History of Indiana from its exploration to 1922, Vol II, Part 3

Author: Esarey, Logan, 1874-1942; Cronin, William F., 1878-
Publication date: 1922
Publisher: Dayton, Ohio : Dayton Historical Publishing Co.
Number of Pages: 620


USA > Indiana > Vigo County > History of Indiana from its exploration to 1922, Vol II > Part 3


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).


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598


HISTORY OF INDIANA


terms. Nowhere in the west was greater elegance displayed. In the evening after the ladies had tired of music and dancing the gentlemen, so inclined, re- tired to the bar room to spend a large part of the night at poker. Liquor flowed freely and stakes ran high. In spite of Dickens' crabid comment no river bore such sumptuous crafts as did the Ohio in the fifties and the competition between these river racers was furious.


The railroads had not yet provided such comfort- able means of travel. The Madison road cleaned out the week-day hog cars for the Sunday excursion.14 On other lines the passengers rode on flat cars, using planks for seats. By 1860, however, the older rail- roads were provided with comfortable coaches,


Shotwell," the former running from the foot of Canal Street, New Orleans, to the Portland wharf, Louisville, in four days, nine hours and twenty minutes, the latter's time being exactly one hour longer. This race was even more thrilling than the famous contest of 1870 between the "Robert E. Lee" and "Natchez," from New Orleans to Saint Louis, as the "Eclipse" and "Shotwell" were frequently in plain sight of each other for miles at a time, and thousands of dollars changed hands on the result. Reading the menu of an ordinary day's dinner shows where the money went, since Lucullus himself could only with difficulty have de- signed a more elaborate banquet than one beginning with ox-tail soup, going through barbecued bass and sheepshead to six varl- eties of boiled and three of cold spiced meats, with choice of ten side-dishes, before the actual meat course was reached. Eight kinds of roast were then offered, and under the head of "Green" appears the modest statement, "All Vegetables of the Season." The dessert is yet more bewildering, with seven different pies, four puddings, four creams, blanc-mange, custard, charlotte russe, sherbets, two "frozettes," and a delicacy not known today called "charlexaice," to say nothing of five cakes, six kinds of fruit, three of nuts, claret and white wines and coffee.


14 John R. Cravens in Indiana Magazine of History, XII, 242; see, also, Dr. John Poucher, "Social Effects of the Monon Rall- way," in Indiana Magazine of History, XII, 326.


599


1169634


TRAVEL


though of course not equaling the sleepers, diners and chair cars of the present. The trip was frequent- ly interrupted by accidents or by stops to take on wood or water. The men passengers often helped to carry on wood or stood in the water line as the buckets were passed back and forth from some con- venient stream or pool to fill the tender. There was no display of fashion on the trains as there was on the boats; however, the travel widened the acquain- tanceship of the people with each other and the coun- try more than did that on the boats.


Show day was the gala day par excellence. Every- body condemned it, but everybody came and nobody behaved. The shows themselves varied from the two- or three-ring circus, under the big tent among the dog fennel, to the slight-of-hand performers, the dancing bear or speaking mule. The mummy of Na- poleon, the snake charmer from Madagascar, the wild man of Borneo, the sword swallower, and their whole brigade were safely ensconced in the side shows where the curious were relieved of their extra money, just as at present. Drunkenness and disorder usually characterized the crowd. The children, by staying close to the clowns and wild animals, had an enjoyable day, but to the older persons the circus was a disappointment.16


The contrast of the circus was the fair. There was wonderful activity during the fifties among the farmers and nowhere could this be appreciated so much as at the state and county fairs. All the handi- work and products of the farm were on exhibition, from the finest livestock to the choicest glass of jelly. The farmers with their families came to spend a full day or perhaps more, enjoying and admiring the things of their own world. It was a day of education


15 Major, The Pioneers of Morgan County, 385.


600


HISTORY OF INDIANA


as well as enjoyment. There was earnest comment on all the articles. Many things were done better by them after the fair. Their standard of living was raised by inspecting the wares of others and their vanity tickled by an exhibition of their own. An ad- dress in the forenoon and horse races in the after- noon broke the continuity of the day.16


§ 106 MENTAL TRAITS


The men were kindly, but rough, outspoken and boisterous. The hard life of the forest for a century had been a potent discipline. The loudest lawyer made the greatest impression on the jury. The nat- ive preachers were plain spoken, harsh and merci- less. They often found it necessary to maintain order by force. The poor pedagogue was the butt of every coarse joke in the neighborhood. He was barred out, smoked out, ducked or horsewhipped and the surest way to establish himself in the community was to break somebody's head with a poker or lick daily all the helpless children under his charge.


