Makers of Arkansas history

Preface

The author wishes to see the children of Arkansas as familiar with the leading men of their own State as they are with the great men of the Nation. In presenting this little book to the public, he does so in the hope that it may contribute something toward this end.

The book follows largely the biographical plan, grouping the facts of each phase of our history about some character eminent in its development. This method, compared with the chronological method, has the advantage not only of being more vivid, but of stimulating in boys and girls an ambition to excel and a legitimate state pride. The latter cannot be too much emphasized. It takes form not only in a broad patriotism, but also in the study of local history and in the erection of appropriate memorials and monuments. It is hoped that these chapters may tend to increase in Arkansas this civic spirit. Several distinguished names have been omitted, because the author was compelled at times to choose between two or more men who were types of the same phase of the State's history.

The book is designed for use either as a textbook or as a supplementary reader. The ques-

4 PREFACE.

tions at the end of each chapter not only review the chapter, but also suggest thought and investigation on the part of the pupil. Many of the stories may serve as a basis for exercises in reproduction. The style is such that the book may be used in the fourth or fifth grade, perhaps even in the third, so that children who leave school early may have a knowledge of those facts in our State's history which it is a discredit for any citizen not to know.

The map on page 17 is used by courtesy of the N. D. Thompson Publishing Company, and that on page 59 is from Hempstead's School History of Arkansas, by permission of the University Publishing Company.

Miss Lina X. Reed of Fayetteville, an experienced teacher, gave the manuscript a careful and critical reading.

The library of every teacher, as well as of every school, should have some or all of the following books on Arkansas history: Hempstead's School History of Arkansas, University Publishing Co., New Orleans; Shinn's School History of Arkansas, B. F. Johnson Publishing Co., Richmond; Hallum's Biographical History of Arkansas, Fred W. Allsopp, Little Rock; Hempstead's Pictorial History of Arkansas, N. D. Thompson Publishing Co., St. Louis; Pope's Early Days in Arkansas, Fred W. Allsopp, Little Rock.

Contents

CHAPTER pagb

I. Hernando de Soto , . . .11 II. Father Marquette . . . .21

III. Henri de Tonti, the Father of Ar-

Chapter I. Hernando De Soto

1496-1542.

The discovery of the New World by Columbus opened up a wide field for adventure. To the people of the Old World, America became a fairy land of fabulous wealth. Stories were told of rich mines of silver and gold, of jewels and precious stones, and of a wonderful fountain whose waters could give youth to old age.

The opportunity for gaining wealth or for winning fame fired the soul of many a youth in the Old World. Men of broken fortunes or of lost reputation came flocking to America ; but many of these fortune-seekers were sorely disappointed. However, While they failed in obtaining wealth, they did a much better thing: they explored the land and made known its marvelous resources.

These Europeans first made settlements along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean, and from there they spread to the

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

interior of the country. This is why Arkansas was not settled until long after colonies were established in Virginia and the Carolinas.

The first white man to touch Arkansas soil was one of these adventurous fortune-seekers from the Old World — the brave and chivalrous Hernando de Soto (her-nan'-

do de so'-to). In Europe the people were divided into two classes. The laborers, the farmers, and the merchants composed the lower class and were called common people ; the officials, the clergy, and the landlords composed the upper class and were called nobles.

Though a poor boy, hernando de soto. D e g oto belonged to

the nobility. He obtained a good education at one of the universities of Spain ; and when a young man, he joined an expedition into Peru, where he gained both fame and fortune. He explored the coasts of Central America and, with a small band of Spaniards, commanded by Pizarro (pi-za'-ro), went to the heart of the empire of

HERNANDO DE SOTO. 13

the Ineas (ing'-kaz), seized the capital, and captured the governor. Then he returned to Spain. But the stories of the gold and the fountain of youth in Florida made him restless and eager to explore this new land. So he fitted out his own expedition. The king of Spain gave him the title of Governor of Cuba and Florida. He sailed first to Cuba, the island which Columbus had

LANDS WHICH COLUMBUS HAD DISCOVERED.

{Marked in white on the map.)

discovered, and on which already seven towns had been built.

