Grundy County IL Archives History - Books .....Chapter I - Part 2 1882
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Book Title: History Of Grundy County IL

AMERICAN SETTLEMENTS.

The civil organization of the Northwest Territory was now complete, and 
notwithstanding the uncertainty of Indian affairs, settlers from the East 
began to come into the country rapidly. The New England Company sent their men 
during the winter of 1787-8 pressing on over the Alleghenies by the old Indian 
path which had been opened into Braddock's road and which has since been made 
a national turnpike from Cumberland westward. Through the weary winter days 
they toiled on, and by April were all gathered on the Yohiogany, where boats 
had been built, and at once started for the Muskingum. Here they arrived on 
the 7th of that month, and unless the Moravian missionaries be regarded as the 
pioneers of Ohio, this little band can justly claim that honor.

General St. Clair, the appointed Governor of the Northwest, not having yet 
arrived, a set of laws were passed, written out, and published by being nailed 
to a tree in the embryo town, and Jonathan Meigs appointed to administer them.

Washington in writing of this, the first American settlement in the Northwest, 
said: "No colony in America was ever settled under such favorable auspices as 
that which has just commenced at Muskingum. Information, property and strength 
will be its characteristics. I know many of its settlers personally, and there 
never were men better calculated to promote the welfare of such a community."

On the 2d of July a meeting of the directors and agents was held on the banks 
of the Muskingum, "for the purpose of naming the new-born city and its 
squares."As yet the settlement was known as the "Muskingum," but that was now 
changed to the name Marietta, in honor of Marie Antoinette. The square upon 
which the block-houses stood was called "Campus Martius;" square number 
19, "Capitolium;" square number 61, "Cecilia;" and the great rough road 
through the covert way, "Sacra Via." Two days after, an oration was delivered 
by James M. Varnum, who with S. H. Parsons and John Armstrong had been 
appointed to the judicial bench of the Territory on the 16th of October, 1787. 
On July 9, Gov. St. Clair arrived, and the Colony began to assume form. The 
act of 1787 provided two distinct grades of government for the Northwest, 
under the first of which the whole power was invested in the hands of a 
governor and three district judges. This was immediately formed upon the 
governor's arrival, and the first laws of the Colony passed on the 25th of 
July. These provided for the organization of the militia, and on the next day 
appeared the Governor's proclamation, erecting all that country that had been 
ceded by the Indians east of the Scioto River into the County of Washington. 
From that time forward, notwithstanding the doubts yet existing as to the 
Indians, all Marietta prospered, and on the 2d of September the first court of 
the Territory was held with imposing ceremonies.

The emigration westward at this time was very great. The commander at Fort 
Harmar, at the mouth of the Muskingum, reported four thousand five hundred 
persons as having passed that post between February and June, 1788—many of 
whom would have purchased of the "Associates," as the New England Company was 
called, had they been ready to receive them.

On the 26th of November, 1787, Symmes issued a pamphlet stating the terms of 
his contract and the plan of sale he intended to adopt. In January, 1788, 
Matthias Denman, of New Jersey, took an active interest in Symmes' purchase, 
and located among other tracts the sections upon which Cincinnati has been 
built. Retaining one-third of this locality, he sold the other two-thirds to 
Robert Patterson and John Filson, and the three, about August, commenced to 
lay out a town on the spot, which was designated as being opposite Licking 
River, to the mouth of which they proposed to have a road cut from Lexington. 
The naming of the town is thus narrated in the "Western Annals": "Mr. Filson, 
who had been a schoolmaster, was appointed to name the town, and in respect to 
its situation, and as if with a prophetic perception of the mixed races that 
were to inhabit it in after days, he named it Losantiville, which being 
interpreted, means: ville, the town; anti, against or opposite to; os, the 
mouth; L, of Licking."

Meanwhile, in July, Symmes got thirty persons and eight four-horse teams under 
way for the West. These reached Limestone (now Maysville) in September, where 
were several persons from Redstone. Here Mr. Symmes tried to found a 
settlement, but the great freshet of 1789 caused the "Point," as it was and is 
yet called, to be fifteen feet under water, and the settlement to be 
abandoned. The little band of settlers removed to the mouth of the Miami. 
Before Symmes and his colony left the "Point," two settlements had been made 
on his purchase. The first was by Mr. Stiltes, the original projector of the 
whole plan, who, with a colony of Redstone people, had located at the mouth of 
the Miami, whither Symmes went with his Maysville colony. Here a clearing had 
been made by the Indians owing to the great fertility of the soil. Mr. Stiltes 
with his colony came to this place on the 18th of November, 1788, with twenty-
six persons, and, building a blockhouse, prepared to remain through the 
winter. They named the settlement Columbia. Here they were kindly treated by 
the Indians, but suffered greatly from the flood of 1789.

On the 4th of March, 1789, the Constitution of the United States went into 
operation, and on April 30th, George Washington was inaugurated President of 
the American people, and during the next summer, an Indian war was commenced 
by the tribes north of the Ohio. The President at first used pacific means; 
but these failing, he sent General Harmar against the hostile tribes. He 
destroyed several villages, but was defeated in two battles, near the present 
City of Fort Wayne, Indiana. From this time till the close of 1795, the 
principal events were the wars with the various Indian tribes. In 1796, 
General St. Clair was appointed in command, and marched against the Indians; 
but while he was encamped on a stream, the St. Mary, a branch of the Maumee, 
he was attacked and defeated with the loss of six hundred men.

General Wayne was now sent against the savages. In August, 1794, he met them 
near the rapids of the Maumee, and gained a complete victory. This success, 
followed by vigorous measures, compelled the Indians to sue for peace, and on 
the 30th of July, the following year, the treaty of Greenville was signed by 
the principal chiefs, by which a large tract of country was ceded to the 
United States.

Before proceeding in our narrative, we will pause to notice Fort Washington, 
erected in the early part of this war on the site of Cincinnati. Nearly all of 
the great cities of the Northwest, and indeed of the whole country, have had 
their nuclei in those rude pioneer structures, known as forts or stockades. 
Thus Forts Dearborn, Washington, Ponchartrain, mark the original sites of the 
now proud cities of Chicago, Cincinnati and Detroit. So of most of the 
flourishing cities east and west of the Mississippi. Fort Washington erected 
by Doughty in 1790, was a rude but highly interesting structure. It was 
composed of a number of strongly-built hewed log cabins. Those designed for 
soldiers' barracks were a story and a half high, while those composing the 
officers' quarters were more imposing and more conveniently arranged and 
furnished. The whole were so placed as to form a hollow square, enclosing 
about an acre of ground, with a block house at each of the four angles.

