USA > Ohio > Hamilton County > Cincinnati > The Cincinnati pioneer > Part 3
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It is an object of our meeting here to freshen our memories by the recollections of those ear- ly days-to recall by our speeches and our con- versation memories as sweet as the dreams of childhood. Whatever may be thought or said of that frontier life, those who bave lived it well unite with mo in testifying. I doubt not, that it was the purest lifo the enlightened white man ever lived. It realized the French- man's proudest dreams of Liberty, Fraternity and Equality. The cabin and the hered log house-the universal dwelling; there were no towering mansions to overwhelm the poor man's domicil, no monied nabobs to lord it over bis neighbors.
Brave and hardy men led the way through the gorges of the Alleghenies, and the toma- hawk and scalping-knife were the terror of the women and children down to 1815. But the men of 1812 broke the red man's power, and from that date peace and plenty reigned. The forests became the white man's hunting ground, yielding him abundance of game. whilst the virgin soil covered his table with an overflowing abundance. True, there were no roads but mad roads, and our school houses and churches were of logs; but many a bright boy and bonnie lassie gained the rudiments of an English education in the former, while pure men worshipped in the latter. Our mothers spun the yarn for our linsey wolsey, and we were happy in our home-span,
Whether the great change that has followed is for the best, time will tell; butso it is, the days referred to will constitute a green spot in our memories while memory endures.
But we were charged to be brief. May you. our guests, with the pioneers of Montgomery county who greet you, live many a year to en- joy the blessing of the most enlightened aud advanced civilization the world has ever seen.
RESPONSE BY JUDGE ESTE.
Judge Este, President of the meeting, made a brief address in which he warmly thanked the assembly for the honor con- ferred upon him. Hespoke of the occa- sion, the place of meeting, the nature of
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it and the anniversary which was com- memorsted, as adding to the interest of the assemblage. lle spoke of Perry's victory over the British fleet in 1813, as one of immense importance. It pre- pared the way for Gen. Harrison to in- vade Canada and give him the glorious victory of the Thames. This was & triumph on the water and on the land, But tor Perry's great achievement on the lake it would have been impossible for Harrison to make his forward and suc- cessful movement. The result of Perry's fight was most inspiriting. Gen. Brown took possession of Erie, then followed Chinnews nod Landy's Lasc. The British Gen. Provost with 14,000 men thought to regain what they had lost by Perry's triumph But the victory of the gallant McDonough over the British fleet on Lake Champlain checkmated him. He was repulsed and retreated. And all this was the legitimate fruit of Perrys victory.
OTHER PROCEEDINGS.
At the conclusion of Judge Este's speech, Mr. Caldwell proposed three cheers for Perry, Harrison, Scott and McDonough, of Cincinnati, which were given with a will.
Mr. C. then read a resolution of thanks and the award of a medal of Congress in 1820, to Lieut. R. Anderson, of Cincinnati, for gallant conduct in
the battle of Lake Erie, and exhibited the silver medal. Mr. Fergus Anderson, of Butler county, a brother of Lieutenant Anderson, was called out and cheered.
Elder W. P. Stratton, the Chaplain of the Hamilton County Pioneer Associa- tion, was called for, and responded in a happy vein. He referred to the presence of many venerable men and women who were the depositaries of much of the early history of this section. Twenty years ago the Pioneer Associa-
tion of Hamilton county, was organized. Those who composed it, seeing that with the departure of the aged men and women, the very history of the early times was dying out, urged the old citizens to make & record of the events which, in their own knowledge, bad occurred ju the settle- ment of Ohio, and in this way much valuable history bad been secured, which would one day be published. The speak- er, in a rapid, sketchy style, referred to the improvements of modern days-the palaces on the water and the palace cars on the rail-as in contrast with the facil- ities for travel which were possessed by the pioneers. He named a number of the familice who had first settled in Co- lumbia, fre miles above Cincinnati -- the Ganos, the Stiteses and the Hubbells -with high enconium. He paid a glow- ing tribute to the character and memory of Col. John Jobnstoo, and then referred to Judge Este as a conspicuous and hon- ored representative of the early days. Coming down to recent times, Mr. Strat- ton spoke of the war of the rebellion, and of his sending bis owo son into the field when Suinter was fired on-and of his nephew who had served his coun- try in the field, and sunered four months in the prison pen at Andersonville. Fre was glad to see in the Soldier's Home, o beautifully located and so complete and munificent in all its provisions, evi- dence of the regard of the Government for the comfort of the soldier. The Pio- neers of Cincinnati were grateful for the invitation which had enabled them to enjoy a day in this beautiful locality.
