The history of the western states : illustrated by tales, sketches, and anecdotes, with numerous engravings

Preface

This work being one of a series, it maybe proper to insert here the preface to the first of them, entitled The Story of the American Revolution, which explains the plan and design of the author.

u In this little work, the author has attempted to relate the story of our glorious Revolution, in a simple manner, so that it may be interesting- and instructive to children and youth. He has not adopted a very regular method of treating the subject, but has attempted to keep the interest of the pupil constantly alive, by a variety of tales, anecdotes and sketches, illustrative of the events with which they are connected.

u It is remarkable, that very few books of history are read by children except as a task ; while works of fiction are perused with the greatest avidity. Now, if fiction borrows its chief interest from its resemblance to truth, how is this fact to be accounted for? I think it may be explained by two considerations. In the first place, fiction, being the offspring of the imagination, is generally written with a warmth of language which makes the reader realize every part of the story, and cheats him, against his better knowledge, into the persuasion that the narrative is true. On the contrary, the writing" of history is a task calculated to repress all vivacity of feeling ; research must take the place of invention, and fancy must act in humble subserviency to facts, dates and records. Under such circumstances, dulness creeps into the mind of the writer, and is thus imparted to the book.

" For these reasons, in most books, fiction wears the aspect of truth, and truth the aspect of fiction. Children are excellent judg-es of manner, and are very much affected by it. They will listen with much more interest to an indifferent story, happily told, than to a good one stupidly related. They, as well as people of mature age, are more attracted by a novel, or romance, written in a lively and natural style, than by the most important history, if composed in a dull and heavy manner.

" A second consideration, which will account for the preference given to tales of fiction, is this : — They are generally much more 1*

PREFACE.

minute in their details than books of history. The latter tell us of armies and nations, while the former present to us individuals, and acquaint us with their thoughts and feelings, their hopes and fears, their joys and sorrows, and thus make us sympathize with them in all the vicissitudes to which they are exposed. It is this minuteness of detail which forms one of the principal charms in books of fiction 5 it is the comprehensiveness of books of history, which makes them repulsive to juvenile readers, who are always seeking 1 for amusement.

*' Such being the views of the writer of the present volume, he has adopted a method in some respects new. If he has occasion to state that a battle occurred, he states it in few words, and then relates anecdotes, individual adventures, and other minute circumstances, calculated to fix the attention of the pupil, to excite his interest, and thus make him realize the whole scene, as if he were himself an actor in it.

" By this means, and by adopting a familiar style, the author hopes he has succeeded in imparting to this little work some of the attractive qualities which belong to tales of fiction. Nothing, certainly, is more desirable, than that truth should be the basis of early education; and whoever shall succeed in rendering history interesting and agreeable to youth, will perform a task for which he will deserve the thanks of the age. That the author has fully succeeded in this attempt, he cannot pretend to hope 5 but, deeply convinced of the importance of the object he has in view, he has made the present experiment, and leaves the result to the decision of the public.

u If this volume is favorably received, it will be followed by a series of works on American history, executed in a similar manner. The subjects proposed are the following : — the Early History of New England 3 the Early History of the Middle States 3 the Early History of the Southern States 3 the History of the Western States ; the History of the West Indies 5 the History of Mexico 3 the Early History of South America 5 and the History of Discoveries in America. These volumes, if published, wiTl be abundantly illustrated by engravings, and will appear at intervals of two or three months.

" The materials for these works are abundant, and in the highest degree interesting. The design of the author will be to embrace the entire history of the Western Continent in the series, and thus furnish a set of books, which may be put into the hands of youth, as works of amusement, but which will instruct them fully in the history of their own country, and in that also of other countries in the same hemisphere."

The four first works above mentioned, as well as the History of the American Revolution, are already published, and the others will soon appear.

