USA > Indiana > Marion County > Indianapolis > Early reminiscences of Indianapolis, with short biographical sketches of its early citizens, and a few of the prominent business men of the present day > Part 18
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"Tis thus I sway the small beasts' hearts, But yet I act much nobler parts ; Old bear and cub, or sick or sound I rule the world of bears around ; From tree top down to brush heap low, I ever stand of bears the foc, In corn field or asleep in den, Robbing a garden or hog pen,
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Early Reminiscences.
I hold a weapon that can send His ursine soul to its last end. Soon as he grows big enough To run abroad and growl quite gruff, Upon his track I send a hound ; I chase him 'till I run him down ; I seize him, weary, by the tail If every other hold should fail. 'Tis then with joy I smile to see Him strive to get away from me. Next then if he get in a passion His back I quickly lay the lash on ; I teach him all obedience, Or else I learn him impudence ; Then thro' his various after ages, Whether peace or war he wages, I am"- "Bow wow," a voice spoke now,
" Bow wow bow wow wow wow wow wow." I looked and saw, of skin and bone, A starving dog came barking on ; Impetuously I broke and run, Determined man and dog to shun ; I turned about ; they both were gone, I turned again and toddled on.
PHILO PHILIATROS.
In the " Indianapolis Gazette," of February 20, 1826, I find this ballad, and re-publish it as a specimen of old style liter- ature.
A PATHETIC BALLAD.
A lady gay once pensive sat All under a willow tree, And, "Oh," said she, " for a wealthy man To come and marry me."
Then up stepped Abner Tompkins bold, "Oh lady gay," said he, " I am a rich and handsome man, And I will marry thee."
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A Pathetic Ballad.
Then out he took a heavy purse, And chink'd it in his hands, " All this is mine," said he, "and more In houses and in lands."
The lady's heart was then subdued ; " Oh, Abner dear," said she, " Receive my plight, thou handsome man, All under this willow tree."
And so he did, but oh, how soon Do earthly prospects crash, And sad the fate of ladies gay Who sell their hearts for cash. Too soon she found his boastful talk A base, deceitful lure ; And he who seemed so very rich Now turned out very poor.
The purse he chink'd held borrowed cash (Oh vile, perfidious lover), And all his houses and his lands Were mortgaged four times over.
Ah, fate, how busy wilt thou be Rudely our fortunes moulding. That lady never more took tea, But took to rum and scolding.
And Abner Tompkins had his due For all his lying speeches ; She clawed his visage black and blue, And ragged went his breeches.
And nightly to the pond he'd go And sit among the bushes, And hear the bull-frogs sullen plunge, And crouch among the rushes.
One night as he sat there, he saw A sight that made him shudder ; 'Twas Mrs. Tompkins floating down Without a sail or rudder.
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Early Reminiscences.
"My dear," said he, "you've drown'd yourself All in this pond of water, And soon as ever I can strip I'll in and follow after."
So off he takes his coat and shirt, And eke his ragged breeches ; He plunges in-the night wind moans, He sinks, the screech-owl screeches.
Now all ye handsome gentlemen, Boast not of borrowed cash so ; And ladies gay sell not your hearts, Lest your bright hopes may crash so.
DEATH OF THE POTTAWATAMIE PROPHET.
The Pottawatamie prophet died suddenly during the winter of 1825-26, and, as usual, his death was attributed to witch- craft. The surviving relatives determined who was the witch and resolved to avenge his death. The unfortunate woman (who they selected as their victim), with her husband, was at the house of a trader, when two brothers and a nephew of the prophet arrived and avowed their determination to kill her. They told the family of the trader not to be under any appre- hension, as no injury would be done them.
They then directed the unfortunate woman to sit down, and one of them struck her a violent blow on the head, another gave her a second blow, and the third cut her throat.
They then dug a grave and buried her. The husband was a spectator to these proceedings, and after they terminated was compelled to pass over the grave, that she might not re- turn, and was then made to run around a tree and depart as though he had escaped without their permission.
The last manœuver was to prevent the return of the pro- phet to reproach them for sparing the life of the husband.
This was not the Shawnee prophet, and brother of Tecum- seh, that commanded at the battle of Tippecanoe.
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James Forsee.
The killing of this woman occurred on Eel River, above Logansport. We have had the place pointed out to us fre- quently.
JAMES FORSEE.
