his time. The waste of waters, the howhng wilderness, malicious enemies, and hungry cred- itors, had all to yield to his iron will. Applying once more to the governor for aid, he made arrangements to continue the prosecution of his enterprise. While thus conquering his embarrassments in Canada, other disasters had befallen him in Michigan and in Illi- nois. No sooner had La Salle set his face toward the east than most of his men deserted their posts. That at St. Josephs was completely abandoned. Tonti, with a few brave companions, continued to hold out at Peoria. But while his master was yet traversing the wilderness, some roving bands of Iroquois attacked the Illinois vil- ages, drove Tonti from his post, which, together with timber for the vessel, they burned with fire. Tonti fled to Green Bay, and from thence proceeded by the northern route to seek after La Salle. Long before Tonti had reached Frontenac, La Salle was again on his way, with recruits and supplies, overland, through Michigan to the St. Josephs, and down that river to the lake. He arrived at Peoria late in October, and found his fort a blackened rum He resolutely began building still another fort on the Illinois, sufficiently strong to bid defiance to the war- lare oi savages. It was situated upon a cliff that rose 70 THE GREAT WEST. twc hundred feet above the river, in the center of a lovely country of verdant prairies, bordered by distant slopes, richly tufted with oak and black-walnut, and the noblest trees of the American forest. And when that was well-nigh completed, he set out again, in 1681, to return to Frontenac for more recruits. But on his way he met the faithful Tonti, at Michiliraackinac, with a company of men, hastening westward to his assistance. With these. La Salle went back to his new fort, which he named St. Louis. He found it necessary to change the plan of his expe- dition. He had not time io build a ship. He would explore the river to the Gulf of Mexico, take formal pos- session of the country; and then, going from Quebec to France, he would return and enter the Mississippi from the sea. La Salle proceeded to organize the expedition according to that plan. He broke his followers up into three companies, and appointed Dautray, also, to act as lieutenant. Hastening his preparations, with his usual celerity, he caused three large boats to be constructed, during the winter, complete; and was ready, with the opening of the Illinois, to embark. On the sixth day of February, 1682, the expedition, conducted by La Salle in person, and his lieutenants, Tonti and Dautray, with Zenobius Merabr^ as chaplain, and Indians as hunters and guides, entered the wide waters of the Mississippi. They waited at the mouth of the Illinois till the thirteenth, to get clear of the floating ice ; and then proceeded down the river. They passed the mouth of the muddy Missouri, and the rapids which the Indians had so much dreaded; then the Ohio, and the region of canes. The expedition was obliged to send out hunting and fishing parties daily, not having been able to lay in a stock of provisions, except Indian com. On th« VISIT OF LA SALLE TO FKANCE. 71 twenty-fourth all the hunters came in, but one; the rest reported having seen an Indian trail; and that led to the supposition that the Frenchman had been killed or taken captive With characteristic humanity, La Salfe dirt d the boats to anchor near a high bluff, on the top of which he threw up intrenchments, determined to rescue the man. or chastise his murderers. The most skillful hunters were dispatched along the trail. None were allowed to relax their efforts, until, on the nin^h day. the missing fiunter, who had got bewildered and lost, was found As the expedition proceeded down the river, La Salle took formal possession of the country at the mouth of the Arkansas, and at Natchez. On the sixth of April it arrived at a place where the Mississippi divided into three channels and the boats separated so as to explore them al. The water soon became brackish as they advanced; and on the ninth, they reached the open sea. An authentic act was then drawn up, and signed by all the party; and, amid a volley of musketry, a leaden p^ate. nscribed with the arms of France and t^e names of those who had made the discovery, was deposited in the earth The expedition then ascended the river to Illinois • and La Salle dispatched Membrg to France, to lay an account of his voyage before the government. Tiie next year La Salle himself reached France, and meeting with much favor, procured a fleet of four ships- two of them, the Joly and the Belle, ships of war; the Amaible, a store-ship ; and the St. Francis, a ketch. The bt Francis was captured by the Spaniards soon after sailing About the first of December, 1684, the three Ships having stopped at St. Domingo, arrived off the island of Cuba; and, steering to the north-west, sought the mouths of the Mississippi. But all on board were Ignorant of the coast and iha fl«nf ^^^j. ^^^ .?- , />v. 99 THE GREAT WEST. ward, which was perceived, at last, by the land setting off south. In attempting to enter the mouth of a river on th« coast of Texas, the store-ship got fast aground, and was soon after broken to pieces by the waves. The goods were saved; and La Salle determined upon plant- ing his colony in that country. The ships of war returned to France. Sickness, within a year, carried off an hundred men, and the survivors were reduced to great distress. La Salle, having made an ineffectual attempt to reach the Mississippi, through the swamps along the gulf, resolved to cross the continent to Illinois, by land. He set out on that desperate undertaking in January, 1687, with sixteen men; and after interminable wan- derings thicugh the wilderness, he was murdered, on the nineteenth day of March, by two mutinous companions. The murderers themselves were afterward murdered. Only five of the company succeeded in reaching the Ar- kansas River, and returning to Canada. In the mean- while, Tonti had been twice down the Mississippi to meet his master; but failing in that, he left a letter for him with the Indians nearest the gulf, which was religi- ously kept by them for fourteen years, and delivered to the first white man that afterward arrived in their country DESTRUCTION OP MONTREAL. 73 CHAPTER V. FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. Destruction of Montreal by the Iroquois — Iroquois conquered — Treaty of peace — French emigration — Fort Chartres — Manufnc- ture of flour in the Wabash country — The adaptation of the Indian manners, etc., by the French — Its effects — Description of the French settlements — Dress of the settlers — Inroads upon the French — Attempts of the Spaniards to dispossess the French — Their defeat, and overthrow of the Santa F6 espcditiou — Progress of English settlements toward the West — An English trader among the French — His fate — The Ohio Company's grant — Gov. Dinwiddle dispatches Geo. Washington with a message to the French — Beginning of the French war — The West open to English emigration — Taking possesion of the military posts-— Robert Rogers — Rogers' Rangers — Character of the Rangers — The Rangers at Cleveland — Visit from Pontiac — The forts delivered to the English. Although La Salle had miserably perished, and Mar- quette had died in the wilderness, and Joliet been shame- fully neglected, yet their glowing descriptions of the western country had filled the imaginations of adventur- ous men with visions of a terrestrial paradise in the delightful regions of the Illinois and the Mississippi. Many of the inhabitants along the Lower St. Lawrence were becoming dissatisfied with its sterile shores and rig- orous winters, and were preparing to seek new homes in the great valley of the West, where the summei extended through more than half the year; where the rich soils produced, spontaneously, the choicest grains, the most delicious fruits. But, for a time, the progress of the French settlements was checked by the breaking out of 4 74 THE GREAT WEST. another Iroquois war. Bitterly l>,.d fhe Canadians rued the day on which Champlain, the foumlor of the colony, had joined the Huron war-parties in an irruption into the Mohawk country. The hatred of the fierce Mohawk war- riors had scarcely slumbered during a period of eighty years. It again broke out afresh. On the twenty-fifth day of August, 168i), fifteen hun- dred Iroquois warriors, horrible with paint, and thirsty for blood, made a sudden and terrible inroad into Canada. They ravaged the island of Montreal with fire and sword; destroyed all the settlements, captured the town and fort' and butchered, with frightful cruelties, the victims that fell into their hands. After having spread desolation, and woe, and death, in every direction, they only retired at the approach ( f winter. The war continued to rage for more than five years. In the meanwhile, Frontenac, then upward of seventy years old, concentrated the whole military force of the colony upon the shore of Lake Ontario. The fields around the fort at the foot of the lake became white with tents; in the bay floated two schooners, armed, and a fleet of canoes. Soon afterward, he made a descent, with four thousand men, upon the Iro- quois country. Crossing the lake, and ascending the Oswego, he destroyed the villages and cornfields of the Onondagas and Oneidas, cut down their orchards, burnt up their canoes, and laid waste their country. This great invasion taught the Iroquois an important lesson : the French were too numerous for exterminatior. The chiefs consented to treat at a council to be held at Mon- treal. In the summer of the year 1700, the Ottawas and Hurons, from Lake Superior; the Sioux, from the U] per Mississippi; and four of the Iroquois nations, entered into negotiations for an everlasting peace. A treaty was drawn up with great formality, and signed by all the FORT CHARTUES. 76 parties, each Indian nation placing for itself a S) inbol : the Senecas and Onondagas, a spider; the Oneidas, a forked stick; and the .\lohawks, a bear. It declared that war should cease along the whole frontier; that peace should reach beyond the Mississippi. The way of French emigration to the West had then, at last, become safe. Missionary stations soon began to grow into regular parishes. At Peoria a settlement waa rapidly forming. Kaskaskia became a happy and pros- perous village. Other places were rapidly rising into note. In June, 1701, De la Motte Cadillac, and one hundred men, took possession of Detroit River and Lako St. Clair, then deemed the loveliest part of country; and the French began the assertion of their claim to the country south and west of the lakes, and upon the streams occup od by their Indian all is, comprising all the territory drained by the St. Lawrence and the Missis- sippi. This extensive region, the best watered, the most fertile of any on the face of the eartl., was called New France. Five years later, extensi o settlements had been formed in the valley of the Wabash, from wlii h fifteen thousand hides and skins were annually sent south to Mo- bile, for the -i^u'-opeaii market. Great etforts were made to secure the possession of the vast inland territory which opened, through such ma ^nifi- cent water communications, to the east and to the south. The Spaniards were creeping up the Rio Grande into New Mexico. The En^^lish were y. spread out along the sea-roast, and were hemmed in by the mountains. For that purpose, strong military posts were built on the western and interior waters. In 1720, the instruction of a stronghold was commenced in the Illinois country to serve as the head-quarters of Upper Louisiana. This was Fort Chartres, on the east side of the Mississiuoi. 76 THE GREAT WEST. and sixty-five miles below the mouth of the Missouri. Having been designed for one of the strongest fortresse. in xVmeriea. its walls were built of solid masonry, which required eighteen montlis for their completion. But. one hundred years afterward, its massive ruins were so over- grown with vines and f(,rest-trees as to be almost impene- trablo to the traveler. Previous to 1735. the fort which had previously been abandoned by La Salle, Lad been rebuilt at Niagara, near the mouth of the river- another frowned at Vinoennes over the Wabash valley! one hundred and fifty miles above the Ohio Elver- ano' ther at Presque Isle overlooked the waters of Lake Erie- that at Detroit commanded the passage to the upper lakes; and. soon after. Fort Du Quesne. now Pittsburgh, controlled the navigation of the Ohio, Monongahela. and Alleghany rivers. As early as 174G, six hundred barrels of flour were manufactured in the Wabash country, in a single year, and transported lo New Orleans, beside large quantities of hides tallow, and beeswax. The Upper Wabash was the seat of a quiet, industrious, and agricultural people. A few years later, the Illinois country was found to con- tain SIX distinct settlements, with their respective villages. Oahokia, at the mouth of a creek of the same name, five miles below the present site of St. Louis ; St. Philips forty-five miles further down the river; Fort Chartres! twelve miles above Kaskaskia; Kaskaskia, on the river of that name, upon a peninsula, and within two miles of the Mississippi; Prairie du Rocker, near Fort Chartres- St. Genevibve, upon Gabarre creek. These were among the oldest villages of the West. And Kaskaskia, befoi^ the country passed into the hands of the English, was quite a large town, containing between three and four thousand iPiabitants. These villages were secure, though INTERMARBIAOE WITH THE INDIANS. 77 In the n,ljl»t of an Indian country, and .urrounded by many warlike tribes. "-uueu oy ,h J!!";*'"'"' ".' ""!.' '""''' "' '"""«»e 'ett'^ient, in ho wc era country the french had steadily adhered to the policy of conciliating tho Indians. They indeed «.em ,0 have be«, peculiarly adapted to hari ,ni^e, in heir habits and feelings, wUh ,h„ wild deni.ons of ho forest and the prairie. In their explorations of tho re- aiotest rivers in their long Journeys overland, in the their red brethren on terms of entire equality. Tho ireneh temper, so pliant, so plastic, so strongly in con! tra,s with the stubborn spirit of Englishmen, was readily moulded to Indian customs and In,„an forms. The wan. dering Frenchman, with his free and easy manners hi, merry laughter, his fondness for display, mingling in' the dusky crowd was cordially welcomed at all the Indian villages of the West. He might choose himself a wife among his Indian friends, and live there with them, and be one of hem. In fact, amalgamation existed to a vely considerable extent, and in a few generations scarcely I tube «as free from an infu.sion of Celtic blood The ready adoption of the Indian manners and mode ZT^T, """' ""'" """' ""> ^"^"'"^ intermarriages b tween the wo races, had a tendency to bind the natWe ribes more closely to the French, who seemed to be boni thetH"- n"""^ "''*' "' "'^"- "<'"'• I» "» the West, he Indian villages were thronged with Frenchmen, who joined .n the dances, went forth with the hnnting-parties, and along the war-paths. But while this policy of iit - trL''ir;:f"/,;™ ""' *'" '''""'" "■■'"■^ •■^'' strengthened enV 2 * the government upon the country, it also had tended to sink the Frenchman into a barbarian. Casting oil the habits of civilization, he soon imbibed the noUons! ^ THE GREAT WEST. whims, and prejudices of his wild associates. He loved to decorate his hair with the feathers of eagles, and adorn his hunting-shirt with hairy fringes, and his moccasins with a web-work of porcupine quills. He came to have faith in the magic drum of the Indian conjuror. Ho believed in omens and in dreams. He would whistle away vigorously thrjugh the hollow wing-bone of a bird, to dispel the approaching thunder-storm. He would carry the horny tails of rattlesnakes in his bullet-pouch, as charms, to give certainty to his aim. But only a small portion of the French population was thus easily degenerated. It was the ignorant, who, everywhere, and among all people, sink rather to the level below them than climb to the level above them. Eeside the missionaries, other intelligent Frenchmen were 8'5attered throughout th> S^iTest, studying the lan- guages of their Ihdian allies, complying with their usages, flattering their prejudices, and assisting them in acquiring the arts of white men. These agents were careful not to ruffle the self-complacent dignity of the Indian nature. They never shocked the religious notions, nor ridiculed the ancient customs of their savage friends. They attended at all public ceremonies, and took part in them, and strove to manifest a disposition to meet their com- panions of the wilderness half-way. Count Frontenac, himself, plumed and painted like a chief, danced the war- dance, and yelled the war-song, at the camp-fires of his delighted allies. And whenever a party of sachems paid a visit to a French fort, they were received with military honors ; the troops presented arms, the drums rolled, the cannons belched forth their thundering welcomes. Indian vanity was delighted with such pompous and showy friendship. The chi»;fs were regaled at the officers' tables; fill" «sTK^r» 4-V*^*« 4.n^1- 4-T., —J— J1 _- X _ 1 T 1 • , 1 nuu. t¥*xva x;ux:y tuua iiiuxi' ucpunurci were xoaaea wicn THE FRENCH SETTLEMENTS. 7r presents, and adorned with medals ani decorations, and brilliant uniforms, and flags. Their treatment was always respectful. None smiled at the strange fancies, or stared at the ridiculous appearance of the daubed and greasy warriors. The shirtless savage, in cocked-hat and plume, his scarlet coat-tails flapping behind his naked legs, might stalk all over the parade-ground, and never suspect that he was not an object of intense admiration to all. The hatred of the Iroquois, even, was not toward the French- men as men, but toward them as the allies of the Hurons, the hereditary enemies of their confederacy. The French settlements at the West, therefore, were safe from Indian depredations. They, indeed, were sit- uated in the midst of a wilderness, but it was a wilder- ness of beauty, and inhabited by friendly races. The tribes around them were but so many outposts to repel enemies, and give timely warning of danger. The French settlements were compact villages, isolated from each other, and a thousand miles distant through woods and waters from Canada. The settlers were sociable, as well as vagrant, and loved to congregate together. No farm-houses were scattered, as with the English, along highways cut through the woods. The French settle- ments were on the bank of some pleasant stream ; a single narrow street ran along in front ; each lot, a few rods in width, extended back as far again, fenced in with rude pickets ; each house contiguous to the houses right and left. The merry villagers could pour out their volubility at the windows or on the stoops. The young men and maidens could readily pass from door to door. The houses were uniform, one story high, surrounded by gal- leries. The houses were constructed of corner-posts, and fituds, connected by numerous cross-ties, to hold the mud mixed up with cut straw into a stiff mortar, and 80 THE GREAT WEST. plastered on with the hand. The whole outside was shingled over with bark to shed oflF the rains. The oat- side chimney was a rude stack of dried mud, supported by a pyramid of poles and slats. The French settlements had each a " commons," in the rear of their houses, inclosing hundreds of acres within one continuous fence, for the benefit of all. Each vil- lager had assigned him a certain portion of it, as a field or garden, graduated to the size of his family. Each one cultivated and reaped his own allotment, to his own use, and kept up the fence where it adjoined on him. The times for plowing, planting, and reaping in the " commons " were regulated by special enactments. Around the com- mon field was left a vast tract of vacant land, open to all as a pasture-ground. In the French settlements, pov- erty was unknown, for the fields and pastures were free to all that would work. The newly-married received an outfit from the whole village, and had their place on the street, and in the field, assigned to them. The pasture- grounds of the French settlements were well stocked with cattle, horses, and hogs, wandering at large, the property of all. Care was a stranger to the villager, and was rarely entertained as a guest. Amifdements, festi- vals, and holidays, came with frequency, to sweeten toil, and stimulate cheerfulness. In addition to the villages, there were scattered throughout the West, on the smaller prairies, and the rich bottom-lands of rivers, country settlements of a patriarchal character. These, also, were uniform in appearance. In the middle of an inclosure of about two acres, stood the homestead, occupied by the parent family. Around the inclosure, and fronting on it, were placed, one after another, the houses of children and grand- children. So that, in time, the aged father became THE PEENCH SETTLEMENTS. 8f surrounded by many growing families of. his own lineage, all of them havmg a community of interest and feeling each oeeupymg ,ts own cottage contiguous to the paternS roof Scenes of this kind were frequent in the 111 nota country, and on the Wabash, among the French beZ. the English had extended their sway over t at™ egion Scenes of this kind may yet be found 050^ he coast above and below New Orleans. While the CI Saxons a ong the Atlantic were struggling with a rVgged soil, and flght,ng with the savages among the mount!tos e French settlei. at the West, far removed from cWl.' .atmn, surrounded by everything in nature which co" d please the eye or delight the fancy, were living at pit with e Indians, contented, prosperous, and 'happy " the full enjoyment of the terrestrial paradise of America In the French settlements, the lands were held in Z men and the vacant lands v are free to all. The systm of land ord and tenant had no existence among them Hosp.tal,ty was notso much esteemed a virtue, aa adnty wh,ch all cheerfully performed. Taverns were „nkno2 each house supplied the deficiency. They had no ZlZl boo s no courts of law, no prisls. no^'str: ^ public punishment. Learning and science were term, beyon the comprehension of the simple villagers ™ all matters appertaining to learning or religion. The priest was thejr oracle. On politics, and the'aifai™ ofth, St T. f /'""" "'*'* ** '»"''• «»<' '"led it rt\ ^^ f "" *""'"' ■"■ P^fessions in their villages. and herr"; f "'' °«"™""''' '"" '"" -- "^ "«* and herds. Each man was his oxvn mechanic. cl^" 7'"**' ^"'"' "^ "^ '"'"' ""^ * «»«'«« blanket iTlLru""" *'"' ""'* '""' '""S red vest, and serv- "»« tne double Durno.se nf ninat »^a u„i. ^-_ ., , ^ -__ _^ .^^^^ „„5^. i-^r me uQQUf I" 88 THE GREAT WEST. hanging down from the collar, upon the shoulders and back, could be drawn up over the head, to keep oflF the cold. On festive occasions, the blooming damsels wound around their foreheads fancy colored handkerchiefs, stream- ing with gay ribbons, or plumed with flowers. Tne mat- rons wore the short jacket and petticoat. The foot was left uncovered and free ; but, on the • holidays it was adorned with the light moccasin, brilliant with porcupine quills, shells, beads, and lace. The peculiar manners and customs of these French settlements, isolated at first — isolated for a century after- ward — separated by more than a thousand miles from any other civilized communities, became characteristic and hereditary with the people, and have been perpetuated to the present time. In their ordinary deportment the vil- lagers were grave and saturnine, from habit acquired from their Indian neighbors. In their amusements, how- ever, they exhibited all the gayety of the original French- men. The remnants of that peculiar population Stand out now, among the bustling Yankees at the West, as distinct, as unbending, as the Indian races. The French settlements, extending from Lake Onta- rio to the Mississippi, from Lake Superior to the Gulf of Mexico, though unmolested by the Indians, were, never- theless, exposed to greater dangers upon the eastern and upon the western sides. The English were chopping their way up the Mohawk. The English were forcing passages through the Alleghany Mountains at the point of the bayonet. The English were clambering over the Blue Ridge, and hunting along the southern bank of the Ohio. And the Spaniards, in Florida and Mexico, laid claim to a largo portion of the territory occupied by the French. As early as 1719, the Spaniards, alarmed at the rapid encroachments of the French in the upper and ATTEMPTS TO DISPOSSESS THE FRENCH. 83 lower Mississippi valleys, made strenuous exertions to dispossess them. The war raged in Florida, and along th delta f the Mississippi, and among the swamps and upland, of the Red River of Louisiana. Nor was it con fined alone t^ those regions. A grand scheme of conquest, worthy the days of Cortez and De Soto, was formed in Mexico Ihe hunters and traders of the Rio Grande had explored the great American desert, and had led the way overland to the borders of the Illinois country De- tachments of cavalry had penetrated the dreary waste crosseu from the branches of the Arkansas to the Mis' souri, and, follovring down the river, had witnessed the advance of the French in that quarter. The Spaniards planned the extermination of the French, along the Up- per Mississippi, together with the Missouri Indians their allies, and the establishment, in their place, of a colony from Mexico, to hold possession of the country, and perpetuate their claim to the interior of the continent As the spring of 1720 was advancing, all Santa" F6 was m a state of unusual excitement. Armed troops of horsemen were galloping along the streets; foot soldiers were parading in the public square; the flat-roofed houses were covered with a gaping crowd; the wild Indians of the plains were there dancing the war-dance. Soon the horsemen, and the footmen, and the Indians filed off toward the mountains- a long and motley train, with wav- ing banners, and swords gleaming in the sun, and strains ot martial music sweetly floating in the air. As the head of the column approached tlr :,asrf which led to the Janadian River, and the cavali} bt.gles were ringing and echoing from jagged rocks aiifl precipices, there fol- lowed, in the rear, the body of the colonists struggling along the rugged and v/inding pathway — armed men- , ana Cuisuivn vn HurseoacK; irsuies loaded with 84 THE GREAT WEST. goods ; priests in thoir robes ; and mixed up with them, immense droves of cattle and swine, to be slaughtered for food, and to stock the plantations of the new colony. After many days spent in the desert, wandering over arid plains, and crossing the nuaierous tributaries of the Upper Arkansas, the guides became bewildered. It was their design to reach the Osage country, and stir up those Indians to war upon the Missouris and French. But the guides lost the proper route, and led the way unconsciously into the heart of the ]\lissouri tribes. The Spaniards did not discover the mistake, for the Missouris spoke the same language with the Osages. Believing themselves, therefore, among friends, they revealed their plans without reserve, and supplied the Missouris with arms and ammunition to aid in their own extermination. The wily savage perceived the fatal mistake, but encour- aged the error. They requested two days to assemble the warriors for the contemplated expedition, in which they professed to engage with pleasure. The appointed time had nearly elapsed. The days were spent in feast- ing. The Spaniards, completely deceived, had fixed upon the next morning for renewing the march. But be- fore the dawn of day, the Missouris fell upon their treach- erous enemies, and dispatched them, every one, with Indiscriminate slaughter. Tho tents were all spattered with the brains and blood of men, and women, and chil- dren. One priest alone was spared, and sent to bear the disastrous tidings to Mexico. That terrible defeat, to- gether with the fall of Pensacola, about the same time, broke the spirit of the Spaniards, who, during two centu- ries, have been degenerating in the soft and balmy regions of Mexico and Florida. The news of the terrible overthrow of the Santa F6 expedition soon reached the French, and apprised them of FORT CHARTRES. 85 the designs of the Spaniards upon the Illinois country. To arrest any further attempt from the same quarter, a military post was established on an island in the Missouri River, above the mouth of the Osage. The late at- tempted invasion was the immediate cause, also, of the erection of Fort Chartres. About the same time, a detachment of ninety men was sent up the Mississippi and St. Peter's, and they built a fort and trading station at the mouth of the Blue Earth River, among the Sioux Indians. Fort Chartres was originally one mile and a half from the river bank. It was built in the form of a square. Each side was three hundred and forty feet in length. The walls were of stone, and were three feet thick, and fifteen feet high. It was a place of great strength for the Indian country. Fifty years afterward, the river broke through ::s banks, and, forming a new channel, undermined two of the bastions, and Fort Char- tres had to be abandoned. The French, however, were never again threatened with Spanish expeditions across the plains. The fate of the first one had filled all Mexico with horror. But the great danger to the French possessions in the mterior of America frowned along the eastern mounialna. Ihe progress of the English settlements, from the first, had been exceedingly slow. Differing as widely from the French in policy as in character— stem, unyielding unflinching— the English had, for a long time, been engaged in almost incessant war with the tribes of the Atlantic coast. The French had assimilated to the In- dians ; the English had exterminated them. In the pop- ulous parts of Canada were many flourishing native villages, cherished by the government; among the older provinces of the English, scarcely an Indian was to be seen. He was onlv tn ho fmm/l r>v. +1,^ ;j:„4. i 1 j-_ — ^. ._ — ,".,5... ..-xi -Jiz-z: Miaiaui' ir^}^^xv^t 86 THE GREAT WEST. Ihe English policy was to suLjugate the wildernesa, to sweep away the forests, to cover the ground with an intelligent, hardy, thrifty population. Before them the crashing trees, the huge gaps in the woods, the dark, ascending smoke of the autumnal fires, heralded the advance of Anglo-Saxon civilization, from which the Indians fled as from a pestilence. It was the destiny of the French to overrun the great "West. It was the destiny of the English to subdue it. Their modes of effecting settlements contrasted as strongly as the policies which dictated them. The French penetrated into remote parts of the country, with- out any fixed plan of occupation ; scattered over a bound- less region; located hundreds of miles apart — on the Muskingum, the Wabash, Kaskaskia, Missouri, and Blue Earth rivers; nt Niagara, at Detroit, Michilimackinac, and Green Bay. These distant settlements, feeble, iso- lated, scarcely made an impression on the wilderness. The English began within the sound of the sea, and established themselves firmly on the ground. They pro- gressed slowly; but they cut everything clean as they went along. At each step they left behind them cultiva- ted fields, flourishing towns, cities, institutions of learning, commerce, and the arts. The English settlements were generally close upon the borders, within reach of popu- lous neighborhoods that connected directly with the strongholds of civilization and power. But this was the mode of the progress of English civilization between the sea-coast and the mountains. When those huge barriers had to be crossed, the pioneers had to go forward in detachments, and were separated, necessarily, at wide intervals from each other and from the older settlements. Thus disadvantageously situated, the English colonists at the West had to contend with confederated enemies; SEIZURE OP THE ENGLISH. 87 tlicy had to combat the hatred of the Indians and of the French combined. Both the English and the French laid claim to the western country. But the French were in possession; which is nine points in law — with nations, the tenth point is the point of the bayonet. The French, from the beginning, were exceedingly jealous of English encroach- ments on the Ohio and along the lakes. They seem to have had a presentiment of the mighty force that would one day pour over the Alleghanies, and sweep them before it. They seem to have striven to keep the knowledge of the beautiful region of lakes and rivers, of forest and prairie, wholly to themselves. They seized all the Englishmen west of the mountains that they could lay their hands on. and detained them as prisoners of war. The French set- tlers were hospitable toward each other, kindly with the Indians, but murderous toward the English. As early as 1687, Major McGregory, favored by tlie friendship of the Iroquois, had ascended with a boat-load of goods to Lake Huron, for the purpose of trafficking with the Indians along its shores. The appearance of an Englishman on those waters excited great commotion. He was promptly seized and imprisoned, and his goods distributed among the Hurous as presents from the French. English trade in that quarter was repressed for a time; the example of plundering Englishmen was dis- tinctly set before the Indians; and the plunder distributed as bribes to follow the example. In 1749, La Jonquiere, governor of Canada, sent clear down to the mouth of the Muskingum lliver, in Ohio, to capture four English tra- ders, and had them conveyed to Quebec. But English curiosity, resolution, and enterprise, were soon to break through all the restrictions imposed on them by the French. *• 88 THE GHEAT WEST. Even as far back as 1716, Governor Spotswood, ol Virginia, had recommended tiie cstabli.-hmcnt of a chain of forts alonj,' the Ohio River, to 8(Mire the possession of the western country. His proi)osition, however, had not been acted upon. The time had not then arrived for the English population to seek an outlet beyond the iiunm- tains. But, thirty years afterward, the region around the head- waters of that river had attracted considerable attention in Pennsylvania and in Virginia. Rumors of the advance of the French trading-posts, south of the lakes, had begun to disturb the English provin(;ial states- men. It was to have been feared, that their determiued rivals upon the St. Lawrence would succeed in getting the entire possession of the interior, and in confining the English to the Atlantic coast. In order to counteract the plans of the French, and neutralize their influence over the western tribes, and obtain also a footing in the valley of the Ohio, a company had been formed in Vir- ginia, with Gov. Dinwiddle at its head, known as the Ohio Company. The grant originally made by the Brit- ish crown to that company, in 1748, for six hundred thousand acres of land, had afterward been transferred, in greater part, to the Washington family ; and in such enterprising hands, measures speedily were taken to as- certain the precise positions of the French, and establish a fortress on the Ohio River. Gist, the company's sur- veyor, soon carried the compass and chain as far down as the falls at Louisville, to the great disgust of the Indians. The summer of 1753 brought with h, to the middle provinces, the startling intelligence that the French troops, having crossed Lake Erie and fortified Presque Isle, had also erected military posts on tli ■ northern trib- utaries of the Ohio. Dinwiddle immediately dispatched George Washington with a message to the intruderai^^ MISSION OF WASHINGTON TO THE 1 ^iENCH. b9 requiring their r.-tnoval from the Engli^ territory. The distance throug ihv wilderness to tlv Fivm h posts was six hundrf..^ miles. It was late in ason 1 fore the messenger as ready to depart. Washington took with him a company of eight men. He traveled to the border with horses, carrying ten baggage, and provisions. Ihe little cavalcacle attracted much attention as it passi-d slowly through the remote settlements, scattered it the foot of the mountains. Toward the close of November— a month dreary with storms of rain and now — the com- pany plunged through the forest, and wo ..J ;)long ben, atb the dripping branches. The snow already lay on the mountains. Reaching the Monongahela, Washin ton passed down it in canoes to its junction with the AJJe- ghany, and then up the latter river to Venango There he saw the French flag flying over the captured dwelling of an English trader. lie was referred to the command- ing officer at Fort Lt ;a^uf, on French creek, a few miles south of Presque Isle. Repairing thither to deliver his message, the officer replied, that he would forward it to Canada; but that, in the meanwhile, he should hold pos- session of the country for the French. Washington's journey, going and returning, occupied four months Ihis mission confirmed the truthfulness of the rumors of the preceding summer. It became evident that the time for immediate action had arrived. The French had then to be forestalled in their progress toward the other parts of the territory, and dr en out of their present fastnesses, or the whole West would have to be abandoned to them Early, therefore, in the following spring. Captain Trent, and a company of backwoodsmen, crossed over the moun- tains, from Virginia to the Ohio, with instructions to for- tify the point at the confluence of the Monongahela and Alleghany rivers. The Virginians had begun the er.'ctioa IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 S I.I 1.25 50 ""^^ us MAC 2.5 2.2 2.0 U Hill 1.6 /] ^ ^ ^^'V? ^'^ '^ V^.* ^ W' ^ > ^^ 0/ll> PhotograpJiic Sdences Corporation ^^A. ^V^ IBjn.'^- 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14S80 (716) 873-4503 ^^.^ 90 THE GREAT WEST. of a fort, and the woods were resounding to the axes, when, suddenly, they were attacked by a host of French and Indians, who, with sixty boats and three hundred bark-canoes, had descended from Venango to expel them from the territory. Captain Trent was obliged to with- draw in great discomfiture toward Virginia. At the same time, Washington himself was advancing in con- siderable force beyond the border ; but, hearing of Cap- tain Trent's disaster, he, also, fell back; after having captured a large detachment of the enemy, and after fighting all day long against fearful odds, at the Great Meadows. The disputed territory still remained in the possession of the French. This was the beginning of the old French war. Thus, in the forest, on the western slope of the Alleghany Mountains, was kindled a war between England and France^ which involved in its struggles half the kingdoms of Europe. The contending parties were also on the Ganges as well as on the Ohio. America, Europe, and Asia, furnished each the great theaters for military display. Battles were being fought at one and the same time on the opposite sides of the globe. But in America the war assumed a new and striking aspect. A wilderness concealed the combatants. Army met army under the shadows of primeval forests: and when they did come together, the ax of the pioneer had to hew a passage for the bayonet of the soldier. Upon the retreat of Captain Trent, the French pro- ceeded with the fortifications which he had abandoned. They named the new fort Fort Du Quesne. The war thus begun continued for five years. That whole period was one of great sufl^ering to the English colonists, who, perceiving the extent of their danger, spared no pains to avert it. General Braddock had been defeated and slain on the banks of the Monongahela;— but Nova Scotia and ENGLISH EMIGRATION. n New Brunswick had fallen to the English. The expedi- tions against Niagara and Crown Point had failed- -but a French army had been put to utter rout on the head- waters of the Hudson; and their general, Dieskau, taken prisoner. The tide of war had at last fully turned in favor of the English. General Amherst had captured lort Du Quesne; Colonel Bradstreet had destroyed Fort Frontenac; and General Wolfe had taken Quebec. On the eighth- day of September. 1760, the Marquis de Vau- dre-nl surrendered Canada, with all its dependencies, to the British crown. The Great West at last was open to English emigra- ^on; the French no longer were standing in the way But the western Indians were not included in the peace • and though deserted by the surrender of their white allies, the Indians were not dismayed. During the war they had been taught by the French to believe that the sole object of the English was to get possession of all the fine lands in the country. They, therefore, became desperate in their determination to resist the advance of the settlements, and were preparing, under Pontiac, to renew the war, for the security of their ancient hunting, grounds between the Alleghanies and the Mississippi. Ihe West in the main was then a howling wilderness, promismg, indeed, for the future; but for the present grand y desolate, and dangerous to English emigration. Over the vast tract of the Indian country was spread out one continuous forest, covering all the land, sweeping over h,ll and hollow in endless undulation, burving moun- tarns ,n masses of verdure, and darkening the streams from the light of day. Green intervals dotted with deer, anc b.