Chapter I

Scene of the following Adventures and Anecdotes, Description of the Valley of the Mississippi, and other Territory of the West. Aspect of the Country in various Sections. Vegetable Productions. Wild Animals described. The Buffalo. Buffalo Hunting-. Beaver, and Beaver Trapping, The Brown Bear, and Grizzly Bear. The Panther. The Prairie Wolf. The Raccoon, Squirrel, Opossum, Elk, Antelope, and other Quadrupeds. Story about the Squirrel's sailing across Rivers, and how the Opossum pretends to be dead. 9

Chapter II

An Account of the Birds of the Western Country. The Prairie Hen and the Pheasant. How the wild Turkey seduces the tame one. The Robin, Mocking-bird, Red-bird and Paroquet. Migrations of the wild Geese and Swans. Reptiles of the Western Country. Different Kinds of Snakes. Story of a Family attacked by a Company of Rattlesnakes. Anecdotes of the Alligator 19

CHAPTER 111=

A Sketch of the Character and Manners of the Western People. Some Account of the Indian Tribes. Nature and Products of the Soil. Modes of navigating the Mississippi. Scenes on board the Steam-boat 25

Chapter IV

Other Anecdotes of the Mississippi Navigation. Scenes in the Bay of New Madrid. Practice of lashing Boats together. Shops kept on board these Boats. Quarrels between the Boatmen. Frolics. Steam-boat Navigation on the Mississippi....... 31

CONTENTS

Chapter V

Sketches of the early History of Florida. Origin of that Name. History of Ponce de Leon and other Adventurers. Account of a French Colony in Florida. Wars between the French and Spaniards there. Discovery of the Mississippi. Anecdotes of the ExDedition of M. de la Salle.. 37

Chapter VI

How La Salle erected a Fort among- the Illinois Indians. How his Men mutinied, and endeavored to incense the Indians against him. Stories about Mausoiea, a cunning - Iroquois Savage. How La Salle came very near being killed by Poison. Story about Mr. Dacan. Ckher Adventures of La Salle among the Savages. Adventures of Father Hennepin 45

CHAPTER VH.

The Adventures of La Salle and Father Hennepin continued. Interview with the Quapaw Indians. Visit the Taencas. Account of their Houses, Temples and Ornaments. Anecdotes of the Taenca Women. Meet with other Tribes.. . . . 53

Chapter VIII

La Salle's Voyage down the Mississippi concluded. Arrives at the Mouth of the River. Ceremonies on that Occasion. The Travellers explore the Shores of the Gulf of Mexico. Adventures which they meet with. Return to Canada. La Salle goes to France. Hennepin goes back to the West. Meets with La Salle's Brother, who tells him News about that Gentleman. Cavalier's Story 6%

Chapter IX

Father Hennepin has more Conversation with Cavalier. The latter goes off upon an Expedition. Hennepin meets with Cousture, who tells him how La Salle was killed by some of his own Party. Particulars of the Murder. Other Anecdotes 68

Chapter X

Sketches of Adventures in the West after La Salle's Death. How New Orleans was settled. Quarrels between the Spaniards and the French. A bad Mistake made by the Spaniards, and a lar<re Party of them killed by the Indians. Account of the Natchez Tribe, How a Quarrel arose between them and the French. The French massacred. The Natchez destroyed. , . 74

CONTENTS.

Chapter XI

Contests between the English and French. Expedition, in 1754 ; against the French on the Ohio. First Campaign of General Washing-ton. Defeat and Death of General Braddock, in 1755. Quebec taken by the English. War with the Cherokee Indians. General Peace in 1763 83

Chapter XII

Sketches of Western History during the Revolutionary War. Skirmishes with the Indians. Adventures of American hunting Parties in the Woods. Anecdotes of Daniel Boone, the great Hunter. Story about the Attack of the Indians upon Logan's Camp in Kentucky . . 87

Chapter XIII

Other Adventures of Daniel Boone. He is captured by the Indians. How they treated him. How he escaped from them. Account of their Attack upon Boonesborough. Anecdotes of the Siege. The Indians are driven off. 96

Chapter XIV

Sketches of the History of Kentucky and other Sections. Expedition by the Hunters against the Indians. Battle with the Savages. Story about Black Fish. Expedition of the English and Indians against the Kentuckians. Attack on Ruddle's Station. How it ended. Some of the Kentuckians carried off captive. How one of them escaped from the Indians 101

Chapter XV

The Kentuckians make another Expedition against the Indians in Ohio. What Effect it had. The Savages attack M ? Afee ; s Station. Skirmish with M'Afee, and how the latter shot one Man in the Mouth. How the Women helped the Men to fight the Savages. Attack upon Bryant's Station. The Indians driven off. , 106

Chapter XVI

Skirmishes with the Indians. How Women were engaged. Battle between a Negro and an Indian. A Family attacked by an Indian Party. A New England Party of Emigrants attacked on the Ohio River. Story about a Boy who was wounded. Cherokee War. Battle between Mrs. Mason and the Savages, in Tennessee 114

CONTENTS.