In the " Indianapolis Gazette," of the 27th of November, 1827, we find this advertisement:
JAMES FORSEE, ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Having recommenced his professional labors, offers his services to his friends generally. He will attend the several Courts within the Fifth Judicial Circuit, and may be found at his office in the second story of Paxton & Bates' brick building, in the town of Indianapolis, at any hour, except whilst on the circuit. Such business as may be entrusted to his care, in the Marion circuit, except in criminal cases, will meet with the joint services of James Whitcomb. Indianapolis, January 4, 1827.
Mr. Forsee was from Elkhorn, Franklin County, Kentucky. He professed to be a lawyer, but knew as little about it as any person we ever knew, to make as much profession as he did. He was full of bombast, and used language that he nor any one else understood the meaning of.
To hear him talk you would think him wealthy, and that he lived in magnificent style. His household furniture con- sisted of one or two old bedsteads, a few chairs, a puncheon table, and a few half-starved dogs.
He wore a cap of coon skin made by drawing the ends of the skin together, so that when the cap was on his head that part of the skin that covered the animal's nose protruded over his, and the tail hanging down his back, the skin retained the original shape. The body that contained the head and brains of the profound attorney presented a rather bulged appear- ance, and he might be thought to be carrying a large-sized coon upon his head.
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Early Reminiscences.
He was a large man, with blood-red hair, his face as red as a turkey's nose. His team was a pair of small steers, both of which were not as heavy as a common-sized cow. Before the steers he hitched an old grey mare, that most likely re- sembled "Tam O'Shanter's " mare Meg. With this team he would haul about a third of a cord of wood to town, for which he would receive twenty-five or thirty-one cents. He was fond of boasting of his rise in the world, and of being an en- tirely self-made man, and what a man might make of himself with perseverance and industry, and how he had rose from obscurity to his high position as a lawyer. He lived on the donation line just north of where the "Blind Asylum " now stands. He and his son Peter were plowing in a field near his house, when the following instructions he was giving Pe- ter were overheard :
" Peter," said he, " take an object and plow direct to it, then your furrows will be straight. Just so in life, Peter, you must take an object and plow straight to it. It was so with me, my son ; I took the law for an object, I plowed straight, and my furrows were even. You see, Peter, what I have made of myself. I now stand at the head of the legal profession in the capital of Indiana, and next to me stands my law part- ner, James Whitcomb, Esq., of Monroe County. Peter, you have advantages that but few young men enjoy, and you should improve them."
Mr. Forsee's daughter, Mary Jane, partook a great deal of her father's pride as well as looks. Her hair was as red as that of her father. She wore it in a water-fall on the top of her head. Her face was the color of a turkey egg, but rather more speckled. She had a great passion for jewelry, which was gratified by her indulgent father.
She said " it was very difficult to get such articles of jew- elry here as her father wished her to wear; her father had
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The Hoosier Ncst.
sent to 'Sinsinnaty,' by Mr. MeCarty, and bought her a pure silver ring ; it cost him three quarters of a dollar."
Mary Jane was invited to a quilting and log-rolling at Judge McIlvain's. As soon as she was seated at the quilt she began to apologize for her lack of jewelry. She said " she had broke her ring ; that dad had a large log to load on the slide, and she, in helping him, had broken her ring, and that dad had taken it to the dentists to have it fixed, but it could not be fixed in time for her to wear it to the quilting." A
She said " in Kaintuck, whar they come from, 'twarn't fash- ionable to war jewelry, but she reckoned 'twas case they hadn't got none. Dad said nobody wurn't nothin' here that didn't ware no jewelry, so he got me that nice ring."
Mr. Forsee moved from this place to the Indian Reserve, thence to California, where he, no doubt, stands high in his profession, and can indulge his daughter in her admiration for jewelry, and where no doubt Peter has taken an object and plows his furrows straight.
" O wad some power the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us ; It wad frae monie a blunder free us, And foolish notion."
THE HOOSIER NEST.
Forty years ago this morning (January 1st, 1870) the car- riers of the "Indiana Journal " handed their patrons and the citizens of Indianapolis the following lines as their "New Year's Address."
It was republished at the time throughout Europe and America, and is worthy of being perpetuated as a graphic sketch of Hoosier life.
It was written by John Finley, a tanner of Richmond, In- diana, at that time a member of the Legislature :
Untaught the language of the schools,
Nor versed in scientific rules,
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Early Reminiscences.