Diametrically opposed to this roughness was the generous, hearty hospitality, unequaled in the United States except among the southern planters. There was a feeling of kinship, at times approaching clan- nishness, though rarely offensive. They were artis- tic and visionary. Their pompous language seems to us ridiculous and amusing, but nevertheless is signi- ficant. The wandering preacher, the stump speaker and the newspaper paragrapher in their efforts at expression borrowed the grand figures from the Bible, Cicero, Bacon, and Milton and more especially


16 The State board of agriculture was organized, May 27, 1851, by Gov. Joseph A. Wright, president. Its annual reports contain reports from the county societies. In these will be found details of county and state fairs. Those old reports furnish a valuable Insight into the agricultural life of the times.


601


MENTAL TRAITS


from John Knox and Fox's Book of the Martyrs. It was the language of the "glorious Revolution." The better orators of the period, such as George G. Dunn, Samuel Parker, Edward Hannegan and Abraham Lincoln, combined this power with a political vein, common in southern Indiana, into readable litera- ture.


But this poetic vision is only the background of the picture. In the foreground looms up an attitude toward God and nature as ridiculous as the former was sublime-looms up so large that only close ob- servation reveals the former. These same folks who stood speechless in the presence of the grandeur of nature planted their cucumbers when the sign was in the arm so they would grow long; planted their pota- toes in the dark of the moon so they would not all grow to tops; knew that if the new moon lay on its back the month would be dry; carried buckeyes in their pockets to keep off rheumatism; carried the left front foot of a rabbit, killed in a graveyard in the dark of the moon, for good luck ; butchered their hogs in the dark of the moon lest when the pork was fried it all go to grease; believed that if a child were born when the sign was in the stomach it would be hearty ; if the sign was in the head it would be wise; if it clung to a pencil when first presented to it, it was destined to a noble professional career. All nature was full of personal significance, full of signs and portents to their superstitious minds. Expert Ger- man and French rhabdomancers preyed on the more gullible, telling fortunes, locating buried treasures, stolen goods, or underground streams of water. Many of these signs and sayings were based on long and careful observations. Their weather prognosti- cations took the place of the present weather burean reports and at times were quite as accurate. Most of the prudential sayings which Franklin printed in


602


HISTORY OF INDIANA


his almanac, and which have since passed for prov- erbs, were the folk lore of the thrifty German peas- ants, the Pennsylvania Dutch. A large majority of these small superstitions had kernels of valuable wisdom concealed in their core.


From a personal standpoint their philosophy was broadly humanitarian. Individuals might differ in endowments or wealth, but each bore the impress of the Deity and thus was entitled to respect. This con- ception had far-reaching consequences. It made slav- ery impossible, prevented any deep class distinctions, made public schools possible, and laid a broad foun- dation for Jacksonian democracy. In social life it made the difference between Emerson and Lincoln, between the man who fastens his eye on a distant goal and crushes on through the wreck and ruin of hopes and lives to its consummation, and the man who shapes his life to afford the greatest pleasure to himself and neighbors without much regard to the fulfillment of his own selfish destiny.


