USA > Illinois > Christian County > Historical encyclopedia of Illinois and history of Christian County, Volume II > Part 4
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Their names were written in water. They came, lived, struggled through their careers, and left scarcely a vestige. Only from their customs respecting their dead and from their implements of death-dealing can we find a trace. These traces, sphynxlike, commemorate more the shadowy mysteries of some phantom tribe than the real existence of corporeal human beings. Like the silent wings of the midnight-flying for- est owl, they flitted over the land, leaving no trace ; like the wary stream-living animals they glided along the waters, and the wake left soon silenced their paths. And yet, who shall ever know the purport of their primeval craft, the thoughts that surged, the aims that never real- ized, the unbounded humanity of their inner lives so filled with nature's untainted learnings?
Where their moccasins printed a track so faint as to vanish in the dew of but one night and their lost treasures of flint returned to lodge among the earth-stones whence they came, their iron-thinking successors have strung railroads, built cities, and scattered their lasting marks throughout the land. The contrast is marked. Lest we forget, it is well to remember that other beings have labored and we have entered into their labors.
THE GIIOST OF BASSINA.
An amusing anecdote is told in connection with the death of "Bassina," the last Indian to live in Christian County. The old chief was
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found one morning frozen to death and, imme- diately some superstitious ones began to say that his spirit, refusing to leave the old hunting grounds of his tribe, wandered restlessly through the woods and up and down the streams of South Fork. An old and highly respected resident of that section, who had imbibed too freely of Taylorville's "cheerful spirits," was re- turning to his home on his trusty horse. Now this man feared nothing mortal but he drew the line at the ghosts of departed Indians. As he drew near the haunted region, the old story came to his mind and, thinking he would hasten through the dreaded place, he urged his horse to a faster gait. The faithful animal when going slowly, managed to keep his master astride, but the faster pace dislodged the old man and he fell sprawling to the ground, where he lay helpless. The horse, seeming to sense the situation, trotted home for help. Members of the family went hastily over the trail until they came to the place where our friend had fallen. Being naturally a fearless man and real- izing his inability to get away from the place, he bad resolved to make the best of the situation. There he lay beating the air with clenched hands and shouting in maudlin tones : "Come on, Bassina, come on. I'll never be in better shape to meet you than I am now."
INDIAN ATTRIBUTES.
The physical attributes of the Indian are the same, no matter where found. The race is dif- ferentiated from other peoples by the long, dank hair, black in color and coarse in texture; the brown skin shading to copper color, with heavy brows and dull, sleepy eyes that seldom express emotion. While the lips are full, they are generally compressed, and the nose is salient and the nostrils are dilated. The head is either square or rounded, with flat bones, and the cheek bones are unusually high. In disposition the Indian is haughty, taciturn and stoical, but cun- ning and brave, and very ferocious, especially in warfare, but in temperament he is poetic and imaginative, and many of the chiefs have gone down in history as noted for their eloquence and the beauty of their language.
INDIAN TROUBLES.
While Christian County was fortunately but little troubled by encroachments of the Indians,
it would not be just to write a history of this region without giving in some detail an account of the Indian troubles of the state, for because of the agitation occasioned by them, this section was freed from the disturbing element, and the land the sooner opened up to white settlers. The Indians who played a part in the history of the state were those who belonged to the great Illi- nois Confederation, comprising the Tamaroas, Michigamies, Kaskaskias, Cahokias, and Peorias. The word Illinois comes from an Indian one meaning superior men, and was severally writ- ten "Leni," and "Illini.". It was used by the confederation to distinguish it from the Iroquois, whom the members of the Illinois Confederation considered savage beasts. These several tribes all belonged to the Algonquins, brave and skill- ful, but not as savage in warfare, and therefore less unreasonable. They were noted for their strategy and diplomacy, and when conditions were any way near equal, were usually con- querors in the tribal wars. Originally these tribes belonged in the neighborhood of Lake Michigan, but were forced west of the Missis- sippi River. During the period between 1670 and 1673 they returned east of the great river and established themselves in the valley of the Illi- nois River, where they were found by the white explorers later on. They regarded the Iroquois as their worst enemies, and with them waged many fierce conflicts. It is now a generally ac- cepted fact that had the whites showed a spirit of fairness and kindness in their treatment of the Indians, many bloody pages of history would never have been written, but unfortunately some of the first men to penetrate the wilderness were adventurers seeking wealth, and unmindful of the rights of others, and they so stirred up a race hatred that several centuries have not en- tirely wiped out. The Jesuit missionaries were received with kindly toleration, and in many cases were held in loving veneration, and no objection was made by the Indians to the es- tablishment by the kindly fathers of missions at Indian villages, several of which formed the beginning of present flourishing cities. Follow. ing these Christian leaders, however, came men seeking to gain worldly advancement by robbing the red man of furs, and subsequently of his lands, and naturally he resented his despoilment and showed his anger in the only way he knew. Thus ensued atrocities that make the historian pause, for all the cruelty was not on one side by any manner of means.
