USA > Illinois > Knox County > History of Knox county, Illinois > Part 2
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
British standard as a matter of choice; and in the recent conflict between a fragment of these tribes and the United States, although defeated and literally cut to pieces by an overwhelming force, it is very questionable whether their reputation as braves would suffer by a comparison with that of their victors. It is believed that a careful review of their history will lead the inquirer to the conclusion that the Sacs and Foxes are a truly courageous people, shrewd, politic and enterprising." These tribes, at the time of the Black Hawk war, were. divided into twenty families, twelve of which were Sacs and eight Foxes. The following were other prominent tribes occupying Illinois: the Kickapoos, Shawnees, Mascoulins, Piaukishaws, Potawattomies, Chippewas, and Ottawas.
The art of hunting not only supplied the Indian with food, but, like that of war, was a means of gratifying his love of distinction. The male children, as soon as they acquired sufficient age and strength, were furnished with a bow and arrow and taught to shoot birds and other small game. Success in killing large quadrupeds required years of careful study and practice, and the art, was as sedulously inculcated in the minds of the rising generation as are the elements of reading, writing and arithmetic in the common schools of civilized communi- ties. The mazes of the forest and the dense tall grass of the prairies were the best fields for the exercise of the hunter's skill. No feet could be impressed in the yielding soil but they were the objects of the most searching scrutiny, and revealed at a glance the animal that made them, the direction it was pursuing, and the time that had elapsed since it had passed. In a forest country he selected the valleys, because they were most frequently the resort of game. The most easily taken, perhaps, of all the animals of the chase was the deer. It is endowed with a curiosity which prompts it to stop in its flight and look back at the approaching hunter, who always avails himself of this opportunity to let fly the fatal arrow.
Their general councils were composed of the chiefs and old men. When in council, they usually sat in concentric circles around the speaker, and each individual, notwithstanding the fiery passions that rankled within, preserved an exterior as immovable as if cast in bronze. Before commencing business a person appeared with the sacred pipe, and another with fire to kindle it. After being lighted, it was first presented to heaven, secondly to the earth, thirdly to the presiding spirit, and lastly to the several councilors, each of whom took a whiff. These formalities were observed with as much scrupu- lous exactness as state etiquette in civilized courts.
GEN. GEORGE RODGERS CLARK
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
FRENCH AND ENGLISH RULE.
After a long contest between the French and English for the pos- session of the Northwest, the latter was finally victorious; and on the 10th of October, 1765, the ensign of France was replaced on the ram- parts of Fort Chartres by the flag of Great Britain. This fort was the depot of supplies and the place of rendezvous for the united forces of the French. At this time the colonies of the Atlantic sea- board were assembled in preliminary congress at New York, dreaming of liberty and independence for the continent; and Washington, who led the expedition against the French for the English king, in less than ten years was commanding the forces opposed to the English tyrant. Illinois, besides being constructively a part of Florida for over one hundred years, during which time no Spaniard set foot upon her soil, or rested his eyes upon her beautiful plains, for nearly ninety years had been in the actual occupation of the French, their puny settlements slumbering quietly in colonial dependence on the far-off waters of the Kaskaskia, Illinois and Wabash.
The Northwest Territory was now entirely under the English rule; and on the breaking out of the Revolution, the British held every post of importance in the West; and while the colonists of the East were maintaining a fierce struggle with the armies of England, their western frontiers were ravaged by merciless butcheries of Indian warfare. The jealousy of the savage had been aronsed to action by the rapid extension of American settlement westward and the improper influence exerted by a number of military posts garrisoned by British troops. To prevent indiscriminate slaughters arising from these causes, Illinois became the theater of some of the most daring exploits connected with American history. The hero of these achievements by which this beautiful land was snatched as a gem from the British Crown, was George Rogers Clark, of Virginia. He had closely watched the movements of the British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan; he also knew the Indians were not unan- imously in accord with the English, and therefore was convinced that, could the British be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives might be easily awed into neutrality. Having convinced him- self that the enterprise against the Illinois settlement might easily succeed, he repaired to the capital of Virginia, arriving November 5. While he was on his way, fortunately, on October 17, 1777, Bur- goyne was defeated, and the spirits of the colonists thereby greatly encouraged. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at once entered heartily into Clark's plans; and after satisfying the Virginia
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
leaders of the feasibility of his project, received two sets of instruc- tions,-one secret, the other open. The latter authorized him to proceed to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, and to serve three months after their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized him to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand, at Pittsburg, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.
