History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 24

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 875

USA > Illinois > Cook County > History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time > Part 24

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Ordered that the following rales" be allowed to tavern keep- ers to wil:

Each half pint of wine, rum, or brandy. 8.25

Each pint do .37%

Each half pint of gin. .18%

Each pint do ... .31 %

Each gill of whisky. .064

Each half pint do ... .12%

Each pint do ... .25

For cach breakfast and supper ..

For each dinner . .371%

For each horse fed .. .25

Keeping horse one night ... .50

1.odging for each man per night. .12%

For cider or beer, one pint ... .065

For cider or beer, one quart .... .121%

During the same session, Russel E. Heacock was licensed " to keep a tavern at his residence,"t and Rob- ert A. Kinzie, Samuel Miller, and B. Laughton,t were licensed to sell merchandise. James Kinzie was duly licensed as an auctioneer.

Action was had for the establishment of a ferry across the branches of the Chicago River at the forks. The people of Cook County, " with their traveling ap- ratus," were to be passed free ; all others were to be charged for ferriage as per a schedule of rates then adopted. Whoever should be appointed ferryman would be required to file a bond in the sum of $200 for the faithful performance of his duty, and to pay into the county treasury the sum of $50. A ferry scow was purchased of Samuel Miller for $65. At the next term of court ( June 6, 1831) Mark Beaubien was duly ap- pointed ferryman of Chicago, having filed the required bond, with James Kinzie as surety, and entered into an agreement to pay into the county treasury the required sum of $50.

The Clerk, being empowered to do certain acts necessary to keep the wheels of government in motion, during the vacation of the court, granted permits to sell goods to Alexander Robinson, John B. Beaubien, and Madore B. Beaubien.

The second regular session of the Court was held June 6.

* Al that time dimes and half dimes were not in circulation, and the com- putation of all small transactions, involving less than one dollar, was based on the Spanish coin, valued at 1216 cents, known in New York as the " York shil- ling," and in New England as a " nine pence."

+ Mr. Heacock, who had been licensed by Peoria County, June 3. sara lived up the South Branch some Ave miles from the present court-house. His place was known as Heacock's Point-his claim was on Section Ja, Township 39, Range 14

# Barney H. Laughton kept his store at what is now Riverside, some miles southwest of the village. One authority says "three miles up the South Branch. '

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CHICAGO IN 1830-33.

At that session Mark Beaubien, O. Newberry,* and old hunting grounds. It was known that the counsels Joseph Leflenboys were licensed to sell goods in Cook County. Subsequent records show that, during 1831, in addition to those before mentioned, merchants' licenses were granted to Brewster, Hogan & Co., Peck, Walker & Co., Joseph Naper, and Nicholas Boliveu.

FIRST COUNTY ROADS .- The initiatory steps were taken during this session for the establishment of two country roads. The first was to be located " from the town of Chicago to the house of B. Lawton, from thence to the house of James Walker, on the Dul'age River, and so on to the west line of the county." The viewers appointed were Elijah Wentworth, R. E. Hea- cock, and Timothy B. Clark. The second was to run " from the town of Chicago, the nearest and best way to the house of Widow Brown, on Hickory Creek." James Kinzie, Archibald Clybourne, and R. E. Heacock were appointed viewers, These two highways were intended to open communication with the southern and western parts of the county, and between the voting places in the three precincts established, The projected road to Widow Brown's was laid out from the town of Chicago on what is now State Street and Archer Avenue. The Du Page road ran essentially on the line of Madi- son Street to Ogden Avenue, thence on said avenue to Lawton's, near what is now Riverside.

The first report of the viewers of the last-named road does not appear to have been satisfactory to the court as the record says: "the report is rejected and the viewers shall have no pay for their services." The court perhaps transcended its authority in thus cutting of the pay of the derelict viewers, but, as there is no record to the contrary, it is believed that the punish- ment was meekly borne by the luckless trio, and that no attempts were made on their part to obtain redress. Thus early in history did the county fathers frown upon undesirable practices in the civil service, whether cor- rupt or otherwise. Slight lapses from the inflexible integrity of the early court have since occurred, and the practice of depriving officials of the emoluments of office when under clouds of suspicion has long ago fallen into disuse.

