USA > Ohio > Cuyahoga County > Cleveland > The founder of the city of Cleveland, and other sketches > Part 3
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CITY OF CLEVELAND
arrival, a log cabin was speedily constructed for the family. Not long afterward the friendly Indians of that vicinity camped near the house. The chief saw Mrs. Umberfield's oldest daughter, Liney, and was smitten with her beauty. She was then but fifteen years old. The chief proposed to buy her and offered one thousand dollars and his own son for her. The offer being deelined, he intimated that he would steal her. For a long time her mother would not permit her to go out of the house alone. Yet the younger children often played with the Indian children, and were fond of swinging in the loop of a wild grape-vine that hung from the treetops near the cabin. The Indian boys would give the swing a violent push, send it high, and then set their dogs after it, and laugh to see the dogs puzzled and foiled in attempting to catch it. This sort of sport equally pleased the white children who sat in the swing. The children of the two raees seemed to enjoy the society of each other with a relish. This pleased the Indian mothers and fathers, who were not only friendly to the white settlers, but showed a disposition to exchange visits with them in a social way. But the Indian chief, who was smitten with . the pretty white girl, having failed in his attempts to obtain her, wisely disappeared.
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Early in the spring of 1812 a party of Indians encamped in Hampden, Geauga County, and remained till fall. The chief was a man of distinction among his people. His squaw was as gracious as she was beauti- ful, and received her white visitors with becoming dignity, arrayed in the richest style of decorative art known to her race. The article of dress which she most relied upon - to give additional lustre to her native charms was a deer-skin cape, close fitting at the throat, and flowing down gracefully about the waist. The cape was ingeniously wrought in singular devices with glass beads and porcupine quills. Hundreds of little silver brooches, with tongues like buckles, were interspersed artis- tically among the other devices on this cape or overgarment. In addition to this, her dainty · pedal extremities were shod with a pair of deer- skin moccasons, ornamented in a style quite as elaborate as her outer robe. The white ladies were particularly fond of exchanging visits with this lady squaw, who soon became quite an adept in the practice of social civilities as known to civilized life.
The truth is, the Indian possesses many noble traits of character, and, when treated with the consideration that is due him, he always proves true and faithful to his friends,
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whether they be of his own race or of the white race. The Indians affiliate in tribes. A tribe is regarded by its members as one common family or brotherhood. The rights of each tribe, and of each member of it, are sacred, and the entire tribe is bound to defend and protect these mutual rights. When one tribe infringes upon the rights of another, the usual result is "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a . tooth," in accordance with the divine law of the old Hebrews. But among members of the same tribe these children of the forest have a much higher regard for the rights of property and the practice of the moral virtues than exists in any civilized land of modern times. When an Indian hunter within the territory of his tribe kills a deer, for instance, and hangs it by the heels to the limb of a tree, with his mark upon it, until he can come for it, perhaps not until the lapse of several days, he is sure to find it untouched where he left it, and though another Indian of his tribe in a state of star- vation may have found it, yet the' starving Indian, seeing the mark of his tribe on the tempting carcass, would rather die than violate the rights of property vested in his tribal brother who caught the game, and who might .need it as much as he. But how'is it in a civilized Christian community? We all know
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that if a neighbor should kill and dress a fat pig, hang him up by the heels, and leave him hanging over night out of doors, ten to one the pig would be stolen before morning.
Enos D. Kingsley, an emigrant from Massa- chusetts, came to the Reserve in April, 1816, with a wife and two or three young children, and located at Bainbridge, where he built a log cabin, in which he and his young wife began life in the wilderness, with high hopes of success. In the following November, his
wife died.
There was no graveyard in the
township. Her remains were carried by hand on a bier through the woods to Aurora for interment, a distance of more than five miles. A pathway through the forest was cleared by axemen as the procession advanced. The pall- bearers, who were able-bodied men, became greatly fatigued, and frequently called the pro- cession to a halt in order to give them time to recover the shoes they had lost in the mud and mire. Mr. Kingsley was so overcome by his sudden bereavement that his friends advised him to return with his children to New Eng- land. This he did, but remained away but a short time, when he returned to his rude cabin in Ohio.
