Early History of Illinois
The following eight articles were written by "An Old Resident," and published in the Alton Telegraph in 1848. These articles detail the first pioneers who were brave enough to venture into the Illinois Country, where they faced many hardships, including attacks from the Indigenous people.
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HISTORICAL TIMELINE:
In 1778, General George Rogers Clark defeated the British at
Kaskaskia, securing the Illinois Country for Virginia.
In 1783, the Treaty of Paris extended the U. S. boundary to include
the Illinois Country.
In 1784, Virginia relinquished its claim to Illinois.
In 1787, the Northwest Ordinance placed Illinois in the Northwest
Territory, with Arthur St. Clair as the Governor.
On July 04, 1800, Congress created Indiana Territory, which included
Illinois.
In 1803, the United States purchased approximately 872,000 square
miles west of the Mississippi River (called Louisiana) from the
French.
On May 14, 1804, William Clark and his troops departed from Camp
Dubois (at the mouth of the Wood River), in future Madison County,
to join Meriwether Lewis for their westward explorations.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 1
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, April 07, 1848
In a few continuous numbers, we propose to place before the readers
of the Illinois Journal, as being the oldest newspaper in the State,
some sketches, historical and biographical, of the pioneers of
Illinois. We allude, particularly, to those of American origin – of
the Anglo-Saxon stock – for, in a historical sense, the French were
the first to enter and form settlements near the Illinois and
Mississippi Rivers. Our plan does not propose a complete, or even a
consecutive series of the scenes through which they passed, but only
sketches or gleanings, as may come in hand. The amount we may glean,
and the particularity of our sketches, will depend on our leisure
and other circumstances. The period through which we propose to
range is comprehended in what may be denominated the “Territorial
History of Illinois from 1780."
The
military expedition of General George Rogers Clark, and the conquest
of Illinois from the British in 1778, made known its fertile
prairies to the people of the Atlantic States. This excited the
spirit of emigration to the banks of the Mississippi. Many who
accompanied Clark as soldiers returned in after years as colonists.
At the period to which I allude, with the exception of the French
villages of Cahokia and Prairie du Pont in St. Clair County; and
Kaskaskia, Fort Chartres, Prairie du Rocher; and Village a Cote in
Randolph County; the whole State was the hunting grounds of the
savages. There were, however, half a dozen French families on the
Wabash, opposite Vincennes, and trading posts at Peoria and one or
two other places where were to be found a few Frenchmen or half
breeds, with their Indian wives. The Indians were by no means as
numerous as the fertile imagination of some have made them. At the
commencement of the eighteenth century, their whole number, as
counted up by the Catholic Missionaries who visited and officiated
in all their villages, did not amount to five thousand. A few
hunters and an occasional trader visited Kaskaskia before Clark made
his formidable appearance, took possession of the place, and
literally scared its panic; struck inhabitants into submission and a
firm and perpetual friendship.
The first Americans that came to the country were from
Virginia, from the south branch of the Potomac, and from the
district of country near Wheeling. In 1781, James Moore, James
Garrison, Robert Kidd, Shadrach Bond, with families, and probably
many others, came in a colony from Western Virginia. Mr. Moore was a
native of Maryland, but had removed to the south branch of the
Potomac, and thence to the vicinity of Wheeling. Kidd and several
others, and amongst these Larkin Rutherford, were soldiers under
Clark in 1778, and after returning to Virginia, came back as
emigrants. Of James Moore, we have little knowledge, as he died
early, but his sons – the late General James Moore and J. Milton
Moore, and Enoch Moore, who is still living, with numerous
descendants – are well known in Monroe County.
Shadrach Bond Sr., as customarily distinguished – Judge Bond – was a
native of Maryland, near Baltimore, but subsequently removed to
Virginia. He was an uncle of the late governor Bond, who bore his
first name. He was a man of respectable talents, of sound judgment,
great firmness, excellent moral character, and took a leading part
in the first religious meetings held by the early pioneers, by
reading printed sermons and portions of the Scriptures on the Lord’s
day. These meetings were frequently held at his house, which was in
the American Bottoms, and near the present road from Waterloo, by
Columbia, to St. Louis. In the Indian War that followed, it was made
a “station,” and known as the “Blockhouse Fort.”
Another colony of Americans arrived from Western Virginia in 1785.
Amongst these were Captain Joseph Ogle, James Worley, James Andrews,
and several other families. Captain Ogle, as he was always called,
many of whose descendants now live in St. Clair County, deserves
especial notice. He originated from the south branch of the Potomac,
and was amongst the Zanes and others in the first attempt to settle
the country in the vicinity of Wheeling. Withers, the historian of
Western Virginia, says, “In 1769, Colonel Ebenezer Zane, his
brothers Silas and Jonathan, with some others, from the south branch
of the Potomac, visited the Ohio for the purpose of making
improvements, and severally proceeded to select positions for their
future residences.” Captain Ogle was already trained in Indian
warfare, and probably he and his brother, Jacob, who was killed at
the siege of Fort Henry in 1777, were amongst the “others,” who
accompanied the Zanes.
Fort Henry was situated one-fourth of a mile above Wheeling Creek,
the garrison numbered 42 fighting persons, old and young. The
storehouse was well supplied with muskets, but sadly deficient in
ammunition. In the month of September 1777, about 400 Indians,
headed by the notorious S___ Girty, were found concealed in a
cornfield, and Captain Mason, with 14 men, was sent out to dislodge
them. Their numbers were then unknown, for only a dozen or more had
shown themselves. These made a retrograde movement towards the
creek, where the main party lay in ambuscade, until Mason and his
small party were surrounded, and assailed in front, flank, and rear.
The Captain rallied his men, attacked the Indians, and broke through
their lines, but in the desperate conflict, more than half the men
were killed, and their leader, severely wounded, concealed himself,
with two of his men, in the fallen timber, who were all that
survived. Soon as their critical situation was known in the fort, by
the firing of the Indians, Captain Ogle, with 12 men, went to his
rescue. This devoted band, eager to relieve their companions, fell
into the ambuscade, and more than half were slain. Three other
volunteers left the fort to aid Ogle and his party, and his brother,
Jacob Ogle, was mortally wounded, and Captain Ogle and the surviving
men had to seek shelter in the woods. Captain Ogle, in running
through the cornfield, had several Indians in close and eager
pursuit, who were but a few yards behind him. The fence over which
he had to pass was ten rails high, and as not a moment’s time could
be spared in this emergency, he arranged, while running, to strike
his foot on the fourth rail, and by a tremendous effort, pass over.
In this he was entirely successful, but was so much exhausted that
he fell on the outside, and crawled into the weeds under the fence.
In a moment, two Indians mounted the fence and sat on the adjacent
panel, their dark eyes peeling into the brush and timber beyond. He
retained his rifle, and it was loaded, his finger was on the
trigger, and his eyes fixed on his enemies, watching their motions,
determining, should he be discovered, to shoot one and rush on the
other with his knife. After several minutes, the Indians appeared to
relinquish the pursuit, returned to their party, and the fearless
Captain made his escape.
