History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 32

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340

USA > Illinois > Cook County > Chicago > History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time > Part 32

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

"On approaching Chicago, I found quite a fleet of sail ves- sels at anchor in the offing, where we also came to, near them. As soon as it was ascertained that cholera was on board, no time was lost in communicating from one vessel to the other the intelli- gence, which induced them to weigh anchor at once, and stand out to sea, hoping to escape -the pestilence, which, at that time, was considered contagious. In the morning some of them were nearly lost in the distance, though in the course of the day they mostly returned and re-anchored near by, in hailing distance. Among the fleet were some vessels belonging to Oliver Newberry, Esq., of Detroit, that were employed in transporting provisions and stores rfom the Government to that port.

" It is proper in this connection to state that all the mattresses and bedding belonging to my boat, except sufficient for the crew, were taken by order of Gen. Scott for the use of the sick, giving his draft for the purchase of new bedding, which was not only a deed of mercy to those suffering ones, but a matter of favor to mc, in procuring a fresh outfit, so necessary after that disastrous voy- age. There was no harbor accessible to any craft drawing more than two feet of water, hardly sufficient to admit the batteau in which the troops were landed. But little else was seen besides the broad expanse of prairie, with its gentle undulated surface, covered with grass and variegated flowers, stretching out far in the distance, resembling a great carpet interwoven with green, purple, and gold; in one direction bounded only by the blue horizon, with no intervening woodland to obstruct the vision. The view, in looking through the spy-glass from the upper deck of our steamer, while lying in the offing, was a most picturesque one, presenting a landscape interspersed with small groves of underwood, making a picture complete; combining the grand and beautiful in nature, far beyond anything I had before seen. The Chiengo River, at that time, was a mere creek, easily forded at its mouth, while it wended its way along the beach, flowing into the lake a small distance south of the present locality of Lake Street. The provisions and stores brought by the sail-vessels were landed on the beach of the lake, near the mouth of the river, where now are seen the extensive railroad improvements.

" We remained four days after landing the troops, procuring fuel for the homeward voyage, etc. The only means of obtaining anything for fuel was to purchase the roofless log-building used as a stable. That, together with the rail fence inclosing a field of some three acres nearshy, was sufficient to enable us to reach Mackinaw. Being drawn to the beach and prepared for use, it was hoated on board by the crew, which operation occupied the most of four days to accomplish. After getting the fuel on board, 1 was detained some six hours, waiting the arrival of a gentleman whose name i think was Chamberlain. I had dispatched a messenger for him, he residing some fifteen miles in the country. . At length he arrived, and engaged to accompany me as far as Detroit and act in the capacity of physician, having some knowledge in preparing medicine, being a druggist by profession. During this protracted stay, in waiting for the doctor, the crew hecame quite uneasy to get under way, and leave behind them a scene fraught with associations of the dead and dying, which they had witnessed so frequently, until they became almost mutinous. But as soon as orders were given to get under way, the celerity with which the yawl was hoisted to the stern was a scene of exciting interest, as the duty

. Northwest corner of Lake Street and Wabash Avenue.

was performed with a will and a spirit of cheerfulness, accompanied with a hearty song of ' Yo-heave-ho'. As they hove at the wind- lass, they seemed almost frantic with joy when the anchor came in sight and her prow turned homeward. We had no cases of cholera on our passage to Detroit. The physician returned across the country, after receiving the stipulated sum for his services, which I think was some two hundred dollars, besides the stage-fare, which was one of the items in the stipulation."

During the ten days succeeding General Scott's arrival a hundred dead soldiers were silently carried without the gates of the garrison and hastily laid to their final rest, in a common grave, without coffin, or other shroud than the soldiers' blanket in which each had gone to his last sleep.