^d plains blackened by herds of buffaloes, alone broke the sameness of the woodland scenery. And to these natural openings must be added the sparse and 92 THE GREAT WEST. widely-scattered settlements of the French. Throughout that vast wilderness of woods were roaming Indian hunting-parties, and war-parties, hostile to each other; but, under French influence, grown more hostile toward the English. Taking advantage of this feeling, cotnmon to all the western and northern 1: dians, Pontiac, a great chieftain, began combining all the tribes in one savage confederation to surprise and exterminate the hated race. His arrangements were being made, over a territory of a thousand miles in width, among hundreds of different chiefs and warriors, with the characteristic secresy of the Indian nature. Not one single solitary indication of the approaching danger reached an English eye, while all the horrid elements of war in its most savage form were gathering along the whole frontier. But, immediately upon the fall of Canada, while the Indians were yet concocting their scheme of indiscrim- inati slaughter, it remained to the English to complete the work of French subjugation, by taking possession of the military posts upon the Ohio and the Wabash, at .Detroit, Michilimackinac, and Green Bay. The execu- tion of that task was both difficult and dangerous. The nearest of these ports was six hundred miles from any English colony, and they also were hundreds of miles apart from each other. The route to them led through the midst of the exasperated allies of the French; but, fortunately, these allies, for the time, were bewildered and confounded. The perilous expedition to these dis- tant parts of the Indian country was committed to the charge of Major Rogers— a man eminently qualified to perform that duty with speed and success. Robert Rogers was born in New Hampshire. He was tall, broad-shouldered, athletic. His features were stem, almost rugged. His constitution and temper were as ROGERS' RANGERS. ^g, tough as the granite of his native hills. With a mind remarkably active, and leading a roving life, he was by no means uncultivated. His letters show that he was in the habit of thinking closely, quickly, and to the point- and they are written in a pithy, forcible style. Having been kept engaged, for many years, in frontier warfare with the savage hordes that poured into New England from the north, he had become versed in all the arts of woodcraft— in all the wiles of Indian cunning. He was sagacious, prompt, decisive, fearless; yet so cautious and so prudent that he has sometimes been charged, most un- justly, with cowardice. He never acted from impulse. Constitutionally wary, he had grown more so by expe- rience. Neither passion nor the surprise of sudden danger could start him one jot. All his movements, even the most critical, were dictated by cool, deliberate calculation. Major Rogers stood high as a partisan officer. He was in command of a body of provincial rangers, who, like their chief, had become mured to the hardships and perils of the border. Rogers' Rangers were equally hunters, woodsmen, and soldiers. Armed, like the Indians, with * rifles, tomahawks, and knives, they were trained in tac- tics of their own, peculiarly adapted to wild bush-fight- ing. The principal theater of their action had been among the mountains around lakes George and Cham- plain, between the hostile fortresses at Ticonderoga and Crown Point. These solitudes had often been awakened by the frightful warwhoop, and the answering shout of the fearless rangers. In summer time, they had passed up and down those eastern lakes in whale-boats and canoes, or threaded their way over the shores in single file, creeping around rocks, peering out from behind trees, with all the caution of experienced Indian warriors. 94 THE GREAT WEST. Dressed in gray homespun, with close-fitting caps, and soft moccasins, they moved along like shadows. In win- ter time, they had tramped through the woods and swamps on snow-shoes ; or, putting on skates, they had flown over the glary ice with the speed of the wind ; at night they had slept in the drifting snows. The rangers had become a terror to the Canadian Indians. The sav- ages did not feel safe for a single moment while passing through that region. Their white foemen had become as subtle as themselves, and ten-fold more persistent. Storms of rain or driving sleet aflforded no security, for the rangers had become accustomed to face every- thing and endure everything, and would hunt a Canadian Indian to death in the track of a thunderbolt. The ran- gers were not naturally blood-thirsty ; but some of them had been present when their own brothers and sisters had been butchered and scalped ; others had seen from a dis- tance the paternal dwelling wrapped in flames, and the father, and the mother, the guileless child, the helpless infant, ?U consumed; others had themselves been taken captive, their flesh stuck full of burning splinters, scourged, shot at, mocked at, in their agony. All of them had wrongs like these, of their own, or of their kin- dred, to avenge, the very remembrance of which made their sinews like triple steel. The achievements of the rangers, their rapid marches and counter-marches, their determined fighting, their midwinter battles, had made them famous throughout America. On the evening of the twelfth of September, 17160, Major Rogers received orders to ascend the lakes with a detachment of rangers, and take possession of the forts included in the late capitulation. The troops were then encamped at Montreal. He embarked with two hundred rangers, in whale-boats, and swept along with steady SUCCESS OP EOGERS. 95 Strokes up the St. Lawrence. Winding through the channels among the Thousand Islands into Lake Ontario, they skirted the northern shore. The weather was rough, and their progress slow. They did not reach Tslagara before the first day of October. Then their boats had to be carried over the difficult portage around the falls. Having seen his expedition safely afloat above the cata- ract, Rogers, with a small company, hastened on foot to Pittsburgh, with dispatches for General Markton. He rejoined his command at Presque Isle about the close of the month. The prospect, as they hugged along the shore, was oreary enough. The chilly winds came sweeping across the laka. The yellow-leaved beeches and maples were shedding their foliage. Dark clumps of hemlock and pme frowned gloomily over the shores. On the sev- enth day of November, the little fleet swept into Cuyahoga River. The British flag had never before been carried so far westward. The fall rains having set in, the rangers encamped on the bank until the twelfth. Soon after the landing of the rangers, a party of Indians entered the camp, proclaiming themselves an embassy from Pontiac, ruler of ail that country, and requiring the English to proceed no further without his permission. Before the close of the day Pontiac himself approached, with a number of chiefs, and demanded to know Rogers' business in that country. This was ex- plained to him. Pontiac replied that he should stand in the way of the English until morning. He withdrew at dusk. The rangers, suspecting treachery, stood well on their guard throughout the night. In the morning Pon- tiac returned, and made a more formal reply, in substance, that he was willing to live at peace with the English, and suffer them to remain in his country, so long as they should treat him with deference. 'IK- 96 THE GREAT WEST. That wily chief had been a fast ally of the French. The American forest never produced a man more shrewd, politic, ambitious. He saw the French power waning, and he would no longer openly prop a falling cause. By appearing friendly with the English, he would gain time to bring about concert of action among the diiyointed tribes. He would se?' o lull the English into fatal security. A blow too s on, though successful, would be ruinous. It would thwart the scheme of combining the whole Indian race in one universal war of extermination. It would bring the hated English upon the tribes sepa- rately, to destroy them by piecemeal. These may have been the reasons why Pontiac should dissemble, and assume the offices of friendship, and offer Rogers any supplies which he might have stood in need of. The whale-boats of the rangers, toward the close of November, began moving up slowly between the low banks of the Detroit River. At last, the uniformity of marsh and wood-lands was relieved by the appearance of Canadian houses, on either side, — the outskirts of the secluded settlement. Before them, in the distance, was seen the French flag, flying above the bark roofs and weather-stained palisades of the fortified town. In obe- dience to the English summons, the garrison laid down their arms, and the red cross of England rose to the peak of the flag-staff. This was on the twenty-ninth day of November, 1760. The garrison were sent prisoners^ down the lake. The inhabitants were disarmed. An officer was dispatched southward to take possession of the forts Miami and Ouatanon, which guarded the communi- cations with the Ohio River. The gathering storms of winter, and the drifting ice from Lake Huron, prevented Rogers proceeding further. Besides, his^jcompany had been weakened by the detachments sent oif to the south, ENGUSH CONQUEST. gy Mid seven hundred Indians were renorted t„ K„ s .v immediate Ticinity of Detroit n„„„ .t ! " **" »PH„. Michi,ima4i„,, ItLry^fG ee'C;™ sf Joaephs were delivered np to theLgli.r NetWng w.s M he power of the French, except their posts on The M,ss>sa,pp,, not included in the capitulation TmZ^ The English, having gone into possession of the ter ntory yielded up to them after five years of incess»i ZlisTr ' *" "" '"^ "^"'^ »f «"> Frlh The English flag was waving over the fortresses along the Ohio and around the great lakes. But the West w!, !» immense region, accessible only to the mo t fearlerand hardy adventurers. The fort^ were altogethrinXnffi cant when compared with the extent of conntr^ to if: awed into submission by them A rZ T j . *^° broken up into small deta^h^el, sttitedT re i^oTs' :er:Tnlerted C^tJ\':ZT "' ''' T'^ +1,.. T J- ^ treaty, it was supposed thaf the Indians now their civilized allies had been con quered would offer but little resistance to EnglisHower" Peace, It was hoped, would continue pretty "mth Zl ken. All the wars with the Indians-all the savage mroads into English territory-had, for more than ^^0' »hon been ascribed to the machinations of the FrS ta Canada. In every hostile war-party that witZ *i, .emembrance of the living, had^l^'gl'"" and slaughter into the English homes, the sword a^l a" CaTadrha "' T. T *" ^""'" *°«'*-- The ft If Indian' tC f' '™vf *'""'''' ""^ *" *« '«^'<'™ ' eitects of it.^ They were agitated for a season by conflict- a 98 THE GREAT WEST. Ing emotions and passions. Surprise at the overthrow of their great ally, wonder at the sudden growth of their enemy bewildered them, and held their hatred of tho English in suspense. The woods appeared to be all quiet. The Indians appeared submissive. But before two years had elapsed, the delusion of the English was dispelled, and the whole West was wrapped in flame. TBIDINO WITH THE INDUlrS. 99 CHAPTEK vr. K.nn» of irading m,h the I„di.n._E»rlr roma to the We.l-Th. :°7'" ""' '=l"'"-^>.o Ac.<.l„._l>„„„,eU„„ of thelr pro" Ka!!: fhr r '°""'' - "'=''-- *• «- "-s;- At the close of the old French war, the English settle- ments extended from Georgia to Maine, along the Atlan- t.o.^ ..ached in from the coast about one Ldred Id fif^ miles, to the mountains-a narrow border of civili- zation upon the edge of the darlt back-ground of wilder ness Hostile military posts no longer frowned upln the western waters. Bold, adventurous men were eager to penetrate the wilds. Ever since Major UeGregZC been plundered on Lake Huron, English traders had been Indians. The nch furs could be bought for a song A few stnngs of beads, gaudy ribbons, hatchets, kniZ'gun powder, and lead, and a little poor whisky, was ai*tho beyond the reach of the law, dealing with ignorant kv- .ges, a system of cheating could be carried on with impu- nity, and enormous profits could be realized. The trader's goods were disposed of in packages, or by the ^00 a pnces regulated by his own greediness.' Com'Son bTuZ 7T. "t ^r " '""'" '""P"^''""- ■Whatever was ma» s hand p aced on the scale was allowed to weigh a pound, and h« foot five pounds. It i, needless to say. 100 THE GREAT WEST. that the weights grew heavier in ])roportion to the value of the furs that swung at the (ithiir end of the beam. Even though the bargaining may have been conducted honestly throughout, the trader's goods were unconscion- ably dear, while the Indian's goods were rated at merely nominal prices. With such goldiyi opportunities before them, on the return of peace the Jb^dy traders hastened into the West. The American forest, in 1761, may be compared with the sea, in this respect : the sea had its ports, and the forest had its places of rendezvous and outfit. While the former were thronged with merchants and seamen, the latter were swarming with traders and borderers. The ocean and the woods were alike lawless and perilous. In the northern provinces there were two important placen for fitting out for the wilderness. Albany and Philadel- phia were competing with each other for the monopoly of the trade of the West. Both held communications imme- diately with the sea ; and they had each a peculiar mode of inland transportation. Their advantages and disad- vantages were about equally balanced. Albany had intercourse with the interior by means of rivers and the great lakes; Philadelphia, overland, and through the head-waters of the Ohio. The route from Albany was interrupted by frequent carrying-places ; that from Phila- delphia by a double chain of mountains. Availing themselves of the opportunity for developing the western trade, which the surrender of Canada had, for the first time, afforded them, large swarms of traders set out from Albany and from Philadelphia with such kinds of goods as were thought most likely to please their savage customers. Those who went by the more northern route, passed up the Mohawk in boats or canoes, paddling where the current was not too swift, and at other times LIEUTENANT OOEBELL's DIARY. 101 working their way against the stream with setting.polea. a ho htter process was called "punting." Passing by lor^ Hunter, at the mouth of the Schoharie creek, and Fort Herkimer, at Gorman Flats, they would make a halt for a while at Fort Stanwix. now Rome, at the head of •river navigation. Thence crossing through the swamp to Wood creek, they would again eml^ark. The channel of that creek was so crooked, that it is said to have run through m the night and got lost. Taking to the oars once more, on Oneida Lake, they would pass Fort Brew- erton by the outlet to the Oswego River, which was once a broao, deep, clear stream, before the canal was dug along its uanks; but. on account of that, the river is said to have been running swamp water, from sheer mortifica- tion, ever since. Shooting the fulls, they would soon arrive at Lake Ontario. The rest of the way was plain sailing, except the long portage at Niagara. The troops often followed this route. Lieutenant Gor- rell, in 1763. passed over it with a detachment of soldiers His diary shows some of the inconveniences which attended upon him : " July 2d. Dined with Sir William, at Johnson Hall. The office of superintendent very troublesome. Sir William continually plagued with In- dians about him— generally frorlf three hundred to nine hundred in number-spoil his garden, and keep bis house always dirty. "10th. Punted and rowed up the Mohawk River against the stream, which, on account of the rapidity of the current, is very hard work for the poor soldiers. En- camped en the banks of the river. Musquitoes. The mconveniencea attending a married subaltern strongly appear in this tour. What with the sickness of their wives, the squealing of their children, and the smallness of their pay, I think the gentlemen discover no common « 102 THE GREAT WEST. share of philosophy in keeping themselves from run- ning mad. "Monday, 14th. Went on horseback by the side of ^^ Wood creek, twenty miles, to the Royal Block-house, a kind 9 of wooden castle, proof against any Indian attacks. It is now abandoned by the troops, and a sutler lives there, who keeps rum, milk, raccoons, etc., which, though none of the most elegant, is comfortable to strangers passing that way." When the Albany traders had arrived at Presque Isle, they could either continue on up the lakes, and spread out through Michigan and the north, or crossing to French creek, and down the Alleghany River, penetrate into southern Ohio and Indiana. From Philadelphia, the route led over to the Susque- hanna, at Harrisburgh ; thence up the valley of the lovely Juniata, winding for an hundred miles through scenes of romantic beauty ; and then across the mountains to Pitts- burgh. Thence following down the Ohio, the traders could ascend its tributaries into the heart of the north- west More commonly, the journeys by the southern route were made with brigades of pack-horses, loaded with goods, and led abng the rugged pathways of the mountains, and urged on through thickets, and swimming the rivers, under the guidance of drivers who had been trained to their calling in the midst of the perils of the borders. That class of frontiersmen who were engaged in the Indian trade have long since disappeared from the re- gions of their former renown. They were rough, bold men, intractable and fierce. During their seasons of re- pose among the homes of civilization, they kept the sober and steady people in constant alarm with their wild PEONTIERSMEMT. 103 an earnestness and noise that sounded like the stamping of horses. They loved to fight, as they said, to keep from " spilin'." After sleeping a half a day on a hard bench in a bar-room, tbey would rouse up, " licker," go out of doors, and give a yell that would scare half a township. They wore coon-skin caps; huge blanket- coats, or hunting-shirts of sn.oked deer-skin; carried a rifle, knife, and tomahawk ; made use of enormous pow- der-horns; and smoked, and swore, and drank, from morn- ing till night. In the employ of a principal trader, these tough, fearless men would push ahead into the depths of the wilderness, shooting, as they went along, at a deer or at an Indian, just as the one or the other happened to come first within range. When the trains of horses had penetrated far enough into the Indiar country, the owner of the goods wonld fix his head-quarters at some village, whence he would dispatch his subordinates in every direc- tion, with supplies of red cloth, tobacco, paint, beads, and trinkets. This wild kind of tiaffic was liable to every species of disorder. And the overreaching and cheating of the traders, in the end, increased the exasperation of the Indians against the English. In a very short period of time, regular trading-stations had been established at Pittsburgh, on the Muskingum and the Miami, at Sandusky, at Detroit, on the Maumee and St. Joseph's, at Michilimackinac and Green Bay ; while numerous other places, on the branches of the great rivers, were visited, periodically, for the purpose of traffic. When the traders and hunters had fairly broken pathways through the wilderness, another class of men speedily followed aftfir them. The agents of land com- panies,and surveyors, began looking up valuable tracts of land, running lines and blazing trees. Now nothing dis- j(M»«vw vuQ Auuiaua Bu ttiuuu as i>uis. xuny rsffarciea lad 104 THE GREAT WEST. surveyor, squinting over his compass, and making marks on trees and in his books, as the white man's devil. IIo seemed to them to exercise some sort of enchantment over their lands,by means of which the English got into the possession of them. Squatting on their haunches around the wigwam-fires, they would talk it all over to one another, how the magical instruments stuck on tho top of a stick would turn toward all the best lands, and how the chain would bind all fast to the white man. These rude notions respecting the power of the sur- veyor's compass and chain were confirmed by the stories of the Delawares, and other tribes that had begn de- frauded of their lands in the older provinces. The mis- erable remnants, driven from their hunting-grounds, had sought a refuge beyond the Alleghanies, and, minglihg with the Indians there, had taught them to regard tl.ese instruments with astonishment and fear. Wherever the chain had been drawn, settlements would surely follow the woods would be cut down, and the Indians expelled! The French, also, had encouraged the notion, and had founded an argument upon it to induce the Indians to take sides against the English. And although Canada had fallen. Upper Louisiana was still a colony of France, and included the forts and settlements on the Mississippi ' and Fort Massac on the Ohio, forty miles above its mouth. From these, agents and traders were going forth amoug the tribes with whom they had held friendly intercourse for nearly a century, and perceiving the cause of the dis- satisfaction, they strove to pr'>raote it, in the hope of regaining their lost territory in the event of a general Indian war. About this same time an event occurred which greatly strengthened the charge of rapacity brought against the English, and served to convince the Indians that there THE ACADIANS WRONGED. ^5 could be no safety in permitting the hated race to exist on the continent. It seems that during the late war England had committed.;one of those acts of oppr^Iion wh.c^. ean only be justified, if at all. by appealL^gT h" terrible emergencies of military strife. Acadia f d^inel Canada. The inhabitants of both colonies had sprung from the same stock, spoke the same language, professed the same faith. They had been united fn tidr'htto; They had entertained the same prejudices. They h7d cherished the same hopes; and both had participated in a common hatred of the English. Upon the breaking out had in.T'7^^ ^'^ ''^'^ '^^^^ ^^^"^ *h« glob- and had mvolved the most civilized as well as the most sav- age nations, it was feared that the Acadians might do more than sympathize with their kindred; and that, by joining with the other French and the Indians, they would make the burden of the war in America too great for England and the English provinces to bear The situation of the English on this con.nent was [hen f': nore critical than at any other period since the first set- tlements at Plymouth and at Jamestown. A powerful enemy was in all the north, with fortresses and troop extending half way from ocean to ocean. The savages of a boundless wilderness, also, were in arms agamst them. The dwellmgs of Englishmen, along the borders, were blazing m midnight conflagrations, and the inhabitants, without regard to age or sex, were butchered with horri- hie barbarity. The frightened multitudes, fleeing from the ghastly terror, were crowding into the Atlantic cities. ii^ngland, therefore, had resolved to put it forever out of the power of the Acadians to take part with her numerous enemies.^ A fleet was dispatched to the suspected colony. commissioned to seize the inhabitants, destroy their prop- erty, and transport them to the coasts of New .l^r^Z 106 THE GREAT WEST. Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia. Thousands of those unfortunate people were torn from their homes, and cast upon the cold charity of the world. Strangers to cur language, strangers to our manners, penniless, help- less, their mute sorrow had touched the humanity of the Anglo-Americans, who, by private subscription and legis- lative bounty, had endeavored to soften the hardships of their terrible lot. The work of despoiling the Acadians had been accomplished with a zeal bordering on ferocity. To prevent any lingering desire of home prompting them to return, they were not only stripped of their money and available property, but they had been compelled to look on while their fields were being wasted, while their houses and barns were burning, and their flocks and herds slaughtered. The treatment of the Acadians could not have had a tendency to lessen their dislike of British rule. The inhumanity of tearing them from their homes, destroying all their possessions, and converting the places of their birth into a desert, had been too great to be atoned for by any subsequent acts of sympathy and kindness. At length the peace had come. Then, with a spirit honora- ble to them, and honorable to human nature, they deter- mined no longer to eat the bread of charity at the hands of a race which had been guilty of so atrocious an oflFense against the rights of mankind. Gathering at last into one of the middle provinces, a bs^nd of desolate outcasts, they set their faces toward the West. A thousand miles of wilderness lay between them and the French settle- ments on the Mississippi ; and the> . . olved to brave its perils. The aged grandsire, tottering on his stafl'; the slender child ; men once rich, now beggared forever; wo- men with infants at their breasts j all, all undertook the journey. The wilderness never beheld a more melancholy HOSPITALITY TO THE ACADIA NS. 107 spectacle than when that company of fugitives passed into Its shadows. Some died by the way. Some, from exposure, became hopelessly decrepit. After a while, the wanderers, weary and foot-sore, reached the Ohio, and floated down in canoes and on rafts They were received at the French settlements with great hospitality. Every house was flung open to them Everything, in fact, was done to promote their comfort Lands were allotted to them. Tools and seeds were given to them. Rations were furnished them from the public stores. But the iron had entered too deeply into tteir souia. Many pined away and died broken-hearted. Those who survived perpetuated their hatred of the English name. The wrongs of the Acadians were relat- ed from village to village. The dancers stopped in the midst of their graceful movements ; the herdsman for- sook his flocks; the hunters and voyagers delayed their departure, to listen to the terrible story. Anger was kmdled anew in every Frenchman's bosom. Then they carried abroad with them what they had heard. Where- ever a Frenchman could go in the wilderness, the story flew. Chiefs in council listened to it, and saw in the fate of the Acadians the fate of their tribes. The story was repeated in all the dialects of the West, and helped to bmd the Indians still more closely with the French From that time forward, their common enmity to the English was directed to the development of a great plan of extermination. Another cause which also tended to hasten the catas- trophe arose from the impolitic conduct of the English toward the tribes around them. The Indian nature is pecuharly constituted. It is tough, rugged, and ini^.^Ue. Its strongest element is inordinate pride. Howe\^x igno- rant he may be, or poverty-stricken, or whimsical, the 108 THE GREAT WEST. -■©^ Indian, uncontaminated with the vices of civilization, has a most exalted sense of character. He is every whit a man ; and, in his owu opinion, a great man. An insult seems to leave a scar on his very heart. The remem- brance of a wrong done him clings to him through life. His hatred is the most bitter of all hatreds; it maybe smothered for a time, but never quenched. Though bare and breechless, he walks the earth with all the dignity of a born lord. It is his pride that makes the Indian so stoical as he is. He will not manifest his feelings He may suffer keenly; but he will repress every expression of pam. It would be unmanly in him to give evidence of distress. His pride enables him to endure the most fright- ftil torments at the hands of his enemies without iiinching. When tied at the stake, in a position of utter helpless- ness, ho will not move a muscle, though the explosion of fire-arms m his face should singe off his eyebrows. He will not so much as wink, though the tomahav^k, hurled whistling through the air, should chip the top-knot from his head within an ace of the skin. But the Indian's pride IS fully equaled by his vanity. The French had understood the Indian character far better than their rivals, and they had adapted their policy to It. They had taken advantage of his overweening self-importance, and had won him to their cause. Thev had treated the Indian throughout, with the most flatter- ing attentions; and had made him feel as though they thought about as much of him as he thought of himself He could withstand the most awful tortures, but he could TSn^tr^^^^"'^' *' ^'' ^^"^*y- ™s was the secret of the French success in creating and maintaining alliances with the Indian tribes. But the English, of the contrary, had been altogether unaccommodating in heir treatment of the Ind.an. They regarded him as an intruder on the soil, and he regarded them in the same ILL-TREATMENT OP THE INDIANS. 109 light. They could not harraonize in any respect what- ever An Lnglishman, upon meeting with an Indian for the first time, would- stand and stare at him as at a wild w th t*e sight, the Englishman would not notice him at all. That was more oflFensive still. Soon the Indian had become a nuisance, to be rudely jostled from the path: and that was a mortal offense. When the chiefs visited the forts, they were no longer received, as before, with every mark of honor and distinction, but were met with coldness and suspicion, or with utter indifference. The soldiers would make fun of them, mimic the tones of their voices and their pompous airs, and ridicule their ap- pearance generally. The very boys were allowed to tease them with impertinent questions, call them nick- names, make faces at them. The officers would not invite them to the tables; but,, after dinner, would send out crusts and bones to them in the yards with the dogs. I he pride of the Indians was constantly wounded by the conduct of the English. Repeated insults had been superadded to repeated injuries. The sagacious chiefs Had seen the surveyors tramping about in search of the choicest lands, and they believed that a crowd of English- men would soon follow after them to destroy all the hunting-grounds. They had seen the unprincipled trad- ers cheatmg their peoile out of their property, exchang- ing the most worthless goods for the richest furs, and niaking them foolish with strong drink. And these offen- sive things were not accidental, but intentional. Outrage had been reduced to a system. And the English forts and military posts h^id become like so many springs of bitter water, overflowing, and sending out their poison- ous streams further and further through the wilderness. »uch a state of things could not last much longer. A rupture had become inevitable. 110 THE GREAT WEST. CHAPTER VII. PONTIAC'S WAR. Pontiac — Indian method of drUllng their warriors — Pontiac assem- blea a council — Pontiac's speech — His dream — The fort at De- troit — PoPtiac inspects the fort during a calumet dance — Pontiac's conspiracy on the fort at Detroit defeated — A general destruction of the forts and settlements by the Indians — Stratagems of the game of ball, between the Ojibways and Sacs, and destruction of Michilimackinac — Fall of Venango — Condition of the frontier settlements— Colonel Henry Bouquet — His victory near Fort Pitt — A council with the chiefs — Their apology for the war Bouquet's reply — Orders the Indians to bring in all their prisoners before giving them the hand of friendship — Meeting of long-lost frienda — Conclusion of the Indian war — Assassination of Pontiac. The English colonies were illy prepared to meet the impending war. Those armies which had conquered Canada, had been broken up and dispersed. The rangers had been disbanded. The regulars had been sent home to England. There remained barely troops sufficient to garrison the posts in the Indian country. In the mean- while, the deeply-rooted hatred of their oppressors was urging the Indians on precipitately to action, which would have much weakened the effect of the meditated blow, and have given the English time for preparation. But a master mind was busy restraining the impetuosity of the Indian character, and wielding a moral influence over the wild, discordant elements, to reduce them into a spe- cies of military order. An Indian chieftain, ruling over a large confederacy, with broad, comprehensive views of policy, is, mdeed, an anomaly in the history of the wilderness. PONTIAC'S CONFEDERACY. Ill Pontiac, the great leader of the Indian confederacy, is reported to have been not above the average hight of men. But his muscular form is said to have been re- markable for its symmetry and vigor. His features were irregular. His complexion was darker than is common with the Indian. The expression of his face was bold, stem, determined. His whole bearing was imperious. At the commencement of the war, he is said to have been about fifty years old. Ordinarily, his dr«ss con- sisted of a scanty cloth, girt about his loins. His hair was not shaven, but hung flowing over his shoulders. Upon great occasions, he appeared before his warriors, plumed and painted, and in a robe, and leggins, and moc- casins richly ornamented, in the most impressive style of savage art. He was resolute, wise, and eloquent. His capacious intellect, grasped everything within the range of Indian vision. He possessed uncommon force of character; and in subtlety, he was more than a match for the wiliest chieftains of his race. With all those qual- ities which distinguish great men, it was his misfortune to have been born an Indian. He was passionate, treach- erous, and cruel. One of Nature's noblemen by birth, he had been reduced by circumstances and position to a savage. His splendid genius blazed for a while in the wilderness like a fallen star. During the summer of 1762 the conspiracy against the English had ripened to perfection. The hour of ven- geance was drawing near. The danger extended the whole length of the western border, and was imminent to all the middle provinces. Early in the fall, Pontiac had dispatched his ambassadors to the Indian tribes. He had his head-quarters in a small, secluded island, at the opening of Lake St. Clair. From that place he had sent his mes- sages throughout the country of the Ohio and its tributaries ; 112 THE GREAT WEST. through the vast region of the upper lakes ; through the wild fastnesses ofthe Ottawa River; through the entire length of the Valley of the Mississippi. And all the tribes north of the Cherokee country, between the Alleghanies and the great plains on the Missouri, had joined in the conspiracy, including even the Senecas, one of the Iroquois nations. Pontiac had directed that the blow should be struck in the month of May following. The precise time had been indicated by reference to the changes of the moon. The tribes had been counseled to make a general and an instan- taneous rising. Each tribe had been charged with the destruction of the English garrison in its own neighbor- hood. Then they were to fling themselves in a mass on the defenseless colonists. Throughout the recesses of the forest the preparations for war had already been begun. The Indians, indeed, had no armies to drill in complicated tactics, no military stores to provide; but a deep personal interest in the approaching contest had to be awakened in every warrior. The success of an Indian campaign would be dependent on the intensity of the pas- sion which should urge each one on to heroic deeds. Con- cert of action could be secured in no other way than by bringing similar influences to bear with nearly equal force on them all. That was the scope of the Indian tactics. For that purpose, the Indian war-songs and the Indian war-dances had long ago been devised. These were pecu- liarly adapted to stimulate savage natures to the highest pitch of excitement. Mere animal courage always will kindle quickly, by contact with its like, into a fierce and furious flame. Could the English, in 1762, have pierced the gloom of the wilderness, they would have beheld the enacting of scenes of demoniac grandeur that would have startled them from their fancied security. Throughout the vast region of lakes and rivers, in all the valleys, PREPARATIONS FOR HOSTILITIES. HJ along tho mountains, and the heavily-timbered plains from north to south, from east to west, wherever the blood-stamed hatchets of Pontiac had been accepted, the English would have beheld the gathering of the tribes for the rude discipline of savage warfare. In the night-time fires would have been seen blazing beneath the leafy can' opies, and sending out mingling streams of light and shadow into the woods around. And near each crackling heap of knots and brushwood, they would have seen a post, driven firmly in the earth, and so painted as to des- ignate the enemy, against whom the direst of passions were to be wrought up to frenzy. Within the gaping circle of women and children, the warriors would have been seen, all painted and plumed, swaying with fierce exulta- tion at the expected display of hatred toward the white men. Soon they would have beheld a savage, leaping and boundmg impulsively within the ring, with brandished tomahawk, as if in the act of rushing on a foe. and the crowd, pressing and jostling each other, in the intensity of excitement more nearly about him; while he, loudly chanting the exploits of himself and his ancestors, with furious gesticulations, enacting the deeds he was reciting becoming wholly frantic with passion, would strike at the post as he would strike an enemy, and tear the scalp from his imaginary victim. Then the swarms of warriors unable longer to refrain from bursting into the arena,' would have been seen jumping, and stamping, and rushing and leaping, their tomahawks gleaming, and their knives flashing, hacking, and stabbing the air in the fury of battle exciting themselves and each other to madness. That was the Indian method of drilling their troops for war. Each warrior knew how to use his weapons well. But the midnight pantomimes of murder gave him ■ the spirit to use them on the designated foe. When aU rr i 114 THE GREAT WEST. •-^ his excitable nature had been concentrated into one single burning point, he was ready for tlie war-path. From that little island in Lake St. Clair had gone forth an influence tliat had kindled hundreds of those baleful night-fires; and from that same island had gone forth anotlier influ- ence, also, that had restrained the fiercest passions of an excitable people, until the hour for action had fully come. Under so accomplished a leader as Pontiac, and following implicitly his directions, the Indians, though on the eve of an outbreak, effectually concealed their design. With the deep dissimulation of the race, they had become more friendly in their intercourse with the English, in proportion as the spring was advancing. When the troops had first taken possession of the forts, the Indians had come thronging within the inclosures, to gratify their curiosity, and observe the ways of the enemy, against whom they had been so long at war. In a little while, however, having become disgusted with the treatment which they had received, they had withdrawn altogether to the woods. And the soldiers had been congratulating themselves at being well rid of the nuisances. But while the winter of 1762-3 was passing away, the Indians had begun to come back again, in a most desultory manner and from different quarters, straggling into the vicinities of the forts, and pitching their tents a little way off. The warriors, as before, would hang listlessly around near the sentries, or squat in groups in the corners of the parade- grounds, smoking and grunting, apparently nndistmoed by the rude taunts and jeers of the soldiers, and would endure to be poked about with the butt-ends of muskets without even a show of displeasure. They would beg, importunately as ever, for tobacco, gunpowder, and whisky. Observing this humility of the Indians, the English offi- cers had flattered themsol -^ ijat the wilderness was POJTTIAC'S COUNCIL. 116 bppoming entirely quiet. Major Gladwyn, at Detroit, had written in March, to General AnihcrHt, that, in lue neigh- borhood of his own post, the savages were perfectly tran- quil. While, within cannon-shot from where that deluded ofTicer was writing, lay the secluded island in the Lake St. Clair, where Pontiac, who had completed his prepara- tions for the general rising, was planning a surprise of the very fortress ot which the major was in command. On the twr>nty. seventh day of April, 17G3, the chiefs and warriors vi' the three great north-western tribes, in obedience to a summons from Pontiac, assembled in coun- cil on Mie banks of the River Ecorces. The spot which had been selected was a natural meadow, about eight miles below Detroit. As t\m bands came in and set up their lodges, the field became dotted with wigwams. There were the Ojibways, tall and naked, with their quivers slung, and war-clubs resting in the hollows of their arms. There were the Ottawas, close wrapped in blankets There wore the Wyandots, flaunting in shirts of painted skins, their hair adorned with feathers, and their leggins with btlls. The assi.mbly were seated in circles, row within row. Around were the women and the young men; further off, the groups of children and ponies: and beyond all, the woods. Rising in the midst, Pontiac addressed them. He railed against the English, dwelling upon their rapacity, their arrogance, their injustice. He said the English had expe.'.'ed the Frr^Poh. and were only waiting for some pre- ^Gxt .0 turn upon the Indians, also, and destroy them He told them that the French king, at last, had awakened from his long sleep, and had heard the voices of his red children crying to him from the woods; that he was com- ing m his big war-canoes to wreak vengeance on their enemies. He told them that the Indians and the French 116 THE GREAT WEST. together should again strike down the English, as they had done before, on the field of Braddock's defeat. Pontiac then strove to enlist their superstitious feelings. He told them that the Great Spirit was angry with them for permitting the English to live among them, and adopt- ing the English weapons and tools. He told them that a great prophet had been mourning over the destruction of the Indians, and had become desirous of learning wisdom fron- the Master of Life, but he was ignorant where to find him. Then he had fasted, and dreamed dreams; and it had been revealed to him, that, by moving forward in a straight line, he should reach the abode of the Great Spirit. The prophet had provided him a gun and pow- der-horn, ammunilion, and a kettle, and had set out on his journey. On the evening of the eighth day, he had stopped in the edge of a prairie, and was cooking his meal, when he saw three openings into the woods, and three beaten paths entering them. Great was his wonder, for the paths grew plainer as the darkness was increasing. He had entered the largest opening a short way into the woods, when bright flames had leaped out of the ground, blazing before him. He had tried a second path with the like result. But he had followed the third path a whole day, when he came to a mountain of dazzling white- ness. It was steep, and the prophet had despaired of going further. Then a beautiful woman bad arisen, as he was looking upon her, and she said to him, "How can you hope to see the Master of Life ! with your gun, and powder-horn, ammunition, and kettle. Go ! throw them away, and your meal, and your blanket, and wash you in yon stream. Then you will be prepared to see the Mas- ter of Life." The prophet had done as the woman had bidden him. And he had climbed to the top of the moun- tain. There a beautiful plain was spread out before him, 1 ( t t t g ai ai w fe he fi' PONTIAC'S SPEECH. ny and the wildest animals were tame; and the fiercest, gen- tie And he saw there three large villages, the wigwan.s made of the most beautiful timber, far superior to the tim- ber used by the Indians. While the prophet was stand- ing, hesitatmg to enter, a man had come forth, dressed in gorgeous apparel, and had taken him by the hand,and bade him welcome. Then he conducted him into the presence of the Great Spirit, and left him confronting the dazzlmg splendors. And the Great Spirit said to him- I am the Maker of the heaven and earth, the trees! lakes, nvers, and all things else. I am the Maker of manlnnd And because I love you, you must do as I bid you. The land you live on, I have made it for you, and not for others. Why do you suffer the white men to dwell among you ? My children, you have forgotten the customs and traditions of your forefathers. Why do you not clothe yourselves in skins, as they did, and use the bows and arrows, and the stone-pointed lances, which they used? You have bought your guns, knives, kettles, and blankets from the white «ien, until you can no longer do without them. You have drank their fire-water, which turns you to fools. Fling away all these things. Live as your wise forefathers lived before you. And as for hose Engli.h-those dogs dressed in red, who have come to rob you of your hunting-grounds, and scare away the game-you must -lift the hatchet against them. Go! wipe them off the face of the earth. Then you shall win back my favor; and I will make you prosperous and happy once more." Then the prophet had departed, and had reported the wonders which he had seen and heard. Such IS the meager sketch of a part of Pontiac's speech, which has been preserved to us by the Canadian French, a tew ot whom had been permitted to be present, and had heard hi"l thaf rli- n^^:..