It so happened that Mr. Kingsley, in Jan- uary, 1819, was called from Bainbridge to
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Mentor, and, passing through Kirtland, he came to the Chagrin River, which was over- flowing its banks. It was an unbridged river. He was on horseback and attempted to ford it. When about half way across the stream, he discovered a lady attempting to cross on the trunks of two trees which had fallen from either bank, and so interlapped as to form a kind of artificial bridge, though a very narrow and hazardous one. The lady had, with evi- dent timidity, reached the midway point of the merciless stream, when the young widower hastened to shore, hitched his horse, ran to her relief, and assisted her to reach the shore in safety. Her name was Miss Mary Mann, a school-teacher in the vicinity, who was return- ing home. She expressed to him her gratitude, and he expressed to her his admiration of her fortitude. This novel introduction prolonged the interview somewhat on the bank of the tur- bulent, though unlistening, river. The parties related to each other their histories, and became deeply interested. The young widower pro- posed on the spot, and was graciously accepted. Within a few weeks afterward the happy pair were made still happier by a union in marriage. They at once assumed possession of the log cabin which Kingsley had built in Bainbridge. She proved a kind and affectionate mother to
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his young children by the first wife, and bore him several additional responsibilities that received the tenderest care and affection.
In the course of three years after the mar- riage Mr. Kingsley became so crippled with rheumatism that he could not attend to the business of cultivating and improving his new farm. He found in his schoolmarm wife, how- ever, a helpmeet equal to any emergency. During his disability she not only spun, wove, and did her housework, but worked on the farm, chopped brush, eleared land, ploughed and sowed, and conducted the farmwork gen- erally with wonderful success. In this instance she assumed man's rights from necessity, and that, too, without abandoning woman's rights, or indulging in political aspirations. She was a true woman in every sense of the word. Her husband, after some years, recovered his health, and they both lived to acquire wealth and rear a happy family of children. Both died at a ripe old age, and side by side fill honored graves.
Deacon Pomeroy, in 1809, awoke one morn- ing and found that his cattle were all missing and started in pursuit of them. They had evi- dently strayed from his premises, been stolen, or frightened away. He spent the day in searching for them through the forests of
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Hampden, Thompson, and Montville townships, but did not find them. Night overtook him, and he started on a direct line for home. A pack of hungry wolves scented his track, and followed him with bloodthirsty intent. They approached him so closely that he was com- pelled to climb a tree to save himself from being devoured. He sprang into the branches of a wild plum-tree. The wolves reached the . tree at about the same moment. They snuffed their victim in the branches, howled, and began gnawing the trunk of the tree at the roots, as if expecting to cut the tree down. The deacon did not like his hungry, impatient associates, and began hallooing with all his strength of lungs for help, hoping some settler or belated hunter might hear his voice and come to his rescue. No one came. The nearest settler was John Quiggle, a mile distant or more. The deacon continued to halloo, and the wolves to howl and gnaw at the root of the tree. At last the deacon was heard by Mrs. Quiggle and her children. Her husband was absent from home. She knew some one was lost in the forest and was in distress, but durst not ven- ture out amid the darkness of night. She did what she thought the next best thing: she · blew the dinner-horn - a conch shell - loud and long at her cabin door in reply to the
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deacon's oft-repeated halloo. The deacou awaited relief in vain. Ile watched the wolves all night, and the wolves watched him. He did not like this kind of close communion service. It was too close. He was not relieved till broad daylight in the morning, when the wolves dispersed, and he descended from the tree, struck a trail, and found his way home in safety. He said the dinner-horn that re- plied to his vociferations at intervals during the night, though it gave no relief, was the "sweetest music " to his ear he had ever heard.