SPEECH OF GOV. NOYES,
Governor Noyes was then presented, and received with applause. He said he felt under obligations to speak, although he did not come prepared with a word to say. It was a gratification to see so many of those who endured the perils of pioneer life, and who by their labors and
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sacrifices had made this valley, once a wilderness, blossom es the rose. He ¿Eprossed his gratitude to these noble men and women. They and their asso- cistes had made Ohio what it was. Ag the Governor of the State, he warmly and cordially welcomed them on this occasion to the Soldier,' Home. The 2,000 maimed and crippled soldiers, iwhom he was proud to call bis comrades, would thank them for their presence. It is pleas- ant to the soldier to know that he is ap- preciated by his fellow citizens.
The Governor hoped that the pioneers would enjoy themselves in this beautiful place. Let them think of the great vic- tory won by Perry in 1813, the anniver- sary of which we celebrate, and consider the wonderful changes which have been wrought in Ohio since that event-how the treasures with which our mountains were filled had been developed, and from a handful of people the population had grown to the number of nearly three millions. There were men here who, when boys, had witnessed the first settle- ment of the State made at Marietta. Others remember when the Indians were fishing in our rivers and hunting the buf- falo on our plains. When the
"Queen of the West In her garlands wow dressed, On the bank, of the beautiful river."
was but a mere hamlet in peril from sararea, these pioneers were always ready to drive back the assailants and protect their infant settlement.
Again the Governor gave the Pioneers & hearty welcome. He wished them length of days, the prosperity and the happiness best for them in this world, and best for them in the preparation for the world to come.
Governor Noyes at the close was greeted with hearty applause.
'Squire Thompson was announced for a sonz, and he gave with feeling and ef- fect, the good old zorg of "Forty Years Ago," which was received with univer-
gal gratification. The meeting then ad- journed for lunch.
THE LUNCH IN THE SOLDIERS' DINING HALL.
One of the bandsome things which was done with a bounteous and liberal hand was the lunch which was provided by the ladies of the county and the city. The arrangement of the viand's upon the ta- bles showed that peculiar good taste for which our ladies are distinguished The careful thought which had been taken to provide an entertainment which should be creditable to the Pioneer Association here, and gratifying to the guests who were to be entertained, was manifest to every one. So abundant was the provision madethat after 720 guests, seated in the hall, had partaken of the entertainment there was enough in reserve to supply as many more. It was spoken of by a number of the Cincinnati pioneers, 83 the most elegant entertainment for an occasion of the kind, that they had ever attended. The substantials and the lux. uries were supplied with a prodigal hand, and a graceful attention to the guests at the table, by the ladies wbo had that department in charge, was the subject of general remark. Our ladies of Montgomery, were complimented by every one who partook of the entertain- ment provided by them.
One of the pleasant features of the pioneers' meeting was the presence of so many fine looking women. Those of the old school, with their matronly graces and pleasant faces, were regarded with respect and admiration ; and the younger generation who are yet to encounter many of the sorrows of life, through which the elder sisters had passed, charmed the "tyrants" who visited the Home on purpose to gaze upon "fair women and brave men."
After the adjorunment for lunch there Was a better opportunity than at any previous hour to observe the company
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which had assembled at the grounds. In numbers they were thousands. The banks of the lakes, the grotto and various other attractive points were actually crowded with people, while Amusement Hall, the verandahs of the barracks, the dining hall, the library, and the head- quarters were full of visitors. Until the time named, the occasion and the num- ber of visitors were scarcely appreciated. The reunion of the Pioneers makes for the Soldiers' Home one of its most dis- tinguished days. There were visitors from Clarke, Green, Darke, Hamil- ton, Warren, Batler, and Montgom-
ery counties. Å more pleasant, agreeable and gratified company never assembled there, and certainly notone which had a better appreciation of the beauty of the place, the courtesy and attention of the Home officers, and of the occasion which had drawn so many pleas- ant people together.
