USA > Indiana > Early Indiana trials: and sketches. Reminiscences > Part 43
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MILTON GREGG AND DAVID P. HOLLOWAY. 447
Erastus Brooks, like Mr. Greeley, stands among the first editorial intellects of the land, of which the columns of the New York Express give conclusive evidence. He possesses talents of a superior order, as has been shown since he has been in the Senate of New York. Mr. Brooks like Mr. Greeley, is as a speaker, plain, unassuming, intelli- gent, clear, at times beautiful, eloquent, always listened to with interest by his audience. He was the warm supporter of Mr. Fillmore at the recent election, on the ground of his standing on the platform of the American party, to which Mr. Brooks stood warmly attached, and was at the time the candidate of the party for Governor of New York, but was defeated. It is not my purpose to speak of these politi- cal questions further than they are identified with my personal sketches. Mr. Brooks was in the meridian of life, in fine health, the last time I saw him, with time still before him, to do much good as a writer, and public speaker.
MILTON GREGG AND DAVID P. HOLLOWAY.
WHILE New York has had her eminent editors, Indiana too has had hers. It is said to be invidious to draw distinctions, where all have done their duty. Indiana owes much, very much, to the press, to the enlightened editoral corps, in the formation of the moral stan- dard of society. If you will show me the newspaper, I will give you the character of the people among whom it circulates. It is not true that but little attention is paid to what appears in the papers. No class of our citizens occupy a higher position of responsibility than the editorial corps. They wield a powerful influence for weal or for woe. If the press is vicious, it ministers to the worst of human vices, and fills society with every species of licentiousness and wickedness. A press controlled by the unprincipled and vicious, is a curse to any people ; while the press that maintains a high moral standard is one of the most powerful instrumentalities that was ever brought to hear upon society, in forming it upon the true basis of intelligence, moral- ity, and religion. I feel under great obligations to the conductors of the Indiana press, for the high moral tone they have infused into their columns, and to none more than to the veteran editors whose names stand at the head of this article. I have known them both long and well. I have seen them, read them, heard them. I might speak of Mr. Gregg as a member of our Legislature, and as a member of our Constitutional Convention, where the high order of his talents placed
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him in the front ranks. I might speak of Mr. Holloway as a member of Congress, where he stood deservedly high ; but I chose rather to place them in my reminiscences, in the more important positions of editors of newspapers, dispersing information, intelligence and moral- ity, among the masses. It is there that their lights have shone the most brilliantly, because the most valuable to society. They are both like Mr. Greeley and Mr. Brooks, in the meridian of life, in the midst of their usefulness devoted to the interests of our State. Long may they live to contribute their influence to the good order of our citi- zens.
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SKETCHES OF NATURE.
As I sat upon a hanging rock, on the bank of the beautiful Dela- ware, in my youthful days, I noticed a large bald eagle, soaring in the mid-heaven. Lower and lower he came, in his circles, until at length he lighted on a dead limb of a towering sycamore, only a few rods below where I was sitting. I sat still, quietly observing his motions. In a few minutes, I saw coming from the Jersey shore a large grey fish-hawk. The water in the river was as clear as crystal, filled with fish of many kinds. The fish-hawk rose in the air, some hundred feet above the water; stood upon his wings; down he went, like a falling arrow, under the water, out of sight. In a moment up he came with a large struggling fish in his claws. As he rose with his prey above the water, the bald eagle stepped from his perch, and with a swoop that whizzed in the air, flew directly at the fish-hawk. The hawk, with a shriek, dropped the fish ; the eagle caught it in his talons before it reached the water, and brought it back to the sycamore limb, where he commenced his morning repast. Here was a bird of prey, led by the instinct of nature, to provide for his wants by the labor and toil of another of his species weaker than himself. How illus- trative of the world ! How few obtain the means they live upon by their own labor. How many, like the bald eagle, live upon the means procured by the weaker of their race and with just as little remorse of conscience as the eagle, when robbing the hawk of his food.