On another occasion, in the same wild region of country and at about the same time, Mrs. Margaret King was returning home on horse- back through the dense woodlands from a visit to a distant neighbor, when she discovered on the way a pretty looking little black animal which seemed playful and harmless. She fell in love with it, dismounted. and caught it and began petting it kindly and clasping it to her breast, when it gave a significant outery. and its mother, a huge bear, came rushing from the thiekets to its rescue. Mrs. King instantly dropped her pet, and sprang into the saddle just in time to avoid serious results. The maternal bear took her cub by the nape of the neek and hastily retired into the depths of the forest, without manifesting any disposition to
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rebuke the affectionate regard that had been bestowed on her offspring by a lady.
All this is but an epitome of what was . generally true of pioneer life in the Western Reserve. The primitive settlers brought with them little else than their Puritanie faith - a faith in themselves, in schools, in churches, and in the practice of the moral virtues. A few of them came into the wilderness with money sufficient to purchase large traets of land. Among the few was John Ford. He purchased two thousand acres of land in the township of Burton, in 1804. Other parties had purchased more or less land in the township at an earlier date, and several families had already settled at Burton. All felt a desire to establish not only a good common school, but a school of a higher order, an academy or college. As early as 1801 Rev. Joseph Badger, the itinerant missionary, suggested the idea of obtaining a charter from the legislature, authorizing the establishment of a college at Burton. In this project he took a prominent part, and was earnestly seconded by others. The charter was granted in 1803. In the aet the corpora- tion was called "The Erie Literary Society." The first corporator named was Joseph. Hudson and the last Rev. Joseph Badger. The Josephs of those days seem to have abounded in good
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works. Whether dressed in as many colors as their ancient progenitor, does not appear, but it is evident that they were men of earnest pur- pose, who sought to elevate mankind by the only true method - education.
In 1806 William Law donated to this infant college eleven hundred and thirty acres of land with the reservation that if the college should be removed from Burton, the land should revert to his heirs. A building 25 by 50 feet, intended for school purposes, was com- menced in 1804 and finished in 1806. It was two stories high. The lower story was used for the common school, and the upper story for the double purpose of an academic school and for religious worship on Sundays. Jolin Ford, the rich land-owner, cut and hewed most of the timber for the building. It was regarded as the most elegant and imposing edifice in the Western Reserve. Mr. Ford was the father of Seabury Ford, who was but a young lad at the time the school was established. Seabury received his elementary education at this school, and was fitted for college in its aca- demic department. He was sent to Yale Col- lege, where he graduated in 1825, and after distinguishing himself as a lawyer and states- man, was elected governor of Ohio in 1848. He died at Burton in 1855. The first teacher
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in the Burton Academy, as it was generally called, was Peter Hitchcock. He was a young lawyer, who afterwards acquired renown in his professional career, and was elevated to the supreme' bench of the State. David Tod, the eminent war governor of Ohio, was also edu- cated at Burton Academy. There were many resolute young men and young ladies who, in the palmy days of the institution, walked five or six miles through the wilds of the forest to attend its classic course of instruction. The original building was burned in 1810. The trustees were seriously embarrassed in obtain- ing the requisite funds to rebuild. They com- menced, however, the work in 1817, and after many hindrances succeeded in finishing it in 1819. The institution continued to maintain its collegiate character until 1834, when, by the influence of the Presbyterian and Congre- gational churches of the Western Reserve, a theological department was added to the school, though strenuously opposed by the leading men of Burton. This introduction of seeta- rianism proved an embarrassment instead of a benefit, and soon so reduced the patronage of the institution as to render its prospects of success discouraging, if not hopeless. This
. induced its removal as a college to Hudson. It was for this reason that the land endowment
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it had received from William Law reverted to his heirs. The institution was now called "Western Reserve College." It remained at Hudson for nearly half a century, where it did good work and achieved a wide reputation. But, in 1882, a "change came over its dream," when it struck its tent and migrated to the city of Cleveland, where it assumed the pon- derous title - Adelbert College of Western- Reserve University - and where it now con- siders itself comfortably and permanently settled for life. It is an aspiring institution, and has the ability to accomplish high aims. Yet the primitive little town of Burton has the enviable honor of being its birthplace. It was at Burton that the irrepressible spirit of western popular education was begotten - a spirit whose influence now pervades not only the Western Reserve but the entire State.
