USA > Illinois > Lee County > Recollections of the pioneers of Lee County [Illinois] > Part 17
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Leaving Chicago-which then was but a respectable village, clustered on the shore of the lake about the mouth of the insignificant bayou called the "river"-we were not long in reaching the first stage station. Here fresh horses were secured and with successive relays of animals, and under the direction of skilltul "Jehu" drivers, we swept over the beauti- ful emerald ocean until we reached what was then known as the "Rock River country." Enchanting as had been the scenery all the way, it seemed to us that nothing could excel the beauty of the region around what was then known as "Dixon's Ferry." For miles before we reached the little cluster of houses so named, the landscape seemed to acquire new attractions at every step, until, ascending the eminence to the east of the valley, we attained a view of the valley and the crystal stream rolling through it, our involuntary exclamation was, "surely nothing can excel this." The judgment then formed has not been reversed, though nearly half a century has since passed away.
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Our destination being Galena, the center of the mining section of the state, we were not many hours in reaching that city, which we found to be at that early day a far more attractive and more wealthy place than Chicago. The principal industries were mining lead ore, smelting it and shipping the lead. As the chief market for this metal was England, the circulating medium in and around Galena was largely gold of the denom- ination of sovereigns. These having in the mines a local value exceeding by some four or five cents each what they would bring elsewhere, were kept very largely in that portion of the State. Little paper money was in circulation, and what there was seemed to be looked upon with suspi- cion, as indeed it might well be, for the banks were then mostly of a private, and very largely of an irresponsible character. Silver for small change was quite plentiful, though it was hard for eastern ears to recog- nize it under the new names it bore. The "levy," "fip," and "bit," were the names of honest silver coin, and names brought in by the emigrants from the south who found their way to the mines in search of remuner- ative employment. These same persons. from the southern portion of the state, and largely of the least thrifty class, gave, it was said, the soubriquet, "Suckers," to Illinoisans.
The calling of the writer of these reminiscences, that of minister of the gospel, and a home missionary, led him to make frequent excursions into the region round about Galena, extending as far south upon the . Mississippi River as Rock Island and Keokuk, and as far east and south- east as Rockford and Dixon. It was a peculiarly wild, and in an early day, lawless region.
Notwithstanding the fact that all through the mining region, and down the Mississippi river and up through the Rock River valley, and east and south to the Illinois River much lawlessness prevailed, I have to record with pleasure that I was never molested nor insulted-on the other hand, my profession being known, I was invariably treated with respect and courtesy. In that early day transportation was granted me without charge on the steamboats, and entertainment was free to me as a clergyman, both in hotels and private residences. Often when I have offered pay it has been kindly but firmly refused; and this courteous treatment was not confined to the christian or even the moral portion of the various communities visited. On a certain occasion, when on a mis- sionary tour, I saw a number of men gathered around a log cabin by the roadside in a very lonely forest. I halted my horse and spoke to them. I told them that I was a minister of the gospel and asked the privilege of addressing them upon the subject of religion. They readily assented
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and politely asked me to alight. One man took my horse, another opened the door and led the way into the cabin. I then discovered that it was a rough backwoods drinking saloon. The only table in the room was covered with bottles filled with liquor. These were quickly removed and placed on the wide window-sill, and the table became my pulpit. Dispensing with singing I opened my Bible and preached to an attentive audience "of righteousness, temperance and judgment to come." What the result was I don't know; I only know that rough men were willing to listen as the gospel was proclaimed, and treated the bearer of the divine message with courtesy and kindness.