- ii , »-*»♦« - ,«--. 41,.! inac aa^. vumaig mrougn two transiatious, ^ 118 THE GREAT WEST. and reported from recollection, it must fall far short of displaying the eloquence a.id beauty of the original. It is quite probable that other chiefs, also, may have spoken; but, with us, the interest of that occasion attaches to Pontiac alone. The encampment was broken up the next morning, so early that when the sun had risen and lifted the mists from the river the meadow was bare. The western forts were situated as follows, namely: Presque Isle, now Erie; Venango, on the Alleghany River, at the mouth of French creek; Fort Pitt; San- dusky, on Sandusky Bay; Detroit; Miamis, on the Mau- mee River, one hundred miles above its mouth ; 3Iichili- mackinac; Green Bay; Ouatanon, on the Upper Wabash, one hundred miles south of Lake Michigan; and St. Jo- sephs, on the shore of that lake. Into the neighborhoods of all these forts the Indians were seen gathering early in the month of May. Detroit was one of the strongest of the English posts. Some of them were merely block-houses. At the close of the French war, Detroit had contained twenty-five hundred inhabitants. On the western bank of the river, midway the settlement, stood the fortified town or fort, surrounded by a palisade twenty feet high, inclosing about one hundred houses, thatched, some with bark and some with straw, and a council-house, and a little church. The village straggled along the river, above and below. At each corner of the fort was a wooden bastion, which brought the sides within range of a cross-fire. The gateways opened beneath block-houses. The fort was nearly square, and it had two principal entrances, one from the river, the other from a large field, that had been cleared of trees, stumps, hillocks — everything that could shelter an enemy. Within, the streets were extremely narrow, except a broad passage, running entirely around THE CALUMET DANCE. 119 between the houses and the palisade. Two small schooners, armed, the Beaver and the Gladwyn, lay at anchor ,n the river. And several light pieces of artillery showed their black, open throats over the bastions. The garrison consisted of one hundred and twenty soldiers, under t be command of Major Gladwyn, and about for'y fur traders their clcrLs and attendants. Across the nyer, the bank was lined for five miles with French houses terminating toward Lake St. Clair at the village of he tawas, and below at the Wyandots. opposite tie lot awatamies. The Canadian dwellings had each its garden and orchard, fenced in with rounded pickets, and extendmg back m narrow lines to the woods. Detroit, in l/o3, was a lonely place to Englishmen The nearest English settlements lay along the Mohawk River. Ihe nearest English post was the mere block- house at feandusky. In the woods around Detroit, the Indians had been slowly gathering, all the spring, to ihe number of about two thousand warriors. But those who bad appeared in the village and at the fort seemed docile, submissive, and friendly. Their apparent purpose was to trade, and have a good time, smoking and drinking, after the tedium of winter. On the first day of May, Pontiac came to the gateway and asked permission to enter, and dance the calumet dance before the ofiicers of the garrison. He had brought with him forty Ottawa warriors. Upon being admit- ted they had proceeded to the corner of the street in front of the house of the commandant, and began the dance, m the presence of Major Gladwyn and several of his subordinates. The Indians first spread upon the ground a large mat, made from rushes of divers colors, and placed on it the calumet, and their boys, quivers, and wks. Then they began a monotonous chant, dur- wuu 120 THE GREAT WEST. ing which, each, in turn, advanced to the calumet, taking a whiflF and puffing out the smoke, as if offering incense. After that, tliey repeated their advances, tossing the calumet with their hands in time with the song, and dis- playing it to the spectators from side to side. When that had been gone through with, the dance properly be- gan. Each singly, as before, moved over the mat with a shuffling gait, keeping step to the music, pluming the feathers of the calumet, and waving its wings, as in the act of flying from mouth to mouth. Next came the mimic combats to the thumping of a drum, the singing having ceased. Two warriors at a time advanced to- gether, one with the calumet, the other with his weapons ; and they went through a mock battle, keeping step as before, thrusting, parrying, flying, pursuing— the calumet always being victorious. Then the victor had to make a speech, bragging of what he had done, and of his ances- tors, and tribe, and the Indians generally. All of them went through with the performance with spirit and effect ; and before it had been concluded, the novel spectacle had attracted to the spot every oflicer, soldier, trader, and clerk, not on duty. The doors and windows around had been flung open, and women and children were gazing. It was remembered afterward that ten of the Indians had slipped away P!>rly in the dance, and were found prying about in different parts of the fort; but nothing had been thought of it at the time. That was the method which Pontiac had resorted to, in procuring an inspection of the condition of the fortress. Modern experiments have demonstrated that the proper length of the rifle-barrel is about twenty-eight inches; but the hunters an hundred years ago prized that weapon for the length of its barrel, which usually was from three to four feet. On the fifth of May, Mrs. St. Aubin. a DISCOVERT OP THE PLOT. J 21 Canadian woman, went over to the Ottawa village for ma- pie-sugar and venison, and she there saw several warriors filing off their rifle-barrels about the middle. She men- tioned this fact in surprise among her neighbors, when the village blacksmith remarked, that the Indians had been coming to him lately to borrow files and saws, and would not tell him what they wanted them for. The next day a beautiful Pottawatamie girl, who had become much attached to one of the officers, revealed to her lover the grand plot for the destruction of the fort and garrison. Her affection had prevailed over her duty to her tribe. " To-morrow," she said, " Pontiac will come to the fort with sixty chiefs, each armed with a gun, cut short, and hidden under his blanket. He will demand a council; and, after making his speech, he will offer a peace-belt of wampum, holding it in a reversed position. Ihat will bo the signal of attack." Major Gladwyn was possessed of rare courage and ad- dress Calling his oflScers together, and communicating the plot to them, he set about the defense. Greatly fear- ing that the Indians might precipitate matters, and attempt carrying the fort by assault before morning, he kept half the garrison under arms ; and, with his officers spent the night watching. Early the next morning, a fleet of canoes was seen through the mists, coming over Jith two or three Indians in each, moving slowly, and deeply laden. It turned out that the canoes were filled with warriors, lying flat on their faces, to escape observa- tion Soon, the field behind the fort became thronged with Indians, seemingly preparing for a game of ball, glamors, wrapped in blankets, dropped in among them Irom time to time. Some approached the gate. Glad- wyn had them admitted; determined to convince them. 122 THE GREAT WEST. that, while he had discovered their plot, he also despised their hostility. The whole garrison was under arms. The English traders had closed their houses and armed t'leir men. Meanwhile, Pontiac was seen coming up the river road, with his sixty chiefs. Beaufait, a Canadian, says that he was standing on the bridge over Parent's creek, when they filed past him ; and that the chief in the rear was an old friend, who, loosening the folds of his blanket, for an mstant, displayed his shortened gun, with a significant gesture toward the fort. At ten o'clock, Pontiac passed into the inclosure be- tween the lines of soldiers; and though he must have seen that his plan was discovered, he did not alter his bearing in the least, but led the way directly across to the council-house. The ofl^cers were there to receive him, fully armed. "Why," asked Pontiac, "do I see so many of my father's young men standing in the street with their guns ? " Gladwyn replied, that they had beep out for review. The chiefs were seated, and, after the customary pause, Pontiac rose to speak, holding in his hand a wampum belt. The oflicers watched him closely. Once, it is said, he was about to make the signal; but, at a sign from Gladwyn, the drums at the door began beating the charge, and the hurried tramp of men was heard in the adjoining passage. The officers kept their seats. Gladwyn wished to destroy the plot, without bringing on an open rupture. The din ceased, and Gladwyn replied, that the Indians should have his friendship as long as they deserved it; but that he would punish the first act of aggression. The gates were again flung open, and the baffled chiefs departed. The plot had failed. The Indians began falling off, and in a little while the fort was clear. In their view, artifice was wisdom. DESTRUCTION OP THE FOETS. 123 With them the object, of th. war was to destroy their enemies ; and, for that purpose, all ,„eans seemed alike honorable. The Indians would have regarded a iced' nsk as a great folly. Had Pontiac ordered his f„ll„ to charge upon the armed garrison, probably not one of them would have obeyed him. I„ accordance with the r s range superstition, they mighi, indeed, have revereneed h.m. afterward, as a madman; but his fame among them as a warnor, would have been lost forever Pontiac, though chagrined at the failure of his strata- gem, was not discouraged in the prosecution of his w r He immediately laid siege to Detroit, hemming in .lie ga rison withi. the fortress, and cutting off straggle s stant y under arms, „,„,Hj, „„ ,„,j ,^^ only m their clothes, with t'leir swords beside them At one time, a large detachment coming to their re fef wt captured on the river, and slaught«-ed. A sci n r as cending from Lake Erie, with supplies for the f n i ling garr,son was attacked so vigorously that, altho ig lie desperate crew had slain three times their own nunil r th savages were thronging the deck, when the mate ng out be ow to fire the magazine. Some of the llZZ understood the order. Then they began plunging over board on all sides, bobbing, and ducking, „d fwimmin. or the shore yelling with am-ight. CoitntermaSg M order, the schooner was brought safely to the wharf The Indians continued to press the siege of Detro t wi h unexampled perseverance, for more ,L five mlnths.""' In the meanwhile, Sandusky, and St. Josephs, and Ouata,™ „„<, Miamis, and Venango, and Presque Is e had all fallen to the Indians, and the defenders iad been butchered. Fort Pitt, which had been strongly fortS on the ruins of Fort Du Quesnc. was also in a st t of 124 THE GREAT WEST. siege. The storm of war was sweeping along the whole border. The settlements had been attacked with fright- ful fury, the inhabitants murdered at their firesides, or shot down in the fields. Congregations had been surprised and slain in the act of public worship. School-houses had been captured, and teachers and children left in slaughtered heaps. Scores of captives had been burned alive at the stake. Hundreds more had been adopted into savage families, to fill the places of the Indians that had fallen. Terror reigned everywhere. Each neighborhood was occupied in providing for its own defense, so that none could lend assistance to the other3. The settle- ments were being swept away in detail. Michilimackinac had fallen at a single blow. Thai fortress, in 1763, consisted of a large area, inclosed by a high palisade, in the form of a square. It stood on the southern shore, close upon the margin of the lake. The houses, barracks, and other buildings, within it, had been built around a smaller square, in the center of the fort. These erections were of a single story, with bark roofs, and projections for stoops, opening toward the palisade. The settlement at Michilimackinac was composed of sixty families, half residing within, and half withoui; the for- tress. The garrison consisted of thirty-five men, with their officers, under the command of Captain Etherington. Two tribes of Indians were in that vicinity, in consider- able force. The Ojibway village, which stood on the island of Mackinaw, contained more than two hundred warriors. They had another village, also, at the head of Thunder Bay. The Ottawas, to the number of two hun- dred and fifty warriors, were located on an arm of Lake Michigan, about twenty miles to the south-west. The Ottawas had become partially Christianized, and had made some progress toward civilization. Many among THE GAME OF BALL. 125 them were living in log houses, cultivating corn and vegetables beyond their own wants, and supplying the fort. But the Ojibways, in every respect, were thorough savages. Toward the close of May, a runner had reached the Ojibway village from Detroit. "Pontiac," he said, -had already struck the English." The news created great excitement on the island; and the Indians there determined to attack the fort without delaying for reinforcements. Alexander Henry, who had resided at Michilimackinac, as a trader, since the fall of 1761, and who was one of the few that escaped the massacre, remembers to have seen the fort filled with Indians, on the third day of June, roving about among the soldiers with every appearance of friendship. His own house, too, had been thronged with them, coming tharo to buy knives and hatchets, often asking to look at his silver bracelets and other ornaments, with the intention, as would appear from their conduct afterward, of ascertaining where he kept them, that they might pillage him the more readily. The fourth of June, 1763, was a warm and sultry day. It was the b'v.nday of King George. And on that account the aiscipline of the garrison had been relaxed, and con--'— 'M- license was allowed to the soldiers. A large i.^. 'oways had crossed over, and encamped in the wood ■ ^ together with several bands of Sao Indians, from ...j Wisconsin River. In the forenoon, some of the Ojibways inv..ed the officers to come out and see a^grand game of ball played by their nation against . the Sacs. In a little while the fortress was half deserted. A few soldiers, indeed, lounged in the doorways and win- dows of the barracks J but most of them were outside the fort, scattered along in the shadow of the palisade, -^ — a -~~ ©sm^. tecarcsly one of tbcui had his arms. 126 THE GREAT WEST. The Canadians weig squatted in groups on the grass, smoking; and a g"oat many squaws were hovering around, wrapped in th 'ir blanltets. Captain Etherington and Lieutenant Leslie were standing near the open gate- way, —the former, a thorough Englisliman, offering to bet on the Ojibways, that they would win. The plain before them was swarming with the players. The game was a great favorite with all the Indian tribes. Two tall posts had been erected wide apart, to mark the stations of the rival parties, and each was striving to drive the ball beyond its adversary. Hundreds of lithe, dark forms, half naked, their hair streaming out as they ran, were racing and bounding hither and thither, to smite the ball with their long bats. In fact, the ball was scarcely permitted to reach the ground at all. Whenever it flew, the yelling and screeching crowd followed at the top of their speed, and drove it again into the air. Suddenly, the ball was sent spinning up to a great hight, and it descended swiftly to the foot of the palisade, while the tumultuous throng came rushing on, as if in pursuit, to the very gateway. In they swept, jostling the officers aside, crowding upon one another, choking the passage, till the fort was alive with Indians. It was the work of an instant. Before the English could recover their compos- ure, the startling warwhoop was raised within the for- tress, and responded to from the plain and from the woods. The squaws threw open their blankets, and furnished the warriors with knives and tomahawks. Then ensued a terrible scene of blood. The unguarded English were slaughtered without resistance. Mr. Henry says that he saw several of his companions scalped while yet alive and struggling between the knees of their savage butchers. Shrieks, groans, and yells, filled the air. Then for a few moments nothing would be heard but the trampling of DJiSTBUCTIOV OF FOOT MICHIUMACKmAC. 127 mocoa.i„cd feet, till some new victim had been dra^-d from Ills concealment. """gged Captain Etlierington and Lieutenant Leslie had been smed a the outset, and iiuiried olT to the woods Mr Henry clambered over a fence, and l.id away n a Cana Hit tiagcdy. "ihrough an aperture which afTorded me a «ew of the arena of the fort, 1 beheld, nl^^fpef foulest and most terrible, the ferocious t iumphs of mangled the dying were writhing and shrieking under he uusafated knife and tomahawk; and from tht b«lt some, npped open, their butchers were drinking Ue blood, scooped up in the hollow of ioined 1 IT t quaffed amid shouts of rage and victory •' tlie lae of Michilimackinac. St. Mary's had been nar t-ally destroyed by fire the previous winter, and had been bandoi^d. At Green Bay, Lieutenant G^rrell had con" uctc.d his command with great prudence. Having ^h hm only seventeen men, he had enlisted the Dacot is f on, beyond the Mississippi, to overawe the Menominee,' m n^":: ;7r- """ ■' "^ ''^'™-'' »»* "^--m" « "c rosser it ^.PT'' ^'* " '-•«" P-^^ "^ warriors, en was filled ,T """" *'''" "^ P"'™*^"- A «»"". eii was called, and those gentlemen set at liberty The aiing of M.chdimackmac, and consented that the Emr lad been destroyed, with its garrison, and by t^" but x28 THE GREAT WEST. under what circumstancos was wliolly unknown. The clmrrcd and hlackoned ruins alone remained, with the fragments of bursted stones, pieces of melted glass and iron, fire-eaten knives and gun-barrels, and calcined bones — to tell their dreadful story. The friends and relatives of the garrison kept hoping that some of them might have escaped through the wilderness, or that they would be restored from captivity. But they had been smitten, every one, and had fallen the victims of treachery. After the war was over, a Seneca Indian related to Sir William Johnson the fall of Venango. He said that, long before a breath of suspicion had been whispered along the bor- der, a band of Senecas, far outnumbering the garrison, had presented themselves at the fort with many expres- sions of fritadship, and had been hospitably received and entertained. While they were being feasted, a few of them had withdrawn, and surprised the sentinels, and closed the gates. Then, turning upon their unsuspecting hosts, they had put them to death with the knife and the tomahawk. The fortress was burned over the scalped and mutilated slain. Lieutenant Gordon, the command- ant, had alone been reserved for a most awful fate. Tied hand and foot, strung up on a bent sapling, over a slow fire, he had been roasted alive for several successive nights, his flesh burned with blazing brands, and tortured with whips, till exhausted nature could endure no longer, and he had expired. Ensign Price, with a small detachment, had been sta- tioned at Fort Le Boeuf. They had a narrow escape. The fortress was set on fire at midnight. It was a mere block- house, built of logs, ihe upper story projecting far over the lower one. W^hile the whole structure above was in flames, and the Indians gathered in a half-circle before the entrance, yellmg and screeching in savage glee, DESTBUCTION OF FOBT US BOSCF. IM oTaiu la'; rf '"'""''' """" '"™ ™"' f"'" '0 cort«m (Icalli, Uio l.ravo men witliii, took advantage of tl.o uproar cut a pan^ago botwoon the log, in the rear Fo t"m TV"'" ""■T-"''- '^'"-'y found she^teTat 1 ort Fitt. In the morning, (ho Indians, poking up the 30(1, 1763, w 11 serve to show (he terrible condition of 1.0 frontier settlements: "This morning a party of the enemy a (acked fifteen persons, ,sho were mowing h Mr CroRhan s field, wilbin a mile of the garrison Tport Bedford ) and news is brought in of two mfrblg k Hed E,ght o'oloek. Two men are brought in, alive tit hawked, and sealped more than half the he d ovc Ou P rade-ground, just now, presents a seeno of bLody and 1 r thT r •'"",?"• *"» »' '"'"'■ "- '" ""> b-oom s. 1 '• w, "" "'" """'• '>'"i? ^""'P"" (two of them stillahve thereon. The gashes the poor people bear ar^ OntofTf^t ?""""*• T-'-av'eAerpir One of them, after be.ng tomahawked and scalped, ran a I'ttle way, and got on a loft in Mr. Croghan's house «.here he lay till found by a party of the garrison "' A strong detachment was sent out through borders to and,m many instances, the singed bodies of the inmates were flymg for their lives. A person from the midst of iZnT2V-"': "'"' " **"""'"'' '■"""""■^ had been driven from their homes; that the woods were filled with foe.t.ves, without shelter and without food. As the nrrtv advanced further, pausing at each smoulderingtil X;^ of the^i J' ?.' "^ '"'"«■" '"'y- ""* '"'^te''i»e the flight of the living, they came into the region wh.r.n.„ „.„£., 130 THE GREAT WEST. it'i II massacre was yet going on. From every hill-top they beheld columns of smoke rising above the woods, each way, as far as the eye could see. Often they had to drive away Ihe hogs from tearing and devouring the dead. Frequently they found the corpses of men and women still tied to the trees, where they had been tortured to death by fire. » The multitude of the fugitives was so great that the villages could not accommodate them. They had to encamp in the fields, in huts made of boughs and bark, living on charity. Athene place, there were gathered three hundred men, and as many women, and seven hun- dred children. They were the remnants, in part, of mur- dered families. Many of J;hera were utterly incapable of helping themselves, crazed with terror. Children cried and sobbed, fatherless and motherless, and sank to sleep among the leaves. Some of the grown people stood aghast and bewildered with griefs that were too deep for tears. Others settled down in the apathy of despair. Others kept weeping and moaning with irrepressible anguish. With not a few, every faculty had become absorbed in a burning thirst for vengeance. A dying boy, just expiring from his wounds, hoarsely whispered, " Here, take my gun, and kill the first Indian you see, and all shall be well." In 1763, the transmission of intelligence through the West was made by the means of messengers, traversing the wilderness. These, the Indians waylaid and killed. A few reached their destination. Tidings of disaster on disaster kept coming in. It had become known that nine forts had been captured in quick succession. Detroit and Fort Pitt, each beleaguered with savages, alone held out. The vast territory, so lately won from the French, had been suddenly snatched from the conquerors. Sir COLONEL HENKT BOUQUET. 131 eral insurrecta h \ '"" '"'"' ^^^ "''" » « Sen- to put :::::„. itwrtan';"*^'^/'^"""""*^- than ,i. hundred 'murtlr ""* *" ^""^ "x-™ and steel. ' ^™ '"""^^ '^^^te*' with fire canton of Berne Bmmw i ^ i. "^ ' ^ ^^^'^^ of the -^ ^o,h„od. r:a~:tlr;r ;r Tnl7 - fer;:rCar.Sf ^ ^^^^ "y to these qual Her; p„we/nf ? ''."'""'"^'- "e added warfare of\he wood/ He w//'':?''"^ ""'''^'' *» *•■« dier. He posseled a nf, .^ ? """''"'6'' P"*^^'' «»'- Of his offlcratrLlZ tlouKV"' '"^ ""*' those duties himself. l„d at ttaet Vh" uTad f"™ necessary to p^netrafo ilnrt /i.ai ^ ^^^ become "ttle ar„,y was hearing it ^ftwtrd. """""^ " *"" et the Indians in the vieinity of Fo rt pS The wT raged all that day with douhtfnI.T .;. ^ '"'"'° Ws camp in utter 7.1 ''™™"'. ^"'^'"'ss- Bouquet kept Nottho'slighteltllfmtT'f f "^ '"^ ''""''"'"« »'«'>'• ago rifleman thf:r ThVZ ''""". "■^"' '"^ •'''^- and firp/i ft. ,^.7 ^® Indians whooped, veiled newed ^t J:? *« '"'•l'"^* dawn the battle was re — ^^. .ai,m mms of the troops was followed by 132 THE GREAT WEST. I instantaneous charges into the cover, driving savages out of their hidivig-places like startled wolves. The Indians were tasting for the first time the terrors of the English bayonet. Soon the approach of the bristling steel would send them flying in every direction. But they would come back again. In this way the fight had continued till nigh noon of the second day. In the meantime the condition of the army was becoming frightful. The wounded were dying of thirst. No water could be had. The suffering of the soldiers was intolerable. Then Bou- quet's genius displayed itself. He had observed that the enemy would fire, and immediately run to escape the bay- onet. How should he br?ng them into a body, so that a charge could be made eflfectual? Making his arrange- ments with great rapidity, the rear was strengthened, and the weakened front soon began to fall back, as if over- powered and about to retreat. To the Indians the battle seemed to be won. Leaping in fury forward, they became compacted together, completely exposed, and ardent in the pursuit. Suddenly they received a heavy flank fire, and through the smoke, at full run, came the dreaded bayonets. There was no place of concealment. There was no quarter shown. The savages crowded upon each other, writhed, dodged, and snatched at the gun- barrels, and threw themselves on the ground, thinking to crawl under the line of steel, to get at the advancing troops. It was all in vain. The incessant thug, thug, thug of the merciless weapon as it drove through their naked forms, was dropping them thickly over the ground. At last, with yells of terror, they broke and fled. But one pris- oner had been taken ; and him the exasperated borderers, in spite of remonstrance and of authority, shot to death like a captured wolf. The little army had lost eight offi- cers and one hundred and fifteen men slam. During the 4 COUNCIL WITH THE INDIANS. 133 battle the pack-horses, frightened by the uproar, had made a geiieral stampede. Bouquet, therefore, had to destroy all the surplus baggage. Bearing the wounded along on litters, the troops reached Fort Pitt on ihe tenth. The moral effect of the victory was very great The despairing colonists were aroused to action. In western Pennsylvania, a body of riflemen was organized under the command of James Smith, who had been several years a prisoner among the Indians. He understood the Indian mode of fighting to perfection. He had his men dressed like warriors, and their faces painted, and he trained them m the Indian discipline. From Western Virginia a thou- sand riflemen had taken the field. The tide of war soon flowed back into the wilderness, and the Indian villages began to be smitten in their turn. Late in the fall, a large detachment had ascended Lake Erie, and raised the siege of Detroit. Pontiac retired into ihe country upon the head-waters of the Maumee. In the spring, a large body of English troops was gathered at Sandusky; and Bou- quet, having been reinforced at Fort Pitt, took up his line of march through the heart of the Indian country. The savages abandoned their villages, and fled at the approach of so large an army. The order of the march was such as to make an am- bush, or a surprise, impossible. Far in advance, a body of scouts- was exploring every hill, valley, thicket, and ravine. On either flank, the woods were scoured for miles by skillful hunters. At night, the great body of the troops slept outside of the camp-fires, among the trees. While advancing, in this guarded manner, upon the In- dian villages within the recesses of the forest, a deputa- tion of warriors was received, and they requested a council, and offered the submission of their tribes. But Bouquet, fearing treachery, while consenting to the coun- 134 THE GREAT WEST. cil, determined that the negotiations should be conducted under the muzzles of his guns. He ordered that the chiefs should meet him the next day at a point on the Muskingum River, a little below his camp. Booths were erected for the officers and chiefs. In the morning, the army moved in order of battle to the place of council, and took up its position in a natural meadow in front of the booths. The spectacle of fifteen hundred English- men in arms was to the Indians new and astounding. The silence that reigned along the lengthened lines, the barrels and bayonets flashing in the sun, the tartans of the Highlanders, the bright red of the Royal Americans, the dark uniforms and trappings of the colonial militia, the hunting frocks of the backwoodsmen, with their long rifles — all combined, formed an imposing display of mil- itary power that created a deep impression on the savage warriors, and made the chiefs quite sincere in their desires for peace. The eflfect of the presence of a powerful army was im- mediately apparent. The chiefs endeavored to excuse the war, saying, that they had been driven into it by the western Indians, and by their own hot-headed young men; that they were now anxious to be at peace with the English, and to have protection against the tribes beyond them to the westward. Bouquet's reply is a masterpiece of diplomatic skill in dealing with Indians. Assuming great sternness, he said: "Your excuses are frivolous and unavailing. Your conduct is without apology. You could not have acted through fear of the western Indians, for you know, that, had you been faithful to up we would have protected you against them. As for your young men, you should have punished them, if they did wrong. You have been violent and perfidious. You robbed and murdered in cold blood the traders among you. With SURRENDER OP THE PRISONERS. 135 base treachery you took our out-posts and garrisons, and assailed our troops— the same that now stand before you. Not content with that, you burned our houses, and killed our women and children, and have got many cap- tives hidden away in the woods. You have been prowl- ing around this army during its march, and would have attacked it, had you dared. The other Indians have made peace with us. You are now in our power. We can cut you off the face of the earth. But the English are great and powerful, and will let you live, if you will do as I bid you. I give you twelve days to bring to me all your prisoners: Englishmen, Frenchmen, women, and •hildren; whether adopted into your tribes, married, or living among you on any pretense whatsoever. You shall furnish them with food, clothing, and horses, to carry them back to their homes again. Comply with these conditions, and then I will tell you on what terms I will let you live." Bouquet required the chiefs to remain in his camp, as hostages, till the prisoners should all be brought in ; and, in the meantime marched into the immediate vicinity of the Indian towns, and fortified his camp, dispatching bodies of troops to hasten the compliance with his terms. Band after band of captives were urought in daily, until more than two hundred had been collected, which was all that could be ascertained to be in that part of the coun- try. Until then. Bouquet had refused all friendly inter- course with the Indians. And they, judging him by their own ferocity, were constantly in terror lest he should put them all to the sword. At last, he gave them the hand of friendship. A Delaware chief had refused to come in. Bouquet ordered the tribe to depose the refrac- tory chief, and appoint another in his stead. The Indians were completely cowed. Upon his return, Bouquet car- 136 THE GREAT WEST. ried with him the captives, and also a large number of chiefs, as hostages for the continuance of the peace. When the urmy had drawn near to the frontier, it was met by a great company in search of lost relatives and friends. Husbands found their wives, and parents their children, from whom they had been separated for years Women, frantic between hope and fear, were running hither and thither, looking piercingly into the L-- ^.^ every child, to find their own, which, perhaps, had dL' and then such shrieks of agony ! Some of the little cap- tives shrank from their own forgotten mothers, and hid in terror m the blankets of the squaws that had adopted them. Some that had been taken away young, had grown up and married Indian husbands or Indian wives, and now stood utterly bewildered with conflicting emotions A young Virginian had found his wife; but his little boy not two years old when captured, had been torn from her' and had been carried off no one knew whither. One day, a warrior came in, leading a child. No one seemed to own It. But soon the mother knew her oflFspring, and screaming with joy, folded her son to her bosom. An old woman had lost her granddaughter in the French war nine years before. All her other relatives had died under the knife. Searching, with trembling eagerness, in each face she at last recognized the altered features of her child. But the girl had forgotten her native tongue, and returned no answer, and made no sign. The old woman groaned, and cried, and complained bitterly, that the daughter she had so often sung to sleep on her knees, had forgotten her in her old age. Soldiers and officers were alike overcome. ''Sing," whispered Bouquet, "sing the song you used to sing.'> As the low, trembling tones began to ascend, the wild girl gave one sudden start, then listening for a moment longer, her frame shaking like an TERMINy^TION OF THE WAR. 187 ague, she burst into a passionate flood of tears. That was sufficient. She was the lost child. All else had been effaced from her memory but the music of the nursery, song During her captivity she had heard it in her dreams. 1 he war was over. The English provinces, relieved from their great burdens, soon began to grow rapidly. I he time was nearly come for a civilized people to extend themselves over the uplands and prairies, and along the lakes and rivers, and occupy permanently the West In the meantime, France, by the treaty of 1763, had ceded ^England all the territory east of the Mississippi River Ihe French inhabitants of the Illinois country received the news of their transfer with sorrow and anger. Many of them, unwilling to live under the shadow of the British flag fled to New Orleans. Others removed to the opposite bank of the river at St. GenevieVe. But a far greater number took the route by the way of Cahokia, and joined the new settlement on the western bank, that had been established by Pierre Laclede. That adventurer, in Au- gust, 1763, had set out with a large party of traders and hunters from New Orleans, and had ascended to the mouth of the Illinois River. The journey had been made in boats, and had occupied three months. Selecting a spot on the Mississippi, where a line of blufi-g, beautifully wooded, rose with an easy ascent from the water, to a high, rolling prairie, Laclede had erected a storehouse, a few cabins, and a slight palisade. This was at the close of November. Those erections constituted the first foundations of the city of St. Louis. But the French flag was still flying at Fort Chartres, and the smaller posts in that vicinity. Major Loftus, with four hundred regulars, had attempted to ascend the Mississippi, and take possession of the Illinois country. He had embarked at New Orleans in March, 1764, when 1S8 THE GEEAT WKST. the mer was at its floo^; but the re9««ted attacks of the Indians, together with tSS swiftness*f the current, had compelled h,m to return. Captain Sterling, however Z better success in reaching those distant fortresses. Set ting out from Fort Pitt, toward the close of the winter followmg, with one hundred Highlanders, he had floated down the Ohio with the drifting ice. To him the Frenet flag descended from the rampart* of Fort Chartres, and the neighboring posts, and the English were completely m possession of the western country, after having endured the horrors of two sanguinary wars. Four years later" Pontiac was assassinated at Cahokia. The remains of the great ch^f were buried at St. Louis, where the race I I! WANT OF iSLBOW-ROOM. 139 CHAPTER VIII. CONQUEST OF THE WEST BY THE UNITED STATES. English and French settlements contrasted -Want of elbow-room - The Yankee pioneers -Their character - Recklessness - Pecu- Lar dress -Their Houses, etc. -"Hog and hominy"- "Old Ned - Tomahawk rights - Col. Clark at the West - His charac ter- Descends the Ohio -Sinks his boats - Surprises Kaskas- kia- Inhabitants declare for the United States - British Lieuten- ant-governor, Rocheblane, captured -Vincennes taken - Militia organized -Clark among the Indians -" Courts of Illinois "- British governor, Hamilton, descends the Wabash with one thou- sand men - Ruse of Capt. Helm - Clark's winter march - Hamil- ton surrenders -Territory held by Col. Clark until the close of the war. After the general peace with the Indians, it was to have been expected that settlements might be made at the West with safety. The late military achieve- ments in the vicinity of the lakes and in the valley of the Ohio had established the supremacy of the English. The British flag was waving over the wilderness, from Niagara to the Mississippi. Nothing seems then to have been stand- mg in the way of the speedy colonization of the country. Bold, adventurous men were pining for the larger liberty of the woods. Moreover, the fearful struggle through which the colonists had just been passing had called into existence a restless courage, that could not remain satis- fied with the repose of a quiet time. A new want, also, strangely inconsistent with a sparse and scattered popu- lation, began to be felt; and it soon drove hundreds of men oflf in a westerly direction. It was the want of " elbow-room." The spirit of the borderers was impelling / 140 THE GREAT WEST. them to seek m the excitements of the forest a substitute for the excitements of war. A peaceful life seemed dull and msipHl to them. They had actually acquired a relish for danger. Large numbers were hastening forward to secure to themselves the choice of the best locations. For that purpose the pioneers set out in parties, and traveled to- gether far beyond the border; then, separating, they roamed over a vast extent of country, selecting each a Place for himself. Thus settling down alone, and living m entire seclusion, they in a short time acquired habits utterly inconsistent with the development of civilization A close, compact neighborhood soon came to be unendur- able. One man is said to have abandoned his clearing and removed further west, because somebody else had come so near to him that he could hear the crack of his rifle. And another, observing a smoke rising over the other side of the valley where he had located, traveled fifteen miles to reach it; and. finding a settler there, quit the country in disgust, population having become too dense for him. But these, probably, are extreme cases. It is well known, however, that, when the English had undertaken the subjugation of the wilderness, they at- tempted it in a manner without a precedent in history I hey did not sweep down suddenly upon it, with a force that would reduce its savage inhabitants at once into sub- mission; but, by a sort of hectoring process, they wore away upon the woods, chafing aud exasperating the In- dians while gradually exterminating them. The English colonists, in the West, did not compromise with danger- they boldly took it by the beard. The success of these early adventurers is almost a miracle in colonization. Nation has heretofore precipi- tated Itself upon nation, conquering the occupants of the YANKEE PIONEEES. 