Though rich and full of honors, De Soto was still young and ambitious. He rebuilt and fortified Havana, which had been burned by pirates, and then started for Florida. Many had been eager to join this famous leader. So when he set out, it was with a band of six hundred brave companions. In the spring of 1539, he landed at Tampa Bay on the western coast of Florida. He spent two years wandering over the territory now oc-

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

cupied by Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, and Alabama. In May, 1541, he came to a river so broad and so full that he called it, in Spanish, the Rio Grande (re'-6 gran'-da) ; that is, the great river. The natives called it Meschacebe (mes'-cha-ee'-be), father of waters, which we write Mississippi. On the shore of this river, De Soto built rude barges and crossed to the Arkansas side, near the mouth of the White River.

The next year, the last year of his life, the great captain spent in traveling over what is now Arkansas.

This territory was then a vast wilderness, inhabited by wild animals and equally wild savages. De Soto w r ent up the Mississippi beyond the mouth of the St. Francis River, passing on the way some Indian villages. For the most part, the red men treated him kindly ; but he, like most men of his time, was cruel. He looked upon the Indians as he did upon beasts of burden ; captured them when he could, reduced them to slavery, and compelled them to carry his baggage. Such treatment was a great humiliation to the proud Indian war-

THE LONG MARCH OF DE SOTO.

HERNANDO DE SOTO.

riors, and in revenge they often inflicted severe suffering upon the Spaniards.

Some of these simple-minded people, it is said, thought De Soto a divine being and brought him two blind men to be healed. But as he wished them to know the true God, he erected a cross, told them the story of Christ, and directed them to worship Him.

Leaving the St. Francis country, De Soto journeyed southwest until he came to the Arkansas River. Tradiw/ I jv.& A ffSnM^Kj fit fttAll|fc' Wfc* ''"

■ W%Sff^SMtt

•

DE SOTO DISCOVERS THE MISSISSIPPI.

tion tells us that he was defeated in a great battle with the natives near where Jacksonport now stands, and that he was compelled to turn north. At any rate, he learned

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

here that mountains lay to the northwest. As gold was one of the great objects of his travels, he turned his steps toward what is now northwest Arkansas, hoping to find the precious metal there. For many days he traveled over swamps, through dense forests matted with vines, and across mountain streams.

Disappointed in not finding gold, he turned south, passed over the Boston Mountains, crossed the Arkansas River near Dardanelle (dar'-da-neT) Rock, and came into the land of the Cayas (ca'-yas). Here, we are told,

INDIANS AT THE HOT SPRINGS, TO BE HEALED.

De Soto fell seriously ill, and a friendly Indian chief brought him to a "lake of very hot water," where he was healed. At last, as he thought, he had found the won-

HERNANDO DE SOTO.

derful fountain. This lake was doubtless the now famous Hot Springs.

In the Ouachita (wash'-i-ta') River, near the springs, De Soto and his companions found salt. This the Indians along the stream sold to their neighbors. It was mixed with sand in the bed of the river, but the savages had devised a simple method for separating it from the sand. They gathered it up, sand and all, and threw it into baskets; under these, they placed vessels and then poured water into the baskets.

The water filtered through the sand, carrying the salt with it into the vessels below. Then the vessels were put upon a fire, and the water evaporated, leaving the salt.

The winter of 1541, De Soto spent in an Indian village on the Ouachita River. It was a severe winter ; and his band, already reduced in numbers, suffered greatly.

DE SOTO'S ROUTE THROUGH ARKANSAS.

Here it was that De Soto lost his faithful interpreter, Juan Ortiz (hoo-an' or-teth'). When De Soto first arrived in Florida, he could not speak the Indian language, nor could the savages understand Spanish. Hence he needed an interpreter. Ortiz was a Spaniard who had come to Florida long before De Soto. He had joined a tribe of Indians, had adopted their dress and mode of living, and had learned to speak their language. So DeSoto engaged him as his interpreter. Now that Ortiz was dead, De Soto had much trouble in dealing with the Indians.

Up to this time De Soto had found no gold ; so, disheartened, in the spring he resumed his journey south. He followed the Ouachita to the Red River and then went down this stream to the Mississippi. On this journey he was greatly exposed and for days had to wade through swamps and swollen streams. These hardships brought on a fever, from which he died.

