USA > Illinois > Ford County > Historical Atlas of Ford County Illinois > Part 3
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The Kickapoos early incurred the displeasure of the French by committing depredations upon the missionaries and others. It is said of this tribe that they were not inclined to receive re- ligious impressions from the early missionaries.
Prior to 1718, the Kickapoos had villages upon the banks of Rock River and the Illinois. They are described as a clever people and brave warriors. Their language and manners strongly resembled those of the Foxes. "They catch deer by chasing them, and even at this day (1718) make considerable use of bows and arrows."
Their progress south and east was no doubt largely owing to the fierce attacks of the Sioux, who were pressing on them from the northwest. The Kickapoos and the Foxes, meditating & migra- tion to the Wabash as a place of security from the Sioux, the French became alarmed lest these tribes should effect a junction with the Iroquois and English. The matter was adjusted by the French conciliating the Sioux, and for a number of years the Foxes and Kickapoos remained upon their old hunting grounds in Northern Illinois and Southern Wisconsin. The theory has been advanced that the Mascoutins and Kickapoos were bands of one tribe, first known to the French by the former name, and subsequently to the English by the latter, under which name alone they figure in our later annals. This theory has been adopted for the purposes of this sketch. Another noticeable fact is that, with one exception, the Mascoutins were never known as such in any treaty with the United States, while the Kickapoos were parties to many. In warfare, the Kickapoos were inferior to the other tribes in movements requiring large numbers of men, but in predatory warfare they were pre-eminent. Their war parties usually numbered from five to twenty-five per- sons. The boldness and daring of these small parties were very great. They would sometimes push out hundreds of miles from their villages and attack a feeble settlement or an isolated cabin, burn the buildings, steal the live stock, capture the women and children, and then escape before a general alarm could be given.
The Kickapoos were noted for their fondness for horses. They exhibited great skill and daring in stealing them.
Their principal enemies seemed to be the Illinois, and after driving the latter into the southwestern part of the State, it is related that as late as 1786 to 1796, their war parties kept the white settlements and the Illinois tribes in the vicinity of Kaskaskia in a state of continual alarm. During the time stated, they killed and captured many of that tribe, as well as a number of the whites.
After the close of the Pontiac war, the Kickapoos and Potta- watomies almost annihilated the Kaskaskias, a band of the Illi-
FORD COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
nois, at a place called Battle Ground Creek, between Kaskaskia and Shawneetown. The principal towns of the Kickapoos were on the left bank of the Illinois, near Peoria, and on the Vermilion of the Wabash, and at several points on the west bank of the Wabash. On the prairies they also had villages, west of Charleston, Ill., and in many of the groves scattered over the prairies in the section of country bounded on the north by the Kankakee River, on the east by the Wabash, and on the west by the Illinois, ex- tending south to the Kaskaskia. The most notable were their towns-at Elkhart Grove, twelve miles north from Bloomington, and at Oliver's Grove, in Livingston County, Ill. Consequently that tract of country of which Ford County is a part, must have been the hunting-grounds of the Kickapoos after the removal of the Illinois tribes.
These people became greatly attached to the country drained by the Vermilion of the Wabash and its tributaries, and Gen. Harrison had much difficulty in securing their consent to cede it to the General Government.
The Kickapoos were at the battle of Tippecanoe in consider- able numbers, and fought with frenzied courage. During the war of 1812, they sided with the English, and sent out numer- ous war parties that kept the settlements in Illinois and Indiana Territories in constant danger.
When the latter war closed, the Kickapoos ceased active hostilities upon the whites, and within a few years afterward they disposed of their lands in this State and Indiana, and excepting s few bands, removed west of the Mississippi.
Beckwith, an excellent authority, says of them : " As com- pared with other Indians, the Kickapoos were industrious, intelli- gent, and cleanly in their habits, and were better armed and clothed than the other tribes. The men, as a rule, were tall, sinewy and active; the women were lithe, and many of them by no means lacking in beauty. Their dialect was soft and liquid, as compared with the rough and gutteral language of the Potta- watomies. They kept aloof from the white people as a rule, and in this way preserved their characteristics, and contracted fewer of the vices of the white man than other tribes. Their numbers were never great, as compared with the Miamis or Pottawatomies ; however, they made up for the deficiency in this respect by the energy of their movements." Thus we have attempted to briefly sketch the red man as he once lived upon these prairies and in the groves, but the space for this subject in a work of this char- acter is necessarily quite limited.