The Beaver had dammed one of the small rivers of the West, for purposes consistent with the instinct of his nature. The Indian trap- pers had stealthily examined the dam and habitations of the beaver. One evening, an experienced Indian trapper was seen leaving the lodge, with a short round post, cut from a sapling, fresh peeled of its bark, on his back, and a large beaver-trap, under his arm. He crept through the brush quietly to the river, above the dam, where a neck of dry land projected. There he drove in his post, in full view of the dam and beaver holes, below. The trap was set-placed under the water-between the post and the dam, and tied fast. The Indian crept quietly away, and returned to the lodge. Next morning, there was seen stretched upon the side of his wigwam, the skin of a large beaver. The trapper knew the nature of the animal, his ruling in- stinct was curiosity. The white post was the object, the bait on which the Indian trapper relied to catch the beaver. The animal sees from the mouth of his hole the new object, the white post. At first he retreats ; he soon returns, grows familiar with the sight, but is not 29
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satisfied ; his curiosity pushes him onward ; he has seen, but he has not yet smelt the strange post. He presses forward until, when too late, he finds himself clasped by the jaws of the concealed trap, and dies a victim to his fatal curiosity. So it is with men. How many there are who, like the beaver, give range to their natural appetites and dispositions, and like him fall victims to their unrestrained curiosity.
The night was dark, the rain falling in torrents, when the inmates of a small log cabin, in the woods of early Indiana, were aroused from their slumbers by a loud knocking at the only door of the cabin. The man of the house, as he had been accustomed to do on like occa- sions, rose from his bed and hallooed,." Who's here ?" The outsiders answered, " Friends, out bird-catching. Can we stay till morning ?" The door was opened, and the strangers entered. A good log fire soon gave light and warmth to the room. Stranger to the host, " What did you say when I knocked ?" " I said who's here." "I thought you said Hoosier." The bird-catchers left after breakfast, but next night returned, and hallooed at the door, " Hoosier," and from that time the Indianians have been called Hoosiers-a name that will stick to them as long as Buckeys will to Ohioans, or Suckers to Illinoians.
But I have not disposed of the bird-catchers yet. They were three in number, an old man and his two little sons. They had a small pony, on which they placed their net. They were quail-catchers, well acquainted with the nature of their game. The day was dark and drizzling, just suited to their purposes. In the corner of the field, under covert of a thicket of briers, a flock of quails was seen by the keen eye of the old bird-catcher. Looking around, he saw another covert, that the leaders of the flock would naturally make for on quitting their present hiding-place. Here he staked down the small ends of the funnel of his net, extending the wings from the mouth so as to receive the flock and run the birds into the funnel. The net ready, the old man mounted the pony, and commeneed at a distance riding backward and forward horizontally by the covert, . whistling and singing as he went, nearing them each time, gradually, but at no time going directly at them. The leaders became uneasy, quietly left their covert; the rest of the flock followed, making directly for the other natural hiding-place, passed inside of the wings of the net, ran down, entered the funnel at full run for the brush beyond, the bird-catcher galloped up at full speed, drew up the stakes at the mouth of the funnel, and bagged the whole flock, without the loss of a bird. Had he rode directly at the flock, they would have
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taken wing. How strikingly illustrative of the way that cunning vice lays its snares and captures unsuspecting virtue.
I was sitting in the drawing-room at the Astor House, in New York, one evening, when there entered a small, lame man, with a microscopic glass in his hand, of high magnifying powers. He asked me if I did not want to look through it. I sat down by him. He placed a drop of rain-water on a plate. I saw distinctly that it was but a single drop; it looked perfectly clear to the naked eye. I looked through the tube of the microscope. The drop was magnified into a lake of miles in circumference. The lake was clear as the drop, but to my astonishment it was filled with thousands of living animals, to my eye from the size of a buffalo down to a squirrel, with serpents, from the size of the anaconda down: At the upper end of the lake I saw a large animal, not unlike the rhinosceros. He turned from the shore, came foaming down the lake, seized a little animal, the size of a rabbit, and swallowed it in an instant. I could see it in his stomach, alive and struggling. I took the glass from my eye, looked again at the drop of water, rose from my seat, and left the room. Was this real, or was it merely the creation of the imagination ?