The last remnant of the aborigines had been removed from Illinois before my arrival in the state, though many who had participated in the conflict which preceded and accompanied the last serious outbreak, known as the "Black Hawk War," still lived, and had many tales to tell of the struggle between the early settlers and the red men. A block house for the protection of the inhabitants living between Galena and Dixon had been built on Apple River, near the little mining town of Elizabeth, some fifteen or sixteen miles south of Galena. The families residing in this region extending as far west as the Mississippi river, and as far east as Freeport and south to Dixon, had been notified probably by Shabbona, an Indian always friendly to the whites, of an intended out- break of the savages, and many of them had repaired to the block-house near Elizabeth, resolved to defend themselves against the foe. They had not long to wait. A marauding band of Indians surrounded the lit- tle fort, and, protected by the trees and dense shrubbery, lay in wait to pick off any who might be exposed to the deadly aim of their rifles. In the meantime those in the block-house were prepared for defense. A platform had been built some five or six feet above the floor, and upon this the men were ranged ready to fire from the port-holes left between the logs. The women in the meantime, under the leadership of "Aunt Betty Armstrong," as she was familiarly called, a strong minded and courageous woman, moulded bullets and loaded the muskets of their hus- bands and brothers, determined to do their part in defending themselves and their families from the savages. The siege continued for many hours. In the course of the battle-as Mrs. Armstrong herself informed me-an Indian bullet pierced the neck of one of the men upon the plat- form and he fell among the women below. "As he lay there," to employ Mrs. Armstrong's own words, "You never saw a hog bleed prettier," Mr. Harsha, "than he did." His jugular vein was cut as neatly as a knife could have done it, and in a few minutes the man was dead. One of the other
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men on the platform was so frightened at this that he dropped his gun, and was about to abandon his post. £ Seeing this, added Aunt Betty, "I pointed a gun at him which I had just loaded, and told him that if he did not stand his ground there would be another white man lying dead in less than a minute. This settled it, and no one else played the coward during the fight." Finding that they could not take the little fort, the Indians raised the seige and quietly left, bearing their dead and wounded . with them. .
Another battle took place with the Indians about this time, not far from Elkhorn Grove, which was more disastrous to the whites than the one at the block-house on the Apple River. The whites, in attacking the Indians who were hidden in a thicket, became exposed upon the open prairie, and were repulsed with the loss of several of their number in killed and wounded. An Indian pony from which one of these was shot was kept until his death at a great age, by Col. Mitchell, at Elizabeth. The man who was shot from the pony was Col. Mitchell's son-in-law, but his name has escaped me. These skirmishes were preliminary to the Black Hawk war. Into the details of the Black Hawk war this narrative need not enter, as the incidents of that event, which ended for the State of Illinois the drama of Indian conflicts, have passed into general his- tory. The following, however, in connection with the now thriving city of Dixon, communicated to me by Mr. Dixon himself, the founder of the town, may be of interest. When the Black Hawk war broke out, General Scott, who had charge of the Northwestern Military Department, and was at Fort Snelling, Minnesota, ordered the militia, which had been called out for the defense of the citizens, to rendezvous at Dixon. To muster these volunteers into the .United States service, General Scott sent two young Lieutenants from Fort Snelling to Dixon, while he him- self with the regular troops intended to descend the Mississippi River, and attack the Indians in their principal village near the junction of Rock River with the Mississippi. Mr. Dixon kept the only tavern then in Dixon, being a double log cabin, and entertained the militia officers, as well as the two lieutenants sent to muster them into service. One of these young officers sent from Fort Snelling-as Mr. Dixon afterward told me, was a bright, sprightly young man, very talkative, and exceedingly inquisitive as to the habits of the Indians, while the other seemed very quiet, retiring and modest. The young men were about twenty-two or twenty-three years of age. They administered the oath to the volunteers, among whom was a captain about their own age who was dressed in Ken- tucky jeans, hailing from Sangamon county, Illinois, and then went on
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to join General Scott at Rock Island.
Years rolled away and the great rebellion was inaugurated, when the the three young men meeting thus in Dixon during the Black Hawk war, filled the most prominent positions in the land. The Sanganion county captain was Abraham Lincoln; president of the United States; the sprightly young lieutenant was Jefferson Davis, president of the South- ern Confederacy, and the modest, retiring young lieutenant, as Captain Anderson, was the first to defend the flag at Fort Sumpter, in Charleston harbor.
Being in New York City shortly after the evacuation of Fort Sumter, I related, one evening at the supper table of Mr. Black, of the firm of Ball, Black & Co., the then noted jewelers, the above facts as they had been told me by Mr. Dixon. William Black, a son of Mr. Black, remarked, on hearing me, that Captain, now General Anderson, was living in the city, and if I wished he would take me to see him, as he was acquainted with the general, and we could ascertain whether he would confirm Mr. Dixon's statement. Gladly assenting to Mr. Black's proposal I fixed upon the next evening to make a call.