To summarize : We first find the Illinois and Miamis occu- pying this section of country, with their dividing line running north and south, nearly identical with the range nine of our county. Following them came the Kickapoos and Pottawatomies, the former taking the place of the Illinois tribes, except that the Kickapoo villages and hunting-grounds extended further east, including the Vermilion of the Wabash and its tributaries.
The Indian came to this country, and now he has left it to return no more. He left the country no better so far as we can judgo for having been here.
We find the arrow-heads and spear-heads, saws, flesh scrapers, hammers and spades made from stone, and all demanding great patience in their manufacture, because of the lack of suitable im- plements or machinery to produce them.
If the writer is not mistaken, the maize or Indian corn which they cultivated to a limited extent, and tobacco are the only con- tributions made by them to us in the way of products of the soil.
" A noble race, but they are gone ; And we have built our homes upon Fields where their generations sleep."
EARLY DISCOVERIES.
In October, 1665, Father Claude Alloues landed on the southwestern shore of Lake Superior, at . place called by the Indians Chegoimegon.
Here he found a number of the Algonquin tribes assembled preparatory to an incursion into the territory of the Sioux.
The good father persuaded them to abandon their preparations for war. He then erected the chapel which he named the "Mission of the Holy Ghost," at the place since called " Lapointe du Saint Esperit," and began his work as missionary.
To this spot came the roving Pottawatomies, Sacs and Foxes, the Kickapoos, the Illinois and Miamis, prompted by curiosity, and here they first heard the preaching of Christianity.
In Father Allouez, they beheld a champion of human rights, and to him they narrated their griefs by first speaking of their former grandeur, and then of their diminished numbers from hostile visitations from the Sioux on the west and the Iro- quois on the east. The gentle and pious Marquette three years later took the place of Allouez.
Just previous to this time, however, possession of the country was taken in the name of the French Government. For this event Allouez and Joliet summoned the chiefs of no less than fourteen tribes and bands at St. Mary's.
It was well known that a great river crossed southward through the ountry. The first white man who set foot on the soil of this State was Nicholas Perrot, a Frenchman. He was sent to Chicago in the year 1671, for the purpose of inviting the West- ern Indians to a peace convention at Green Bay. One object of this meeting was to form a plan for the discovery of the Missis- sippi River. This river had been discovered by De Soto nearly 130 years before, but his nation left it without further explorations.
Father Marquette and Joliet obtained leave to start on an ex. pedition for the purpose of bringing to light the mysteries of this river.
These two distinguished men started from St. Ignace, a small missionary station on the north shore of the straits of Macki- naw.
Two birch bark canoes, five men, a bag of corn meal, some dried beef and a blanket for each constituted their outfit.
Their route lay along the north shore of Lake Michigan, and the west bank of Green Bay. They passed through the waters of Lake Winnebago and thence accompanied by Indian guides, continued up the Fox River to the carrying place across to the Wisconsin. Here their Indian guides refused to go further, and returned whence they came. Down this stream they passed amid the silent grandeur of its forests, and under the cedar-crested precipices of solid rock. No mark of human life was apparent along its shores.
On the 17th of June, 1678, they found themselves on the broad surface of the Mississippi. The banks were less precipi- tous than the bold head lands of the Wisconsin, and as they passed down the stream, the country looked more promising. Herds of Buffalo were seen grazing on the open prairies.
