USA > Illinois > Pages from the early history of the West and Northwest: embracing reminiscences and incidents of settlement and growth, and sketches of the material and religious progress of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri > Part 13
USA > Indiana > Pages from the early history of the West and Northwest: embracing reminiscences and incidents of settlement and growth, and sketches of the material and religious progress of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri > Part 13
USA > Missouri > Pages from the early history of the West and Northwest: embracing reminiscences and incidents of settlement and growth, and sketches of the material and religious progress of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri > Part 13
USA > Ohio > Pages from the early history of the West and Northwest: embracing reminiscences and incidents of settlement and growth, and sketches of the material and religious progress of the states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, and Missouri > Part 13
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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18
220
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
What right have we to tell any people, you shall not cross the Mississippi or any other boundary? Should the Indian wish to return and revisit the land where once he roamed in freedom, sole posses- sor of the land, shall we meet him in the deadly array of battle, simply because we have the power?"
In the above extracts many occasional comments upon the ruling powers have been omitted. There is every reason to believe that, had the suggestions of Thomas Forsythe been listened to, the sad record of this unhappy war might never have been, and that of the untimely fate of some of our country- men, who fell victims to their exasperated fury at Kellogg's Grove, soon after the commencement of the campaign.
221
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
CHAPTER XXIV.
IN 1833 the last Indian tribe of the Pottawota- mies sold all their lands in the north-eastern section of the State to the General Government, and bid a long farewell to the graves of their fathers. This cession being made and the public lands surveyed, . the country was settled up in a few years.
The Indian has some noteworthy traits of char- acter, as some of the following anecdotes will show:
Several years since the Sac Indians killed some of the Iowa tribe, and a demand was made for the mur- derers. By compromise, the demand was reduced to one Sac, and the tribe agreed that the murderer should be given up to death. The Indian on whom this sentence fell was, at the time, too sick to travel. A brother of the sick man volunteered to die in his stead, and marched with the Sac chief to the Iowas, and cheerfully gave himself up to be executed. This noble act of the young Indian, who was so brave and generous as to suffer death in the place of his brother, softened the hearts of the Iowas, and they restored the young Sac with honor to his nation.
In the Fall of the year 1833, Mr. George E. Walker, Sheriff of La Salle county, had, in his offi- cial capacity, a singular transaction with a young Pottawotamie. Walker was a backwoods man, a
222
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
man of great ability, and keen insight into the In- dian character. This gave him great influence over the Indians. Two Indians had been concerned in the massacre of the whites in the Black Hawk war the previous year. They had been indicted for mur- der, and had appeared at the time the circuit court was to be held; but the term of the court was changed, and they were not tried. The Indians, supposing that the whites did not want them any longer, went with the rest of their tribe over to the west side of the Mississippi. Walker and other securities were responsible for the appearance of the prisoners. It was just after the close of the Black Hawk war, and angry feelings existed between the Indians and whites, yet Walker proposed to go alone among the Indians and bring back the prisoners. He went single-handed into the heart of the ene- my's country, two or three hundred miles from any settlement, and in the midst of a tribe who were exasperated against the whites.
He called a council of chiefs, and it was agreed that the two young Indians should return with Walker, the chiefs being certain, as well as the young Indians, that they were to be hung. They also felt an extreme dislike to the ignoble manner in which they were to die. To be shot would have been more honorable; but still they went. Walker and the Indians bade a long farewell to the tribe, and started for Ottowa, where the court was to be held. They traveled, camped, and slept together
223
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
till they came to Rock Island. At that time there were many Indians collected together there on a trading expedition. The prisoners had a strong dislike to being seen under guard, and requested the privilege of going alone through the settlement. Walker, who understood their character and lan- guage equally well, readily consented to their re- quest. They said they could die like men, but that they could not endure the dishonor of being led like dogs, under the power of Walker, among the whites and Indians at the Island. They went on alone, and met Walker at the place agreed on, on the opposite side. Walker had with him a horse, whose services he shared in turn with each Indian. Sometimes one of the Indians would ride on ahead and prepare camp for the travelers as they came up. Walker never held out the least inducement to them that they would be acquitted. One night they encamped at an old Sac encampment, by the request of the Indians, where they found good water and groves.