The logs for the construction of this fort were cut from the ground upon which 
it was erected. It stood between Third and Fourth Streets of the present city 
(Cincinnati) extending east of Eastern Row, now Broadway, which was then a 
narrow alley, and the eastern boundary of the town, as it was originally laid 
out. On the bank of the river, immediately in front of the fort, was an 
appendage of the fort, called the Artificer's Yard. It contained about two 
acres of ground, enclosed by small contiguous buildings, occupied by workshops 
and quarters of laborers. Within this enclosure there was a large two-story 
frame house, familiarly called the "Yellow House," built for the accommodation 
of the Quartermaster General. For many years this was the best finished and 
most commodious edifice in the Queen City. Fort Washington was for some time 
the headquarters of both the civil and military governments of the 
Northwestern Territory.

Following the consummation of the treaty, various gigantic land speculations 
were entered into by different persons, who hoped to obtain from the Indians 
in Michigan and northern Indiana, large tracts of lands. These were generally 
discovered in time to prevent the outrageous schemes from being carried out, 
and from involving the settlers in war. On October 27, 1795, the treaty 
between the United States and Spain was signed, whereby the free navigation of 
the Mississippi was secured.

No sooner had the treaty of 1795 been ratified, than settlements began to pour 
rapidly into the West. The great event of the year 1796 was the occupation of 
that part of the Northwest including Michigan, which was this year, under the 
provisions of the treaty, evacuated by the British forces. The United States, 
owing to certain conditions, did not feel justified in addressing the 
authorities in Canada in relation to Detroit and other frontier posts. When at 
last the British authorities were called to give them up, they at once 
complied, and General Wayne, who had done so much to preserve the frontier 
settlements, and who, before the year's close, sickened and died near Erie, 
transferred his headquarters to the neighborhood of the lakes, where a county 
named after him was formed, which included the northwest of Ohio, all of 
Michigan, and the northeast of Indiana. During this same year settlements were 
formed at the present City of Chillicothe, along the Miami from Middletown to 
Piqua, while in the more distant West, settlers and speculators began to 
appear in great numbers. In September, the City of Cleveland was laid out, and 
during the summer and autumn, Samuel Jackson and Jonathan Sharpless erected 
the first manufactory of paper—the "Redstone Paper Mill"—in the West. St. 
Louis contained some seventy houses, and Detroit over three hundred, and along 
the river, contiguous to it, were more than three thousand inhabitants, mostly 
French Canadians, Indians and half-breeds, scarcely any Americans venturing 
yet into that part of the Northwest.

The election of representatives for the Territory had taken place, and on the 
4th of February, 1799, they convened at Losantiville—now known as Cincinnati, 
having been named so by Gov. St. Clair, and considered the capital of the 
Territory—to nominate persons from whom the members of the legislature were to 
be chosen in accordance with a previous ordinance. These nominations being 
made, the Assembly adjourned until the 16th of the following September. From 
those named, the President selected as members of the council, Henry 
Vandenburg, of Vincennes, Robert Oliver, of Marietta, James Findlay and Jacob 
Burnett, of Cincinnati, and David Vance, of Vanceville. On the 16th of 
September the Territorial Legislature met, and on the 24th the two houses were 
duly organized, Henry Vandenburg being elected President of the Council.

The message of Gov. St. Clair was addressed to the Legislature September 20h, 
and on October 13th that body elected as a delegate to Congress, Gen. Wm. 
Henry Harrison, who received eleven of the votes cast, being a majority of one 
over his opponent, Arthur St. Clair, son of Gen. St. Clair.

The whole number of acts passed at this session, and approved by the Governor, 
were thirty-seven—eleven others were passed, but received his veto. The most 
important of those passed, related to the militia, to the administration, and 
to taxation. On the 19th of December, this protracted session of the first 
Legislature in the West was closed, and on the 30th of December, the President 
nominated Charles Willing Bryd to the office of Secretary of the Territory 
vice Wm. Henry Harrison, elected to Congress. The Senate confirmed his 
nomination the next day.


DIVISION OF THE NORTHWEST TERRITORY.

The increased emigration to the North-west, the extent of the domain, and the 
inconvenient modes of travel, made it very difficult to conduct the ordinary, 
operations of government, and rendered the efficient action of courts almost 
impossible. To remedy this, it was deemed advisable to divide the territory 
for civil purposes. Congress, in 1800, appointed a committee to examine the 
question and report some means for its solution. This committee, on the 3d of 
March, reported that:

"In the three western countries, there has been but one court having 
cognizance of crimes, in five years, and the immunity which offenders 
experience attracts, as to an asylum, the most vile and abandoned criminals, 
and at the same time deters useful citizens from making settlements in such 
society. The extreme necessity of judiciary attention and assistance is 
experienced in civil as well as in criminal cases. To minister a remedy to 
these and other evils, it occurs to this committee that it is expedient that a 
division of said territory into two distinct and separate governments should 
be made; and that such division be made by a line beginning at the mouth of 
the Great Miami River, running directly north until it intersects the boundary 
between the United States and Canada."

The report was accepted by Congress, and, in accordance with its suggestions, 
that body passed an act extinguishing the Northwest Territory, which act was 
approved May 7th. Among its provisions were these:

"That from and after July 4th next, all that part of the territory of the 
United States, northwest of the Ohio River, which lies to the westward of a 
line beginning at a joint on the Ohio, opposite to the mouth of the Kentucky 
River, and running thence to Fort Recovery, and thence north until it shall 
intersect the territorial line between the United States and Canada, shall, 
for the purpose of temporary government, constitute a separate territory, and 
be called the Indiana Territory."

After providing for the exercise of the civil and criminal powers of the 
Territories, and other provisions, the act further provides:

"That until it shall otherwise be ordered by the Legislatures of the said 
Territories, respectively, Chillicothe on the Scioto River shall be the seat 
of government of the Territory of the United States northwest of the Ohio 
River; and that St. Vincennes on the Wabash River shall be the seat of 
government for the Indiana Territory."

Gen. Wm. Henry Harrison was appointed Governor of the Indiana Territory, and 
entered upon his duties about a year later. Connecticut also about this time 
released her claims to the reserve, and in March a law was passed accepting 
this cession. Settlements had been made upon thirty-five of the townships in 
the reserve, mills had been built, and seven hundred miles of road cut in 
various directions. On the 3d of November, the General Assembly met at 
Chillicothe. Near the close of the year, the first missionary of the 
Connecticut Reserve came, who found no township containing more than eleven 
families. It was upon the first of October that the secret treaty had been 
made between Napoleon and the King of Spain, whereby the latter agreed to cede 
to France the province of Louisiana.

In January, 1802, the assembly of the Northwestern Territory chartered the 
college at Athens. From the earliest dawn of the western colonies, education 
was promptly provided for, and as early as 1787, newspapers were issued from 
Pittsburgh and Kentucky, and largely read throughout the frontier settlements. 
Be-fore the close of this year, the Congress of the United States granted to 
the citizens of the Northwestern Territory, the formation of a State 
government. One of the provisions of the "compact of 1787" provided that 
whenever the number of inhabitants within prescribed limits exceeded 45,000, 
they should be entitled to a separate government. The prescribed limits of 
Ohio contained, from a census taken to ascertain the legality of the act, more 
than that number, and on the 30th of April, 1802, Congress passed the act 
defining its limits, and on the 29th of November the Constitution of the new 
State of Ohio, so named from the beautiful river forming its southern 
boundary, came into existence. The exact limits of Lake Michigan were not then 
known, but the territory now included within the State of Michigan was wholly 
within the territory of Indiana.

