USA > Indiana > A popular history of Indiana : with an introduction > Part 14
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During his voyage in 1669 Marquette had promised the Kaskaskia Indians, a friendly tribe he had found on the banks of the Illinois river, that he would return and preach to them. Though sick and exhausted from hardship and exposure, he traveled many weary months to redeem the promise, reaching the Kaskaskia village in April, 1675. He began his work im- mediately by erecting an altar and celebrating the feast of Easter. The good priest very soon after this entered into his reward.
In the year 1712 we find in the Illinois country three mis- sions-those of Kaskaskia, St. Joseph's and Peoria. In that same year it is supposed that Father Mermet was sent from Kaskaskia to Vincennes as a visiting missionary. With the first French troops sent among the Weas or Piankeshaws, near Lafayette, was also most probably a missionary.
Judge Law, in his address on Vincennes, says that he had seen "a manuscript in Indian and French of the ritual and
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prayers of the Roman Catholic church, made by Jesuits at Ouiatenon, and a conversational dictionary in the Miami lan- guage made at a very early period, while the Jesuit fathers were stationed among the Indians on the upper Wabash."
Two permanent missions were in existence in 1750 within the limits of what is now our state-one at Vincennes under Father Sebastian Louis Meurin, the resident priest, the other at Ouiatenon under Father Pierre du Jaunay.
After France had surrendered her North American posses- sions to England, the organization of Jesuit missions in that territory was abandoned. Many of the fathers remained, how- ever, as secular priests in their former mission stations. The results of the labors of "these patient, toiling, dying sons of Loyola, scattered through rigorous, barbarous and far-reaching wilds," like the results of all religious effort, cannot be justly estimated in this world. Of the Indian converts some were most exemplary, and remained faithful to the end, a few adopt- ing even the European dress and habits of life, while others returned to their pagan beliefs and practices.
The first church building erected within the territory now comprising Indiana, of which we find any record, was at Vin- cennes, before the year 1749, but just when erected is not known. No church records previous to April of that year are preserved.
"The first entry is a certificate of marriage between Julien Trattier, of Montreal, Canada, and Josette Marie, the daughter of a Frenchman and an Indian woman." During that year other entries were made of Indian baptisms.
The style of architecture of this little chapel was of course
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very primitive. It was about sixty feet long and twenty feet wide, and was "built of upright posts, chunked and daubed with a rough coat of cement on the outside." It was sur- mounted by a small belfry, in which hung "an equally small bell," now used in the large and handsome cathedral which has taken its place. This little log chapel was dedicated to St. Francis Xavier, its patron saint.
Of the priests who at different times officiated at its altar, three have been made bishops in the Roman Catholic church of America-Benedict Joseph Flaget, bishop of Bardstown and Louisville; Archbishop Blanc, of New Orleans; Bishop Cha- brat, coadjutor bishop of Bardstown and Louisville, and Jean Jean was appointed bishop of New Orleans, but declined to accept. Since the cathedral was built, two other priests have been made bishops from this church-Celestine de la Hailan- diere, consecrated bishop of Vincennes in 1839, and Augustus M. Martin, made bishop of Nachitoches, Louisiana, in 1853. From the diocese of Vincennes, which for many years com- prised the entire state, but in 1857 was divided, the diocese of Fort Wayne extending over the northern portion, two other bishops have been consecrated-Maurice de St. Palais, made bishop of Vincennes in 1848, and Martin Martz, consecrated bishop of Sioux Falls in ISSo. From the diocese of Fort Wayne Father Joseph Rademacher has gone forth as the bishop of Nashville.
The little log chapel has been called the "Alma Mater of the Roman Catholic church in Indiana," which now comprises numerous thriving and prosperous congregations, has many
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handsome cathedrals and churches, and maintains a large num- ber of educational and benevolent institutions.