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LORD ASHBURTON.
I HAVE already sketched a dinner party at Lord Ashburton's, at which I was an invited guest. Before I left that night, he asked me if I would have leisure some evening to visit him again, as he wished to have a familiar talk with me about the great West. I assured him that such a visit, on a subject that was so near to me, would give me pleasure, at any time he would indicate. The next week I received a note from him, fixing the evening for our interview. At the appointed time, I rang at the door, when it was opened by the gentlemanly ser- vant I have described in another sketch. My name was announced by the servant, and re-announced at the door of the drawing-room by another. As I stepped in, I was received by Lord Ashburton with a hearty welcome, and warm grasp of the hand, and a " how do you do, Mr. Senator Smith, from Indiana." I was conducted to a sofa, and after the usual introductory conversation about the occurrences of the day, as the clock struck ten, the servant entered with cups of Mocha coffec. The subject of the late treaty was first introduced by Lord Ashburton. He remarked, " I hope the treaty may prove satisfactory to the two nations. I think it is based upon the just principles of reciprocity. I assure you, Mr. Smith, that nothing but the deep interest I feel for the peace, harmony, and prosperity of the two nations, could have induced me to accept this mission. The interests of England and America are so closely identified, that the one can not be Anjuriously affected without producing a corresponding effect upon the other; and no common occurrence should ever interrupt their amicable relations, and I trust never will, if the right spirit pre- vails in the councils of the two nations."
" I heartily concur with the views of your Lordship. I trust the time may never again come, when it shall be thought necessary or proper for these two great nations to resort to arms to settle any mat- ters of controversy between them. Diplomatic intercourse being always open, if the Cabinet at Washington, and the Ministers in Eng- land are so disposed, there certainly can be no question so difficult or obstinate, between the two nations, that it can not be settled upon just principles, without war, as well as after war, in this age of the civilized world. The principles of the status ante bellum govern all civilized nations."
" I understand that there were some serious objections raised in the Senate, to the treaty recently ratified." "Yes, there were some that seemed for a time extremely formidable; but the treaty was finally ratified by a decided vote. The main objections were, that the line
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was placed on the 19th parallel of latitude instead of 54° 40', which some of the Senators contended was our true northern boundary ; that the treaty provided for delivering up fugitives from justice, escap- ing across the line by Canada and the United States, but made no provision for the surrender, by Canada, of fugitives from labor ; that the treaty wholly omitted several matters of controversy between the two nations, among them the right of search, and impressment on the high seas."
" The line is placed upon the true parallel, and will be extended upon that parallel to the Pacific Ocean, I have no doubt. The right to pursue and take fugitives from labor, or slaves, in Canada, on the part of the United States, will never be admitted in any treaty by the British Government. Our principles are, that slavery can never exist a moment in territory governed by our laws ; that the moment the slave steps upon our soil his shackles fall, and he is a free man. I admit there were many subjects that might have been included in the treaty that were not; but the main purpose of my mission being accomplished upon a satisfactory basis, other matters were left for other negotiations."
He then passed to the matters that I supposed had induced our interview, after partaking of a cup of coffee and some cakes, as the clock struck twelve. " Mr. Smith, you are from the great Valley of the Mississippi. I wish to learn from you the character of the soil, productions, and minerals, of that great region of the world. I have read all about it in books, but that does not satisfy me." I entered into a full description of the West, as I had seen it - its timber, soils, productions, seasons, commerce, manufactures, minerals, cities, improvements, population, the manner of improving the woods, from the hut of the first settler to the mansion of the second or third gene- ration -in all of which he appeared to be deeply interested. "The United States is the great pork region of the world, and the Missis- sippi Valley produces the most of it. Can you give me the process of fattening your pork ?" " We fatten our hogs, in the West, in large numbers, in our corn-fields ; through the spring and summer they are kept on clover and rye fields, sown for the purpose, then turned into early ripened corn, and so on, from corn-field to corn-field, until the fattening process is completed ; they are kept well salted, and well watered." He could scarcely wait till I got through. " Don't your hogs waste a great deal of corn in the field ?" The question had been put to me often, by my Eastern friends. "No, I think not. I have had some experience in that matter. I fed a large number of hogs,
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1
for many years, in my corn-fields. The first year I fed in lots with plank floors ; had my corn gathered and hauled to the pens ; the next year I turned my hogs into the field, to gather the corn for themselves, and the result of my observation was, that I saved at least the whole expense of gathering and feeding the corn. The size of the lot should be suitable to the number of hogs, so as not to leave them too long on the same ground." " Does this process enrich, or impoverish the ground they are fed upon ?" " It enriches it. A field of good land may be planted in corn every year, without manure, and if it is fed off in the field, by hogs, it will produce better and better, for twenty years. I have tried it that long, and such has been the result."