FIRST PUBLIC LAND SALE .- The Canal Commis- sioners deeded Cook County a tract of ten acres including what is now the court-house square.

It was decided by the commissioners to sell off by public auction a part of the land. The sale ocenrred July 1831, James Kinzie being the auctioneer. The county records show that the rate of commissions al. lowed him were two and one-half per cent for the first $200, and one per cent for all over that sum. For his services he received a county order for the sum of $14.5334. Computing from the amount of the auc- tioneer's commissions, it would appear that the gross amount of sales was $1, 153.75.

AN INDIAN PAYMENT .- The last occurrence wor- thy of note in the annals of Chicago for the year 1831, was the gathering of nearly 4,000 Indians to receive their annuities, which were disbursed by Colonel Owen, assisted by Kinzie and Gholson Kercheval. The payment occurred during the latter part of Sep- tember, and was the occasion of no little anxiety on the part of the whites, as it was known that there were emissaries from the Sacs of Black Hawk's band, who had but recently reluctantly moved to the western banks of the Mississippi, attempting to incite the tribes gathered to make common cause with them against the whites, and to inaugurate a general war for the exter- mination of the settlers and the repossession of their

. Oliver Newberry was then a merchant of Detroit.

of the Pottawatomies were far from unanimous for peace. Black Foot, leader of a powerful band, having his home at the head of Big Foot, now Geneva Lake, was ready to put on his war paint, as were most of his braves. His influence was, however, not sufficient, against the strenuous opposition of Billy Caldwell (Sauganash) who was the stanch friend of the whites, to carry the tribe into the proposed warlike alliance; and much to the relief of the whites the plot fell through, and the payment ended in a bloodless orgie of drunk- enness, after which the various tribes returned to their villages, some evincing surly disappointment that blood had been averted. The sentiment of the tribes as a whole was not reassuring for a lasting peace. Although, through the firmness of Colonel Owen and the influence of the friendly chiefs, no hostile alliance had been effected, it was quite generally believed that in case of any attempt on the part of the Sacs to repossess their lands about Rock Island, the Pottawatomies would at best be only neutral as a tribe, while Big Foot's band might prove secret allies so far as to give aid and com- fort to the enemy. .

EARLY AMUSEMENTS,-During the winter of 1831-32 the settlement, almost shut out from the outside world, found amusement, pastime and profit within the nar- row range of its own resources. There were dances at Mark Beaubien's. A "debating society " was organ- ized at the fort, J. B. Beaubien being the president. A chronicler states that he presided with "much efficiency and dignity." Although not very conversant with Jefferson's Manual, he had no occasion to use it, as every member was disposed to be orderly and behave himself, and each and all seemed bound to contribute as much as possible to the general sum of knowledge and usefulness. Here Chicago oratory was first fledged, and the ever-recurring questions of debate on such occasions were for the first time debated, if not settled, on the western shore of Lake Michigan,

Mark Noble and family, Mrs. Hamilton, the Went- worths, Mn Sce and wife, Rev. Stephen R. Beggs and family and other religious souls, if such they were, held weekly prayer meetings, either at Mr. Noble's house or at the fort. Thus, the grave, the gay and the intellect- ual found sources of enjoyment in this far-off hamlet of the West. 'T'he monotony of the short winter days was broken by an occasional scrub-race on the ice be- tween one of Mark Beaubien's horses /he had two' and any other that could be found to score with him. An occasional wolf hunt within the present city limits also helped to while away the time until the warm spring should bring the expected arrival of more emigrants, and the consequent renewal of business, which had been quite brisk with passing emigrants till cold weather set in.

AN UNEXPECTED SET BACK .- The spring came, and with it came rumors which blighted all hopes of a re- newal of the tide of emigration early in the season. They were to the effect that Black Hawk," with his band, although unsuccessful in his attempts at an alliance with the Pottawatomies the fall before, had recrossed the Mississippi in violation of his treaty, and with the ap- parent intent of re-occupying his old village and the ter- ritory along the Rock River which he had so recently left. The alarming rumor was confirmed on the arrival of Hon, Richard M. Young, at Fort Dearborn. He was at that time one of the circuit judges of the State. He was accompanied by Benjamin Mills, Esq., a lead-

. For fuller account concerning the Black Hawk War, se article on Fort Dearborn and the Military History.

