The making of Illinois; historical sketches

Preface

The history of Illinois, embracing more than two centuries of discovery, exploration, settlement and development, is rich in incident and abounds in valuable lessons.

Her soil has been occupied successively by Indian, Frenchman, British and American.

The men who planted her foundations were generous, noble and brave.

Within her borders clashed and finally harmonized the principles of Cavalier and Puritan.

Her sons have become leaders in the councils of the nation and, on the field of battle, have led our armies to victory. No less famous than her statesmen and soldiers have been the commercial and industrial leaders nurtured upon her soil.

Notwithstanding so much that is honorable and glorious in her steady progress, "from a wilderness of prairies" to a great and populous State, the history of Illinois is unfamiliar to most of her citizens. The youth in her public schools are better acquainted with the early history of Virginia, or Massachusetts, than with the stirring events connected with the establishment of their native State.

The writer sends out this book with the hope that it may encourage our boys and girls in the study of the history of their State and strengthen the love for Illinois.

The author wishes to thank for helpful suggestion and kindly criticism : Mr. John E. Ferreira, of East Chicago ; Supt. Walter R. Hatfield, of Pittsfield ; Prof. David Felm-

PREFACE ley, of Normal; Dr. Edward C. Page, of De Kalb ; Dr. W. E. Simonds, of Galesburg, and Gen. P. C. Hays, of Joliet.

Many of the illustrations have been obtained through the courtesy of Mr. Charles Evans, Secretary of the Chicago Historical Association.

Supt. T. C. Clendennen, of . Cairo, furnished the illustration of a Bird's-Eye View of Cairo.

The illustrations of the bronze relief tablets in the chapters on Marquette and La Salle were obtained from the Marquette Building, Chicago. The tablets pertaining to Marquette's journey were designed by the sculptor, Mr. Herman A. McNeil, a faithful student of Indian characteristics. The heads of the noted Indian Sachems and early explorers were modeled by Mr. Edward Kemeys, the sculptor whose work received wide recognition at the World's Fair.

Chicago, April, 1900.

THIS VOLUME IS DEDICATED TO

MY WIFE

TO WHOSE HELP IN THIS WORK MUCH IS OWING

K- : M

--1 111

Hi

THE CHICAGO HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION BUILDING.

Believed to Be the Only Building Ever Erected and Fitted Throughout of Fire-Proof Material.

Table Of Contents

AND

BIBLIOGRAPHY

INTRODUCTORY ii.

Contents

VI. La Salle's Return to Illinois - - - - 68

Narrative and Critical History of America - Windsor La Salle _____ Parkman

History of Illinois - - Davidson and Stouve

Chapter I, Illinois

The State of Illinois is a gently sloping tableland. Its extreme length is three hundred and eighty-five miles, and an extreme width of two hundred and eighteen miles. It is larger in area than New England without Maine. If Illinois were laid upon the Atlantic coast, it would stretch from Boston, Mass., to Old Point Comfort in Virginia. With the exception of a broken, hilly ridge of land that crosses the southern portion of the State from west to east, the surface of Illinois is nearly level, and slopes from an altitude of eleven hundred and seventy five feet above the sea on the north, to Cairo, where the altitude is but three hundred and fifty feet.

Including the boundary rivers, Illinois possesses many hundreds of miles of navigable waterways. These streams, furnishing a ready means of transportation, were important factors in the early development of the State. A northern tributary to the Illinois River takes its rise in the broad, flat prairies within cannon shot of Lake Michigan. At an early day a canal was constructed, connecting this river with the lake, thus forming a continuous water passage from the Atlantic Ocean, by way of the St. Lawrence, to the Gulf of Mexico.

Closely linked to both the Northern and the Southern States by lake and river, Illinois lies wholly within that great temperate belt that has been the birthplace of the most ag-'

gressive peoples of the world. In the heart of the Mississippi Valley, a region capable of feeding the human race for ages, Illinois is essentially a farming State, and grows within her borders nearly every staple food product of the world. To illustrate the wealth of her agricultural resources, it may be said that the value of all the gold and silver mined in the United States during the year A. D, 1890, was $103,310,000. The value of the farm products of Illinois for the same year was $184,759,013.