Chapter XVII

Stories about Persons who were taken captive by the Indians. How Moses Hewitt was treated by them, and how he escaped. Skirmish which Mr. Meigs had with a Party of Savages. History of the earliest settlements in Ohio. About Marietta. About Cincinnati. About General Putnam 121

Chapter XVIII

About the Mode of Life led by the early Settlers of the Western Country. The Process by which they reached their Destination. How they lived after they got there. Their Houses, Farms, Fences and Tools. Their Improvements from Year to Year ; and how Log Houses were given up for better ones «, 127

Chapter XIX

Story of an Emigrant, who went out to Ohio, with his Son and Family, in 17/9. How the migrating Party was collected. How they fought off the Indians. How our Hero made his first Settlement, and how much Corn they raised. Moves to Lexington. Goes out to hunt, and survey Land. Ad ventures in the Woods. Story about Crawford 131

Chapter XX

Story of the Emigrants continued. Adventure with a Bear The Family moves again. The Indians steal some of their Horses. Our young Hero joins an Expedition against the Enemy in 1786. His Adventures as a Soldier. Skirmish with the Indians. Takes some Prisoners. Story about Magery 140

Chapter XXI

Account of the Christian Indians. Their Missionaries. The Troubles they met with. Anecdotes of their Character. They move to Ohio. How their Settlements were broken

HISTORY

OF THE

WESTERN STATES

Chapter I

Scene of the following Adventures and Anecdotes. Description of the Valley of the Mississippi, and other Territory of the West. Aspect of the Country in various Sections. Vegetable Productions. Wild Animals described. The Buffalo. Buffalo Hunting. Beaver, and Beaver Trapping. Thx Brown Bear, and Grizzly Bear. The Panther. The Prairie Wolf. The Raccoon, Squirrel, Opossum, Elk, Antelope, and other Quadrupeds. Story about the SquirreVs sailing across Rivers, and how the Opossum pretends to be dead.

The scene of most of the anecdotes and adventures of which this volume will consist, is laid in those states and territories which make up a large part of the Valley of the Mississippi River. This vast tract of country extends northward as far as the streams which run into lakes Winnipeg, Superior, and other large bodies of fresh water in their vicinity. It is bounded on the south by the winding shores of the great Gulf of Mexico, into

JO HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES.

which the Mississippi empties ; on the west, by the range of highlands, running parallel with the river, which give rise to the Arkansaw, Red and Missouri rivers ; and on the east, by the Alleghany ridge, separating it from the section of country watered by the Atlantic streams. Some description of this great territory will be a proper introduction to the sketches furnished in the following chapters.

The general surface of the Mississippi Valley may be best described under three distinct heads— the thickly timbered, the barrens, and the prairie country. As to the first division, wherever forest land is met with, it is uniformly distinguished for the great size of the trees, the depth of verdure in the foliage, and the abundance of vegetable growth of every description. The trees are large and tall ; and they rise aloft, like vast columns, free from branches. In rich soil, they are generally wreathed with a drapery of ivy, grape-vines, or some other wild productions of the kind called creepers, whose tendrils and blossoms cling to the branches, and mingle with the broad leaves of the trees.

At other times, these forests are as free from undergrowth as a farmer's orchard. Perhaps the only shrub seen among the trees is the beautiful pawpaw, with its shining foliage, and its bending and graceful stems. In other locations, there are thick and tangled cane-brakes, and patches of rank brambles and brier-vines. These, though they

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES.

always indicate a good soil, are the frequent and safe retreats of bears, panthers, and other wild animals of the west.