The fort now contained but 13 men and boys, with a large number of
women and children, when it was invested by Girty with his savage
army. Colonel Shepherd, who commanded, received a challenge from
Girty to surrender, and replied, “Not while a man of boy lives to
defend it.” The Indians attacked the fort with their whole force –
the females loaded the rifles, while the men and boys took deadly
aim at the assailants. Their store of powder soon became nearly
exhausted, but a keg was at the house of Colonel Zane, about sixty
yards from the gate of the fort, but what man or boy would hazard
his life to obtain it? At this crisis, in which the fate of the
whole garrison depended, Elizabeth Zane, a young lady, just returned
from school in Philadelphia, volunteered to obtain the supply. The
Indians offered no molestation as she went out, but as she returned
with the keg in her arms, they suspected her errand, and poured at
her a shower of balls. But in the wonderful Providence of God, she
escaped unhurt. The attack continued throughout the day, that night,
and the next day, when reinforcements, raised by Captain Ogle, came
to their relief, and drove off the savages.
Captain Ogle was a man of unblemished morals, of uncommon firmness,
and self-possession of which his watching the Indians while lying
under the fence is an illustration. He was a great friend to liberty
and human rights. He brought his slaves from Virginia and set them
free in Illinois. Their descendants are industrious, worthy people,
and own and cultivate farms in the northern part of St. Clair
County. He was benevolent, humane, and exhibited great moral
firmness and decision of character. He had no education from books,
and could not read or write, and yet his mind, by self-culture, was
well disciplined. He was well qualified, and hence naturally became
the leader and counsellor of the people in the settlement where he
resided. Mild, peaceable, and kind-hearted in social intercourse,
always striving for the promotion of peace and good order in
society, yet terribly combative in defense of the frontiers from the
tomahawk of the ruthless savage. What the poet says of the
fictitious Rolla, may be applied with much pertinence to Captain
Ogle: “In war, a tiger chafed by the hunter’s spear. In peace, more
gentle than the unweaned lamb.”
He was strict in the fulfillment of all his engagements, and
expected from all his neighbors the same honesty and punctuality. He
professed to be converted to God under the preaching of Elder James
Smith, who made his first visit to Illinois in 1778, and
subsequently joined the Methodists, being the first person to put
his name to the Class paper in 1793. He had two wives in successive
periods, both members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, as are many
of his numerous descendants. He had three sons – Benjamin, Joseph,
and Jacob – and several daughters. One daughter was the wife of the
late Charles R. Matheny, Esq., of Springfield. Captain Ogle died,
honored and beloved by all his acquaintances, in the northern part
of St. Clair County (where he had resided from 1802), February 24,
1821, at the age of more than fourscore years. His three sons have
all died within two years.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 2
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, April 14, 1848
Amongst the colonists who accompanied Captain Ogle, we mentioned
James Worley. His history is told in a few words. Of his early life,
we now nothing. In 1796, a party of Osage Indians came over the
Mississippi on a marauding enterprise, stole some horses, and were
pursued by the Americans. Mr. Worley got in advance of the party,
was shot, killed, scalped, and his head cut off and left on the sand
bar in the river where the Indians re-crossed.
In the summer of 1787, the little settlement was strengthened by the
arrival of James Lemen (whose wife was the daughter of Captain
Ogle), George Acheson, David Waddel, William Biggs, and several
other families. The same year the Indian hostilities commenced, and
continued for nearly ten years, with intervals of apparent
quietness. During this period, the Indians were hostile throughout
the frontier settlements of the northwest, and along the lake
country to the State of Pennsylvania.
The American settlers in Illinois began to erect blockhouses of
“stations,” as they were called, for defense in 1788, where
occasionally, for a whole season, a number of families lived in a
sort of community form for mutual protection. A number of cabins,
equal to one for each family in the community, were erected, usually
on two sides of a square or area, which made a large yard in common.
The doors and apertures of the cabins opened into the yard. A second
story of logs was laid over the first, especially on those cabins
placed at the corners of the enclosure – the logs projecting over a
few inches so as to afford convenient opportunity to shoot obliquely
downward at the assailants. The spaces around the yard were fitted
up with palisades – these were logs, a foot or more in diameter, and
twelve or fifteen in length, planted firmly in the ground and
closely joined together. The gate for the common pass way was
usually made of thick slabs, split from large trees, and hung with
stout, wooden hinges. In time of alarm, the few cattle and horses
owned by the people were brought within the enclosure. With a supply
of water and plenty of provisions, rifles and ammunition, a corps of
resolute white men would beat off five times their number of
Indians. In only a very few instances were such “stations” overcome
by an Indian army.
The Indian method of besieging a fort is peculiar. They are seldom
seen in any considerable numbers. They lie concealed in the woods,
bushes or weeds, and toward autumn, in the cornfields adjacent, or
behind stumps and trees, they waylay the path or the field, and cut
off individuals in a stealthy manner. They will crawl on the ground,
imitate the noise and appearance of swine, bears, or any other
animal in the dark. Occasionally, as if to produce a panic and throw
the besieged off their guard, they will rush forward to the
palisades or walls or gateway, with fearful audacity, yelling
frightfully, and even attempt to set fire to the buildings, or beat
down the gate. Sometimes they will make a furious attack on one
side, as a feint to draw out the garrison, and then suddenly assail
the opposite side. More frequently, if they have a strong party, the
main body lies in ambuscade, while a small number show themselves,
as was the case at Fort Henry, as noticed in our first number.
Indians are by no means brave. Naturally they are cowards,
especially those of the Algenuin(?) race, which included all those
tribes which assailed the settlements in the northwest.
In 1788, the war assumed a more threatening aspect in Illinois. The
principal cause of this series of Indian wars, after peace with
Great Britain, will be given in a future number.
We
now return to a brief sketch of Mr. Lemen, from whom nearly all of
that name in Illinois have descended. James Lemen was born in
Berkley County, Virginia, in the autumn of 1760. His grandmother was
an emigrant from the north of Ireland. His father died when he was a
year old. He had one brother and two sisters. His mother married for
a second husband a pious Presbyterian, by whom he was partly brought
up. At the age of 17, he entered the American Army, in which he
served his country two years, under the immediate command of
Washington. He went north, and was at the battle of White Plains.
After receiving an honorable discharge, he went to Western Virginia,
where he became acquainted with the family of Captain Joseph Ogle,
whose eldest daughter, Catharine, he married. Family traditions give
some pleasant incidents of their early acquaintance. Both had been
educated religiously, and upon their first acquaintance, both became
impressed with the idea that they were destined for each other. It
proved that their affection for each other was strong, rational, and
remained unimpaired through life.
James Lemen was quite independent in his feelings and judgment,
rigidly honest, and a humane, benevolent man. He was determined,
very conscientious, very firm, but never quarrelsome or vindictive.
In principle, he was opposed to war, and yet when compelled from a
sense of duty, arising from necessity, as was the case when the
Indians assailed the settlements, he would fight like a hero in
their defense. Early in the Spring of 1780, he fitted out a
flatboat, near Wheeling, to transport his family and moveables down
the Ohio River. On the second night, the river fell, and his boat
lodged on a stump, careened and sunk, by which casualty he lost all
his provisions and furniture. Though left destitute, Mr. Lemen was
not the man to become disheartened. He persevered, got down the Ohio
River, and up the Mississippi to Kaskaskia, where he arrived on July
10. He eventually settled at New Design. He was an industrious man,
strictly honest, and devoutly pious from early youth, but did not
make a public profession of religion until some years after his
arrival in Illinois. Himself, his wife, and two others were the
first persons ever baptized in Illinois, which took place in
February 1794. They raised a family of six sons and two daughters,
all of whom have had large families, and their descendants are quite
numerous in the southern counties in this State. A large proportion
who have come to years of understanding, are members of Baptist
Churches. Four of his sons have been ministers of the gospel from
early life, as their father was from about the age of fifty years.