De Soto's followers were now without a leader. They knew that the Indians thought De Soto immortal. If they should learn of his death, they would lose their fear of the Spaniards and destroy them. So, secretly, at night, De Soto's companions prepared to bury him. On the shore of the Mississippi, they wrapped the body of their captain in a mantle, weighted it down with sand, and placed it in a boat. Very quietly they rowed out into the middle of the stream; and there, in the dark

HERNANDO DE SOTO.

and the silence of midnight, they lowered the body of Spain's great explorer into the waters of the river he had discovered.

De Soto's death completely demoralized his followers,

LOWERING DE SOTO'S BODY INTO THE RIVER.

and they at once determined to seek the Spanish settlements in Mexico. So they made some rnde vessels, in which they passed down the Mississippi and finally reached Mexico — a small remnant of the proud company that had landed at Tampa Bay.

Test Questions.

What led to the discovery and settlement of America? What part of our country was first explored and settled? In what direction did most of the explorers travel? Who first explored Arkansas? Prom what country did he come? What do you know of his life before he came to North America? What is meant by "the empire of the Incas"? To what part of North

America did De Soto first come? Why? In what year? Trace his travels for the next three years. In what century was this? What would have been De Soto's description ot the region we call Arkansas? Of his travels through Arkansas? What is meant by "the land of the Cayas"? Where and how did the Indians get their salt? How did De Soto treat the Indians? What did they think about him? How did he talk with the Indians? What brought che expedition to an end? How did this occur? Where is De Soto's grave? What became of his followers? Of what use te the world was De Soto's expedition?

Map Questions.

Map showing Lands Discovered by Columbus, p. 13, and, Map of Western Hemisphere. — Locate Spain, Peru, Central America, Mexico, Cuba. Map showing Route of De Solo, p. 14, and Map of United States. — Locate Tampa Bay. Trace De Soto's journey overland. What states now occupy this region? Map showing De Soto's Travels in Arkansas, p. 17. — Trace the White River, the Red River, the St. Francis, the Arkansas, the Ouachita, the Mississippi. Locate Jacksonport, the Boston Mountains, Dardanelle Rock, the land of the Cayas, the Hot Springs.

Chapter II. Father Marquette

1637-1675.

It was one hundred and thirty years after De Soto's death before another white man touched the soil of Arkansas. And yet the nations of Europe had not been idle. Each was struggling to get possession of as much of the New World as possible. But America is so large that it took centuries to colonize it.

Spain had weak settlements in Florida and Mexico; but the Spaniards spent too much time in hunting gold and silver to succeed in colonizing. They did not like the hard work of opening fields, cultivating the soil, and building towns. The English were more successful, because they had come to make the West their home and therefore could not afford to waste their time in gold hunting. They had established flourishing colonies along the Atlantic coast. Both Spain and England founded their colonies close to the sea. France too wished to own land in America, and she had already occupied Canada with fur-trading stations and missionary outposts. The fur-trader had come to make his fortune;

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

the soldier, to extend the empire of his king; and the Jesuit missionary, to plant the cross of Christ.

Spain had profited little by the explorations of De Soto. Through her negligence the Mississippi valley had remained unsettled for nearly a century and a half. She had gone to sleep, as it were, believing the land to be hers by right of discovery, and suddenly awoke to

MAKING A HOME IN THE NEW WORLD.

find France occupying the fertile valley. Then she struggled desperately to regain it, but all in vain. After securing the land bordering on the St. Lawrence River, France had seen the value of the Mississippi valley and had at once added that to her possessions.

Although several accounts of the travels of De Soto and his companions had been published, the French in

FATHER MARQUETTE. 23

Canada, over one hundred years later, did not know whether the Mississippi empties into the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, or the Pacific Ocean. The natives, however, had told the French of a mighty river to the west. But who would face the dangers of exploring it? None but the Christian missionary — a man quite different from the discoverer and explorer studied in the preceding chapter. The Christian missionary came to the New World neither for riches nor for glory, but to carry the gospel of peace to the red man in the western wilds. He left friends and a comfortable home in a civilized country and went among savages, preaching the Christian religion. Among the French missionaries, Father Marquette (mar-kef) was a prominent figure. He had been preaching to the savages around the Great Lakes, when he decided to find the mouth of the Mississippi River. He asked a fur-trader, named Joliet (zho-lya'), to go with him, and five Indians to paddle their canoes.