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HISTORY OF EARLY CHICAGO.

ing member of the Illinois Bar, and Colonel Strode. They had come from Galena, by way of Dixon, and re- ported that the Indians at the latter point showed evi- dent signs of their hostile intentions, Later arrivals confirmed their statements. The aggressive march of the band up the Rock River, their meeting with Still- man's force, their subsequent breaking up into small bands to prey upon the defenseless settlers, the massa- cre at Indian Creek, and the general panic which en- sued, has all been told elsewhere. The tidings of the campaign as it progressed came daily to Chicago, and created, as may well be imagined, a consternation and excitement which overshadowed all other interests for the time. The nearest, and in fact the only place of refuge for the settlers on the Desplaines and vicinity, was Fort Dearborn. The settlers were warned by Shaw- bonee, a friendly Pottawatomie chief, through scouts sent by him to the various settlements to inform them of the impending danger .* By the last week of May Fort Dearborn was a crowded caravansary of frightened fugitives numbering more than five hundred persons. The quarters were crowded, a single room often being occupied by two families. As the fort overflowed, the later comers made temporary homes in rude huts and shanties hastily and rudely put together for the emer- gency, from such materials as the place afforded. Noth- ing was thought of or talked of except the war and the dan- ger that menaced the whites. Although no great fear was entertained for the safety of those within the garrison from Black Hawk's band, a vague fear, an undefinable dread lest other tribes might, at any time, without warning, take sides with the hostile band and join them in their murderous raid, gave the settlers a continued anxiety, known only to those who have experienced it. The anxiety was increased by information given to Colonel Owen by Billy Caldwell that the hostile chiefs were still tampering with the Ottawa, Pottawatomie and Chippewa Indians who belonged to the Chicago agency, and who had thus far refused to make common cause with them ; that the young men and some of the older chiefs had become exasperated at the conduct of Still- man's men in needlessly beginning the war, and had gained courage, which gave them hope of success from the subsequent victory of Black Hawk's warriors over the whites who first fired on them. To if possible avert the danger, an informal council was called of the chiefs of the various bands having lodges nearest the fort.t At this council Colonel Owen addressed the Indians. He pointed out the absolute folly of any alliance with the hostile tribe ; he showed them the certainty of ultimate defeat, and the disastrous results to them which would follow should they needlessly take up arms in a cause not their own-a loss of their annuities, probably fol- lowed by the destruction of their tribes or their forcible removal to beyond the Mississippi. Big Foot addressed the council, detailed the common grievances of the In- dians, told of the many instances of injustice and faith- lessness on the part of the Government which his tribe had suffered, and gave it as his conviction that the present was a favorable time to make common canse in seeking with knife and tomahawk redress for their cum- ulated wrongs. His speech was favorably received by many of the young men, but the stanch opposition to the foolhardy stroke for vengeance proposed by Big Foot was made by both Robinson and Caldwell. Their influence in the tribe, backed by their eloquence, to- gether with the. decided and fearless talk of Colonel

· Shawbonee was an Ottawa by birth, and became a chief of a Pottawato. mie band. See his biography.

June 1.

+ The exact date of this council is not known-il was probably about

Owen, who represented the Government, decided the council in favor of peace, much to the chagrin of Big Foot and his immediate followers. Subsequent to this council many of the Pottawatomies did good and faith- ful service as spies and scouts, in watching and report- ing the whereabouts of the enemy, and in protecting the growing crops which the fleeing settlers had left behind.

The few residents of Chicago labored to their ut- most to feed and shelter the fugitives. Shelter, such as it was, was provided once for all, but the food had to be replenished daily. Archibald Clybourne, the only butcher, found it impossible to furnish the meat for a community suddenly increased five-fold beyond that usually looking to him for supplies. He did his best, but short rations on meat would have been declared, had not the Noble boys / John and Mark ' have driven in their stock which they had been raising in the San- gamon district-some one hundred and fifty head. Their timely arrival averted a meat famine. An early chron- icler says :

"* In this emergency, it was fortunate that the Nobles had con- cluded to go into stock-raising. Archibald Clybourne was the Government butcher for the Pottawatomies, and used to do a little in the same line for settlement, but he had no adequate supply for the population that he now found suddenly on his hands, " and, as soon as the one hundred and fifty head arrived from the south, the Nobles turned butchers and fed the population and the troops until the last steer had bit the dust."