General Harrison, while residing at Vincennes, made several treaties with the 
Indians, thereby gaining large tracts of lands. The next year is memorable in 
the history of the West for the purchase of Louisiana from France by the 
United States for $15,000,000. Thus by a peaceful mode, the domain of the 
United States was extended over a large tract of country west of the 
Mississippi, and was for a time under the jurisdiction of the Northwest 
government, and as has been mentioned in the early part of this narrative, was 
called the "New Northwest." The limits of this history will not allow a 
description of its territory. The same year large grants of land were obtained 
from the Indians, and the House of Representatives of the new State of Ohio 
signed a bill respecting the college township in the district of Cincinnati.

Before the close of the year, General Harrison obtained additional grants of 
lands from the various Indian nations in Indiana and the present limits of 
Illinois, and on the 18th of August, 1804, a treaty at St. Louis, whereby over 
51,000,000 acres of lands were obtained from the aborigines. Measures were 
also taken to learn the condition of affairs in and about Detroit.

C. Jouette, the Indian agent in Michigan, still a part of Indiana Territory, 
reported as follows upon the condition of matters at that post:

"The Town of Detroit.—The charter, which is for fifteen miles square, was 
granted in the time of Louis XIV of France, and is now, from the best 
information I have been able to get, at Quebec. Of those two hundred and 
twenty-five acres, only four are occupied by the town and Fort Lenault. The 
remainder is a common, except twenty-four acres, which were added twenty years 
ago to a farm belonging to Wm. Macomb. A stockade encloses the town, fort and 
citadel. The pickets, as well as the public houses, are in a state of gradual 
decay. The streets are narrow, straight and regular, and intersect each other 
at right angles. The houses are for the most part low and inelegant."

During this year Congress granted a township of land for the support of a 
college, and began to offer inducements for settlers in these wilds, and the 
country now comprising the State of Michigan began to fill rapidly with 
settlers along its southern borders. This same year, also, a law was passed 
organizing the Southwest Territory, dividing it into two portions, the 
Territory of New Orleans, which city was made the seat of government, and the 
District of Louisiana, which was annexed to the domain of Gen. Harrison.

On the 11th of January, 1805, the Territory of Michigan was formed. Wm. Hull 
was appointed governor with headquarters at Detroit, the change to take effect 
on June 30th. On the 11th of that month, a fire occurred at Detroit, which 
destroyed almost every building in the place. When the officers of the new 
Territory reached the post, they found it in ruins, and the inhabitants 
scattered throughout the country. Rebuilding, however, soon commenced, and ere 
long the town contained more houses than before the fire, and many of them 
much better built.

"While this was being done, Indiana had passed to the second grade of 
government, and through her General Assembly had obtained large tracts of land 
from the Indian tribes. To all this the celebrated Indian, Tecumthe or 
Tecumseh, vigorously protested, and it was the main cause of his attempts to 
unite the various Indian tribes in a conflict with the settlers. To obtain a 
full account of these attempts, the workings of the British, and the signal 
failure, culminating in the death of Tecumseh at the battle of the Thames, and 
the close of the war of 1812 in the Northwest, we will step aside in our 
story, and relate the principal events of his life, and his connection with 
this conflict.


TECUMSEH, AND THE WAR OF 1812.

This famous Indian chief was born about the year 1768, not far from the site 
of the present City of Piqua, Ohio. His father, Puckeshinwa, was a member of 
the Kisopok tribe of the Shawanoese nation, and his mother, Methontaske, was a 
member of the Turtle tribe of the same people. They removed from Florida about 
the middle of the last century to the birthplace of Tecumseh. In 1774, his 
father, who had risen to be chief, was slain at the battle of Point Pleasant, 
and not long after, Tecumseh, by his bravery, became the leader of his tribe. 
In 1795 he was declared chief, and then lived at Deer Creek, near the site of 
the present City of Urbana. He remained here about one year, when he returned 
to Piqua, and in 1798, he went to White River, Indiana. In 1805, he and his 
brother, Laulewasikan (Open Door), who had announced himself as a prophet, 
went to a tract of land on the Wabash River, given them by the Pottawatomies 
and Kickapoos. From this date the chief comes into prominence. He was now 
about thirty-seven years of age, was five feet and ten inches in height, was 
stoutly built, and possessed of enormous powers of endurance. His countenance 
was naturally pleasing, and he was, in general, devoid of those savage 
attributes possessed by most Indians. It is stated he could read and write, 
and had a confidential secretary and adviser, named Billy Caldwell, a half-
breed, who afterward became chief of the Pottawatomies. He occupied the first 
house built on the site of Chicago. At this time, Tecumseh entered upon the 
great work of his life. He had long objected to the grants of land made by the 
Indians to the whites, and determined to unite all the Indian tribes into a 
league, in order that no treaties or grants of land could be made save by the 
consent of this confederation.

He traveled constantly, going from north to south; from the south to the 
north, everywhere urging the Indians to this step. He was a matchless orator, 
and his burning words had their effect.

Gen. Harrison, then Governor of Indiana, by watching the movement of the 
Indians, became convinced that a grand conspiracy was forming, and made 
preparations to defend the settlements. Tecumseh's plan was similar to 
Pontiac's, elsewhere described, and to the cunning artifice of that chieftain 
was added his own sagacity.

During the year 1809, Tecumseh and the prophet were actively preparing for the 
work. In that year, Gen. Harrison entered into a treaty with the Delawares, 
Kickapoos, Pottawatomies, Miamis, Eel River Indians and Weas, in which these 
tribes ceded to the whites certain lands upon the Wabash, to all of which 
Tecumseh entered a bitter protest, averring as one principal reason that he 
did not want the Indians to give up any lands north and west of the Ohio River.

Tecumseh, in August, 1810, visited the General at Vincennes and held a council 
relating to the grievances of the Indians. Becoming unduly angry at this 
conference he was dismissed from the village, and soon after departed to 
incite the Southern Indian tribes to the conflict.

Gen. Harrison determined to move upon the chief's headquarters at Tippecanoe, 
and for this purpose went about sixty-five miles up the Wabash, where he built 
Fort Harrison. From this place he went to the prophet's town, where he 
informed the Indians he had no hostile intentions, provided they were true to 
the existing treaties. He encamped near the village early in October, and on 
the morning of November 7th, he was attacked by a large force of the Indians, 
and the famous battle of Tippecanoe occurred. The Indians were routed and 
their town broken up. Tecumseh returning not long after, was greatly 
exasperated at his brother, the prophet, even threatening to kill him for 
rashly precipitating the war, and foiling his (Tecumseh's) plans.