About the 20th of July, General Scott moved his soldiers, such as were able, out to the Desplaines River, and encamped at the present site of Riverside, where they remained ten days, their health rapidly improving meantime. Thence by easy stages they commenced their march toward the enemy's country. General Scott, with twelve men and two baggage wagons, were a few days in advance. The main body advanced under the command of Colonel Cummings. The train consisted of fifty baggage wagons, in which were carried the supplies and such sick or convalescent soldiers as were unable to march: Judge Robert N. Murray, then a lad of seventeen, living with his parents, who had recently settled at Naperville, served as one of the teamsters. The route taken was through Gilbert's Grove on the DuPage River ; thence crossing the Fox River three miles below Elgin, and through the Pigeon woods to the present site of Belvidere ; thence to an old Indian village near the present site of Beloit, Wis., where, perhaps owing to the fatigue of the march, the cholera again broke out with such virulence as to ren- der it necessary to go into camp for rest. Here they remained for a week, during which time several more deaths occurred. While still in camp at this place news was brought that the war was at an end. August 2, the final battle had been fought between Black Hawk's forces and the militia under General Dodge, assisted by a detachment of United States troops under Colonel Zachary Taylor, near the mouth of Bad Axe River in what is now Vernon County, Wis. The commanding officer was ordered to proceed with his force .o Fort Armstrong (Rock Island), and, on renewing the march, the train turned south over the prairies to the present site of Rockford, and thence down the Rock River to Fort Armstrong, where the march ended. The route took the troops through the most beautiful and fertile region of the then unknown Northwest, embracing the northern counties of the present State of Illinois, a part of southern Wisconsin, and the beautiful Rock River Valley from Rockford to its mouth. The cam- paign, although fruitless from a military point of view, was fraught with events of great importance, not only to Chicago, but to the whole region over which the soldiers marched.

On their return to the East their glowing accounts of the beauty and fertility of the hitherto unoccupied country, so soon as it was believed that it was open to pre-emption, created a perfect furor of emigration from the East to the lands described. Their first point of destination, prior to pushing beyond to the promised land, was Chicago. So it happened, that the tide of emigration which set in in the fall of 1832, and con- tinued in increasing volume for the succeeding four years, brought to Chicago a floating population from which she constantly added to her permanent resident population, such as saw in her future brighter prospects than in the allurements of the country beyond.

122

HISTORY OF EARLY CHICAGO.

The fall of 1832 saw peace restored and Chicago a busy mart of trade for immigrants that had begun to arrive in vast numbers. They came in every form and in all sorts of conveyance-in families and singly-on foot, on horseback, in carriages-with money or sup- plies-with neither. Many only stopped at Chicago temporarily, and pushed out further west for a settle- ment, while a few remained to swell the population of the embryo city.

The picture of Chicago at the close of 1832 would have shown little outward improvement. A score of permanent residents had been added to the population, and a dozen new buildings, mostly of a very primitive kind, had been erected during the year. There was, how- ever, a strong faith awakened that Chicago was, from its geographical position and its natural advantages as a harbor, destined to become the emporium of a yet undeveloped and uncivilized country ; and, inspired by this, many of the new-comers remained to the close of life .*

The fall witnessed quite an accession to the per- manent settlers, among whom were John Bates, Dr. Phillip Maxwell, G. W. Snow, Philo Carpenter, J. S. Wright, Dr. E. S. Kimberly.

During the summer George W. Dole built what was probably the first frame building used for business pur- poses in Chicago. It stood at the southeast corner of Water and Dearborn streets where it remained until 1855. Mr. Peck, during the fall commenced the erection of a frame building at the southeast corner of Water and LaSalle streets, which was completed and occupied the following May. The two above named were certainly the first frame business structures built in Chicago. Of the first named, the Democratic Press of April 23, 1855, said :

" The first frame building erected by George W. Dole for a warehouse, in the summer of 1832, and occupied early in the fall of that year, which had stood for nearly twenty-three years on the southeast corner of Water and Dearborn streets, is being moved southward."

It is stated on reliable authority t that George W. Dole commenced the slaughtering of beeves and hogs and the packing for market of beef and pork, and that he slaughtered and packed during the fall of 1832, in the rear of the building he had erected," close to the present site of the Tremont House," two hundred cattle and three hundred and fifty hogs." Clybourne, the Noble brothers, and Gurdon S. Hubbard had driven in and slaughtered large droves of hogs and cattle before that time, but it is not believed that any provisions had been packed for the mercantile trade of the lakes prior to the fall of 1832, and the first so packed was by George W. Dole.} He was the father of the provision, the shipping, the ware- house, and the elevator business of Chicago.

