USA > Indiana > A popular history of Indiana : with an introduction > 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
The name of Joaquin Miller is universally associated with the Rocky Mountain region, where most of his life has been spent. Many of his poems are vivid pictures of the rough, wild and romantic life of the miners' camps of those rugged mountains, and the cattle ranches of the western plains. But he was born in the Wabash district of this state, where he lived until about thirteen years of age.
Some one has said that "Indiana has had the honor of producing the author of the greatest novel of the latter half of the nineteenth century."
Len Wallace.
The novel referred to is " Ben Ilur." The versatility of Lew Wallace's genius is quite phe- nomenal. Distinguished as a sol- dier and a diplomat, excelling as an artist, his greatest fame has ยท been won in literature. His na- tive place is Brookville, Franklin county, where he was born April 10, IS27. His mother was the daughter of the eminent Judge Test. She died when Wallace was ten years of age. As a child
239
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Lew Wallace was somewhat intractable. The restraints and routine of the school-room were very distasteful to him. His father, Governor David Wallace, used to say that he had "paid Lewis' tuition for fourteen years, and he had never gone to school one." He was for a brief period an attendant at Wabash College, Crawfordsville. His talent for sketching was very pronounced, and while a child he indulged freely in "clever caricatures of his school-master and school- mates on scraps of paper, bits of wood, and the fly-leaves of his otherwise unused school-books. He wore in those days a white oil-cloth cap, and when taken to church against his will, embellished the crown of it with faithful sketches of the preacher and of members of the congregation whose peculiari- ties happened to attract his attention." Beautiful oil paintings in the possession of friends, and a realistic picture called "The Dead Line," hanging in the armory of the Terre Haute Light Guards, attest his talent as an artist. But it was not in this field that his laurels were to be won.
In boyhood his health was delicate, and he was sent into the country, where he closely studied nature and read a great many books. He passed most of his time in fishing, reading and dreaming, finding in his books and his fertile imagination a companionship which he usually preferred to that of boy friends. When war was declared with Mexico Lew Wallace was but nineteen years of age, and was reading law in Indian- apolis He enlisted in our army, and was soon appointed a first lieutenant. His military career has been traced in another chapter. While serving in Mexico, he saw many remains of
240
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
the ancient civilization of that country, which kindled his imagination and suggested to his mind the romance which was afterward embodied in " The Fair God," his first notable literary production. But twenty years passed before the book was completed, during which time there were seven years that the manuscript was untouched.
It was also while in Mexico that Lew Wallace learned, through a comrade, of Sarah Elston of Crawfordsville, who became his wife. She has also gained some repute as a writer, and, being a lover of books and literary pursuits, she has proved a congenial and helpful companion to her husband.
During the administration of President Hayes, General Wallace was appointed governor of New Mexico. During his residence in Santa Fe, in the old palace of the Pueblos, he finished writing "Ben Hur." When General Garfield became president, he appointed General Wallace minister to Turkey, where he became a great favorite with the Sultan. After a change of administration General Wallace returned to this country, since which time he has devoted himself to literary pursuits.
As we enter the realm of poetry, such a chorus of song- sters greet us that it is with difficulty we are able to choose those most worthy of notice in this little volume. We have many sweet singers, who have only local reputations, whose heart melodies are chaste and beautiful. They have con- tributed to newspaper and magazine literature, but have never preserved their work in permanent form.
241
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Before the forests were felled, they were musical with the melody of birds, whose voices now are hushed forever. But in those early days were other singers, the echoes of whose thoughts and inspiration still reach us. Among them was Sarah T. Bolton, whose name is perhaps more widely known than that of any other Indiana verse writer. She has been aptly called the "poetess of Indi- ana." She was born in Kentucky in 1814, but came to this state when a little girl, and it has been her home ever since. She spent several years abroad, accompany- ing her husband, the late Nathan- iel Bolton, an accomplished and scholarly man, who was consul to Geneva, Switzerland, for several SARAH T. BOLTON. years. Previous to that time they suffered many reverses, and for several years had a hard struggle with poverty. She is now in the decline of life, but her muse is young and vigorous, and still pours forth the music of her soul. Her poems have been collected and published in a finely-illustrated volume. Her poem "Indiana" is a noble tribute to a noble commonwealth.