His third son, James Lemen, was a member of the Territorial
Legislature, a delegate to the Convention that formed the first
constitution, and subsequently, for several years, a member of the
State Senate. Robert, the eldest son, was for many years U. S.
Marshal, first of the Territory, and then of the State. James Lemen,
the father, was a man of method and system, an enterprising farmer,
at one period a Judge of the County Court, under Territorial
jurisdiction, and in various ways an influential and useful citizen.
He died of the winter fever, after a few days’ illness, surrounded
by all his children, in December 1823, in the calmness and fortitude
of the Christian hero. His venerable widow survived until 1840.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 3
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, April 21, 1848
[Note: This article was extremely hard to read, resulting in blanks
and possible errors.]
A very common notion has been entertained in the “old thirteen
States,” and more especially New England, that the pioneers of the
West were a rough, half-civilized class; ignorant, indolent, and
altogether unfit to constitute the _____ of virtuous society. Proofs
of this in the minds of strangers are drawn, as the schoolboy says,
a _____. Here are the reasons. They lived _____ hunting, fought
Indians, were hunting-_____, shirts, moccasins and skin caps –
envied a ____ with a belt, powder huru, butcher-knife, and tomahawk,
by their side, when _____ading the forests or prairies – lived in
log cabins – eat their homely and often scanty meals from platters
or wooden trenchers, pound their corn in a handmill, or pounded it
in a mortar, and drank their milk from a tin cup. They were an
uncivilized, un-Christianized, barbarous, fighting, flory-_____,
whisky-drinking race, who ought to have been prevented from making
Territorial and State Governments “by law,” - they were squatters,
who settled on the public lands, that specially belonged to the old
“thirteen States,” and got preemption rights, thereby depriving
enterprising and respectable land jobbers of the privileges of
monopoly. These pioneers were very unreasonable for not living in
densely populated districts, and being satisfied with the
guardianship of their betters, who were _______ to form the social
compact, and make laws for their Government.
Such have been the reasonings of thousands, both statesmen and
Christians. By the same mode of drawing inferences, we, ____ the
West, can prove to a demonstration, that the pioneers of New England
were ____ a backwoods race. They lived on _____ hunted game, wore an
uncomely dress, showed a sun-browned, weather-beaten, ______;
domiciled in log houses, killed Indians, and what is more to the
_______, organized Governments, like Western Pioneers, and made
their own laws, or, as ________ historian, Hugh Peters
affectionately “adopted the laws of God until they did get time to
make better.” There are _____ direct, that the pioneer puritans were
very uncivil people, and wholly unfit to _______ settlements in a
new country. They ought to have stayed at home, minded their
betters, and waited until the country became populous, intelligent,
and ______.
Last summer, a venerable clergyman ____ “down cast” – came to
Chicago to ___ the great internal improvement Convention. He had
gotten, as he supposed, to “””” renowned place, ______ the Far West.
He opened his eyes with a wide stare, raised his hands towards
heaven in astonishment, and prepared a written speech, expressive of
his amazement that the people were civilized – for they looked
almost like Christians, and read a prosy speech to show that all
this wonder of wonders was produced by the peculiarities of New
England puritanism. He was replied to by Senator Corwin of Ohio, in
a witty, amusing and satirical style, which proved a “knock-down”
argument to the old gentleman’s fancies. This story illustrates the
propensity uncommon, to judge that people at a distance, and of whom
we have no particular knowledge, are of course so vastly out
inferior in knowledge, common sense, and virtue.
We have already described the “stations” the people had to erect for
their safety, and their constant exposure to Indian assaults. From
1786 to 1795, an Indian War prevailed through the frontiers of the
northwestern territory, and the settler in Illinois were sufferers
to no small extent. We are aware there are fixed impressions in the
minds of many humane, benevolent persons, whose notions of Indian
character have originated, or been strengthened, by occasional
speeches in Congress, made not exactly for “Banklim,”(?) but for the
special benefit of party, by newspaper editorials and fancy sketches
– that Indian assaults originate in the mal-administration of the
national Government or the culpidity of the whites in their invasion
of Indian lands. Nothing is further from the facts of history. Much
that has been written in favor of Indian humanity, fidelity, and
“attachment to the graves of their fathers,” is poetry. Nearly every
tribe of the Algonquin race have been a roaming, marauding people,
delighting in war and eager for
plunder.
There never was a war in Illinois between the real aboriginals, and
either the French or the American immigrants. Black Hawk and the
Sauk nation were intruders on Rock River, long after the French
explored, took possession of and negotiated with the Indians who
claimed it. And the depredations on the settlements in Monroe
County, from 1786 to the close of the Indian War, were by Kickapoos
and Shawnees, neither of whom, according to Indian rights, were
owners of the land in Illinois. The whole country south of a line
about the latitude of Ottawa, when first discovered by the French,
was claimed by the Illinois confederacy, which consisted of the
Kaskaskias, Cahokias, Taumanvans, Peorias, Mascoutahs, and
Michiganies. The last-named tribe occupied the country on Fox River,
and along lake Michigan to Milwaukie. Their name is transferred to
the lake. This confederacy was conquered by the Iroquois or Five
Nations, from western New York, about 160 years ago, a confederacy
that subjugated two-thirds of the United States east of the
Mississippi, and claimed the right by conquest to dispose of the
conquered country, leaving the tribes and confederacies to manage
their internal affairs as they choose, and exacting tribute as
vassals. The Iroquois, by treaty, in 1701, sold the whole of
Illinois, south and east of the Illinois River, to the British
crown. The Illinois tribes had previously entered into a treaty of
amity with the French, authorized them to establish trading posts
and missions, and many of them became converts to the Catholic
faith. These tribes never made war on the French, British, or
Americans, as the country came by conquest under each nation.
These facts are a sample of what may be found in exploring the
history of other Indian tribes. A large portion of the notions
entertained about Indians and their wrongs, by numerous persons in
the northern States, are wholly fictitious. We have no patience in
listening to the sickly sentimentality of those who throw the blame
of the border wars upon the national government or the hardy
pioneers, who they fancy are obtruders on Indian rights, and thus
sympathize with the “poor Indians.” And let it be understood, the
writer is a warm and consistent advocate for sending the blessings
of the gospel, and of civilization to the “red skins,” not because
he is an honest, inoffensive being, but because he is ferociously
wicked, deceitful, and cruel, because he delights in war, and
because in each marauding enterprise he commits depredations for the
love of fighting, and an insatiate desire of plunder. And he has
been a steady advocate for the removal of the Indians from within
the boundaries of organized States and Territories ever since the
humans and truly national plan was laid in the cabinet of President
Monroe, and received the hearty cooperation of the Great Patriot,
whose recent death the nation mourns.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 4
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, April 28, 1848
Amongst the individuals and families who were sufferers by the
depredations of the Indians at the period of these “incidents,” were
the names of Andrews, Smith, Biggs, and McMahon.