The humble bard may not presume The Literati to illume ; Or classic cadences indite Attuned "to tickle ears polite ;" Contented if his strains may pass The ordeal of the common mass, And raise an anti-critic smile, The brow of labor to beguile.
But ever as his mind delights To follow Fancy's airy flights, Some object of terrestrial mien Uncourteously obtrudes between, And rudely scatters to the winds The tangled threads of thought he spins. Yet why invoke imagination To picture out a new creation, When nature, with a lavish hand, Has formed a more than Fairy land For us. An Eldorado real, Surpassing even the ideal.
Then who can view the glorious West, With all her hopes for coming time, And hoard his feelings unexpressed In poetry, or prose, or rhyme. What mind and matter unrevealed Shall unborn ages here disclose ; What latent treasures long concealed Be disinterred from dark repose. Here science shall impel her car O'er blended valley, hill and plain ; While Liberty's bright, natal star Shines twinkling on her own domain. Yes, land of the West, thou art happy and free, And thus ever more may thy hardy sons be ; Whilst thy ocean-like prairies are spread far and wide, Or a tree of thy forest shall tower in pride.
Blest Indiana, in thy soil
Are found the sure rewards of toil ;
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The Hoosier Nest.
Where harvest, purity and wortlı May make a paradise on earth. With feelings proud we contemplate The rising glory of our State, Nor take offense, by application, Of its good-natured appellation. Our hardy yeomanry can smile At tourists of the "sea-girt isle ;" Or wits who traveled at the gallop, Like Basil Hall, or Mrs. Trollope ; 'Tis true, among the crowds that roam To seek for fortune or a home, It happens that we often find Empiricism of every kind.
A strutting fop, who boasts of knowledge Acquired at some far Eastern college, Expects to take us by surprise, And dazzle our astonished eyes ; He boasts of learning, skill and talents, Which, in the scale, would Andes balance ; Cuts widening swaths from day to day, And in a month he runs away. Not thus the honest son of toil Who settles here to till the soil, And, with intentions just and good, Acquires an ample livelihood ; He is (and not the little great) The bone and sinew of the State : With six-horse team, to one-horse cart, We hail them here from every part. And some you'll see sans shoes or socks on, With snakepole and a yoke of oxen ; Others with pack-horse, dog and rifle, Make emigration quite a trifle.
The emigrant is soon located, In Hoosier life initiated ; Erects a cabin in the woods, Wherein he stows his household goods.
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Early Reminiscences.
At first round logs and clap-board roof, With puncheon floor, quite carpet proof, And paper windows, oiled and neat, His edifice is then complete. When four clay balls, in form of plummet, Adorn his wooden chimney's summit ; Ensconced in this, let those who can Find out a truly happier man. The little youngsters rise around him, So numerous they quite astound him ; Each with an ax, or wheel in hand, And instinct to subdue the land.
Ere long the cabin disappears ; A spacious mansion next he rears. His fields seem widening by stealth, An index of increasing wealth. And when the hives of Hoosiers swarm To each is given a noble farm. These are the seedlings of the State, The stamina to make it great. 'Tis true, her population various Finds avocations multifarious. But having said so much, 'twould seem No derogation to my theme Were I to circumscribe the space To picture but a single case ; And if my muse be not seraphic, I trust you'll find her somewhat graphic.
I'm told, in riding somewhere West, A stranger found a Hoosier's Nest. In other words, a Buckeye cabin, Just big enough to hold Queen Mab in ; Its situation low, but airy, Was on the borders of a prairie, And fearing that he might be benighted He hailed the house, and then alighted. The Hoosier met him at the door, Their salutations soon were o'er.
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The Hoosier Nest.
He took the stranger's horse aside And to a sturdy sapling ticd ; Then having stripped the saddle off, He fed him in a sugar trough. The stranger stooped to enter in, The entrance closing with a pin, And manifested strong desire To seat him by the log-heap fire, Where half a dozen Hoosieroons, With mush and milk, tin cups and spoons, White heads, bare feet and dirty faces, Seemed much inclined to keep their places. But madam, anxious to display Her rough but undisputed sway, Her offspring to the ladder led And cuffed the youngsters up to bed.