Louisa M. Chitwood, who was born and educated at Mt. Carmel, did not live to fulfill the brilliant promise of her early life, as she died at the age of twenty-three. But such was the merit of her poems that George D. Prentice, her friend and admirer, collected them after her death, and published them
242
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
in a little volume. The "Graves of the Flowers" is one of her sweetest, tenderest songs.
Judge Biddle, of Logansport, has been prominent as a lawyer, has written treatises on scientific subjects, and has also contributed to the poetical literature of the state. IIe is a native of Ohio, but removed to Logansport in youth, engaging in the practice of the law.
Although John B. Dillon wrote a number of excellent poems-that entitled "The Burial of the Beautiful" being the first to attract attention-he is much better known as an his- torian. The first history of our state was his production. Dillon was a Virginian by birth, a printer by trade, and a self-educated man. For many years he was state librarian, and afterward secretary of the State Historical Society.
Lee O. Harris has written much over the nom de plume of Larry O'Hannegan. Many of his poems have appeared in the Indianapolis Sentinel. He has been a writer since boyhood. In 1880 he founded the Home and School Visitor. Harris is also the author of an admirable prose work, entitled "The Man Who Tramps."
With the literary development of the state, the name of Richard Lew Dawson has been prominently connected. The call for the organization of the Western Association of Writers in 1886 was issued by him. This was the first organization of the kind in the United States. Although engaged in com- mercial pursuits, he finds time to write poems, sketches and plays. He made the acquaintance of the reading public through the columns of the Indianapolis Sentinel. His style
243
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
is lyrical and humorous. Many of his best poems are written in Hoosier dialect.
A volume of poems of rare merit, entitled "Rosemary Leaves," is the product of Mrs. D. M. Jordan's pen. She is a humorous as well as a pathetic writer. IIer home is Rich- mond, where, for more than ten years, she was one of the editors of the Richmond Independent.
Benjamin S. Parker is the author of a volume of poems, entitled "A Cabin in the Clearing," which contains many creditable verses, some of them picturing with fidelity and sympathy certain picturesque and dramatic phases of pioneer life in Indiana.
But the most truly popular poet of Indiana is James Whit- comb Riley, whose fame is not bounded by the limits even of our own land, but has extended beyond the seas. He has been called "the leader of con- temporary writers of American verse," and is familiarly known as the "Hoosier poet." He was born in Greenfield about 1852, and his father was an attorney. Riley left school at an early age, preferring a wandering life of adventure and change to the routine of a school- room. He supported himself by painting signs, and his name can JAMES WHITCOMB RILEY. still be seen on some of the Green-
field signs. While following this business he would sometimes
244
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
feign blindness that he might obtain more patronage. Tiring of this vagabond life, Riley became a member of a theatrical troupe, recast several plays, and improvised songs.
About 1875 he began contributing dialect verses to the Indianapolis fournal, which were reproduced in eastern papers, and soon won for him a wide reputation. Among his pub- lished volumes are "The Boss Girl and Other Sketches," "Character Sketches and Poems," "Afterwhiles," "Pipes o' Pan and Tewksbury," and "Rhymes for Childhood." This last title indicates a line of work in which the poet has won special renown-the delineation of juvenile character. He is a man of rare genius, and his fame is a source of pride to every Indianian.
Among the literary men of the state, Maurice Thompson fills a conspicuous place, but he is such a many-sided genius that we hardly know where to class him.
He has been called the "poet naturalist of the west," and it has been said of him, "that he sees as a naturalist, imagines as a poet, and paints as an artist."
MAURICE THOMPSON.
The study of nature has been a life-long pleasure for him, as, even when a boy, it was his chief delight. With the nature and habits of bird life Maurice Thompson has gained an intimate acquaintance, and in this depart- ment of science none rank higher
245
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
in the state. He is a native Indianian, but early removed with his parents to the south, living several years in Georgia. He was carefully educated by private tutors, and served through the civil war in the Confederate army. At the close of the war he returned to Indiana, became a civil engineer, then a lawyer, served in the legislature, and subsequently became state geologist and chief of the depart- ment of natural history, in which capacity he rendered im- portant services. A long list of published volumes attests his industry and his versatility. Among them are "Sylvan Secrets," "Hoosier Mosaics," "The Witchery of Archery," "The Boys' Book of Sports," "By. Ways and Bird Notes," "A Fortnight of Folly," and "The Story of Louisiana," in the "Commonwealth Series." He is also literary editor of the New York Independent. His home is at Crawfordsville.