Tecnmseh sent word to General Harrison that he was now returned from the 
South, and was ready to visit the President, as had at one time previously 
been proposed. Gen. Harrison informed him he could not go as a chief, which 
method Tecumseh desired, and the visit was never made.

In June of the following year, he visited the Indian agent at Fort Wayne. Here 
he disavowed any intention to make a war against the United States, and 
reproached Gen. Harrison for marching against his people. The agent replied to 
this; Tecumseh listened with a cold indifference, and after making a few 
general remarks, with a haughty air drew his blanket about him, left the 
council house, and departed for Fort Malden, in upper Canada, where he joined 
the British standard.

He remained under this Government, doing effective work for the Crown while 
engaged in the war of 1812 which now opened. He was, however, always humane in 
his treatment of the prisoners, never allowing his warriors to ruthlessly 
mutilate the bodies of those slain, or wantonly murder the captive.

In the summer of 1813, Perry's victory on Lake Erie occurred, and shortly 
after active preparations were made to capture Malden. On the 27th of 
September, the American army, under Gen. Harrison, set sail for the shores of 
Canada, and in a few hours stood around the ruins of Malden, from which the 
British army, under Proctor, had retreated to Sandwich, intending to make its 
way to the heart of Canada by the Valley of the Thames. On the 29th Gen. 
Harrison was at Sandwich, and Gen. McArthur took possession of Detroit and the 
Territory of Michigan.

On the 2d of October, the Americans began their pursuit of Proctor, whom they 
overtook on the 5th, and the battle of the Thames followed. Early in the 
engagement, Tecumseh who was at the head of the column of Indians was slain, 
and they, no longer hearing the voice of their chieftain, fled. The victory 
was decisive, and practically closed the war in the Northwest.

Just who killed the great chief has been a matter of much dispute; but the 
weight of opinion awards the act to Col. Richard M. Johnson, who fired at him 
with a pistol, the shot proving fatal.

In 1805 occurred Burr's Insurrection. He took possession of a beautiful island 
in the Ohio, after the killing of Hamilton, and is charged by many with 
attempting to set up an independent government. His plans were frustrated by 
the general government, his property confiscated and he was compelled to flee 
the country for safety.

In January, 1807, Governor Hull, of Michigan Territory, made a treaty with the 
Indians, whereby all that peninsula was ceded to the United States. Before the 
close of the year, a stockade was built about Detroit. It was also during this 
year that Indiana and Illinois endeavored to obtain the repeal of that section 
of the compact of 1787, whereby slavery was excluded from the Northwest 
Territory. These attempts, however, all signally failed.

In 1809 it was deemed advisable to divide the Indiana Territory. This was 
done, and the Territory of Illinois was formed from the western part, the seat 
of government being fixed at Kaskasia. The next year, the intentions of 
Tecumseh manifested themselves in open hostilities, and then began the events 
already narrated.

While this war was in progress, emigration to the West went on with surprising 
rapidity. In 1811, under Mr. Roosevelt of New York, the first steamboat trip 
was made on the Ohio, much to the astonishment of the natives, many of whom 
fled in terror at the appearance of the "monster." It arrived at Louisville on 
the tenth day of October. At the close of the first week of January, 1812, it 
arrived at Natchez, after being nearly overwhelmed in the great earthquake 
which occurred, while on its downward trip.

The battle of the Thames was fought on October 6th, 1813. It effectually 
closed hostilities in the Northwest, although peace was not fully restored 
until July 22d, 1814, when a treaty was formed at Greenville, under the 
direction of General Harrison, between the United States and the Indian 
tribes, in which it was stipulated that the Indians should cease hostilities 
against the Americans if the war were continued. Such, happily, was not the 
case, and on the 24th of December, the treaty of Ghent was signed by the 
representatives of England, and the United States. This treaty was followed 
the next year by treaties with various Indian tribes throughout the West and 
Northwest, and quiet was again restored in this part of the new world.

On the 18th of March, 1816, Pittsburgh was incorporated as a city. It then had 
a population of 8,000 people, and was already noted for its manufacturing 
interests. On April 19th, Indiana Territory was allowed to form a State 
government. At that time there were thirteen counties organized, containing 
about sixty-three thousand inhabitants. The first election of State officers 
was held in August, when Jonathan Jennings was chosen Governor. The officers 
were sworn in on November 7th, and on December 11th, the State was formally 
admitted into the Union. For some time the seat of government was at Corydon, 
but a more central location being desirable, the present capital, Indianapolis 
(City of Indiana), was laid out January 1, 1825.

On the 28th of December, the Bank of Illinois, at Shawneetown, was chartered, 
with a capital of $300,000. At this period all banks were under the control of 
the States, and were allowed to establish branches at different convenient 
points.

Until this time Chillicothe and Cincinnati had in turn enjoyed the privileges 
of being the capital of Ohio. But the rapid settlement of the northern and 
eastern portions of the State demanded, as in Indiana, a more central 
location, and before the close of the year, the site of Columbus was selected 
and surveyed as the future capital of the State. Banking had begun in Ohio as 
early as 1808, when the first bank was chartered at Marietta, but here as 
elsewhere it did not bring to the State the hoped for assistance. It and other 
banks were subsequently unable to redeem their currency, and were obliged to 
suspend.

In 1818, Illinois was made a State, and all the territory north of her 
northern limits was erected into a separate territory and joined to Michigan 
for judicial purposes. By the following year, navigation of the lakes was 
increasing with great rapidity and affording an immense source of revenue to 
the dwellers in the Northwest, but it was not until 1826, that the trade was 
extended to Lake Michigan, or that steamships began to navigate the bosom of 
that inland sea.

Until the year 1832, the commencement of the Black Hawk War, but few 
hostilities were experienced with the Indians. Roads were opened, canals were 
dug, cities were built, common schools were established, universities were 
founded, many of which, especially the Michigan University, have achieved a 
world-wide reputation. The people were becoming wealthy. The domains of the 
United States had been extended, and had the sons of the forest been treated 
with honesty and justice, the record of many years would have been that of 
peace and continuous prosperity.


BLACK HAWK AND THE BLACK HAWK WAR.

This conflict, though confined to Illinois, is an important epoch in the 
Northwestern history, being the last war with the Indians in this part of the 
United States.

Ma-ka-tai-me-she-kia-kiah, or Black Hawk, was born in the principal Sac 
village, about three miles from the junction of Rock River with the 
Mississippi, in the year 1767. His father's name was Py-e-sa or Pahaes; his 
grandfather's, Na-na-ma-kee, or the Thunderer. Black Hawk early distinguished 
himself as a warrior, and at the age of fifteen was permitted to paint, and 
was ranked among the braves. About the year 1783, he went on an expedition 
against the enemies of his nation, the Osages, one of whom he killed and 
scalped, and for this deed of Indian bravery he was permitted to join in the 
scalp dance. Three or four years after, he, at the head of two hundred braves, 
went on another expedition against the Osages, to avenge the murder of some 
women .and children belonging to his own tribe. Meeting an equal number of 
Osage warriors, a fierce battle ensued, in which the latter tribe lost one-
half their number. The Sacs lost only about nineteen warriors. He next 
attacked the Cherokees for a similar cause. In a severe battle with them, near 
the present City of St. Louis, his father was slain, and Black Hawk, taking 
possession of the "Medicine Bag," at once announced himself chief of the Sac 
nation. He had now conquered the Cherokees, and about the year 1800, at the 
head of five hundred Sacs and Foxes, and a hundred Iowas, he waged war against 
the Osage nation and subdued it. For two years he battled successfully with 
other Indian tribes, all of whom he conquered.