While nature bestowed upon Illinois so productive a soil, she also filled the earth beneath with an abundant store of minerals. The geologist tells us that millions of years ago, when the earth was young, upon the bare ribs of rock, were laid great deposits of limestone and sandstone. The ''Niagara" limestone, appearing here and there throughout the northern portion of the State, is extensively quarried. This stone entered largely into the construction of the Capitol building at Springfield, and the Eads Bridge at St. Louis. Another deposit of limestone, which has added to the wealth of Illinois,* contains lead and zinc. This oregalinite gave name to the city of Galena because of the mines opened in that region.

Above these layers of limestone is found a deposit called "St. Peter's Sandstone." Because of its purity and freedom from coloring matter, this sandstone is extensively used at Alton, and other places, in the manufacture of glass. Starved Rock and other picturesque blufTs upon the Illinois River are of this formation.

Above these deposits, are found many layers of limestone and sandstone containing fossils of various kinds,

MATERIAL FROM WHICH COAL WAS MADE.

which are records of the earlier vegetable and animal life of the globe.

These deposits were succeeded by the coal measures. The warm, moist atmosphere of that period rendered vegetation luxuriant. Great forests covered the slopes and hills, and impenetrable jungles spread over the marshy plains. Pine trees lifted their stately heads side by side with the graceful lepidodendron. Gigantic ferns raised their tufted fronds high in the steamy air. Many other strange growths flourished in these ancient forests. One peculiar tree, the sigillarid, had a large, fluted trunk, which resembled a clustered column. Thirty feet from its base extended immense branches, covered with a grass-like foliage. The bark of such a tree, five feet in diameter, was thirteen inches thick. The wood was in the form of a cylinder and enclosed a ten-inch column of pith. Caterpillars and snails crawled upon the slimy banks of streams ; within the swamps and seas dwelt many huge creatures having forms resembling frogs and lizards ; bright-hued butterflies, beetles and dragonflies arose in brilliant clouds above the tropical foliage.

As ages passed, these forests gradually sank with the soil in which they grew and became imbedded in the miry deposits, or were swept by dark rivers into shallow lakes. Through the agency of heat and pressure this embedded vegetation was gradually transformed into coal.

Two-thirds of the surface of Illinois is underlaid by these vast coal deposits, every layer of which corresponds to an ancient forest and varies in thickness from a few inches to eleven feet. In some counties these veins of coal are sometimes near the surface ; in others, shafts are sunk to a depth of 'several hundred feet. As it requires eight cubic feet of wood to form one cubic foot of coal, these ancient forests must have been growing for ages.

England, the greatest coal consuming nation of the world, possesses twelve thousand square miles of coal measures. It is estimated that the coal energy produced by the coal consumed in that country in a single day is equal to the power furnished by nineteen servants for each inhabitant, and that at this rate of consumption the coal supply of Great Britain will be exhausted in two hundred and fifty years. At the same rate, the coal measures of Illinois would furnish England with mechanical power and heat for one hundred thousand years.

Above the coal are layers of sandstone and limestone.' One of these deposits, the "Burlington" limestone, furnished the material to build the court house at Monmouth. From another, the "Keokuk" limestone, was constructed the Mormon Temple at Nauvoo, the Custom House at Galena, and the Postoffrce at Springfield. A fine quality of lime is made from a third deposit, the St. Louis limestone. The city of Joliet owes much of its importance to the splendid quarries of limestone found in its vicinity.

As time went on, many strange creatures appeared upon the earth. Great beasts roamed the forests ; frightful reptiles sported in the rivers and shallow seas. This is called the age of Mammoths. During this period, the waters of the Gulf of Mexico receded from a few miles below the mouth of the Ohio River to their present limits* The peninsula of Florida was raised above the sea, and the ranges of the Rocky Mountains were uplifted.

The period of Mammoths was followed by the Ice age;

tropical heat was succeeded by arctic cold. "Great floes of ice and towering bergs, carrying soil and rocks from the distant North, drifted southward. In this manner the surface of the State was covered with a mass of rock and gravel to a depth of two hundred feet at the north. The thickness of this deposit gradually decreases, until, at the southern border, it almost disappears.

Upon the disintegrating mass of mineral, vegetation grew luxuriantly, covering the earth with a rich carpet of verdure that, decaying, formed the black soil of the prairies and the deep loam of the bottom lands.