The country called barrens has generally a surface undulating with moderately-sized hills of a particular form. They are long, regular ridges, mostly covered with a tall, coarse grass, and only here and there shaded by trees which are neither very large nor very small. These are oak in the greater number of instances. The land of the barrens is of an indifferent quality, as the name would lead one to suppose. There are large tracts of this kind of country in Kentucky, Tennessee and Alabama ; and they are also often met with in Illinois and Missouri.

The prairies are of various descriptions and names. The " wet prairies/' so called, generally occur on the bodies of the great water-courses. Their soil is black, deep and rich, and is clothed with native grasses of an atsonishing height and luxuriance. From this circumstance, and from the levelness of their surface, they are sprinkled over with multitudes of small ponds, formed by rains, and only dried up, during the greatest heat of summer, by the power of the sun. When this happens, and especially as the little channels connecting them with the river gradually become dry, fish are taken by cart-loads among the high grass, where the water has been three or four feet deep. When the waters entirely evaporate, they of course

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES.

die ; and hence it is, partly, that, though thousands of buzzards and other birds feed upon these fish, they pollute the surrounding atmosphere for months, if not perpetually, and render a residence upon the prairies unpleasant and unhealthy.

In other respects, however, and especially at other seasons, circumstances are more favorable to the health and comfort of man and beast alike. In the spring and autumn, innumerable flocks of water-fowls are seen wheeling their rounds over the small lakes and ponds of the prairies, finding abundant food in the oily seeds of the plants and grasses which have ripened during the summer. Flocks of deer scour swiftly across these rich plains, sometimes stopping to graze peaceably in the neighborhood of the settler's domestic cattle.

During the months of vegetation, the richer prairies are covered with flowers and flowering plants and shrubs, of an almost incredible variety of forms, scents and hues. In the " barrens," you will find four or five kinds of the little flower commonly called " ladies' slipper," all of the most splendid colors. Most of the prairie flowers have tall and arrowy stems ; and the blossoms are very large and gorgeous in appearance, though without much fragrance. They present different successions of hues as the season advances. The prevailing color, in springs is bluish purple ; in midsummer, red, with a considerable proportion of yellow ; in autumn, very generally yellow, and that so extensive and so rich, as to present to the imagination of the spectator, at a little distance, an immense surface of gilding.

Such is the nature of the wet prairies. The " dry prairies," on the other hand, as their name indicates, are nearly destitute of streams and springs. These immense level plains are the pasture-ground," of large herds of buffaloes. They are generally as much without wood as without water ; and th& weary traveller may wander there for days, and see the horizon, on all sides around him, sinking to contact with nothing but the grass of the prairies.

In the wide prairies on the Upper Mississippi, Missouri, Arkansaw and Red rivers, in all the space beyond a distance of two or three hundred miles from civilized settlements, the buffalo is the grand object of hunting, and the means of subsistence among the Indians, and the white hunters and trappers. And not only does its flesh furnish their food, but their dress, their couches, their seats, and much of the ornamental part of the furniture of their cabins, are made of the skins and furs. The former, indeed, tanned, and stretched on poles, are a chief article in the construction of their wigwams and lodges ; and the latter, under the common name of " buffalo robes," are an important article of commerce. There are very few of the young readers of this book, probably, who have not learned by experience, in the winter season, the comfort of a buffalo robe.

The appearance of these animals is generally known. They are not very far from the size of the domestic ox. They have small horns, not more than four or five inches in length ; small, fierce-looking eyes ; bushy heads, covered with shaggy wool of a brownish gray color ; and a protuberance on the shoulders, called the " hump. 5 * This is the choice part of the animal as an article of food. The beef generally, however, is nearly equal to that of the domestic ox, at least when killed at the right season, and properly preserved.

At and about the sources of the rivers just named, and of many others, the beaver is a great object of pursuit by hunters and trappers, both savage and civilized. To the former, indeed, it is an essential means of gain and subsistence; for they barter the skins regularly with the white traders, for arms, ammunition, blankets, traps, whiskey, and various other objects of necessity or desire. Great numbers of white men, living upon the frontiers of civilization, repair to these distant regions, for the sole purpose of hunting and trapping the beaver. When they have collected and packed a sufficient number of the furs, they fell a hollow tree, launch it into some full mountain stream, and paddle down perhaps a thousand miles of the Missouri, or some other great river, to barter their cargoes at St. Louis, and the other towns and cities of the Mississippian region.