Invited, shortly, to partake Of venison, milk and Johnny cake, The stranger made a hearty meal And glances round the room would steal. One side was lined with divers garments, The other spread with skins of varmints, Dried pumpkins over head were strung, Where venison hams in plenty hung. Two rifles placed above the door, Three dogs lay stretched upon the floor. In short the domicil was rife With specimens of Hoosier life. The host, who centered his affections On game, and range and quarter sections, Discoursed his weary guest for hours, Till Somnus' all-composing powers Of sublunary cares bereft 'em, And then I came away and left 'em. No matter how the story ended, The application I intended Is from the famous Scottish poet, Who seemed to feel, as well as know it, That burly chiels and clever hizzies Are bred in sic a way as this is.
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Early Reminiscences.
JOHN W. HOLLAND.
This worthy gentleman was one of four brothers that, with their father, came to this city at an early day-George, John, David and Johnson. Their father, John Holland, Sr., came about the year 1826, and for many years kept a family gro- cery.
John W. Holland came in the year 1830; since which time he has been engaged in active business. For some years he was a clerk in the dry goods store of Conner & Harrison, and then as a partner of the late A. W. Russell. I suppose he has cut as much tape, measured as many six yards of calico (at that time a dress pattern), weighed as many half dollars' worth of coffee, and taken in exchange therefor as many pounds of butter, dozens of eggs, yards of flax and tow linen, and pounds of maple sugar, as any person now living in the city. He is now the business and active partner in that large and popular wholesale grocery establishment of Holland & Oster- meyer, on the south side of Maryland, between Pennsylvania and Meridian streets.
Mr. Holland has long been one of the leading members of the Methodist Church in this city. We remember him, near forty years since, leading the Thursday evening prayer meet- ing that worshipped in the first brick church built in Indian- apolis, and situated where the "Sentinel " office now stands.
Johnson, his youngest brother, died many years ago ; George only about six months since. John is the only one of the original family that came here that is living in the city.
His son, Theodore F. Holland, is the book-keeper in the establishment of his father, a worthy young man. If all would do as he did, and expressed himself that others should do, i. e., that all who were born in this city should subscribe for this book, my humble efforts would at least be a financial success. 3 I take this opportunity to thank him for his timely remark.
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Stoughton A. Fletcher, Sr.
Theodore married the only daughter of Thomas M. Smith, another of the old citizens of this city, but at present, and for a few years past, a resident of Louisville, Kentucky.
STOUGHTON A. FLETCHER, SR.
Mr. Fletcher is one of the citizens that came in the second decade of the settlement of the city. He came here in Oc- tober, 1831, a young man, unencumbered with wife or any other valuables, but with a robust and healthy constitution an ambitious disposition, industrious and temperate habits, and a temperament that suited itself to the surrounding cir- cumstances. Such was Mr. F. when we first made his acquaint- ance.
He did not engage immediately in active business, but made his home with his brother, the late Calvin Fletcher.
In the mean time, June, 1832, a call was made by Governor Noble for three hundred good and trusty riflemen, who were willing to peril their lives, gird on their armor and march against the bloody "Ingins" in defense of the frontier settle- ments and the defenseless women and children.
Mr. Fletcher was among the first to volunteer and arm him- self with a long-range rifle, a tomahawk, scalping knife, a camp kettle, coffee pot, a wallet of hard tack, and went forth to meet the dusky Black Hawk, in that ever memorable cam- paign, as one of the " Bloody Three Hundred," which lasted just three weeks. None distinguished themselves more, or returned with brighter laurels to the fireside of kindred and friends, than did Mr. Fletcher. This expedition was some- thing like that of the king of France,
" Who with all his men
Marched up the hill, and then down again."
Soon after his return from the " Black Hawk War," he en- gaged in merchandising in connection with the late Henry Bradly, and then with different partners, and alone, and was a
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Early Reminiscences.
successful and popular merchant for several years. Indeed he prospered in everything he undertook, which would lead a person to think that there was something more than luck in success. I hardly know what it is, or what to call it, unless it is "true grit."
He was the first to start as a private banker in the city, and is now, and has been for years, one of the leading bankers of the place. I understand that he, as well as his brother Cal- vin, rendered material and substantial aid to the Government during the rebellion, by advancing funds to pay bounties and encourage enlistments ; indeed more was to be done in this way than by shouldering the musket and enlisting themselves.