The early spring brought a most tremendous tide of emigration. The town doubled its population during the spring and early summer months. The test of resi- dence was not, however, severe. Any man who remained in Chicago long enough to pay his board by the week was considered a resident, and if, in addition, he had

bought a lot, or put out his sign as a lawyer, doctor or a real estate dealer he was recognized as a permanent inhabitant. There were built during the spring and summer of 1833 nearly one hundred and fifty frame buildings, mostly on the north and south sides of the Chicago River below the forks.

The arrivals of emigrants who came to Chicago during the season and made the place their home were too numerous to be named in detail. Several events transpired during the year, which combined went far to increase the prosperity and brighten the future pros- pects of Chicago.

HARBOR IMPROVEMENTS BEGUN. - Up to 1833 Chicago could not be said to have had a harbor. The bar across the mouth of the river, as it is now, made it . impracticable for any laden vessel. to enter it, and, ex- cept as a roadstead where ships might anchor off shore and be lightened of their cargoes, it had no claims to be called a harbor. The canal project, calculated to open a water-carriage from the lakes to the Gulf of Mexico, by way of the projected Michigan & Illinois Canal had been already inaugurated by favorable Legislative grants, by the preliminary survey of some of the town sites, and by the sale of lots and lands sufficient to es- tablish the belief that the work would be speedily be- gun and ultimately finished. Chicago, as the lake ter- minus of the proposed canal, must necessarily have a har- bor, and Congress having already shown favor to the canal scheme, could do no less than to render it feasible by improving the harbor. An appropriation of $25,000 was accordingly made March 2, 1833, and work com menced on the improvement July 1. Major George Bender was the superintendent. His subordinates were Henry S. Handy, assistant superintendent ; Samuel Jackson, foreman of construction ; A. V. Knicker- bocker, clerk. Joseph Chandler and Morgan I .. Shap- ley had executive charge of the work, Jones & Mc- Gregory being contracters for the wood work. Under the direction of these men, and with a large force of labor- ers the building of the present magnificent harbor was begun .* During the summer and fall some five hun- dred feet of the south pier was finished, and in the sub- sequent spring the north pier was extended a like dis- tance, cutting off the old tortuous channel to the south, and making a straight cut for the river across the bar into the lake. Little dredging was done, but a heavy freshet in the spring of 1834 cleared the new channel so that vessels of large burden came up the river for the first time during the summer of that year.t

THE GREAT INDIAN TREATY OF 1833 .- The close of the Black Hawk War had resulted in the final ex- tinguishment of the title of the Sac and Fox Indians to all their lands east of the Mississippi. September 15, 1832, a treaty was concluded at Fort Armstrong, whereby the Winnebago nation ceded all their lands to the United States " lying south and east of the Wiscon- sin River and the Fox River of Green Bay." The Chippewas, Ottawas, and Pottawatomies still held their title to the land of northeastern Illinois and southern Wisconsin, besides large tracts not very definitely de- fined in Indiana and Michigan. It was necessary, in order to open up to civilization the lands ceded by the other tribes lying west and northwest, that the In- dian title to this vast tract of land lying along the western shore of Lake Michigan should be extinguished. For Chicago, it was a vital necessity, as the town was girt on all sides and for many miles north and west by

* Of thuse living (August, 1883) in Chicago who came here prior to Jan- uary, 1833, are : John Hates, Philo Carpenter, Gurdon S. Hubbard, A. D. Taylor. + Colbert's History. p. 7.

+ Colbert. p. 45, alfuding to Mr. Dole's inauguration of beef and pork pack- ing in Chicago says : " In Octuber of that year (1832) he slaughtered and packed one hundred and fifty head of cattle for Oliver Newberry, of Detroit. The cattle were purchased hy Mr. Dole from Charles Reed, of Hickury Creek, at $2.75 per one hundred pound -- the hides and tallow being thrown in for the slaughtering." They were slaughtered by John and Mark Nuble on the prairie near the lake, the href packed in Mr. Indle's warehouse, and shipped in Detroit. In December Mr. Inde killed, " in the back yard of his warehouse " three hundred and thirty -right hogs, bought of John Blackstone, who had driven them in from the Walsh Valley. This pork was shipped to Detrunt and New York the following spring.