Black Hawk does not at any time seem to have been friendly to the Americans. 
When on a visit to St. Louis to see his "Spanish Father," he declined to see 
any of the Americans, alleging as a reason, he did not want two fathers.

The treaty at St. Louis was consummated in 1804. The next year the United 
States Government erected a fort near the head of the Des Moines Rapids, 
called Fort Edwards. This seemed to enrage Black Hawk, who at once determined 
to capture Fort Madison, standing on the west side of the Mississippi above 
the mouth of the Des Moines River. The fort was garrisoned by about fifty men. 
Here he was defeated. The difficulties with the British Government arose about 
this time, and the War of 1812 followed. That government, extending aid to the 
Western Indians, by giving them arms and ammunition, induced them to remain 
hostile to the Americans. In August, 1812, Black Hawk, at the head of about 
five hundred braves, started to join the British forces at Detroit, passing on 
his way the site of Chicago, where the famous Fort Dearborn Massacre had a few 
days before occurred. Of his connection with the British Government but little 
is known. In 1813, he with his little band descended the Mississippi, and 
attacking some United States troops at Fort Howard, was defeated.

In the early part of 1815, the Indian tribes west of the Mississippi were 
notified that peace had been declared between the United States and England, 
and nearly all hostilities had ceased. Black Hawk did not sign any treaty, 
however, until May of the following year. He then recognized the validity of 
the treaty at St. Louis in 1804. From the time of signing this treaty in 1816, 
until the breaking out of the war in 1832, he and his band passed their time 
in the common pursuits of Indian life.

Ten years before the commencement of this war, the Sac and Fox Indians were 
urged to join the Iowas on the west bank of the Father of Waters. All were 
agreed, save the band known as the British Band, of which Black Hawk was 
leader. He strenuously objected to the removal, and was induced to comply only 
after being threatened with the power of the Government. This and various 
actions on the part of the white settlers provoked Black Hawk and his band to 
attempt the capture of his native village now occupied by the whites. The war 
followed. He and his actions were undoubtedly misunderstood, and had his 
wishes been acquiesced in at the beginning of the struggle, much bloodshed 
would have been prevented.

Black Hawk was chief now of the Sac and Fox nations, and a noted warrior. He 
and his tribe inhabited a village on Rock River, nearly three miles above its 
confluence with the Mississippi, where the tribe had lived many generations. 
When that portion of Illinois was reserved to them, they remained in peaceable 
possession of their reservation, spending their time in the enjoyment of 
Indian life. The fine situation of their village and the quality of their 
lands incited the more lawless white settlers, who from time to time began to 
encroach upon the red men's domain. From one pretext to another, and from one 
step to another, the crafty white men gained a foothold, until through whisky 
and artifice they obtained deeds from many of the Indians for their 
possessions. The Indians were finally induced to cross over the Father of 
Waters and locate among the Iowas. Black Hawk was strenuously opposed to all 
this, but as the authorities of Illinois and the United States thought this 
the best move, he was forced to comply. Moreover other tribes joined the 
whites and urged the removal. Black Hawk would not agree to the terms of the 
treaty made with his nation for their lands, and as soon as the military, 
called to enforce his removal, had retired, he returned to the Illinois side 
of the river. A large force was at once raised and marched against him. On the 
evening of May 14, 1832, the first engagement occurred between a band from 
this army and Black Hawk's band, in which the former were defeated.

This attack and its result aroused the whites. A large force of men was 
raised, and Gen. Scott hastened from the seaboard, by way of the lakes, with 
United States troops and artillery to aid in the subjugation of the Indians. 
On the 24th of June, Black Hawk, with 200 warriors, was repulsed by Major 
Demont between Rock River and Galena. The American army continued to move up 
Rock River toward the main body of the Indians, and on the 21st of July came 
upon Black Hawk and his band, and defeated them near the Blue Mounds.

Before this action, Gen. Henry, in command, sent word to the main army by whom 
he was immediately rejoined, and the whole crossed the Wisconsin in pursuit of 
Black Hawk and his band who were fleeing to the Mississippi. They were 
overtaken on the 2d of August, and in the battle which followed the power of 
the Indian chief was completely broken. He fled, but was seized by the 
Winnebagoes and delivered to the whites.

On the 21st of September, 1832, Gen. Scott and Gov. Reynolds concluded a 
treaty with the Winnebagoes, Sacs and Foxes, by which they ceded to the United 
States a vast tract of country, and agreed to remain peaceable with the 
whites. For the faithful performance of the provisions of this treaty on the 
part of the Indians, it was stipulated that Black Hawk, his two sons, the 
prophet Wabokieshiek, and six other chiefs of the hostile bands should be 
retained as hostages during the pleasure of the President. They were confined 
at Fort Barracks and put in irons.

The next spring, by order of the Secretary of War, they were taken to 
Washington. From there they were removed to Fortress Monroe, "there to remain 
until the conduct of their nation was such as to justify their being set at 
liberty." They were retained here until the 4th of June, when the authorities 
directed them to be taken to the principal cities so that they might see the 
folly of contending against the white people. Everywhere they were observed by 
thousands, the name of the old chief being extensively known. By the middle of 
August they reached Fort Armstrong on Rock Island, where Black Hawk was soon 
after released to go to his countrymen. As he passed the site of his 
birthplace, now the home of the white man, he was deeply moved. His village 
where he was born, where he had so happily lived, and where he had hoped to 
die, was now another's dwelling place, and he was a wanderer.

On the next day after his release, he went at once to his tribe and his lodge. 
His wife was yet living, and with her he passed the remainder of his days. To 
his credit it may be said that Black Hawk always remained true to his wife, 
and served her with a devotion uncommon among the Indians, living with her 
upward of forty years.

Black Hawk now passed his time hunting and fishing. A deep melancholy had 
settled over him from which he could not be freed. At all times when he 
visited the whites he was received with marked attention. He was an honored 
guest at the old settlers' reunion in Lee County, Illinois, at some of their 
meetings, and received many tokens of esteem. In September, 1838, while on his 
way to Rock Island to receive his annuity from the Government, he contracted a 
severe cold which resulted in a fatal attack of bilious fever which terminated 
his life on October 3d. His faithful wife, who was devotedly attached to him, 
mourned deeply during his sickness. After his death he was dressed in the 
uniform presented to him by the President while in Washington. He was buried 
in a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. "The body 
was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting posture, upon a seat 
constructed for the purpose. On his left side, the cane, given him by Henry 
Clay, was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. Many of the old 
warrior's trophies were placed in the grave, and some Indian garments, 
together with his favorite weapons.