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With the securing of the land of the Illinois by the American government through its victory over England, came the appreciation of the necessity of securing the land in a legal manner. The Indians had by this time become incensed at what they felt was an infringement of their rights, and they were uniting to prevent further aggression. So turbulent had they become that Fort St. Louis was abandoned, and Fort Chartres was built, and the Illinois Federation was drawn to the southern part of the state, and the Sacs, Foxes and Pottawattomies rushed in to fill their places.
FIRST TREATY.
The first treaty between the above mentioned tribes and the United States government was that of 1795, in which the tribes ceded "one piece of land. six miles square, at the mouth of the Chicago River, emptying into Lake Michi- gan, where a fort formerly stood; one piece twelve miles square near the mouth of the Illi- nois River, and one piece six miles square, at the old Peoria fort and village, near the south end of the Illinois Lake on the said Illinois River." This treaty is known in history as the Treaty of Greenville, Ohio. After securing these lands, the government erected forts on each division so as to defend them and to preserve the rights gained by the treaty.
SECOND TREATY.
The second treaty bears the date of 1803, and is known as the Vincennes Treaty, in which all of southern Illinois, with a small exception, was ceded to the government, and in 1804. the gov- ernment, through the St. Lonis Treaty, secured from the Saes and Foxes, a vast tract on each side of the Mississippi River, extending from the mouth of the Illinois River to the head, and thence to the Wisconsin River on the east. Still later, in 1516, the Ottawas, Chippewas and Pottawattomies made a treaty, the most im- portant provisions of which read as follows:
"Whereas. A serions dispute has for some time existed between the contracting parties rel- ative to the right to a part of the lands ceded to the United States by the tribes of Sacs and Foxes, on the third of November, 1804, and both parties being desirous of preserving a har- monions and friendly intercourse, and of estab- lishing permanent peace and friendship, have
for the purpose of removing all difficulties, agreed to the following terms, etc."
BOUNDARIES.
The boundaries determined by this treaty gave the government the whole of the extreme northern part of Illinois, and it secured the land lying south in 1818 in which the Pottawattomies ceded. the remainder of their possessions in Illinois. Although all of their land passed out of their possession during the year Illinois en- tered the Union, the Indians were not disturbed, but permitted to remain and to pursue their ordi- nary occupations, it being believed that the two races, the whites and the red men, could inhabit the land without serious friction. This belief was rudely disturbed in the years to come, owing to grave faults on both sides.
INITIAL CAUSES OF BLACK HAWK WAR.