. See article entitled Harbor and Marine for fuil history.

+ (); Saturday, July 11, 1824, the schooner "linuis," the first large veivel that ever entered the river, siled into the harbor amid great acclamations. Colbert's History, p. 46.

123

CHICAGO IN 1830-33.

the lands of the United Nation of Chippewa, Ottawa, and Pottawatomie Indians .*

In September, 1833. a grand council of the chiefs and head men was called to meet at Chicago to nego- tiate a treaty whereby the lands might be peaceably ceded, and the Indians removed therefrom, to make way for the tide of white emigration which had begun to set irresistibly and with ever increasing volume to the coveted region. It wasa most important matter for both the Indians and the Government; but to the former most momentous, since it involved the extinction of not only their title to the land which had been their home during a period which only their traditions could dimly measure, but the obliteration of all associations dear to them in their tribal or family relations. Black Hawk's ill-starred campaign, followed by the subsequent treaty made by his tribe, showed them the inevitable result which must follow resistance. They knew quite well that they had no alternative. They must sell their lands for such sum and on such terms as the Govern- ment agents might deem it politic or just or generous to grant. The result of the treaty was what might have been expected. The Indians gave up their lands and agreed for certain considerations, the most of which did not redound to their profit, to cede all their lands to the Government, and to leave forever their homes and the graves of their fathers for a land far toward the setting sun, which they had never seen and of which they knew nothing.

Charles J. Latrobe, an English traveler, gave a very graphic description of the gathering of the Indians to the grand council, how the negotiations were conducted to a conclusion, and a description of Chicago as it ap- peared to him, crowded with adventurers who had been drawn thither to prosecute their claims against the In- dians, or to reap such harvest from them as duplicity and knavery might gather from the drunken orgies that were the inevitable concomitants of every gathering of Indians where they met the whites, whether in trade or council. The account reads as follows:

"Wben within five miles of Chicago, we came to the first Indian encampment. Five thousand Indians were said to be col- lected around this little upstart village for the prosecution of the treaty, by which they were to cede their lands in Michigan and Illinois.

" I have been in many odd assemblages of my species, but in few, if any, of an equally singular character as with that in the midst of which we spent a week at Chicago. This little mushroom town is situated upon the verge of a perfectly level tract of country, for the greater part consisting of open prairie lands, at a point where a small river (whose sources interlock in the wet season with those of the Illinois) enters Lake Michigan. It however forms no harbor, and vessels must anchor in the open lake, which spreads to the horizon to the north and east in a sheet of unbroken extent. The river, after approaching nearly at right angles to within a few hundred yards of the lake, makes a short turn, and runs to the southward parallel to the beach. Fort Dearborn and the light-house are placed at the angle thus formed. The former is a small stockaded inclosure, with two block-houses, and is gar- risoned by two companies of infantry. It had been nearly ahan- doned, till the late Indian war on the frontier made its occupation necessary. The upstart village lies chiefly on the right bank of the river, above the fort. When the proposed steamboat communica- tion between Chicago and St. Joseph's River, which lies forty miles distant across the lake, is put into execution, the journey to Detroit may be effected in three days, whereas we had been up- wards of six on the road. We found the village, on our arrival, crowded to excess; and we procured, with great difficulty, a small apartment, comfortless and noisy from its close proximity to oth- ers, but quite as good as we could have hoped for. The Pottawa- tomies were encamped on all sides-on the wide, level prairie beyond he scattered village, beneath the shelter of the low woods which chequered them, on the side of the small river, or to the leeward of the sand hills near the beach of the lake. They con-

* These Indians, had, by treaty at Prairie du Chien, July 20, 1829, ceded .ill their land- in the northwestern part of things -.