Life in the wilderness was a life of toil, of suffering, and of deprivation, inspired by hope. It was an educated civilization that came to subdue a wilderness. It achieved its work within a comparatively brief period. Where roamed the wild beast and the savage, we now see a land of beauty and of plenty - a land characterized by a refined and intelligent pop- ulation. All this has been achieved as if by magic. It is the golden fruit of pioneer labor
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and enterprise - a rich inheritance left to all subsequent generations.
The pioneers possessed a degree of Puritanic blood that made them invincible. They looked ahead and went ahead. They were, in fact, a peculiar people, self-reliant and ever hopeful amid discouragements, and ever triumphant amid adversities. Armed with the shield of faith and the panoply of the moral virtues, they fought the battle of life and won the victory. In a word, they were an earnest race, evangelical in character, who migrated from New England, the centre of a refined civiliza- tion. They carried the gospel with them and practised what they preached. Their women were not ideal, but real. They handled the distaff, spun, wove, baked and brewed, knit, patehed and made garments, and modestly and lovingly devoted themselves to the duties of the domestic circle, the care of their children, and the interests of their confiding husbands. It was the cheering "light of their counte- nance " that illuminated the interior of the log cabin and gave to it the charms of a palace. The women of that day were sufficiently well- bred to grace a palace, but were content to move in their appropriate sphere. They were · not afflicted with ennui, nor with a desire for notoriety. They had no masculine aspirations,
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nor did they sigh for silks, satins, and laces. They were intelligent as well as industrious, and social in their habits. On extra occasions they dressed in English calico with nice check aprons, but ordinarily in short gowns and petti- coats of domestic mannfacture. Yet, with all this simplicity of apparel, they were generally supplied with a rich assortment of jewels - their sons and daughters - whose lustre, in a moral sense, not only attracts admiration still, but crowns the memory of an honored ancestry with a circlet of light as radiant as the stars.
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FIRST SHIP ON LAKE ERIE
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FIRST SHIP ON LAKE ERIE
O F western explorers but few have achieved more successful or useful results than La Salle. The salient points in his career have enriched the chronicles of western adventure, and crowned his memory with honor. It was he who built and launched the first ship that ever sailed the crystal waters of Lake Erie.
Robert Cavelier de La Salle was born at Rouen, France, in 1643. He was of Norman ancestry, and received his education in a school of the Roman church and became a Jesuit priest. At twenty-three he modified his reli- gious faith, withdrew from the ranks of the priesthood, and emigrated to Montreal, Can- ada, where his brother resided, who was a priest in the seminary of St. Sulpice. The superior of the institution was so favorably impressed with the personal appearance. talents, and high character of the young nobleman that he gave him a tract of eligible land with sei- gniorial rights, lying near the rapids of the St. Lawrence. La Salle accepted the donation with expressions of gratitude, laid out the land
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in town lots, erected buildings, and named the village La Chine. He then commenced the study of the Indian language, and in the course of two years was able to converse in seven or eight of these strange tongues. In this way he prepared himself to enter upon the fur trade with the Indians and to explore the far West with a view to extend the commerce and enlarge the domain of France. He shared in the common belief that there existed some- where in the western wilds a pathway, either by land or water, that led to the "South Sea,"
or to China. Inspired with this belief, and with a desire to explore the region of the great chain of northern lakes and the vast wilderness south of them, and at the same time to secure the fur trade with the natives and enlarge by new discoveries the domains of New France, he applied to the governor, Frontenac, for author- ity to extend his explorations, which was cheerfully granted with the condition that he should defray the expense. In order to do this, he was compelled to sell his seigniory. From imperfect maps and the indefinite infor- mation he had obtained from the Indians, he imagined the lakes at their western termina- tion were connected with the Pacific, and that the Ohio River, of which he had heard vague rumors, flowed to the south and discharged its
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waters into the Gulf of California. He now resolved, with such means as he possessed, to commence extensive explorations and satisfy himself.