No sooner was the Black Hawk war concluded than settlers began rapidly to pour 
into the northern parts of Illinois, and into Wisconsin, now free from Indian 
depredations. Chicago, from a trading post, had grown to a commercial center, 
and was rapidly coming into prominence. In 1835, the formation of a State 
Government in Michigan was discussed, but did not take active form until two 
years later, when the State became a part of the Federal Union.

The main attraction to that portion of the Northwest lying west of Lake 
Michigan, now included in the State of Wisconsin, was its alluvial wealth. 
Copper ore was found about Lake Superior. For some time this region was 
attached to Michigan for judiciary purposes, but in 1836 was made a Territory, 
then including Minnesota and Iowa. The latter State was detached two years 
later. In 1848, Wisconsin was admitted as a State, Madison being made the 
capital. We have now traced the various divisions of the Northwest Territory 
(save a little in Minnesota) from the time it was a unit comprising this vast 
territory, until circumstances compelled its present division.


OTHER INDIAN TROUBLES.

Before leaving this part of the narrative, we will narrate briefly the Indian 
troubles in Minnesota and elsewhere by the Sioux Indians.

In August, 1862, the Sioux Indians living on the western borders of Minnesota 
fell upon the unsuspecting settlers, and in a few hours massacred ten or 
twelve hundred persons. A distressful panic was the immediate result, fully 
thirty thousand persons fleeing from their homes to districts supposed to be 
better protected. The military authorities at once took active measures to 
punish the savages, and a large number were killed and captured. About a year 
after, Little Crow, the chief, was killed by a Mr. Lampson near Scattered 
Lake. Or those captured thirty were hung at Mankato, and the remainder, 
through fears of mob violence, were removed to Camp McClellan, on the 
outskirts of the City of Davenport. It was here that Big Eagle came into 
prominence and secured his release by the following order:

"Special Order, No. 430.     "War Department, "Adjutant General's Office,

"Washington, Dec. 3, 1864. "Big Eagle, an Indian now in confinement, at 
Davenport, Iowa, will, upon the receipt of this order, be immediately released 
from confinement and set at liberty.

"By order of the President of the United States.

"Official: 	"E. D. Townsend,

Ass't. Adj’t. Gen. "Capt. James Vanderventer,
Com’y Sub. Vols.

"Through Com’g Gen’l, Washington, D. C."

Another Indian who figures more prominently than Big Eagle, and who was more 
cowardly in his nature, with his band of Modoc Indians, is noted in the annals 
of the New Northwest: we refer to Captain Jack. This distinguished Indian, 
noted for his cowardly murder of Gen. Canby, was a chief of a Modoc tribe of 
Indians inhabiting the border lands between California and Oregon. This region 
of country comprises what is known as the "Lava Beds," a tract of land 
described as utterly impenetrable, save by those savages who had made it their 
home.

The Modocs are known as an exceedingly fierce and treacherous race. They had, 
according to their own traditions, resided here for many generations, and at 
one time were exceedingly numerous and powerful. A famine carried off nearly 
half their numbers, and disease, indolence and the vices of the white man have 
reduced them to a poor, weak and insignificant tribe.

Soon after the settlement of California and Oregon, complaints began to be 
heard of massacres of emigrant trains passing through the Modoc country. In 
1847, an emigrant train, comprising eighteen souls, was entirely destroyed at 
a place since known as "Bloody Point." These occurrences caused the United 
States Government to appoint a peace commission, who, after repeated attempts, 
in 1864, made a treaty with the Modocs, Snakes and Klamaths, in which it was 
agreed on their part to remove to a reservation set apart for them in the 
southern part of Oregon.

With the exception of Captain Jack and a band of his followers, who remained 
at Clear Lake, about six miles from Klamath, all the Indians complied. The 
Modocs who went to the reservation were under chief Schonchin. Captain Jack 
remained at the lake without disturbance until 1869, when he was also induced 
to remove to the reservation. The Modocs and the Klamaths soon became involved 
in a quarrel, and Captain Jack and his band returned to the Lava Beds.

Several attempts were made by the Indian Commissioners to induce them to 
return to the reservation, and finally becoming involved in a difficulty with 
the commissioner and his military escort, a fight ensued, in which the chief 
and his band were routed. They were greatly enraged and on their retreat, 
before the day closed, killed eleven inoffensive whites.

The nation was aroused and immediate action demanded. A commission was at once 
appointed by the Government to see what could be done. It comprised the 
following persons: Gen. E. R. S. Can by, Rev. Dr. E. Thomas, a leading 
Methodist divine of California; Mr. A. B. Meacham, J udge Rosborough, of 
California, and a Mr. Dyer, of Oregon. After several interviews, in which the 
savages were always aggressive, often appearing with scalps in their belts, 
Bogus Charley came to the commission on the evening of April 10, 1873, and 
informed them that Capt. Jack and his band would have a "talk" to-morrow at a 
place near Clear Lake, about three miles distant. Here the Commissioners, 
accompanied by Charley, Riddle, the interpreter, and Boston Charley, repaired. 
After the usual greeting the council proceedings commenced. On behalf of the 
Indians there were present: Capt. Jack, Black Jim, Schac Nasty Jim, Ellen's 
Man, and Hooker Jim. They had no guns, but carried pistols. After short 
speeches by Mr. Meacham, Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas, Chief Schonchin arose to 
speak. He had scarcely proceeded when, as if by a preconcerted arrangement, 
Capt. Jack drew his pistol and shot Gen. Canby dead. In less than a minute a 
dozen shots were fired by the savages, and the massacre completed. Mr. Meacham 
was shot by Schonchin, and Dr. Thomas by Boston Charley. Mr. Dyer barely 
escaped, being fired at twice. Riddle, the interpreter, and his squaw escaped. 
The troops rushed to the spot where they found Gen. Canby and Dr. Thomas dead, 
and Mr. Meacham badly wounded. The savages had escaped to their impenetrable 
fastnesses and could not be pursued.

The whole country was aroused by this brutal massacre; but it was not until 
the following May that the murderers were brought to justice. At that time 
Boston Charley gave himself up, and offered to guide the troops to Capt. 
Jack's stronghold. This led to the capture of his entire gang, a number of 
whom were murdered by Oregon volunteers while on their way to trial. The 
remaining Indians were held as prisoners until July, when their trial 
occurred, which led to the conviction of Capt. Jack, Schonchin, Boston 
Charley, Hooker Jim, Broncho, alias One-Eyed Jim, and Slotuck, who were 
sentenced to be hanged. These sentences were approved by the President, save 
in the case of Slotuck and Broncho whose sentences were commuted to 
imprisonment for life. The others were executed at Fort Klamath, October 3, 
1873.