Not until they neared the mouth of the Des Moines did they discover any evidence of human beings. Noticing foot prints on the river's bank they left the canoes in charge of the five men. Marquette and Joliet fearlessly took the Indian path, and after two leagues' travel, came in sight of their villages. The meeting proved a friendly one. The Indians were of the Illinois tribe. They gave the missionaries a dinner of fish, roast Buffalo and hominy. They resumed their journey but did not meet with any more Indians until reaching what is now the State of Kentucky. Landing on the left bank of the river, just below the mouth of the Ohio, they met with what was evidently a roving band of warriors from the far distant borders of civilization on the At- lantic coast. They were armed with guns, but were peaceably dis- posed, and received the voyagers kindly. The adventurers passed down the river till the mouth of the Arkansas was reached. Here again they met Indians, savage as nature could make them. The young men showed a disposition to take the lives of our little party of travelers at once, but were restrained by the older men of the tribe. Finally a friendly meeting was had. From their new hosts, they ascertained that the mouth of the Mississippi was but ten days' travel distant. The intense heat of the month of July and fears of being picked up by Spanish adventurers caused them to conclude their explorations at this point. They had passed below where De Soto had discovered and crossed the Mis- sissippi in 1541, which was 132 years previous. No trace, not even a tradition of De Soto's work remained. 'The object of Mar- quette and Joliet's expedition had been fulfilled. They had dis- covered the great river and determined whether it emptied into the Gulf of Mexico or Atlantic Ocean.
On the 17th of July, they took leave of their doubtful friends and turned their canoes up stream. It is difficult for any per- son not familiar with the current of a great river to comprehend the task before them. Patient toiling at the oar finally brought them to the mouth of the Illinois River. Here they met with the Kaskaskias, who offered to conduct them by a more conven- ient route, which proved to be by the Illinois, the Des Plaines, and the Chicago Rivers.
On the Illinois River, especially along the shores of Peoria Lake, were the principal villages of the Illinois. There were also bands of the same tribe in the vicinity of Starved Rock, near the present site of Utica.
Marquette preached to these warriors, who manifested & com- mendable interest in what he had to say to them. When the little company of adventurers passed on to Chicago, a large dele- gation of the Indians accompanied them, where they arrived in September. The Indians attached much importance to the little inlet stream called Chicago, and these French voyagers were eager to see the river, and still more eager to look upon the lake whose waters would afford a new route to their friends in Northern Wisconsin.
On the marshy banks of the little stream where now stands the city of Chicago these two bands bade each other adieu.
The Frenchmen took their course along the western shore of the lake and soon arrived at the Mission of Green Bay.
On the 25th of October, of the following year, Marquette, with two companions, Perre and Jacques, and a band of Indians, started on their mission to preach the Gospel to the Illinois. Accomplishing his mission, he started on his return to Canada in the spring of 1675, his health having failed because of exposure to the winter storms. Arriving at Sleeping Bear Point on the eastern shore of the lake, he had become too much prostrated to proceed farther. His two companions built a hut of bark and did all they could to make him comfortable. Here he died and was buried, a large wooden cross marking his resting place.
In 1679, La Salle, . French explorer, sailed to Green Bay and from there his party proceeded in canoes to the mouth of the St. Joseph River, on the eastern shore of Lake Michigan. Here he established a trading post with the Miamis. He then ascended the St. Joseph, crossed to the Kankakee and sailed down until he reached an Illinois village.
He formed an alliance with the tribe, and early in 1680 began near the present Peoria a post which he called Fort Crevecoeur. His chief object was the trade in furs. Accompanying him were several priests, and among them was Father Hennepin, who, with two companions, started to explore the Upper Mississippi, and were taken prisoners by the Sioux. After an extended expe- rience with the Indians, he was permitted to return to Green Bay. La Salle was finally assassinated after his second visit to Illinois, while exploring the Lower Mississippi. The first mission in Illinois, as we have already seen, was established by Marquette, The first military occupation of the State was at Fort Crevecoeur
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by La Salle. There is, however, no evidence that a settlement was commenced at those early dates.
The first settlement of which there is any authentic account was commenced with the building of Fort St. Louis, on the Illi- nois River, in 1682, but this was soon abandoned. The oldest permanent settlement, not only in Illinois, but in the valley of the Mississippi, is at Kaskaskis, situated six miles above the mouth of the Kaskaskia River. This was settled in 1690, by the removal of the mission from Old Kaskaskia, or Fort .St. Louis, on the Illinois River. Cahokia was settled about the same time. Illinois came into full possession of the French in 1682, and was a dependency of Canada and a part of Louisiana. During the period of French rule in Louisiana, the population probably never exceeded 10,000.