Over the Great Lakes they went and down whatever streams would bear them toward the Mississippi. But through the woods between the streams, they had to carry their canoes. At last they came to the great river, and in these same frail barks they floated down. On the way, some friendly Indians gave them a present — a calumet, the pipe of peace.

Now, everywhere among the Indians this pipe was the symbol of peace ; and when held up it would change ene-

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

mies into friends. Later on perhaps this simple present saved Marquette's life. The Indians who gave it to him advised him to go no farther down the river, because, as they said, below was a great demon which would devour him. He would roar so loud that he could be heard miles away. However, Marquette continued his journey.

If you should go down the Mississippi today, on a steamer, you would see farms, mills, factories, and cities all along the banks. But Marquette lany weary days in his canoe, on the silent river, seeing in the vast wilderness nothing but forests and stealthy wild animals, herds of buffalo, and roving bands of savages.

As the party approached the mouth of the Arkansas River, they saw wigwams on the west bank. Suddenly, out of the wigwams the Indians came rushing, giving their war-whoop. They had Indian peace-pipe. caught sight of the pale-

FATHER MARQUETTE.

faces, as they called the white men. They ran down to the river, jumped into their canoes, and in a moment had surrounded Marquette and Joliet. At this juncture Marquette thought of his peace-pipe. He seized it and

MARQUETTE ENTERTAINED BY THE ARKANSAS INDIANS.

held it up, and in an instant a great change came over the savages. They threw down their tomahawks and invited the Frenchmen to come ashore, where they gave

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

them a hearty welcome to their wigwams. The tired travelers received with delight the hospitality of the Indians, who feasted them on mush and fish and gave them lodging for the night.

The next day they went on to the mouth of the Arkansas. Here they found a village of Arkansas Indians, by whom they were royally entertained. The warriors and the old men, seated in a semicircle, received them in the most approved Indian fashion. The men were scantily

clad, but their bodies were profusely decorated with beads and paints ; the women were indifferently dressed in skins.

Mush, boiled corn, and roasted dog made up the bill of fare with which they regaled their guests.

From these Indians, Marquette learned that the Mississippi empties into the Gulf of Mexico. They advised him to go no farther, as the country below was inhabited by hostile tribes, through fear of whom they themselves

MARQUETTE'S GRAVE AT ST. IGNACE, MICHIGAN.

FATHER MARQUETTE. 27

would not hunt the buffalo. There was no need of his taking further risks ; for he had accomplished the object of his trip — he had learned into what body of water the Mississippi empties. So, after preaching to these simple people, he returned to Canada. About ten years later, while engaged in missionary work near Lake Michigan, he died.

Father Marquette was a man of strong will and gentle heart, beloved by all who knew him. So honored was he by the Indians that they were more friendly to the French settlers who followed in his footsteps down the Mississippi valley. By his bravery and perseverance he had opened a way for his countrymen into the new land, and by his labors of love he had won for them a welcome there.

Test Questions.

How long was it after De Soto before another white man saw Arkansas? Why? Where had the Spaniards made settlements? the English? the French? How successful was each in colonizing, and why? Which gained control of the Mississippi valley? How?

Who was Marquette? Tell the story of his journey, its objects and results. Why is he called "father"? What is the calumet? What was the difference between Marquette and De Soto in their treatment of the Indians? How did the Indians treat Marquette? Why did he not go farther south? What was accomplished by the French missionaries in America?

28 MAKERS OF ARKANSAS nlSTORY.

Map Questions.

Map of the United States. — Where is the Gulf of Mexico? Lake Michigan? the valley of the Mississippi? the mouth of the Arkansas River? On going by water from the source of the Mississippi River to its mouth, what rivers would you pass? Map of Canada. — Trace the St. Lawrence River.