Both the brown and the grizzly or ivhite bear are found in the Valley of the Mississippi ; the latter chiefly on the upper courses of the Missouri and its tributary streams. The brown bear does not often undertake to contend with man, face to face ; but the grizzly bear, instead of flying, pursues or attacks him with less fear than almost any other beast of prey. The strength of this animal is prodigious ; and they sometimes weigh considerably more than a thousand pounds. One, which was killed by a party of travellers, a few years since, measured three feet five inches about the head, three feet eleven inches about the neck, eight feet seven and a half inches in length, and one foot eleven inches about the fore leg. The talons were four and a half inches long. Fortunately, they are not very swift ; and as they usually range in the timbered regions, and do not climb as the brown bear does, the hunters generally escape from them by mounting a tree. Attacks are not often made upon them, and never but by several men in company. The fur is so much, valued, as sometimes to sell for fifty dollars, and frequently for thirty.

The panther is a ferocious animal of the cat kind, ranging the forests throughout the whole Mississippi Valley. They are of the size of the largest dogs, and of a darkish gray color, marked with black spots ; but are shaped more like the domestic cat, having short legs, large paws, and long talons, with a round head and whiskers also like the cat's. They purr, too, much in the same manner, when in good humor, though their night howl, in their fiercer moods, is the most wild and terrible to be conceived. They conceal themselves among the branches of trees, and dart, from that situation, upon their prey. When wounded, they have been known to attack men ; and they seldom fail to attack a child, when they meet one alone.

The prairie wolf is a small but strong animal, with a form much resembling that of the fox, and a bark and howl like those of the common dog. They sometimes travel in packs or droves on the prairies ; and their shrill and sharp bark is often heard at night in the hunter's solitary cabin or camp. It sounds like a note of defiance to the dogs of the cabin ; and the latter, in such cases, will retreat towards their shelter, showing signs of fear, reducing their bark gradually to a feeble and timid whine, and finally pawing at the door of the cabin for admission within. They are a most annoying scourge to the farmers, and the greatest impediment to the raising of sheep upon the prairies.

The raccoon is more troublesome in the cornfields : and it is a sport, preparatory to more hazardous hunting, for the farmers' boys to sally out and kill or capture one of these less dangerous animals in the night-time.

Woodchucks and opossums abound also in the prairies. The latter is a lazy and stupid animal. Its shelter is a hollow log or tree ; and when you come upon one suddenly, at any distance from this shelter, instead of retreating for it, the opossum

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES.

turns over on its side, throws out its legs, and settles its body, eyes, and other features into a motionless resemblance of death. Even the hunter's dog in these cases is deceived. He applies his nose to the animal, paws it over, and passes it by as dead. So familiar is this fact among the hunters, that it is a common saying with them, that a man who takes great pains to dissemble for a particular purpose, is " opossuming !"

Squirrels, gray, black and red, prey upon the corn-fields, adjacent to woods, in all sections of the valley. Farmers consider it an object, in autumn, when they are most troublesome, to furnish a boy with gun, powder and lead, on condition of his keeping a constant guard about the corn-fields. At this season, nothing is more common, in the hickory or beech woods, than to see half a dozen of these active and proud little animals, flourishing their erect tails, and barking, and skipping from branch to branch.

There is good evidence that these squirrels cross rivers of considerable breadth ; sometimes swimming, and at other times mounting a large chip, or a piece of bark, and raising and spreading their tails by way of sail. In fact, the little navigator occasionally spreads too much canvass, or ventures abroad in too much wind ; and so, like many a stouter and wiser voyager on the various waters of the earth, he is overset and drowned, It is related as having happened in the 2 * year 1811, that they emigrated from the north towards the south hy thousands, marching in a body of some order, along the lower section of the state of Ohio, and the whole front of Indiana. Great numbers of these adventurous travellers unfortunately perished, in attempting to cross the Ohio river.