AN AMUSING AND INSTRUCTIVE SPECTA- CLE.
In Amusement Hall, there was a pleas- ant representation of the labors of the pioneer women, in which the daughters, for amusement, performed the work which their mothers did from necessity. In the early days, the mothers spun the thread and wove the goods which made the clothing for their bus- bands and children. There is Do necessity for doing this now, it is true, for machinery has taken the place of the spinning-wheel and the hand loom, and it is cheaper to buy than to produce the goods at home. Two agree- able young ladies, daughters of 'Squira Thompson, of Jobneville, dressed in the old-fashioned way, were spinning flax upon the old style wheels, while the ma- terial upon which they worked was "scutched" just outside the door. At another point on the stage a young lady was playing the piano. The contrast be- tween the occupation of the past and the
present, so far as the Indies were concern- ed, was thus made plain to every be- holder.
While all these scenes were transpir- ing on the grounds and in the buildings, the fine Band at the Home, stationed in the pagoda on the lawn, enlivened the occasion by their performance of many popular pieces. That band aids in mak- ing all'entertainments at the Home cap- tivating to the visitors.
THE AFTERNOON EXERCISES.
It was late in the afternoon before the visitors had satisfied their curiosity in the inspection of the -attractions of the Home, and again assembled in the Chapel. Ry half-past 4 it was well filled, and after an appropriate invocation by Elder Stratton, Mr. Caldwell introduced Judge Cox, the orator of the day.
JUDGE COX'S ORATION.
Pioneers of Miami Valley:
You have met to-day to celebrate the anni- versary of one of the grandest events on the glowing page of history. I see before me a few of the remaining pioneers who. within the past three-score years, cut down the forests. opened up the swamp, drove back the savage and more barbarous white ally, and in suffering tears and blood laid the foundation of a mighty State.
What pen can recount, what painter call forth on the canvass the hardship and suffering through wb ch you have passed. Toe slow. toilsome march into the wilderness. the labor in felling the forests, watching the while with faithful rifle near the wiley savage who con- tested every inch of progress, the scanty clear- ing covered with innumerable stumps from which you wrested from the rich soil the corn for your family bread; the foul swamp, in whosy every drop of water lurked the scorching fever and shivering chill, the sickness and death
by the wayside
of loved ones, the long winter's night of watching 'mid the howling of wild beasts and the feartul yell of the savage; the fearful marchings and the terrible battle where no mercy was given-the crackling of the dames of the cabin at midnight over the corpses of wife and children as they lay tomahawked and scalped amid the burning mass. These ara pictures which the eyes before me have seen, alas, too often in their dread reality, but of which. we who have come on the stage of action since, can have but & faint conception. We
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stand hero to-day in the light of a great civill- zation. Nowhere on earth is a more beautiful spectacle presented than in this Miami Valley, The Indian has passed away, forests folled. swamps drained, farms opened up, towne and citics, beautiful in architecture and bright with happy bomes, with all the appliances of art. science and industry to make men useful and happy, and the most speedy and approved means of communication to facilitate the labor and stimulate the energy of nearly three mil- lion people. This has grown in the lifetime of the men and women I see before me, and stop by step have they watched its advancement.
This spot on which we stand, adorned, pro. tected and sustained by a grateful people as & dedication to the g dlike work of caring for those who periled life and all that was dear in life for their country in a later struggle. Your beautiful, popular and busy city in sight, the roads over which most of you have to-day traveled to reach here. these mark the theatre on which no mimic battle scenes have been cuacted. butall echo yet through these long years with the tread of armed men who. in sum- mera beat and winters fearful blas's, of en with bired feet blistered and torn. racked with disease and suffering with wounds, marched and countermarched through this valley at their country's call.