By this process there were released from the rocks those mysterious elements which give beauty to the flower, color to the fruit and substance to the grain.

The wealth of this soil, supplemented by the industry of the husbandman, has given to Illinois her exalted position as the first agricultural State in the Nation.

Chapter II. The Indian

When first explored, Illinois, like other portions of our country, was inhabited by the red men. How many years they had dwelt here or what peoples they displaced, we do not know. There are historians who believe that they were preceded by another race, who built beautiful palaces and large cities which long ago crumbled into dust. Others suppose that mounds, and various evidences of an earlier occupation of the territory, were the works of the ancestors of the Indian.

When the Europeans discovered America they found the Indians living in small villages or scattered in roving bands. Indians east of the Mississippi River have been classified in groups, each embracing several tribes more or less connected by ties of blood, and these groups placed in three general divisions : the Muskhogees, who lived south of the Tennessee River and comprised the Choctaw, the Chickasaw, Creek and Seminole tribes ; the Iroquois, who occupied the territory extending from the Hudson and Delaware Rivers westward to the Great Lakes and north to the St. Lawrence. These warlike people included the famous five Nations of New York, — Mohawk, Oneida, Onandagua, Cayuga and Seneca, and also the Cherokees, Hurons, Eries and the Tuscaroras.

And finally the powerful Algonquin family, who occupied the remaining territory east to the Mississippi River.

This family embraced the Narragansetts, Pequots and Mohegans of New England; the Powhatans and Delawares of Virginia ; the Shawnees, who dwelt on the Ohio, and a large number of the tribes living on the shores of the Great Lakes.

Everywhere the early voyagers came in contact with these people. The French found them upon the banks of the St. Lawrence. It was an Algonquin who came into the village of the Pilgrim, shouting "Welcome ! Englishman !" An Algonquin greeted Roger Williams as he landed on the site of the future city of Providence, with the words, "What cheer?" Captain John Smith bought corn from them in Virginia ; William Penn made his treaty with them in the shade of the Pennsylvania elm ; the Jesuit missionaries baptized them with the waters of the Mississippi.

The Indian knew nothing of the value of iron or other metals, but fashioned their simple implements or weapons out of stone and bone. Their dress was made from the skin of animals or the fiber of some kinds of bark, and their rude huts were covered with the same materials. Their only musical instrument gave forth discordant sounds.

Improvident to the extreme they cultivated the soil but little, and depended almost entirely upon the chase. Hunting and dancing constituted their chief enjoyments. "Their great business in life was to procure food and devour it, to subdue their enemies and scalp them. It is probable that if they had never come in contact with the whites, they would have remained untamed, savage and ignorant."

To such a people the "Illinois country," with its rolling

THE INDIAN.

prairies, the feeding-ground of buffalo and deer ; its forests filled with bears and panthers ; its navigable rivers over which their canoes could be propelled with little exertion, offered a congenial home. Seven different nations dwelt in the region, and although they all belonged to the Algonquin family, they were con stantly at war among themselves. In the southeast were adventurous Shawnees, who had come from Georgia.

This tribe produced the great Tecums e h.

North of them and extending to the Lakes, lived the brave and sagacious Miamis, who

CHICAGOU.

Illinois Chief, Who Visited France in 1725.

were always opposed to the white men, and greatly retarded the early settlement of the country.

West of the Miamis were the fierce Kickapoos, who occupied the lands' along the Vermillion and Sangamon

Rivers. Here they lived for a hundred years until they were driven westward by the whites.

The Pottawattomies drifted westward from the St. Lawrence River, and divided into three sections, one of which settled upon the headwaters of the Kankakee and Illinois Rivers.

The Winnebagos lived to the west, but were driven northward beyond the bounds of the present State, and finally settled near Green Bay. These people distinguished themselves in various wars against the whites.

The restless Sacs and Foxes settled upon Rock River, and for a hundred years were a menace to the early settlers of Illinois.

Between these various peoples and occupying the fairest lands, dwelt the Illini or Illinois Indians, a term signifying "real men."

The Illinois, a powerful confederation composed of the Kaskaskias, Tamaroas, Cahokias, Peorias and Mitchigamies, laid claim to all the lands from the sources of the Illinois River westward to the Mississippi and southward to the Ohio. Their favorite meeting ground was in Central Illinois. Here upon the Illinois River, near the present village of Utica, was located the largest of their seventeen villages, which they called Kaskaskia. Upon Peoria Lake was the chief town of the Peorias, while, nearly opposite the present site of St. Louis, the Cahokias and Tamaroas had established their chief village.