The first missionary work done by the Protestants among the Indians in the northwest was begun by Christian Frederick Past, a Moravian, who crossed the Alleghany river in 1761, and with Heckewelder settled among the Delawares in what is now Ohio. A terrible butchery of Indians by a band of white desperadoes occurring in their vicinity -- the worst on record- the influence and labors of these missionaries were interrupted for a few years. They were resumed, however, and, having been joined by Zeisberger, these noble men laid the foundations of the town of Guadenhutten, a settlement of Moravians and Indians. With the early white settlers in the territory of the northwest came the pioneer preachers. They, of course, shared in the hardships, trials, and privations of the early settlers, but their lot was even harder, from the fact that they were obliged to travel continually through a sparsely-settled country, carry- ing the gospel message to the widely-scattered settlements, and finding their way through the pathless forests by means of Indian trails and marked trees. One writer thus describes their mode of traveling: "Sleeping in the woods or on the open prairies on their saddle blankets, cooking their coarse meals by the way, fording streams on horseback with saddle-bags and blankets lifted to their shoulders, exposed without shelter to storms, and drying their garments and blankets by camp-fires, when no friendly cabin could be found. In a few years they became sallow, weather-beaten and toil-worn." And "often prostrated by fevers and wasted by malaria the years of
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pioneer service with many were few and severe." One good old veteran in writing to a friend said: "My horse's joints are now skinned to his hock-joints, and I have rheumatism in all
W/M3
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THE PIONEER PREACHER.
my joints. What I have suffered in body and mind my pen is not able to communicate to you; but this I can say. while my body is wet with the water and chilled with cold, my
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soul is filled with heavenly fire, and I can say with St. Paul: ' But none of these things move me.'"
In comparing the features of the new and the old, of the now and the then, no contrasts are more strongly marked than those we find in the manner of religious worship.
Now-the Gothic temples, many of them poems of archi- tecture, with their spires pointing heavenward, typifying the uplifting truth taught within their walls; the softly-carpeted aisles, the luxuriously-cushioned pews, the richly-frescoed walls, the roll and peal of the grand organ as it wafts the soul upward on its majestic strains; and over all these artistic and luxurious surroundings, the soft poetic light streaming through the stained windows, which at night are made brilliant by floods of gas or electric light.
Then-the small, low, rude log structure; the rough, un- finished walls; the bare floors, the hard benches for seats, frequently with no backs; the windows, often of greased paper; many destitute of stoves, even in coldest weather, the aged and infirm carrying with them little foot-stoves to be used during service; the hymns "lined " by the preacher, but joined in with a hearty will by the devout congregation; and at night a few tallow candles dispelling a little of the darkness.
But there was a time when even these facilities for relig- ious worship were not enjoyed, for the "log cabin, the fort and the forest were the first meeting-houses."
The "groves were God's first temples," and in these tem- ples of nature stumps of trees often served for pulpits, and the spreading branches of the primeval forests afforded the only
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shelter. The people would assemble from far and near, coming in large wagons, in which the women slept at night, for some- times these meetings would continue several days and even weeks. They brought their food, which was mostly prepared beforehand. At night fires blazing here and there dispelled the darkness. These meetings were called camp-meetings, and after a time large sheds were provided to protect the crowds which assembled, and platforms took the place of stumps for pulpits.
In these religious meetings, ministers of different denomina- tions united in conducting the service. All were men of great zeal, and many had intellectual power. They labored among the "rough, reckless, degraded " characters, always found in a newly-settled country, with an energy and perseverance that laid the foundations broad and deep for the Protestant edifice in Indiana.
The first Protestant sermon preached in Indiana is tradition- ally ascribed to Peter Cart- - wright, who, it is said, delivered it on the banks of the Ohio in 1804. But as itinerant preachers were working in the state in 1802, the tradition is not very reliable. Cartwright, at any rate, has the PETER CARTWRIGHT. distinction of forming the first Methodist society in Indiana, which began its operations in Gassaway. Clark county, in ISIO.
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Peter Cartwright was a zealous, but eccentric, man. His circuit extended from the Kentucky district across the Ohio, into what was known as Clark's Grant, now in the eastern part of Indiana. In his autobiography he says: "In those days, when a Methodist felt himself called upon to preach, instead of hunting up a biblical institute, he hunted up a hardy pony or a horse and some traveling apparatus, and with his library always. at hand [in .his saddle-bags], namely, Bible, hymn-book and discipline, he started."
Among the itinerants whose names are still remembered for their fiery eloquence and untiring labors were William Winans, who was known as the "forest Demosthenes;" James Havens, sometimes called "Old Sorrel;" Armstrong, Russell Bigelow, Edwin Ray, and John Strange, powerful in song as well as sermon.