Sixty years ago here was the verge of civiliza- tion; a few sparsely settled clearings and some small towns were scattered on the north and west, and some along the margin of Like Erie. and in the neighborhood of forts established by the Government, but to reach these was to pass over hostile grounds of the Indian, which was only done peacefully by his consent. At Greenville, twerty.two miles west of Dayton. the celebrated Tecumseh and his brother, the Prophet, resided from 1805 to 1809. and there they formed their plans of hostility to the whites. During their residence there they were visited by many Indians, who were wrought to the highest pitch of exci'e- ment by the e oquence of Tecumseh and the cunning of the Prophet. Here armies gathered from different points, and rendezvoused and gathered supplies, pack-horses and wagons, and wait dtbe order of commanders to start out literally into the dreary black swamp to push back che invading foo. How changed the scene! To-day we celebrate the sixtie b an- niversary of the victory of Perry and his brave men on Lake Erie. Celebrate it not only be- cause of the brilliant heroism which marked our brave navy, but for the great defeat it gave and the great series of defeats it inaugurated over our united enemies. and the control it gave us over the whole lake and country on our north. Tho Revolution of 1776, which ashered our nation into being as a sep-
arate government, did not entirely relieve os from the oppression of Great Britain. Ae Franklia said it was not a war of independ- ence, buta war for independence, and the re il war for independence had set to be fought. There were still those on this side of the At- lantie who thought the separation was only temporary, and that by some mysterious pro- cess, "the bloody chasm would be bridged over." and the feud which had separated mother and child be healed, and weagain be happy under the reign of His Majesty, Georze ITI, and his successors forages to come On the part of England, there was a self confident opinion that they were all powerful on land and sea, and we a weak and defenseless people. scattered over too vast a. territory to defend ourselves, and that wherever she should desire it, and it would be advantageous to her. she could reach forth and grasp and hold us in ber powerful band. In the meantime, that the. feeble States were to be treated as suitel her haughty spirit, and whatever we possessed on land or sea, to be laid hold of whenever the exigencies of Ber Majesty required. The great bulk of our population was on the sea coast, and from that they derived their support. Commerce and navigation alone the coast, and between distant nations grew up rap- idly, and of necessity our shipping increased with its demanda. Our brave seamen were afloatin American versels ou every sea and cime, and nobly did they sustain the charac- ter of the New World for enterprise and valor. But England claimed to be mistress of the seas, and that whenever on the broad oceans of the world she met an American ves el, her ofi- cers had a right to board ber without license, to search for deserters from her navy, and to impress into her service every one on board who her officers hould then and there adjudge to be deserters. Among such she classed all on board of American vesse's who had been born on English soil, wberber they had been in .erv- ice before or not, claiming that no E glish man could ever transfer his allegiance to any other power on carth. The American Government demanded free trade on the highway of the world, and sailors rights-the right of every sailor to be protected on his vessel by the coun- try whose flag floated at his mast head, and . hat whosoever stepped מס board without his' authority ₩ 38 & trespasser who was liable to be called to account on the spot; or if the act were sanctioned by the govern- mentof theintruder, it was an act of war on the part of that government and to be treated as such. As a further menice and case of annoyance to us, the British Government still held & controlling influence over the Indians in the Northwest, furnishing them with am- munition and stores of all kinds, and continu-
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ally fomenting the ill feeling which still ran- kled in their bosoms for the loss of their favor- ite hunting grounds. In violation of the treaty of 1783, the British Government had held a strongly built fortress near the foot of the rap- ids of the Maumee, and it was only finally evacuated. after the close of the Indian war of 1791, by Wayne's treaty at Greenville in 1795. But even then they only crossed the head of the lake to their previously establishod post of Malden, just at the entrance of Detroit River into the lake, and from that point they sought to keep a strong hold upon the Indian tribos of the old Nortwestern territory as well as all others they could resch or control. Malden was their trading post, and here they annually made presents of arms and ammunition, med- als, baubles and trinkets to the Indians, and for the accommodation of the annual assemblys of the Indian tribes erected a large Council House at Brownston, near Lake Erie, in our Territory of Michigan ; and here British agents, speaking their language, or through interpret- ers, harangued them with details of the sup- posed wrongs they had suffered from the Amer- icans. This combination und these excite- ments to hostility increased until they culmi- nated in 1811. when Tecumseh, the great Indi- an orator and warrior, and his brother. the Prophet, sought to combine all