Troubles between the Indians and white set- tlers became so serious that in 1828 Governor Edwards appealed to the United States govern- ment to expel the Indians from Illinois, and in 1829, President Jackson responded hy ordering their removal to lands beyond the Mississippi River. The Indians appealed to Col. George Davenport, an influential man and one with whom they did much trading, and he gained for them an extension of time to April 1, 1830. In the meanwhile, Colonel Davenport and his partner, Mr. Farnham, bought from the govern- ment the major portion of the lands secured by it from the Indians lying along Rock River that were occupied by Black Hawk's band, it being the intention of these philanthropists to allow these Indians to retain their holdings. This action was misunderstood by the high-spirited Indian chief, and he remonstrated but to no avail. Colonel Davenport could not convince him of the excellent intentions underlying the purchase, and tried to induce President Jackson to cancel the sale, or allow him to take other lands in exchange for the Black Ilawk posses- sions, but the executive would not permit such action. In the meanwhile the Indians were exiled from their village of Saukenuk on the north bank of Rock River, near its mouth, and the winter being very severe, they suffered pri- vations. Despairing of influencing the Ameri- can authorities, Black Hawk went to Canada and conferred with the British agent at Malden,
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who urged him to defend his rights. Black Hawk was supported by Neapope, his second in command, and White Cloud, also known as the Prophet, and so he brought back his band from their exile, in the spring of 1831, causing great consternation among the whites who had located in and about the Indian village, now the site of Rock Island. Governor Reynolds, answering the appeal of these settlers, sent the militia to combine with General Gaines of the regular army in expelling the Sacs. The militia assem- bled at Beardstown, and were organized into two regiments, and after effecting a junction with General Gaines' men, marched to the Indian vil- lage, on June 25, 1831. General Gaines also had the assistance of a battalion of mounted men, so that the fighting strength of the whites numbered 2,500, while that of the Indians was barely 300. Realizing that he was outnumbered, Black Hawk withdrew during the night to his reservation on the western banks of the Missis- sippi. Governor Gaines burned the Indian vil- lage and secured the signing of a new treaty on June 30, 1850, in which Black Hawk bound hin- self to keep his people on their new reservation, and not to return unless given express permis- sion from the government.
BLACK HAWK WAR.
The succeeding winter was spent by Black Hawk and his people on the site of old Fort Madison in Iowa, but it was a hard one and he and his warriors yearned for the fertile fields of their old home. On April 6, 1832, he with 500 of his fighting men, disregarding the treaty of the former year, once more crossed the Missis- sippi River and brought terror into the hearts of the whites, not only in the vicinity of his old home, but all over the state, for Indian upris- ing was feared. He and his warriors proceeded to join the Prophet, by whom he was warmly welcomed at Yellow Banks, where is now lo- cated the city of Oquawka. Had it not been for the friendly action of Chief Shabonna, who be- longed to the Ottawas, in warning the whites, it is thought that a general massacre would have ensued that would have wiped out the white settlers of the state.
Once more the militia gathered, and it is inter- esting to note that among those who came to the defense of the state were Abraham Lincoln and Col. Zachary Taylor, the latter commanding the regulars, both of whom reached the presi-
dential chair. The action of the Black Hawk War and its results are given in another portion of this work, but it resulted in forever exiling the Indian from Illinois, and put an end to Indian warfare east of the Mississippi River.
FAR-REACHING RESULTS.
This war had another and very far-reaching result. Many of those who were sent as mem- bers of the regular army to the war zone, were so attracted by the desirability of the land in this section, that they either remained as set- tlers, or returned here not long after. Those who did neither, gave such glowing accounts of the fertility of the land, the abundant supply of water and timber, and other advantages, that many were induced to leave their old homes and come into a region that promised so much. It is safe to say that these Indian disturbances which attracted the attention of the whole coun- try to Illinois hastened its settlement by a quar- ter of a century at least, so that the people of this commonwealth today have cause to feel grateful to the old chief, Black Hawk, and his mistaken ideas for much of their development.
CHRISTIAN COUNTY'S REPRESENTATION.
Christian Connty sent a few representatives to the Black Hawk War, and would have con- tributed others had they been needed, for it has never been backward in proving its willingness to bear its part in any conflict between right and wrong. As before stated. however, this struggle was not a local one, owing to the friendly relations which existed between the whites and Indians. Many amusing stories are told of the relations between the settlers and the original owners of the land. The Indians rec- ognized the superiority of their white brothers in some things, but reserved the right to con- sider themselves the better hunters. There was much friendly barter and exchange between the whites and Indians before the latter were ex- iled. Christian County was included in what was known as Black Hawk's hunting ground, the Indians here being a fragment of the Kick- apoo tribe who had "Bassina" as their chief. It was their claim that "they had occupied the territory of South Fork more moons ago than there are tracks of the buffalo upon the plains. or feathers upon the wild fowl's back."
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INDIAN INFLUENCE.
The original Indian is passing, but he has left his imprint upon civilization. His name remains to the lands from which he was banished, and his virtues are emulated by the whites. His faults, it is hoped, are dying with him, but many of them were called into existence through oppression and the teaching of vicious whites, who sought to debase instead of elevate.