Politically, their philosophy was most curious and their conduct contradictory. Long and bitter ex- perience had made them distrustful of government either in the church or the state. Unlike the Puritans and Cavaliers and all other civilized peoples of their time, they conceded no divinity to laws or courts. If the law measured up to their sense of justice they enforced it ; if the court meted out substantial justice they obeyed it. If the law was otherwise it remained a dead letter; if the court failed they frequently called in Judge Lynch and the halter strap. Not swift to transcend the law, but certain if the provo- cation continued. Their ancestors gave their full strength to America in the Revolution, not so much because they loved America as that they hated England. They fought the military part of the War of 1812 largely in gratification of their enmity


603


MENTAL TRAITS


toward England and the Indians; and finally they supported the United States in the Civil war not be- cause they hated the South, but because they loved the Union. A strange and happy transformation in the attitude toward the government has come about since they engaged in the Whiskey Rebellion, wrote the Kentucky Resolutions, intrigued with Spain and encouraged Burr.


Each recognized within himself great political ca- pacity, such that he would willingly undertake to hold any office he could get, from postmaster to con- gressman. This confidence was inspired by the fact that he and his neighbors had organized the govern- ment, both state and local. All the institutions around him were his own handiwork, the product of his mind and hand. He wanted all the education he could get for himself and children, but he paid his taxes grudgingly.


Economically, he liked to picture himself self- sufficient and wholly independent. His ideal was a farm which furnished him all the necessaries of life. He opposed the United States bank because the bank was too powerful. He could not meet it on the level. He preferred a canal to a railroad because on the canal he could launch his own boat and come and go independently of any other power. On a railroad he would have to accommodate his needs to another man's pleasure. He was in his glory floating down the Mississippi with a flatboat load of produce, dick- ering with the plantation owners on the way. Even thus abroad he maintained the natural simplicity of his life, not avaricious, not a close bargainer, but reveling in his freedom to buy or sell as he pleased. He made a spectacle when he ambled along the levee or in the fashionable streets of New Orleans or even Cincinnati, with his pant legs hooked over the inside ear of his boots. He was such a robust animal him-


604


HISTORY OF INDIANA


self he couldn't help but pity the whole world ex- cept his own neighbors in Indiana.


§ 107 ILLITERACY AND POPULATION


The greatest social problem of this period was illiteracy. Up to 1850 the state government, on ac- count of lack of resources, had been unable to furnish schools, but the great increase of wealth during the fifties enabled it to begin the work. The illiteracy of the period was enough to cause alarm but it would be a mistake to confuse this illiteracy with ignorance. Many a skillful farmer was unable to read, but it would be wrong to call him ignorant. The statistics which are given below produced an effect wholesome on the people but largely unwarranted by the actual conditions. Throughout the east it had a tendency to make the name Hoosier a synonym for stupidity. The two decades preceding 1860 brought an increase of population of 700,000, most of whom were poor. One need not expect a great amount of social polish in a society that more than doubles in two decades, one generation.17


17 The following statistics are given as a background to this whole chapter. Note the shifting of population and especially the growth of the northern part of the state.


POPULATION OF INDIANA IN 1840, 1850 AND 1860


County


1840


1850


1860


Adams


2,264


5,774


9,252


Allen


5,931


16,921


29,328


Bartholomew


10,036


12,832


17,865


Benton


...