14X soil, and seizing upon their possessions. But in the case of the English settlement of the western country, we find that isolated emigrants, without the benefits of a military or of a civil organization, relying solely upon their own bravery, and the assistance of each other, took and held* the possession of an extensive country, and laid the foundations of powerful states. They kept falling, it is true, under the knife and the tomahawk, and would have become entirely cut ofl", had it not been for the incessant streams of population supplying the waste of life, until the Indians, discouraged in a contest with an enemy whom no defeat could dishearten, sought safety in the most abject submission. Such men, exposed to constant peril, and compelled to be on their guard at all times and places to avoid being surprised and slain, driven by necessity into fearful en- counters with the wily savages in the defense of home and kmdred, of necessity became fearless, reckless, implao- able, and eager for victory and for vengeance. In time it was ascertained that the hostility of the Indian races was not so much excited against the English as a peo- pie, as against the settlers that were crowding in upon them. It was, therefore, an easy matter, after the break- ing out of the war between Great Britain and her revolted colonies, to array the exasperated tribes of the West against the Anglo-Americans. One general trait has always characterized the frontier settlers of the wilderness. They were daring, boisterous, enterprising men. They were robust, rugged, tough — caring nothing for luxuries or for comforts, and capable of enduring any amount of exposure without injury. The forerunners of civilization were not carpet knights, bask- ing in the sunshine of a smile, and trembling at a frown, but men of iron nerves. Wild as untamed nature, they 142 THE GREAT WEST. could scream with the panther, howl with the wolf, whoop with the Indian, and fight all creation. Forever going through hair-breadth escapes, some of them became indif- .ferent to every peril, and would "chaw" two inches of live bear's tail for the toothache, quite careless whether bruin was pleased with the performance or not. One grizzly old follow, slightly stoop-shouldered, with a great burned strip down his check, his left eye twisted round sideways, having been tomahawked, and had his scalp started, said he believed he might yet be killed sometime, as the lightning had tried him on once, and would have done the business for him, if he hadn't dodged. The pioneers, living in constant contact with the Indians, necessarily became more than half savages in appearance, habits, and manners; and frequently the whole savage character was assumed. Their ordinary dress was too unique to bo forgotten. A coonskin cap, with the tail dangling at the back of the neck, and the snout drooping upon the forehead ; long buckskin leggins, sewed with a wide, fringed welt, down the outside of the leg ; a long, narrow strip of coarse cloth, passing around the hips and between the thighs, was brought up before and behind under the belt, and hung down flapping as they walked; a loose, deerskin frock, open in front, and lapping once and a half round the body, was belted at the middle, forming convenient wallets on each side for chunks of hoe cake, tow, jerked venison, screw drivers, and other fixings, and Indian moccasins completed the hunter's apparel Over the whole was slung a bullet-pouch and pow der-horn. From behind the left hip dangled a scalp^ ing-knife; from the right protruded the handle of a hatchet; bt th weapons stuck in leathern cases. Every hunter carried an awl, a roll of buckskin, and strings of hide, called "whangs," for thread. In the winter TOMAHAWK BIGHTS. 148 V loose deer-hair was stuffed into tlio moccasins to keep the feet warm. The pioneers lived in rude log-houses. covered, gener- ally, with pieces of timber, about three feet in length and six inches in width, called •• shakes," and laid over the roof instead of shingles. They had neither nails, glass, saws, nor brick. The houses had huge slab doors, pinned together. The light came down the chimney, or through a hole m the logs, covered with greased cloth. A scraggy hemlock sapling, the knots left a foot long, served for a stairway to the upper story. Their furniture consisted of tamarack bedsteads framed into the walls, a few shelves supported on long wooden pins; sometimes a chair or two but more often, a piece split off a tree, and so trimmed, that the branches served for legs. Their utensils were very simple; generally nothing but a skillet, which served for baking, boiling, roesting. washing dishes, making mush, scalding turkeys, cooking sassafras tea, and making soap. A Johnny-cake board, instead of a dripping-pan, hung on a peg in every house. The corn was cracked into a coarse meal, by pounding it in a w-oden mortar. A'3 soon as swine could be kept away from the bears, or, rather, the bears away from them, the pioneers indulged m a dish of pork and corn, boiled together, and known among them as "hog and hominy." Fried pork they called " old Ned." ^ Unlike the French, who clustered in villages, and had heir common fields, our Yankee settlers went the whole length for individual property. Each settler claimed for himself four hundred acres of land, and the privilege of taking a thousand acres more, contiguous to his clearing. Each one run out his own lines for himself, chipping the hark off the trees, and cutting his name in the wood. lAese claims, so loosely asserted, were called "tomahawk 144 THE GREAT WEST. rights," and were respected by all the emigrants. Each settler went to felling the timber and chopping house-logs, sleeping, meanwhile, under a bark cover raised on crotches,' or under a tree. It is said of one of them that he could hardly stomach his house, after it was done. The door- way was open, the logs unchinked, and the chimney gaped wide above him; but the air was too "cluss,"— he had to sleep outside for a night or two to get used to it. Such were the people, and such their modes of living, that began to spread themselves throughout the West,' between the close of Pontiac's war and the commence- ment of the American Revolution. Then, when that struggle came on, new difficulties gathered thickly around the scattered settlements. The reduction of the wilder- ness was a huge task of itself, even with every encour- agement, and without opposition of any sort. But the Anglo-Saxon seems to have had everything arranged against him. Not only the forest, and the wild beasts, and untold privations, stood in the way of his progress : but the French first tried to crowd him out; then the Indians sought to kill him ; and, lastly, the British turned against their own flesh and blood, and bribed the savages to take his life. While the armies of England were rav- aging and wasting the whole Atlantic coast, from Mas- sachusetts to Georgia, the British governor at Detroit, and his agents at the forts on the Wabash and Maumee rivers, and at Kaskaskia, were busily engaged in inciting the Indians to deeds of rapine and murder on tjie western frontier. The terrible scenes of the old French war, and of Pontiac's war, were beginning to be reenacted. But the pioneers were now of a different temper altogether from those who had suffered previously in Pennsylvania and Virginia, and who had fled in terror from their own burn- ing habitations. The Yankee pioneers did not wait to be CLAKK AT THE WEST. 145 ticipa^ . m as well as their enemies ^ No sooner, therefore, was it known that British emissa- es were at work among the savages, stirring trerup to deadly stnfe against the American settlers, than it was itself,~to the very doors of the enemy. Patrick Henrv was one of the first to set the ball of'the RevolutTor^ motioa. His eloquence as au orator was not greater than his foresight as a statesman. It is to his perception c? th!t tir. .t'f ^"*"" ^P^^ the wesL country! that the United States are indebted for the preservation 77«'prT'J'^''" '' '^' ""'"'^ '^'^' "^«r Ohio. In 1778, Patrick Henry was the governor of Virginia. He had planned a secret expedition against the British forts m the Illmois country. And on the second day of Janu- ary, Governor Henry issued his instructions to Lieutenant- co one George Rogers Clark, directing him to "Proceed with a 1 convenient speed to raise seven companies of sol- diers, to consist of fifty men each, officered in the usual manner, and armed most properly for the enterprise, and with that force to attack the British fort at Kaskaskia." His Excellency also directed Colonel Clark "to apply to the commanding officer at Fort Pitt for boats." Ht fur- ther cautioned him: "During the whole transaction, you are to take especial care to keep the true destination of your force secret;— its success depends on this " The evidence of British agency among the Indians was tull and complete. It had been ascertained that the Jiritish commissioners, at a great council, had told the chiefs that the people of the States were few in number and might easily be subdued; and that, on account of i-uwr disouedience to the king, they justly merited aU th« 146 THE GREAT WEST. punishment which white men and Indians could possibly inflict upon them. They had added, that the king was rich and powerful, both in subjects and in money ; that bis rum was as plenty as the water in the lakes; and that, if the Indians would assist in the war until its close, they should never want for money or goods. To complete the atrocity, they offered rewards for the scalps of men, wo- men, and children. In consequence of these representa- tions and persuasions, the tribes had eagerly espoused the quarrel of Great Britain, and were beirg supplied with their weapons, and ammunition, and with presents, at the various British forts from Detroit to Kaskaskia. Fort Chartres was now no longer occupied. It had been un- dermined in 1772, by the Mississippi, and since then it had been abandctaed. Now, the expedition through the hostile wilderness, for the reduction of those forts, and for the purpose of over- awing the Indians, could not have been confided to better hands. George Rogers Clark was a Virginian by birth. He had become a pioneer from choice. His military genius made him the most prominent defender of the West, at the most critical period of American history. Colonel Clark was one of the finest appearing men of his time. He would have attracted attention among a thou- sand. Conscious dignity sat gracefully upon him. His commanding presence was made pleasing by uncommon sweetness of temper, and particularly agreeable by the manliness of his deportment, the intelligence of his con- versation, and, above all, by the vivacity and boldness of his spirit. Colonel Clark was born a general. He cer- tainly was the most competent officer that ever led an army against the Indians ; and he seems to have had a tact for managing those impulsive, uncontrollable beings better than any other person. He possessed extraordinarv 1 1 CLABK DESCENDS THE OHIO. 147 h>m to plan with consummate wMom, a«d to ejtecute W, aes,g„, w>th great deeision and promptitude "ma to have been able to penetrate the do.igna of the 0^3 wth the utmost exactness, and never once failed in a^Uc .patmg and defeating their hostile movement^ ffij «tCsr TdT ""• '"' ™^" ^"^^^^ ^e »ev iiT,JC-jZur''' "'""' ^*" --^ The only means that were furnished to Colonel Clark or h,s expedition besides the order for boats and amm * paper and a promised bounty of three hundred acres of land each private. He encountered great difficnitv t recru ti»g his companies from the seftlelntt which already were too feeble for their own protection. Ind a s^ ret enterprise was decidedly unpopular. Colonel ctk in June followmg, that his captains reached Tort Pit »i* with tb"' 'r'] '"" *"*" ^'^' '» -"P'^'o <=4 - mes. With these he descended the Ohio to the falls and encamped a while on Com Island, in hopes of ZlZt additions from the Kentucky stations, buiit was deemed nexpeAent to reduce their strength. With one bund" d onel Clark floated down the river below the mouth of the lennessec. Having there obtained inforn-ation relat ve to the actual condition of the British posts on the Upper Mississippi, he determined to march overland, and snrprisa hetdt^f "TJ"*'' 'f '^'"^ *» "^ """" f« "onceZZ m^hes „T/ ''"^,'' *"" *i"«™''^«. '•cross extensive each man carrying his own rations and hn' >>« <="?• tured. Fittmg up a large licel-boat with two four-pounders and four swivels, under the command of Captain Hodg- rnnT,; ^f^,"""'^"'""'' C'"* "'^""^'i it to as- r Wh*. „ ""' *" "'""" » ^"^ ■""<■» "f the mouth of ordel "'"' """ *'"''''™ ""' '" •""* father On the seventh day of February, Colonel Clark, with one hunfed and thirty men, began a march for Vinc;„!e' IrLtTr ^'^ "Z^'"^'"^ ""-J fifty miles, through forest and praine. The only road-mark was an Inditn trail, beaten deep in the ground. All the streams were very i.,„ch swollen. The rivers had inundated ther bot^ms from b ,ff u, bluff, often several miles in w d^ filled with parched com and jerked beef. When they had arrived at the Little Wabash, the bottom-land wer tan dated to the width of three or four miles. The wat^r was weretderThe ^'''™"''' '""^ """^"'^ *"« b»'^»«» were under the necessity of marching, feeling for the Tied over, they had afterward to wade up to their arm- pits before reaching the highlands. ClatSed 'V'^,r"'°^ «f the twenty-third, Colonel a hm ZiZ u '^^^'''' ^'^ P^^^^^' «^ar the summit of a hm, withm eight of the fort ; and kept them ftar^ HAMILTON'S SOBRENDEB. I53 for a long time, In such manner, that, to Hamilton . he thought, n,gh a thousand men, well appointed, and in rvin"!"' 'f ■ "t" "'""■ """y «f t"" '■-""I'it.nt" 7 wT' t"'"''"^ *" *■"" -*™"'c»». assisted t» in. ve the fort In the dead of night a deepditeh was dug, w.thm nfle-shot of the fortress, and before morning a body of marksmen had been stationed therein to pick off he garrison. Every gunner that attempted to squint « ong the cannon of the fort was killed. Not a British soldier dared so much as show an eye at a loop hole On the twenty.fifth Hamilton snrrendered. ^ Dunng the siege, a war-party of British Indians was prisoners. Clark gave them battle, and defeated them. ported that a great quantity of military stores, together rlil'"" ^ ' "'" "PP^-aohi-g from Detroit, dispatched with two companies to intercept them He captnrcd the entire party, without the loss of a man, and Je brought in the goods, which amounted to ten tholnd pounds m value. The British soldiers were dismissed on office^, were sent, strongly guarded, to Virginia, to an- swe for the crime of inciting Indian murder along the frontiers. Governor Hamilton and his associates w re put in irons, and kept in close confinement, in retaliation byfcm "■'*' "^ '"™ •"""'""' »"J '"^"gated Britih to recover the posts on the Wabash and Upper Mississippi. Colonel Clark, having achieved the conquest 7» I I 154 THE GREAT WEST. of the West, contlnue3 to hold military possession of it until the close of the Revolution, recruiting his troops, supplying his stores, keeping the Indians in check, un- aided, alone, and without money, a thousand miles in the wilderness And at the treaty for peace, Great Britain conceded that this territory belonged to the United Stales, mainly on the ground of its having been con- quered by Colonel Clark. POUTICAL OEOANIZATION. U5 CHAPTER IX. THE NORTHWESTERN TERRITORY. Political organization — Permanent ter.'itorial law* — First and second grade — First church and schools — Cincinnati and North Bend — First civil court in the territory— Lawyers of the Northwestern Tor- ritory — Their manner of traveling from one court to another — The British posts in the territory surrendered to the United States. The review which has thus far beeji taken, of the early history of the great West, has brought us down to a period when society there first began to assume a political form. No longer dealing with the general affairs of the whole boundless region, our course hereafter will lead to the contemplation of those states and territories which have been carved out of the wilderness, and to a consideration of some of the advantages of position, of soils, of climate; the facilities for farming, mining, lumbering, manufactur- ing, and for commercial pursuits possessed by each of them. The first political designation of the western country, under the authority of the Congress of the United States, was that of the " Northwestern Territory," comprising all the American possessions north-west of the River Ohio, over which, in 1787, a form of government was estab- lished, to continue until the inhabitants should increase to a sufficient number to entitle them to state governments. Previous to that time, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and Virginia, had each laid claim to that region, by virtue of their royal charters, which had left their western boundaries undefined. And Virginia hod claimed under another title, also, which was clearly indisputable — the title of conquest. For Colonel Clark, throughout all his Wiqr* 156 THE GREAT WEST. campaigns on the Wabash and Mississippi, had been act- ng under a commission issued by that state. But, after the llevolution, these magnanimous states had consented to an amicable adjustment of their claims, and had relin- quished each its individual interest to the federal govern- n ent, for the common benefit of the whole Union. Con- necticut and Virginia, however, made reservations in thel acts of cession, but only for the purpose of liquidating their respective liabilities to Revolutionary soldiers. The reservation of the former state was laid in that part of Ohio lying north of the forty-first parallel of latitude, and westof the hne of Pennsylvania; that of the latter in. rter« T^ f ^"^T"" *^' ^"^** ^"^ ^^^«« ^iami rivers. The former has been known as the "Western Reserve " the latter as the "Virginia Military District." For that same noble purpcs.. the Congress also appro- priated aiarge tract along the eastern side of the ScLa River known as the "United States Military District." With these exceptions, the whole region of the north-west had passed under the authority of the Federal government, state zr.f' 't;'^ '' '^' ^"'^"- '' °^^y ^« ^«» to state, that the ac s of cession were made as follows, viz: Thu of New York, March first, 1783; that of Virginia, April twenty-third, 1784; that of Massachusetts, IprH nme eenth. 1785; that of Connecticut, Septembe thir- teenth, 1786~the Empire State taking the lead. The ordinance of 1787 made provision for the subse- quent division of the Northwestern Territory into not less than three, nor more than five states, the Congress having been restricted to these numbers by the stipulations of the compact^ with Virginia, as a condition of the act of cession. That ordinance contained several articles that were "to remain forever unalterable, unless by common consent." Among them are the following : 1 1 PEBMANENT TEBBITORUL LAWS. 167 "No person shall over be molested on account of his mode of worship or religious sentiments. " No law shall be passed that shall in any manner what- ever interfere with or affect private interests or engage- ments, bona-fide, and without fraud, previously formed. "No tax shall be imposed on lands, the property of tho United States, and in no case shall non-resident proprie- tors be taxed higher than resident. •• There shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servi tudo in the said territory, otherwise than in the punish- ment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted; provided, always, that any person escaping into the same, from whom labor or service is lawfully claimed in any of the original states, such fugitive may be lawfully reclaimed and conveyed to the person claiming his or her labor in service, as aforesaid." The ordinance provided for the establishment of two grades of territorial government. The territory, in the earlier grade, would seem to have been regarded as a polit- ical infant, that would need wet-nurses, and dry-nurses, and swaddling-clothes. Its jurisdiction was confided to a governor, a secretary, and three judges. And the gover- nor was authorized to "adopt and publish such laws of the original states, civil and criminal, as might be neces- sary, and best adapted to the circumstances of the district." In the absence of the governor, the secretaiy was to per- form the duties of that oflBcer. The first grade of terri- torial dependence was to continue until the number of free white males over twenty-one years should amount to five thousand. Under the second grade, a general assembly of the territory was provided for, to consist of the gover- nor, the legislative council, and the legislative assembly. The governor was authorized to convene, prorogue, or dissolve, the general assembly, whenever he might deem it 158 THE GREAT WEST. expedient to do so. The second grade was to continne until the territory should contain sixty thousand souls. The next summer after the passage of the ordinance, the officers of the new territorial government arrived, and took up their residence at Campus Martins, now Marietta. They were General Arthur St. Clair, governor; Winthrop Sargent, secretary; and the three judges for the execu- tive council. Campus Martins had the form of a square, and was one hundred and eighty feet on each side. On the top of the block-houses were small steeples for sentry- boxes, bullet-proof. It was surrounded by a strong pal- isade, ten feet high. And the buildings, which were all within the inclosure, had been constructed of whip-sawed timbers, ^our inches thick, dove-tailed at the corners, and covered with shingle roofs. The various rooms had fire- places and brick chimneys. The bastions and towers were glistening with whitewash. Most of the settlers in the Northwestern Territory were men who had spent the prime of their lives, and had exhausted their fortunes, in the Revolutionary War. A body of emigrants of that character left New England in 1787, under the lead of General Rufus Putnam, and, descending the river, below Marietta, to a beautiful plain, formed the settlerneni of Belpre. The people carried with them into the woods the good old customs and Bteady habits of their pilgrim ancestors. With character- istic energy, they had no sooner provided shelter for their families, than they set about organizing a church and establishing a school, toward which all the inhabitants made contributions with right good will. These were the first institutions of learning and religion ever built up in the Northwestern Teriitory. In 1789, Israel Ludlow and Robert Patterson, with twenty persons.- erected the first house'-' ai Ciucinnati, theu CINCINNATI AND NORTH BEND. 169 called Losanteville. The site of that great city was a beautiful woodland bottom, on the bank of the river, sixty feet above low-water mark, and extending back three hundred yards to the base of a second bank, which rose forty feet higher, and then sloped gently more than a half mile to the foot of. the bluflF. The first bottom was cov- ered w'th a heavy growth of sycamore, sugar-maple, and black-walnut; the second with beeches, oak, and hickory. And in January of that year, another party passed down the river to North Bend. Their boats were novel- ties of river craft, consisting each of a frame-work of logs, covered with green oak plank, and caulked with rags. Stowed snugly in these rude "arks," men, women, and children, together with their goods, floated down the current with the drifting ice, secure from rifle-shots. The Indians kept popping away at them from the river-banks; but no one was harmed. When the company had landed, they picked out quite a little supply of lead from the solid planking. For several years there was a continual strife between Cincinnati and North Bend for superiority in the infant territory. At first. North Bend had a decided advantage over its rival. Judge Symmes, the priccioal proprietor, had prevailed with General Harmar to have the troops of the territory stationed at that place ; and emigrants came flocking thither, because they believed it was greatly more secure from Indian attacks than any other settlement in the wilderness. But, shortly afterward, the oflicer in command became very much smitten with the charms of a beautiful woman, the wife of one of the settlers, and paid to her the most assiduous attentions. The husband, fully aware of his danger, brcko up his establishment, and removed his familv to f^inm'nnaH Trnmo/iiafoiir tvj^v+h Bend became totally unfit for military occupation, and 160 THE GREAT WEST. Cincinnati was represented to be the only point from Which the whole territory could be reached with the pro- tecting arm of government. The troops in a little while were removed from North Bend, and the advantages of military occupation conferred upon the rival settlement. The population of Cincinnati began rapidly to increase ; business seemed to center there ; and from a rude log village, the lonely settlement on the bank of the river, has been growing and thriving, and has become the Queen City of the West. The beautiful Helen of Troy was the cause of the destruction of that ancient city. A modern Helen gave strength to the foundations of Cincinnati. The first civil court ever held in the Northwestern Territory was convened on the second day of September, 1788, in the hall of the Campus Martius. It was the court of common pleas, Rufus Putnam and Benjamin Tupper, justices. The opening of that court in the remote wil- derness was attended with an imposing ceremony. A procession having been formed in the street, the sheriff led the way with a drawn sword, followed by the ofl5cers of the garrison, members of the bar, the supreme court judges, the governor, and a clergyman, and the judges of the common pleas. On arriving at the door of the hall, the procession was countermarched into it, and their honors, judges Putnam and Tupper, took their seats on the bench. The prayer was offered by the Rev. Dr. Cut- ler. Then the sheriff cried aloud: "Oyez! Oyez! Oyez! A court is opened for the administration of even-handed justice to the poor and the rich, to the guilty and the innocent, without respect of persons; none to be punished without a trial by their peers, and in pursuance of the laws and evidence in the case." There were present a great crowd of settlers, and several hundred Indians. LAWYERS OP THE TEBRITOET. 161 After the territory had become more thickly settled, the general court was held at Cincinnati, Marietta, and Detroit. The journeys of court and bar, in those early times, to those remote places, would have taken all the conceit out of Blackstone. They would generally travel with five or six in company, with a pack-horse to carry provisions. Frequently they would be ten days together m the wilderness, camping out at night, and swimming every stream that was too deep to be forded. On one of those excursions, the learned gentlemen were kept awake all night by the caterwauling of a couple of panthers, that seemed to be hankering for a taste of judi- cial flesh. Sometimes, in the winter season, the party would stop by the trail-side, brush the snow oflF a log, and sit down to frozen chicken and biscuit, warming the frigid fare in the stomach with frequent "nips" of peach brandy. Once, in a lummer tramp, the whole bar got lost in a swamp, and nad to stand on their feet all night, doing penance for their sins by liquidating the bills of the musquitoes. That was a night of exquisite torment, and some of the gentlemen must have had vivid impres- Bions of what they were coming to some time or other. At another time it rained daily and nightly, and the drip- ping limbs of the law shook and shivered in the wind. Even the court was moved. They all had to lie down and 3oak from dusk till morning, with wet knapsacks for pillows, and their smoking saddles drawn over their faces. The lawyers of the Northwestern Territory must have had some "high old times," if all be true that has come down to us concerning them. If they did run the risk of losing their scalps on the way to court, they could easily make it up by skinning a client or two. The settlements of the Northwestern Territory were constantlv annovfid b' ~ " « t62 THE GREAT WEST. British agents, residing at posts surreptitiously erected along the Maumee River. General Wayne advanced with a large army down that river, and gave the Indians and Canadians battle, within sight of a British fort. That was on the twentieth day of August, 1794. During the battle, the Indians were fiercely driven at the point of the bayonet more than two miles, through thick-fallen timber and brush ; and the Canadians fled in terror to the fort. A spicy correspondence then followed between General Wayne and Major Campbell, the British com- mandant. The former reconnoitered the fort within range of its gum:, and caused the troops to destroy all the property around it ; and they burned the house and store of the British agent, Alexander McKay. The spirit of the Indians was , ompletely broken. And in 1796, all the British posts in the terri; forty miles long, with a bro. deep current, of thre«' liles a? hour. The average deptl^ .,f the channel is fifty ft it. The river is half a mile wide Five miles above T. T 'ia?-- ^•>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) ./l*^'^^^ m^., (/. 1.0 I.I 11.25 E lie ■" 11118 U IIIIII.6 n_ -A lie Sciaices Corporation m #' ,\ ^^ <> »j"^ ^\^, ^\ ^Pk\ u 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 873-4503 i- w^., u. 184 THE GREAT WEST. White, and Muskegon Rivers, which are said to have convenient harbors. Grand Haven, at the mouth of the Grand River, is one of the best harbors on Lake Michigan. The water, on the bar, is never less than twelve feet deep ; in the harbor it averages twenty-five feet. The Grand River is about one-fourth of a mile wide, and is navigable by steamboats, forty miles, to the rapids, at all seasons, and at high water to Ionia and Lyons. It is a noble river of clear and swift water, two hundred and seventy miles in length. The principal branches are the Rogue, Flat, Maple, Look- ing-glass, Red Cedar, and Thorn-apple rivers — all large streams, flowing through some of the choicest lands in the state, and furnishing an abundance of water-power. Kalamazoo River is a magnificent stream, two hundred miles in length, and navigable for vessels of forty tons, to Allegan, thirty-eight miles above its mouth. The depth of water on the bar is eight feet. St. Josephs River is two hundred and fifty miles long, and winds round through northern Indiana. At its mouth is a sand- bar with six feet of water. The river is a thousand feet in width. At its mouth, the village of St. Josephs occu- pies a commanding site, at an elevation of sixty feet above the water. These are the harbors, and these the rivers of the lower peninsula of Michigan. The majority of them are, as yet, appropriated, almost exclusively, to the lumber trade. The northern branches of the Grand River; the Muskegon, White, and Manistee rivers ; the Thunder Bay, and the Audable rivers; the Saginaw River, and its branches ; the Cass, and Flint, and Shiawasse, and Titti- bawasse, and the Black, and the CUnton rivers — all open into a refi:ion of the choicest timber. The pine lumber of THE LAKES OF MICHIGAN. 185 Michigan is equal to any in the world, and the demand for it has increased prodigiously within a few years. The lakes around Michigan furnish that state with a theater for the grandest display of commercial enterprise. Lake Erie is two hundred and sixty-five miles in length, and averages thirty-five miles in width. Its mean depth is one hundred and thirty feet. It opens to Michigan the trade of the East. Lake St. Clair is about ninety miles in circumference, and twenty feet deep. The passage at the head of that lake into the St. Clair River is, for a little way, extremely difficult. At a trifling expense, the channel might bo kept open^o vessels of the largest class. The general government, heretofore, has neglected to make appropriations for the improvement of the channel through the St. Clair Flats, leaving millions of dollars annually to be stuck in the mud, because, forsooth, the mud is fresh-water mud, instead of salt. The policy of certain American statesmen, i-especting " "■. improvement of western rivers, has been childish in the extreme. Who ever heard, before, of the constitutional rights of a great commercial people being regulated by the ebbings and flowings of the tides ? It is a wonder that it has not been suggested to those astute rainds, to put the consti- tution itself into pickle. Now, the St. Clair Flats, (out of Congress,) lie between Algonac and the mouth of the Thames River. They are extremely sLoal, covered all over with luxuriant crops of wild rice, through which the channel, crooked and narrow, rarely has a depth of water to exceed nine feet. From the principal passage, looking toward the Canadian coast, the whole expanse, for miles, is a waving morass of rice, intersected by small, winding bayous. Every northern state has an immediate interest in the removal of the obstructions of the St. Clair River. A commerce of the value of more than a hundred million 16« THE GREAT WEST. dollars, and a licensed tonnage of steam and sail-craft, amounting in the aggregate to forty thousand tons, are put in jeopardy every year. Lake Huron is two hundred and sixty miles in length, and one hundred and sixty in width, inclusive of the Georgian Bay, a vast expanse of itself, almost divided from the lake by a continuous chain of islands. Lake Huron is said to contain more than thirty thousand islands, princi- pally near the northern shore. Its greatest depth is one thousand feet. A railroad runs across through Canada, from Toronto to Collingwood, at the headof Nottawasaga Bay on Georgian Bay ; and another from Buffalo through Brantford, to be completed to Goderich, on the eastern shore of the lake. The principal harbors of Lake Huron are on the western side, which will give to Michigan the largest share of its commerce. Lake Michigan is three hundred and sixty miles in length, with an average breadth of sixty miles. It has a mean depth of nine hundred feet. Its surface is four feet higher than that of Lake Huron, and six hundred feet above the level of the Atlantic Ocean. On the western side is Green Bay, one hundred miles long and thirty broad, through which, and the Fox and Wisconsin rivers, navigation can easily be opened between the lakes and the Mississippi. The same communication has been eflFected by the canal at Chicago, connecting with the Illinois River. Being so situated in the heart of the lake country, Michigan may participate very largely in the commerce of the whole interior of the continent. And that state possesses within itself the means of supporting the most extensive commercial enterprises. Its soil, throughout, is of surpassing fertility. Only one-third of the land is im- proved; yet the produce annually is, as follows: Wheat, THE PRODUCTS OP MICHIGAN. mi five million bushels ; corn, six million bushels ; oats, three million bushels ; and potatoes, three million bushels. The yield of maple-sugar is two and one-half million pounds. The live stock within the state is valued at ten million dollars. The wool clipped annually, is about three mil- lion pounds ; the butter made, seven and one-half million pounds ; cheese, near two million pounds. The value of the animals slaughtered is about one and one-half million of dollars. The total amount of the yearly products of manufactures is nearly eleven million dollars. The whole northern half of the lower peninsula, covered with magnificent forests, thougli scarcely yet broken into, yields astonishing quantities of lumber. The saw-mills are already cutting over three hundred and ten million feet of sawed lumber annually. The ports of Algonac, Mount Clemens r't. Clair, Port Huron, and Saginaw, on the eastern side, and the Grand River, the Muskegon, White, and Manistee rivers, on the western side, are the avenues through which the lumber of Michigan finds its way to market. While the ports at Grand Haven, Allegan, and St. Josephs, and at Detroit and Monroe, are crowded with grain and other agricul- tural productions. The whole amount of property owned in the state is valued at sixty million dollars. Michigan is entitled to four representatives in Congress. The number of public schools is about three thousand five hundred. A State Normal School has been established at Ypsilanti, with an ample endowment of school lands. The principal colle- giate institution is the University at Ann Arbor. The total number of libraries is three hundred and eighty-one, containing about seventy thousand volumes. About sev- enty periodicals are published in the State, of which thirty are of a literary, scientific, or religious character. 188 THE GREAT WEST. Michigan contains about four hundred churches, accom- modating nearly an hundred and twenty-five thousand persons. Michigan may be far behind Ohio; but it should be remembered that Ohio has had more than thirty years the start. Michigan presents many attractions to the settler; and among those, the beautiful little lakes, scattered profusely over its surface, through the openings and the timbered lands alike, must not be forgotten. These cover from one acre to five hundred acres, clear and deep waters, alive with >ish. Some of the lakes have neither inlet nor outlet, being fed with springs just equal to the evaporation. But most of them send forth copious streams. There are places, among the openings, where, standing on a hill, one may see half a dozen of these lakelets, nestling together. Another advantage in set- tling in Michigan is, that it is about half-way between the East and the West. One does not have to go to the other side of creation to get there ; and the inhabitants may well deem themselves located just about in the cen- ter of the world. A strong inducement, also, is found in the fact, that the government lands in Michigan have been in market, most of them, over ten years, and have fallen in prices to one dollar an acre. The land-offices are situated at Detroit, Ionia, and Michilimackinac. The exemption laws of Michigan are extremely V ;ral toward her citizens. A correct view of household prop- erty would seem to have been taken by the legislature; that the property of the husband necessary to the suste- nance of the family belongs to the family, and should not be alienated by mortgage, or lien, without the consent of the wife. In addition to the usual exemption of a seat in a church, a cemetery, arms, and accouterments, and house- THE EXEMPTION LAWS. 189 hold utensils, and stores, the exemption includes the following property, viz.: All wearing apparel of every person or family; school books and library, to the value of one hundred and fifty dollars; household goods and furniture, to the same amount ; ten sheep, two cows, five swine, and feed for them ; and provisions and fuel for the family for six months; tools, implements, materials, stocks, apparatus, team, vehicle, horses, harness, or other things, to carry on a trade," occupation, or business, not exceeding in value two hundred and fifty dollars. And all chattel mortgages, bills of sale, or other liens on such property, are declared void, unless signed by the wife. In addition to the foregoing, forty acres of land, the dwelling-house thereon, and the appurtenances, are also exempt. So, where a man shall occupy a house on land not his own, the house is exempt. T \ YANKEE EMIGRANTS. 191 CHAPTER XII. INDIANA. Yankee emigrants — Emigration checked by tlie war of 1812 — Admission as a state — Rapid settlement of the state — Where the settlers came from — Soil of the state — The Ohio and Whitewater valleys — The White River Valley — The Wabash Valley — River navigation — Canals — Railroads -'Agricultural products —Chari- table institutions, churches, colleges, and schools. Upon the organization of the eastern portion of the Northwestern Territory into a separate territorial govern- ment, the remaining portion of it, extending westward to the Mississippi, and northward to the lakes, became known* as the Indiana Territory. In 1804, it entered upon the first grade of territorial government, as prescribed by the ordinances of 1787. William Henry Harrison was appointed governor. Vincennes was selected as the capital. The north-western tribes had continued to be peaceable, since the conquest of that region by Colonel Clark. The French settlements on the Wabash soon began to receive additions of Yankee emigrants. The rambling disposition of the people, their curiosity to see and explore new and beautiful regions, led them to plunge into the wilderness, and seek out those remote and lonely settlements. Road- traces, or lines of blazed trees, marked out the routes to be pursued by the emigrants. Previous to 1805, the Indian title to nearly all the southern half of Indiana had been extinguished, removing the chief obstacle to the peaceful settlement of the country. Three years later, the population having increased to five thousand fre6 white males. Congress, with a view to a future state government, assigned the limits of Indiana, -'» 192 THE GREAT WEST. and authorized the election of a territorial legislature. The prosperity of Indiana was considerably checked by the last war with Great Britain. Indian hostilities were at once resumed, and many of the advanced settlements had to be abandoned. It was not until the summer of 1815 that the population of Indiana began rapidly to increase. For the various campaigns of that war, and the mounted expeditions that had traversed the territory, were virtual explorations of that fertile and beautiful country by thousands of young, hardy, and enterprising pioneers, who, upon the return of peace, moved thither with their families, and formed settlements upon all the water-courses. Many of the inhabitants came into the territory from Ohio and Kentucky. So great was the rush of emigratiop that, eai-ly the next season, the population had become suJf.ciently large to entitle them to a state government. In April, 1816, Indiana was admitted into the Union as a free and independent state. None of the western states have become settled with greater rapidity than Indiana. Four years after the adoption of the state constitution, the population numbered one hundred and forty-eight thousand souls ; five years afterward, two hundred and fifty thousand; in 1830, three hundred and forty-two thousand ; and in 1835, six hundred thousand. The present population is over one million. Of that number. New York has furnished twenty- four thousand ; Pennsylvania, forty-four thousand ; Mary- land, ten thousand ; Virginia, forty-five thousand ; Ken- tucky, sixty-nine thousand ; and Ohio, one hundred and twenty thousand. In 1850, the improved farm lands in the state amounted to five million acres; the unim- proved, over seven million acres. The remarkable fertility of the soil of Indiana arises mainly from its geological position. Situated nearly SOIL OP THE STATE. 