One of the French missionaries, Father Membre, speaking of these Illinois Indians, states that, while they were "tall of stature, strong and robust, the swiftest runners in the world and good archers," they were "idle, revengeful ,

THE INDIAN.

jealous, cunning, dissolute and thievish." On the fertile meadows that lined the banks of the rivers the squaws and old men cultivated vegetables and Indian corn, which they stored in rude caves for winter use. These Illinois Indians waged constant war with the neighboring tribes, who wanted to possess their splend i d hunting grounds. Victory was usually upon their side, for they were brave and sagacious. Their most dreaded foes were the fierce Iroquois, whose home was south of distant Lake Erie, and who sometimes made the long journey across the intervening territory to fight them. The early French

BLACK HAWK, Chief of the Sacs and Foxes.

were kindly received by the Illinois Indians, who hoped to procure firearms from them, and, with their assistance, to subdue the common foe. The friendship established between them lasted as long as the French remained in Illinois.

Near the close of the seventeenth century, the Iroquois, possibly encouraged by the 'English, sent six hundred picked warriors against the Illinois. The attack was a surprise, and twelve hundred Illinois warriors were killed. Those who were left, with the women and children, fled southward to escape their savage foes. Some settled near the mouth of the Kaskaskia and along the Mississippi ; others migrated west of the great river. After the Iroquois went back to Lake Erie, many returned to their homes, but the strength of the Illinois was broken. Hemmed in by relentless tribes, their numbers steadily diminished. In 1769 the remnant of the band, pursued by the Pottawattomies, was compelled to take refuge on the site of old Fort St. Louis.

Here they could have defended themselves for a long time, as the rock is impregnable and provisions were not lacking. But water could be obtained only from the river far below, by means of a vessel attached to the end of a grape vine. The Pottawattomies, concealed near the base of the cliff, seized the vessels as they were lowered. In vain did the Illinois attempt to get their water supply in the middle of the darkest nights, and at last, famishing with thirst, they slowly starved to death, only one escaping to tell the tale of their sufferings. The promontory on the Illinois River, where this tragic event occurred, received the name of Starved Rock.

Thus miserably perished, hunted to death by their own kindred, the last of that confederation which at one time constituted the most powerful people of the Illinois Valley.

The Indians were destined to give place to a stronger race. By treaty and conquest, the remaining tribes were finally removed, and Illinois became the possession of the white man.

FRENCH AND BRITISH OCCUPATION

Chapter III. *jolliet And Marquette

The St. Lawrence River, flowing eastward, empties the waters of the Great Lakes into the Atlantic Ocean, directly opposite the continent of Europe. This noble stream was discovered in 1534 by Jacques Cartier, who took possession of the entire country drained by it, for the King of France. By the middle of the seventeenth century, the French were making extensive plans to occupy this territory and establish a great empire.

Treaties were made with the Indians, and a thriving trade in furs was carried on with the remote tribes dwelling on the distant shores of the Great Lakes. A chain of trading and military posts was established which served to overawe the savage, and for many years prevented the advance of the Englis'h. The strongly fortified cities of Quebec and Montreal became centers of military power and commercial operations in the New World.

Among the bold spirits who laid the foundations of New France in America, none are more worthy of honor and admiration than the early Catholic missionaries. These men, actuated by a religious enthusiasm, boldly explored the trackless wilderness and planted their humble missions among remote and savage tribes.

* This spelling is given in an autograph letter now in the possession of the Chicago Historical Society. Marquette also uses it in his Journal.

The illustrious Jacques Marquette was among the most zealous of these devoted men.

Born of an honorable French family he early consecrated himself to the service of the Church, and in 1666, was sent by the Jesuit Order to the Indian missions upon the St. Lawrence River. A store - house and cluster of log cabins constituted a trading post at the mouth of the Saguenay River.