To the year 1730, the following five distinct settlements were made in the Territory of Illinois, numbering in population 140 French families, about six hundred "converted" Indians, and many traders: Cahokia, near the mouth of Cahokia Creek and about five miles below the present city of St. Louis; St. Philip, about forty-five miles below Cahokia; Fort Chartres, twelve miles above Kaskaskia; Kaskaskia, situated on the Kaskaskia River, six miles above its confluence with the Mississippi; and Prairie du Rocher, near Fort Chartres. Fort Chartres was built in 1718, and was for a time the headquarters of the military commandants of the district of Illinois, and the most impregnable fortress in North America. For about eighty years the French retained peaceable possession of Illinois. For more than a hundred years peace between the white man and the red man was unbroken, and when at last this reign of harmony terminated, it was not caused by the conciliatory Frenchman, but by the blunt and sturdy Anglo-Saxon. During the century now under consideration, no regular court was held by the French occupants. In 1765, the country passed into the hands of the English. As early as 1750, there could be perceived the first throes of the Revolution, which gave a new master and new institutions to Illinois.
NORTHWEST TERRITORY.
Carefully turning the brown leaves of the old family history of our country's ancestors, we find that the North western Territory was the link of civil rule between our State and the General Gov- ernment.
With the close of the long struggle for independence began the work of more thoroughly organizing the civil machinery of the new Republic.
On the second Monday in May, 1787, the delegates repre- senting twelve States, the representatives of Rhode Island failing to respond, assembled at Philadelphia for the purpose of prepar- ing a constitution.
At this time the last Colonial Congress was sitting in New York.
It was plainly evident that the old confederation was nearing its end, as only eight States were represented in this last session. The principal interest centered in the Constitutional Conven- tion, which had convened "to form a more perfect Union."
But before the adjournment of Congress, a measure was adopted which was only second in importance to the formation of the Constitution.
This was the organization of the Northwestern Territory. As a preliminary measure, this vast domain was ceded to the United States by Virginia, New York, Massachusetts and Con- necticut.
For the government of the Territory, an ordinance was adopted on the 13th day of July, 1787.
As early as 1784, Thomas Jefferson then a member of Con- gress, submitted a plan of government for all the territory from the southern to the northern boundary of the United States, all of which was expected to be ceded by the States claiming the same. . By this plan seventeen States were to be formed from this territory.
One of its provisions was, " that after the year 1800 there shall be neither slavery nor involuntary servitude in any of said States, other than in the punishment of crimes, whereof the party shall have been duly convicted." . This provision was rejected, not having seven States in its favor.
This rejected provision was again proposed by Rufus King the following year. The proposition again failed. The ordi- nance of 1787 embracing in part the plan submitted by Mr. Jefferson, in 1784, was reported by Nathan Dane.
The legislative, executive and judicial powers were vested in a Governor and three Judges, who with the Secretary were to be appointed by Congress-the Governor for three years, the Judges during good behavior
The laws of the Territory were to be such laws of the original States as the Governor and Judges should think proper to adopt. These laws were to be in force until disapproved by Congress. When the Territory should contain 5,000 free male inhabitants of full age, there was to be a Legislature, to consist of two branches- a House of Representatives, the members to be chosen from the several counties or townships, for the term of two years, and . Legislative Council of five persons, who were to hold their offices for five years and to be appointed by Congress out of ten persons previously nominated by the House of Representatives of the Territory. All laws were required to be consistent with the or- dinance, and to have the assent of the Governor.
The ordinance concludes with six articles of compact between the original States and the people of the Territory, to bo unalter- able except by common consent.
The first secured entire religious freedom ; the second, trial by jury, the writ of habeas corpus, and the other fundamental
FORD COUNTY, ILLINOIS.
rights usually inserted in bills of rights; the third provided for the encouragement and support of schools and enjoined good faith toward the Indians ; the fourth placed the new States to be formed out of the territory upon an equal footing with the old ones, both in respect to their privileges and their burdens, and reserved to the United States the right to dispose of the soil ; the fifth authorized the future division of the territory into not less than three nor more than five States, each State to be ad- mitted into the Union, when it should contain 60,000 inhabitants ; the sixth was the anti-slavery proviso introduced by Thomas Jefferson in 1784, so modified as to take effect immediately.
This ordinance, which left the territory south of the Ohio (then not yet ceded), subject to future regulation, received the unanimous vote of the eight States present.