CHAPTER IV.
EARLY SETTLERS.
ORIGINAL EXPLORERS-EARLY SETTLERS-MARTIN HANON-JOHN S. SINNETT-JACOB GRAGG-ALEX- ANDER MATTHEWS - BRENT FAMILY - SAMUEL MILLER-SAMUEL WYDICK-PETER R. KETCHAM -THOMAS DAWSON-DANIEL MILLER-GABRIEL M'KINZIE-R. PRESTON LANGLEY-JESSE MURPHY -JOHN B. PITMAN- JOSEPH DENTON-SOLOMON MEADE-YOUNG FAMILY-OLD FIELD JARVIS- WILLIAM R. RICKS-MARTIN MILLER-WILLIAM WALLACE - JOHN DURBIN -JESSE LANGLEY- WILLIAM GEORGE -GOUDY FAMILY - STRANGE CASE OF NATHANIEL GORDON.
ORIGINAL, EXPLORERS.
The first to traverse what is now Illinois, after the French missionaries, were the white hunters who at different intervals penetrated the wilder- ness, coming into what had been for ages the hunting grounds of the red men. The game they pursued for their fur were the same that the lusty Indian had hunted for material for cloth- ing and food. These early hunters chased the bear, the bison, the elk, the wolf, and the stag. some of them alternating their stoppage in this region with hazardous mining conquests further west, and bloody Indian campaigns in other regions where the red man was more savage than the wild animals. When the United States government was founded and the constitution adopted, nine-tenths of the country was a wil- derness. It was following this, in the epoch of the nation's infancy, that the most adventurous
hunters, the vanguard of the hardy army of pioneers, who had already crossed the Alle- ghanies, and roamed through the lonely, danger- haunted forests between the Tennessee and the Ohio rivers, came into Illinois territory. They had waged ferocious warfare with the Shawnee and Wyandotte, and made their presence felt among the herds of game which then abounded in the region, but were not content to pause, but kept pressing onward. These hunters were not permanent. They did not possess those quali- ties necessary for the proper development of any section, but they were the heralds of the oncom- ing civilization, and blazed the way for the pio- neers who were to subsequently conquer the wil- derness. Where these hunters made their flit- ting stops, towns have grown up, and nothing remains of these men but the memory of their prowess as huntsmen. When the pioneers bogan to flock in they passed on, ever westward, being fretted by the slight restraints of the semi-civi- lization of the border, and longing for the yet unbroken wilds where game still abounded, and there were enough red men to make things inter- esting for them, by bitterly contesting each step of the way. Thus, by these hunters was the frontier of settlement pushed westward, and before it eventually fled the warriors of the Indian race. Many were the adventures of the wild wanderings of these hunters, which have becn woven into story and song. Their main business was trapping, for the furs they thus obtained were valuable and easily transported, and had they possessed any business ability, they might have become wealthy, but the lure of adventure was in their veins, and few of them accumulated any means. Some acted as scouts for the United States army and rendered services that cannot be over-estimated, but they never remained bound to any duty for a long period, their spirits being too venturesome to brook re- straint. These men remained in Illinois until the game ceased to be attractive enougli to attract them, and the flood of oncoming whites began to sweep everything before it. The fron- tier had to be extended, and with the work of accomplishing that, the hunters vanished from this section, although they left behind them the record of their peculiar and important position.
EARLY SETTLERS.