For many years Edward R. Ames was also an itinerant preacher in Indiana, first coming to the state in 1828. He labored in Vincennes, New Albany and Jeffersonville, and for several years was pastor of Wesley chapel in Indianapolis. After Bishop Simpson resigned the presidency of Asbury Uni- versity, it was offered to Ames, but he declined it. Mr. Ames was made bishop at the general conference held at Boston in IS52, at which time the honor was also bestowed on Simpson. Previous to that, in 1840, Ames had been made secretary of the Methodist Episcopal Missionary Society, and sub- sequently rode about 25,000 miles through the south and west.
In the same year (1802 ) that the Methodists began working
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in Indiana, the Baptists entered the state, soon organizing several small societies in the vicinity of Whitewater river. These increased in seven years to nine churches, with 3So mem- bers, which were organized into an association.
The first missionaries sent into Indiana by the Presby- terians were Rev. Thomas Williamson, in 1805, and Rev. Samuel Holt, in 1806. In the latter year the first church organi- zation was effected in Vincennes, Rev. Samuel B. Robinson acting as pastor. The first resident Presbyterian minister in the state was, however, Rev. Samuel Thornton Scott of Kentucky.
In 1821 the Friends organized a society, and the Congre- gationalists in 1835. In the latter year the Episcopal church began its work in the state, organizing two churches, one at New Albany, the other at Madison, the first rectors being Ashabel Steele and F. B. Nash. Bishop Jackson Kemper was consecrated in 1835 as bishop of Missouri and Indiana, but Bishop George Upfold was made the first bishop of the organ- ized diocese of Indiana, December 16, 1849. He was succeeded in 1873 by Bishop Joseph C. Talbot, who died in 1883, when the sacred office was conferred upon Bishop David B. Knick- erbacker.
These are but glimpses of the beginnings. To-day statis- tics show that Indiana has a larger number of church buildings in proportion to the population than any other state in the Union, excepting Massachusetts.
The three most potent agencies in the education of a peo- ple are the school, the pulpit and the press. These go hand in
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hand in the intellectual and moral training of the human race.
In the same year that tradition gives to Peter Cartwright the distinction of preaching the first Protestant sermon in Indiana, the first newspaper was started in Vincennes, then the capital of the territory. Elihu Stout, a Kentuckian, has the honor of being the pioneer in Indiana journalism. He came on horseback to Vincennes in April, 1804, having purchased at Frankfort press and type, which were sent in boats, rowed by hand, to the settlement. These materials did not arrive until some time in June, and on July 4, following, the first issue of the Indiana Gazette greeted the little village. This paper was regularly published for eighteen months, when the establish- ment was destroyed by fire. Undaunted by this misfortune, Mr. Stout again obtained the needed printing materials, and resumed the publication of the paper, which he named in this venture the Western Sun. He persevered in this commendable enterprise in the face of many obstacles. Most of the inhabi- tants of Vincennes were French, and could not read the Eng- lish language, hence gave the paper no support. But this was the only paper in the entire territory, or what is now four large states, and no doubt was a very welcome visitor to many a lonely cabin in the great western wilds. The materials neces- sary for carrying on this pioneer printing establishment had to be carried from Georgetown, Ky., the nearest point where they could be obtained. Mr. Stout himself usually brought them, using three horses for the purpose, one of which he rode, the other two he used as pack-horses, carrying on their backs the
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needed articles. He continued the publication of this paper until I845, when, being appointed postmaster, he sold the busi- ness to others.
Another pioneer in newspaper work in Indiana was John W. Osborn, who came to Vincennes in IS19, and edited the Western Sun for about a year. In 1823 he founded Terre Haute's first newspaper. In 1834 he began the publication of a paper at Greencastle, which he called the Ploughboy, and also started the first temperance paper in the west-the Tem- perance Advocate. In 1838 he established, at Indianapolis, the Indiana Farmer, and during the early part of the civil war the Stars and Stripes at Sullivan.