With these instructions Col. Clark repaired to Pittsburg, choosing rather to raise his inen . west of the mountains, as he well knew all were needed in the colonies in the conflict there. He sent Colonel W. B. Smith to Holstein and Captains Helm and Bowman to other localities to enlist men; but neither succeeded in raising the required number. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe. With these companies and several private volunteers, Clark commenced his descent of the Ohio, which he navigated as far as the falls, where he took possession of and fortified Corn Island, a small island between the present cities of Louisville, Ky., and New Albany, Ind. Here, after having completed his arrangements and announced to the men their real destination, he left a small garrison; and on the 24th of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, which to them augured no good, they floated down the river. His plan was to go by water as far as Fort Massac, and tlience inarch direct to Kaskaskia. Here he intended to surprise .the gar- rison, and after its capture, go to Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should he fail, he intended to march directly to the Mississippi river and cross it into the Spanish country. Before his start, he received good items of information: one that the alliance had been formed between France and the United States, and the other, that the Indians throughout the Illinois country and the inhabitants at the various frontier posts had been led by the British believe to that the "Long-Knives," or Virginians, were the most fierce, blood- thirsty and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With this impression on their minds, Clark saw that proper management would cause them to submit at once from fear, if surprised, and then from gratitude would become friendly, if treated with unexpected leniency. The marclı to Kaskaskia was made through a hot July sun, arriving ou the evening of the 4th of July, 1778. They captured the fort near the village, and soon afterward the village itself, by surprise, and without the loss of a single man and without killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently working on the fears of the natives, Clark told them they were at perfect liberty to worship as they pleased, and to take which- ever side of the great conflict they would; also he would protect them
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
against any barbarity from British or Indian foe. This had the desired effect; and the inhabitants, so unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked-for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms; and when Clark desired to go to Cahokia on the 6th of July, they accompanied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place surrendered and gladly placed themselves under his protection.
In the person of M. Gibault, priest of Kaskaskia, Clark found a powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain posses- sion of the northwest, and treat successfully with the Indians, he must establish a government for tlie colonies he had taken. St. Vincent, the next important post to Detroit, remained yet to be taken before the Mississippi valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that lie would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connec- tion with England. Clark gladly accepted this offer, and on the 14th of July, in company with a fellow-townsman, Gibault started on his mission of peace. On the 1st of August he returned with the clieer- ful intelligence that everything was peaceably adjusted at Vincennes in favor of the Americans. During the interval, Colonel Clark estab- lished his courts, placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, success- fully re-enlisted his men, sent word to have a fort (which proved the germ of Louisville) erected at the falls of the Ohio, and dispatched Rocheblave, who had been commander at Kaskaskia, as a prisoner of · war to Richmond.
While the American commander was thus negotiating with the Indians, Hamilton, the British Governor of Detroit, heard of Clark's invasion, and was greatly incensed because the country which he had in charge should be wrested from him by a few ragged militia. He therefore hurriedly collected a force, and marching by way of the Wabash, appeared before the fort at Vincennes. The inhabitants made an effort to defend the town, and when Hamilton's forces arrived, Captain Helm and a man of the name of Henry were the only Americans in the fort. These men had been sent by Clark; the latter, charging a cannon, placed it in the open gateway, and the Captain standing by it with a lighted matchi cried out, as Hamilton came in hailing distance, " Halt!" The Britishi officer, not knowing the strength of the garrison, stopped, and demanded the surrender of the fort. Helm exclaimed, "No man shall enter here till I know the terms." Hamilton responded, "You shall have the honors of war." The entire garrison consisted of one officer and one private.