During the afternoon of the next day I was in the book store of Rob- ert Carter & Bros., 530 Broadway, and related to Robert Carter the facts as above given, touching Lincoln, Davis and Anderson, and told him that I expected to call on General Anderson that evening for a confirmation of Mr. Dixon's statement. Just as I had finished my remarks to Mr. Carter, a gentleman, who had been standing with his back to us looking over the books upon the shelves, turned suddenly, and stepping up to us, said: "That is so, sir, for I was there myself." Upon this, Mr. Carter introduced me to the gentleman, saying, "Rev. Dr. Gallagher, Mr. Harsha.' Dr. Gallagher then proceeded. "Yes," he said, "I was chaplain at Fort Snelling at the time, and was sent by General Scott with Davis and Anderson to Dixon, and when they had mustered the troops there into the service of the United States, we went on to meet General Scott at Rock Island, and I well remember the difficulties we encountered in find- ing our way across the then trackless prairies." Dr. Gallagher was a Presbyterian clergyman, and at the time of this interview, was the finan cial agent of the Union Theological Seminary in New York City. The testimony was no less unexpected than gratifying.
According to the appointment I went that evening and called upon General Anderson. When I told him the object of my visit, and had asked him for his recollection of what had occurred at Dixon, he fully confirmed Mr. Dixon's statement, and added: "After the fall of Fort
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Sumpter, my nervous system was completely broken down, and Mr. Lincoln invited me to visit him in Washington. I had not met him after our meeting at Dixon, until my visit to him at the White House. There Mr. Lincoln reminded me of the Black Hawk days, and said to me, in his kindly, familiar manner: "Anderson, you and Davis administered to me at Dixon the first oath I ever took to defend the Constitution of the United States." General Anderson inquired whether Mr. Dixon were still alive, and when answered in the affirmative, said: "Please remem- ber me to him, and say, if we never meet on earth, I hope to meet him in heaven."
But the flight of time has brought to all our land marvelous changes. The beautiful prairies of those early days, have been turned under by the thrifty settler's plow, and where the wild rose, the aster, the golden rod, the buttercup and the daisy once nodded in the breeze, the corn raises its stately head, and the waving wheat fields bespeak the coming harvest. Neither forts nor block-houses dot the landscape to tell of defense from the Indian rifle and scalping knife. Thirfty towns, and villages, and cities; stately homes proclaiming wealth and luxury, have taken the place of the squatter's humble cabin. The hardy pioneers, who "bore the burden and heat" of those early days, are passed away, and their children and children's children enjoy the fruits of their thoughtful toil. The great rebellion has come and gone. Lincoln and Davis, and Ander- son, nearly all who bore a part in that great struggle, have passed into the eternal world. The few survivors of those pioneer days, white haired and feeble now, await the summons which shall call them into the land immortal. W. W. HARSHA.
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J. MANZ & CO CHI.
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FATHER DIXON'S CABIN AND FERRY IN 1832.
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Dixon's First Temperance Pledge. -
The sun that shines so brightly down This day, upon our pleasant town, Some sixty years ago had seen The first white settler on our green; "Nachusa," as the Indians said, Or, "man with white hair on his head," Then stood upon our river's banks, First pioneer among the ranks Of those who to Rock Valley came,
To make themselves a Western name.
Rock River courses in beauty there Around its lovely Islands rare, Although no bridge its breadth did span; The daily sun in splendor died, To rise again in all its pride, But only shone on prairie land Untilled by any white man's hand; The Winnebago Indians stood Possessed of Dixon's plains and woods,
Although this country had been sold To Government for trade and gold.
Thus, scarcely had the white man come, To find a cabin roof his home,
When an old Chief and part his band, Around Nachusa's hearth did stand, And queried, in the red man's way, . If he "had come to go or stay ?" Owanica, his Indian name; Old Jarro, to our men, the same; He, the Pottawatomie language knew, And, as Nachusa spoke it too, They talked, and Jarro's men stood still, While he interpreted at will; And for their questioning glances, sought The whiskey which the white man brought.
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Nachusa sternly shook his head, "No whiskey had he brought," he said; "And would not buy or keep it there ?" Old Jarro asked, while scowled his men, "If he would get some they'd be glad, It not-'twas bad-'twas very bad."