1,144


2,809


Blackford


1,226


2,864


4,122


Boone


7,894


11,629


16,753


Brown


2,363


4,846


6,507


Carroll


7,780


11,025


13,489


Cass


5,490


10,922


16,843


Clarke


14,595


15,836


20,502


Clay


5,568


8,134


12,161


Clinton


7,490


11,871


14,505


605


ILLITERACY AND POPULATION


County


1840


1850


1860


Crawford


5,282


6,318


8,226


Daviess


6,679


10,354


13,323


Dearborn


19,638


20,165


24,406


Decatur


12,178


15,100


17,294


Dekalb


1,967


8,257


13,880


Delaware


8,488


10,976


15,753


Dubois


3,634


6,230


10,394


Elkhart


6,704


12,903


20,986


Fayette


9,838


10,140


10,225


Floyd


9,454


14,876


20,183


Fountain


11,174


13,260


15,566


Franklin


13,444


17,914


19,549


Fulton


2,013


5,864


9,422


Gibson


8,970


10,782


14,532


Grant


4,846


11,092


15,797


Greene


8,321


12,247


16,041


Hamilton


9,832


12,686


17,310


Hancock


7,567,


9,714


12,802


Harrison


12,459


15,538


18,521


Hendricks


11,264


14,077


16,953


Henry


15,103


17,668


20,119


Howard


6,667


12,524


Huntington


1,601


7,850


14,867


Jackson


8,960


11,030


16,286


Jasper


1,277


3,424


4,291


Jay


3,877


7,051


11,399


Jefferson


16,644


23,931


25,036


Jennings


8,743


12,541


14,749


Johnson


9,530


12,228


14,854


Knox


10,250


11,086


16,056


Kosciusko


4,042


10,243


17,418


Lagrange


3,665


8,424


11,366


Lake


1,468


3,991


9,145


Laporte


8,184


12,169


22,919


Lawrence


11,790


12,210


13,692


Madison


8,904


12,497


16,518


Marion


16,118


24,289


39,855


Marshall


1,651


5,348


12,722


Martin


3,775


5,955


8,975


Miami


2,857


11,349


16,851


Monroe


9,996


11,283


12,847


Montgomery


14,405


18,227


20,888


606


HISTORY OF INDIANA


County


1840


1850


1860


Morgan


10,677


14,654


16,110


Newton


2,360


Nobie


2,702


7,948


14,915


Ohio


...


5,310


5,462


Orange


9,580


10,818


12,076


Owen


8,254


12,040


14,376


Parke


13,559


15,049


15,538


Perry


4,513


7,251


11,847


Pike


4,710


8,599


10,078


Porter


2,172


5,250


10,313


Posey


9,641


12,367


16,167


Pulaski


561


2,595


5,711


Putnam


16,869


18,612


20,681


Randoiph


10,681


14,694


18,997


Ripley


10,317


14,822


19,054


Rush


16,575


16,445


16,193


Scott


4,262


5,889


7,303


Shelby


11,997


15,446


19,569


Spencer


5,961


8,664


14,556


Stark


148


558


2,195


St. Joseph


6,415


10,955


18,455


Steuben


2,578


6,107


10,374


Sullivan


3,312


10,163


15,064


Switzerland


9,864


12,953


12,698


Tippecanoe


13,725


19,269


25,726


Tipton


..


3,534


8,170


Union


7,814


6,881


7,109


Vanderburgh


6,209


11,415


20,552


Vermilion


8,249


8,601


9,422


Vigo


12,076


14,693


22,517


Wabash


2,736


12,109


17,547


Warren


5,642


7,423


10,057


Warrick


6,320


8,822


13,261


Washington


15,273


17,088


17,909


Wayne


22,983


25,900


29,558


Weils


1,821


6,152


10,844


White


1,849


4,760


8,259


Whitley


1,040


5,190


10,730


Totais


683,314


990,258


1,350,428


607


ILLITERACY AND POPULATION


The following statistics from the U. S. Census will give an Idea of the illiteracy in the state. In the first column are the numbers of white persons over 20 unable to write or read. In the second column are the same for 1850. In the third column are all over 10 who could not write in 1870.


County


1840


1850


1870


Adams


180


157


502


Allen


160


622


999


Bartholomew


649


1,170


2,095


Benton


95


499


Blackford


55


166


716


Boone


31


956


1,514


Brown


122


829


1,825


Carroll


400


985


954


Cass


457


173


856


Clarke


676


941


2,998


Clay


738


532


1,779


Clinton


87


1,061


1,419


Crawford


389


945


1,602


Daviess


667


1,222


1,752


Dearborn


78


703


536


Decatur


151


1,301


1,048


DeKalb


75


614


736


Delaware


366


1,089


1,234


Dubois


532


441


535


Elkhart


114


1,057


1,463


Fayette


494


655


12


Floyd


642


1,051


1,821


Fountain


874


1,462


1,156


Franklin


65


693


1,188


Fulton


483


973


Gibson


1,044


1,201


2,190


Grant


321


1,121


1,067


Greene


740


1,521


2,518


Hamliton


1,271


1,319


1,409


Hancock


330


642


1,449


Harrison


419


89


1,937


Hendricks


924


1,306


1,505


Henry


495


971


1,652


Howard


155


1,098


Huntington


131


571


1,289


Jackson


1,412


1,428


2,145


Jasper


....