Here Walker was entirely at their mercy. His horse ran away, and one of the Indians went in search of it, traveling ten or twelve miles before he found it, and returned with it to its owner. Indeed, he was in their power for many nights, when they might have killed him and returned to their tribe without again being sought for. For these traits of honor the Government procured able counsel to defend the Indians. Colonel William S. Hamilton was employed, and this gentleman, having great
224
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
influence with both whites and Indians, the Indians were acquitted, and returned safely to their nation.
Another affair will show how they respected Walker, and how much influence and power he had over them. On Peoria Lake, about seventy miles below Ottowa, a young chief, Senacherine, found an Indian who had murdered another Indian. The chief brought him to Ottowa, and desired Walker to hang him. Senacherine said that Walker was a great man among the Indians, and, should he hang the Indian, it would do more to prevent crime than for his warriors to shoot him. Walker was not at home, and his father met the Indians, was kind and civil to them, and all the time in great anxiety as to how his son would extricate himself from the dilemma in which he would find himself on his return.
On Walker's return, the young chief at once made known his business. Walker agreed to hang the prisoner, but said he was hungry and must have some dinner. While Walker was eating, he gave the young chief and those with him some brandy, and ate very slowly, that he might reflect. Walker was a large trader with the Indians, and, therefore, did not wish to displease the chief. At length, when his meal was finished, the brandy had had the desired effect in making the chief relax somewhat in his desire to have the man hung, as the prisoner himself had killed the other in a drunken frolic, and was totally unconscious of the
225
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
enormity of his crime. When the chief had become sufficiently mellowed by the brandy, Walker got a rope as if preparing to hang the prisoner, and said, "I will hang the prisoner now, if you desire it; but in a few months, when all the Indians will be at Chicago to receive their annuities, it will be more effectual in preventing crime among your tribe, to hang him in public before all the Indians. How- ever, I will hang him now, if you say so." The chief decided to postpone the hanging, and before the time came the affair was settled among them- selves.
Another time, when the Indians were at Chicago to receive their annuities, a drunken Indian who had been on a frolic for several days, and was en- tirely covered, face and all, with mud and dirt, came up to Walker and desired to kiss him. Walker replied that it was Sunday-a holiday with the Americans; but that if he would come to-morrow, he might then kiss him. But the Indian became sober and forgot the matter.
Once, on a steamboat on the Illinois River, a young clergyman from one of the Eastern colleges, being very desirous of getting information concern- ing the Indian character and peculiarities, Walker was pointed out to him by some wag as a half-breed who could give him all the information he wished. Walker's appearance favored the joke, as he had a dark complexion and exceedingly black eyes, and also spoke the Indian language fluently. Walker
226
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
gave the clergyman all the information he desired, and the young man finished his questions by asking Walker about his Indian parentage. Walker carried out the joke without explaining, and the whole con- versation was published in one of the Eastern papers as information coming from a half-breed.
227
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
CHAPTER XXV.
THE origin of the name Chicago has been much discussed. Some of the Indians are said to derive it from the name of the fitch, or polecat; others from that of the wild onion, with which the woods formerly abounded. All agree that the place was named after an old chief who was drowned in the stream bearing his name. This event must have been very remote. An old French manuscript brought by General Cass from France, purporting to be a letter from M. de Ligney, at Green Bay, to M. de Siette, among the Illinois, bearing date 1726, designates the place as "Chicaugoux." This orthog- raphy is also found in old family letters written at the beginning of the present century. In giving the history of the place the Indians are reported as saying that the first white man who settled here was a negro.
In an early day, when General Cass was appointed Governor of Michigan Territory, he made a visit, with his family, to Chicago. Public houses were then scarce on the Lake Shore. As a gentleman in- forms me, the Governor called at a Frenchman's of the name of Byee, and inquired if they could get din- ner and have his horse fed. The Frenchman replied in the affirmative. The Governor sat for some time
228
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
looking at the landlord, waiting for an invitation to dismount, and the landlord, in like manner, looked silently at him. At length the guest said, "I sup- pose you do not know who I am." The Frenchman said he did not. "Well," said he, "I am Governor of Michigan." "O, be sure; we are all governors here. There is the stable, and there is the crib; just go and help yourself." The Governor did as he was bid. After dinner he did likewise, and went on his way rejoicing, having learned that there were more governors in the country besides himself.