James Andrews came to the Illinois Country in 1785, in company with
Captain Joseph Ogle and others. The next year, his cabin was
assailed by a party of Indians – himself, wife, and daughter, killed
and scalped, and two other daughters taken prisoners and carried to
the Kickapoo towns on the Wabash. One of the girls was lost sight of
amongst the Indians, and it was never known whether she lived or
died. The other was ransomed by some French traders and restored to
her friends. She is still living, the aged mother of a large family,
within three miles of the writer.
James Smith was a Baptist minister from Kentucky, who visited the
settlement of New Design the first time in 1788, and spent some
weeks in preaching the gospel to the destitute population. He was
the first preacher (in distinction from Roman Catholic priests) who
officiated as a minister on the prairies of Illinois. Previous to
this, and subsequently to, the people were accustomed to meet at
each other’s cabins on the Sabbath, sing hymns and read a sermon of
portions of the Scriptures. A revival of religion followed the
preaching of Smith, and a number professed to be converted, but no
church was organized. On his second visit to Illinois in 1790, he
was taken prisoner by the Indians. He had been preaching in the
settlement, and transacting business for several days, and a number
of persons were seriously disposed – amongst whom was a Mrs. Huff.
On May 19, in company with this lady and a Frenchman from Cahokia,
he was riding from
the
blockhouse to another settlement called Little Village. A party of
Kickapoo Indians lay in ambuscade near their path, fired on the
party, killed the Frenchman’s horse, and wounded Smith’s horse,
which threw him. He had presence of mind to toss his saddlebags,
containing some money and some valuable papers, into a hazel
thicket, and attempted to escape by running down a bluff. The
Indians seized Mrs. Huff, who had an infant in her arms, and
commenced the work of murder, while the preacher, having no means of
defense, threw himself on his knees in prayer to God for her. The
Frenchman escaped on foot into the woods; Smith, knowing that he
could not escape (for he was a large and gross man, unable to run),
approached the Indians, baring his breast and pointing to his heart,
as though he defied them to shoot him. He knew well how to manage
Indians, rightly by judging they would mistake him for a “grave,”
and spare his life. The woman and her infant they had already
dispatched, and loading Smith with packs of plunder they had stolen
from the people, they took up the line of march in a northeastern
direction through the prairies. The prisoner thus heavily loaded,
and under a hot sun, became fatigued and could not keep up with the
Indians. They held several consultations over him. Some were for
dispatching him at once, and pointed their guns at his breast, but
by bearing his bosom and pointing upward, he signified the Great
Spirit would protect him. At all opportune moment, he knelt down and
prayed, and then began to sing hymns, which he did to relieve his
mind from despondency. After various consultations, the Indians came
to the conclusion he was a “Great Medicine,” took off his burden,
and gave him water and jerked venison, and treated him kindly. They
took him to their towns on the Wabash, from whence, in a few months,
he obtained deliverance through the French traders; the inhabitants
of the Illinois settlements paying one hundred and seventy dollars
for his ransom - a very heavy sum in those days of poverty and
privation.
William Biggs, with his family, came to Illinois from the vicinity
of Wheeling, Virginia in 1785. On March 28, 1788, in company with a
young man by the name of John Vallis, he was going from
Bellefontaine to Cahokia, when they were attacked by sixteen
Indians. The horse he rode was shot in several places, reared,
plunged, and threw him off the saddle. He attempted to run, but
became entangled in his overcoat and shot pouch, was overtaken and
made prisoner. Vallis was shot in his thigh, but being on a large,
fine horse, made his escape and reached the settlement, but he died
of the wound about six weeks after. The Indians took Biggs to their
towns on the Wabash, treated him kindly, and proposed to adopt him
into the tribe in place of a brave who had been killed. He was a
portly, fine-looking man, and a young squaw, who was a handsome,
neat widow, manifested strong and persevering desires to adopt him
as her husband. She was a daughter of the principal Chief, and her
style of courtship was modest and decorous according to approved
Indian fashion. She combed and braided his long hair into a cue,
cooked his breakfast, and brought it to the door of his camp at an
early hour, followed from village to village, endured with
high-souled feeling and patience the jeers of her Indian relatives
for her devoted attachment, and deemed the excuse of Biggs for not
complying with her matrimonial proposals a very silly one - that he
had a wife and three children in Illinois. At the Kickapoo village
he met with Nicholas Koniz, a young German about nineteen years of
age, who had learned their language and acted as a sort of
interpreter. Koniz afterwards obtained his release, went to
Missouri, and settled ten miles west of St. Charles on the Old
Boon’s Lick Road, where he kept a house of entertainment until his
death. Mr. Biggs also became acquainted with a British trader by the
name of McCausland, through whose kindness, and that of some French
traders at Vincennes, he negotiated his ransom for $200, including
his expenses, for which he gave his note payable in twelve months in
the Illinois country. He returned home by the way of Vincennes and
the Wabash and Ohio Rivers, after an absence of nine weeks.
Subsequently, Mr. Biggs became a resident of St. Clair County, four
miles northeast from Belleville, was a member of the Territorial
Legislature, a Judge of the County Court, and lived and died in the
confidence and respect of the community. In 1826, he published a
narrative of his captivity, visited Washington City, and obtained
the amount paid for his ransom and expenses, to which he was justly
entitled from the Government.
The Indians rarely came into the settlements in the winter months –
their usual custom leads them to commit depredations in the Spring
and Autumn, though it was not safe to be exposed at any period
during the Summer. At times, for many months, or nearly a year, no
Indians would be seen, and then the first notice would be the death
of an individual or the massacre of a family. One of the most
afflictive instances was the murder of the family of Mr. McMahon in
1795. No depredations had been committed for many months, and the
impression prevailed that the war was over. People began to leave
the “stations,” and improve their own land. Mr. McMahon had built a
cabin, and made a little improvement in what is now called “Yankee
Prairie,” about four miles southeast from Waterloo, in Monroe
County. This location was nearly two miles from that of James Lemen
Sr., his nearest neighbor. Towards night, seven Indians were seen
coming up a ravine from an adjacent thicket, and approaching his
cabin. Mr. McMahon saw them, and justly suspected their intentions
were hostile. He had a large blunderbuss [short-barreled,
large-bored gun with a flared muzzle, used at short range], loaded
with twenty small rifle balls, and had he fired on them and barred
the door, he might have saved his family. Unfortunately, his wife,
being frightened, caught his arm and would not let him fire. The
Indians entered the cabin in a friendly manner, shook hands with the
family, and immediately caught and tied Mr. McMahon so that he could
make no resistance. His wife ran, but they shot and dispatched her
and four of the children with the tomahawk. An infant slept in the
cradle, which they did not discover, but as it was the second day
after the massacre before the people found it, the little one was
dead. The Indians decamped with Mr. McMahon and one little daughte4r
prisoners, and took their customary course northeast through the
prairie and points of timber, leaving the Kaskaskia River on the
right. The first night, they securely tied the afflicted father, but
the second night he made his escape, leaving his little daughter,
and started homeward. For one day he lost his course, but reached
the settlement in safety, just as his neighbors were burying his
murdered wife and children. He calmly gazed on their mutilated
remains in the rude coffins in which they were about being enclosed,
as he came in sight, and with pious resignation repeated the words
of Scripture, “They were lovely and pleasant in their lives, and in
their death, they were not divided.” His daughter was subsequently
restored to her friends, grew up, married a Mr. Gaskill, and became
the mother of a large family in Madison County.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 5
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, May 05, 1848
It is necessary here to inquire into the circumstances of the
country and the national government, and the policy pursued toward
the Indians of the northwest, that the causes of the border
depredations already narrated may be understood.