In July, 1669, he, with four canoes and fourteen men, ascended the St. Lawrence, and after a weary voyage of thirty days reached Lake Ontario; and, coasting along its south- ern shore at a still more sluggish rate, arrived . at its western termination in safety, where he met an Indian guide who proposed to conduct him to the Ohio River in six weeks. Though La Salle had commenced an exploration up the lakes, he now concluded to change his direc- tion and trace the course of the Ohio. After experiencing many embarrassments, he, with his party, reached the head waters of the Alle- ghany, and thence passed in canoes down that stream to the Ohio River, and thenee down the Ohio as far as the rapids, the present site of Louisville. Here he learned from the natives that the river ran a long distance and finally lost itself in dismal swamps which were im- passable. His canoemen, fearing to proceed, deserted him and left him alone and destitute of provisions. This unfortunate occurrence induced him to retrace his steps as he best could to Canada-a distance of several hun- dred leagues through an untrodden wilderness.
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While returning, the wild game and fish which he caught, and the maize which he obtained from the Indians, furnished him with a scanty supply of food. He was taken sick on the way, but found shelter in the wigwam of a friendly Indian, and finally so far recovered as to reach Canada late in the summer of 1670. He was much reduced in health and in his financial means, but did not despair of success in exploring other localities in the mystic wilds of the West.
La Salle, after making such preparations as he was able, embarked, in 1671, at a point in the vicinity of La Chine with a few chosen men in canoes for the purpose of renewing his attempt to explore the chain of northern lakes. The Jesuits had preceded him, established mis- sions at eligible points, and, while professing to Christianize the Indians, were engaged in manipulating a brisk fur trade with them and in filling their coffers with golden profits. This method of Christianizing the Indians was re- buked by La Salle, and as he proceeded from one lake to another, sharp controversies ensued, which, in several instances, eventuated in open hostilities. La Salle was a man of nerve, and the Jesuits soon discovered that they could neither intimidate him nor defeat him in the execution of his projects. He continued friendly
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relations with the Indians as he proceeded, and obtained a share of the fur trade. He pursued his voyage until he reached the southern ex- tremity of Lake Michigan, the present site of Chicago. He erossed by land to the Illinois River and descended that stream, as some writers assert, to its junetion with the Missis- sippi. But this is questionable. He devoted several weeks to the fur trade at different . points along the banks of the Illinois, and then returning to Montreal reported his discoveries to his friend, Governor Frontenac.
La Salle now engaged for several years in the fur trade, with a view to improve his finan- cial condition and secure to the commerce of France a monopoly of the trade as against other intruding nationalities. The scheme he pro- jeeted was a wise one. It consisted in estab- lishing forts, or trading-posts, at all desirable points along the great chain of lakes and navi- gable rivers in the West and South as a base of operations and defence. The Jesuits united in opposing this scheme, alleging it to be a measure in conflict with the true interests of their missions. La Salle, however, took decided steps in reference to his scheme, with the sanction of Frontenac. He had also ex- pressed to Frontenac a desire to explore the Mississippi, but needed pecuniary aid to
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accomplish it. Frontenac approved the project, and sent La Salle, in 1674, to France, com- mending him and his project to the king, Louis XIV. Thus commended, he visited the king, who received him with kind consideration. In recognition of his valuable services, the king bestowed on him the governorship of the new . Fort Frontenac in Canada, and granted him seigniorial rights in an extensive traet of terri-" tory that surrounded it. His wealthy relatives at Rouen were proud of him, and gave him the ready means of maintaining the fort in accord- ance with the conditions of the royal grant. In the course of the next year he returned and took possession of his seigniory, improved its defences, and surrounded it with a numerous guard of brave Iroquois, on whom he could rely for protection. In the mean time the Jesuits had aroused a formidable opposition to his exercise of power, the effect of which was to divide the country into two distinct parties, with La Salle as leader of the one, and the Jesuits as leader of the other. The controversy involved the interests of both church and state. La Salle, with the aid of his faithful band of Iroquois, succeeded in controlling the fur trade and in circumventing the sordid machinations of the Jesuit priesthood to a degree that won respeet.
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