Hamilton, not realizing the character of the men with whom lie was contending, gave up his intended campaign for the winter, sent his four
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
hundred Indian warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio, and to annoy the Americans in all ways, and sat quietly down to pass the winter. Information of all these proceedings having reached Clark, he saw that immediate and decisive action was neces- sary, and that unless he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would cap- ture him. Clark received the news on the 29th of January, 1779, and on February 5th set out for Vincennes; and after incredibly hard marching through much mud, the ground being thawed by the inces- sant rains, on the 22d he reached the fort, and at once commenced the attack. The aim of the American backwoodsman was unerring, and on the 24th the garrison surrendered. The French were treated with great kindness, and gladly renewed their allegiance to Virginia. Hamilton was sent as a prisoner to Virginia, where he was kept in close confinement. During his command of the British frontier forts he offered prizes to the Indians for all the scalps of the Americans they could bring him, and earned in consequence thereof the title " Hair-buyer General," by which he was ever afterwards known.
Detroit was now without doubt within easy reach of the enterpris- ing Virginian, could he but raise the necessary force. Governor Henry, being apprised of this, promised him the needed reinforce- ments, and Clark concluded to wait until he could capture and suffi- ciently garrison the posts. Had Clark failed in this bold under- taking, and Hamilton succeeded in uniting the western Indians for the next spring's campaign, the West would indeed have been swept from the. Mississippi to the Alleghany mountains, and the great blow struck which had been contemplated by the British from the com- mencement. Had it not been for this small army of fearless Virgin- ians, the union of all the tribes from Maine to Georgia against the colonies might have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed.
COUNTY OF ILLINOIS.
In October, 1778, after the successful campaign of Colonel Clark, the assembly of Virginia erected the conquered country, embracing all the territory northwest of the Ohio river, into the County of Illi- nois. It embraced all that part of Virginia north of the Ohio river, and was doubtless the largest county in the world, exceeding in its dimensions the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. To speak more definitely, it embraced the territory included in the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. On the 12th of December, 1778, John Todd was appointed Lieutenant Commandant
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
of this county by Patrick Henry, then governor of Virginia, and accordingly was also the first governor of Illinois.
TERRITORY OF ILLINOIS.
Illinois continued to form a part of Virginia until March 1, 1784, when that State ceded the Northwestern Territory to the United States. Immediately the general government proceeded to establish a form of government for the settlers in the territories thus ceded. The government of this county as then established continued until the passage of the ordinance of 1787, for the government of the North- western Territory.
On October 5, Major General Arthur St. Clair was, by Congress, elected governor of this vast territory. St. Clair was born in Scotland, and emigrated to America in 1755. He served in the French and British war, and was major-general in the Revolution. In 1786 he was elected to Congress, and chosen president of that body.
After the division of this territory, Illinois became one of the counties of the Territory of Indiana, from which it was separated by an act of Congress February 3, 1809, forming the Territory of Illinois, with a population estimated at 9,000. It was divided, at that time, into two counties-St. Clair and Randolplı. John Boyle, of Ken- tucky, was appointed Governor by the President, James Madison, but declining, Ninian Edwards, of the same State, was then appointed, and served with distinction; and after the formation of Illinois as a State, lie served in the same capacity, being the third governor of the State.
ILLINOIS AS A STATE.