At the commencement of the American settlements in the Illinois
country, it was almost literally without an organized government.
Originally, Illinois constituted a portion of Louisiana, and its
civil organization and laws originated from that source. The war
between England and Spain on the one part, and France on the other,
from 1754 to 1782, produced great and essential changes on the
continent of North American, and no less in the Illinois country.
France at that period was under the curse of a traitorous and
licentious monarch in the person of Louis XI, through whose
profligacy and that of his mistresses and minions, the nation lost
its possessions in North American. By a secret treaty at Paris
(1762), the King gave Spain all Louisiana west of the Mississippi
River, together with New Orleans and the country south of the
Ibbeville pass; and by the treaty with Great Britain of 1763, all
Canada and the Illinois country were ceded to the latter power. How
much British and Spanish gold was received to support the King and
his minions in their profligacy, the nation never knew. British
power was not exercised over Illinois until 1765, when Captain
Sterling, in the name and by the authority of the British crown,
established the provincial government at Fort Chartres.
In 1766, the “Quebec Bill,” as it was called, passed the British
parliament, which placed Illinois and the northwestern territory
under the local administration of Canada. The conquest of the
country in 1778, by Colonel C. R. Clark, brought it under the
jurisdiction of Virginia, and in the month of December of the same
year, an act was passed by the House of Burgesses of that State,
organizing the county of Illinois, and providing for the
administration of government under the authority of a Lieutenant
Governor, who was also commandant. During each of these changes, the
French laws and customs remained in operation.
Virginia, at an early period (1779) had by law discouraged all
settlements made by her citizens in the territory northwest of the
Ohio River. This has been the footing, and in many instances, the
legislative policy of the old States. The Great West has grown up,
not so much by the fostering policy of the old States, as by the
restless enterprise of the pioneers. The spirit of adventure and
migration has ever been stronger than arbitrary laws. For several
years, the position of things in relation to the protection of
government was precarious in the northwest. The territory was
claimed under the ill-defined boundaries of royal charters, by
Massachusetts, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. But the
latter State had the additional claims of conquest and possession.
These and other difficulties were adjusted by each State
transferring the right of sovereignty and title to the wild lands
(after some reservations), to the national confederation. The
cosstoir(?) of Virginia to the Continental Congress was made in
1781, but it was not till July 1787 the “Ordinance” was passed which
provided for a territorial government northwest of the Ohio River.
But the governor and judges were not appointed until 1788, and the
government was organized at Mariota in the month of July of that
year. Still, the Illinois country remained without an organized
government till March 1790, when Governor St. Clair and Winthrop
Sergeant, Secretary, arrived at Kaskaskia and organized the county
of St. Clair. Hence, for at least six years, there was no executive,
legislative, or judicial authority in the country. The people were
“a law unto themselves.” There was in reality no authority to which
they could apply for protection from Indian assaults.
The war with Great Britain, in which many of the northwestern
Indians were employed as allies, ceased by the adoption of the
provisional articles of peace at Paris, on November 30, 1782, and
all hostilities with the mother country ceased in January following.
The definitive treaty was made in September 1783. But a cessation of
hostilities with Great Britain was not necessarily a cessation of
hostilities with the Indian tribes. And while it was hoped the
border wars were at an end, none could foresee the result.
Soon, an unhappy controversy arose between Great Britain and the
United States, about carrying out certain provisions of the treaty.
Article 4 provided, “That creditors on either side should meet with
no lawful impediment to the recovery in full value, in sterling
money of all bonafide debts heretofore contracted.” The Continental
Congress had no power to compel the States to observe this or any
other article. Congress further agreed “to recommend to each of the
States to restore to the original owners all the rights, properties,
and claims, that had been confiscated, belonging heretofore to real
British subjects.” And “His Britannic Majesty shall with all
convenient speed, and without causing any destruction, or carrying
away any negroes or other property of the American inhabitants,
withdraw all his armies, garrisons and fleets, from the said United
States, and from every port, place and harbor, within the same,
leaving in all the fortifications the American artillery that may be
therein.”
These articles were violated by both parties. Some of the States
made ex post facto laws, virtually debarring the collection of debts
in sterling money, and though Congress recommended it, the States
refused to restore confiscated property. The British government, in
the spirit of recitation, refused to pay for negro slaves carried
off, and remained possession of the military posts of Oswego,
Niagara, Presque Isle, Sandusky, Detroit, Michillmackluae, and
Prairie du Chleq. Those posts were places of resort for the British
traders. Through their agency, the Indians of the northwest obtained
their supplies, and to these traders they sold their furs. There is
no documentary evidence that the British government countenanced and
encouraged the Indians in their hostilities to the Americans, but
there is abundant evidence that the traders, who were British
subjects, did. The traders were not benefited directly by the border
wars that followed, but the state of hostilities kept off all
Americans as competitors in the Indian trade, and furnished a market
to the British traders for supplies of munitions of war, clothing,
and other articles.
He celebrated and much abused treaty of the Hon. John Jay, concluded
in November 1784, and ratified by the President of Senate of the
United States in August 1795, adjusted the _____ in controversy with
Great Britain, and produced the cession of the military posts to the
northwest, and with the treaty with the Indians at Greenville, Ohio,
the same summer, put an end to the long series of Indian wars, and
opened the period of prosperity and growth to the northwestern
territory. Jay’s treaty did not obtain all that was claimed by the
United States, but it obtained all that could then be secured. No
one but a grave man, or a political desperado, devoid of every spark
of real patriotism, would have advocated a war with Great Britain at
that period, under the depressed circumstances in which the nation
was placed. And yet, for political purposes, and to break down the
administration of Washington, this treaty was opposed with great
vehemence and violence, especially in the House of Representatives,
where supplies were voted to carry it into effect. The interests of
the south were thought to be neglected. It became the watchword for
a political party then attempting an organization, and political
aspirants then were the same selfish, intriguing demagogues, and
could make the “worse seem the better reason,” as at this day. The
treaty went into effect only through the influence and unbounded
popularity of Washington, and proved in the issue a great benefit to
the whole northwest.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 6
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, May 12, 1848
Is the question asked, “Why did not the national government protect
the people of the Illinois Country and other portions of the
northwestern territory from the marauding savages?” The answer is,
it was wholly deficient in means, and until the adoption of the
Constitution in 1780, it was impotent in authority. The Continental
Congress could not levy a dollar, nor even provide troops, except by
the action of each State. Speele currency was hardly to be found in
the country; the people were impoverished by the seven years
struggle and privations of the Revolutionary War, and even after the
adoption of the Constitution in which ample provision was made for
national authority, the government was deficient in means. The
policy pursued towards the Indians was a wretched one. It was a
peace policy when the tribes were induced and disposed to be
hostile.