203


177


608


HISTORY OF INDIANA


County


1840


1850


1870


Jay


395


420


1,235


Jefferson


123


1,555


1,291


Jennings


484


1,880


Johnson


581


472


1,641


Knox


643


794


2,504


Kosciusko


364


1,092


1,501


Lagrange


162


104


353


Lake


7


131


416


Laporte


268


610


842


Lawrence


1,085


1,148


1,987


Madison


332


821


2,842


Marion


194


965


4,522


Marshall


62


468


1,363


Martin


620


1,594


2,135


Miami


251


1,074


1,903


Monroe


9


1,038


1,618


Montgomery


1,058


1,175


1,439


Noble


182


365


621


Ohio


39


372


Orange


1,167


1,471


1,922


Owen


793


1,124


1,614


Parke


1,314


320


974


Perry


574


1,114


1,805


Pike


695


1,083


1,936


Porter


15


261


979


Posey


1,538


1,263


Pulaski


41


172


499


Putnam


1,021


2,035


2,091


Randolph


333


1,179


874


Ripley


208


1,055


1,644


Rush


1,789


1,628


845


Scott


470


900


1,290


Shelby


878


1,646


1,486


Spencer


700


948


2,226


Starke


5


81


268


Steuben


51


63


586


St. Joseph


383


248


1,499


Sullivan


543


757


2,707


Switzerland


18


119


219


Tippecanoe


1,246


1,549


2,659


Tipton


...


480


1,234


904


1,922


Morgan


178


Newton


...


609


ILLITERACY AND POPULATION


County


1840


1850


1870


Union


200


92


59


Vanderburg


198


158


2,371


Vermilion


265


698


827


Vigo


666


1,613


2,603


Wabash


224


820


1,424


Warren


465


328


437


Warrick


715


381


2,332


Washington


1,332


1,259


1,685


Wayne


42


1,091


1,200


Wells


230


565


812


White


15


401


604


Whitley


79


350


828


Totals


38,100


72,710


127,124


-


CHAPTER XXIII


CIVIL WAR POLITICS


§ 108 SLAVERY


The election of 1852 was not satisfactory to any party. The Whigs manifested little concern over the defeat or the fate of their party. The Democrats had made the political mistake of destroying the Whig party, the only power that could keep their own party united. The Whigs were released from party allegiance by the death of their party, the Dem- ocrats by the disappearance of opposition. The in- dividuals of each party were thus left free to discuss any question that came up and form new alliances as circumstances arose. Several of these emergencies had already arisen before 1852 when nothing but the power of party discipline and the fear of defeat had held the Democrats together.


The one great question which interested every voter was slavery. No attempt had been made to train public opinion in the state. Political parties, the churches and the newspapers had, up to 1850, avoided the subject as much as possible in an official way. The Free Soil party had created some interest in 1844 and 1848, but, though it remained as a power- ful influence, it had disappeared as an organized force. A few outright Abolitionists were active in the state but were not regarded seriously by the peo- ple. It seems that the majority of Indianians in 1852 preferred to let the question rest, but at the same time were apprehensive lest some one open it up


611


SLAVERY


. again. Herein lay the cause of the tempest that followed the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill.


There had been very little sympathy for negroes in Indiana previous to 1852. The new constitution had prohibited free negroes coming into the state. A strict law required every one then in the state to reg- ister with his county clerk and one who failed to reg- ister was subject to the $500 fine imposed on those who came into the state after October 1, 1851.1 By a law of February 14, 1853, no person having one- eighth or more of negro blood could testify in court in any case in which a white person was interested.2 These laws were driving the few colored people then in the state, who were able to move, from it.8 There seems to be ample evidence to show that this was the sentiment of the state previous to the passage of the Kansas-Nebraska bill and the operations of the Fugitive Slave law of 1850.