John Clark Ridpath was born in Putnam county, April 26, 1840. He was not satisfied with an education obtained from the county schools alone, and, teaching for a while to enable him to pursue a college course, he entered De Pauw Uni- versity, where he graduated with the highest honors of his class. He was subsequently made professor of English litera- ture at De Pauw, and afterward became its vice-president. From the University of Syracuse, N. Y., Professor Ridpath received the degree of LL.D. He is the author of several standard school histories, a "Monograph on Alexander Hamil- ton," a "History of Texas," a "Cyclopedia of Universal History," and a number of other works, being a prolific as well as a popular writer.
246
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
J. P. Dunn, secretary of the Indiana Historical Society, is the author of the " History of Indiana," in the commonwealth series, and "Massacres of the Mountains." Both works are recognized as authorities upon their respective subjects, and embody the fruits of original research, while their literary merits are exceptional.
There are still other writers who are well known, but to whom Indiana is not generally supposed to have any claim. Among them are Mrs. Rose Hartwick Thorpe, the author of "Curfew Must not Ring To-night," who was born at Misha- waka, in this state; Mrs. Rebecca Ruter Springer, whose native place is Indianapolis; Mrs. Alice Williams Brotherton, born at Cambridge; and Mrs. Constance Faunt Le Roy Runcie, a musical composer as well as a verse writer, who is a native of Indianapolis, and a grand-daughter of Robert Dale Owen, and Colonel John Hay, whose name is so familiar to the reading public as one of the writers of "The Life of Lin- coln," published in the Century Magazine, and also as the writer of "Little Breeches" and other verse. Colonel Hay was born in Salem.
1
CHAPTER XXVIII.
INDIANA'S WORK IN SCIENCE.
A RECORD OF NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT-THE FRUITFUL LABORS OF THREE DISTINGUISHED BROTHERS, ROBERT DALE OWEN, DAVID DALE OWEN AND RICHARD OWEN-KIRKWOOD, THE EMINENT ASTRONOMER ; JORDAN, AN AUTHORITY ON NATURAL HISTORY, AND COULTER, THE BOTANIST-AN ARRAY OF GREAT NAMES.
On the long list of Indiana's distinguished literary and scientific men appear the names of three brothers-Robert Dale Owen, celebrated as a progressive and able politician, as well as a prolific writer, and David Dale and Richard Owen, eminent in the world of science.
The three brothers were natives of Scotland. Having prepared for college they were sent to Hafwyl, near Berne, Switzerland. During the years 1827 and 1828 they became citizens of the United States, following their father to New Harmonie.
In 1835 Robert Dale Owen was elected to the state legislature, where he served three terms. It was largely due to his efforts, while a member of that body, that one-half of that part of the surplus revenue of the United States that had been appropriated to Indiana was set apart for the sup- port of public schools. He also introduced the bill giving married women the right to hold property. In 1843 Robert
247
248
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Dale Owen was elected to Congress by the Democrats. He represented his district in that body two terms. He intro- duced the bill which provided for the organization of the Smithsonian Institution, and was made chairman of the select committee on that subject, having as a colleague John Quincy Adams. He was afterward appointed one of the regents of the Smithsonian, as well as chairman of its building committee. He was a leading member of the convention which remodeled the state constitution in I851. In the same year he again became a member of the legislature, and in 1855 was appointed minister to the Neapolitan government, having acted as charge d'affaires at Naples for two years.