Here the young priest was stationed and devoted himself so zealously to the study Of the Indian language, that in two years he had mastered

JTOLLIET AND MARQUETTE. 35

six of the dialects. Burning with a desire to labor among more remote tribes, Marquette obtained permission to preach to the Indians of the Upper Lake region. With none but Indian guides he ascended the Ottawa River, threaded his way through the forests, crossed Lake Nippissing, and penetrated as far west as Point St. Esprit on Lake Superior. Everywhere he won the friendship of the simple red men by the gentleness of his manner and the purity of his life.

At length he was placed in charge of the mission of St. Ignace, which had been established by Father Allouez, at Mackinac. From wandering bands of savages who came under the sway of his influence, Father Marquette heard of a mighty river to the west, and became filled with a desire to preach the gospel to the tribes that dwelt upon its banks.

The Court in far-away France was also anxious to discover this mysterious river. On June 4, 1672, the French minister wrote to the Governor of New France that there was "nothing more important for the colony than the discovery of a passage to the South Sea. His majesty wishes you to give it your attention." Thus urged, Frontenac entered upon the task with much enthusiasm. In November of the same year he instructed Sieur Louis Jolliet, a Quebec fur-trader and "a man of great experience in this kind of exploration," to "discover the South Sea by the Moskouten's country and the great river Mississippi, which is believed to empty into the California Sea."

It now became necessary to select a missionary to accompany the expedition, and the choice fell upon Marquette, who received a letter bidding him prepare for the journey.

The message was delivered upon the festival of the Immaculate Conception, and so great was the missionary's joy that he resolved to name the first church he should establish in the unexplored region "The Mission of the Immaculate Conception."

On the seventeenth of May, 1673, Jolliet and Marquette, in two birch canoes, driven by the strong arms of five French boatmen, proceeded along the western shore of Green Bay to the mission station of St. Xavier. From this point they paddled up the shallow waters of the Fox River ; the boatmen were equally skillful with the axe, rifle and paddle. At evening the canoes were drawn upon the pebbly shores and a hut of boughs was speedily made, before which a cheerful camp-fire chased back the darkness of the night. The forest supplied game, and the streams fish in abundance. The difficult task of dragging their boats over the tumultuous rapids was finally accomplished, and at length they crossed Winnebago Lake and entered the quiet waters of the upper Fox River. The stream threaded its way amid rice swamps, the feeding ground of large flocks of water fowl.

On the seventh day of June they reached an Indian village which the good Father describes as, "standing on the crown of a hill, while all around, the prairie stretched beyond the sight, interspersed with groves and belts of tall forests."

Marquette was delighted to find in the center of the village a large cross, erected by a former missionary, decorated with rude offerings of skins, belts, bows and arrows.

JOLLIET AND MARQUETTE.

The simple red men were greatly surprised that these seven voyagers were desirous of exploring an unknown wilderness beset by countless dangers.

When at length the strangers were ready to depart, the people of the village accompanied them to the water's edge, and provided guides to conduct them through the windings of the stream. Arriving at the portage, the frail canoes, lifted to the shoulders of the men, were carried through marsh and forest to the head waters of the Wisconsin River. Here the friendly Indians left them.

Launching their boats, the travelers floated down the turbulent waters amidst scenes of imposing beauty. On the seventeenth day of June, 1673, they were filled with joy on beholding the majestic flood of

JOLLIET.

THE MAKING OF ILLINOIS.

the Mississippi rolling before them. Its strong current bore them rapidly into solitudes never before visited by white men. Tall crags lifted their heads hundreds of feet into the air. Bluffs of stupendous size jutted into the river. Prairies dotted with groves and gemmed with flowers swept away from them on either side like emerald

seas. Herds of deer and buffalo were continually in sight. Again, the river rolled between primeval forests, the homes of wolves, bears and panthers.

At the end of two weeks they discovered a broad trail which led westward into the interior of the country. Leaving the five men to guard the boats, Jolliet and Marquette followed the path for a distance of six miles, and suddenly came upon a large Indian village.

Great was the consternation of the natives at the unexpected arrival of the white men.

When the first commotion had subsided, four chiefs, bearing

TOTEM OF THE ILLINOIS. ^ peace ^^ advanced t O

meet the strangers. 'To what nation do you belong?" asked Marquette.

"We are Illinois," one of the chiefs replied. "In token of peace, we have brought you our pipes to smoke. We invite you to our village."