However there were strong agencies then becom- ing active to change this attitude. In September, 1853, the Northern Indiana Methodist conference carried twelve resolutions condemning slavery in all its forms.4 Each Methodist preacher thenceforth


1 Revised Laws of Indiana, 1852, ch. 74.


2 Laws of Indiana, 1853, ch. 42. Passed by vote of 36 to 11 in the Senate and in the House, 58 to 10.


3 Washington County Democrat, July 22, 1853.


4 Logansport Journal, October 22, 1853; Indianapolis Journal, October 5, 1853. "The system of slavery is contrary to the doc- trines of the Methodist Episcopal church. We believe it is the duty of the church to seek to remove slavery from the entire country. Whoever holds a slave is a sinner before God, violating in an unmistakable manner the second commandment. We be- lleve the system of slave-raising worse than the African slave trade. The members of our church who hold slaves should be dealt with as for other gross immorality. The iniquitous Fugitive Slave law merits our hearty disapproval." The resolutions are given in full in both papers.


612


HISTORY OF INDIANA


became an anti-slavery agitator. Having no regard for political effect these men soon incurred the en- mity of the Democratic politicians. John L. Robin- son, United States marshal for Indiana, in an ad- dress before the Democratic state convention in 1854 referred to the preachers as the "3000 Abolitionists sent out of New England," and as "non-taxpaying, itinerant vagabonds."" The State Sentinel warned preachers in general from meddling with politics and attending conventions, cautioning them to stick to the gospel.® Governor Wright withdrew his member- ship from Strange Chapel Methodist church at Indi- anapolis because the minister persisted in talking politics from the pulpit." The Quakers were just as active in denouncing slavery as the Methodists, though, due to lack of numbers and organization, they were not so effective. Moreover, having always strenuously opposed slavery, people were not so much excited by their work.


During the year 1853 accounts of fugitive slave cases appeared frequently in the Indiana newspa- pers. The iniquity of the business soon forced the editors to plead the cause of humanity. Each section of the state was aroused by the capture of some fugi- tive in the vicinity.8


5 Indianapolis Journal, June 24, 1854.


6 Indianapolis State Sentinel, August 10, 1854.


7 Indianapolis Journal, January 22 and 23, 1855.


8 "We would ask every man who prefers justice to expediency, humanity to the cold-blooded schemes of selfish politicians and persistent slave-holders, how long a system so degrading to man and so dishonorable to God shall be permitted to continue."- Logansport Journal, February 13, 1853. Of Ilke temper is the following extract from a letter by Henry Ward Beecher refer- ring to the Freeman outrage :


"So deadening has been the influence of slavery upon the pubile mind that religious teachers and religious editors will find not a word to say against this utter abomination. Meanwhile,


613


TEMPERANCE


§ 109 TEMPERANCE


During the session of 1853 the General Assembly attempted to legislate on the liquor question. There had been, for a score or more of years, agitation in favor of regulating the liquor traffic. In 1839, in re- sponse to petitions from various parts of the state, the Judiciary committee, through Amory Kinney, of Vigo county, its chairman, made a report on the liquor traffic, at the same time introducing a bill lim- iting the sale. The committee reported that the use of liquor was vicious, entailing on the state an esti- mated annual loss of $1,738,100. This sum they said would school every child in the state. It would take more sagacity, they continued, than any member of the committee possessed, to point any good to the community resulting from this waste. There seemed to be an average of ten groceries for each county and three habitual loafers caused by each. In Indi- ana alone the annual death toll from drunkenness was 1,300; it required each circuit court six days per year to dispose of cases arising directly from the traffic; its chemical effect was entirely injurious to the human system; the so-called temperate drinker was a myth; he was only in the first stage of drunk- enness; drinking was the cause of three-fourths of all crime, pauperism, criminal court expense and in- sanity in the state; the right of a man to destroy his own usefulness, ruin his family and throw the wreck- age on the expense of society, was denied. In short, in this report will be found the whole case against


the same God who permits tarantulas, scorpions, and other odious vermin suffers also the existence of such creatures as the Rever- end Mr. Ellington * to crush the human heart, to eat up a living household, to take a family into one's hand and crush it like a cluster of grapes. This is respectable, iegal, and Christian in the estimation of cotton patriots and patriotic Christians who regard law greater than justice, the Union as more Important than




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