193 In the center of the great American valley, far distant from the primitive ranges of mountains, the surface-earth is accordingly formed from the destruction of a vast variety of roclis, both crystalline and sedimentary, which have been minutely divided, and intimately blended, by thfc action of air and water. That soil is known to be the most productive which has been formed from the destruc tion of the greatest variety of rocks, by which is produced the due mixture of gravel, sand, clay, and limestone, necessary for the nutrition of plants. Two-thirds of the state of Indiana is level land, slightly undulating, and the water-shed, or divide, within its borders, is scarcely per- ceptible. But the country has continuous slopes of vast extent, and the highest elevation of the surface is six hundred feet above the Ohio River at the falls. Along the rivers are ranges of low hills, which extend back in spurs a little way into the country. Those on the banks of the streams, where the water-courses have torn through them, present much imposing scenery. Back of the hills is the table-land of the interior country ; and that lies gently rolling, as if formed into billows. Occasionally there are small conical elevations, from one hundred feet to two hundred feet in bight. Inclosed within the river hills are the rich bottom-lands, which, originally, were covered with mighty forests. The predominant tim- her of the state is oak and beech. Next in order are the sugar-maple, hickory, ash, poplar, elm, cherry, hackberry, whitewood, coffee-tree, and honey-locust. Chestnut is found only on the east fork of the White River. Indiana has four distinct natural divisions. First, the Ohio and Whitewater valleys, comprising about five thousand square miles. It is a limestone region, heavily timbered, and the soil of great depth and fertility. The hills are abrupt, and broken through by numerous streams, 9 M 1^4 THTB OSEAT WEST. that, in dry weather show only the marks where torrenti have disappeared almost as soon as the storms which had occasioned them. About two-thirds of this division con- sists of choice fanning lands. The residue is too much broken to he cultivated profitably. The poorest land is in the flats at the heads of the streams, which would seem to have washed the substance of the soil upon the bottoms below. Second, the White River Valley, which extends back, through the center of the state, from the Wabash to the boundary of Ohio, and contains about nine thousand square miles. The surface is uniformly level, originally covered with a heavy growth of forest — except in the western part, where there are some small prairies and low, rugged hills. This valley is wholly destitute of rock. The soil is the best in the state, with but very little that is not fit for cultivation. It is supplied with never-failing streams, and an abundance of water-power. Third, the Wabash Valley, which constitutes the larg- est division, as it contains upward of twelve thousand square miles. It interlocks with the White River Val- ley, which it resembles, in the eastern part. The Wa- bash Valley is more broken, but not less fertile. The middle of this region is supplied with running water; but the upper and the lower portions are nearly destitute of it. From the river-hills along the Ohio, the land in- clines to the Wabash; and it is a curiosity of the Indiana river system, that the streams rising near the former river flow off to a great distance, and form junctions with the latter. Fourth, the northern part of the state, which is watered by the St. Joseph's and its tributaries, and the Kankakee, a branch of the Illinois. It resembles very much the Wabash country, only that it is rather more BlVr ! .,. . iaaon. The Enterprise, 202 THE GREAT WEST. in December, 1814, was the first to make the entire tn^ up the river, from New Orleans to Pittsburg. That is said to have been considered a great triumph, " for it was doubtod whether this new power could displace the stsong arms of the keel-boatmen in stemming the powerful tide." Several years more had elapsed before steam vessels were introduced upon the lakes. The first that was built upon Lake Erie was in 1818; and from that time until 1825, when the Erie Canal had become completed, the shipping upon the lakes was principally employed in carrying west- ward supplies and trinkets for the Indian trade, and returning with cargoes of furs and peltries. The influence of the canal was immediately felt throughout the entire West, in facilitating emigration ; and Illinois began rapidly to fill up with an enterprising population. Previous to the era of steam navigation upon the west- ern waters, the transportation of emigrants, and merchan- dise, and produce, was eflFected by means of keel-boats, that would drift down well enough with the current, but had to be forced up stream with setting-poles. " The keel- boat was long and narrow, sharp at the bow and stern, and of light draft. From fifteen to twenty hands were required t-o propel it along. The crew, divided equally on each side, took their places upon the running boards, extending along the whole length of the craft ; and each man, setting one end of a long pole in the bottom of the river, brought the other to the shoulder, and bending down upon it, his face nearly to the plank, exerted all his force against the boat, treading it from under him." While those on one side were thus passing down in line to the stern, those on the other, having faced about, were pass- ing up toward the bow, drawing their poles floating on the water. One man always stood leisurely steering, Astn die of the oar ; and generally, some one of the mea THE KEEL-BOATMEN. 203 might have been seen on the deck, sawing away upon a fidd.e, with as much energy as if he were scalping an Indian. In this way, they would walk up the whole length of the Mississippi. The keel-boatmen kept their rifles constantly within reach. They were the most athletic, restless, and reckless set of men the country ever produced. Con- stantly exposed, they despised danger, and were ready to drop their poles and have a fight, just for the fun of the thing. Going shirtless, wearing nothing but browsers and hats, they were tanned and swarthy from the head to the waist. They seemed to live and thrive on grog, which they took in a manner peculiar to themselves— first a cup of whisky, and then a cup of river water, mixing it in the stomach. Whoever among them could boast that he had nevar been whipped, was bound to fight any one that might dare to dispute his superiority. The keel-boatmen were great sticklers for "fair play." and would permit of no interference with either of the combatants. Their arrival in port was a general jubilee, where hundreds often met together for the noisiest and most outlandish diversions. In their habits, the keel-boatmen were law- less m the extreme, and would set the civil authorities at defiance for days together. Had their numbers increased with the population of the West, they would have endan- gered the peace of the country; but they went out with the commencement of steam navigation, and have grad- ually disappeared. Now and then a "specimen" of the by-gone race of nver boatmen, who have mostly settled down to farming will turn up on the western steamboats ; and on such occa- sions their propensity to "rough fun" will break out afresh. Some years since, one of them took passage down for New Orleans, and for several days he geemod 204 THE GREAT WEST. quite desponding for want of excitement. At last the boat put into Napoleon, in the state of Arkansas, for supplies. Just at the moment there was a general fight, extending all along in front of the town, which, at that time, consisted of a single grocery. The unhappy passen- ger, fidgeting about, jerking his feet up and down as if they were touching upon hot bricks, inquired of a spec- tator: "Stranger, is this 'ere a free fight?" The reply was prompt : " Wall, it ar'. If you want to go in, you need n't stand on ceremony." The passenger went in, and soon after came out again, appearing to be reasonably satisfied. Groping his way on board, his hair half torn •out, his coat in tatters, one eye closed up, and several of his teeth knocked into his throat, he sat down on a hen- coop, and soliloquized : " So this is Na-po-le-on, is it ? It's jeest the most refreshing place I 've seen in many a day." After 1825, the number of inhabitants in Illinois in- creased with great rapidity. The fame of its prairies had reached the eastern states, and the Erie Canal and the steamboats on the lakes aflForded a continuous chain of water communication to its distant borders. The ease and speed of the new modes of conveyance and transport- ation seemed to have shortened the journey by more than one-half. The states which bordered upon Illinois to the east and south sent forth constant streams of enterprising families, that were seeking, among its choice lands and rich mines, to secure a competence to themselves and to their children. Cities began to spring up, like Jonah's gourd, almost in a night. The edges of its prairies were beginning to be dotted with villages. And fields of luxu- riant grain had taken the place of the tall, rank grass. The population, in 1830, numbered over one hundred and fifty-seven thousand ; in 1840, four hundred and seventy six thousand ; and in 1850. eight hundred and fifty-one NATURE OP THE POPULATION. 206 thousand. During these last two periods, the decennial increase had been about three hundred and fifty thousand. Of the whole number of people, in 1850, about three hundred and forty-four thousand had been bom within the state. Nearly one hundred and eleven thousand were of foreign birth. Of the rest, twenty-six thousand had come from New England ; sixty-seven thousand from New York ; seven thousand from New Jersey; thirty-eight thousand from Pennsylvania; seven thousand each from Maryland and Missouri ; from Virginia, twenty-four thousand; North Carolina, thirteen thousand ; Georgia and Alabama, each one thousand; Tennessee, thirty-two thousand ; Kentucky, fifty thousand ; Ohio, sixty-four thousand; and Indiana, thirty-one thousand. Of the foreign population, eighteen thousand were from England ; twenty-eight thousand from Ireland ; thirty-eight thousand from Germany ; and eleven thousand from British America. Illinois is entitled to nine members of the House of Representatives of the United States. The extreme length of the state, on the meridian of Cairo city, is three hundred and seventy-eight miles, and its greatest breadth is two hundred and twelve miles; but the average length and breadth is considerably less than that. The state comprises an area of fifty-five thou- sand four hundred and five square miles. Ifc is divided into ninety-nine counties. Illinois contains about five and one-half million acres of improved farm lands, and six and one-half million acres unimproved. The number of farms under cultivation is nearly one hundred thousand ; and the value of the farming implements and machinery has been estimated as high as seven million dollars. The annual production of wheat and oats is, for each, ten mil- lion bushels ; Indian corn, about sixty million bushels ; and potatoes, three million bushels. )»oe THB GREAT WEST* Generally, it may be said of Illinois, that it occupies the lower part of the great plain, Inclining to the south- west, of which the shores of Lake Michigan are the high- eat part. Down this plain flow the Wabash, Kaskaskia, and Illinois rivers. The lowest section, in the extreme southern angle of the state, at the mouth of the Ohio River, is about three hundred and forty feet above tide-wat«r in the Gulf of Mexico ; and the mean hight of the arable lands above tide-water may be stated at six hundred feet. It has been supposed that, at some former period, an obstruction existed in the channel of the Mississippi, at the Grand Tower, producing a stagnation in the current, at an elevation of about one hundred feet, above the pres- ent ordinary water-mark. At that place, the hills, which, for several ^atmdred miles above, are separated by a valley of twenty-five miles in width, approach near each other, and line both banks with precipitous shores. The walls of rock that frown upon the river have, upon their abrupt fronts, a series of water lines, uniformly presenting their greatest depression toward the sources of the river. At Grand Tower, those rocks of dark-colored limestone, which pervade a very considerable portion of the country, project toward each other, and seem to indicate that, at a remote period, they must have been disunited by some convulsion of nature, which opened for the Mississippi its present channel, and gave vent to the waters stagnating upon the prairies above. The surface of Illinois is almost uniformly level, the most so of any other of the American states, with the exception of Louisiana and Delaware. A small section in the southern part may be denominated hilly, and the more northern portion is broken and uneven. Along the Illinois River there are, likewise, considerable elevations j and the Mississippi bluffs in some places might pass for WIAIBIE LANT>8. M7 ■wmnttlns; but the far greater portion of the state is dis- tributed In vast plains, that are gently rolling like the waves of the sea after a storm. The surface is remark- ably free from stone. A few of the northern counties are somewhat stony, yet, in every other part, the plow may pass over mHlions of acres without striking as much as a pebble big enough to fling at a humming-bird. The portion of the soil most celebrated for its fertility and productiveness consists of the rich bottoms or allu- vial borders of the rivers, which have been formed from the deposits of the waters during floods. On some of these the surface mold is more than thirty feet in depth ; but, at present, nearly one-sixth of the bottom-lands in the state are unfit for cultivation, though productive of valuable timber. A tract, called the " American Bottom," extend- ing along the Mississippi for ninety miles, and about five miles m average width, is of this formation. In the vicinity of the French towns, it has been under cultiva- tion, and has produced great crops of com every year, without manuring, for one hundred and fifty years. The prairie lands of Illinois are less fertile than the rver bottoms, yet they are not inferior for many apricul- tural purposes, and are greatly preferable, where timber can be had, on account of the salubrity of the climate The soil of the oak openings is still thinner and lighter than the prairies. The level region, embracing the whole country lying between the waters which flow into the Mississippi and the waters which flow into the Wabash is denominated the " Grand Prairie." The surface is undulating, and the wave-like ridges, with a long, gentle slope on one side, precipitous on the other, frequently rise into quite respectable hills. But the general aspect of the country is that of a dead level sea of grass. Grand Prairie does not consist of one vast tract alone— it is 808 THE QBEAT WEST. made up of a great number of continuous tractfl, centering upon an immense plain. Long reaciies of timber stretch, in narrow lincH, far into that plain, while broad arms of prairie are extended out between. The central plain itself is utterly destitute of trees and ijhrubber/. The southern points of the Grand Prairie are formed in Jaclison county ; and from thence, extending in a north- easterly direction, varying in width from five to twenty miles, through the counties of Perry, Washington, Jeffer- son, Marion, Fayette, Effingham, Coles, Champaign, and Iroquois, it becomes connected with those prairies which project eastward from the Illinois River. A very large arm stretches up through Marion county, between the Crooked Creek and the east fork of the Kaskaskia River. This latter part, alone, is frequently spoken of as the Grand Prairie, though, in fact, it is but a single branch of it. The Grand Prairie comprises territory sufficient for a state, respectable in size. The Vincennes road passes through it in Marion county. The soil is mostly fertile ; but in the southern part there are vast jQats that are quite inferior. No insurmountable obstacle exists in the way of settle- ments upon the Grand Prairie. Timber for buildings and fences alone is wanting. Fuel is plentiful ; for the im- mense coal field which stretches away through western Kentucky, northern Missouri, and the greater part of Iowa, crosses the Mississippi to the eastward, and underlies almost every acre of the Grand Prairie. The coal rep^icn of Illinois is the most extensive of any state or coujurry on the globe. It comprises an area of about forty knw thousand square miles — nearly three times larger than that of Pennsylvania. With the completion of the Illinois Central Railroad, the lumber regions of Michigan and Wiscouiiin ^ill have been broujerht int^ cr^txiection with YANKEE FENCES IN ILLINOIS. 209 the Grand Prairie, and will furnish supplies of building matenal; while the 0«age orange-a tough, hardy shrub f can be grown rapidly into hedge.. In the meantime resort must be had to turf fences and ditches. S their fencing timber so as to make tho most of it. The Yankee setters have introduced into Illinois a new kind fence, that takes all the conceit out of the zigzag Vb ginia worm ences. Coming from the land of wooden nu< negs and basswood hams, they seem to possess a rare genius for workmg up wood to the best advantage. With an inveterate propensity for whittling, they rive out of oak log^ narrow strips, and drive them into the ground, about three inches apart, along the line of the fence; and upon the tops nail a cap. to hold all secure. After a year or two. a furrow is thrown up. on each side, against the takes to give additional support. Fences can be made n that manner so tight that a grasshopper could hardly jump through. The amount of timber necessary to in, close a field is. in this way, greatly lessened -by nearly one-half. "^ ' Those who have witnessed the changes produced upon a prairie surface within a period of twenty-five years, by excluding the fires from them, consider the extensive prames of Illinois as offering no serious impediment to the future growth of the state. The effect of protectinip the surface from the ravages of fire may bo seen in St. Louis county, in the state of Missouri, which, down to 1823. was pretty much all prairie. But now that tract is covered with a thrifty growth of timber, and it would be diflBcult to find an acre of prairie in the county. The naode of forming settlements upon prairie lands has been thus described : " The first improvements are usually made on that part of the prairie which adjoins the timber ; and N fttO THE GREAT WEST. thus we may see, at the commencement, a range of fanni circumscribing the entire prairie. The burning of the prairies is then stopped, through the whole distance of the circuit in the neighborhood of these farms, to prevent injury to the fences and other improvements. This is done, by plowing two or three furrows all round the set- tlement. In a short time the timber springs up spon- taneously on all the parts not burned, and the groves and forests commence a gradual encroachment on the adjacent prairies. By and by you will see another tier of farms springing up on the outside of the first, and further out on the prairie ; and thus farm succeeds farm, as the tim- ber grows up, until the entire prairie is occupied." The sward of the prairies is exceedingly tough, com- posed of the fibrous grass-roots ; and, in turnmg it over, five or six yoke of cattle are required to draw the plow. Two drivers, generally a man and a boy, guide the team. Moving over an unbroken surface, uninterrupted by stones or stumps, the plow moves steadily along ; the plowman having but little to do, except at the end of the " lands," where the direction has to be changed, and the plow set in at a proper distance for the furrow. The modem wheel plow is mostly in use ; the wheel at the nose of the beam regulating the depth, and the sharp colter, its heel set against the point of the share, dividing the sward like a knife. It would be almost impossible for the plowman alone to regulate the depth without the wheel ; for some- times the plow would be thrown out by the sward, and at other times plunged into the ground to the beam. To procure steadiness, the plow is set by the dip of the share, 80 as to run too deep, which brings a constant pressure upon the wheel, and binds the whole machine steadily to the earth. In earlier times, before the invention of plows that were adapted to prairie service, the end of the beam E? C "Wa,,, Sill, THE TIMBER RECHON. 211 had to be attached to the axletree of a cart, the box of Which served t^ carry an ax. mattock, chains, wrenches, screws, nuts, bolts, clevises, and pieces of timber for repairs, m case of accidents. The yield of wheat the third season is deemed the best. After that the surface of the ground will have become mellow as an ash heap. Illinois has plenty of timber within its limits ; and, were It equally distributed through the state, there would be no part deficient. The several species of oaks are most abundant. The other varieties are the black-walnut, the white-walnut, ash, elm, maple, honey-locust. hackber' ry, mden, or whitewood. pecan, cottonwood, mulberry buckeye, sycamore, wild cherry, box, sassafras, and per' Simmon. The undergrowths are the red-bud, pawpaw, sumac, plum, crab-apple, dog-wood, spice-bush, green- briar, and Hazel. On the bottom-lands, the cottonwood and sycamore grow to amazing size. The prairies of Illinois are finely adapted for grazing. Immense flocks and herds might find ample room and abundant supplies of pasturage. The inhabitants are turning their attention in that direction. The state has superior advantages for the growth of wool, and might supply half the manufactories of the Union with that great staple. The clipping of wool, in 1840, was only about SIX hundred thousand pounds; in 1850 it had in- creased to nearly two and one half million pounds. There need be no limit to the growth of wool but the demand for it in the market. The northern part of the state is inexhaustibly rich in minerals. Iron ore is widely distributed. Copper and silver have been found in considerable quantities. But the great mining operations are confined to the lead re- gion,^inJihe north-western point, in the vicinity of Galena, -he lead regioa embraces an area of about sixty square 212 THE GREAT WEST miles. Commoncing at the mouth of the Little Moqua- quity River, in Wisconsin, it extends along both banks of the Mississippi about sixty miles, in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Iowa. Galena is situated on both sides of the Fever River, six miles above the Mississippi, and is accessible to the largest class of steamboats, at all seasons. Chicago, the most populous and commercial city of Illinois and the north-west, is situated on the south- western shore of Lake Michigan, and on both sides of the Chicago River. The city is built on an extremely level plain, sufficiently elevated to prevent inundation, and extending many miles toward the south and west. The Chicago River and its north and jouth branches, which unite about three-quarters of a mile from the lake, divide the city into three parts. The main stream, flow- ing directly eastward, forms one of the best natural harbors on the lake. "Vessels ascend the river nearly five miles. By a glance at the map, the superior commercial advantages of Chicago will be readily seen. It commu- nicatees by means of the lakes, and Michigan Central and Michigan Southern railroads, with the Atlantic cities ; by the Illinois Central Railroad, in connection with steamers on the Mississippi, with New Orleans; by the Chicago, Alton & St, Louis Railroad, to St. Louis ; and by other roads, embracing a vast extent of country, south- west and north. The rapid growth of Chicago is unpar- alleled. It was incorporated in 1836 ; in 1840, it contained four thousand eight hundred and fifty-three inhabitants ; in 1850, twenty-nine thousand nine hundred and sixty- three ; and in 1856, about ninety thousand. The Mississippi forms the western boundary of the state ; the Ohio and the Wabash rivers demark its south- ern and eastern limits, together forming a natural high- way, by water, of unexampled extent. The Illinois River, VARIETIES OF CLIMATE. S13 through the center of the state, is navigahle ov.r four hundred miles from its mouth, and it is connected with Lake Michigan by the Illinois and Michigan Canal, at Chicago. That canal is one hundred miles in length. The railroad lines from Chicago reach the Mississippi River at Galena, Rock Island, Quincy, Alton, and Cairo. The Illinois Central Railroad runs through the heart of the " Grand Prairie." A line stretches along the lake to Milwaukie, and other lines to Janesville, Madison, and Fond du Lac. Illinois offers very great advantages to the settler; but, at the same time, it must be borne in mind that, as the state extends through five and one-half degrees of latitude, it possesses considerable variety of climate, and that the level surface, unsheltered by forests, expoijea it alike to sun and storm. The summers are hot and prolonged, and the winters everywhere severe. The prevailing winds are the south-west, which blow three-fourths of the year. The northerly and westerly winds prevail in win- ter. On the whole, the climate may be regarded as favorable to outdoor employments, the proportion of clear weather being two hundred and forty-five days, to one hundred and twenty of cloudy. The general "^salu- brity of Illinois is well attested, and few suffer from endemic diseases, except those who have settled near swamps and wet bottom-lands. The winter of 1855-.'^'', has been one of uncommon severity throughout the West. On the prairies, the cold has been intense. Ice has been formed as far down as the Gulf of Mexico. The cold weather in Illinois continued, uninterrupted, for more than two months. Such periods of intense cold, however, recur at wide intervals. Some may be curious to know the seasons of the greatest cold which have occurred. la 1133, the river Po, in Italy, S14 THE GREAT WEST. was frozen from Cremona to the sea; wine burst the casks containing it, and the trees split with a loud report. In 1234, the Mediterranean was frozen over, and mer- chandise was transported across it on the ice. The winter of 1681 waa so severe that whole forests of oak were ruined, the trees being split with the cold. In 1698, the wolves came into Vienna, and attacked men, women, and children, owing to the intense cold and hunger. And in 1704, the most extraordinary storm of which there is any record, occurred in Scotland. The snow fell in a single night to the depth of ten feet. The schools of Illinois are in a flourishing condition. The funds appropriated to their support amount to a million of dollars. The Illinois College is located at Jacksonville; the Shurtleff College, at Upper Alton; the McKendree College, at Lebanon ; and the Knox Col- lege, at Gkilesburg. There are twenty-seven libraries in the state, containing about twenty thousand volumes. The Law Library contains four thousand volumes. In Illinois, the necessary wearing apparel of every person is exempt from execution, and household furniture to the value of fifteen dollars, beside bedding and uten- sils for cooking. Also, one cow; two sheep for each member of the family; and sixty dollars' worth of prop- erty, to be selected by the debtor; provisions for three months ; and, in case of fines, only one bed and bedding, one cow, and ten dollars' worth of household kitchen- furniture. I ORGANIZED AS A TERRITORY. 217 I CHAPTER XIV. WISCONSIN. Organized as a territory — First settlements — Rapid emigration — Source of emigration — Admission as a state — Number of coun- ties, dwellings, and families — Nature of tho population — State laws, with regard to voters — Courts — Interesting provisions of the constitution — Length, breadth, and general surface of the state — Southern Wisconsin — Superior natural advantages — Prai- ries — Oak openings — Abundant pasturages — Inducements to set- tlers — Southern Wisconsin compared with other states — Increase of Agricuiiural wealth — Lead mines — Iron region — Lime- stone '— White marble — Northern Wisconsin — Extensive pine regions — Water-power — The Wisconsin pine — Annual amount sawed — Climate of Wisconsin — Health — Opinion of physi- cians — Commerce — Harbors — Milwaukie brick — Railroads — E Jucational institutions and laws — Exemption laws. The region of country west of Lake Michigan — form- erly attached to the territorial jurisdiction of Michigan, and known as the "Huron District — was erected into a separate territorial government, under the name of the "Wisconsin Territory, upon the admission of the State of Michigan into the Union in 1837. Henry Dodge was appointed governor, and John S. Horner, secretary. The j.^'itory, at that time, comprised within its limits all the country from Lake Michigan to Lake Superior, extending westwai d to the Missouri River, including all the sources of the Upper Mississippi. Its southern limits were the northern boundaries of Illinois and Missouri, and its extent, from north to south, was five hundred and eighty miles, and from east to west, six hundred and fifty miles. Its settled portions consisted of a small tract near the shores of Lake Michigan, and tho organized counties lay 10 21S THE GREAT WEST. along the Fox River of Green Bay, as far as Fort Win. nebago, and tiience down the Wisconsin River, on the south-eastern side, for thirty miles below the portage. Immigrants, coming in by the way of Milwaukie and Racine, were advancing upon the tributaries of Rock River, as far west as the Four Lakes and Fort Madi- son. A few settlements had grown up on the banks of the Mississippi, north of Galena; and some where ex- tending across the river upon the Des Moines, Skunk River, Lower Iowa, and Wapsipinicon. Those settlements upon the western side of the Mississippi were known as the District of Iowa. After the organization of a separate territorial government, and especially after the extinction of the Indian title, in 1837, the settlements began to extend in a remarkable manner, not only upon the western shores of Lake Michigan, but in an equal degree upon the Mississippi. About the same time, immense numbers of foreign immigrants from Europe, but chiefly from Germany, arriving at New York and New Orleans, took their way to Wisconsin, around the lakes, and up the Mississippi. And thousands of the early settlers of Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, or their descendants, were seeking new homes in the same direction. During the years 1841, 1842, and 1843, emigration from the New England and middle states began sending its floods into Wisconsin Territory, to repose along the Wis- consin River. Inhabitants came crowding into the beauti- fully undulating lands near the shore of Lake Michigan, south of Green Bay, to the Illinois line, and around Lake Winnebago, and between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. Settlements soon spread throughout this delightful coun- try, diversified by lakes and rivers, in which the crystal tributaries of the Rock River take their rise. Thriving towns and villages were springing up in all parts of this ADMISSION INTO THE UNION. 219 region, which, but a few years previously, had been called the Far West, beyond the advance of white settlements and civilized life, in the sole occupancy of the most degraded and improvident of the savage tribes — the Winnebagoes, the Sacs, and the Foxes. During 1843, the aggregate number of persons that arrived in the Wiscon- sin Territory has been estimated at more than sixty thousand, embracing all ages, and both sexes. Of those, fifty thousand came by the route of the lakes. In 1845, Wisconsin Territory contained more inhabi- tants than any other new territory had possessed upon admission into the Union ; yet the people, satisfied with the territorial form of government, did not desire, the set- tlements having been made so recently, to incur the addi- tional expenses of an independent state government. And although the population amounted to more than one hundred and forty thousand souls, they had not made application to Congress for authority to organize them- selves into a state. Leave, however, having been granted by Congress, in 1846, for the holding of a convention, the delegates assembled at Madison, in October of that year, and adopted a constitution. But the people, at the next election, having rejected it, another convention was held in the winter of 1847, and the new constitution was approved in April following. On the twenty -ninth day of May, 1848, Wisconsin was admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the other states. Wisconsin is divided into thirty-one counties, the most populous of which are, Dane, Dodge, Milwaukie, Racine, Bock, Walworth, Washington, Waukesha, Winnebago, Kenosha, Jefferson, Grant, and Fond du Lac counties ; and the least populous are. Saint Croix, Richland, Marathon, La Pointe-, Chippewa, and Adams. In 1850, the whole num- ber of dwellings in the state was fifty-six thousand three 220 THE GREAT WEST. hundred and sixteen ; of families, fifty-seven tliousand six hundred and eight; and of inhabitants, three hundred and four thousand five hundred and sixty-five. Wisconsin contains twenty-one thousand more males than females ; and a larger number of foreigners in proportion to the whole population than any other »tate— one-third being foreigners. Of the whole population, upward of sixty thousand were born in the state ; the balance came, mainly OS follows, viz.: From New England, twenty-seven thou- sand ; from New York, sixty-nine thousand ; New Jersey and Pennsylvania, eleven thousand ; Kentucky and Michi- gan, each two thousand; Ohio, twelve thousand; and Illinois, six thousand. Of the foreign population, nine- teen thousand came from England; twenty-two thousand from Ireland; three thousand five hundred from Scot- land; twelve hundred from Russia; nine thousand from Norway; four thousand from Prussia; and nine thousand from British America. Wisconsin is entitled to three members of the House of Representatives of the United States. The Legislature meets annually at Madison, on the first Monday of January. All males, twenty-one years old, residents of the state for one year next before the election, who are white citizens of the United States, or white foreigners who have declared their intention to be- come such citizens, or persons of Indian blood once de- clared by the laws of the United States to be citizens— subsequent laws to the contrary notwithstanding — or civ- ilized persons of Indian descent, not members of a tribe, are entitled to vote at all elections. The elections are held on the Tuesday after the first Monday in November, in each year. Wisconsin has an elective judiciary. The state is divided into six judicial districts, in each of which the THE STATE CONSTITUTION. 221 people elect a supreme court judge, for six years. The circuit courts have original jurisdiction of all actions — civil, criminal, and equitable. The supreme court, with the exception of issuing writs of mandamus, quo warran- to, and the like, has appellate jurisdiction only, and is the court of last resort. There can be no trial by jury in that court. The county courts are composed of a county judge for each county, elected for four years; and they have concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit court, where the damages claimed do not exceed five hundred dollars. Justices of the peace are elected in the several towns, and hold office for two years. The state constitution contains some interesting mis- cellaneous provisions, among which are the following : No lottery or divorce can be granted by the legislature ; laws . shall be passed providing a way for suing the state ; the credit of the state shall never be lent, nor shall any debt be contracted nor money paid for internal improvements, unless the state holds trust property dedicated to such uses ; except in cases of war, invasion, or insurrection, no debt exceeding one hundred thousand dollars shall be contracted; an university, without sectarian instruction, shall be established ; the legislature shall prevent towns and cities from contracting debts ; no general or special law to create a bank or banks shall be passed, till a majority of the votes at a general election shall have been in favor of a bank, and until such majority have afterward approved the act passed ; any person implicated in a duel loses the right of suflFrage, and becomes ineligible to any office; no public defaulter shall hold any office; in crimi- nal prosecutions for libel, the jury are judges of both law and fact; leases of agricultural lands for more than fifteen years are void ; resident aliens have all the property rights of citizens; imprisonment for debt is abolished j no 222 THE GREAT WEST. religious opinions shall disqualify a witness. Amend- ments to the constitution, agreed to by the legislature, shall be published for three months before the election, and again referred to the legislature then chosen ; and if again approved, shall then be submitted to the people. And a convention may be called in like manner. The State of Wisconsin in its greatest length, north and south, is two hundred and eighty-five miles, and its greatest breadth is two hundred and fifty-five miles. It comprises an area of about fifty-four thousand square miles. The surface of Wisconsin presents the appearance of a vast plain, extending from Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River. The water-shed, or divide, is near the lake ; but it bears away to the north-west. The surface of the state possesses great uniformity of elevation, and it is neither mountainous, hilly, nor flat, but gently undu- lating throughout, presenting to the settler one of the most beautiful regions of country in America. Wisconsin is one of the highest, best-watered, and best-drained states in the Union. The country west of the Sugar River, and south of the Wisconsin, is somewhat broken, principally by the dividing ridge upon which the road from Madison to Prairie du Chien passes. West of the Wisconsin River is a range of hills, which might be dignified with the name of mountains, seeing they are situated in the heart of a level country. The south-eastern portion of the state is one continuous table-land, marked and furrowed by ravines along the streams, which are depressed but little below the sur- rounding surface. The principal features of that region are the prairies, destitute of trees and shrubbery, covered by a luxuriant growth of grass, interspersed, in the spring, with flowers of every hue ; the oak openings, which, like SUPEKIOR NATURAL ADVANTAGES. 223 and building purposes scattered over the surface ; tho wood-land borders of the little lakes and streams, running out into the prairies and openings in all directions ; and the natural meadows, which supply any amount of pasturage, and a sufficient quantity of hay for the winter. The soil of the prairies and openings consists of a vegetable mold, dark-brown in color, and from one to two feet in depth, very mellow, and entirely destitute of stone or gravel! For fertility it is not, and can not be surpassed. The sub- soil is a clayey loam, preventing all danger of leaching, and furnishing, by deep plowing, a ready means for enriching the surface. The prairies of Wisconsin are not so extensive as those of other states, and being skirted and belted with timber, within easy access from every part, they are adapted to immediate and profitable occupation. Nature has done all the clearing and preparing the lands; man has only to put in the plow, and reap abuuuant harvests. The openings comprise the finest portions of the state. Tho autumnal fires have kept down tho undt-r-growth, and destroyed all the varieties of timber, except the oak, which seems to be capable of withstanding the sweep of that element. That autumnal destruction of wood, and leaves, and grasses, has been adding to the richness of the land for ages; while, at the same time, there has been left a sufficient supply of timber for the immediate wants of the immigrant. These considerations explain, in a great measure, the wonderful capacity Wisconsin has displaved for rapid settlement. There is another fact, important to bo noticed in this connection: "The low, level prairie, or natural meadow, of moderate extent, is so generally distributed over tho face of the country, that the settler, on a fine section of arable lands, finds on his own farm, or "1 224 THE GREAT WEST. in his immediate neighborhood, abundant pasturage for his stock in summer; and hay for the winter for tho cut- ting — the bounty of Nature supplying his need in this behalf till the cultivated grasses can be introduced and become sufficient for his use." Presentrng sucli strong inducements to the actual settler, "Wisconsin has been rapidly drawing within its borders an enterprising, industrious, and thrifty population. The increase has been almost unexampled. In 1840, the Territory of Wisconsin did not possess thirty-one thou- sand inhabitants ; but in the ten years next succeeding, the number had increased to more than three hundred thou- sand. It may safely be presumed that the southern half of the state is capable of accommodating and supporting a denser population than any other part of America of the same extent. As rapidly as the country would appear to have been settling up, a small portion only of the choicest lands has been reduced to actual occupation. Thousands of acres, equal to the best in the world, are awaiting the hand of the husbandman to make them blos- som like a garden. In 1850, the unimproved farm lands in Wisconsin numbered over one million nine hundred thousand acres; the improved lands, one million and forty-five thousand acres ; the total number of cultivated farms, twenty thousand one hundred and seventy-seven. The farming implements and machinery were at the same time valued iit more than a million and a half of dollars. The western boundary of Wisconsin is formed by the St. Croix and the Mississippi rivers. The latter is navigable by steamboats as far as the Fulls of St. Anthony, two thousand miles from its mouth, and thus opens a communication with the rich and spacious country on the south, by its numerous 1 INTERNAL WATERS. 