The Territory of Illinois was formed into a State by an act of Con- gress April 18, 1818. In July and August of the same year, a con- vention was held at Kaskaskia for the purpose of drafting a constitu- tion. This constitution was not submitted to a vote of the people for their approval or rejection, it being well known that they would approve it. It was about the first organic law of any State in the Union to abolish imprisonment for debt. The first election under the constitution was held on the third Thursday and the two succeeding days in September, 1818. Shadrach Bond was elected Governor, and Pierre Menard Lieutenant Governor. Their term of office extended four years. December 3, 1818, Congress by a resolution declared Illinois to be "one of the United States of America, and admitted into the Union on an equal footing with the original States in all respects." At this time the State was divided into fifteen counties,
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
the population being about 40,000. Of this number by far the lar- ger portion was from the Southern States. The salary of the Governor was $1,000, while that of the Treasurer was $500. The Legislature re-enacted, verbatim, the Territorial Code, the penalties of which were unnecessarily severe. Whippings, stocks and pillory were used for minor offenses, and for arson, rape, horse-stealing, etc., death by hang- ing was the penalty. These laws however were modified in 1821.
The Legislature convened at Kaskaskia, the ancient seat of empire for more than one hundred and fifty years, both for the French and Americans. Provisions were, however, made for the removal of the seat of government by this Legislature. A place in the wilderness on the Kaskaskia river was selected and named Vandalia. From Van- dalia it was removed to Springfield in the year 1837.
In 1820 occurred the first duel ever fought in Illinois. This took place in St. Clair county between Alphonso Stewart and William Bennett. It was intended to be a sham duel, to turn ridicule against Bennett, the challenging party. Stewart was in the secret, but Bennett was left to believe it a realty. Their guns were loaded with blank cartridges. Bennett, suspecting a trick, put a ball into his gun, without the knowledge of his seconds. The word "fire " was given, and Stewart fell mortally wounded. Bennett made liis escape, but was subsequently captured, convicted of murder and suffered the penalty of the law by hanging.
In an early day, when the great lead mines of Galena were being worked, men would run up the Mississippi river in steamboats in the spring, work the lead mines, and in the fall return, thus establishing, as was supposed, a similitude between their migratory habits and those of the fishy tribe called "suckers." For this reason the Illi- noisans have ever since been called "Suckers."
In 1831 the criminal code was first adapted to penitentiary punislı- ment, ever since which time the old system of whipping and pillory for the punisliment of criminals lias been disused.
From 1818 to the breaking out of the Black Hawk war. in 1832, little occurred beyond the ordinary routine of events in a newly settled country. The most prominent of these were the treaties made with the Indians by the United States, by which the whole State of Illinois was purchased from them. In tracing wars between the Indians and the whites to their sources, we find them invariably originating in the intrusion of the latter on the lands of the former. This was the cause of the conspiracy of Pontiac, the hostilities of Little Turtle, the battles with Tecumseh, and the war with Black Hawk.
GEN. ARTHUR ST. CLAIR.
1
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
The most desperate single-handed combat with Indians ever fought on the soil of Illinois, was that of Tom Higgins, August 21, 1814. Higgins was 25 years old, of a muscular and compact build, not tall, but strong and active. In danger he possessed a quick and discerning judgment, and was without fear. He was a member of Journey's rangers, consisting of eleven men, stationed at Hill's Fort, eight miles southwest of the present Greenville, Putnam county. Discovering Indian signs near the fort, the company, early the following morning, started on the trail. They had not gone far before they were in an ambuscade of a larger party. At the first fire their commander, Journey, and three men fell, six retreated to the fort in flight, but Higgins stopped to " have another pull at the red-skins," and, taking deliberate aim at a straggling savage, shot him down. Higgins horse had been wounded at the first fire, as he supposed, mortally; but coming to, he was about to effect his escape, when the familiar voice of Burgess hailed him from the long grass, "Tom, don't leave me." Higgins told him to come along, but Burgess replied that his leg was smashed. Higgins attempted to raise him on his horse, but the animal took fright and ran away. Higgins then directed Burgess to limp off as well as he could; and by crawling through the grass he reached the fort, while the