" Have you many poor people among you, for the want of employ- ment?" " None. There is employment for all who desire to work. Our poor are generally the victims of intemperance, rendering them unable to work." " Are your farmers generally tenants, or the owners of the soil?" "They are very largely the owners of the soil, and farm on their own account." "Then you have the bases for a happy and prosperous people."
He then gave me a full and graphic account of the condition of the laboring and farming classes of England, Ireland, and Scotland ; highly interesting to me, but too lengthy to find a place here, though I distinctly recollect much of it.
" Will your Lordship favor me with your comparison of the Senate of the United States with the House of Lords, and the House of Rep- resentatives with the House of Commons?" "The British House of Lords does not contain so many distinguished men as the Senate of the United States. This is in part owing to the fact, that in the Uni- ted States your Senators are selected from the most distinguished men of the several States, while our Lords are not elected, but hold their places for life, by inheritance and the special favor of the Crown. Our House of Commons is composed of a much larger number than your House of Representatives ; but I must say that the members of your House will compare very favorably with our Commoners. There is one remarkable characteristic that I have noticed in your Members as well as Senators-they are all speakers ; while our Houses have but the few, as compared to the many, who attempt to speak. How do you account for that." " I suppose it grows out of the previous train- ing of our members. They have all been raised and educated, as it were, on the hustings, or stump. Mostly taken from the bar, accus- tomed to speaking in public from their youth up, they come into Con-
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gress ripe speakers. Besides, their constituents naturally look to them for speeches ; the press publishes them; they are stimulated to their highest efforts ; they speak with preparation ; they are men that have been generously dealt with by nature, and have come up to their positions by untiring personal exertions."
His lordship spoke of the great extent of the British empire, as compared with that of France ; spoke feelingly of the poverty and dependence of the lahoring classes of Europe, and highly of the abundant supplies of food in the United States. At two o'clock we took a parting cup of coffee, and I left, having spent one of the most agreeable nights of my life.
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RICHARD W. THOMPSON.
AMONG the most distinguished men of the State of Indiana, it affords me pleasure to name the subject of this sketch. I became per- sonally and intimately acquainted with Mr. Thompson, while he rep- resented his county in the Senate of our State. At an after period while representing his district in the Congress of the United States, our intimacy increased. Mr. Thompson possessed a mind of great vigor and clearness. As a public speaker, he had few, if any superiors in the West. He was strong, clear, emphatic, sometimes vehement on the public stand, with a clear, lond voice, always enchaining his audience with his impassioned eloquence. At the bar, he was a fine lawyer; argued his cases well, upon full preparation. In Congress, Mr. Thompson stood high, among the first of his age. He frequently addressed the House of Representatives, always to the satisfaction of his party. He was an ardent Whig; a warm friend of Henry Clay. In person he was a model, some five feet ten inches high, straight and erect, black hair and eyes, high forehead, dark complexion, wide mouth, prominent nose and chin. I have thought the Indiana reader would like to see a specimen of his Congressional speeches, to notice his style. The extract following, is from his great tariff speech.