The national government was, through its commissioners, in the
attitude of
a suppliant for peace. On June 15, 1789, General Knox, Secretary of
War, made to the President of the United States a report relative to
the Indians in the territory northwest of the Ohio River. This
report alludes to “several murders, committed on the inhabitants by
small parties of Indians, probably from the Wabash Country;” the
alarm amongst the inhabitants along and both sides of the Ohio for
several hundred miles; the spirit of retaliation on the part of the
white people in carrying hostilities into the Indian country; and
urges “that unless some decisive measures are adopted immediately to
mitigate those mutual hostilities, they will probably become general
among all the Indians northwest of the Ohio.” Two modes were pointed
out by which the object could be effected. 1. “Raising an army and
extirpating the refractory tribes entirely.” The General questions
the right of the United States “consistently with the principles in
justice and the laws of nature” to destroy the Indians, if even a
sufficient force could be raised, and that he questions. The regular
troops of the United States on the frontiers were less than 600 men,
and the Indians were estimated at from 1,500 to 2,000 warriors; and
the Secretary supposed it would require an army of not less than
2,500 men to ensure success. To raise, equip and provide for such an
additional force for six months, he estimates at the additional
expense of $200,000; “a sum for exceeding the ability of the United
States in advance, consistently with a due regard to other
indispensable objects.”
His second plan was to form “treaties of peace with them, in which
their rights and limits should be explicitly defined, and the
treaties observed on the part of the United States with the most
right justice, by punishing the whites who should violate the same.”
This certainly seems a humane paltry, and it was attempted to be
carried out to its full extent. Commissioners were sent to the
Indian tribes, councils were held, the “poor Indians” were reasoned
with, and advised and implored to be at peace with the United
States, and with each other. Treaties were actually made, and
wantonly violated on the part of the Indians before the ink was
hardly dry. Presents were liberally made, and they were instructed
how good and clever it was to live in peace with their neighbors,
and the war continued; families were butchered, and thieving and
marauding expeditions carried into long-established white
settlements.
The policy in the end proved not less ruinous to the Indians than it
did to the frontier white settlements. This policy impressed them
with the notion that the United States government was a feeble,
imbecile concern, and unable to restrain or punish them. The British
traders along the lake country furnished supplies, and fostered the
impression of the inability of the government to protect its
frontier population. The character and policy of Indians were wholly
misunderstood by the administration. War and plunder are the delight
of savage ambition. The little marauding parties that did such
repeated acts of mischief and cruelty to the settlements were
exactly in accordance with the habits and taste of the Indian
tribes.
But the surprise at this day, is that General Knox, a veteran
Revolutionary officer, and a sterling patriot, should have been so
misled. General George Rogers Clarke had taught the nation how to
make Indians peaceable and bring them to terms in his Illinois
enterprise. He never solicited peace from a single tribe, but made
them think he was indifferent about it and rather preferred to
exterminate them. He knew the Indians naturally are cowards, and by
operating on their fears, brought them to beg peace of him. By this
method, peace was made with the tribes of Illinois Indians in 1778,
and they continued at peace during the eruption of the Kickapoos and
Shawnees. The United States, during the first term of Washington’s
administration, tried the experiment of “moral suasion,” and made an
effectual failure, until repeated disasters compelled the government
to a policy radically different from either measure recommended by
General Knox. They organized an army under the command of General
Wayde, who penetrated into the Indian country, burnt their villages,
destroyed their cornfields, and compelled them to beg for peace, or
to use the barbarous English employed more recently, the government
“conquered a peace.” We are surprised that the sagacious Secretary
of War did not foresee that permanent peace could not be obtained of
Indians by appeals to their benevolence, philanthropy, or justice;
and that the only method to prevent their extermination was to send
a strong force at once into their country, make them feel the strong
arm of government, and bring them at once to subjection. A vast
amount of suffering would have been prevented, and preservation of
life might have been gained by such a policy.
The President, in his official instructions to Governor St. Clair,
dated October 6, 1789, said: “I would have it observed forcibly,
that a war with the Wabash Indians ought to be avoided by all means
consistently with the security of the troops and the national
dignity. In the exercise of the present indiscriminate hostilities,
it is extremely difficult, if not impossible, to say that a war
without further measures would be just on the part of the United
States. But, if after manifesting clearly to the Indians the
disposition of the general government for the preservation of peace,
and the extension of a just protection to the said Indians, should
they continue their incursions, the United States will be
constrained to punish them with severity.”
The peace begging policy of Washington was tried effectually, the
experiment proved a failure. The Indians, after repeated periods of
peace, continued their “incursions.” Many hundreds of families were
murdered. Two half-formed, deficient, and ill-provided armies, under
Generals Harmer and St. Clair, were defeated, and at a great loss of
blood and treasure, the United States government had “to punish them
with severity” by General Wayne. Half of the expense and a tithe of
the loss of life would have “conquered a peace” at the commencement.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 7
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, June 09, 1848
In a former communication, we have shown that the character,
talents, habits, and qualifications for self-government of the
pioneers of the West have been mistaken, and greatly underrated in
the older communities of the Atlantic States. This is more
particularly the case in New England. Amongst all the great and good
things that have pertained to Yankeedom, the descendants of the
Puritans have some great and glaring faults. One of these is a
distinctive trait of character, and shows itself on all occasions.
It is the firm and obstinate opinion that, to them, and their
peculiarities of manners, religion, morals, intelligence,
enterprise, and industry, exclusively belongs the credit of all that
is good, noble, philanthropic, and virtuous in the United States.
This habit of self-glorification may do well enough in him, but when
it assumes the form of supervision over their neighbors in our new
settlements, who with equal pertinacity think they know a few
things, and are nearly as good Christians and citizens, it becomes a
little annoying.
The pioneers of Illinois originated, in most instances, from the
Southern and Middle States, through the medium of Kentucky and
Tennessee, and brought with them the habits and modes of thinking
common to those districts. In their manners and customs, there were
some strongly marked circumstances:
1. They were rough and unrefined in their persons, manners, dress,
and mode of living, yet king, generous, warm-hearted, sociable, and
given to hospitality.
2. They were hunters, and stock-growers, and much of their
subsistence was derived from the range.
3. They were brave, prompt, and energetic in war, yet liberal and
magnanimous to a subdued foe.
4. They exhibited great energy and a just spirit of enterprise in
removing to a wilderness country and preparing the way for the
future prosperity of their descendants, and the immigrants who have
poured into the country.
5. They were hospitable and generous to each other and to strangers,
ready to share with the destitute their last resources.
6. They had a species of faith in Divine Providence – a presentiment
that their labors, toils, and sacrifices were preparing the way for
future prosperity even to other generations. They were guided by
Providence, preserved amidst dangers, perils, sickness, and savage
assaults, and thus became the pioneers of civilization and the
founders of free government, and the establishment in the hearts of
the people of a pure and enlightened Christianity. They turned the
wilderness into a fruitful field, and opened the country to a more
dense population.
7. Their habits and manners were plain, simple, and unostentatious.
In utensils, furniture, and dress, the most simple and economical
possible were all they could obtain. Not a single thing was used for
ornament, display, or show. No one paid taxes for the benefit of his
neighbor’s eyes.
It is no disparagement or reproach to the pioneers of Illinois, or
any other country, to say they were inured to labor, to danger, and
to rough living. Few others could have encountered the dangers and
difficulties of planting the standard of religion and civilization
on the wild prairies of the West.
The dunes of the household were discharged by the female sex, who
attended the dairy, performed the culinary operations, spun, wove,
and made up the garments for the whole family, carried the water
from the springs, and performed much other laborious service from
which females, and especially mothers, in a more advanced state of
society are exempted. Add to all this, each wife usually bred and
raised from ten to fifteen children, of which, in proof of the
healthfulness of the country, about nine-tenths of the children born
grew up to adult age. The statistics of hundreds of families in the
frontier settlements of the West furnish proofs of this statement.