The following extracts from a letter, written by George W. Hoffman, a member of the company of Michigan volunteers, gives some light on the subject :

" DETROIT, 5th April, 1879.

" My Dear Sister: I received your letter three or four days ago and was real glad to hear from you, as I always am, and I should have answered sooner but I have been looking out for our Adjutant- General to get from him some dates relating to the Black Hawk War, and only met him yesterday and was surprised to find that he has nothing in his office relating to the subject.

" My recollection is that in May, 1832, there was received at Niles a letter from Major Owen (Indian Agent at Chicago whose name I cannot call to mind), calling for help on account of the ap- proach towards Chicago of Black Hawk and his warriors, who were killing and plundering all in the way of their march through Illi- nois and Michigan to Canada, their destination. As northern Indi- ana and southwestern Michigan were then bul sparsely settled, there was great fear and a panic among the farmers and in the small villages along the supposed route of the Indians,

"Colonel Haston, of the regiment (24th, I think), including Remin and Cass counties, immediately called them into service and in the course of two or three days had three or four hundred men at Niles, very poorly equipped for such an emergency, Indeed they had only such rifles and shotguns as they happened to have for hunting purposes, with bul very little ammunition of any kind. Some had powder-horns with a few bullets, and some had neither. " Volunteers were called for to be hurried to Chicago, and after a day or two some fifty or sixty men, some on fool and some on horseback started, for Chicago, and got some five or six miles in the woods north from the Door Prairie, in Indiana, and toward Itaillezs (Baze), who lived on the Calumet River on the route towards l.ake Michigan, and the shore of which was the only road to Chicago. Early in the morning, when about to have a camp, a carrier from Chicago arrived announcing that no danger was now apprehended al Chicago. We at once started on a return to Niles, and on the next day had arrived at Teneconpe Prairie, about twelve miles from Niles, when we were again overtaken by a carrier, with more alarm- ing reports than before, and the officers determined to turn and face again toward the enemy ; but most of the men became mutinous, and we proceeded toward Niles, and when within four or five miles were met by an officer sent by General I. R. Williams, who had ar- rived at Niles with a company of minute-men from Detroit, with orders for us to turn back towards Chicago. Here again our men were disposed to disobey, but as General Williams had quite a large number of men at Niles, one or two other regiments from as far east as Tecumseh and other lowns having arrived, our boys con-

* During the early part of May, so soon as rumors of danger reached Michigan, a company of volunteers was sent to Chicago to help defend the place, the fort at that time being ungarrisoned by United States troops. They were quartered in the fort with the fugitives, and did patrul duly while there.