At the door of the large wigwam, a chief stood to receive them. Raising his hands to the sun, he exclaimed : "How beautiful is the sun, O Frenchmen, when you come to visit us. All our people welcome you."

Conducted into the presence of the great chief of the Illinois, whose lodge was not far distant, they were received with every mark of respect, and after kind words and presents had been exchanged, the chief gave to Marquette a calumet or peace pipe, the bowl of polished redstone, the stem decorated with feathers.

'This is the sacred calumet," said the old man. "It signifies that wherever you bear it, you are the messenger of peace. All our tribes will respect it, and it will protect you from harm. I beg of you in behalf of the whole nation," continued the chief, "not to go any farther down the river, for your lives will be in the greatest peril."

At the close of the council a great feast was served in their honor, consisting of four courses. The first course was a pudding of pounded corn. With a horn spoon one of the chiefs deftly fed the Frenchmen from a wooden dish. The second course consisted of broiled fish. The same Indian carefully removed the bones and placed the meat, bit by bit, in the mouths of the guests, much as a bird might feed its young. The third course of broiled dog, considered a delicacy by the Indians, was not relished by the white men. But the last course, of choice and tender buffalo meat, was much more to their liking.

After the feast, the guests were led into each one of the hundred wigwams, where they were kindly treated, and given many presents.

The next morning, six hundred of their entertainers accompanied Jolliet and Marquette to the canoes. It is

THE MAKING OF ILLINOIS.

THE PIASA GOD.

From an old drawing.

JOLLIEf AND MARQUETTE. 4*

probable that this meeting occurred near the mouth of the Des Moines River.

Resuming their journey, the voyagers floated out upon the current of the stream. Passing the mouth of the Illinois River, they glided beneath the picturesque Piasa bluffs and, with astonishment, discovered upon the smooth surface of the cliff the hideous figures of two Indian gods, painted in gorgeous colors.

Marquette relates that, "Each of these frightful figures had the face of a man, the horns of a deer, the beard of a tiger, and the tail of a fish, so long that it passed around the head and between the legs. It was an object of Indian worship, and greatly impressed me with the need of substituting for this monstrous idolatry the worship of the true God."

"As we discoursed of them," continues Marquette, "sailing down beautifully clear water, we heard the noise of a rapid on which we were about to fall. I have seen nothing more frightful. A mass of large trees, entire, with branches, came floating from the mouth of the river, so impetuously that we could not, without great danger, expose ourselves to pass across. The agitation was so great that the water was all muddy and could not get clear."

This stream was the Missouri, which rushes down from its distant source in the mountains, and renders turbid the waters of the Mississippi for the rest of its course.

In a few days they reached the mouth of the Ohio, whose clear waters were a striking contrast to the murky flood of the Missouri.

As the voyagers proceeded southward, the banks of the Mississippi became low and marshy, and were covered by dense fields of cane, from which arose clouds of mosquitoes.

One morning upon the eastern bank of the stream they beheld a band of Indians, armed with guns. When the peace pipe was held aloft, the savages invited the strangers to the land and prepared for them a feast of white plums, buffalo meat and bear's oil.

Bidding adieu to these simple people, the travelers resumed their journey through stretches of forest and swamp. A few miles below the mouth of the Arkansas they suddenly came in sight of a large Indian village, situated a few feet above the level of the water. These Indians had probably been mistreated by the Spaniards, for on perceiving the white men, they approached with fierce war whoops and uplifted weapons.

Some leaped into canoes and pushed out from the shore, others fitted arrows to their bows and rushed to the attack. While vainly waving his peace pipe, Father Marquette narrowly escaped a war club, which a warrior furiously hurled. At length the older chiefs, «who had arrived and discovered the peaceable intentions of the strangers, called off the warriors and invited the Frenchmen to land. Trembling, they obeyed, not knowing what was in store for them. An old Indian chief was found who could speak the Illinois dialect, and after friendly relations were established, the Indians prepared a feast for their guests. The next morning the whites were escorted down the river to a large village opposite the mouth of the Arkansas River, where dwelt the head chief of the tribe. He received the strangers before his lodge, beneath a scaffolding of poles. The floors had been covered with rush mats and skins. Upon these the Frenchmen were placed, while the warriors, according to rank, were seated around them to the number of several hundred. A young Indian, who had an excellent knowledge of the Illinois tongue, acted as interpreter.