Large flocks of elks are found in the northern limits of the range of the buffalo. The elk is a large species of the deer, something taller than the horse. The antelope is another species, found among the remote mountains, and is a fleet and beautiful animal, rarely met with by the hunters. The mountain sheep inhabit the same tract of country. They are as large as the deer, are covered with a wool like fur, and have horns of a prodigious size.

The prairie dog is so called from the supposed similarity of its cry to the barking of the common dog. It is about twice as large as the gray squirrel, and has a large head, short ears, black whiskers, and a sharp nose. They are a social set of creatures, living upon the dry prairies in large communities. The hole in the ground which they live in, is called a burrow ; and may be known at some distance by the little mound at the entrance, which is formed by the earth heaped up in digging it. There are several occupants, probably all of the same family, in each burrow. In mild weather, they are seen sporting about the mouths of their habitations, with all the sprightliness and glee of the squirrel. At the approach of danger, they raise the peculiar bark which has given them their name ; and, after indulging in this clamor for a short time, retreat to their dens. When overtaken, away from their homes, they show all the ill humor of a small cur, but are easily made tame, gentle and affectionate.

Chapter II

An Account of the Birds of the Western County. The Prairie Hen and the Phaesant. How the wild Turkey seduces the tame one. The Robin, Mocking-bird, Red-bird and Paroquet. Migrations of the ivild Geese and Swans. Reptiles of the Western Country. Different Kinds of Snakes. Story of a Family attacked by a Company of Rattlesnakes. Anecdotes of the Alligator.

Among the birds of the Mississippi Valley, are the robin-redbreast, the blue-bird, the red-bird, the blue jay, the mocking-bird, the goldfinch, owl, paroquet, pigeons, partridges, pheasants, turkeys, humming-birds and prairie hens. The latter is seen in great flocks, in the autumn, in the prairies of Missouri and Illinois. It is rather larger than the domestic hen. Its colors and its shape make it a beautiful bird. It lights on barns, and hovers about cornfields, and is tamed without much difficulty.

The pheasant is the same bird called the par-

HISTORY OF THE WESTERN STATES.

tridge in New England, and the partridge the same with our quail. The latter are very numerous in many sections, and are frequently taken as they are crossing the rivers, on the steam-boats which happen to be going up or down in the way of their flight. A standing amusement in the western country is to take them by driving them into a net.

The wild turkey is a fine, large bird, with brilliant blackish plumage. These are numerous, too, in the vicinity of corn-fields ; and hundreds of them are sometimes driven from the enclosures of the settler. They associate readily with the domestic turkey ; and when the latter is reared near the range of the former, they are sure to be sooner or later enticed into the woods by them. The Indians, and the western sportsmen, have a way of hunting them to advantage by imitating the cry of their young, and so inducing them to come within reach of the musket.

Thousands of the robin-redbreast winter in Louisiana. They perch by night in the thick cane-brakes, and are killed by scores with a stick. They do not sing so much or so well as those of New England ; and, indeed, none of the western birds are half so remarkable for their notes as for their plumage, size, and great numbers.

The mocking-bird is one of the most noisy of its race, imitating all other birds, and heard at all seasons of the year. It breeds in thorn^bushes and among arbors of brier-vines. It delights, too, to sit on the tops of chimneys, now and then darting perpendicularly, as if in a frolic, high into the air above, and descending by the same movement, singing gayly all the while.

The red-bird inhabits the deepest forests. Its plumage is extremely beautiful, and its " whistle' ' clear, mellow and cheerful. The traveller is often aroused, as he rides along the borders of woods, of a sunny morning — and especially after frosts in the winter — by hearing this song softening the harsh scream of the jay. The male bird, at one season, is of a most brilliant purple color, with a fine showy crest, and a bill of the appearance of ivory.

The paroquet is found from the latitude of forty degrees north to as far south as the Gulf of Mexico. Its food is the fruit of the sycamore, and its retreat in the hollow of that tree. It is a voracious bird, preying on apples, grapes, figs, and all other kinds of fruit. Paroquets have a hooked bill, and a splendid mixture of burnished golden and green plumage on their heads ; and their bodies are covered with a soft brilliant green. They are said to perch by hanging their bill to a branch. They fly in large flocks, and add singularly to the magnificence of a forest prospect, as they are seen darting through the foliage, and among the white branches of the sycamore.