Among the oldest newspapers of the state is the Indian- apolis Sentinel, which was established in 1821, the year the city was laid out. It was edited and published by George Smith and Nathaniel Bolton. The former was a peculiar character, who wore a "queue carefully tied with an cel-skin string." The latter was at one time state librarian, and subsequently consul to Geneva, Switzerland, and was the husband of Sarah T. Bolton, the Indiana poetess. The paper was christened the Indianapolis Gazette, and its first office was in a log cabin. We are told that the paper "appeared as it had a chance, and its ink was a compound of tar." Between January and May seven numbers were issued, but after that it was able to make a regular weekly appearance. In 1830 the Indiana Democrat was founded, and soon absorbed the Gazette. In IS41 it passed again under different management, and was called the Indiana Sentinel. That year it began making its appearance semi-
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weekly, and daily through the meeting of the legislature. But not until April, 1851, did it begin the publication of regular daily issues, which appeared under the name of the Indianapolis Sentinel. A little over a year after this paper had been estab- lished, the Western Censor and Emigrants' Guide made its appearance, which name was changed in 1825 to the Indiana fournal.
Among the oldest papers in the state is the Fort Wayne Sentinel, which came into existence in 1833, Thomas Tiger and S. V. B. Noel being its founders.
Again we have only glimpses of the beginnings. There are now 651 newspapers and periodicals published in Indiana, which have an aggregate circulation of 872,500.
CHAPTER XXX.
INDIANA AS IT IS.
A BRIEF SURVEY OF A GREAT COMMONWEALTH-INDIANAPOLIS, THE SEAT OF GOVERNMENT-A BEAUTIFUL, PROSPEROUS AND PROGRESSIVE CITY-ITS PUBLIC BUILDINGS AND INSTITUTIONS-THE THREE FRENCH FORTS SUP- PLANTED BY THE CITIES OF LAFAYETTE, VINCENNES AND FORT WAYNE- MATERIAL AND SOCIAL CONDITIONS NOW AND IN THE EARLY DAYS-A CONTRAST.
To Indianapolis, the capital of the state, is attached no early historic interest, but the city stands to-day pre-eminently above the other cities as regards population, commercial im- portance and intellectual achievement. It was first settled in March, 1819, by John Pogue, a blacksmith, and a year later fifteen families had gathered together and formed a little com- munity. In 1821 the little settlement was chosen as the capital of the state, on account of its being geographically near the center. The legislature of that year gave it the name it now bears, which was suggested by Jeremiah Sullivan, of Jefferson county. It also set apart the present court house square, upon which to build a two-story brick court house, which should be used by the state, federal and county courts, and by the legisla- ture for fifty years, or until a state house was built.
It was not, however, until the year 1824 that the seat of government was removed from Corydon. The documents of
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the offices, and the moneys, were stored in a heavy wagon, and so conveyed by Samuel Merrill, the state treasurer. He was accompanied by a number of officers and citizens. They could travel only at the rate of twelve or thirteen miles a day, camp- ing out in the wilderness at night. Arriving in Indianapolis, the precious freight was placed in a small brick building until the court house should be completed. At the time of this removal William Hendricks was governor.
The first marriage that occurred in Indianapolis is worthy of notice, inasmuch as the groom, Jeremiah Johnson, walked sixty miles to Connersville to procure the license, and then had to wait several weeks for the arrival of a preacher before the ceremony, which made Jane Reagan his wife, could take place. This was in 1821. The town was chartered as a city in 1847. Indianapolis is regularly and beautifully laid out-probably in conformity with the plans seen by Ex-Secretary McCulloch, which he admired on paper, but to which he failed to find any resemblance in the actual appearance of the town when he first visited it in 1833. He says: "It had been selected for the capital, not because there was anything attractive in the situa- tion, but because it was near the geographical center of the state. The parks, in which were the state house and court house, had been enclosed with posts and rail fences, but nothing had been done to the streets except to remove the stumps from two or three of those most used. There were no side- walks, and the streets most in use, after every rain, and for a good part of the year, were knee-deep with mud." No town in the state was more inaccessible until after the railroads were
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built, for, with the exception of two wagon roads-one leading from Madison, the other from Terre Haute-it could only be reached by foot travelers or those on horseback, and then a great part of the year through deepest mud.