A letter written by Robert Dale Owen to President Lincoln during the civil war, advocating as it did the eman- cipation of the slaves "as a measure sanctioned alike by the laws of war and by the dictates of humanity," had, so Salmon P. Chase said, " more effect in deciding the president to make the proclamation than all the other communications combined." A number of Mr. Owen's addresses on political subjects were published in pamphlet form, and widely circu- lated by leagues of eastern cities. A discussion with Horace Greeley on the subject of divorce, published in the New York Tribune, and afterward put in pamphet form, had a circula- tion of 60,000 copies. But it was not alone on political questions that Robert Dale Owen's pen was employed. His published works cover a wide range. Among them are "Moral Physiology," "Discussion with Origen Bachelor on the Personality of God and the Authority of the Bible,"
219
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
" Pocahontas-A Drama," "Hints on Public Architecture." " Footprints on the Boundary of Another World," "Beyond the Breakers," "Debatable Land Between this World and the Next," and " Threading My Way," an autobiography. Mr. Owen was a spiritualist and the last three works named pertain to that subject. He died at his summer home on Lake George, N. Y., June, 1877. He bore the title of LL. D., conferred upon him by the State University in 1872.
David Dale Owen was an eminent geologist. After devoting several years, both in this country and Europe, to the study of geology and natural history, he was employed in 1837 by the legislature of Indiana to conduct a geological survey of the state. In 1839 he was appointed geologist by the United States government, with instructions to examine the mineral lands of Iowa. This was one of the first geo- logical investigations conducted by the national government. In 1849 he was similarly employed in Minnesota, $40,000 being appropriated for the work by the government. The results of these examinations were published after each explor- ation.
The geological examinations of David Dale Owen were rendered more thorough and satisfactory by the fact of his being able as a chemist to analyze minerals and wtaers. He was also a naturalist and artist, and accompanied his reports with descriptions of fossils new to science, and sketches of scenery, rock strata, etc., and maps. After serving the states of Ken- tucky and Arkansas as state geologist, he was, in 1859, appointed to the same position in Indiana; but dying at his
250
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
home in New Harmonie in 1860, his brother Richard was chosen to fill his place. The laboratory and museum of David Dale Owen was considered one of the best in the country. His collection of specimens was purchased by the State University at a cost of $20,000.
Richard Owen, also an eminent geologist, was the author of a "Key to the Geology of the Globe," and of many instruc- tive scientific articles published in magazines. His numerous reports, especially those relating to the geological surveys of Indiana, Minnesota, New Mexico. Arizona and North Carolina are of great value and interest to the world of science. In the Mexican war he served as captain of the Sixteenth United States infantry, and was a lieutenant colonel of volunteers in the civil war. While professor of natural sciences in the West- ern Military Institute of Kentucky he received the degree of M.D. from a Nashville medical college. Richard Owen served for a short time as state geologist of Indiana, but most of his service to the state was rendered while acting as professor in Indiana University-first of natural philosophy and chemistry, and later of natural science and chemistry. After being thus connected with the university for fifteen years he resigned, and devoted his time to scientific research and investigation. In
1871 he was made LL.D. by Wabash College. He was considered the greatest authority on the subject of earth- quakes. Accidentally taking a dose of poison, while engaged in chemical experiments in his laboratory, he died from its effects March 25, 1890, at his home in New Harmonie.
During the lifetime of these remarkable brothers, this
251
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
village was considered the "Mecca for all scientific travelers in America." Few ever came to this country from abroad who did not wend their way to the home of this celebrated group.
Of the living scientists, Drs. Kirkwood and Jordan and Professor Coulter are the most distinguished. Their fame is not bounded by the limits of the state, but extends through the scientific circles of the world. David Kirkwood's birth-place was Bladenburg, Md. In carly life his educational advan- tages were limited, but he was a natural student, and in 1856, such were his scholarly attainments, that he was called to fill the chair of mathematics in Indiana University. This position he occupied until 1886, with the exception of two years, during which time he served Washington and Jefferson College, Pa., in the same capacity. While there the degree of A.M. was conferred upon him by that college, and that of LL.D. by the University of Pennsylvania. The stars and the planets have been his favorite study, and he has solved many of the myste- ries of the heavens. Professor Kirkwood has contributed a large number of able papers on astronomical subjects to the scientific journals of this country and Europe. In ISS6 he resigned his position in Indiana University, and three years later removed to Riverside, Cal., making that the home of his declin- ing years.