226 tributaries and even with the Atlantic ports through the Gulf of Mexico. Of the rivers of the state, the most important is the Wisconsin, which has a courL, of p^b- ably two hundred miles almost directly south, when it ZtT'rl ^"' '" '''"* ^"•^ ^""^-^ --- There is also the Chippewa, about two hundred, and the Black one hundred and fifty miles long. The Fox, or Neen • «.eoutle of Winnebago Lake, and connects itwith Gr;en ^^Lr. .T T'' ^'' "'* ^""'^'^"y f^^^raWe to navi- gation without artificial aid. The Wisconsin may be ascended by steamboats to the rapids, where it approaches a nbutary of Lake Winnebago, within a mile an'da half where a canal is being constructed, which, when com- Vn t ; .1 T"" '" '"*^'"" ^"^""^ navigation from New ^ork the Upper Mississippi. Besides the great lakes Superior and Michigan, which bound her on the' north and east Wisconsin has a number of small lakes. The prin- cipal of these is Lake Winnebago, about twenty-eight niilcs long, and ten miles wide, and connected with Green Bay through the Fox River. These small lakes are gen- erally characterized by clear water and gravelly bottoms. They afford excellent fish. Wild rice grows in the shallow waters on the margins of some of them, and IS an^important article of food with the savages of this The mining and lumbering facilities of that state are on the grandestscale. Thecoppermines are reserved for the chap- ter on " The Superior Country." Wisconsin is best known as a mineral region by its lead mines, which comprise four- Wths of the entire lead district of the West. The lead- bearing rock is a porous limestone, and it prevails through- out he counties of Grant. Iowa, and Lafayette. Three- fourths of all the lead shipped at Galena is produced in 1U» Q ssd THE GREAT WEST. Wisconsin. There are, also, large quantities shipped at other places along the Mississippi, and on the Wisconsin Eiver, the precise amounts of which no data has been fur- nished upon which an intelligent estimate can be made. The general appearance of the lead region of Wisconsin is precisely similar to that of Illinois, — a broken, desolate surface, covered with a wiry, unpalatable grass ; but the rich mineral lies below. The iron mines of Wisconsin have scarcely yet been opened ; but they are well worthy of the attention of the immigrant. The ore exists in great abundance near the head-waters of the Rock River, on the upper tributaries of the Mississippi, and to the west of the sources of tha Menominee. In respect to the iron, it is impossible to do more than point out, generaily, the localities where it is known to exist. The region where the ore abounds is mostly a howling wilderness. The smelting of the ore requires a great outlay of capital in the first instance ; and, in view of the present condition of the country, it will probably be several years before the iron of Wisconsin ■will become known in the market. But with the lead it is quite different. Very little capital is requisite. The exceeding abundance of the mineral, the comparative ease with which it may be mined, and the high price it commands, the moment it is brought to the surface, open to the industrious and prudent operative a highway to wealth. " The limestone underlying the coal fields of Illinois forms the immediate basis or the alluvion of southern Wisconsin. This geological district, in addition to that portion of the state which lies southerly of the valley of the Wisconsin River, comprises the whole of the slope toward Lake Michigan." In many places the lime rock ^jaj^pnooygj an^ tho Qut-cTopping sandstone furnishes a THE PINE LANDS. 227 fine material for building. The region of primitive rock lies north of a line drawn from the Falls of St. Anthony across to Green Bay ; and in that portion of the state between the primitive formation and the limestone to the south and east, the transition sandstone prevails, compris- ing the section drained by the rivers flowing south-west- erly, and below the falls in those rivers. In all this middle region are found quarries of white marble, which promise to be abundant and valuable, rivaling those of Vermont. Leaving the prairies and proceeding northward up the Wisconsin and Fox rivers, the timber constantly increases. The surface of the ground becomes more uneven. Large marshes are found, with a ranlt growth of cranberries and wild-rice. And still further north and north-west is one of the finest tracts of pine land in America, through which the streams, tumbling down frequent falls, afford an incal- culable amount of water-power, just where it is most needed for the manufacture of lumber. The Wisconsin forest of evergreens is perfectly immense, covering fully one-third of the state. The pineries of the Upper Wis- consin and its tributaries are at present most exten- sive ; and those are distinguished still more for the fine quality than for the inexhaustible quantities of the timber. The other localities of pine may be reached by going up the Wolf River, the great northern affluent of Fox River, the streams which pour into Green Bay, and the LaCrosse, the Black, Chippewa, and the St. Croix rivers, branches of the Mississippi. These are all streams having swift currents, broken by frequent rapids. With the annual floods and the occasional freshets, the yield of the mills on the Wolf River are floated down to Lake Winnebago and Green Bay, and on the north-western streams, to the Mississippi f ;*l 228 THE GREAT WEST. Throughout all the west and south-west, the Wisconsin pine has taken the place of all other in the market. It is carried to Kansas and Nebraska ; it is used throughout Missouri and Arkansas; it monopolizes the market at Natchez and New Orleans ; it is taken un the Tennessee, the Cumberland, and the Green rivers 1- . ^ carried east by way of the lakes, and south into Ina \ ah 1 Illinois. " Scarcely ten years have elapsed since the Alleghany pine of New York and Pennsylvania had undisputed pos- session of the market, not only of the Ohio valley, but of the Mississippi and its tributaries above New Orleans, at which point it competed with the lumber of Maine and New Brunswick. The course of the lumber trade may now be considered permanently changed. The pineries of Wisconsin control, and will hold possession of the market of the valley of the Mississippi and its great western affluents." The amount of pine lumber estimated to be sawed in Wisconsin, annually, is as follows : Black River 15,000,000 feet. Chippewa, 28,500,000 " Green Bay, 21,000,000 « Manitowoc, 24,a00,000 " St. Croix, 20,000,000 " Wisconsin 58,500,000 " Wolf River 25,500,000 " Total number of feet, . . .193,000,000 And owing to the great demand for lumber upon the prairies, to the south and south-west, the lumbering busi- ness of Wisconsin is increasing more rapidly than any other in the state, not excepting the mining for lead. ^ r I ^ W- RESOURCES OP WISCONSIN. 339 Aside from the pine lumber, a great number of saw-mills i^ aT.!ft ^f ? '"' -^'^^-^^-^^^ -e in oper" n n all parts of the state, where timber is found, manufac tunng large quantities of oak scantling and ilank and basswood siding and lath. ^ ' ^ one^lT.''°-i°/f'"'" *' ''' ^"^^«°«« resources, has one ^^ry decided advantage over some of the other ;est. ern states. It possesses a most salubrious climate Its atntiosphere is one of great purity. Every part of the sta e IS supplied with copious, living springs "The coolness and short duration of the summer.'' says Mr Lapham, ''and the dryness of the air during winter, con-* of the United States. The wet-meadows, marshes, and swamps, are constantly supplied with pure water from springs ; and as they are not exposed during summer to a burnmg heat, they do not send forth those noxious and dele erious qualities so much dreaded in more southern and less favored latitudes. Many of our most flourishing towns and settlements are in the immediate vicinity of large swamps, and partially overflown meadows ; yet no injurious effects upon the general health are produced by them. It has usually been found, in making new settle- ments m the western wilderness, that, as the forests are cleared away, and the surface thereby exposed to the direct influence of the sun and winds, a deleterious effect IS produced on the general health -the decaying vegeta- ble matter being thus suddenly made to send forth its malarious qualities. But in Wisconsin no such result is apprehended, or can be produced; for a large proportion of the country consists of oak openings and prairie, and may therefore be considered as already cleaned. The removal of the few remaining bur-oaks can not have the same effect upon the soil as the cutting down of the amuQ 1 i 230 THE GREAT WEST. forests of other states. And besides this, the fires that have annually raged over the surface have prevented that rapid aceumulation of vegetable matter, which is always found in deep, shady woods." It is also stated to be the opinion of physicians, that Wisconsin is, and will continue to be, one of the healthiest regions in the world. Wisconsin is finely located for carrying on an extensive commerce, with Lake Michigan on the east and the Mis- sissippi on the west, besides the Wisconsin River, which flows in a south-westerly direction through the heart of the state. Its principal ports are Milwaukie, Racine, She- boygan, and Green Bay, on the lake, and Prairie du Chien and Oassville, on the Mississippi. Milwaukie is situated at the mouth of a river of the '»ame name, ninety miles above Chicago. The shore of a.ake Michigan consists of a bank of clay from twenty to one hundred feet high, and nearly perpendicular. The harbor lies at the head of a semi-circular bay, six miles across and three miles deep. The bottom affords the best anchoring ground to ha found on Lake Michigan. In 1850, the city contained a population of more than twenty thousand persons. During the year 1855, six vessels were built at Milwaukie, having an aggregate tonnage of twelve hundred tons ; and at the close of the season there were on the stocks one propeller and five vessels, estimated to have an aggregate tonnage of one thousand six hundred and thirty tons. The finest quality of brick in the world is manufactured at Milwaukie. In and about the city are six extensive yards, employing over two hundred men, and turning out upward of twenty-six million bricks annually, valued at nearly two hundred thousand dollars. Of that number, six and one-half mil- lions are exnorted to Chicago and othar lake ports Its BAILROADS. 231 W external and domestic trade, and manufacturefl, are very rapidly on the increase. Racine is situated at tlie mouth of Root River. It is a flourishing place, with a good harbor, and has already become an important commercial point in the state. The Green Bay, Milwaukio & Chicago Railroad passes through it. Sheboygan, at the mouth of Sheboygan River, is rapidly growing into a place of c( nsiderable importance. It is visited by regular lines of steamboats and vessels, and is surrounded by a fertile and well cultivated country. Green Bay is situated at the head of Green Bay, at the mouth of the Fox River. It occupies an important loca- tion, and has an excellent harbor. The village stands on a commanding eminence. It must become, in the natural course of events, a large commercial depot. Its popula- tion is about throe thousand. Prairie du Chien is situated on the Mississippi River, three miles above the mouth of the Wisconsin. The prairie from which it takes its name is ten miles long and three miles wide, and productive as a garden. The pop- ulation is about three thousand. Its trade is very large, and rapidly increasing. There are rich mines of copper and lead in its immediate neighborhood. Cassville is situated in Grant county, in the midst of the lead region. It is one of the principal places for shipping that valuable metal, and for bringing in supplies for those engaged in raining. It is growing rapidly in size and in business. Wisconsin is laying down lines of railroad in all direc- tions across the state. The Lake Shore road, from Chi- cago, north, will soon be completed to Green Bay. The Milwaukie & Mississippi road, already opened to Madison, ninety-seven miles, will be completed during the season of 1856, to Prairie du Ch'en, one hundred and ninety-five miles. The LaCrcsso & Milwaukie road, extending frQio S32 THE GREAT WEST. the latter place to the Upper Mississippi, is open to Beaver Dam, sixty-one miles from Milwaukie, and is pro- gressing toward a speedy completion. The Horioon road branches off from the LaCrosse at Horicon, and will strike the Wisconsin River at Stevens' Point, on the route toward St. Paul, in Minesota. A company has been organized to build a road from Stevens' Point to Lake Superior. Another road will intersect the LaCrosse at Ripon, and running through Oshkosh, on Lake Winne- bago, will terminate at Green Bay. These roads are <\} upon important lines of transportation, and some of the last- named will open through the great pineries of Wisconsin. Wisconsin is not behind-hand in promoting education. The school fund amounts to more than half a million dol- lars. Seventy thousand children attend her common schools. The value of the school-houses in the state is about two hundred thousand dollars. The school-houses would seem to vary some in the value set upon them, according to the report of the superintendent of publio instruction, one being valued at five thousand dollars, and another at five cents. There are also about ninety pri- vate or select sch( jIs, averaging seventy-five pupils each. The State University is located at Madison, the capital of the state, and in well endowed. The Beloit College is an older institution. Both are in a flourishing condition. The State Library contains over four thousand volumes. In the state there are thirty-five libraries, containing, in all, about eight thousand volumes. Wisconsin has a liberal homestead exemption law, securing to the occupant forty acres, together with the necessary buildings. The statute would seem to have been copied from the statute of Michigan, being almost precisely similar to it. The mechanic's lien law is more liberal than in most states. It is not confined in its EXEMPTION LAWS. 233 operation to cities, but extends throughout the entire state, as all such laws should do. p]very contract not to be performed within one year, and every promise to answer for the debt, default, or miscarriage of a third person, and every agreement made upon consideration of marriage — except mutual promises to marry — must be in writing. Every contract for the sale of goods for the price of fifty dollars or more, must be in writing, and sub- scribed by the parties thereto, unless the buyer receive part of the goods, or pay part of the purchase money. It is clear that Wisconsin is destined to become one of the most populous, enterprising and wealthy states in the Union. Her people are steady, industrious, and loyal. Having commercial intercourse with the east and with the south, her influence will be felt and respected in the most extreme portions of our common country. THE BLACK HAWK PURCHASE. 235 CHAPTER XV. IOWA. The Black Hawk purchase — First settlementg — Second Indian pnr chase — Reports of the surveyors — Erected into a Territory — Gard«^n of the West ~ Constitution formed — ProTisions of the constitution — Refuses the terms of admission as a state — A new constitution — Admission as a state — Length and breadth of the state — Population — Number of dwellings and families — Number of counties — Amount of unimproved lands — Excess of male pop- ulation — Source of emigration — Most populous counties — Land speculations — Advantageous geographical position — General ap- pearance of the state — Agricultural condition and resources — Coal-fields - ■ Limestone — Cedar Valley — Soil — Minerals — Com- merce—Shipping ports — Capital of Iowa — Iowa City — Rail- roads — Advantage to settlers — Public institutions. Iowa had attracted the attention of emigrants about the same time with Wisconsin. The region of country to the west of the Mississippi was easily accessible; for the settlers from the south could ascend that river ; those from the east could^float down the Ohio. Settlements, however, in that direction, had met with a sudden and terrible check, upon the breaking out of the Black Hawk war, in 1829, which for three years had laid waste all the north-western portions of Illinois. But at the close of that period, Black Hawk, utterly routed, driven from Wisconsin Territory, had retired to the distant border of Missouri, and there, upon the head-waters of the Iowa River, he had made overtures for a cessation of hostilities. In September, 1832, a treaty of peace had been concluded between the discomfited savages and the United States, by which it 'yas provided that the Indians should reiinc^uish nearly all J 236 THE GREAT WEST. the lands from the Mississippi westward, for fifty miles, between the Des Moines River on the south and the Yel- low River on the north. That cession comprised not less than one-third part of the present State of Iowa, and became known, subsequently, as the "Black Hawk Pur- chase." By the treaty, it was stipulated that the Indians should retire from the ceded lands as early as the month of June of the next year. The first settlement in the Black Hawk Purchase was made in the fall of 1832, at Fort Madison, on the Missis- sippi, just above the mouth of the Des Moines River, by Zachariah Hawkins and Benjamin Jennings. Three years afterwa-rd, the town was regularly laid out, and the lots exposed for sale. From that time, Fort Madison con- tinued to grow rapidly ; and in 1838, the beautiful grounds contained a thriving village of nearly six hundred Inhabitants. The next year after Fort Madison, another settlement was begun at Burlington, seventy-nine miles below Rock Island, by Morton M. M'Carver and Sampson S. White, while the land was still in the occupancy of the Indians. At the same time, two stores were opened there by Dr. W. R. Ross and Jeremiah Smith, each "well supplied with western merchandise." In less than four years, Burlington had become the seat of government for the Territory of "Wisconsin, of which Iowa was then a dis- trict; and three years later, it contained a population of fourteen hundred persons. Also, in 1833, the city of Dubuque, situated on ihe Mississippi, four hundred and twenty-five miles above St. Louis, received its first Anglo-American inhabitants; and so rapid was its growth, that, in seven years after- ward, it had become a rich commercial town, of about fifteen hundred persons. Dubuque received its name in FIRST SETTLEMENTS. 237 honor of Julien Dubuque, the early proprietor of the "Mines of Spain," upon the Upper Mississippi. A Can- adian by birth, Dubuque had visited the lead region in 1786. Exploring its mineral resources, he had succeeded in obtaining from the Indians a grant of a tract of land, comprising about one hundred and forty thousand acres, upon the west bank of the river. Dubuque had acquired great wealth from his mining operations. He died in 1810. His monument may be seen, about one mile below the city, on a high bluflF. In 1835, the town of Salem was settled by Aaron Street, a member of the Society of Friends. It was upon the extreme frontier of the Black Hawk Purchase, and consti- tuted the first Quaker settlement in Iowa. Five years afterward, the colony in the vicinity of Salem numbered one thousand persons, many of them aged patriarchs, surrounded by their descendants to the third and fourth generations. Many other settlements of less note had also been springing up along the Mississippi. At the time of the organization of the Territory of Wisconsin, in 1836, the region of country west of the Mississippi was included within it, under the name of the District of Iowa, comprising but two counties — the county of Dubuque and the county of Des Moines— which together contained ten thousand five hundred and thirty- one inhabitants. In a little while, the District of Iowa had become noted throughout the West for its extraor- dinary beauty and fertility, and the great advantages which it aflForded to agricultural enterprise. The first Black Hawk Purchase was speedily overrun by emigrants, who were advancing upon the Indian country beyond. A new treaty, in 1837, had to be negotiated with the Sacs and Foxes, by which they consented to the further extension of the western hmmdarv an aa f« ;«^i,,;ia ^-u^ 238 THE GREAT WEST. principal sources of the Iowa River, opening a magnificent region to the progress of settlements. Emigration con- tinued to augment the population. Land-oflRces were established at Dubuque and Burlington. The surveyors reported "the lands" to consist of "a beautiful, fertile, healthy, undulating region, interspersed \7ith groves and prairies, abounding in springs of pure water, with numer- ous streams flowing through a soil abounding with lime- stone of divers varieties, and other kind of rock, and some coal." Before the close of 1838, the counties of Dubuque and Des Moines had been broken up into sixteen counties, having in the aggregate a population of more than twenty thousand souls, widely distributed throughout those por- tions of the district to which the Indian title had been extinguished. In the meantime, on the fourth of July of that year, Iowa, having been erected into a territory, had become separated from Wisconsin. The first gov- ernor of the territory of Iowa was Robert Lucas, form- erly governor of Ohio. James Clark was appointed secretary. Augustus 0. Dodge was elected by the people to represent them in Congress. The territory, as first organized, comprised " all that region of country north of Missouri, which lies west of the Mississippi River, and of a line drawn due north from the source of the Missis- sippi to the northern limit of the United States." The first general assembly of the Territory of Iowa, with a strong conviction of the certainty of the growth of the future state, proceeded to make provision for the seat of government, and ordained that it should spring up in the wilderness. " On the first day of May, 1839, the beautiful spot which is now occupied by the city of Iowa, was within the Indian hunting-grounds, from which the tribes had not then retired, and within twenty miles of the i GARDEN OF THE WEST. 239 new Indian boundary, and fifty-two miles west of the Mississippi River. On the fourth, it was selected by the commissioners as the site of the future state capital. On the first day of July, the survey of the city was com- menced, upon a scale of magnificence rarely equaled. Ihe streets and avenues were wide, and spacious lots and squares were designated for the public use; and the city of Iowa commenced. Twelve months afterward, it con- tained a population of seven hundred persons ^ The inhabitants of the territory continued to increase m number with astonishing rapidity. The Mississippi was crowded with steamers ascending to the north, and vast fleets were plowing the lakes westward, loaded with emigrants bound for the distant Garden of the West The growth of the settlements in Iowa is unprecedented m the history of colonization. That territory was out- stripping its former yoke-fellow upon the eastern bank of the river According to the census of 1840. the popula- tion of Iowa Territory was forty-three thousand and seventeen persons ; that of Wisconsin, thirty thousand mne hundred and forty-five persons. Foreign immigrants kept on coming into the territory, but not nearly so rapidly as into Wisconsin. The far c:reater portion of the settlers came from the other western states, and from the middle states. Internal navigation throughout the north, by means of the lakes and canals, had become so much per- fected that population, for many years, continued to flow toward the far west in one continuous stream. The number of the inhabitants had become augmented to such a degree that, with the permission of Congress, a convention assembled in 1844; and on the seventh day of - October it adopted a constitution for the proposed State of Iowa Iowa was the fourth state organized within the limits or thfi nrovi«/>« f.,f Tr^,,:„z rw^-, ■-, ■ -- — £i.i,,ii.w or ijOuiSiiiiiu,. Tne constitution 240 THE GBEAT WEST. to be elecw b^ the "1^"'^'? "'"' """*-0-. were mm from J2l ZTi^bt ^"^'^S'^'"'"" -- P'«- »' Iowa, nnmberinff about r.in^t 7i "* *''« P^opI* doomed to disappltmZl Till ?'""" P"-^"-"' »«« government. The clmH.,,- f "'^'"P'»t«d change of -ever went into opeX 2 I "" ""'^ "'"' '""P'^-J '-gor in aoonditioC extort, 7 T"""" "» y'"" culty between the state a„T t? f tPl"''™''<^- The diffl. ««t of the territory LI 1< f t™' ^'"'"'""'"i e«w herself; _ Congress havT. ^."''^ "'* '^"""^^ to »*it"tion, by tL :;* of fh:T7'/*'''''™P°-''-''- Pfovided for the admission^f t *^ "^ ^^'"■'"'- l^^^, P'orida, but with threoTdition r\''T""''"'"''^'y ™'* of the former territory ;'":'''°''f''' «'^' ^o People should assent U th te rLa, , "'.f .«™"'" ''««tion, gress. The object of he c„nl ' ""^""^ ^^ ^on- «o as to make'it eonffr^ :!' I ^"^ '" '''"•"' I"""' other western states ZTtT ,' «'""''"'''' ''■■^'' «' the proposed limits, and tbf; ;tt'e7t 7f '," ™'"^ '"» by a majority of two thomnd I T' "^ '"''"«''"' yielded, and, in 1846 fh™,! I , ™' ''""''"<"' "t last acquiescence in the Lms Xh IJf '''"^' ''«'''"^'"' "» second convention was 1! . , '"'™ P'oscribed. A new constitutio havTnl so" b^e^ ' '"'""""■''• ^"^ ••>« Iowa was admittedlto^h I „ ""''"''''• "«= ^tate of December. '° ^'"™ <»> the third day of tbr!eL^„r/'if ;/a t f'V™" «'«t to west, is »t»ts,eri„i3^^^^^^ -»a ninety.:- t^-rrnnS-^?^: led for an tary, were was pro- the state, he people ons, were hange of adopted wo years rhe diffi- 3nt grew amed to sed con- ^, 1845, 'ly with people lection, y Con- > Iowa, of the ify the mission it last ed its a. A d the ite of ay of St, is and sand hun- teen POPULATION. 241 about thi.fH "T^'' '^ ^^^"^"^« ^^ *h« «tate was about th rty.three thousand; and of families, thirty-th™ housand five hundred. Iowa, at that time, oLined forty n,„e counties ; but since the census of 1850 was aken, Potta,,at^mie county has been broken up into forty-nine additiona counties, so that the number is now ninei/.nine The number of farms under cultivation, at that time, in the whole state, was fourteen thousand eight hund ed Id five co„tammg in all about nine hundred thousand ac es s^ate OM. r^'"' "^''^ ""'''' *^^^ '^^^'^^ i» the state. Of the entire population, a little over five thou- sand persons came from New England; New York, eight thousand one hundred and thirty-four; New Jersey and Pennsylvama, togetiier sixteen thousand; Delaware and feouth Carolina each about five thousand; Maryland, two thousand; Virginia, eight thousand; Tennessee and ken- tucky, thirteen thousand; Ohio, thirty-one thousand; In- thousand. The foreign population consisted of nearly four thousand English, five thousand Irish, and over seven thousand Germans, and two thousand Canadians The most populous counties are as follows, viz- Lee Van Buren, Des Moines, Dubuque, Jefferson, Henry,' Wapello Davis, Jackson, Muscatine, Scott, Marion, Ma- haska, Lmn, Louisa, Keokuk. Polk. Washington. John- son Clay on, Cedar, and Appanoose. The western and north-western parts of the state, though increasing in population are as yet, but thinly inhabited. Speculation in the lands of Iowa has run very high. and. in many of the newer regions, a very large proportion of the choicest lands has been taken up by non-residents. The land- offices, for weeks at a time, have been thronged with anxious buyers, crowding and pressing upon one another a^ .He doors and windows, id enter their selections 11 p 243 THE GREAT WEST. It 18 not at all surprising (hat everybody should desire to own lands in Iowa. Its position, soil, cLate, andT sources, indicate that it will, one day, take rank ^mZ the first states in the Union. " SituaW nearly „Zy between the two great oceans; bounded on both sides by the great nvers of the continent, and watered by inn„ hTu-Se^™- ■" f""''- """''''"' " fertile soiri": hausbble mineral resources, a healthful climate, a free State of Iowa has commenced its career with prospects of far more than ordinary brilliancy. I„ extent of boC ary. It IS one of the largest in the Union; and it may fafely be prophesied that, with these great advantaleT W « destined, at no distant day, to rank among the first in eCedfitr" "'•'"""""" '""-'»-. as it a fady exceeds its compeers in rapidity of growth." rnlli!! ^'""•''' ''PP''"'"«=e "f Iowa is that of a high, rolmg prairie, watered by magnificent streams of The clearest water, flowing over pebbly and rocky beds thHln V '"" *" '"'" '"'"™^' ""<» 'he margins of he smaller s reams, are mostly covered with a dense and «tv of f'"*,''^"""'^'- '"^^ "o-*"™ a smaller quan tityot ..poor land" than any other state in the Uni™ Upon traveling throuirh the itato tl,« .„» • . ffrepfp.) ,»in, . • ™ ,™™, the eye is everywhere w«d ''* V»'=«^«™" of tbo finest landscapes in the world. The inland scenery is surpassingly beautiful crystals in the surface— clear and limpid— with irrav^Ilv bottoms and Shores. Mostly the lake-mar^* a^tt bered, but sometimes the green-sward will be found sloping to the very edge of the water. ^ Iowa owes its present prosperous condition to its aeri- cultural resources. It is indeed true, that the timbered uld desire e, and re- ik among r midway- sides by by innu- oil, inex- e, a free ion, the •rospects 'f bound- it may tages, it first in already a high, of the f beds. 3autiful gins of ise and • quan- Union. ^where in the lutiful. t like avelly 3 tim- found agri- bered AGEICULTUEAL EESOURCES. 243 lands in the state are less extensive than the prairie's- but the timber is so uniformly and equally distributed, so easily accessible, that no reasonable objection can be taken to the openness of the country. The greatest scarcity of trees is north of 42°. "For all agricultural purposes, Iowa is perhaps as fine a region as ever the sun cherished by its beams." The valleys of the Red Cedar, Iowa, and Des Moines, (we quote Owen's Geological Report,) as high as latitude 42°, or 42° 30', present a oody of arable lands, which, taken as a whole, for richness in organic elements, for amount of saline matter, and due admixture of earthy silicates, afford a combination that belong only to the most fertile upland plains. After passing latitude 42» 30', near the confines of the Coteau Des Prairies, a desolate, knolly country commences, the highlands being covered with gravel, and supporting a scanty vegetation ; while the low grounds are either wet or marshy, or filled with numerous ponds or lakes, and where the eye roves in vain in search of timber. North of 41" 30', and between the head- waters of the Grand, Nodaway, and Nishnabotona rivers, the soil is inferior in quality to that south of the same parallel. The staples of this state are Indian com, wheat, and live stock, besides considerable quantities of oats, rye, buckwheat, bariey, Irish potatoes, butter, cheese, hay, wool, maple-sugar, beeswax, and honey ; and some rice, tobacco, beans, peas, sweet potatoes, orchard fruit, wine, grass, seeds, hops, flax, and silk are produced. The prin- cipal articles of export are grain, flour, lead, pork, and live stock. In the year 1852-3, 57,500 hogs were packed in Iowa, and 45,060 in 1853-4. The most important mineral of Iowa is coal. The coal-field is of prodigious extent, of remarkable thickness S44 THE OBEAT WEST. and I,e, quite near the srrface. Coming into tlie state . ross the eonthem border, it stretche, bfoadly off to 1 ,t!!„T ! /' ^"™' *'""'<'™' »"«""«•« an area of coal hlr? "*!'""'""' '•»"'™ "■"^'- The beds o average thickness of one hundred feet ™ ev thelt? ' "'"' ^''"' "^■^"- I» «"' f"™"' for thirtv 1 ;.r!"°'''''''"« "'""S "•« Mississippi, for thirty miles m width, between the head of Bocii Hanid, cmre. up Cedar KiTer, varying from twelve to fifteen miles in width ; till, in latitude forty-three it dfLnl, rxt ?.w ,"d ""^'''™ ^^-'^ 'iT:Lt'zz fh. 1 ^""hr '""^'"' '"•'"■«'' "f «■»• Cedar River near % hth It ,rb': " """' """f "f ""-ton: St r stLuf '^Z \ '""'■ "■"' "' right-angles with the stream. The country around is exceedingly picturesoim diversified with gentle swells of ground, groves oTlk and meandering streams. Oedar Vallev U^? fr ?> Sitrir'' ^"' "tnti^rsrirr^ strone and dL i ? ' "''''arcou.s, evceedingly valley so uniformly supplied with timber. In the e bowl of the river are timbered bottoms, and, spreading off ealh SOIL — MINERALS. S45 the state oflf to the 3 ; and in ed miles, area of beds of e of the re in the B former ssissippi, i Rapids westerly fifteen iappears appears On the er, near , stand- nth the iresque, of oak, ntifully dense ndiana ;dingly n that nay be* egion ; ral, so is the ilbovvs f each way, are openings, with gentle swells of ground, from seventy to one hundred feet in hight ; furnishing capital building sites, and delightful farms, within reach of both water and wood. The soil is similar, though slightly lighter, than that of Cedar Valley. There is but little choice between Ihe two streams for desirable locations. The rich, l.lack soil of the prairies, and the lightly-tim- bered openings, wliich are found chiefly over the coal- field, throughout the southern portion of the state, is rather sandy and porous, but warm and quick, forcing vegetation rapidly, particularly early in the season. Crops there, however, are liable to suffer from the droughts of summer ; and the higher grounds are generally gravelly. Notwithstanding that, the soil is considered to be equally advantageous, as it is adapted to all kinds of agricultural pursuits. The prairie-sod, matted and deep-rooted, usu- ally requires from six to eight yoke of oxen effectually to break it up. The second year, it will have become rotted, and the surface of the fields will be mellow, and fi-ee from stone. Iowa is justly numbered among the great mineral-pro- ducing states of the Union. In addition to its coal, the lead mines in the north-east, of which Dubuque is the center, have been worked for three-quarters of a century, and have been productive in proportion to the number of persons engaged in mining. The mines are contiguous to those of Illinois and Wisconsin, being separated from them only by the breadth of the Mississippi. Dr. Owen — who made a geological survey of this region — upon a review of its resources and capabilities, says, that ten thousand miners and laborers could find profitable em- ployment within its confines. The mines furnish as much of that desirable metal as the whole continent of Europe; and there would seem to be no end to the quantities of 246 THE GREAT WEST. 11 converted into mil ' "" ''''"' """""" i"" ''««» protetaerL?::- :::,:":',?•;"'' .'- -te^ At the present time, inst ad jlrl „ "",'™ '" '«'"• our own native minw ,1, ^"'^'""1-' ""d I'ationizing ^porting iron from ai. 17™"'". ■"^ '"^'^^■'^- "'»-"'«'0 '» «« be a pity tliat it should Lf "■ ^' *""''' '""^ United itatea „ brig 11 , *""'"', ""^ """"y <" «■« three thousand mile y"'!"" '""'■ ''"' """'"'«. across Of h==ven andVetU i„7 bnioTrni: d'^ "^"■"•"^' it down over the ore h.,i« > Vu .^ '"' ""'^P' and lay "rippling th i e„e 2s 1 1 * ' ' ''"*'' °' '"' ''"''' «/ their reJuIce"'^ '"*''■'''''■■"« *''« development Iowa is finely situated with ri.<,np,.* f„ • 1 j «nd navigation. On the ma„ T '/^ '" ''°""'"™ pearanoe of being uphedJtl 1 " '"■''""'' **« ap- of the continenfS M '".*''"'*'''' P"°'''Pa' rivers boundary, th oughou^^it, !.'!'"'''" '"™^ *•"» e"^''™ dred and fif;^,t" On T.""^''/"^ "^"^'^ f«" bun- above latitude forty the n Vf\*''' *"™<"'"- f™" -ashes the confi to f^rl^V " ""'" '""^ "'-^• b.mdred miles, so that both sd off '""™ *'" '"^^^ "ith equal facilities for 'te na / '" "'"'" ''''""''=*'* fine Sites for flourishing citTe The n""^' ""'' """"y the great central artery of he .u^ ^f ^^"^'^ ^"^ " the north, and, flowing slth . ; !' """' ^»™ fre" ■ o-npties into he Sslt I ff '^'" '''""''^'' ""es, "Pids. It is one of h 2s K ^-^ °"' "' *'" """e' --ofthewest,hal7at^:r;-^^^^^^^ SHIPPING PORTS. 247 »f the lead- uiar masses, ed through- t has been owa, might ft for ages, fatronizing ongaged in and Eng. ould seem licy of the ice, across lightnings p. and lay ' the west, ^elopment iommerce s the ap- )al rivers eastern )ur hun- 'ri, from X River, n three Jrnished S many tliver is va. from i miles, lower > noble banks, which are not subject to overflow. It passes through the great coal-field, and through a country of surpassing fertility. The state has undertaken to render it naviga- ble for steamboats of a medium size, to Fort Des Moines, two hundred miles above its mouth. Beside those three great rivers, there are many smaller ones — the Iowa River, the Skunk River, Wapsipinicon, Makoqueta, and the Turkey River, and numerous other streams, affluents of the Missouri. Most of these streams are navigable from twenty to sixty miles, and, with their branches, fur nish an abundance of water-power. Many of them pass over limestone or sandstone beds, and they are generally skirted with timber. The principal shipping ports are Keokuk, at the mouth of the Des Moines ; Fort Madison, just above, on the Mississippi, two hundred and forty-eight miles from St. Louis; Muscatine City, thirty-two miles below Daven- port ; Davenport, one hundred miles below Galena, and three hundred and thirty-eight above St. Louis. It is situated opposite Rock Island, and is connected by rail- road with Chicago, and another line is projected westward to Council Bluffs. Also Lyons, Bellevue, and Dubuque. The annual value of the commerce of Keokuk is estimat- ed as high as seven million dollars. It is the principal port of the entire Des Moines Valley, in which more than half the population and agricultural wealth of the state is concentrated. The city stands upon a high limestone bluff, which affords inexhaustible supplies of building stone. It is situated at the foot of the lower rapids of the Mississippi, which are eleven miles in length ; and in that distance the water falls twenty-four feet. At low stages of the river upward-bound boats have to unload at Keokuk, and their cargoes are taken over the rapids on lighters. rii 248 THE GREAT WEST. KiTer. a little to the sourhlf L \"^ ""' ^'' ^o'-"" one hundred and nine X L'f oT T V^' '"'*^' «'«' branch of the river eonTe.t w f , '* ^'*y- ^ '"'•ge a^d opens a con^unTea iVwi ,"''"' "'^^ *""°^'- «ounties, While the dTZZ T^ "^ "■" "^''"'™ "ortte-n boundary of th:i"\!?'«'''^r "P "eyo-d the Plation from Davenport to r; 1^1'"^'"'^ in contem- Fort Des Moines, and Itra "''^ '' """" '"^-S" It is a place of great buTnel t """ "™'"' ''" *''"''• delightful and e^eodingly eHne r'/"™™'^'''^ ''y » »"pply of water-power in Us v „itv f "'' '"' " ^°<«'- Purposes. A land-oiBce i, ,»!/", '^Z'"' '"'">°fi»ot"ring public buildings; andthe rowd„? •"'''''' '^^'''''•■^ "«'« gives it a busLs-liice appra„ee"*™"'' '" *^ ^'-""^ oitier^itlf "j^t';^„:™; of l-« -St attractive Iowa River. '"■' of ing St. Louis with thrllt'^^, ^7 '"'""g"' «. eonnect. a"d the last few mfles Tf Jf f P™'™' "^ ^'"''^'a ! Pleted between Iwa City aTp.,""/"" "^'"^ ««">' Maine ; and beforeTL ^^ „f m » i/^^ *'" '""" "^ a clo»e, a continuous track wUl eLst bttw 7 '"™ *» one thousand four hundred and lif" *'""" ?'»««»• from each other^theWfr , ^""^ ""'^ distant the .4rge,t line of railroad on the globe oines ; which I>es Moines ^e state, and y- A large t>es Afoines, ^he western beyond the in contem- ies through SI' in there. Jnded by a ith a good- ufaeturing ides other the streets attractive nk of the 'pi, si3.ty- 3 Daven- riv-er is ater, and it daily, ports on iience to 3hain of !onnect- nesota ; g com- tate of awn to places, distant globe. ADVANTAGES TO SETTLERS. 2^9 The surface of the ground, at Iowa City, rises from the margin of the river in three successive plateaux : the first is about one hundred yards in width, and has been de- voted to a public promenade ; the second plain is about twelve feet higher than the first; and the third, eighteen feet above the second. On these two beautiful natural elevations the city is built. The principal avenues, nearly two hundred feet wide, run along the brows of the plateaux, and are intersected by Iowa Avenue —a magnifi- cent street, ascending, one after another, these eminences, and reaching to the open prairie. There are many reasons which should influence the emigrant to settle in Iowa; and not the least important is the acknowledged salubrity of the climate. The state is not exempt from those diseases incident to rich, luxu- riant, and uncultivated soils; but from the openness of the landscape, warmed with sunshine, fanned with breezes, it is less liable to the scourge of malaria than most new countries. The temperature of the atmosphere is far more uniform than upon the Atlantic coast. It is exempt, too, from those chilling, piercing easterly winds, so with- ering to the consumpiive. The air breathes over the elevated plains as r jgularly and as refreshing as from the ocean between the tropics, tempering the extremes inci- dent to the high northern latitude. Iowa has made noble provision for her public schools. All lands granted by Congress to the state, all escheated lands, and such per centage as may be granted on the sale of the public lands, constitute a perpetual fund for the support of schools. It is made the duty of the legis- laturt) to provide, in each district, a school, for at least three months in each year. All moneys received as a commutation instead of military duty, and moneys derived from fines imposed by the courts, are devoted to the same 11* 250 THE GREAT WEST. Sol Z? " 'f^W'^tment of school libraries. Tho TT; .r "'" Umversity, amply endowed, has been located at Iowa Citv Tlio «toi„ t -u three thousand vetoes ""'"^'^ '"""*^' *'"'"' There are one hundred and forty-eight churches in the on^ "ofTh?' r'°" ""r ""^^■^'^"* thousand pfr! sons. Of the religious denominations, the Methodist ia the most numerous; next the Presbyter an, then the Eo man Catholic, the Baptist, and the Congregataaltl " Union. In its extent of surface, climate, productions spirit of the inhabitants, it promises soon to compete with the „.der s ates m everything which will tend to promote the prosperity of a great people. aries. The d thousand I, has been itains about •ches in the usand per- :ethodist is len the Ro- onalists. iber of the reductions, aterprising npete with promote "-w- 1' 5 m V EXPLOBATIONS OF THE UPPER MISSISSIPPI. 253 CHAPTER XVI. MINESOTA TERRITORY. Explorations of the Upper Mississippi — Location of the Territory — " The New England of the West "— Territorial boundary — Laws — Counties — Population — Nature of the population — Crops —Gen- eral surface of the territory — Geology — Above Crow Wing River — Chslk formation — James River — Buffalo pasture-ground — Big Sioux River — Rod pipe-stone quarry— St. Peters River — Bottom lands — Blue Earth River — St. Peters Valley — The paradise of farmers — Lake Pepin — Terror of the lumbermen of the north — Timber — Wild rice — Soil and its products — The Red River of the North— I Springs and lakes — Minesota the artesian fountain of the continent — Underground hydraulic power — Boiling springs — Magnificent forest — Destiny of Minesota — Indian sum- mers—Manner of perfecting a squatter's title — St. Paul — Table of distances from Galena to St. Paul — Rates of fare. The Mississippi River extends, in a direct line, through nineteen degrees of latitude. Nine states and one terri- tory are wat-ored by its magnificent stream. The great Valley, which slopes from the east and from the west to the banks of that river, is barely cultivated sufficiently to aflford an indication of its vast capabilities. The lower waters of the Mississippi had been explored nearly three hundred years before any white man ever stood upon the sources of its exhaustless tide. Countless steamboats were stemming the torrent, for a distance of two thousand miles, while yet the region whence it emanated was as unknown as the interior of Ethiopia. Lieutenant Zebulon Montgomery Pike, with a military expedition, in 1805, ascended the Mississippi one hundred and twenty miles ^m 254 THE GREAT WEST. securing his stor». t ''.''""