Among the landmarks of Chicago is Mr. Peck's building, which stands on the south-east corner of La Salle and South Water streets. It was finished and occupied by him in 1833, being built of oak and black walnut lumber, which were hauled from Walker's mills-now Plainfield-forty miles south- west from Chicago. He bought his lot of W. F. Walker for $80, now-1855-valued at $42,500, and the largest part of it sold. In 1831 the story goes that gamblers would stake a quart of brandy against some Chicago lot near the court-house, and the brandy was esteemed the greater loss of the two. The best lots on Lake-street sold for from $30 to $100. On the 26th of November of this year the first newspaper was published in Chicago by John Calhoun. On the first of October, 1835, Colonel Russell started with two hundred ox teams to move the baggage with the last of the Indians, about 1,500 in all. It took forty days to reach their destination
229
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
west of the Missouri. It is less than forty years since Chicago was surrounded by Pottawotamies. The first census of Chicago was taken in 1837- whites, 4,099; colored, 71: total, 4,170. The Illi- nois and Michigan canal was begun in 1836, ground being broken at Bridgeport on the fourth of July. The Legislature of that year appropriated a half million of dollars for its construction. There was not, in 1831, a canal, railroad, or plank road lead- ing out of the city. Three years previously there was but one mail from the East each week, and that was brought from Niles on horseback.
Mrs. Kinzie relates how once, upon Sunday, they rowed up to the point to attend service conducted by Rev. Mr. See, or father See, as he was more familiarly called. I knew him well, and as a good preacher, and if he "got into the brush," as the pioneers used to say when one was at a loss how to go on in his sermon, it was no more than others did who made pretensions to greater advantages when trying to preach without a manuscript, and at last did not get the brush cleared away, after all, as well as did father See. Indeed, I have often thought of the story of one of the "regular succession," who, while preaching, suddenly discovered that "thirdly" had been blown out of the window, by means of which he lost the thread of his ideas, and came to a full stop.
Father See, a blacksmith by trade, was poor, but he was one of the "Lord's poor." If his hands were
230
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
dingy, what else could be expected? It showed that he was willing to labor six days in the week for his own sustenance, and give God the fruits of his heartiest labors on the Sabbath, expecting noth- ing again, and that he thought more of the salva- tion of souls than of personal display. Mrs. Kinzie says:
"We saw a tall, slender man dressed in a green frock coat, from the sleeves of which dangled a pair of hands giving abundant evidence, together with the rest of his dress, that he placed small faith in the axiom, 'Cleanliness is next to godliness." He stepped briskly upon the platform, behind a table, and commenced his discourse. His subject was "The fear of God.' There was a kind of fear, he told us, that was nearly akin to love-so near that it was not worth while splitting hairs for the differ- ence. He then went on to describe this kind of fear. He grew more and more involved as he proceeded with his description, till at length, quite bewildered, he paused and exclaimed, 'Come, let us stop a little while and clear away the brush.' He unraveled, as well as he was able, the tangled thread of his ideas, and went on with his subject. But soon again he lost his way, and came a second time to a halt. 'Now,' said he, at the same time wiping the per- spiration from his forehead with a red cotton hand- kerchief which was many degrees from clean, 'now suppose we draw back a little piece.' Then he reca- pitulated what he wished to impress upon us of the
231
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
necessity of cherishing a fear that was unto salva- tion, 'which fear,' said he, 'may we all enjoy, that together we may soar away on the rolling clouds of ether to a boundless and happy eternity, which is the wish of your humble servant,' and flourishing abroad his hands with an indescribable gesture, he took his seat. It will be readily imagined that we felt our own religious exercises at home to be more edifying than this, and that we confined ourselves to them thereafter." Mrs. Kinzie again speaks of him in another part of her book, and says: "There was also a Mr. See, lately come into the country, living at the point, who sometimes held forth in the little school-house on Sunday, less to the edification of his hearers than to the unmerciful slaughter of the 'King's English,'" to which I can add that I thank God he slaughtered sin also, and this is saying much more for him than can be said in justice of some who are wiser in their own conceit than was he.