Professor David Starr Jordan, while a boy, was very fond of studying nature, early in life becoming a botanist. It was to develop and gratify this taste that he entered upon a college course at Cornell University, where, in 1872, he graduated with the degree of M.S. In after years he received from the
252
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
Indiana Medical College the degree of M.D .; from Butler Uni- versity that of Ph.D., and from Cornell University that of LL.D. From the time that he completed his college course he was associated with various schools and universities as instructor in natural sciences. For four years he was professor of biology in Butler University, and for six years occupied the same chair in the Indiana University, becoming president of the latter January 1, 1885. Professor Jordan has visited Europe four times for study in the London and Paris museums, and has been engaged in many of the investigations made by the United States government in the interest of science. The fish of North America have been the subjects of his special study, and over 250 papers regarding them have been published from his pen. A large manual bearing the title, "Fishes of North America," is also his work. Professor Jordan is now president of the great Leland Stanford, Jr., University of California, which has an endowment of $20,000,000.
Professor John M. Coulter has devoted a great deal of time to the floral kingdom, and is our leading botanist. He has been called "the most celebrated Chinaman in North America," as he was born in China, though of American parents. Professor Coulter was educated at Hanover and Harvard, is editor of the Botanical Gazette, and has published "Manual of Botany of the Rocky Mountains," and other works on the subject of flowers. In 1891 he succeeded Professor Jordan as president of Indiana University.
A large group of scientists are engaged in the study of our minerals, our birds, our flora, and even our rep-
253
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
tiles. A passing notice of those best known may not be unin- teresting.
.
B. W. Euermann, professor of natural science in the State Normal School, has made a careful study of bird life and bird nature, and has written much on the subject. Professor Amos W. Butler is the author of many scientific articles on the same little creatures, and has also written on fishes. Professor O. P. Hay, of Butler University, has made reptiles a special study, and has written much on that subject, as well as on others of a scientific nature. Dr. A. J. Phinney, of Muncie, has given special study to Indiana's natural gas fields, and is a leading authority regarding them, as is Professor S. S. Gorby, the state geologist. Professor John Collett is considered an authority on geology, and Dr. Thomas C. Van Nuys, of Bloomington, has made important contributions to medical literature. George K. Greene, of New Albany, a prominent naturalist, has devoted his efforts to the development of the fossil coral beds at the falls of the Ohio. He rendered valuable service in identifying and labeling the fossils for the State Museum. His own collec- tion of fossil corals is said to be the finest in the west.
18
CHAPTER XXIX.
THE PULPIT AND PRESS.
THE BEGINNINGS OF RELIGIOUS EFFORT IN INDIANA-SPLENDID LABORS AND HEROIC SACRIFICES OF THE JESUIT PRIESTS-WORSHIP IN THE FORESTS- THE FIRST CHURCH BUILDING IN INDIANA-LIFE OF THE PIONEER PREACHERS - PETER CARTWRIGHT - EARLIEST PROTESTANT SERMON PREACHED IN THE STATE-ORIGIN AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE NEWS- PAPER PRESS OF INDIANA.
The Jesuit fathers were the first to give utterance to the truths of the Christian religion in the vast wilds of the Missis. sippi valley, and the native barbaric tribes were the first listeners. Over the mighty rivers and broad lakes, into the lonely forests and boundless prairies, these consecrated teachers came with their precious message. They were inspired alone by the lofty ambition of winning and saving souls. Bancroft has said: "Religious enthusiasm colonized New England, and religious enthusiasm founded Montreal, made a conquest of the wilderness on the upper lakes, and explored the Mississippi."
1
In the early part of the seventeenth century Roman Catholic missions were established in the French territory of America, Quebec being made the center of operations. Fathers Broebeuf, Daniel and Lallemand were probably the first to traverse the unexplored region of the northern lakes, where, pleading with and preaching to many, they established one or
254
1
255
HISTORY OF INDIANA.
two missions among the Indians along the shores. The horri- ble ways in which these missionaries were tortured to death, as before said, were too revolting to describe.
In 1665 Claude Allouez, who has been called the " Apostle of the West," began his labors in the lake district, and con- tinued them for thirty years. In 1668 the famous James Mar- quette came to this region, and soon founded the mission of Sault Ste. Marie. In the following year he made the discovery of the great "Father of Waters," and in 1671, so successful had been his labors among the Hurons, that he built for them a chapel at St. Ignatius.
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.