sisted of three principal tribes, with certain adjuncts from smaller tribes. The main divisions are the D'ottawatomies of the Prairie and those of the Forest, and these are subdivided into district villages under their several chiefs. The General Government of the United States, in pursuance of the scheme of removing the whole Indian population westward of the Mississippi, had empow- ered certain gentlemen to frame a treaty with these tribes to settle the terms upon which the cession of their reservations in these states should be made. A preliminary council had been beld with the chiefs some days before our arrival. The principal commis- sioner had opened it, as we learned, by stating that as their Great Father in Washington had heard that they wished to sell their land, he had seot commissioners to treat with them. The Indians promptly answered, by their organ, 'that their Great Father in Washington must have seen a bad bird which had told him a lie; for, that far from wishing to sell their land, they wished to keep it.' The commissioner, nothing daunted, replied, 'that neverthe- less, as they had come together for a council. they omust take the matter into consideration.' He then explained to them promptly the wishes and intentions of their Great Father, and asked their opinion thereon. Thus pressed, they looked at the sky, saw a few wandering clouds, and straightway adjourned sine die, as the weather is not clear enough for so solemn a council. However, as the 'treaty had been opened, provision was supplied to them by regular rations; and the same night they had great rejoicings -- danced the war dance, and kept the eyes and ears of all open by running, bowling about the village. Such was the state of affairs on our arrival. Companies of old warriors might be seen sitting smoking under every bush; arguing, palavering, or pow-wow-ing, with great earnestness; but there seemed no possibility of bringing them to another council in a hurry.

" Meanwhile, the village and its occupants presented a most motley scene. The fort contained within its palisades by far the most enlightened residents in the little knot of officers attached to the slender garrison. The quarters here, consequently, were tou confined to afford place of residence for the Government Commis- sioners for whom, and a crowd of dependents, a temporary set of plank huts were erected on the north side of the river. To the latter gentlemen. we, as the only idle lookers on, were indebted for much friendly attention: and in the frank and hospitable treatment we received from the inhabitants of Fort Dearborn, we had a fore- taste of that which we subsequently met with everywhere under like circumstances during our autumnal wanderings over the fron- tier. The officers of the United States Army have, perhaps_less opportunities of becoming refined than those of the Navy. They are often, from the moment of their receiving commissions after the termination of their cadetship at West Point, and at an age when good society is of the utmost consequence to the young and ardent, exiled for long years to the posts on the Northern or Western frontier, far removed from cultivated female society, and in daily contact with the refuse of the buman race. And this is their misfortune, not their fault; but wherever we have met with them, and been thrown as strangers upon their good offices. we have found them the same good friends and good company. But I was going to give you an inventory of the contents of Chicago, when the recollection of the warm-hearted intercourse we had enjoyed with many fine fellows, whom probably we shall neither see nor hear of again, drew me aside. Next in rank to the officers and commissioners may be noticed certain store-keepers and merchants, residents here, looking either to the influx of new settlers establish- ing themselves in the neighborhood, or those passing yet farther to the westward, for custom and profit, not to forget the chance of extraordinary occasions like the present. Add to these a doctor or two, two or three lawyers, a land agent, and five or six hotel-keep- ers. These may be considered as stationary, and proprietors of the half hundred clapboard houses around you. Then for the birds of passage, exclusive of the Pottawatomies, of whom more anon, ano emigrants and land speculators, as numerous as the sand, you will find horse-dealers, and horse stealers -rogues of every description-white, black, brown, and red ; half-breeds, quarter-breeds, and men of no breed at all; dealers in pigs, poultry. and potatoes; men pursuing Indian claims, some for tracts of land, others like our friend ' Snipe,'* for pigs which the wolves had eaten; creditors of the tribes, or of particular Indians, who know that they have no chance of getting their money if they do not get it from the Goverment Agents; sharpers of every degree; pedlars, grog-seller>: Indian Agents and Indian traders of every descrip- tion, and contractors to supply the l'ottawatomies with food. The little village was in an uproar from morning to night, and from night to morning; for during the hours of darkness, when the housed portion of the population of Chicago strove to obtain repose in the crowded plank edifices of the village, the Indians howled,

* A sobriquet applied tu a late fellow- passenger, " on his way to Chicago, to be present at the impending treaty, with a view to prefer certain claims to the finvernment commissioner for the loss of hops, which, doubtless. the wolves had raten; but which, no matter, the Indians might be made to pay for."

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Chicago. From the earliest period to the present time, Part 32

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas Number of Pages: 1340

Author: Andreas, Alfred Theodore
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago, A. T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 1340