These closed the Indian troubles for a time in the Northwest, and for several 
years the borders of civilization remained in peace. They were again involved 
in a conflict with the savages about the country of the Black Hills, in which 
war the gallant Gen. Custer lost his life. Just now the borders of Oregon and 
California are again in fear of hostilities; but as the Government has learned 
how to deal with the Indians, they will be of short duration. The red man is 
fast passing away before the march of the white man, and a few more 
generations will read of the Indians as one of the nations of the past.

The Northwest abounds in memorable places. We have generally noticed them in 
the narrative, but our space forbids their description in detail, save of the 
most important places. Detroit, Cincinnati, Vincennes, Kaskaskia and their 
kindred towns have all been described. But ere we leave the narrative we will 
present our readers with an account of the Kinzie house, the old landmark of 
Chicago, and the discovery of the source of the Mississippi River, each of 
which may well find a place in the annals of the Northwest. Mr. John Kinzie, 
of the Kinzie house, established a trading house at Fort Dearborn in 1804. The 
stockade had been erected the year previous, and named Fort Dearborn in honor 
of the Secretary of War. It had a block house at each of the two angles, on 
the southern side a sallyport, a covered way on the north side, that led down 
to the river, for the double purpose of providing means of escape, and of 
procuring water in the event of a siege. 

Fort Dearborn stood on the south bank of the Chicago River, about half a mile 
from its mouth. When Major Whistler built it, his soldiers hauled all the 
timber, for he had no oxen, and so economically did he work that the fort cost 
the Government only fifty dollars. For a while the garrison could get no 
grain, and Whistler and his men subsisted on acorns. Now Chicago is the 
greatest grain center in the world.

Mr. Kinzie bought the hut of the first settler, Jean Baptiste Point au Sable, 
on the site of which he erected his mansion. Within an inclosure in front he 
planted some Lombardy poplars, and in the rear he soon had a line garden and 
growing orchard. In 1812 the Kinzie house and its surroundings became the 
theater of stirring events. The garrison of Fort Dearborn consisted of fifty-
four men, under the charge of Capt. Nathan Heald, assisted by Lieutenant Lenai 
T. Helm (son-in-law to Mrs. Kinzie), and ensign Ronan. The surgeon was Dr. 
Voorhees. The only residents at the post at that time were the wives of Capt. 
Heald and Lieutenant Helm and a few of the soldiers, Mr. Kinzie and his 
family, and a few Canadian voyageurs with their wives and children. The 
soldiers and Mr. Kinzie were on the most friendly terms with 
the .Pottawatomies and the Winnebagoes, the principal .tribes around them, but 
they could not win them from their attachment to the British.

After the battle of Tippecanoe it was observed that some of the leading chiefs 
became sullen, for some of their people had perished in that conflict with 
American troops.

One evening in April 1812, Mr. Kinzie sat playing his violin and his children 
were dancing to the music, when Mrs. Kinzie came rushing into the house pale 
with terror, exclaiming, "The Indians! the Indians!" "What? Where?" eagerly 
inquired Mr. Kinzie. "Up at Lee's, killing and scalping," answered the 
frightened mother, who, when the alarm was given, was attending Mrs. Burns, a 
newly-made mother, living not far off. Mr. Kinzie and his family crossed the 
river in boats, and took refuge in the fort, to which place Mrs. Burns and her 
infant, not a day old, were conveyed in safety to the shelter of the guns of 
Fort Dearborn, and the rest of the white inhabitants fled. The Indians were a 
scalping party of Winnebagoes, who hovered around the fort some days, when 
they disappeared, and for several weeks the inhabitants were not disturbed by 
alarms.

Chicago was then so deep in the wilderness, that the news of the declaration 
of war against Great Britain, made on the 19th of June, 1812, did not reach 
the commander of the garrison at Fort Dearborn till the 7th of August. Now the 
fast mail train will carry a man from New York to Chicago in twenty-seven 
hours, and such a declaration might be sent, every word, by the telegraph in 
less than the same number of minutes.


PRESENT CONDITION OF THE NORTHWEST.

Preceding chapters have brought us to the close of the Black Hawk war, and we 
now turn to the contemplation of the growth and prosperity of the northwest 
under the smile of peace and the blessings of our civilization. The pioneers 
of this region date events back to the deep snow of 1831, no one arriving here 
since that date taking first honors. The inciting cause of the immigration 
which overflowed the prairies early in the '30s was the reports of the 
marvelous beauty and fertility of the region distributed through the East by 
those who had participated in the Black Hawk campaign with Gen. Scott. Chicago 
and Milwaukee then had a few hundred inhabitants, and Gurdon S. Hubbard's 
trail from the former city to Kaskaskia led almost through a wilderness. 
Vegetables and clothing were largely distributed through the regions adjoining 
the lakes by steamers from the Ohio towns. There are men now living in 
Illinois who came to the State when barely an acre was in cultivation, and a 
man now prominent in the business circles of Chicago looked over the swampy, 
cheerless site of that metropolis in 1818 and went southward into 
civilization. Emigrants from Pennsylvania in 1830 left behind them but one 
small railway in the coal regions thirty miles in length, and made their way 
to the Northwest mostly with ox teams, finding in Northern Illinois petty 
settlements scores of miles apart, although the southern portion of the state 
was fairly dotted with farms. The water courses of the lakes and rivers 
furnished transportation to the second great army of immigrants, and about 
1850 railroads were pushed to that extent that the crisis of 1837 was 
precipitated upon us, from the effects of which the Western country had not 
fully recovered at the outbreak of the war. Hostilities found the colonists of 
the prairies fully alive to the demands of the occasion, and the honor of 
recruiting the vast armies of the Union fell largely to Gov. Yates, of 
Illinois, and Gov. Morton, of Indiana. To recount the share of the glories of 
the campaign won by our Western troops is a needless task, except to mention 
the fact that Illinois gave to the nation the President who saved it, and sent 
out at the head of one of its regiments the general who led its armies to the 
final victory at Appomattox. The struggle, on the whole, had a marked effect 
for the better on the new Northwest, giving it an impetus which twenty years 
of peace would not have produced. In a large degree this prosperity was an 
inflated one, and with the rest of the Union we have since been compelled to 
atone therefor. Agriculture, still the leading feature in our industries, has 
been quite prosperous through all these years, and the farmers have cleared 
away many incumbrances resting over them from the period of fictitious values. 
The population has steadily increased, the arts and sciences are gaining a 
stronger foothold, the trade area of the region is becoming daily more 
extended, and we have been largely exempt from the financial calamities.

At the present period there are no great schemes broached for the Northwest, 
no propositions for government subsidies or national works of improvement, but 
the capital of the world is attracted hither for the purchase of our products 
or the expansion of our capacity for serving the nation at large. A new era is 
dawning as to transportation, and we bid fair to deal almost exclusively with 
the increasing and expanding lines of steel rail, running through every few 
miles of territory on the prairies. The lake marine will no doubt continue to 
be useful in the warmer season, and to serve as a regulator of freight rates; 
but experienced navigators forecast the decay of the system in moving to the 
seaboard the enormous crops of the West. Within the past few years it has 
become quite common to see direct shipments to Europe and the West Indies 
going through from the second-class towns along the Mississippi and Missouri.