Mr. Fletcher owns some of the finest farms in White River valley, and has them worked and conducted in such a way as to make them remunerative to him as well as beneficial to the country, furnishing employment to a large number of labor- ers, and bread and comfortable homes for their families. Should I say that fifty families received their support from the farms of Mr. Fletcher, I do not think it would be an ex- aggeration.
That he is entirely free from the envy of others less fortu- nate than himself, I will not pretend to say, for there are many
" Men that make Envy and crooked malice nourishment,
Dare bite the best."
In thirty-nine years of an acquaintance with Mr. Fletcher, we have got to hear the first person say that he violated any contract with them, either written or verbal, but lived up to it to the letter; prompt in all his engagements, he expects others to be so with him.
He is a man of warm personal feelings, and if he becomes attached to a person will go any length to serve or accommo- date him. It was but recently a business man of this city told me had it not been for Mr. F.'s friendship for him during
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Stoughton A. Fletcher, Sr.
the war, his family would have been turned out of their home and he bankrupt.
A prominent business man of the city, that has transacted business with him for several years, says he has often went to him when in great need of money, but was never charged more than the regular rate of interest; indeed, if he accom- modates a person at all it will be at the regular rates ; he never takes advantage of the necessities of his customers.
He is a man of considerable vivacity and life, and now, as well as in his younger days, enjoys a joke, many of which we have heard pass between him and his old friend Peck, when we were all inmates of the same house several years ago,
"Wi merry songs an' friendly cracks I wat they did not weary, An' unco tales, and funnie jokes Their sports were cheap and cheery."
He is not ostentatious in his display of favors, and as far as he is concerned it is kept within his own bosom. He is a contributor to nearly all the benevolent and charitable insti- tutions, although his name seldom stands conspicuous on the subscription list.
He is, also, a man of great firmness and decision, and after weighing a matter well in his mind, and coming to a conclusion, he is as immovable as a mountain, and his conclusions are generally correct, which is one of the great secrets of his un- precedented success in business. He is well versed in human nature, and it does not take him long to make up his mind of those that circumstances or business brings him in contact with.
I know several young men that owe all they are and have to Mr. Fletcher's aid and liberality, and are now on the high road to wealth, if it has not already been attained.
He has done, and is yet doing, a great deal for the country at large with the means God has placed in his hands; I see
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Early Reminiscences.
evidences of it pass my door daily. In conclusion, I would merely say, in the language of Rip Van Winkle's favorite toast, "May he live long and prosper."
EDWIN J. PECK,
Like his old and particular friend, the subject of the preced- ing sketch, came to Indianapolis unburthened with the cares of a family, and a stranger to its pleasures.
He came from near New Haven, Connecticut, to this place, in May, 1833. He was the superintendent of the masonry and brick work of the State House.
It was not Mr. Peck's intention to make a home in the West when he first came to it, but after being here some two years in the capacity above stated, he became so much attached to western customs and manners that he concluded to cast his lot with his new-made friends and acquaintances, and make In- dianapolis his permanent home.
After the State House was finished (which was in the fall of 1836), he had the superintendency and contract for build- ing several important houses in different parts of the State- among which were the Branch Bank buildings at Madison, Terre Haute, Lafayette and South Bend.
He was for sometime, during its prosperous days, a director of the Madison and Indianapolis Railroad Company, during which time its stock was worth from twenty-five to thirty per cent. premium.
He was foremost in getting up the Indianapolis and Terre Haute Railroad Company, and accompanied the engineers along the route when it was being surveyed and located, tak- ing a lively interest in its beginning and then in its comple- tion. He was the first treasurer of the company and remained as such for several years after its completion ; then its pres- ident and a large stockholder. There is no person to whom the friends of this popular road are more indebted for making
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Edwin J. Peck.
it what it is to-day-one of the best paying roads in the West, and its high and enviable reputation as a well-conducted thor- oughfare-than they are to Edwin J. Peck.
He has been connected with the management of the road from its beginning (now nineteen years) up to the present time, being a portion of that time its president. He was, also, president of the Union Railway and Depot Company, the tracks of which are used by the several railroad companies in entering and leaving the Union Depot.
The by-laws of the latter company required that the presi- dent of it should be selected from the presidents of the differ- erent railroad companies that ran into it; but when Mr. Peck resigned the presidency of the Terre Haute and Indianapolis Company, such was the appreciation of his services that they changed their by-laws, and he is yet the Superintendent of the Depot and the several traeks that run into it.
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