Martin Hanon was the first settler of the territory now comprised in Christian County,
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having come here in the fall of 1818. He was a native of Tennessee where he was born in April, 1799, so he was only a lad in years, although a man in experience when, the year following the death of his father, he ventured into the wilder- ness with his mother and his brothers and sis- ters. The little party came into this region and pitched a tent on the south of a large fallen tree, trusting to it for protection against the storms and cold. He set to work to chop enough logs for a very primitive log cabin, but was inter- rupted in his work by the wolves, who, attracted by the smell of the food carried by these pio- neers, tried to attack them. Experience taught Mr. Hanon that the best way to disperse these enemies was to throw a burning brand in the midst of the pack. In time he developed a farm, later known as the Squire Council property. On October 10, 1823, Mr. Hanon married Miss Sallie Miller at Shawneetown, Ill. In 1826 he built a cabin on the west side of South Branch, on the site of what later was known as the old Forest Mill, south of Taylorville, but he later returned to South Fork. In 1834 Mr. Hanon bought an interest in the Knuckols and Wallace water mill, later known as the Elgan Mill, and moved his family to its vicinity on the bank of the San- gamon River. Having the misfortune to lose his mother in 1838, he felt that he did not care to remain at that spot, so sold his interest to Jesse Elgan, and in 1839 located permanently on his old farm five miles northwest of Taylorville, on the north side of Horseshoe Prairie, that later became the property of Josiah A. Hill. For the following quarter of a century he and his wife lived together, and then on May 28, 1862, she passed away and was buried in Horseshoe grave- yard. Following this, Mr. Hanon sold his home- stead and lived among his eleven children, all of whom were then grown. His death occurred at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mason of Sharpsburg, April 5, 1879, when he was nearly eighty years old. A man of importance in his community, Mr. Hanon took an active part in the early history of Christian County, and no family is held in higher respect to this day than his. A few days after the arrival of Martin Hanon, his brother-in-law, John S. Sinnett, and Claiborn Matthews, Jacob Gragg, Eli Alexander, a Mr. Kenchen arrived in the neighborhood and joined with the Hanon family in conquering the wil- derness.
John S. Sinnett was born at Lexington, Ky., March 10, 1796, but went to Missouri, where he
remained until after the War of 1812, during which he served as a brave and valiant soldier. In 1818 he married Miss Rhoda Hanon, and they came to Christian County, locating on land that later was included in the city of Taylorville. Their cabin was erected in 1826 on the east side of the old fair grounds, but in 1829, Mr. Sinnett sold this to Col. Thomas S. Young, and erected another cabin in a ravine a little southeast of the junction of the Baltimore & Ohio and the Wabaslı railroads. Mary Sinnett was the first white child born in Christian County, the date of her birth being in the early part of 1820. On March 8, 1840, Mr. Sinnett moved to Tazewell County, and there his death occurred January 13, 1872, when he was over seventy-five years old. After the death of his first wife, he was married to Miss Elizabeth Perdue, having in all thirteen children, ten by his first marriage and three by his second one. For over half a century he was a faithful member of the Metho- dist Church, having connected himself with the pioneer congregation that held meetings at the homes of John Brents and Father Young.
Jacob Gragg was a ranger during the War of 1812, and was taken a prisoner by the Indians and ran the gauntlet without any very severe injury, so that he was given his liberty to such an extent that he managed to escape. In 1803 he came to Illinois, locating near Troy, in Madi- son County, from which he came to Horseshoe Prairie in Christian County, and squatted on Martin Hanon's place. With the latter and John S. Sinnett he did considerable hunting of wild game and wild honey.
Alexander Matthews was also a native of Ten- nessee, and was about five years old when his parents came to Christian County, locating in what is now South Fork Township. He mar- ried twice, had four children, and was a man of some prominence, becoming at one time a jus- tice of the peace in Buckhart.
The Brents family came to Christian County a little later than the above named, arriving about 1820. William C. Brents was born in Ken- tucky in 1814, and was brought to this county by his widowed mother when six years old. Their farm lay five miles northwest of Taylor- ville until 1824, when removal was made to one- half a mile south of that city, where William C. Brents died February 3, 1861, aged forty- seven years. Although death claimed him in middle life Mr. Brents was a very prominent man and not only served as constable, but as
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sheriff from 1854 to 1855. His home was a well-known one throughout this section, and in the early days he entertained almost every new- comer, while the traveling ministers, no matter what their creed, were made welcome. His brothers, John and Simeon, came at the same time as William C., and John became the owner of what later was known as the Hall farm, two miles east of Taylorville, which he improved to some extent. He bought this place prior to 1830, and sold it in 1834 to Jesse Langley, returning to Kentucky. The first Methodist meeting was held in his house in 1831. Joshua, Simeon and Moses Brents served in the Black Hawk War. Simeon Brents married Mary W. Blalock, No- vember 19, 1839, at the residence of Morgan Goode, J. P. This was the first marriage in Taylorville.
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