The building of forts, or “stations,” and cabins, clearing and
fencing land, hunting game in the woods, defending the stations from
Indian assaults, and planting, cultivating and gathering the crops,
of which the Indian corn was the chief, were the appropriate
business of the men; though the other sex not unfrequently aided
their fathers, brothers, and husbands in field labor. In war, when
the stations were attacked, it was not unusual for females to mould
bullets and load the rifles at the stations.
And let not the impression be made that females who are reared under
such circumstances are necessarily low-minded, vulgar, uncouth, and
ignorant. Far from it. We can point to some who were the mothers of
our most eminent statesmen, who in after life graced the
drawing-room, whose intellectual qualities were of a high order, and
who in point of elevation of character, vigor of intellect, enabling
feelings and uncommon sense, were immeasurably in advance of the
pale, sickly, effeminate, silly, sentimental, boarding school
triflers of fashionable life. As an illustration, we will give an
anecdote of Esther Fuller, who was the wife of William Whitley – one
of the pioneers of Kentucky, and well known in the history of that
State:
William
Whitley was a native of Rockbridge County, Virginia, born in 1749,
and brought up to hard labor on a farm. He had very little education
from books, but his corporeal and mental faculties were fully
developed and of a high order. He married Esther Fuller in January
1775, who had been brought up in the manner we have described. They
immediately commenced housekeeping in a backwoods cabin, with a
skillet, a few pewter dishes, a straw bed, with scanty covering,
with two or three stools for chairs, and a rough slab on round legs
for a table. But they were in high health, and dependent wholly on
labor for their future subsistence. One day Whitley told his wife
that he had heard a fine report about a new country called
“Kaintuck,” several hundred miles to the West, where people were
going, and he thought they could get a living there with less hard
work than in Virginia, and perhaps get land of their own. “Then,
Billy, if I were you, I would go and see,” was the encouraging reply
of the young bride. In two days, she had his clothes in order, and
he was on his way to Kentucky with George Rogers and Clark. Such
were the men and women who were the planners of that great and
flourishing State, and such are the men and women now building their
cabins along the vales of Oregon and California.
HISTORY OF ILLINOIS, NO. 8
By an Old Resident
Source: Alton Telegraph, June 16, 1848
The pioneers of Illinois brought little other property than such as
they could pack on horses or carry on watercraft. A few implements
of husbandry in the most simple form, and such culinary utensils as
were indispensable, and confined to a very few articles; the rifle,
the axe, auger, saw, and very few other tools used by the mechanic
[laborer] were all that was deemed necessary. The primitive Western
log cabin, with its clapboard roof held on by poles, its stick and
clay chimney, its floor of split slabs called puncheons, and its
door, made of boards split from a log, smoothed with a
drawing-knife, united together with wooden hinges and fastened with
a wooden latch, was the uniform style of architecture. Not a nail or
any other piece of metal was used; not a pane of glass kept out the
air and storm from the aperture left for a window; all was wood, and
all constructed by the backwoodsmen.
With the first immigration, there were no regular mechanics, and for
some years after, but few are found in new settlements. The pioneer
learns to make everything he wants. Besides clearing the land,
making fence, building his cabin, corn-crib and stable, he must
stack his plough, repair his cart or wagon, make his ox yokes and
harness for his horses, tan his own leather, dress his deer skins,
cobble his shoes and those of his family, construct his own band or
horse mill, and not unfrequently becomes a rude blacksmith and
gunsmith for his neighbors. He learns to supply all his wants from
the forest. The tables, bedsteads, and substitutes for chairs are of
his rude manufacture. The stranger and traveler, accustomed to an
entirely different mode of life as he passes through the thinly
populated settlement, is struck and vexed with the peculiarly
uncomfortable situation and appearance of everything about this
people – their cabins are rude, and as he imagines, distressingly
uncomfortable. Their agriculture is quite primitive, their
implements and furniture coarse and unsightly, and everything in his
prejudiced imagination looks wrong and wretched. The roads are mere
“bridle paths,” the strams are unbridged, he sees “no tall spire
pointing to the skies,” and hears not “the sound of the church going
bell.” All in his estimation is a “moral waste.” The people, he
fancies, are ignorant, indolent, and vicious, and should he be the
correspondent of some religious paper away East, a long and doleful
jeremiad is contained in his next epistle.
But he is wholly mistaken in imagining the people to be ignorant,
indolent, and improvident. The backwoodsman has many substantial
comforts. In a few years, he is surrounded with plenty – his cattle,
swine, and poultry multiply around him. The fertile soil yields
prolific crops. His table is profusely supplied. He lives in a brick
house, his furniture is comfortable, and even elegant, and
hospitality and kindness are predominant virtues.
In this picture, we have described from personal observation the
pioneers into the counties of Morgan and Sangamon, and there are
many now living who can attest the correctness of our portraiture.
Twenty-five years ago, every house in Springfield was a primitive
log cabin, except occasionally a small glass window in the aperture.
The first courthouse was a rude cabin of round logs, the roof made
of split clapboards, and the floor of earth. In the “olden times,”
in Southern Illinois, as in all other primitive settlements of the
West, deer skins were used for clothing, made into hunting shirts,
pantaloons, leggings, and moccasins. The skin of the wolf and fox
was a substitute for the hat and cap. Strips of buffalo hide were
used for rope and traces, and the dressed skins of the buffalo, bear
and elk furnished the principal part of the bed at night. Wooden
vessels, either dug out or coopered, were the common substitute for
bowls for table use, from which the family ate their mush and milk.
The small-sized gourd constituted the drinking cup. Every hunter
carried his knife, while not unfrequently, the rest of the family
had one or two old case knives between them. If a family chanced to
have a few pewter dishes and spoons, knives and forks, cups, and
platters, they were quite in advance of their neighbors. Corn, for
bread and mush, was beaten in the mortar or ground in a hand mill.
Hospitality and kindness were prominent among the virtues of the
pioneers of the West. Deliver us, above all things, from the
neighborhood of that class of people who are moody, unsocial, and so
selfish and inhospitable as never to invite a neighbor or even a
stranger who may happen to be present, to share in the hospitality
of the family meals. Such people ought to live in a clan by
themselves, where they can indulge in the unmixed passion of
selfishness and quarrel, and threaten “to take the law” of each
other to their heart’s content.
The pioneers of whom we are writing were exposed to common dangers,
and became united by the closest ties of social intercourse.
Accustomed to arm in each other’s defense, to aid in each other’s
labor, to assist in the affectionate duty of nursing the sick, and
the mournful office of burying the dead, the best affections of the
heart were brought into habitual exercise.
There are peculiarities of habits and character between the North
and the South – the puritans of New England and the chivalry of
Virginia, but the origin and cause of this diversity are wholly
overlooked by the great multitude. Many superficial observers take
it for granted that the peculiar features of Southern character have
been formed by slavery. The descendants of the puritans
conscientiously believe in the superiority of their forefathers, and
thank God that they are not as other men, and especially those born
South of the Potomac and Ohio Rivers. One class attributes the
diversities of character to the influences of cotton and tobacco,
and the other to accidental circumstances.
Now the facts are these: The peculiarities of New England character
of both good and evil qualities can be traced back to the peculiar
habits and feelings from the rise of puritanism in Scotland and
England. It attained its zenith in Cromwell’s day, but continued to
send out a stream of influence during the seventeenth century.