Nachusa saw-and quickly then, He took to Jarro and his men Both flour and corn, and many things Which only white to red man brings; And as the lowering brows gave way, He bade them call another day; And this on every day was done, Until old Jarro called alone; With such good food, his appetite
Was scarce appeased from morn 'till night;
And always did the white man tell Of whiskey, and its curse as well,
Persuading him each day and hour, To free him from its evil power; And so the Chief proclaimed that he Was temperate, in Thirty-Three- Declaring that himself and men, Should never be found drunk again;
And this a "Temperance Pledge" became, Before this town was built or named.
Some time had passed when Jarro went To make a grieved and sad lament; "Two warriors at Galena bought The whiskey which the Indians sought. And on the island, near the dam, Were many drinking, and he ran To tell their names-Nachusa must Treat them with scorn and so be just."
Two days' and nights' carousal high, And then the leading man drew nigh. Holding his hand in friendly token, As though no temperance pledge was broken, Amazement in his face to trace The anger in Nachusa's face, As, with arms crossed upon his breast, Nachusa stood in quiet rest, Or backward drew, as the red man His questioning dialogue began.
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"Why was he angry? it was not he Who any wrong had done-nor he" -! "Stop" said Nachusa, do not lie, I know the reasons all, and why"; And beckoning him away, told cause Of all his anger-bade him pause,
"He would not see nor speak to him Without severest reckoning; For he was mad-was very mad- If red man drank would not be glad."
The warrior stopped and looking sad Inquired "how long he would be mad?" "Until next moon? that was too long;" But fixedly was the white man strong, And sternly bade him give it up, The fatal, poisonous, whiskey cup, "Or cling to drink and never more Seek out his face or pass his door." Rock River's waters, coldly blue,_ Beheld the stormy interview.
Eleven days after, in the light That shuts out day and takes in night, Just as the full moon's silvery sheen Was trailing o'er the prairies green, The Indian in the gloaming stood, With hands hield out in gracious mood; Nachusa to the erring ran- Made happy signs of friendly man, . And thus the second pledge was made, Which lasted while old Jarro stayed.
Nachusa told inquirers then, He lived before the "Old Wolf's Den," Across the waters dark and blue, For thus they all the country knew; The Old Wolf's Den, on North Side bluff, Where, though the climbing may be rough, The earliest and sweetest flowers grow, From which our stranger friends are shownl The town and finest elm tree known.
Nachusa smoked the pipe of peace Though not from Indian theft released; So, with the tribe, when payment came For these same lands, he went to claim The specie for a missing cow-
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And horse that wandered (none knew how) To Winnebago Fort, where Captain Lowe With kindly inquiries pressed him so, Nachusa told of Jarro's weal. And of his temperance work and zeal,
The Captain laughed, sarcastic peals Which tells the hearer what one feels; Recalling all the friendly aid To ragged, drinking Jarro made, Declared that "he knew Indians well, And so could for a surety tell, That Jarro, if a chance he got, Would prove the most degraded sot;"
And turning tothe sutler's store; Beckoned the chief within the door, And in a pleasant, friendly way Asked him some questions as he stayed: The while he filled a large tin cup. And said the Chief should take a sup.
Old Jarro thanked him kindly then, But said he "feared the great white man, And so would take the whiskey out And watch his chance, for thereabouts. (The Captain he would understand) Nachusa stood with threatening hand."
The Captain for the Fort had left. When Jarro to Nachusa crept, And telling all the doubtful story, With Indian haughtiness and glory, Led him some distance in the wood, When the tin cup as well filled stood As he could bear it in his hand, The proudest chief in all the land, To prove the tempter was mistaken; The chieftan's pledge was not forsaken.
Old Jarro raised himself upright And poised the cup in Dixon's sight, Then turning on;his heel, half 'round. He poured the contents on the ground, And with the noble thought and deed. The red man of the forest said, "Owanica had promised well! And you, Nachusa, now can tell That not a drop of cursed fire Has passed his lips-he was no liar."
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For Winnebago lives in name; The Winnebagoes-who can tell If any feel the temperance spell? Rock River, bridged by many a span, And subject to the works of man, Still sees Nachusa's snow white head, And flows beneath his measured tread, And hears, with many an old time tale, Of the Temperance Pledge that did not fail. H. E. UNDERWOOD.