The following is extracted from a letter of Rev. Isaac Scarrit, to whom reference is elsewhere made: " "On reading the 'Rise and Progress of Method- ism in Chicago,' by Grant Goodrich, Esq., I feel somewhat inclined to form a kind of appendix to that narrative by giving some reminiscence of my own. In 1828 I succeeded Rev. Jesse Walker as superintendent of the Fox River mission. At that time James Walker was living where Ottowa now stands; Pierce Hawley, Edmund Weed, and J. Beres- ford lived at what was afterward called Holderman's
232
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
Grove. These, with my own family at the mission, constituted the whole of the American population on the north-west side of the Illinois River, and be- tween that and Chicago. The whole region, except a strip along the river, was Indian country. While here I planned a trip to Chicago, distant some sev- enty or eighty miles, and about midsummer, with George Furkee, a half-breed Indian who resided at the mission, for my guide, I set out on my adventure,
"The first night we lodged at an Indian village near to where Plainfield now stands. The next evening we entered Chicago, which, in addition to the buildings constituting Fort Dearborn, contained the old Kinzie house, a new house of Colonel Ham- ilton's, with, perhaps, one or two others in that quarter, and those of J. Kinzie and J. Miller up at 'the point.' The latter two gentlemen seemed to be upon a strife with each other which should excel in honor and popularity whereby to promote their in- dividual interests. I took up my residence at Mil- ler's, who, with laudable generosity, undertook to administer to my comfort and further my views. The next day was the Sabbath, and I sent word to Lieutenant -, that if it were his wish the super- intendent of the Indian mission would preach to the soldiers and others at such place and hour as he might appoint. Answer was returned that he should not forbid the preaching, but that he should neither authorize nor make any arrangements for it. Not to be outdone by the honorable lieutenant on the
233
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
point of independence, I declined going to the gar- rison under such circumstances, and made an ap- pointment for preaching at Miller's at night. Most of the citizens and some of the soldiers were present, and gave respectful attention; but in the matter of congregation we received rather more than we bar- gained for. During religious service a gang of boatmen, with their vociferous yo-he's, commenced landing and rolling up barrels, etc., near to the door. This was a trick of Kinzie's, so Miller said, out of spite to him for having the honor of entertaining the missionary, and for the agency he took in pro- moting the religion of the place. Some murmurs were uttered on the desecration of the Sabbath, and of disturbing a congregation in the quiet perform- ance of religious worship, and what redress the laws of the land provided; but it was finally concluded that the laws did allow ships' and boats' crews to land their cargoes on the Sabbath, and so the good . people, after having manifested to the missionary a laudable regard for the sacredness of the Sabbath and the rights of religious worship, let the subject pass without further ado, and retired satisfied, no doubt, with the respect they had shown so rare a personage as a preacher of the Gospel.
"I can not say that this was the first sermon, or even the first Methodist sermon, that was ever preached in Chicago, but I may say that there were neither intimations or indications of its ever having been preceded; the whole movement, from
20
234
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
first to last, bore the appearance of a new measure in that place.
"But, whatever numerical rank that sermon may claim, there is one consideration that renders it a subject of serious reflection to me. In years long gone by I had read of the massacre at Chicago, a place somewhere upon this mundane sphere, but upon what locality of our earth I was altogether ignorant. My impression was that it wasa some- where among the antipodes, but a deep feeling of sympathy for the slaughtered victims took possession of my mind. Could any thing short of Omniscience, then, have divined that the same sympathizing, ig- norant individual would one day stand on the very ground, and to some of the identical persons con- nected with the scenes of that fearful day should proclaim the message of 'Peace on earth and good- will to men.' But so it was, and such has ever been the dealing of God toward me. He has led me in paths I had not known, and I trust he will still lead me, and bring me unto his heavenly kingdom."