" MR. CHAIRMAN :-- I think that the public interest would be much better observed, if our discussions here partook more of a business, and less of a party character ; for this measure is of such deep import- ance, that we shall find great difficulty in adjusting its details. In all similar measures heretofore perfected, such has been found to be the case-the principle of protection being, in each of them, a perma- nent and settled principle. It was not until the tariff was permitted to mingle in the party contests of the day, that this principle was met with those denunciations which are now so common in this House; the frequent repetition of which, has stimulated the industry of those in England and our own country, who promulgate the false philosophy of free-trade. Such an association of a question so interesting and delicate-affecting as it does, all the great interests of this vast coun- try of ours -is a subject of earnest regret, to all who look upon the lahors and wisdom of the fathers of our Constitution, with that rever- ence to which they are entitled.
" Instead of looking to the common interests of a common country and uniting heart and hand in their promotion, we are urged to depart from the admonitions of age and experience, and to adopt a theory which has sprung up in the cloister of the student, and been repudi-
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ated by the civilized world. And we are asked to adopt it, too, with- out reference to the action of those Governments with whom we have been accustomed to carry on our commerce, and suddenly to startle the world, by an example of magnanimity, which, while it will tend to characterize us as a nation of philanthropists, will inevitably make us a nation of bankrupts. I confess I am not very familiar with the mode of reasoning, by which gentlemen bring themselves to the sup- port of this policy ; but I am very sure that the friends of the tariff have nothing to fear from a fair presentation of it to the country. As one among the most humble of those friends, I am prepared to meet the issue and abide the result. But I do not see how any practical results are to be arrived at, without looking both to foreign policy and our own history and condition. If we were left to the exchange of commodities among ourselves, or with those nations who had opened their ports to all the vessels of the world, and permitted importations of merchandize, without duty or restriction, we might easily conform our own to a policy so original and simple. But this is far from being our condition. Instead of the prevalence of such policy among com- mercial nations, there is not one that does not impose heavy burdens upon the commerce of the world. We have continually done so our- selves, having found it as essential to our own protection and prosperity, even at the carliest period of our history, as are the principles of our Constitution, to the perpetuity of our form of government.
" If, at the period of our Revolution, and when its successful termi- nation had severed our allegiance to the mother country, the States of the confederacy had found their efforts to extend the 'freedom of the seas,' fairly and honestly reciprocated by foreign nations, it is not improbable that the confederacy may have continued, with a few addi- tional grants of power, merely sufficient to keep unimpaired the bond of union. But even then, when we were in our infancy, and when the question was an original one, we were met by no spirit of concilia- tion upon the part of other nations. We were driven to strengthen our national arm, that we might more successfully defend ourselves against foreign policy ; and now, when that arm is fast becoming stronger and stronger, we are asked to strike it down with a withering paralysis. Gentlemen may indulge in professions of deep reverence for the principles of free-trade, but practically it can be considered in no other light than as involving the annihilation of all individual enter- prise in the country. It strikes a death-blow at that extended com- merce which has hitherto banished our national embarrassment, trans- ported to our doors all the essentials of ease and comfort, invigorated our domestic trade, and dispelled the thick gloom with which we have
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been encompassed. Sir, this is not a local question ; it is not a New England question. If it were, her Representatives upon this floor might appeal to this House, by a thousand considerations connected with the prosecution and success of our Revolutionary struggle.
" They might claim, as the descendants of the . Pilgrim Fathers,' that they be not left to the stifling influence of European policy. But it is a question of greater and broader magnitude ; it embraces all the interests in the land. The seaman, who pursucs the mighty whale upon the ocean, or the adventurous boatsman, who plies his ' broad horn' upon the ' father of rivers,' are as much entitled to the protection of the Government as the man who hoards his millions in the security of his home. The farmer, the mechanic, the manufacturer, the fish- erman, every man of every class or pursuit in the country, feels his interests involved in the settlement of this question. The prosperity of all these is blended together. They constitute the great machinery of civil government and society ; each part of which must be protected within its sphere. Strip from the merchant his means of trade, and you paralyze the farmer, the mechanic and the manufacturer. Stop the plow of the farmer, and the shuttle of the manufacturer is no longer heard, the implements of the mechanic are laid aside, and the ledger of the merchant closed. Will gentlemen annihilate this mutual and harmonious dependence? If this is their purpose, they have but to establish their free-trade, and leave the governments of Europe to persist in their restrictions and prohibitions, and their wish is con- summated.
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