As to popular education, the standard has of late risen very greatly, and our 
schools would be creditable to any section of the Union.

More and more as the events of the war pass into obscurity will the fate of 
the Northwest be linked with that of the Southwest.

Our public men continue to wield the full share of influence pertaining to 
their rank in the national autonomy, and seem not to forget that for the past 
sixteen years they and their constituents have dictated the principles which 
should govern the country.

In a work like this, destined to lie on the shelves of the library for 
generations, and not doomed to daily destruction like a newspaper, one can not 
indulge in the same glowing predictions, the sanguine statements of 
actualities that till the columns of ephemeral publications. Time may bring 
grief to the pet projects of a writer, and explode castles erected on a 
pedestal of facts. Yet there are unmistakable indications before us of the 
same radical change in our great Northwest which characterizes its history for 
the past thirty years. Our domain has a sort of natural geographical border, 
save where it melts away to the southward in the cattle raising districts of 
the Southwest.

Our prime interest will for some years doubtless be the growth of the food of 
the world, in which branch it has already outstripped all competitors, and our 
great rival in this duty will naturally be the fertile plains of Kansas, 
Nebraska and Colorado, to say nothing of the new empire so rapidly growing up 
in Texas. Over these regions there is a continued progress in agriculture and 
in railway building, and we must look to our laurels. Intelligent observers of 
events are fully aware of the strides made in the way of shipments of fresh 
meats to Europe, many of these ocean cargoes being actually slaughtered in the 
West and transported on ice to the wharves of the seaboard cities. That this 
new enterprise will continue there is no reason to doubt. There are in Chicago 
several factories for the canning of prepared meats for European consumption, 
and the orders for this class of goods are already immense. English capital is 
becoming daily more and more and more dissatisfied with railway loans and 
investments, and is gradually seeking mammoth outlays in lands and live stock. 
The stock yards in Chicago, Indianapolis and East St. Louis are yearly 
increasing their facilities, and their plant steadily grows more valuable. 
Importations of blooded animals from the progressive countries of Europe are 
destined to greatly improve the quality of our beef and mutton. Nowhere is 
there to be seen a more enticing display in this line than at our state and 
county fairs, and the interest in the matter is on the increase.

To attempt to give statistics of our grain production would be useless, so far 
have we surpassed ourselves in the quantity and quality of our product. We are 
too liable to forget that we are giving the world its first article of 
necessity—its food supply. An opportunity to learn this fact so it never can 
be forgotten was afforded at Chicago at the outbreak of the great panic of 
1873, when Canadian purchasers, fearing the prostration of business might 
bring about an anarchical condition of affairs, went to that city with coin in 
bulk and foreign drafts to secure their supplies in their own currency at 
first hands. It may be justly claimed by the agricultural community that their 
combined efforts gave the nation its first impetus toward a restoration of its 
crippled industries, and their labor brought the gold premium to a lower depth 
than the government was able to reach by its most intense efforts of 
legislation and compulsion. The hundreds of millions about to be disbursed for 
farm products have already, by the anticipation common to all commercial 
nations, set the wheels in motion, and will relieve us from the perils so long 
shadowing our efforts to return to a healthy tone.

Manufacturing has attained in the chief cities a foothold which bids fair to 
render the Northwest independent of the outside world. Nearly our whole region 
has a distribution of coal measures which will in time support the 
manufactures necessary to our comfort and prosperity. As to transportation, 
the chief factor in the production of all articles except food, no section is 
so magnificently endowed, and our facilities are yearly increasing beyond 
those of any other region.

The period from a central point of the war to the outbreak of the panic was 
marked by a tremendous growth in our railway lines, but the depression of the 
times caused almost a total suspension of operations. Now that prosperity is 
returning to our stricken country we witness its anticipation by the railroad 
interest in a series of projects, extensions, and leases which bid fair to 
largely increase our transportation facilities. The process of foreclosure and 
sale of incumbered lines is another matter to be considered. In the case of 
the Illinois Central road, which formerly transferred to other lines at Cairo 
the vast burden of freight destined for the Gulf region, we now see the 
incorporation of the tracts connecting through to New Orleans, every mile co-
operating in turning toward the northwestern metropolis the weight of the 
interstate commerce of a thousand miles or more of fertile plantations. Three 
competing routes to Texas have established in Chicago their general freight 
and passenger agencies. Four or five lines compete for all Pacific freights to 
a point as far as the interior of Nebraska. Half a dozen or more splendid 
bridge structures have been thrown across the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers 
by the railways. The Chicago and Northwestern line has become an aggregation 
of over two thousand miles of rail, and the Chicago, Milwaukee and St. Paul is 
its close rival in extent and importance. The three lines running to Cairo via 
Vincennes form a through route for all traffic with the States to the 
southward. The trunk lines being mainly in operation, the progress made in the 
way of shortening tracks, making airline branches, and running extensions does 
not show to the advantage it deserves, as this process is constantly adding 
new facilities to the established order of things. The panic reduced the price 
of steel to a point where the railways could hardly afford to use iron rails, 
and all our northwestern lines report large relays of Bessemer track. The 
immense crops now being moved have given a great rise to the value of railway 
stocks, and their transportation must result in heavy pecuniary advantages.

Few are aware of the importance of the wholesale and jobbing trade of Chicago. 
In boots and shoes and in clothing, twenty or more great firms from the East 
have placed here their distributing agents or their factories; and in 
groceries Chicago supplies the entire Northwest at rates presenting advantages 
over New York.

Chicago has stepped in between New York and the rural banks as a financial 
center, and scarcely a banking institution in the grain or cattle regions but 
keeps its reserve funds in the vaults of our commercial institutions. 
Accumulating here throughout the spring and summer months, they are summoned 
home at pleasure to move the products of the prairies. This process greatly 
strengthens the northwest in its financial operations, leaving home capital to 
supplement local operations on behalf of home interests.

It is impossible to forecast the destiny of this grand and growing section of 
the Union. Figures and predictions made at this date might seem ten years 
hence so ludicrously small as to excite only derision.

Additional Comments:
HISTORY OF GRUNDY COUNTY ILLINOIS; Containing a History from the earliest 
settlement to the present time, embracing its topographical, geological, 
physical and climatic features; its agricultural, railroad interests, etc.; 
giving an account of its aboriginal inhabitants, early settlement by the 
whites, pioneer incidents, its growth, its improvements, organization of the 
County, the judicial history, the business and industries, churches, schools, 
etc.; Biographical Sketches; Portraits of some of the Early Settlers, 
Prominent Men, etc.; ILLUSTRATED. CHICAGO: O. L. BASKIN & CO., HISTORICAL 
PUBLISHERS, Lakeside Building. 1882.

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