Chapter III. Henri De Tonti

The Father of Arkansas. 1650-1704.

While Marquette was exploring the Mississippi, the young man who was to become the father of Arkansas was winning his spurs in the French army. He was an Italian by birth and a Frenchman by adoption. In the service of France, he had lost one hand and in its place wore a hand of iron. He was honest, brave, and chivalrous. These noble qualities gained for him the friendship of a powerful prince, who recommended him to La Salle (la sal') as a suitable young man to aid him in his ambitious enterprises in the New World. This youth was Henri de Tonti (pn-re' de ton'-te)— "de Tonti of the iron hand."

It was in 1678, on a return trip from America, that La Salle was in France seeking men and means to carry out his plan of founding for France a new empire in the West. His greatest need was a strong, brave, loyal man who would be true in time of danger. Such a man he

MAKERS OP ARKANSAS HISTORY.

found in De Tonti, and between these two there grew up a lasting friendship.

La Salle's plan was to build a line of forts and trading posts from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi, and then along this river to the Gulf of Mexico. These forts

were to serve as military posts for the protection of the French against the savages and as trading centers for those who bartered with them, giving beads and trinkets in exchange for furs and skins.

But first, he must explore the country.

De Tonti was the engineer of the party. He it was who built all the forts as Avell as the Griffin, a vessel of forty-five tons burden, on which La Salle sailed in exploring the Great Lakes. He built Fort Miami (mi-am'-i) near Fort Erie and a fort on the present site of Peoria, Illinois. It was at Peoria that the noble elements of De Tonti 's character shone most brightly. La Salle left him in command of the fort at this place, while he returned to Canada on business. At this juncture, the men mutinied and deserted, leaving De Tonti with only four companions. But faithful to duty and to his

ROBERT CAVELIER DE LA SALLE.

HENRI DE TONTI.

friend, he remained at his post. He sent two men to inform La Salle, and with the other two he prepared to hold the fort.

All around were Illinois Indians, who might become hostile at any moment. To add to the difficulties, at this time the Iroquois (ir-o-kwoi'), a neighboring tribe, made war upon the Illinois; and the Illinois Indians, thinking that the French were inciting the Iroquois to this war, seized De Tonti, charged him with treachery, and drew their hatchets to kill him. In broken Illinois speech, he finally allayed

their suspicions.

Many a man would have given up and, if possible, would have made his escape back to Canada; but De Tonti was heroic. He knew that war between the Indians would endanger the plans of La Salle ; so, at the risk of

THE FRENCH FORTS FROM THE GREAT LAKES TO THE GULF OF MEXICO.

his life, he went over to the camp of the Iroquois to negotiate peace. While trying to persuade the Indians to give up their hostilities, he was stabbed, almost fatally; but he stood his ground and reminded the Indians of their alliance with France and of the danger of fighting the Illinois, who were under French protection. The savages threatened, but De Tonti refused all compromises and insisted on a genuine peace.

In spite of this, the Illinois distrusted him and destroyed his fort, leaving him in the midst of a severe northern winter without food or shelter. Although -he had but one arm and was weakly constituted, he obtained food by digging roots and gathering acorns. Such was the endurance of the man who became the father of Arkansas.

The next year La Salle returned to Peoria. In the meantime, misfortunes had befallen him, and his creditors were calling for their money. His vessel, the Griffin, laden with skins for the market, had been lost on the Great Lakes; and, moreover, the same fate had befallen a vessel coming from France with supplies. These disasters had made La Salle a poor man. But though these brave men had lost everything, they were not discouraged. They merely changed their plans. Instead of exploring the Mississippi in a large vessel, they traveled down the river in canoes. Like Marquette, they stopped near the mouth of the Arkansas and were enter-

HENRI DE TONTI. 33

tained by the Indians in a most friendly manner. These children of the forest showed their visitors marked honor by dancing the calumet, an act of rare occurrence, performed only in celebrating a peace, or in concluding an alliance, or in entertaining distinguished guests. Both La Salle and De Tonti praised highly the good qualities of these Indians. The Indians gave La Salle the same advice that they had given Marquette nine years before — he should go no farther down the river. But he went on to the mouth of the Mississippi and claimed possession of the whole valley and all the land to the west of it in the name of Louis XIV, the King of France. This was in 1682.