I might here throw in the weight of my testimony as to whether this sermon of Rev. J. Scarritt's on his first visit to Chicago was in reality the first Methodist sermon ever preached there. Rev. Jesse Walker, and also Mrs. John Hamline, of Peoria, told me that in the Spring of 1826 father Walker went up on his boat from Peoria to Chicago. He had all the hands on board cease work till they could attend prayers, and all joined in singing, and then a fervent
235
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
prayer was offered up in their behalf, asking the merciful protection of a Divine Providence through- out the day. I have no recollection that either of them told me that he preached during his stay. in Chicago; but, if he did not, I presume it was the first time he ever went to a strange place, remaining as long as he did at Chicago, without preaching; and, as that was his errand up there, I have little doubt that he improved the opportunity he sought. He was at Chicago during his stay at Fox River mission, and if any chance offered he would not hes- itate^to improve it.
236
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE present chapter is devoted to the publishing interests of the Methodist Episcopal Church, and is taken from an article written by Rev. E. H. Waring, and published in the North-Western Christian Ad- vocate:
"In the providence of God the proclamation of the 'glad tidings' was accomplished for many centuries solely by the tongue and the pen. But when the Reformation was about to unchain the Word and send it forth untrammeled by Popish restraints, God added to these original agencies the mighty agency of the press, which was consecrated to Christianity by being first employed to print the Holy Scrip- tures in the language of the people. This invention has given a great impulse to the spread of knowl- edge, for it secures the rapid multiplication of books at rates of cost which place them within reach of all classes of the population.
"Wesley, distinguished for his practical sense, availed himself extensively of this means of dissem- inating his teachings, and for some length of time his press supplied the Methodists of England and America with Methodist literature.
"At length Providence opened the way for the es- tablishment of a Methodist publishing house in the
237
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
United States. The business was commenced under the superintendence of Rev. John Dickins, in Phil- adelphia, in 1789. The capital of the infant 'Con- cern' amounted to only six hundred dollars, which .was borrowed from the 'book steward' himself. The first book printed was Thomas a Kempis's ' Imitation of Christ,' followed shortly by the 'Arminian Maga- zine,' the Hymn-Book, the Discipline, the 'Saint's Rest,' and 'Primitive Physic.' Mr. Dickins contin- ued to manage the business, with great fidelity and prudence, till 1798, when he died. He united in himself the offices of pastor, book steward, editor, and clerk.
"We can not, for want of space and information, enumerate all the changes which have occurred in the management and progress of the business during the seventy-four years of its existence. In 1804 the establishment was removed to New York, which city possessed the greatest facilities for the successful prosecution of the business. In 1808 the agents were released from pastoral duty, and were required to occupy themselves entirely with the duties of their office. Up to 1822 all the printing and binding was done by the job, in private establishments in the city. In that year a bindery was established in a building rented for the purpose, in Crosby-street, and the building referred to was purchased and a printing office set in it in September, 1824. This building, with additions made from time to time, being insuf- ficient to accommodate the growing business, the
238
EARLY HISTORY OF THE
present site on Mulberry-street was purchased in 1832, and new buildings were erected for the Con- cern, into which it was removed in September, 1833. These buildings, with an immense amount of stock and material, were destroyed by fire in February, 1836, involving a loss of $250,000. To replace the Concern and renew the business $88,346.09 was re- ceived in subscriptions and collections made through- out the Church, and $25,000 from insurance. With these means the agents proceeded to erect the build- ings which are still occupied by the Concern, and the business went forward once more.
"The Concern at Cincinnati was established in 1820, under the direction of the late lamented Martin Ruter, who continued in its management till 1832.
"It is to be regretted that full information re- specting the progress of the publishing business of the Church is not within general reach. The exhib- its of the agents have not been published with the papers of the General Conference, excepting those presented at the last two sessions, and we can not find any satisfactory account of the early history of the Western Book Concern. Whoever will gather all the available information respecting our publish- ing interests, East and West, and publish it for the benefit of the public, will do a good service to the Church.
"Respecting the early history of the General Book Concern at New York, Ezekiel Cooper, who succeeded
239
WEST AND NORTH-WEST.
Mr. Dickins in the agency, and managed the busi- ness from 1798 to 1808, in his letter of resignation to the General Conference of 1808 says that the total assets of the Concern in 1799 were only $4,000, and the net capital only $1,000; but at the close of his term he reported the aggregate capital to be $45,000. The following exhibit shows the state of the Concern at the periods specified :
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.