former loaded his gun and remained behind to protect him against the pursuing enemy. When Burgess was well out of the way, Higgins took another route, which led by a small thicket, to throw any wandering enemy off the trail. Here he was confronted by three savages approaching. He ran to a little ravine near for shelter, but in the effort discovered for the first time that he was badly wounded in the leg. He was closely pressed by the largest, a powerful Indian, who lodged a ball in his thigh. He fell, but instantly rose again, only however to draw the fire of the other two, and again fell wounded. The Indians now advanced upon him with their tomahawks and scalping knives; but as he presented his gun first at one, then at another, from his place in the ravine, each wavered in his purpose. Neither party had time to load, and the large Indian, supposing finally that Higgins' gun was empty, rushed forward with uplifted tomahawk and a yell; but as he came near enough, was shot down. At this, the others raised the war-whoop, and rushed upon the wounded Higgins, and now a hand-to-hand con- flict ensued. They darted at him with their knives time and again, inflicting many ghastly flesh-wounds, which bled profusely. One of the assailants threw his tomahawk at him with such precision as to sever his ear and lay bare his skull, knocking him down. They now rushed in on him, but he kicked them off, and grasping one of their
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
spears thrust at him, was raised up by it. He quickly seized his gun, and by a powerful blow crushed in the skull of one, but broke his rifle. His remaining antagonist still kept np the contest, making thrusts with his knife at the bleeding and exhausted Higgins, which he parried with his broken gun as well as he could. Most of this desperate engagement was in plain view of the fort; but the rangers, having been in one ambuscade, saw in this fight only a ruse to draw out the balance of the garrison. But a Mrs. Pursely, residing at the fort, no longer able to see so brave a man contend unaided for his life, seized a gun, and mounting a horse, started to his rescue. At this the men took courage and hastened along. The Indian, seeing aid coming, fled. Higgins, being nearly hacked to pieces, fainted from loss of blood. He was carried to the fort. There being no surgeon, luis comrades cut two balls from his flesh: others remained in. For days his life was despaired of; but by tender nursing, he ultimately regained his health, badly crippled. He resided in Fayette county for many years after, and died in 1829.
STATE BANK.
The Legislature during the latter years of territorial existence, granted charters to several banks. The result was that paper money became very abundant, times flush, credit unlimited, and everybody invested to the utmost limit of his credit, with confident expectation of realizing a handsome advance before the expiration of his credit, from the throng of immigrants then pouring into the country. By 1819 it became apparent that a day of reckoning would approach before their dreams of fortune could be realized. Banks everywhere began to waver, paper money became depreciated, and gold and silver driven out of the country. The Legislature sought to bolster up the times by incorporating a new " Bank of Illinois," whichi, with several branches, was created by the session of 1821. This bank, being wholly supported by the credit of the State, was to issue one, two, three, five, ten and twenty-dollar notes. It was the duty of the bank to advance, upon personal property, money to the amount of $100, and a larger amount upon real estate. All taxes and public salaries could be paid in such bills; and if a creditor refused to take them he had to wait three years longer before he could collect his debt. The people imagined that simply because the government had issued the notes, they would remain at par; and although this evidently could not be the case, they were yet so infatuated with their project as actually to request the United States Government to receive them in payment for their public lands! Although there were not wanting
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HISTORY OF ILLINOIS.
men who, like John McLean, the Speaker of the House of Represent- atives, foresaw the dangers and evils likely to arise from the creation of such a bank, by far the greater part of the people were in favor of it. The new bank was therefore started. The new issue of bills by the bank, of course, only aggravated the evil theretofore so griev- ously felt, of the absence of specie, so that the people were soon compelled to cnt their bills in halves and quarters, in order to make small change in trade. Finally the paper currency so rapidly depre- ciated that three dollars in these bills were only considered worth one in specie, so that the State not only did not increase its revenue, but lost full two-thirds of them, and expended three times the amount required to pay the expenses of the State government.
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