Having accomplished the first part of their plan,— that of exploration,— they turned their attention to the second part — that of building a line of forts from the

Great Lakes to the mouth of L0UIS XIV ' KING 0P FRANCK the Mississippi. De Tonti built Fort St. Louis on the Illinois River and made treaties with the surrounding Indians; while La Salle returned to France to collect supplies and to get settlers for a colony at the mouth of the Mississippi and for proposed trading posts along its banks. He returned with four ships laden with men and

MAKERS OF ARKANSAS HISTORY.

supplies. However, he missed the great river and landed in what is now Texas. Here he built a fort, which likewise he named St. Louis in honor of the French king. Discovering his mistake, La Salle started from Texas in an effort to find the Mississippi and to return to Canada. Hardly had he begun his search before he was killed by one of his own party. Thus perished La Salle, France's greatest explorer.

ARKANSAS FOST, THE FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT IN THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY.

De Tonti, at the proper time, had left Fort St. Louis on the Illinois River and gone to the mouth of the Mis-

HENRI DE TONTI.

sissippi to join La Salle. On his journey he met his old

friends, the Arkansas Indians, who again entertained him.

Not finding La Salle, De Tonti decided to honor these

Arkansas friends by locating a fort in their midst. He

directed six of his companions to build a log cabin and

told them to "hold

the fort." This was

in 1686, an important

date in our history.

The post was on the

Arkansas River, a

few miles from its

mouth. It was not

only the first white

settlement within the

present boundaries of

Arkansas, but also the

first in the great

Louisiana Territory.

Thirteen years later,

the second fort was

established at Biloxi (bi-lok'-si), in what is now the state

of Mississippi. It was to this settlement that Bienville (byah-veT), the second French governor of Louisiana, was sent.

Desiring to make the Arkansas settlement permanent, De Tonti, three years after founding it, remembered the

BIENVILLE, GOVERNOR OP LOUISIANA.

post in a substantial way. He made a grant of several thousand acres to the Church at that place and for three years, at his own expense, maintained a missionary. Besides performing his duties as a preacher, the missionary was to instruct the natives in agriculture.

De Tonti was a loyal friend. He had more than once risked his life for La Salle; and when he heard of his death, he fitted out an expedition to go to the rescue of the colony which La Salle had planted in Texas. With a small party he went down the Mississippi, up the Red River, and across Texas. He suffered greatly on this journey. For days he waded through water, often waist deep, and again and again was he forced to cut his way through thickets matted with vines, while constantly he was in danger of an attack by treacherous savages. Finally his own men deserted him, and he was compelled to return. Just as he reached the Post on the Arkansas River, he was stricken with malarial fever ; and for weeks he lingered on the border of life and death, though carefully nursed by his old French and Indian friends.

The remainder of his life De Tonti spent keeping his forts in repair and making explorations. In 1700 he made his last journey down the Mississippi and finally went to Mobile, where he died in 1704. History has never done justice to this noble man, though he was appreciated by a few. La Salle had been loud in his

HENRI DE TONTI. 37

praise, and the French governors extolled his character and thought him capable of any enterprise. For him, when duty called or a friend was in need, no privation was too great, no suffering too severe, no danger too threatening. He served his adopted country without pay, and to her he was faithful to the end.

Test Questions.

Who was Henri de Tonti? How did he happen to come to America? What was La Salle planning to do? How was he to do it? What was De Tonti's position in the expedition? In this position, what service did he render? Of the first part of La Salle's plan, what did the party accomplish? What hardships did De Tonti undergo? Of the second part of La Salle's plan, what did the party accomplish? Had any white men been down the river before? What was the Louisiana Territory? When and after whom was it named? What became of La Salle? Who was the first governor of the Louisiana Territory? What was the principal occupation of the French who came west? Compare this with the main business of the English colonists. To us what is the most important date in this chapter? Why? What kind of man was De Tonti? Give examples of • his bravery. Why is he called the father of Arkansas? From these three chapters, what have you learned of the customs of the Indians?