« " olocli-house and s«ow.sh^„es d,t n„; .IT?^ "''°"' '" ♦"" »-ter on examining the countnWithT. """* '"'P'''""'"^ f' bad returned. *' * '*" 'P"°e. Ws e=ipedition hGoZolT: :rm^°"' '"^ •'^^ •-■> projected birch-barlt canoe ami n ^^°"' 'f ^''"''" '" " «<"=' of crossed .v:Te"r„;rbSVh'eTL''n'"''^''"' the Saudv Lalie in ii,„ , ,,"" '*<' »'• Louis River and thence Z^ tl rive ^ , '^ '""'"'"P'' """ ^™» Twelve year, aft 17 tUrd foedif*'"' '"'" ^'"^''• its explorations at cStJ f,,^^^'""' ""ramencing the riL, ttoough a^l tst ;• '°"f "" "■" '■'"""■^' »f in Itasc^ Lake The a! f"^' '"'^''^''' *<• «« »»««« lately accompanied ; an i relliZt 'f"- T" *'*" adventures, in the perso^ of 3^ ^'Te'htf ^^' whose narratives the public is hdlht ^V ™'^'' *" niv?r:ftN^;:tr:'^^'i^'''''"^°'*"^ ing from Iowa to Ibl ,, . . """'^ "^ ™™^<'"'' «'»d. Sul-erio^tX^lColiS: r'Tetr''' '™'" ^»''« nation concerning the so ,,nd ',1"; o^r''' '■"•'"■ portions of the terrifnrv io / . ^ ^ *^^ ^^"ous s-mys made ''^tt7Z,XVZ ZT!''''''' "ent; and in the immediate vicfnil „f thel«f T above the mouth of the St Pet J, ,1 settlements pretty thoroughly expired bf '1 """""■^ ^ '''«'' Ituowlcdge aequiredTn th^t L *^ '"""■* '"' »^'«" throw to the Stach of tb ?"'•■: '' about a. a stone's V wiue reacn of the territory itself Conoeramg ilr„esota-..the Ne^E^.d of the TEERITOEIAL BOUNDAET. 265 set out late lied him to -house and e winter on >rtunity for expedition n projected n a fleet of e Superior, River and h and from ^ass Lake, immencinff channel of its source ere fortu- Jr of their )Icraft, to ch of the pgions. f the Red ^> extend- 'om Lake ate infor- > various eological govern- tlements tias been f' exact i stone's of the West"— but little, indeed, was heard or known until In 1 849. Emigration had continued flowing, year after year, into regions further south, and not so far west. Fertile lands, comprising millions of acres, far easier of access, lay spread out invitingly to tlM settler, nearer home. The whole intervening country still contains but a sparse and scattered population. Wisconsin, which lies between the sources of population in the older states and the vast territory of the north, is yet a new country, more than half of it a wilderness, and but little explored. Iowa, too, is receiving an immense influx of immigration, the entire western and northern portions of the state being comparatively wild and tenantless. And for two years past, the political excitement in Kansas has been drawing public attention to that quarter, and political motives are urging on settlers from all parts of the Union to seek there for homes. Minesota, therefore, has been, and is, to some degree, neglected and forgotten. The southern limit of the territory is the boundary of Iowa. On the east, the lino follows up the Mississippi to Prescott, at the mouth of the St. Croix ; thence up the latter river to Lake Superior. On the north, the line, com- mencing at the mouth of the Arrow River, opposite Isle Royale, runs north-westerly through Rainy Lake to the southern extremity of the Lake of the Woods; thence westerly to the White Earth River, which empties into the Missouri at its extreme northerly bend. The boundary on the west is, for a little way, along the White Earth River; thence, following down the Missouri, throughout its windings, for a thousand miles, it terminates at the mouth of the Big Sioux River. Minesota extends through more than six degrees of latitude and twelve degrees of longitude. Its extreme length, from east to west, has been computed at six hundred miles, and its 256 THE GREAT WEST. 1 1 1 1 i J i'il U ' Is a- 1 ■ 'J breadth at four hundred and sixty miles, with an area of upward of one hundred and fifty thousand square miles, l-revious to the organization of the State of Wisconsin, a^l that part of Minesota lying on the east side of the Mississippi River had beeiPincluded in the Territory of Wisconsin. All that portion west of the river had been comprised in the Territory of Iowa. By the Act of Con- gress, March 3d, 1849, Minesota was erected into a territory. Alexander Ramsey was appointed governor, and Charles H. Smith, secretary. The legislative power IS vested in the governor and legislative assembly. I he assembly consists of a council, and house of rep- resentatives. Councilors, to the number of nine, are elected every two years ; representatives, annually. The number may be increased, from time to time, by the legislative assembly; but not to exceed fifteen coun- cilors and thirty-nine representatives. No law shall be passed interfering with the primary disposal of the soil ; no tax shall be imposed upon the property of the United' States; nor shall the lands or other property of non- residents be taxed higher than the property of residents All laws, passed by the legislative assembly and gov- ernor, shall be submitted to the Congress of the United States, and if disapproved, shall be null and of no effect No one session of the legislature shall exceed the term' of sixty days. All persons of a mixture of white and Indian blood, who have adopted ihe habits and customs of civilized men, are admitted to citizenship. Minesota is divided into twenty counties; viz., Benton, Blue Earth, Cass, Chisago, Dakotah, Fillmore, Goodhue, Hennepin, Itasca, Kapasia, Le Seur, Nicollet, Pierce, Pembina, Ramsey, Rice, Scott, Sibley, Wabashaw,' and Washington. St. Paul is the capital. The in-' crease of population is seen by comparing the yean NATIVITY OP THE POPULATION. 267 an area of uare miles. Wisconsin, side of the 'erritory of r had been ict of Con- id into a governor, tive power assembly, se of rep- nine, are lly. The B, by the sen coun- shall be the soil ; le United ^ of non- residents, md gov- ?. United no effect. ;he term hite and customs Benton, Joodhue, , Pierce, bashaw, The in- e yeari of 1849 and 1850. In the former, the number was four thousand seven hundred and eighty ; the latter, six thou- sand and seventy-seven. According to the census, there were nearly two thousand more males than females. Of the inhabitants, about seven fundred came from New England; New York, five hundred; Pennsylvania and New Jersey together, three hundred; Virginia, sixty; Illinois, two hundred ; Ohio, three hundred ; Wisconsin, three hundred and fifty ; Missouri, ninety ; South Caro- lina, Georgia, Alabama, and Louisiana, each about half a dozen. The foreigners consist of about ninety English- men, three hundred Irishmen, forty Scotchmen, one hundred and fifty Germans, thirty Frenchmen, thirty-five Swiss ; Canadians, two thousand. The soil of Minesota varies greatly in character. In the valleys of the rivers, especially of the St. Peter's, the Mississippi and its tributaries in the south-eastern part of the territory, the soil is excellent. Above the Falls of St. Anthony, with the exception of the river alluvions and some prairie-land, the country is generally covered with drift, interspersed with marshes, too wet for cultivation ; but the elevated portion is much of it of tolerable fertility, though not equal to the calcareous lands of the river bottoms. Professor Owen remarks, that the general agricultural character of the Red River country is excellent. The principal drawbacks are occasional protracted droughts during midsummer ; and, during the spring, freshets, which, from time to time, overflow large tracts of low prairie, especially near the Great Bend. The climate of Minesota, in some parts, is too severe for Indian corn; but the dryness and steadiness of the cold favor wheat and other winter grains. The general features of Mmesota are those of a high Q 958 THE GREAT WEST. rolUng pralri the 'erritur (« or elov.rted table-land. The surface of "■ «<' with timber that it ■ fh r , t'^"'"™'^-' """"t^y- ™,y feet higher is the » i?iiS;r xir:*' -' '- -^ ''- -'" -- -'- Commencing ai Traverse des Siou^, one hundred ani sixteen miles above the mouth of the St. Peter's, the val" ground of forest, m which the basswood, and wbitewood the sugar-maple, elm, butternut, and hickory, abZd The underbrush is a mixture of prickly-ash, gooseberrv bushes, and grape-vines. I„ many places, htTrrae s ndte« ? '"".?'T' ""''' '"" ^"'™^' -«" e m. fh«T T"^ *'" '^"'^^"^ " '"'g« ''•"W". giv- ing the landscape, at a little distance, the appear^ce oLir ' ""'"''"■ '"" ''-"-g«"'nd garirri The Blue Earth Kiver is the principal tributary of the St. Pet r's and it comes flowing in from the south At stream. The river ^l^^^ ^J^ tZ ^L^X c%, BIX miles from the St Peter's, which the Indian have been using as a paint for ages. The river banL are in some places, almost perpendicular, and g neral ; ^Lr^ ^* '1 "-■»"«• The Blue Earth has a ve^ great number of branches spreading out through the country like a fan. The valleys and tlie uplands afe 1,1 supphcd with timber. One of its branches UseplTea 1 side of the some of the ilelightful re- 'es of sugar- race is from rst, and con- nber that it ligher is the ^e can reach, lundred anu 3r's, the val- ivith a baclr- whitewood, ry, abound. gooseberry he terraces 5, with here wider, giv- appearance xdens, and tary of the south. At it is rather important fik of blue le Indians ver banks generally IS a very 'ough the s are well seoarated MINNS" St. Peterrval'ley tie tounst shonld not fail to look for the Minnehaha Falls' about three miles distant from Fort Snelling The out lets of a number of the upland lakes tlow into each th™ ' edir:r"'*"';""^' '"" " ^^-^^ lescen* to tS edge of a precipice, down which the " Laughing Waterr^ , :L:m: t^:XT4:T;r <- » -"^" "x ^^-me egotiS'^Z;,nh:r^^^^^^^^^^^ called it^.BrZ.s Ms " ri'Tr^'^??. '""""'y- »<> ^:^^l^^r:t^/rs;:a:L*t;h-t^^ aril'™ r"' 7",""' ■'^™ »' common seltd'i that M poetic and pleasmg in human nature lot u, ,^ Sf^lTf "^""' '""^^ desecrations ww;h,„"b "ur beaut ful lakes, rivers, and cascades, of their chall ifrown, Smith, Snooks, and Fizzle, who hannens t„ I,„ ,C LAKE PEPIN. 265 ?ue of land, y to support latitude of ; the land br all pur- The most earn, which id miles, is a fine site ind from a 'eat, comes springs, r's Valley, laha Falls, The out- ach other, 'nt to the Waters," ded rocky the trees. ?ing over me of his tlity, and unite in upon the ling Wa- ihus pro- > and all it us sol- rob our harming w every first to see some beautiful creation of Nature, with dull eyes which have no appreciation for any thing more senti- mental than a lump of lead, a bufiFalo-hide, or a catfish, to perpetuate his cognomen at the expense of good taste a,nd common honesty." The tract of land sweeping away to the south of the St. Peter's, to the head- waters of the "Gannon . and the Wazi-oju rivers, is likewise fertile, undulating, dotted thickly with little lakes, of deep, clear, and sparkling wa- ter, belted with trees, and surrounded every way by wood- crowned hills and lovely prairres. So romantic is this region, so thickly strewn with lakes and ponds, that repose like gems on the bosom of the earth ; so beautifully tim- bered with groves, free from underbrush; with such a gently-rising and falling surface of prr^irie and openings, that it ma;^ be denominated the paradise of farmers. Approaching the Mississippi, from the country south of the St. Peter's, the traveler will come plump upon the yawning chasm of Lake Pepin, four hundred feet below him, where huge rafts, like river serpents, are floatmg along, and steamboats, diminutive in the depths, are cough- ing, and wheezing, and fluttering upon .he water. But Lake Pepin is tot all the way walled in by precipices. On the western shore, near the upper end of this remark- able expansion of the Mississippi, there is a beautiful prairie, commencing along the water's edge for four or five miles, and rising in a gentle slope, far back, where it is crowned with mounds and bluflfs. Just above this prairie is La Grange Mountain, three hundred and twenty-two feet high. Lake Pepin is ordinarily placid and smooth as a mirror. It has scarcely a perceptible current. Yet it is deceitful above all things— subject to gales and storms, when the wind will whistle and howl through the rocky 12 I 11 266 THE GREAT WEST. .: tr «,!.f ° "'"'^""'"•'«''*'' " "» " "•"ral oontriT. of -; T"' '"" ''"''" '''™"»"-^'- '"«y -»« .ay 01 It. I,e lac est petit, mak il est malm." Tt i, til terrorofallthcl^bcrmenofthonoH,,. Tloi,-™ ft of en get knocked "endwise," and di.tdbu.ed ,...■.*,. genera y alo»g down tbe Missfasippi. One day. a .teamboa was owmgahnge raft of tin.be,- and sawed lun.ber oTorZ lake, as proud as an old duek followed bv her brood but soon a gale pitched the raft to pieces, ^nd tnn°bled the i:f;s:mi:r "" "^ "-' '-' *» -^* ■»- Paul to Sauk Rapids, one hundred miles above tbe Falls of St. Anthony, ,s well adapted to agricultural purposes! The sod, sandy to the depth of six inches, rests on a bed of clay. The nver banks vary from ten to twenty feet fa h.ght; well timbered-particularlyth. western shore- with groves of sugar-maple, oak, a.sh, elm, and hickory Many sma 1 streams wind through the prairies, skirtTd wth woods; and, passing along the river road, one s a^cely loses sight of the lakes,- for, fa Minesota, akes are everywhere -on the bills, in the valleys; In.ons the woods; on the plains; and. upon the banks f r'verf In some parts of the country, it is difficult to tell whether the land is surrounded by water, or the water by lind "Crow Wing Eiver is an i.nportant tributary 'of ihe Mississippi. It has its source in Late Kagfaogumau7 near Leech Lake, with which it is connected, TZ^ navigation by ten small lakes or ponds, separated by five ivelj into eleven lakes, before it forms a junction with Shell Eiver, which is nearly as large as the main stream It haa two large tributaries- Leaf and Lon» p,,!.,. possessed." •al contriv- ' would say It is the • rafts often y generally mboat was ir over the )rood; but mbled the Bast loose, . from St. i the Falls purpose3. I on a bed ity feet in n shore — . I hickory. s, skirted "oad, one Ota, lakes ; aiiiong of rivers, whether / land. ry of the gumaug, 1 Indian i by five success- ion with stream. i f .,*! m[ WILD EICE. 267 rivers, which flow from the west, and are rivers of con- siderable magnitude. Its banks are elevated, crowned with forests, yielding every variety of pine. Its alluvial bottoms are studded with elm, soft-maple, ash, and oak." Further toward the north, in the vicinity of Red Lake, and Cass Lake, and Turtle River, the country abounds in wild rice. Immense fields of it — thousands of acres — grow up annually, without sowing or reaping, with large yield. sufKcient to supply a den , j population. The Indians push round in among it in the latter part of August, and thrash their canoes full of the grain, scaring innumeruble water-fowl, that quack, and twitter, and flap about, gorged almost to suffocation. The wild rice makes a nourishing diet, — a bushel of it is said to contain as much nutritive matter as a bushel of wheat. There are likewise vast meadows of sweet grass, which the cattle eagerly crop. For the mere purpose of sustaining life, this is an incom- parable region, — there is wood enough, cranberries, rasp- berries, rice, pasturage, game, and the finest varieties of fish ; Lhe soil is quick and warm, producing corn, pota- toes, oats, peas, and all the substaatial garden vegetables ; and the woods abound in sugar-maple In no part of the country do the streams meander so beautifully as in this. They wind around in all shapes and directions, sweeping away for miles, to return within a few rods of their own banks. They interlace the entire region, and almost flow under, and over, and into, each other. The country rises to a high prairie, between those streams and the tributaries of the Red River of the north, possessing groves of timber, springs of water, and a sandy, loamy soil, bottomed on clay. From the Otter Tail Lake, the Red River makes a great southward bend, through a region unsurpassed for rural beauty. It resem blea the most attractive porilous of Iowa. The bouud- S68 THE OEEAT WEST. ess prairie has a strong, calcareous soil, adapted to all the cereal grains. Voyaging down that nol^lV river in midsummer between its banks embowered in wil"-r' ses the «,r ,s loaded with perfume. When'the ril r ha," agmn turned to the northward, it pour., along tl^roLh ' P am of vast e.tent.-the eye seeks in vain fofhil sit scattered about, as if planted by hand, are grove of' „ak The timber continues growing sparser and thinner "il? before reachmg Pembina, every vestige of shrubber; has disappeared from the plain. The river, howevc7ha theNorth?, t^ T'^'°/ P"™"»"*y«f 'he Ked River of the ^orth ,s, that it has no blulTs, no hills, no risin-. back ground; bu throughout its entire course it me mlerst the midst of a high table-land. The river-bed is chan ne ed into the surface of the plain. In the immediate' neighborhood of Pembina, the timber increase Tndbl comes plentiful for ail purpcses h.f rrT"*"'^ "^ ^'''"^ '" have any knowledge is so The w^., "'"'"'/'* 'P™S ™*- - »»e"ota! The springs are constant and powerful: they aro rather gushing fountains, supplying lakes innumerable, and hi t America. The rocks, dipping in either direction, here bring to the surface those water seams, which in other parts are only to be reached by deep b ring. M n^ 'f" IS the artesian fountain of the continent. A few ,*s above St. Anthonys Falls, at Cold Spring PraTie „ tom-ist may see a little of the working of thaf under^Lind hydraulic power that pumps the territory full of lake, and requires the Eed Eiver, and the Mississippi, andt « M «„"" Tr", 'T ^^"-^"^ '" 'he bottom of the Mississippi. A traveler has described it as follows: "It ffl i f, INDIAN SUMMER. 269 pted to all lo river in wild-roses, river has through a hills; but 'es of oak. inner, till, bbery has ever, has )rodigious Hiver of ing back- anders in is chan- nmediate and be- go is so lineaota. B rather d filling Q North n, here n other [inesota V miles I'ie, tho ground ' lakes, nd the Spring of the 3: "It was boiling up in the Mississippi like a pot, about a foot from tho edge of the bank, and apparently in deep water, throwing up constantly gravel and pebble-stones. By scooping my hand two or three times along the surface, I obtained a handful of the latter. The noise made by this boiling spring could be heard some ten or twelve rods. The water, though mingled with that of the Mississippi, was nearly as cold as ice-water." Minesota, notwithstanding its prairie features, has one magnificent 'orest. Commencing at a point on the ^vest side of the river, about eight miles above St. Anthony, a remarkable belt of heavy timber extends in a southeriy direction, at a right-angle across the St, Peter's, to the branches of the Blue Earth River, a distance of one hun- dred and twenty miles. This forest varies, in width, from fifteen to forty miles, resembling very much the " Cross Timbers " in the western part of Arkansas. Tho soil is unusually deep, covered with the mold of a thousand years. Wherever the sunlight penetrates the shade, the little lakes, with which the forest is studded, glisten and gleam like molten silver. Minesota is destined to become a great agricultural and grazing region. Its upland and lowland pastures would support a dairy that would enrich an empire. All the principal grains and roots thrive there in great vigor, as high toward the north as Pembina, just below the divid- ing line between the United States and British America. Latitude does not always indicate the climate. The character of the soil has great influence upon the temper- ature of the air. A quick, warm soil makes a warm atmosphere. The autumns of Minesota are greatly lengthened out by the Indian summer — that smoky, dreamy, balmy season, which protects the surface from frost, like a mantle flung over the earth. The cold nips SJ70 THE GREAT WEST. vegetation about as early along the Ohio as along the St. Peter's. The winters of Mincsota are cold; but then they are still and calm, and the icy aii does not penetrate as It does m a windy climate. The .sncw fails, and there It lies till spring; and does not. as in Virginia the present winter, dn t over the tree-tops in the valleys, leaving the fiUls bare, to freeze any imaginable depth. The manner of perfecting a squatter's title in the ter- ritory, upon the unsurveyed lands, is as fo ows • "First some labor must be bestowed on the claim-such as plow- ing two or three furrows, or staking it out, so that the claim may be designated, or the intentions of the claimant made known. This causes it to be respected for one year. In the second year, improvements to the vaiue of fifty dollars or more must be made. Dnuu^ the third year, it must be occupied, either by the clai^Mant himself, or by some one for him." I„ Minesota, two sections of land m every township are devoted to the support of common schools. ^^ The beautiful village of Mendota occupies a fine situa- tion on the St. Peter's, five miles below St. Paul, and upon the west bank of the Mississippi. There is one serious drawback upon this attractive town: it is within the military reservation, and no white people are allowed to reside here without permission of the United States, tot. 1 aul, the seat of government, at the head of navi- gation from the Lower Mississippi, is built on a level phiteau terminating, on the river, in a precipitous bluff, about eighty feet high. But that bluff recedes from the mai-gin of the river at both the upper and at the lower end of the town, forming two landings, creating a healthy rivalry in business. Part of U.e lower town is situated on a bench of land, about twenty feet below the level of the plateau. St. Paul has one disagreeable feature • the 1;^* R I IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) l«^/ j5 mt^ Hi 1.1 1.25 25 m us US 2.2 IS:J - i^ ^1^ • *»< . -*., C Sciences Corporation ;t>^ \ ^\ ^v 33 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 ^<.' <^''.^^ Cx?. £^^ £ w H TABLE OP DISTANCES. 271 Streets are narrow ; and the land on the edge of the bluff, instead of being reserved fur a promenade, like that of Iowa City, is cut up into small lots, having their rear toward the Mississippi; and certain little, but very useful, buildings present an unpleasant aspect, when viewed from the river. The religious statistics of the territory are as yet so imperfectly made up that but little can be said, with cer- tainty, respecting the denominational character of the mhabitants. The Episcopalians have a church at St. i'aul. The Roman Catholics have seven, in different parts — chiefly mission stations. The Methodists and Baptists are supposed to be numerous. On the whole Minesota is one of the most promising regions of country in the world, and will richly repay the tourist in sur- veymg the beauty of its scenery, a ' the settler in the productiveness of its soil. A railroad now connects Chicago with Galena, and the remainder of the distance to St. Paul is by steamboat. I he Upper Mississippi generally opens in April, and the boats continue running till about the first of Decern- ber The following table will show the distances from (raiena, viz: WbOLK DlSTAHCn. d£ m 2.1. Miles. Milbb. "To the month of Fever River, . . 6 6 I^ubuque gO 26 Cassville, 3^ gj Wisconsin River 26 83 Prairie du Chien 5 qq Upper Iowa River, .... 38 126 ^^^Ox 12 138 Boot River, ...... 23 161 Black River 12 173 ■■■KH 272 THE GREAT WEST. ITlLB*. MtlAM. Chippewa Bivey, 68 241 Head of Lake Pepin, . . . 25 266 St. Croiz, ....... 35 301 Rt. Paul, 26 327 "From Galena to St. Peter's, the fare varies from five to six dollars, for cabin passage ; two dollars and fifty cents for deck passage; freight, per hundred, twenty-five cents; horses and cattle, per head, four dollars. But families, with considerable freight, are taken at a much lower rate." u t 1 1 f I 1 NOBTH AMERICAN LAKES. an CHAPTER XVII. THE SUPERIOR COUNTRY. Lake Superior — American coast— Anchorage — Harbow— Dan- ger of navigaUng the lake — Curious phenomena of the lake — Transparency of its waters -The mirage of Lake Superior - Islands-Isle Royale- Lakes in Isle Royde- Perennial ice- Effect of the extreme cold on the growth of the trees — Rock Har- bor-Streams emptymg into Lake Superior — Appearance of the shore — Iron-works of Carp River — Porcupine Moimtains — Table of distances -The La Grande Sables - Pictured Rocks -Onton- agon River — Montreal River — Sturgeon T»; >r — The Iron re- gion -The different beds, etc.- Geologists opinion of the iroa region— Location of good agricultural lands — Advantages of a railroad through the iron regions — The copper region of the Supe- rior country— Lake Superior reverenced by the Indians — The first Englishman who visited the copper region — Extract from his jour- nal—First mining company— Mining companies of Keweenaw — Trap rock — SUver among the copper — CUff mine — Copper Falta mine, rich in silver — Largest mass of copper — Table of the pro- ducts of foreign mines — Eagle Harbor — Game and speckled trout — Fisheries of Lake Superior— Climate, etc The North American lakes, consisting of lakes Superior, Michigan, Huron, Erie, and Ontario, present a watery surface of ninety thousand square miles, of which more than one-third, or thirty-two thousand square miles, is comprised in Lake Superior alone. That vast inland sea lies between the forty-sixth and forty-ninth parallels of latitude, and the eighty-fourth and ninety-second degrees of longitude west of Greenwich. Its greatest length is four hundred miles. Its greatest breadth from Grand Island to Neepigon Bay is one hundred and sixty miles. The surface of the lake is six hundred feet above the 274 THE GREAT WEST. level of the Atlantic Ocean ; but its bottom is three hundred feet below ; for it has a mean depth of nine hun- dred feet. The French, who were the first explorers of Lake Superior, fancifully described it as a watery bow, of which the southern shore was the string, and Keweenaw Point, the arrow. The lake discharges through the St. Mary's Strait into lake Huron, which occupies a lower level, by forty-four feet and eight inches. The strait is about seventy miles long ; but it is divided into two sec- tions by the Falls of St. Mary, fifteen miles below Lake Superior. The lower section is navigable for small steamboats, and vessels drawing six feet of water. This section contains four large islands and several smaller ones; but the principal channel— the westerly one — is nearly a mile in width. The Falls of St. Mary, or more prop- erly, rapids, are three-fourths of a mile in length, having a fall, in that distance, of twenty-two feet and ten inches. The two sections are now united by a f teamboat and ship canal. Following along the indentations of the southern shore, around the westerly extremity of the lake, to Arrow River, opposite to Isle Royale, will give the extreme length of the American coast, which can not be much less than one thousand miles ; a part of which is in Michigan, trt in Wisconsin, and part in Minesota. Lake Superior ia walled in by rocks, which, in some places, are piled in mountain masses upon the very shore. The waves dash agamst precipices and beetling crags, that threaten the unfori;unate mariner, in a storm upon a lee shore, with al- most mevitable destruction. There is tolerable anchorage at the head of St. Mary's Strait. Keweenaw Point has ^0 sheltering bays ; viz. Copper Harbor and Eagle Harboi-. Protection may be found from the surf, under the lee of the Apostle Islands, at La Pointe. St. Louis LAKE SUPERIOB. ft76 River, at the head of the lake, is a good harbor ; bnt the best harbors are afforded by the indentations of the shores of Isle Royale. " Owing to the lofty crags which surround Lake Supe- rior, the winds, sweeping over the lake, impinge upon its surface so abruptly as to raise a peculiarly deep and combing sea, which is extremely dangerous to boats and small craft. It is not safe, on this account, to venture far out into the lake in oateaux; and hence voyagers generally hug the shore, in order to be able to take land, in case of sudden storms. During the months of June, July, and August, the havigation of the lake is ordinarily safe; but after the middle of September, great caution is required in navigating its waters ; and boatmen of ex- perience never venture far from land, or attempt long traverses across bays. Their boats are always drawn far up on the land at every camping-place for the night, lest they should be staved to pieces by the surf, which is liable, at any moment, to rise, and beat with great fury upon the beaches." One of the most curious phenomena of the lake is the sudden and inexplicable heaving and swelling of its waters, when the air is still. Mr. Schoolcraft, who passed over Lake Superior, in 1820, thus describes it: "Although it was calm, and had been so all day, save a light breeze for a couple of hours after leaving the Ontonagon, the waters near the shore were in a perfect rage, heaving and lashing upon the rocks in a manner which rendered it difficult to land. At the same time, scarce a breath of air was stirring, and the atmosphere was beautifully serene." Now this agitation was observed at the close of the day's voyage, which had carried the party fifty miles from the Ontonagon ; and the slight breeze had been blowing only a little while in the morning. 876 THE GREAT WEST. Another noticeable feature of Lake Superior is the extraordinary purity and transparency of tlie water, through which every pebble may bo di.stinctly seen at the depth of twenty-five feet. When out in a canoe upon its surface, the frail vessel does not seem to be afloat upon a ^ tery element, but suspended in mid-air, with ethereal d 18 around and below. Those who have visited both Lake George — the world-famous Iloricon, whose waters were at one time carried to Rome to fill the. papal fonts — and Lake Superior, affirm that the latter far surpasses the former in clearness and transparency. Indeed, they assure us that, often, while looking down from the hight at which the boat seems suspended, the head will grow dizzy, and a feeling of faintness be superinduced. The water of Lake Superior, like that of lakes Michigan. Huron, and Erie, is "hard," and unfit for laundry purposes, without a previous breaking by soda or other means. Ihis can be accounted for only on the supposition that it • rolls over calcareous beds in some part of its course, but what part has not yet been ascertained ; for the water of all the streams and springs that flow into the lake, so far as they have been examined, is found to be " soft," and so entirely free from earthy or other foreign matter, " that the daguerreotypist finds it better for his purposes than the best distilled water of the chemist." Not less peculiar is the atmosphere around and over the lake, which plays strange and fantastic tricks in the face of high heaven, seeming to possess a life and spirit strictly in unison with the wonderful expanse of waters that lies spread out below. The mirage of Lake Superior fills the spectator with astonishment. For weeks during . the summer, the traveler along the shores of this inland sea may be gratified by a view of the most curious phan- tasmagoria- images of mountains and islands being BOCK HARDOB. 277 Tlvidly represented, in all their outlines, with their tufts of ever-green trees, precipices, and rocky pinnacles, all inverted in the air. and hanging high over their terrestrial originals, and then again repeated upright in another picture directly ahove the inverted one. Rock Harbor, in Isle Royale. is the most noted locality for observing these phantasmagoria. But the mirage is not confined to any particular part of the lake. Frequently, the voyager, long before he has hove in sight of land, will see the coast he IS approaching pictured upon the skies along the horizon; and after the real shore has appeared, three views of it will be presented -two. right side up, according to the order of creation; and the middle one bottom upward Vessels will appear to be sailing in the air, points of land bent up at right-angles, and the sun at setting twisted into astonishing shapes. The skies and the waters seem to harmonize com- pletely together. While the sky daguerreotypes all below, the water catches the tints of all that is above, and the ethereal dome is caverned in the deep. Mr. Jackson, United States geologist, says of the lake : " The color of the water, affected by the hues of the sky. and holding no sediment to dim its transparency, presents deeper tints than are seen on the lower lakes — deep tints of blue, green, and red prevailing, according to the color of the sky and clouds. I have seen at sunset the surface of the lake off Isle Royale of a deep-claret color— a tint much richer than ever is reflected from the waters of other lakes, or in any other country I have visited." Lake Superior, unlike Lake Huron, has but few islands. The largest of these are Grand Island, situated near the southern shore, one hundred and thirty-two miles west of St. Mary's, and represented to have a deep and landlocked harbor; Middle Island, toward the westerly mm ■1 278 THE GREAT WEST. extremity of the lake, near the group of Apostle Islands ; and Isle Royale, near the northern shore, and within the jurisdiction of the United States. Isle Royale is about forty miles long, and averages six miles in width. It is a most interesting island, " singularly formed, and sending out long spits of rocks into the lake at its north- eastern extremity; while at its south-western end, it shelves off far into the lake, presenting slightly-inclined beds of red sandstone ; the tabular sheets of which, for miles from the coast, are barely covered with water, and offer dangerous shoals and reefs, on which vessels, and even boats would be quickly stranded, if they endeavored to pass near that shore." But igneous rocks constitute the rocky banis of more than four-fifths of the island, and in those portions of it where these exist, the shores are precipitous, "Bold cliffs of columnar trap and castellated rocks, with mural escarpments, sternly present themselves to the surf, and defy the storms. The waters of the lake are deep close to their very shores, and the largest ship might in many places lie close to the rocks, as at an arti- ficial pier." Isle Royale contains a great number of beautiful lakes, the largest of which is Siskawit Lake, on the southern side, near Siskawit Bay. It is also surrounded by innu- merable small islands, which cluster close to its shores, as if for protection from the waves. Mr. Jackson, before referred to, gives the following interesting description of the general appearance of Isle Royale : "Added to the fantastic irregularities of the coast and its castle-like islands — the abrupt elevation of the hills inland rising like almost perpendicular walls from the shores of the numerous beautiful lakes which are scattered through the interior of the island, and corresponding with the lines of mountain upheaval — we observe occasionally rude crags PEBENNIAL ICB. S79 detached from the main body of the mountains, and. in one place, two lofty twin towers, standing on a hillside, and rising perpendicularly, like huge chimneys, to the elevation of seventy feet, while they are surrounded by the deep-gre«in foliage of the primeval forest." In the secluded valleys between the hills of Isle Royale there are either little lakes, or swamps filled with a dense growth of white cedars. Upon the higher lands, the timber is a mixture of manle, birch, spruce, fir, and pine trees, which are of thrifty growth, and will afford both timber and fuel. The soil of more than nine-tenthg of the island is formed by the decomposition of the trap rocks ; and such a soil is well-known to be warm and fertile. In the lowlands, the springs from the hills will keep the soil cold and wet; but if properly drained, thero is no doubt those lands might be cultivated, and would produce good crops. Indeed, this is said to have been proved in the vicinity of Rock Harbor, where the lowland soil, which was originally covered with swamp-muck, is now drained and made productive. In the deep shadow of the crags, and in some of the thick swamps of cedar, it is said that perennial ice has been found upon the island; and on the immediate rocky border of the lake shore, the influence of the wintry winds from the lake is strikingly exemplified in the stunted growth of the fir and spruce trees, that get root in the crevices of the rocks. Mr. Jackson says : " In numer- ous instances, we were able to witness the joint effects of cold air and a limited supply of soil, in retarding the growth of trees, and giving the wood an extremely fine texture. Small trees have sprung up, having all the appearance of age which the dwarfed trees raised by the ingenious Chinese gardener are known to present. Those little trees, from four icches to a foot high, are covered with S80 THE OBEAT WEST. mosses like old trees, and the tiny stem presents In its bark and wood, the different layers, representing many seasons. In cutting through these little trees, they wero found, in some instances, to possess forty different annual rings ; and the wood was nearly as hard as boxwood, and as fine!" Rock Harbor, on the southern side of the north-easterly end of Isle Royale, is the largest and most beautifiU haven on Lake Superior. The bay extends about four miles up into the island. The water is deep enough for any vessels, and the harbor is perfectly sheltered from every wind. Around its entrance are numerous islands, that stand like so many rocky castles to break the heavy surges of the lake. " In some respects it resembles the Bay of Naples, with Procida, Capri, and Isohia, at its entrance; but no modern volcano completes the back- ground of the picture, though there must at one time have been greater eruptions there than ever took place in Italy." Lake Superior is fed by about eighty streams, which are represented to be not navigable, except for canoes, owmf to the falls and rapids with which they abound. The principal ones that flow through American territory are the St. Louis, Montreal, Presque Isle, Arrow, Little Montreal. Ontonagon, Eagle, Sturgeon, Huron, Dead, Carp, Chocolate, La Praine, Two-hearted, and Tequam- enon rivers. The largest of these are the Ontonagon and Sturgeon rivers, which, by the removal of some obstruo- tions at their mouths, and the construction of piers to prevent the formation of bars, might be converted into excellent and spacious harbors, in the immediate vicinity of some of the most valuable mines, where the want of safe anchorage is now severely felt; as at Eagle Harbor, for instance, where the propellers have to cast anchor EIVEES OP THE SUPEBIOE REGION. 281 oyer a hundred yards out, and the copper intended for shipment has to be first placed on board of a scow, on which passengers also take a position, and then floated out to the propellers. The copper is raised on board by means of a crane, which is stationary upon the side of the vessel. The Twin River, or Two-hearted River, as it is called by the traders, consists in the union of two separate streams, near the point of its outlet. It empties into the lalse seventy-two miles westward of St. Mary's. A short distance beyond Grand Island, at the mouth of a small stream known as Laughing-fish River, a curious flux and reflux of the water is maintained, similar to the tides of the ocean. At the mouth of Chocolate River, there is a large bay setting up deep into the shore, which requires a day's canoe-travel to circumnavigate it. Just beyond that, the traveler will first strike the old crystaline rocks, or primitive formation. From hence, for two days' travel to Huron Bay, the shore presents a continuous series of rough, conical peaks, which are noted for immense bodies of iron ore, chiefly in the condition of iron glance, from which the extensive iron-works of Carp River, seated at the foot of these mountains, are yielding such fine blooms. Contmumg on westward across Keweenaw Bay, the canoe voyager will enter Portage Lake, embosomed near tho base of Keweenaw Point, and, with a short portage, will reach the lake west of the Point without the toil and dis- tance of circumnavigating it. And, in doing so, he will observe that the geology of the country has become entirely changed. He will have passed into the midst of a region of trap-dike-the great copper-bearing rock of Lake Superior. Passing onward along the lake, the dim- blue outlines of the Porcupine Mountains will rise to view on the edge of the horizon, directly ahead. These *52 THE GREAT WEST. mountains, on a clear day, may be seen from a distande of sixty miles. Soon the voyager will be traversing the entrances of Little Salmon, Graverod, Misery, and Fire- steel rivers, to the mouth of Ontonagon River, where a large body of water enters the lakej but the mouth of the river is very much obstructed by a sand-bar. There, likewise, may be observed another of those curious refluxes, where the water, impeded and dammed up by gales, reacts with unusual force. The following table of distances is made up from the statements of voyagers, and is supposed to be exagger- ated by about one-third, as that class of men always pride themselves on going long distances. Nevertheless, the table may be of value. Whole No 171 tr' 1 ,■,, Milks, or Milss. IromMichihmackinac to Detour, . 40 Sault Ste. Marie, 45 g^ Point aux Pius, * g gj Point Iroquois, entrance to Lake ^ Superior, 9 ^^^ lequamenon River, 15 jis Shelldrake River [9 ^34 Fhite Fish Point, ...... g 133 Two-hearted River, ..... 24 157 Grande Marrais, gj j^g La Point la Grand Sables, . ! . 9 157 Pictured Rocks, ... 12 199 Miner's River ] [ g ^.^ Grande Island jg 217 River aux Trains, .....*.* 9 226 Isle aux Trains [3 229 Laughing-fish Rivei, . . . . . q 235 Chocolate River .'15 350 — '-^ "1 Vex, aiiux-resque Isle Jiay, 6 256 TABLE OF DISTANCES. 283 ^' "Wbotm Vo. UiLCS. or MiLis. Granite Point, ....... 6 . 262 Garlic River 9 . 271 St. John's River, 15 . 286 Salmon River 12 . 298 Pine River, 6 . 304 Huron River 9 . 313 East Cape of Keweenaw Bay, . 6 .319 Mouth of Portage River, ... 21 . 340 Head of Portage River, ... 24 . 364 Lake Superior, at the end of the Portage. 1 . 365 Little Salmon River^ 9 . 374 Graverod River, 6 . 360 Misery River 12 . 392 Firesteel River, 18 . 410 Ontonagon River 5 . 