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CHICAGO IN 1830-33-

cluded at least to halt and wait further developments. One officer and myself rode on to Niles, and when we arrived at the river (St. Joseph) were confronted by a sentinel, who said he had orders to prevent any one from returning to the east side of the river. We said all right, and turned back and rode down to the ford and crossed over and reported to General Williams, The next day we again started for the seat of war, General Williams and his minute- men only going with us. The other militia were sent back to their homes. When we arrived at the Door Prairie, four miles west of the now city of LaPorte, we took possession of a stockade that the farmers had thrown up, and remained there a week or ten days, but I cannot remember why, unless that we were waiting for further news from Chicago. The farmers about the region of the Door had all left their homes and fled to the more southern settlements. From the Door we went to Chicago, In June * (I think), and took posses. sion of old Fort Dearborn. The few inhabitants of Chicago had, before our arrival, felt their heads every morning to make sure that their scalp-locks were still there ; but there were not many there then, and the Indians would have obtained but few trophies of that kind, had they taken them all. Besides the fort there were two frame houses on the North Side, and the old Kinzie house, which stood close by the river and almost directly opposite the fort. On the South Side were two or three small farm houses ; and on the West, the Kinzie store at the forks, as we then called the North and South branches, and there was Mark Beauhien's tavern on what is now Michigan Avenue, about where the Exposition buikling now stands.+ There a few officers lived. I myself ' put up" with Mark, and some of the refugees from the country who were In the fort thought we were a reckless set of fellows who deserved to be scalped, because while there was so much danger from the dreadful Indians, Mark would play his fiddle and we boys would dance. One day there came a report from Naper's settlement that the Indians had been seen in that region, and the inhabitants were in great alarm, and wanted troops sent from Chicago to escort them safely from their homes to the fort. Volunteers were called for, and some sixty or seventy of us, well mounted, left Chicago in the afternoon and rode all night, arriving at Naper's the next morning, and went into camp, as our commamler, Colonel Edward Brooke (formerly of the ariny), had particular orders from General Williams not to look after the Indians, as our force was so small ; but to offer escort to all who were disposed to flee to Chicago. We remained in camp that day and night, and as there was no one needling our attention and the alarm of a day or two previous having passed away. we started on our march back to Chicago. On the afternoon of the day we left them, three men went out with a wagon and pair of horses to a grove of timber to get long shingles to cover a block- house, and as they entered the woods, Indians rose up and fired at them, killing two of the men, and taking with them the horses. One of the men escaped, and on his giving the alarm, the Indians were followed, but not seen nor overtaken. In the early morning before our arrival at Naper's, Robert Kinzie called the attention of Dr. Winslow, H. Redfield and myself to objects near this same grove, and said he believed they were Indians ; and if we stopped and turned our horses toward them, if they were Indians they would disappear, as they were no doubt watching us. We dropped to the rear of the command, and were hardly separated from them before they were gone out of sight; Kinzie reported to Colonel Brooks, and we proposed to take ten or fifteen men and go to the grove to see whether they were Indians or not, but the Colonel said he had strict orders not to leave the road or divide his small force. After hearing of the killing of the two men, we had no doubt the Indians had seen us and watched our return toward Chicago. We remained in the fort until the arrival of a part of the second divi- sion, under Colonel William Whistler, when your good hus- band found me at battalion drill, to which duty I had been ax- signed, being the only one (except Colonel Brooks) who knew any- thing about such matters. You will very well remember the arrival of General Scott, with troops, soon after (in July), on board of steamer boats, when the startling news (much more alarming than Indian depredations) came on shore, that the Asiatic cholera was aboard, when you and other ladies and children ran to the open prairie and at last found shelter under some boards in the fence corners, to get rid of exposure to that terrible disease.

" When in Chicago, now I can hardly realize that my horse, with fifty or a hundred others, found wild, uncultivated pasture where now stands the court-house; in the midst of a great and beautiful city, once destroyed, but now more grand and beautiful than in its former greatness ; when there was not a house between the fort and the woods, as we then said, a distance of three or four miles, except Mark Beaubien's tavern, where now are such splendid streets and magnificent buildings, So much for the Black Hawk War. I have often wished I had kept a diary of events then; with reference not only to the war but the Western country, as we then called it."

. It was in May.

+ A mistake in location.

Mrs. Mary A. Penrose, wife of the then Second Lieutenant James W. Penrose, to whom the above letter was written, was one of the women who came with Whistler's command with her husband. Her reminis- cences of those times were given to Rev. H. C. Ken- ney, February 28, 1879, and are here published for the first time:

" In the year 1832, probably in May, my husband, I.ientenant James W. Penrose, who was then I.leutenant of the 2d Infantry Regular Army, was ordered from Sackett's Harbor to Chicago, with several other companies of the same regiment, under Colonel Whistler. At what point we took the sailing vessel I do not remember, but it was probably at Buffalo. On arriving at Chica- go, the troops were first landed in little boats. Then the officers' families were sent on shore. A storm having arisen, it was three days before Colonel Whistler's family and the wife of Major Kings- bury were able to land.

" There were in Chicago at that time about twelve houses, 1 think that all of these were made of logs. Our quarters were In the fort. The troops tonk possession of the fort, relieving a com- pany of militia from Michigan. About six weeks after our arrival, our little company was increased by the arrival, on a steamer, of General Scott, with several other companies. These had been sent to Chicago to proceed to Rock Island to fight the Indians there.

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History of Cook County, Illinois From the Earliest Period to the Present Time, Part 24

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900 Publication date: 1884 Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas Number of Pages: 875

Author: Andreas, A. T. (Alfred Theodore), 1839-1900
Publication date: 1884
Publisher: Chicago : A.T. Andreas
Number of Pages: 875