the tribes in the South and North west to drive, as he said, the white race back to the ocean whence they came; or, at least, to regain their old South- ern boundary-the Ohio River. Visiting all thetribes from Lake Superior on the North to Florida on the South, he sought, with his wild, impassioned eloquence, to unite them against the Americans. Well was he calcu- lated for this work. and his audience grew al- most wild with hate as he pictured their wrongs and called on them for vengeance. One of his speeches has been thus reported as made to the Indians of Florida: "In defiance of the white men of Ohio and Kentucky, Ihave traveled through their settlements -once our favorite hunting grounds. No war whoop was sounded, but there is blood on our knives. The pale faces felt the blow, but knew not whence it came. Accursed be the race that has seized on our country and made women of our warriors. Our fathers from their tombs reproach us as slaves and cowards. I hear them now iu the wailing winds. The Muscogee were once a mighty people. The Georgias trembled at our war whoop; and the maidens of my tribe in the distant lakes sang the prowess of your warriors and sighed for their embraces. Now your very blood is white. your tomahawks have no edges your bows and arrows were buried with your fathers. O Mus- cogees, brethren of my mother, brash from your eyelids the sleep of slavery, once more
strike for vengeance, once more for your coun- try. The spirits of the mighty dead complain. The tears drop from the skies. Let the white rare perish. They seize your land. they cor- rupt your women, they tramaple on your deal. Back! whence they came upon a trail of blond they must be driven. Back! back! Aye, into the great water whose accursel waves brought them to our shores. Bura their dwellings! Destroy their stock ! Slay their wives and chil- dren ! The red man owns the country, and the palo face must never enjoy it! War now! War forever! War upon the living! War upon the dead ! Dig their very corpses from their graves ! Our country must give no rest to & white man's bones. All the tribes of the North are dancing the war-dance. Two mighty warriors across the seas will send us arms. Tecumseh will soon return to his country, My prophets shall tarry with you. They will stand between you and your enemies. When the white min. an- proaches you the earth shall swallow bim up. Soon shall you see iny arm of fire stretched athwart the sky. I will stamp my foot at Tip- pecanoe, and the very earth shall shake."
The bloody battle of Tippecanoe followed November 7. and to add force to the terrible threat of the warrior, the great earthquake of 1811 followed in a few weeks, shaking the earth, through nearly the whole Mississippi Valley, and rolling back the current of the rivera.
During the winter of 1811-'12 the Indians made pretence of peace. Tecumseh appeared. . in December at Fort Wayne, and affected to impress the conviction that he felt his schemes were broken. But he was haughty and defiant. He demanded ammunition from the commandant, which was refused him.
He said he would go to the British Father who would not deny him, gave the war whoop and left. Early in the spring of 1812.he began to put his schemes in operation. Small parties were sent along the frontier of Ohio and Iadi- ana to commit murder and other depredations. and distract the public attention to as many points as possible. They were pursued by vol- unteer bards of white men, but without much success. Their headquarters and supplies were the British posts in Canada, and it became necessary in the view of the government to make preparations to invade Canada as the only means of preventing their incursions and to protect the frontier. Gen. Wm, Hull was the Governor of Michigan, and in command of the forces at Detroit, and early in the spring of 1812 the President of the United States made a requisition on the State of Ohio for 1,200 militia, and the famous 4th regiment, under command of Colonel Miller. which had sometime before been ordered to the relief of Vincennes, was now ordered co Cincinnati to join the militia.
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The Obin militia were soon raised, and were ordered by Governor Meigs, of Ohio, to rendez- vous at Dayton on the 29th of April, when Gov. Meigs arrived on the 6th of May to superintend their organization in persor, and was received by the citizens with a salute of eighteen guns. In the afternoon ho reviewed the troops; twelve companies being in camp here, and Dayton was made the point of rendezvous for all the militia destined for Detroit. The In- dians in the meantime were perpetrating mur- ders near Greenville, and all along the frontier and driving the settlers back to its interior. On the 14th of May 1,400 troops, principally volunteers, were encamped at Dayton under the command of Generals Casa and Gano. Gov. Meigs was in the meantime calling on the patriotismo of the people for supplies to the troops with blankets. Thestores of Cincinnati with its then population of about three thon- sand, of Hamilton or Lebanon, or Dayton with four hundred inhabitants being unable to sup- ply them. they were compelled to rely on private contributions. By the 20th the troops had increased to 1500, and Gov. Hull from Detroit, issued his proclamation to the chiefs of the Ottawas, Chippewas. Wyandottes. Miamis, Delawares and Shawnees. offering them war or peace, and threatening them with severe penalties if they chose the former. The troops were divided into
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