Virginia, as a type of the South, received the peculiar traits of
character from the cavalier class, from which the chief portion of
the early settlers came. Whoever will carefully study the peculiar
shades of character that mark distinctly each of these classes, as
they were manifested in England and Scotland, from one hundred and
fifty to three hundred years since, will find the elements that make
up the light and shade of character peculiar to the North and South.
The prevailing elements of character in Illinois will be the
strongly marked lineaments of each, modified by other influences and
the commingling of other streams.
FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENT IN ILLINOIS - PEORIA
Source: Alton Telegraph, September 26, 1873
The generally received opinion is that Kaskaskia and Cahokia,
founded by the French, were the first white settlements in Illinois.
Such is the information given in many histories and geographies, and
such the tradition held by the present inhabitants of those
localities. But from a late, somewhat painstaking examination of the
early history of Illinois, we are inclined to the belief that
another section of the State is entitled to the honor. We refer to
the country in the immediate vicinity of the present beautiful and
prosperous city of Peoria. Of course, the history of the early
period when Illinois first became known is confused and
contradictory. It is difficult to separate history from tradition,
but from the best authorities we can obtain, it seems positive that
the vicinity of Peoria was settled by the French under LaSalle in
1680, and Kaskaskia and Cahokia in 1682 or 1683, by other parties of
French, also under LaSalle, returning from explorations of the lower
Mississippi. Our authority for this belief is from Governor John
Reynolds, who wrote, “My Own Times.”
“Peoria is the most ancient settlement west of the Alleghanies. On
the lake east of the present city of Peoria, LaSalle, with his
party, made a small fort in 1680, and from his hardships called it
and the lake Creve Coeur – in English, “Broken Heart.” Indian
traders and others engaged mostly in that commerce resided on the
“Old Fort,” as it was called, from the time LaSalle erected the fort
in 1680, down to the year 1781, when John Baptist Maillet made a new
location and village, about one mile and a half west of the old
village, at the outlet of the lake. This was called La Ville de
Maillet, that is, Maillet City. In 1781, the Indians under British
influence drove off the inhabitants from Peoria, but at the peace of
1783, they returned again. In 1812, Captain Craig (of the Illinois
militia) wantonly destroyed the village, but the city of Peoria at
present occupies the site of the village of Maillet, and bids fair
to become one of the largest cities in Illinois.”
In regard to destruction of Peoria by Captain Craig, Reynolds,
elsewhere in his history, says:
“While the army were in the neighborhood of Peoria, Captain Craig
had his boat lying in the lake adjacent to Peoria. He was attacked
several times by the Indians, but received no injury. The Captain,
supposing the few inhabitants of Peoria favored the Indians, burnt
the village. This was considered by everyone a useless act. He
placed the inhabitants of Peoria, all he could capture, onboard his
boat and landed them on the bank of the river below the present site
of Alton.”
John M. Peck, in his history of Illinois, after detailing the
discovery of the Mississippi and Illinois Rivers in 1673 by Pere
Marquette and Joliet, speaks of the subsequent exploring expedition
of LaSalle, who left France in 1678, reached the present site of
Chicago in November 1679, and in the December following, or in
January 1680 (same date as given by Reynolds) he reached the
Illinois River and descended until his supplies gave out, when he
was compelled to land and build a fort, which he called Creve Coeur.
Peck locates this fort near what is now Spring Bay in Woodford
County, several miles northeast of Peoria. But in this case, we
prefer the authority of Reynolds, who was not only accurately versed
in the early French history of the State, but had, as a Ranger,
thoroughly explored that country, when with other soldiers from
Madison and St. Clair Counties, he assisted, in 1812, in building
Fort Clark, on the present site of Peoria, and named it after
General George Rogers Clark, who conquered Illinois from the British
in 1778. Peck also states that LaSalle, after building Creve Coeur,
visited Canada, and again returned and descended the Illinois to the
Mississippi, and the latter to its mouth. ‘On returning, he left
some of his companions to occupy the country, which is supposed to
have been the commencement of the villages of Kaskaskia and
Cahokia.’ As LaSalle sailed for France in 1683, these villages must
have been founded in 1682, two years later than Peoria.
Reynolds confirms Peck’s statement in regard to Kaskaskia as
follows:
“The Rev. Father Alloues, about the year 1682, established the first
white Christian congregation in the West, at the Indian village of
Kaskaskia, the same site which Kaskaskia now occupies; about the
same time Father Pinet founded a church at the present site of
Cahokia.”
Another important authority, confirmatory of Reynolds’ statements,
both as regards the date of founding and exact location of Creve
Coeur, is J. W. Foster, LL.D., author of “the Mississippi Valley,”
and President of the American Association for the Advancement of
Science. In regard to LaSalle’s explorations, he speaks as below:
“LaSalle and his party, on the 30th of January, 1680, reached Peoria
Lake, then called Pimitoni. The next day they passed the expanded
waters to where they again contract within the ordinary limits. Here
they encountered an encampment of Indians. Alarmed at reports of the
ferocity of the savages, and also by dissension among his followers,
LaSalle at once set to work to entrench himself. For this purpose,
he selected a site a mile and a half below his camp (which, it will
be remembered, was at the lower extremity of the lake), on the
southern bank of the stream, three hundred yards from the water’s
edge. It was a knoll, intersected on each side by a ravine, while in
front the low ground was subject to overflow. Here he built a fort,
which he named Creve Coeur, as expressive of his misfortunes. Traces
of the embankments thus thrown up are yet discernable. This was the
first civilized occupation of Illinois.”
In relation to Kaskaskia, Foster says, “It was probably founded
about 1683.” This is three years later than the founding of Creve
Coeur, but we think other evidence indicates that 1682 is the date
of Kaskaskia’s settlement.
This testimony of Foster is most important. It confirms Reynolds’
account both as to the time Creve Coeur was founded, and the
particular site. It also confirms Peck’s date in regard to the
founding, but corrects his conjecture that the site of the old fort
was near Spring Bay. Reynolds, it will be noticed, asserts
positively that Creve Coeur was occupied continuously by the French
for over one hundred years, or until 1781, when they removed to the
present site of Peoria, one and a half miles west, which settlement
has continued to the present day. It seems conclusive, then, that
the vicinity of Peoria is the oldest settlement in Illinois, at
least two years the senior of Kaskaskia and Cahokia, which have
hitherto claimed the honor of being the oldest settlements in the
State.
HISTORICAL NOTES ON ILLINOIS
Source: Alton Telegraph, November 14, 1873
In 1766, the first negro slaves, 500 in number, were brought to
Illinois by Phillip Francis Renault, to work the mines. Their
descendants can still be found in Randolph County.
On February 16, 1763, the Illinois Country, on the east side of the
Mississippi, was ceded by the French to the English. In 1764, the
English, by Captain Stirling, took possession of the country. The
white population of the whole State at that time was less than
2,000.
In the year 1778, during the war of the Revolution, Illinois was
conquered from the British by the distinguished American General,
George Rogers Clark. His campaign was one of the most brilliant
achievements of the Revolution. His army consisted of 153 men. With
that small force, he captured the strong forts at Kaskaskia and
Vincennes, and conquered the whole region. The fort at the former
place was captured on July 4, 1778, and Cahokia was occupied
immediately thereafter. A government was then organized under
authority of the State of Virginia, which has remained with various
amendments to the present time.