Gen. Arthur St. Clair, who was President of Congress, was appointed Military Governor, and in the following summer began his duties at Marietta. In the year 1800, a line was drawn through the Northwestern Territory from the mouth of the Great Miami River to Fort Recovery, and thence to Canada.
Two years afterward, the country east of this line was erected into the State of Ohio and admitted into the Union.
The portion west of this line was organized under the name of the Indians Territory. Vincennes was made the capital, and Gen. William Henry Harrison received the appointment of Gov- ernor. Indiana was admitted into the Union in 1816, near the close of Madison's troubled administration.
The Illinois Territory was established February 3, 1809, and it included "all that part of the Indians Territory which lies west of the Wabash River, and a direct line drawn from the said Wabash River and Post Vincennes due north to the territorial line between the United States and Canada."
Kaskaskia was made the seat of Government.
John Boyle was appointed Governor, but declined to serve. Ninian Edwards was then appointed. He served from April 24, 1809, to December 6, 1818, when he was made United States Senator for the new State of Illinois.
ILLINOIS.
Monroe's administration was noted for the great number of new members which were added to the Union. In 1818, Illi- nois, the twenty-first State, embracing an area of more than 55,000 square miles, and extending through more than five de- grees of latitude, was organized and admitted. Two years later, when the general census was taken, Illinois ranked as twenty- fourth as to population. From that time to 1880, her advance- ment has been rapid, and we now find only three States which outrank Illinois in population and wealth .* Under the Con- stitution of 1818, the elective officers were the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor, who held office for four years. The other State officers were appointed by the Governor or chosen by the General Assembly.
By the Constitution of 1848, all of the State officers were made elective.
GOVERNORS OF ILLINOIS.
Name.
When Inaugurated.
Shadrack Bond.
.October 6, 1818
Edward Coles.
December 5, 1822
Ninian Edwards.
.December 6, 1826
John Reynolds.
December 9, 1880
William L. D. Ewing.
November 17, 1834
Joseph Duncan.
December 3, 1884
Thomas Carlin.
.December 7, 1888
Thomas Ford
. December 8, 1842
Augustus C. French.
December 9, 1846
Augustus C. French
January 8, 1849
Joel A. Matteson.
January 10, 1858
William H. Bissell.
January 12, 1857
John Wood
.. March 21, 1860
Richard Yates ....
January 14, 1861
Richard J. Oglesby.
January 16, 1865
John M. Palmer ..
January 11, 1869
Richard J. Ogelsby.
January 18, 1878
John L. Beveridge
.January 28, 1878
Shelby M. Cullom.
January 8, 1877
Shelby M. Cullom.
.January 1C, 1881
John L. Hamilton.
.February 6, 1888
FORD COUNTY.
Within a short time after the organisation of Illinois Terri- tory, two counties, St. Clair and Randolph, were formed. These two counties have been gradually subdivided until now there are 102 counties within the boundaries of this State. Ford was the last county organized. To show from whence we came as a county, the following letter is inserted :
SPRINGFIELD, February 11, 1881. MERTON DUNLAP, ESQ., COUNTY CLERK, FORD COUNTY, PAXTON, ILL .:
DEAR SIR-Your communication of the 8th inst. at hand, and in response thereto, have to say that the following named counties comprised the State of Illinois in the year 1818, to wit :
St. Clair, organized April 28, 1809.
Randolph, organized April 28, 1809. Madison, organized September 14, 1812.
Gallatin, organized September 14, 1812.
Johnson, organized September 14, 1812.
Edwards, organized November 28, 1814. White, organized December 9, 1815. Jackson, organized January 10, 1816. Pope, organized April 1, 1816. Monroe, organized June 1, 1816. Crawford, organized December 81, 1816. Bond, organized January 4, 1817. Union, organized January 2, 1818.
Washington, organized January 2, 1818. Franklin, organized January 2, 1818.
Vermilion County was organized by an act of the General Assembly, ap- proved January 18, 1826, and embraced all that tract of country within the following bounds, to wit : Beginning on the State line between Illinois and In- *Population of Illinois Territory, 1810, 12,282 ; population of Illinois State, 1820, 56,162 ; population of Illinois State, 1880, 3,078,686.
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