Indianapolis is fortunate in the possession of the desirable features of both village and city. The streets are so wide and so densely shaded, the lawns so large and so beautifully adorned with flowers and trees that it is difficult to realize that one is in a city of over 100,000 inhabitants, until assured of the fact by the presence of all modern improvements and costly and hand- some public buildings. The spacious lawns and wide streets, the large area over which the population is scattered, compen- sate in a measure for the scarcity of large public parks, and afford an abundance of fresh air and facilities for out-door recreations, so desirable for the health of a community.
Indianapolis has been given the name Railroad City, on account of its being the terminus of so many lines. Seventeen distinct lines of railroads enter the city. The street railway system is exceptionally complete and convenient, furnishing transportation to every part of the city. The manufactories are the most extensive and varied in Indiana. Educational privileges are provided in thirty ward schools, two high schools, numerous kindergartens, two classical schools, business colleges, medical colleges, and a number of denominational schools. The free city circulating library of 40,000 volumes, the county library of 3,600 volumes, and the general library of the state, which contains 18,500 volumes, supply the citizens with abun- dant reading matter.
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The public buildings in Indianapolis are among the finest in the United States. Besides various beautiful churches and opera houses, there are the county court house, a massive stone structure which cost $1,800,000; Tomlinson hall, with a seat- ing capacity of 5,000; a handsome $1,000,000 union railway station, and one of the most imposing and most tasteful capitol buildings in the country.
OLD STATE HOUSE.
The building of the first state house was begun in 1832, and finished in 1835. It was of the Doric style of architecture, and cost $58,000. The senate chamber accomodated fifty members; there were rooms for the supreme court and state library; twelve committee rooms, and a hall for one hundred representatives.
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The state had long outgrown these provisions when, on March 14, 1877, the legislature passed an act providing for the erection of a new state house, appropriating for the purpose $2,000,000. The state house 'commissioners first appointed were John Love and Thomas A. Morris, of Indianapolis; Isaac
PRESENT STATE HOUSE AT INDIANAPOLIS.
D. G. Nelson, of Fort Wayne, and William R. McKeen, of Terre Haute. This board elected W. C. Tarkington secretary, who served but a few months, when the position was filled by Robert P. Haynes, followed in 1878 by John M. Godown, of Fort Wayne. The building was begun in October, 1878, and completed in the fall of 1888. The stone, wood, brick and con-
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crete used in the construction were furnished by the quarries, forests and factories of the state. The solidity of the construc- tion, the symmetry of its proportions, and the artistic furnish- ings of both exterior and interior render it a remarkably hand- some and attractive structure, and one of which Indiana may indeed feel proud.
In the square adjoining the state house is a handsome granite monument, surmounted by a bronze statue of Vice- President Thomas A. Hendricks. The entire monument, including the statue, is thirty-eight feet six inches high, and at the sides of the pedestal are two seated allegorical figures, representing History and Justice.
On
COLFAX
In University Park there is a statue of Vice-President Colfax, erected by the Odd Fellows of the state, and in Circle Park is one of Governor Morton. In this last named park a handsome and imposing monument is being erected (1891) to the memory of the soldiers and sailors of Indiana. When completed this will be the grandest monument of its kind in the country, and will be the equal of many of the most famous in Europe. It will cost about $350,000.
Four of the leading charitable institu- tions of the state are found in Indianapolis. The State Institute for the Blind was founded in 1847. The buildings cost $800,000,
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and the grounds comprise eight acres. The Central Hospital for the Insane was built in 1848, and has twice been enlarged, at an aggregate cost of $350,000. The Institution for the
SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' MONUMENT AT INDIANAPOLIS.
Deaf and Dumb was established in 1848, and the buildings have cost $220,000. The Woman's Prison and Girl's Reformatory, established in 1869, is an important institution, and the first of its kind opened in the United States. The
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buildings are commodious and the grounds extensive, and the institution has proved of great benefit to the state.
Besides these state institutions there are numerous private and church charities which consider and provide relief for every condition of human suffering. There is no city in the country that has a better organized system of charities than Indianapolis, which comprises in its management eighteen dis- tinct organizations.
Early in our history our attention was directed to three important points in Indiana-the three French forts. We remember these as being composed of stockades, around which clustered a few log cabins and Indian wigwams, inhabited by French settlers and Indians.
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