416 In crossing the St. Mary's Strait, from Point aux Pius to Point Iroquois, the first view of Lake Superior is to be had, aflFording one of the most pleasing prospects in tbe world. The St. Mary's River passes out of the lake between two prominent capes; viz, Gros Cape and Point Iroquois. The former rises up in high, barren peaks, of hornblende rock; the latter consists of elevated masses of red sandstone, covered with a dense forest. The La Grand Sables is an interesting feature of the lake coast. The sRore consists of "several heavy strata of the drift era, reaching a hight of two or three hun- dred feet, with a precipitous front on the lake. The sands, driven up by the waters, are blown over these hights, forming a heavy deposit. It is this sandy deposit, falling down the face of the precipice, that appears to convert the whole formation into dunes, whereon the sandy coat- 284 THE aREAT WEST. ing restfl like a vail. The number of rapacious birds, which are observed about these hights, adds to the interest of the prospect." The pictured rocks of Lake Superior will always at- tract the attention of the tourist. That coast of rocks is twelve miles in length, consisting of a gray sandstone, and presenting perpendicular walls, which have been worn by the waves into pillared masses, and cavernous arches. These caverns yawn into the face of the cliff, and the winds howl, and the waves roar around their mouths. A small river leaps from the top of the preci- pice clear into the lake. At one place the " Doric Rock," a vast entablature, rests on two immense water-worn pil- lars. At another place, the precipice has been completely undermined, so that it rests solely on a single massive column, standing in the water. The dark-red clay, over- laying the rocks above, has been washed by the rains down the face of the precipice, and, being blended with the sand and dust blown about by the winds, presents a pictorial appearance. Schoolcraft says: "We almost held our breath in pas-sing that coast." The Ontonagon River, for four miles up from its mouth, is broad and deep, having a gentle current, flowing through a winding channel, between banks that are heav- ily wooded, the dark-green foliage overhanging the water. A long, narrow island divides the river into two channels, through which the current flows slowly and tranquilly to the lake. Tne stream above is broke» by frequent rapids. The soil of the Ontonagon, near its mouth, is coarse and sandy ; but it is said io be productive of garden vegeta- bles. Further up the river the soil becomes clayey and loamy — very suitable for cultivation. Several mining companies have locations on this river ; but at its mouth the land is reserved for the use of the government. The IRON, COPPER, AND SILVER MINES. 286 banks are from seven to ten feet high, supporting a fine growth of elm, whitewood, sugar-maple, birch, spruce* white-pme, and cedar; also, gooseberries and raspberries. The Montreal River forms the boundary between Mich- igan and Wisconsin. It presents many attractions for the admirers of picturesque scenery, and exhibits the most beautiful waterfalls any where to be found along the en- tire coast of Lake Superior. A little way above its mouth, and within sight of the lake, the red sandstone rocks have a northerly dip of seventy degrees; and over this ledge, the river is precipitated eighty feet, into a deep circular basin, the sides of which have been excavated by the rushing waters into a spacious amphitheater. About three miles further up the river, in a direct lic3 from the lake, is a second waterfall, said to be fully aa beautiful as the first. Sturgeon River rises in the country to the south of the head of Keweena.v Bay ; and, running northerly, empties mto Portage Lake. This lake is connected with Superior by Portage River, which may be ascended by vessels drawing eight feet of water, and to the head of the lake, twenty miles inland. Those streams, together with the Montreal River, are famous for their sturgeon fisher- ies. All the rivers that flow into Lake Superior, at a little distance inland, become very rapid, broken by fre- quent waterfalls, furnishing water-power in great abun- dance. The hights of land between Portage Lake and Montreal River vary from six hundred feet to thirteen hundred feet in hight. The Superior country is celebrated alike for its iron, its copper, and its silver. It can never become much of an agricultural country ; but its mineral resources are very great, beyond the power of calculation. The country has sufficiently to enable us to form a la S 9S6 THE GREAT WEST. iiiere rough guess as to its capability of producing tbo most valuable metals in constant use by man. The iron occupies a region distinct by itself. The copper and silver are found blended together. The iron region of Lake Superior, no less than the copper region, is one of the wonders of the world. It commences along the coast of the lake, with the meta- morphic rocks, extending from the Chocolate River to the Dead River, a distance of ten miles, following the shore, and sweeps away southerly and westerly across the branches of the Menominee River — the Machi-gamig and the Brule — and the Sturgeon River, and the Esconaba River, that empties into Little Bay de Noquet, near the head of Green Bay. Now, it must be borne in mind, that the Chocolate River comes into Lake Superior from the south-east, and the Dead River from the west. On the meridian intersecting the mouth of the Dead River, the iron-bearing rocks oxtend directly south more than eleven miles; and on that of the Jackson Forge, nine miles west of the mouth of the river, the iron region is some fourteen miles in width. Its western limit has not been determined; but it must be far within the borders of Wis- consin, having been traced in that direction nearly one hundred miles. The northern limit is nearly on a line drawn due weat from the mouth of the Dead River. The southerly limit also, from the Chocolate River, runs pretty much straight west, till beyond the Esconaba, where it turns oflF south c- ng the Machi-gamig, and crosses the Menominee. There the width of the iron region is known to bo more than fifty miles. This valuable mineral tract has been but partially explored, and no sufficient data have been furnished to estimate exactly its area. There is the most abundant authority, however, for s^jiti^} liiMc wCc iivu. ui luo cfupuriur country is both IRON OBE. 287 in Th. /'""*''« '*P»rt« made by th« per«,„s eng^'i lands W.1I convey some idea of tl>e extent and quality of The first bed of magnetic ore is situated near tb. Menominee Kiver, and in the direction o Fort River a 'ratdl ^f ^'»"«''»- «* '"e corner of townships forty, one and forty-two, north, and bet^en ranges twentv-nino cnams in width, which appeared to be one n been made with the different raihoad and steamboat lines as lessens very materially the expense of removing to those distant re- gions. Under these arrangements, the following tables will show the routes, distances, time, and fares, from New York to Sti. Louis. From New York, vi^ the New York and Erie Railroad, Lake Shore Railroad, and Chicago and Mississippi Rail- road, to St. Louis; fare, twenty-eight dollars — meals and state-rooms extra. To Dunkirk, 460 miles. Thence to Toledo, 254 « Chicago, 243 . «• Alton 290 «• St. Louis, 25 « Kansas _4£0 From New York to Kansas, . . 1,722 miles. From New York, vid Hudson River Railroad, New York Central Railropd, Southern Michigan Railroad, and Chicago and Mississippi Railroad, to St. Louis; fare to St. Louis, twenty-six dollars ; whole distanoo, 1,760 miles. ^^^ THE GREAT WEST. Upon the same route, but from Buffalo to Chicago by the Michigan Central Railroad, the fare is the same and distance the same. Upon the same route, but by Hudson River steam- boats, and through Canada by the Great Western Rail- way; fare, twenty-eight dollars; distance, 1,736 miles From Pittsburg to St. Louis, by steamboat — fare, gen- erally, about ten dollars, meals and state-rooms included. Down the Ohio River, .... 1,006 miles. To St. Louis, 177 « St. Louis to Kansas, 450 « Pittsburg to Kansas 1,633 miles. Fare, from St. Louis to Kansas, from eight to ten dollars. The average time from New York to Kansas is about twelve days. There can be no doubt that Kansas, with its fertile soil, and genial climate, and the strong political motives just now operating to encourage settlement, will speedily fill up with inhabitants coming from all parts of the Union. None need be disappointed in their expectations. The state of the controversy respecting the existence of slavery m the territory is well known. Those who would prefer a home where politics are undisturbed by any stong ele- ment of agitation had better go into the more northern territory. Nebraska will furnish room for immigrants for many years to come. The expense of removing to the West, and the hard- ships that have to be endured, are exceedingly discour- aging to persons of very limited means; and, although Congress has not authorized the sale of the public lands upon credit, vet provision '^a.a K^n*, »v,„,i„ 1 u._i ., * - » - i^-i-T-a»v« ».»„ urj\.u ulauc U^ WillCii 10© PREEMPTION LAWS. 341 r settler has allowed hira a certain period, within which "to turn himself," and make his payments. The follow ing is the preemption act of 1841 : " § 10. And he it further enacted, that from and after the passage of this act, every person, being the head of a family, or widow, or single man over the age of twenty-one years, and being a citizen of the United States, or having filed his declaration of intention to become a citizen, as required by the naturalization laws, who, since the first day of June, Anno Domini eighteen hundred and forty, has made, or shall hereafter make, a settlement, in person, on the public lands, to which the Indian title has been at the time of such settlement extinguished, and which has been, or shall have been, surveyed prior thereto, and who shall inhabit and improve the same, and who has or shall erect a dwelling-house thereon, shall be, and is here- by authorized to enter with the register of the land-office for the district in which such lands may be, by legal subdi- visions, any number of acres not exceeding one hundred and sixty, or a quarter-section of land, to include the resi- dence of such claimant, upon paying to the United. States the minimum price of such land ; subject, however, to the following limitations and exceptions : No person shall be entitled to more than one preemptive right by virtue of this act ; no person who is the proprietor of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, and no person who shall quit or abandon his residence on his own land to reside on the public land in the same state or territory, shall acquire any right of preemption under this act : " § 11. And be it further enacted, That, when two or more persons shall have settled on the same quarter-sec- tion of land, the right of preemption shall be in him or her who made the first settlement, provided such persons 15» 312 THE GREAT WEST. shall conform to the other provisions of this act: and all question as to the right of preemption, arising between diflFerent settlers, shall be settled by the register and re- ceiver of the district within which the land is situated, subject to an appeal to, and a reversion by, the secretary of the treasury of the United States. " § 12. And be i6 further enacted. That, prior to any entries being made under and by virtue of the provisions of this act, proof of the settlement and improvement thereby acquired shall be made to the satisfaction of the register and receiver of the laud district in which such lands may lie, agreeable to such rules as shall be prescribed by the secretary of the treasury, who shall each be entitled to receive fifty cents from each applicant for his service, to be rendered as aforesaid : and all assign- ments and transfers of the right hereby secured, prior to the issuing of the patent, shall be null and void. "§13. And be it further enacted, That, before any per- son claiming the benefit of this act shall be allowed to enter such lands, he or she shall make oath, before the receiver or register of the land district in which the land is situated, who are hereby authorized to administer the same, that he or she has never had the benefit of any right of preemption under this act: that he or she is not the owner of three hundred and twenty acres of land in any state or territory of the United States, nor hath he or she setiled upon or improved said land to sell the same on speculation, but in good faith to appropriate it to his or her own exclusive use and benefit, and that he or she has not directly or indirectly made any agreement or con- tract, in any way or manner, with any person or persons whatsoever, by which the title, which he or she might acquire from the government of United States, should insure, in whole or in part, to the benefit of any person PEEEMPTION LAWS. 843 except himself or herself; and if any person taking such oath shall swear falsely in the premises, he or she shall be subjected to all the pains and penalties of perjury, and shall forfeit the money which he or she may have paid for said land, and all right and title to the same : and any grant or conveyance which he or she may have made, except in the hands of bona-Jide purchasers for a valuable consideration, shall be null and void; and it shall be the duty of the officer administering such oath to file a certi- ficate thereof in the public land-office of such district, and to transmit a duplicate copy to the General Land Office, either of which shall be good and sufficient evidence that such oath was administered according to law. '* § 14. And be it further enacted. That, this act shall not delay the sale of any of the public lands of the United States, beyond tlie time which has been, or may be ap- pointed by the proclamation of the President, nor shall the provisions of this act be available to any person or persons who shall fail to make the proof and payment, and file the affidavit required, before the day appointed for the com- mencement of the sales aforesaid. " § 15. And be it further enacted, That, whenever any person has settled or shall settle and improve a tract of land subject at the time of settlement to private entry, and shall intend to purchase the same under the provi- sions of this act, such person shall in the first case, within three month after passage of the same, and in the last within thirty days next after the date of each settle- ment, file with the register of the proper district a written statement, describing the land settled upon, and declaring the intention of such person to claim the same under the provisions of this act; and shall, where such settlement is already made, within twelve months after passage of this aotj and where it shall hereafter be made within the sania 3U THE QREAT WEST. period after fhe date of such settlement, make the proof, affidavit, and payment herein required. ** Approved Sept. ith., 1841." ! In 1854, further provision respecting preemptions was made by the act providing for the graduation in the price of the public lands. The first section provides, in sub- stance, that the lands which have been in market ten years shall be subject to entry at one dollar per acre ; fifteen yearc, at seventy-five cents per acre: falling in price twenty-five cents on an acre every five years, until the lands shall have fallen to twelve and one-half cents per acre. The second section provides, " That upon every reduc- tion in price, under the provisions of this act, the occupant and settler upon the lands shall have the right of pre- emption, at such graduated price, upon the same terms, conditions, restrictions, and limitations, upon which the public lands of the United States are now subject to the right of preemption, until within thirty days preceding the next graduation or reduction that shall take place; and if not so purchased, shall again be subject to the right of preemption for eleven months, as before:" and so on, from time to time, as reductions shall take place. The oath and proof required by this act are similar to the Act of 1841, and are to be made before the register and receiver, who are entitled to a fee of fifty cents each for their services. The provisions of the preemption laws are all very well so far as they go; but another step will undoubtedly be taken, and the hardy settler, battling with privation and toil, remote from civilization, redeeming the vriider- ness, and peopling the waste, will be rewarded, under suitable restrictions, with the fee of one hujidred and sixty acres of land for his pains. THE WEST FUTUEE SEAT OF EMPIRE. 345 From the survey which has been taken of the states and territories of the Great West, it is evident, that the seat of empire on the continent of North America is being removed to the regions around the lakes and upon the upper tributaries of the Mississippi. The people inhab- iting these are profoundly interested in the continuance, the peace, and the prosperity of the whole Union. They grasp the east by means of the lakes ; they grasp the south by means of the Mississippi. The people of the West will not dissolve the Union themselves ; and they will not permit any body else to do it. Their watch- word is "Liberty and union, now and forever, one and inseparable ! " TABLE or DISTANCES. 347 TABLE OF DISTANCES TIA TUB PRINCIPAL THOROUGHFARES TO THE GREAT WEST. From BoHon to JStv) York. Boston to Worcester 44 Clappville 63 Charlton 67 Spencer 62 East BrookBeld 64 Brookfield 67 West Brookfield 69 Warren 73 Brimfield Palmfir 83 Indian Orchard 92 Springfteld 98 West Springfield 100 Westfleld 108 KusseU 116 Huntington 119 Chester Factory 126 Middleficld Becket 135 Washington 138 Hinsdale 143 Dalton. 146 Rttsfield 151 Shaker VilUge 164 Kichmond 159 State Line 162 Canaan 167 East Chatham 172 Chatham Four-Corners 177 Chatham Center 181 Kinderhook 184 Schodack 192 Greenbush 199 Albany 200 New York 344 JVeio York to Albany. Kew York, 'Jharabers street', to Thixty-flivt street. 8 Manhattan 8 Yonkers 17 Hastings 21 Dobba Ferry 22 Irvingtou 26 Tarrytown 27 Sing Sing 82 Crugers 86 Peekskill 43 Garrison's 61 Cold Spring 64 Fishkill 60 New Hamburg 66 Poughkeepsle 76 Hyde Park 81 Staatsburg 86 Rhinebeck 91 Barrytown Tivoli 100 Gennantown 105 Oak Hill 110 Hudson 116 Stockport 120 Coxsackie 123 Stuyvesant 126 Schodack 133 Castleton 136 East Albany 144 Jlbany to Buffalo, Albany to Troy Schenectady 17 Hoffman's 26 Crane's Village Amsterdam 33 Tribe's Hill Fonda 44 Yost's 49 Sprakor's 62 Palatine Bridge 66 Port Plain ......—;.. 68 St. Johnsville 64 Little Falls 74 Herkimer 81 llion 83 Frankfort 86 Utica 95 Whitesboro' 99 Oriskany 102 Rome 109 Green's Corners 114 Verona 118 Oneida 122 WampsTiUe 1£6 Canastota 12T Canasarftga 131 Chittcnango 133 Kirkville 137 Manlius 140 Syracuse 148 Warner's 167 Canton 169 Jordan 166 Wecdsport 169 Port Bpron 172 Savannah 179 Clyde 186 Lyons 193 Newark 198 Palmyra 206 Macedon 210 Fairport 219 Rochester 2TO Cold Water 236 Chili 239 Churchville 244 Bergen 247 West Bergen 261 Byron 264 Batavia ...............261 Croft's .268 Pembroke 272 Alden ..27T 348 TIJE GREAT WEST. Wende 270'l;('k)iwax(>ri 112lNunilii. Town Line Vl.x: lAncaAtor 28; Forkd 289 Bullftlo 2Ub Roekeiter to Huipention Bridge. Rochester to Gates 6 Spencerport 10 Adam'd Banin 12 Brockport 17 Holley 22 Murray 26 Albion 30 Medina 40 Mlddleport 46 Gasport 61 Lockport 6(J Pekin 66 Sufipeuiion Bridge 74 Connects with Great Western Railway. Buffalo to Suspeniion ''ridge. Buffalo to Black Rock 4 Tonawanda 11 LaSalle 17 Niagara Falls 22 Suspension Bridge 24 Ifeui York to Dunkirk, vi& A'«ie York and Erie R. R. New York to Jersey City 1 Bergen 3 Hackensack Bridge Boiling Spring 9 Passaic Bridge 12 Huyler's 13 Paterson 17 Godwinville...... 22 Hohokus 24 Allendale 26 Ramsey's 28 Suffern'8 33 Ramapo 34 Sloatsburg 36 Southflelds 43 Greenwood 45 Turner's 48 Monroe 50 Oxford 63 Junction 65 Chester 66 Goshen 60 Hampton 64 Middletown 68 Howell's 72 Otisville 76 Port Jervig 89 Shohol* 108 'f»*t ('■ e 117 Niirrowsourg lus C'ocliccton 132 Calllcoon 137 Hankin's 144 Lordville 154 Stockport 100 Hancock 166 Hale's Eddy , ; DepoHlt 178 Susquehanna 193 Great Bend 201 Kirkwood ..i;07 Blnghamton 216 Union 224 Campville 231 O wego 2.'iS Tioj?a "S43 Smithboro' 247 Barton 2fiO Warerly 2iJ7 Chemung 261 Wt'llsburg 267 Elniira 274 Junction Elmira, Can- andalgua, and Niagara Falls Railroad 278 Big Flats 284 Corning 292 Painted Post 293 Addison 303 Rathbone vi lie 308 Cameron 315 Crosby ville 324 Canisteo 329 Hornelsville 333 [See table from Hor nelsville to Buflalo.] Almond 338 Alfred 342 Andover 360 Genesee 359 Scio 363 Phillipsville 367 Belvidere 370 Friendship .376 Cuba 384 Hinsdale 390 Olean ...396 Allegany 399 Great Valley 412 Little Valley 222 Cattaraugus 429 Dayton 439 I'errysburg 442 Smith's Mills 449 Forestville 45 ' Dunkirk 461 24 Portage 80 Ciistilo 34 (iaini-sville 37 Warsaw 44 Middlebury 49 Linden 53 Attica \ 60 Dari»"i City 64 1 . ie . v.eDtcr 66 Alden 7I Town Line ! 76 LancaKtur . 81 BuUolo 01 Philadelphia to Williamf port. Philadelphia to Port Clinton 78 Ringgold... 88 Taniaijua 98 Summit ...110 Mahanoy I18 Uingtown 123 Beaver 13O Mttineville ..138 Catawisea llfl Rupeit 147 Danville ]64 Mooresburg 160 MiltOR 170 Munay 187 WiJiiaiiiBport 197 Williamiport to Elmira, Williampport to McKinncy's 6 Mahaffey's 7 Cogan Valley 8 Crencent 11 Trout Run 15 Field's 16 Dubiiis 19 Bodine's 20 Lycoming 22 Ralston 26 Canton 39 Alba 44 West Granville 43 Troy 62 Colu nibia Road 67 Dunning's 65 itate Line 68 Elmira 78 Hornelsville to Buffalo. Hornelsville to Burns 9 Whitney Valley 13' Rock Stream SwainTillft 17iBlx Stream.. Elmira to Suspeneion Bridge. Elm 'i to Junction 4 Horseheads 6 Millport 13 Havana 19 Jefl\»rson 22 , 28 80 TABLE or DISTANCE8. 949 8tark«y -••- 83 Hlmrod's 87 llUo Ontor 41 P«nn '. M....- *5 Benton 4» BelloDft 01 H»ll'»ConwM 66 OorhMU.. ...... •-••••• 68 Hopewell 63 CanandaiguA ^^ East Kloomfleld 77 WcHt Bloomfield 86 Honeoye FalU 88 Genesee Vail ■» Railroad Junction 86 CaledonU 102 Loroy 109 Stafford 113 BaUvU 118 East Pembroke 126 RidiTUle 132 Akron 136 Clarence Center H- Tranait 1^6 Vincent 162 ToD&wanda 166 Cayuga Creek 161 Niag.ira Falls 186 Suspcniilon Bridge 168 Suipenrion Bridge to De troit, vid Great ffestern Railway. SuHpenslon Bridge to Thorold « St. CtttherlnoB H Jordan •-- 1' BeaniRTille 22 Grimsby 27 Ontario 0.« Hamilton 43 Dundas *'' Flamboro* 62 Copetown 65 Vanslckles 69 Fairchild's Creek 62 Paris II Princeton 79 Eastwood 86 Woodstock 91 BeachvlUe 96 IngersoU- 100 Edwardsburg '>■» London "9 Komoka ^^-^9 Mount Brydges 134 Ekfrid 139 Mosa 149 Wards ville 160 Thamesville 168 Chatham 1»3 Baptiste Creek 196 Boihester 210 BliHsflcld Detroit ....-230 Buffalo to Ckiemgo, viA takt Shore RaUromd. BulTalo to lUmburK 10 Evans' Center 21 Irving ........... 29 Dunkirk 40 I'ortlan(l 60 Westtteld 67 Quincy 86 State Line •» North East 78 Harbor Creek 80 Erie SwanvUle W Girard 103 Hi ringfleld 108 Conneaut 116 KingsviUe. — . 123 A-hlabula ..J. 129 ybrook ...:. 133 (i.iieva 13** Madison 143 Perry 148 PiiinesvlUe 162 Mentor 168 Willoughby Jo* Wickliffe 167 I acUd. — 171 Cleveland lol Bockport 187 Berua -- .--.-193 Olir ted Falis -i 196 Hi,i^.-ville-— '-^00 olyha . - Amherst . . . . • M Clayton Hudson I'iUford I» HUlsdale » JonesvUl*...... 2 Q>ilnoy. g Coldwater g Bronson •■ BnrrOak J" Sturgis }" White Pig OB m Mtddleburj }» Bristol 0- Yl* Elkhart M* Mlshawak* 1»* South B«nd Jg Torre Coupee 1«J Rolling Prairie Mf Lap' te 1» IIoWsTille «■ Calumet jS Bailytown fW MlUer-s 5? Pine Station ^ Ainsworth »8l JunuUou -380 CLicago. .Stt Brownhelm .....216 V^nrrilli'JD HJ Berlin.. 227 Huron 231 Sandusky '"^ Venice *44 Mixer's Point 248 Port Clinton 254 Hartford 266 Benton 271 Clay Junction »0 Toledo 288 Chicago 631 Btiffalo to Chicago, vj" Michigan Sottthem Rai. road. . Steamers i'-ave Buffalo for Toledo every evening, ex- cept Sundays. Toledo to Air Line Junction ^ ylvs Buffala to Chicago, tiA Michigan Central Mail- road. _ , , Steamer* le»Te Bnffalo fof Detroit every eyeniflg •«• cept Sunday*. Detroit to .. ,„„ Halfway Side Tnwk.... ...206 Dearborn JJ 212 Wayne *» Ypiilantl JJ AnnAibor •• Dexter « ChelMk 5* Omss l4dc« » Ja«sk»ou 2* P»rr a »» Albi 1 ,»* Mar. -go 10* MaribaU JW Cereseo. .113 Knight's 'i I>1iui>An1<1 *" 27 Puce ...216 Palmyr» f* Wtoior: ■ a2»lA4ri»n.... »» Windsor Battle Cr'wk 120 Galesburg IjS Kalamazoo |*» Oshtemo i« Paw Paw IW Decatur "J Dowagiac "• Niles IJ* lucbanan "" rcre Coupee ^ Ne,v Buffalo 218 Michigan City ^ Porter **{ LakeSUtion —248 Gibson's *» Calumet ■*• w 850 THJf GBEAT WEST. ^ ■" ' ' lire Mil* Sid* Tntek .. Chicago 282 PkilatUlphU to PUUhurg PhilMlelphU to Downing 82 lAUVLttm ............. W DlUtrvUle 70 LandliTlUeStatloQ.... 77 Moant Joy 81 Ellubethtown 87 Conewago 00 Branch IntarMetloa ... M Mtddletown 9« Hlghapire 100 B&rrisbarg 106 BoekvlUe SUtlon Ill Core 110 Duneannon 120 Aqueduct Station 123 Bally'B 128 Newport 133 llUlentown 138 Thompaontown 143 Tuicarora ..148 Mifflin 164 Karrowi Station 161 Lewiitown 166 Anderson's Station 173 licVeyton 178 ManayuDk SUtion 183 North Hamilton 188 Mount Union 191 MillOeek 197 Huntingdon 202 Petersburg 208 Spruce Creek 214 ^rone 221 Fostoria 227 Altoona Vao Kittanning Point 242 East End of Tunnel .. .247 Oallitiln .249 Cresaon 262 LiUy's 285 Portage 260 WlUmore 262 Bummerhill 264 South Fork 268 Mineral Point 270 Conemaugh 273 Johnstown 276 Domock Point 278 Slackwater Station 281 Nineveh 285 New Florence 289 Lockport 293 Bolivar 295 BlairsviUe Branch 300 Hillside 304 Derry 307 Latrobe ,...3J2 Beaty's 316 Oreensburg 822 Badebaugh'a 824 Manor 320 Irwin's 331 Stewart's 336 Brlnton's 341 Wilkinsburg 346 East LlNrty 348 Outer Station 362 rittsburg 3*i3 Piltstntrf to Fort Waynt. inttiiburg to Courtiisy's 6 Haysvilfe 10 Sewickley 12 Shousetown. .......... 14 Economy 17 Itemington 21 Freedom 23 Uochester 26 New Brighton 28 Darlington 38 Enon 44 Palestine 40 Bull Creek 64 Columbiana 69 Franklin 66 Salem 69 Damascus 74 Smithfleld 77 Alliiince 82 Strasburs 88 Louisvilw 94 Canton 100 MassiUon 108 Lawrence 116 Kairview 119 Orrville 123 Paradise 126 Wooster 134 Millbrook 140 Clinton 143 LakeviUe ..149 Loudonville 166 Perrysvllle 160 Lucas ...157 Mansfleld 174 pring Mills 179 Richland 183 Crestline 187 Leesville 190 Bucyrus 199 Nevada 207 Upper Sandusky '21 6 Kirby 2'22 Forest 228 Dunkirk 234 Mount Washington. ..238 Johnstown 24h Lafayette 262 Lima 259 Elida 266 Delphos 273 Middle Point 279 Van Wert 286 Dixon 299 Maples SOS Fort Wayne SIS Fort Wayn$ to Ckifgo, Fort Wayne to Taw-Taw 8 Coesse.... ,. 14 Columbia 30 Huntsvllle 07 Plerceton 80 Wooster 88 Warsaw............... 40 Etna Green 60 Bouibon 63 Plymouth W Cross New Albany and Salem Railroad 95 Valparaiso ....104 Hoburt 117 Cross Jollet Cut-Off Railroad 120 Illinois Line 184 Chicago 147 Clevetand to Cineinnati. Cleveland to Hockport 7 Uerea 12 Olmstead 16 Columbia 18. (irafton 26 La Grange 29 Wellington 30 Rochester 41 New London 47 Greenwich 64 Salem 60 Shelby 67 Crestline 76 Gallon 79 Iberia 86 Gilead 82 Cardington 07 Ashley 104 Eden log Delaware... 112 Berlin 116 Orange ....119 Worthinton 128 Columbus 136 Cincinnati 256 Cincinnati to Vincennto. Cincinnati to Sylvanla g Anderson's Ferry g Delhi .' 10 North Bend 16 Pike [ 17 Gravel Pit ' ig Corn-Crib Switch... 21 Junction 22 Lawrenceburg .".. 22 Turnout ......... 28 Aurora ........... 2ft TABLE OF DISTANCES. Z6l Cochimn 27 DHl§l)«rouBh 33 Moore'i Hill 40 MlUn 42 PleirevllU 46 Di^laware 47 Lmugherjr Creok 49 Ongood ............... 62 Ponton 68 Holton 68 Otter Creek 61 Turnout 63 Butk-rville 66 North Vernon ........ 73 HKrdenbvrg 80 Seymour 88 Vineennei to St. Louis. Tkke RteanierH for nil portR on the MixBinsippi am] MiHAouri Kivera. Vlnceniien to LawrenceviUe 9 Humner 19 Cliiremont 26 Olnoy 31 Noble 39 Maysville 46 Flora 63 Xerila 62 Mltidlelon 70 Salem 79 Junction 86 Sandoval 88 Collins' 96 Carlyln 10.- Bhoal Creek 110 Aviston 114 Trenton 118 Summerlield 122 Lebanon 126 O'Fallon 13;; Caseyville 139 Ilinoistown 147 St. Louia Cleveland to Indianapolit. Cleveland to Crestline 75 Giilion 79 Caledonia 90 Marion 99 Bryant's 104 Larue lia Mount Victory 121 Ridgwav 124 Kushsylvania. 130 Harper 133 Bellefontaine 139 De Graff 149 Temberton... 165 Sidney 162 Hardin 167 Lor. and Ilouston 172 VerMiiUea 180 n»lla« 188 Union 197 HarrlsvlUe 201 Winchester 207 Farmland 214 Smlthllnld 221 Muncle 227 Vorktown 233 Chestnrfiuld 239 Anderson .....246 i'endleton 233 Alfont 268 Fortvllle 201 McCord'8 264 Oakland 2m5 LnnovlUe 271 IK'Izell's 276 Indianapolis 280 Indianapolis to Terre Haute. Indianapolis to Rridf(eport. . _ 9 Plainllcld ... 14 Cartersburg 17 Belleville 19 Clayton 21 Pecksburg 23 Amo 26 (.'incinnatus 27 Coalsville 29 Nicholsonvllle 33 (iremcoBtle 89 Putnamvllle 42 Haraerick's 44 Keel's Mill 48 Eagledeld's Mill 61 Croy's Creek 62 Brazil 67 .Staunton 61 Cloverlund 63 Wood's Mill 66 Terre Haute 73 Terre Haute to Alton, on the Mississippi, at the junction of the Missouri. Terre Haute to St. Mory's 4 Sanford's 8 Paris 19 (Jraudview 28 Midway 32 Ashmore . 8e of this voluine. In preparing it, the authof hM passed rat.i(llv over the early history, and dwelt chiefly on recent events, and the ac- tiJ^l'Itat^ of the Country, as he considered Uiat, bv this course, utility would be mow rf. fcctually consulted. MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAN, Publisher*, 26 Park Row, New York, and 107 Geneaee-st, Aubuem. LITE OE ANDREW JACKSON. Stlmttjf |«5ihnt flf t\t InittD StsUs, XNCLUDINO HIS MOST rjPORTAOT STATE PAPERS AND BANCROFT'S EULOOf. BY JOHN S. JENKINS. ''Vlth Portrait, 397 pp. 12mo., Muslin, Price $1 00, The above very interesting biography of the man of more than Roman finnness and of Spartan integrity, possesses, at this time, pecu li»r interest, when, from the sundering of party ties, and the conse- quent abatement of partisan rancor, his virtuous independence, and his stem devotion to the right, are so generally admired. He confessed no authority on earth but the welfare of his country, and his own conviction of right ; he never turned to rest while a duty remained to be done; he never asked the support of any human arm in the hour of his utmost difficulty. He never shrunk from any respon- Bibility, personal or official, but sternly fulfilled his interpretation of duty, leaving his course to the verdict of his constituents. If he were wrong, public opinion has since adopted the chief of his heresies ; and there is not ons hand strong enough, or daring enough, to lay one stone upon another of that which he threw down into ruin.— i)r. Bethunc. Histoiy does not describe the man that equaled him in strength of nerve. Ifot danger, not an army in battle array, not wounds, not wide- spread clamor, not age, not the anguish of disease, could impair, in the least degree, the vigor of his steadfast mind.— ^ancrq/V. The book before us is a well written and judiciously arranged biog- raphy of the illustrious hero and patriot, whose services to his country and to mankind are second only to these of Washington. At this crisis in our history, it cannot fail to be received with favor by the community. Gen. Jackson, in his lifetime, was among the nobleec of patriots, looking only to the welfare, honor and glory of his belovej country. It was his privilege to preside over the destinies of the na- tion at a crisis not unlike the present; and it was his voice, sounding like a trumpet through the land, that awakened the patriotism of his countrymen and saved the Union. This book comes now like a voice from the grave of the mighty dead, warning his countrymen of peril, and invoking them to fraternity and union. In addition to the bio- graphical sketch written by the author, the book also contains judi- cious selections from the State Papers of Gon. Jackson, and the eulo gies upon the illustrious soldier and statesman, delivered by Mr. Ban- «roffc»nd Dr. ^qHmhq,— Washington Union. MILLER, ORION & Mi:LLIGAN, Pubikhers, m INDIA15T CAPTIVITIES, OB, LIFE IN THE WIGWAM: BEING TEUE NAm',ATiyES OP CAPTIVES CAREIED AWAY BY THE INDIAN^ rECMTHB FRONTIER SETTLEMENTS OP THE UNITED STATfifl FROM THE EARLIEST PERIOD. BY SAMUEL G. DRAKE. One Volume) 372 pp. 12iuo.) Illustrated. Price $1 00. ••• This volume conasts of entire Narratives — the originals be- ing given without the slightest abridgment. It differs from other collections of Indiiv^ ITarratives of a similar character: in those collec- tions the compilijis i'.faak for their captives — ^in this, the captives speak for themselves. 'Nu liberties have been taken with the language of any of thece narratives, which would, in the remotest degree, changa th^ sense 4>f % single passage ; and the instances are few in which erea peculiarities of expression have been corrected. MiLLER, ORTON k MULLIGAN, Fubliskers^ 25 Park Eow, Nbw York, and 107 Geueseest, Aububm. THE MODEEN OFHIB! SIDNEY'S HISTORY OF AUSTMLIJL .. THE THREE COLOiES OF AOSTRALIA, NEW SOUTH WALES, VICTORIA & SOUTH AUSTRALU THEIR PastiiTss, Copper Mines & Gold Fields. »•» BY SAMUEL SIDNEY. -'-♦^ Tei Illustrations. Mnslin, 408 pp I2nio. Price $1,00. Brief Extnets from Notices of tbe Press. fa.™teJV'^li'i*"''^^"r'!^;*"'\?'°^''il?^ attenUon of aU Americans who .^ouM turn their faces towards Australia.— A'l Y. Timja. We have 'ueen greatly Interestwl in tlie wotk-so much so, indeed, that -re could not satisfr ourselves without going through with it entire.-iV: Y. Bap. Re^. The por.ition of the author, an.i the unquestionable sources from wliich he draws hia Information, aitorda the l.i^ht^>*t evidence that his details, historical, sUitistical and m! ograi)liical, are accurate and relluble.— iV: Y. Jour, of KnmcUdge. ""'"'"'"•'*' ^^ ««- The work above named is not mAy very lively and interestinfr. but having been pre- pared by a pentlen.an who h:;d ac^-essto the most reliable data, it furnishes just the inYorl ln?l;renlSrate'-7 Z 'I;'!,. '^"''' "^ "'"^ ^'^^'^ "'"'* ^' "'"'''""'^'^ '" pirsous Ltend- This work affords an excellent opportunity for becoming thoroutfhiy acquainted with Australia and its mines, for the writer is evi.lently a nmn of Intelligence, and "Si Cm actual, personal observation.— ^ni^Hcaw CoMrj^A «-m » • i sjieaM irom JvS/*J!'4!^"'^*°^*'**'^°'"'''^"''"'* ^«"«"*^«'^' '^'■"'^h a safe an.l full gulde.-i?oBar Though there have been more glowing pictures of Antipodal life, we have vet seen none that groups so many facts, and imparts so clear a view.-A^. Y. EmngdM DMy !4 ^Si?" «'"^'^*"'^ ^" "' *« ^"'"^ '« J"«t ^^ ^ s^'igl't for by every one.-JiaeiM Mr. Sidney has in this work given to the world a volume of varied and useful infor. ttiatlon concerning the Australian El Dorm\o.— Detroit Adverti^r ioTl"'rV''''" ly'"'' ^'\^ '"formed in relation to Australia will «nd this volume oomrleta In it* Inforn.ation and *'\ceedlng!y lnteri*tlng in all its Ai^i^n^.-LmceU CM^ti^n^stx This is a Imndx.iuo \-i.m. of 408 pages, neatly illustrated with engi-avin™ abounding with every vw-iety of interesting- information ies,,ectiug Au8tralia.-2X/S^;/S;T^* MILLER, ORTON & MULLIOAK p.^u.-oj,.^. Na 25 Park Row, New Yokk, and 101 Geaesee-st, Aububw' '# INCLUDING THE ADVENTURES OF GERARD, CUMMINGS, AND OTHER FAMOUS HUNTERS, m TAKING THE ELEPHANT, LION, RHINOCEBOS, TIGER, HYENA, PANTHER, BEAR, OIRAFFB, IStBLOI'E, C1IAM0I8. WILD BOAK, BUFl'ALO, BISON, LLA^A, OUBANG-UUTANG, THB MONKEY TBIRE, AND VARIOUS OTIIKE WILD ANIMALS OF THE GLOBE. By Joha Frost, LL. D., 467 pp. 1'2bjo., 300 lUnslrations. Price, $1 26. MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAN, Publishers, S5 Park Row, New York, aud 107 Ueuesee-st, Auburu. SUFFERINGS OF THE ENGLISH POOR, OR THE WHITE SLATES OF EIGLAl. AH EXPOSITION OF THE CONDITION AND TREATMENT OF THE LABORING CLASSES IN THE FACTORIES AND COAL MINES OF GREAT BRITAIN.* " BY JOHN O. OOBDEN. OneToliinie,aOO pp., 12ino., 11 Illustrations. Price, »l 25, NOTICES OF THE PRESS-BRIEF EXTRACTS. bJkln^lfu wi'i!fh^v"=? ftenslvcly Into detail-wielding an honest and fearless pen, and H^h« mlZ *^^^, etateinenta by conious extracts from the official records of Inz and. He has made a glorious hook.— Bujitlo Empress. * i^r^l h'.*!1? f '*''?"''« ^y which the author's assertions are sustained, we would not dare credit the distressing accounts of indigence and misery.— TK«««/-/y Ifa],a»in^. It is a capital book, and entitled to a place in every man's library.— JV, Y. Mirror. th J'if«rf^«'!'"* ^''"'*'*, .V'' !i"?'»"o«ar N^spaper. ^ ^ MILLER, ORTON & MULLIGAN, Pubihhers 26 Park Row, New York, and 107 Genesee-st., Auburn, ' A COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE WAR BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND MEXICO. FROM THE COMMENCEMENT OP HOSTILITIES TO THE RATIFICATTON OF PEACE ; BHBBAOINa DETAILED ACCOUNTS OF THE BRILLIANT AGHIEVEUEN ' OF GENERALS TAYLOR, 8C0TT, WORTH, TWIGGS, KEARNEY, ETO. BY JOHN S. JENKINS. XiritU 24 Illustrations, 606 pp., largre 12mo. Price f] 25. The above is the only complete and impartial history of the Mexi- can War that has been published, and deserves to take Its place beside the Standard Histories of the Wars of the Eevolution and of 1812. Evidence of the value and interest of the work is found in the fact that 20,000 copies have already been sold. It is illustrated with 24 Portraits and Engravings of Battle Scenei, ■nd the price has been reduced as above. OPINIONS OF REVIEWERS. In tills volume we have, at last, a complete and interesting history of the late collla. Ion between the two republics of the continnnt To a minute and detailed account of «ie position and polcy of Mexico, and the origin and causes of the War, are added soul-stir- ring descrlp ions of tlio brilliant and successful engagements of our army with the enemy. 1 h s narra ive is written after a carelul examination of the diplomatic correspondence and the various publications of a public or private character, that have appeared from timo to time, calculated to throw light on the subiect. To render the work still more inter- esting and desirable. It has been Illustrated with portraits of the most distinguished oiH- cers of our ovyn and the Mexican army, and views of the ever-memorable battle-fields of Buena Vista and Cerro Gordo. The reputation of the author will insure for this his- tory a very general circulation.— ^toawy ^iete, plain, and entirely raliable Fruit Book, has become a nec:38ity to nearly every householder. The author of The American Fruit Cul- TURI8T has been brought up in the Nursery business from boyhood, his father being a scientific and practical Nurseryman, and the author himself having had nearly fifty years experience as a practical Hor- ticulturist, Nurseryman and Fruit Grower. Hence, his book is not a mere compilation of old ideas in a new dress, but is the re- sult of a life experience in the Nursery, the Orchard, and the Garden, and is, therefore entirely worthy of the fullest confidence of the public. The book undergoes periodic revisions, and is, therefore, always "up to the time." NOTICES OF THE PRESS. Among all the writers on fruits, we do not Itnow of one wlio is Mr. Tfiomas' superior If his equal, in condensing important matter. Hence, we always look into his writinsrs with the assurance that we shall find something new, or some improvements on the old ; and we are seldom disappointed. This book Is no exception. It is full. There is no vacant space In it. It is like a fresh egg— all good, and packed to the shell, taU.—Prairie Farmer. A cheaper, bnt eqnally valuable book with l^owning's, was wanted by the great mass. Just such a work has Mr. Thomas given us. We consider it an invaluable addition to our agricultural libraries.— IToa/ Grower. We can say with confidence to our readers, that if you need a book to instruct you in ttie modes of growing trees, Ac, from the first start, the systems of pruning, eta, you will find tho American Fruit Culturist an extremely valuable work. — Gleo«, Hwald, MTTTFR nPTAXr *. MITTTmAXr n..if.-. YOUATT & M^ilTIN i)^ CATTLE. i;-2gf> IHEIR BREEDS, MAGEMENT AND DISEASES; A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE Farmer, the Amateur, and the Veterinary Surgeon. EDITED ^Y A. STEVKNS. One Volume, 460 pp. 12m , loo Illunratlons. Frice 1 85. -♦- In presenting an edition of Yoi.att to the Americnn public the Am«»i- lean editor may justly say, that, of all the treati«o« reatUe no„T , 80 valuable as h.s. Mr. Youatt is a man of rare ability ; a scImC dis! tmgu.shed for the e-cnt, variety, and elegance of his a tainme nt ' and as a veterinary surgeon of Wound knowledge, in both the cience and pract.ce of Ins art, and for devotion to its pursuit. In prep mW this treatise for pubbeation, the American editol- has abridired it^of ht h.story 01 local and inferior breeds of cattle in Ens^land, ia wl ch c tZ7^^ Ja'"'^ "'' ?"*r^'*- ^""'y ^«Se l>asbe.n carefully oo, - Bide, ed, and, whe.-e required, its matter advanced to the present state of knowledge on the subject. Thousands of copies of Youatt and Ma ! tin are annua ly sold in England, and the.-e opinion has established thera ZTut:^H I" '-r'^ ^'Tr''-"' knowledge, 'xhis American edition cm ^ Sousandr ^ ^'"^"^ and. intrinsic value, and should sell in MJLLEP^ ORTON &- MULLIGAN, Publishers, 25 Park Kow, IJaw Yo&k, aud iUT Geneseo-st, Auburn. ^> IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET {MT-3) MA fe 1.0 ^1^ 1^ 1= ilL25 1 U 45 iO ^ y£ 12.0 lit 2.2 1.6 f??fe w . tllG Sdfflices Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 LV :\ \ »'"Q ;\ •^ ^ ^ p ' / ^ mm S«]d only by Subscription. A Book that is really a7j Life— Every Family shonld have it ♦— — LIVINO NATURE IN ALL ITS FORMS.* >«4 ILLUSTRATED ENCYCLOPEDIA OF ANIMATED NATURE: THE ONLY BOOK OF ITS KIND WHI01 OIVKS PICTORIAL aEPRESENTATIONS AND POPULAR DESCRIPTIONS OF THK HISTORY, HABITS, AND MODES OF LIFE OF ALL THE CLASSES OF UVIHO BEINGS OK THE EABTH, IN THE OCEAN, AND THE ath , BY JOHN FROST, LL. D. 8ek through this Air, this Ocean, and this Earth, All matter quick, and bursting; into birth, Above liow liigh created life may go. Around how wide, how deep extend below. Vast chain of being which from God beean, * • • * * Man, Beast, Bird, Fish, Insect, wliat no eye can see. UNIFORM RETAIL PRICE. In One Quarto Volume, 1860 Illustratioiui, Mnslin, Oilt Back, $2 75 Ihe Same, Karble Ed je, Embosssd Morocco, Oilt Back and Side, 3 50 The Same, Sed Turkey Morocco, Full Oilt Edges and Sides, 5 00 Books upon almost every other subject have been circulated among the people, except those relating to the very interesting and important one of Natural History. The books which have heretofore been published, on this subject, have been adapted, either to mere chil- dren, or to those who make it a thorough study. Hence, very few of the millions of readers in this country, have within their reach, anything satisfactory upon this subject. This indicates a great and an obv'oua want, as no subject ie more intensely interesting, and none more im- proving, than that of the living beings that people the globe. This want we are confident we fully meet, in the work we here offer to th« public. mLl^'X ORTON & MULLIGAN, PMishen, -