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NOTES FROM MR. DIXON.
The full moon was the Indians time of reckoning. When the Central railroad was built in Dixon they cut away the old wolf's den for the north end of the railroad bridge. It used to be a large cave, and beyond the portion you could enter, a narrow passage led to the den-the resort for many wolves. Winnebago Fort was on the peninsula between the Fox and Wisconsin rivers and about a mile from either.
"Mother" Dixon.
0 NE OF the most remarkable of the many noble women among the early settlers who made their homes in the Rock River valley was Mrs. Rebecca Dixon.
Born at Peekskill, New York, and reared near New York City, of re- fined and cultured parentage, with a broad mind, well educated, she with her husband. early became possessed of a desire to go west and cast in their lot with the pioneers of a new and almost unknown country. They came first to Sangamon county, near Springfield, but afterwards moved to Peoria, Illinois, he having been appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court of Peoria county, and after remaining for four years, Mr. Dixon having contracted for carrying the mail from Peoria to Galena, and being obliged to cross Rock River, became enamoured of the Rock River country, and - soon purchased the ferry across Rock River at what is now Dixon. Here Mr. and Mrs. Dixon moved, and he established his claims to the territory covered by Dixon and its surroundings Here Mr. Dixon might be said to be "monarch of all he surveyed." His was the only white family on Rock River, and Mrs. Dixon the only white woman between' Peoria and Galena, and her only neighbors were the red men of the forest.
By her kind, gentle, yet firm and christian deportment she soon gained the confidence and esteem of her neighbors and . ever retained it. The door of her log cabin was never barred, and the latch string was never drawn in night or day. "The latchstring was always out." "Nachusa," (the white haired) as the Indiaus called Mr. Dixon, was always the recog- nized friend of the red man, and they consulted him in all their difficul- ties; and when any of them incurred his displeasure the culprit came to Mrs. Dixon at the first opportunity, saying, "Nachusa mad, me 'fraid Nachusa," and begged her to intercede for him and persuade Nachusa to turn away his anger. The Indians had a wholesome fear of Nachusa, and dreaded his anger. Old Shabbona, chief of the Winnebago trihe, was, for years after the Indians left this region, an annual visitor at Mr. Dixon's, where he spent days in smoking and chatting with "Nachusa."
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The Indians respected and revered Mrs. Dixon, and were always ready to do her bidding, and were completely under her control.
Here Mr. and Mrs. Dixon endured patiently and cheerfully all the privations and inconviences incident to a new country, among which the loss of intelligent and refined society, the complete isolation, the lack of the comforts and luxuries of a well appointed home were not the least. Yet she never laid aside her dignity, her queenliness of deportment, her refinement, her self-respect, her perfect womanliness. No man, however low his instinct, could be in her presence a moment without feeling awed and subdued by her queenly dignity and perfectly ladylike presence. Though a frail, slight woman, probably never weighing more than ninety pounds, and never in robust health, she neither feared or failed toadhere to her strict temperence principles in the presence of the roughest traveler who asked shelter in her home. If he attempted to bring liquor into the house, she took it from him, saying simply: "This is forbid In here, "or, "We cannot have this," and poured it on the ground.
Dr. Oliver Everett, who was always their family physician, has many times said in the hearing of the writer, "She was a wonderful woman and I count it one of the greatest blessings and privileges of my life that I was permitted to enjoy the society and friendship of Mrs. Dixon. Rev. Thomas Powell, who was a member of the Sunday school in New York City, of which Mr. Dixon was superintendent before coming to Illinois, expressed himself in like manner, and said she was a wonderful woman, and that he counted it a great privilege to have been permitted to sit at her feet and be a learner. Rev. Mr. Powell was for many years a mis- sionary of the American Baptist Missionary Union and has many times preached in Dixon. Mrs. Dixon was at home in the governor's mansion, and also in the homes of the poor. Mr. Dixon being on the Board of Public Works, was frequently called to the capital of our state on busi- ness and was accompanied at times by Mrs. Dixon. She was always re- ceived by the officials with due respect and with the unaffected greeting due to a heartily welcomed and highly esteemed guest.
Everyone honored and respected her, and when the community was solicited by her for aid in the care of the sick or for the relief of the poor and destitute, everyone was ready to respond cheerfully to her request.
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