Cook County, Illinois - The whole text, 1884 (part 9 of 61)

A new Legislature was elected in 1840, and the Fund Commissioners laid before that body the difficulties of meeting the interest on the public debt due in January, 1841, Work upon the railroads had been suspended a year, but the canal enterprise was still progressing. The canal scrip of 1839 having served its purpose, the canal contractors had combined to raise a loan for the further prosecution of the work. They had made their contracts when the prices of material and labor were high.t By their subsequent fall work could now be prosecuted at such cheaper rates that the contractors could well afford to take State bonds at par and sell them at considerable of a discount. They thereforehad agreed to take a million of State bonds at par. in payment for their estimates, and to meet the discount, even to twenty-five per cent if necessary. General Thornton had therefore been sent to Europe and negotiated the loan. But it was now necessary that something further be done. The credit of the State was endangered ; and upon the credit of the Slate rested the existence of the canal. The canal debt was the most important element of the State debt, and any efforts put forth to meet the interest on the State debt were so many steps taken to save the canal. At length, after much excitement and discussion, which it is impossible to notice here, a bill was passed authorizing the fund commissioner to hypothecate internal improvement bonds, to the amount of $300,000, and apply the proceeds to the interest " legally " due. The act also provided for the issue of interest bonds which were to be sold for what they would bring , and an additional tax of ten cents on the hundred dollars. Upon the $800,000 interest bonds issued, the State eventually realized only about thirty per cent, so low had its credit fallen. But through these desperate measures the State debt interest and the canal debt interest was paid up to, and including 1841. But the estimate of expenditures for 1842 could not be met, and in March, 1843. work was entirely suspended, after an outlay of over $5,00©.-

000. The collapse of the Slate finances in Februarv and June. 1S42. and the withdrawing of the Stale bank from its former position of disburser of the canal funds, destroyed the value of all the circulating paper which had sustained the enterprise and left the canal not only without a circulation but without a circulator. Nothing but a complete suspension could result. Over one hundred contractors along the line of the canal stopped their work, and bills commenced to pour in against the State. Up to the suspension of work over $4,600,000 had been expended upon its ((instruction and large amounts were yet due on account of superintendents' and contractors' claims. In 1 843 a law was passed to settle the claims of the latter upon a basis not to exceed $250,000. They were finally Compromised for $230,000. The expenses had been as follows :

This Kreat enterprise, however, afler six years of activity, was not to be abandoned. Like other public works, it was to be taken up by the wise men of the Fast, who possessed that requisite to material development which all new countries lack - an abundance of capital. The old lesson containing as its moral the hopelessness of premature enterprise was being taught to the young State by that stern master experience. But the projectors of the Illinois & Michigan Canal were determined to try another "tack," in order to enter the harbor of financial prosperity. This was determined upon even before they had cleared away the wrecks of 1842. As if by magic the right man seemed to spring up at the right time; for it was in June of that year that Arthur Bronson, of New York, and a large owner of real estate in Chicago, came West to look afler his property. As early as 1833, when he purchased a portion of Kmzie's and Wolcott's additions, he had taken a deep interest in the enterprise While Mr. Bronson was being interviewed by leading citizens as to the best means to procure funds for the completion of the canal, various plans were being proposed. Such men as William B. Ogden, Justin Butterlield, Michael Ryan, Senator from the LaSalle District, and Hon. Isaac N. Arnold.* favored! a plan by which the bondholders should loan a sufficient sum for the completion of the canal, its. payment being secured by the revenues of the canal, and the proceeds derived from the sale of canal lands and lots. The works and this income were to be placed in the hands of trustees, two of whom were to be chosen by the aforesaid bond-holders, and the third appointed by the Slate. Mr. Bronson approved of this and when, in the fall of 1842.be returned to New York, he drafted the outline of a contract which would be acceptable to the State and to the holders of lionds. Mr. Ryan visited the Fast, to dissipate the idea which had gained grounds in some quarters, that the State in. tended to repudiate its bonds. Mr. Arnold and Mr. Bronson also maintained a continued correspondence in regard to this foreign loan. The former also laid the matter directly before the people, in a forcible address which he delivered in November, 1842, before the

Mechanics' Institute of Chicago, Mr. Arnold's action in the matter no doubt went far toward inducing foreign and Eastern capitalists to look favorably upon the project and also to assist in the passage of the hill during the legislative session of 1X42-4;, which embodied the ideas advanced by him and his co-laborers, Justin ButterfieM drafted the bill which was introduced into the House, and it became a law February 21, 1X43, Mr. Arnold was at the time chairman of the committee on finance, and rendered most efficient service in the passage of the hill. The Governor was authorized to negotiate a loan of $i/»oo,ooo, for a term not exceeding six years, and at a rate of not more than six per cent. For its payment he pledged the revenues and lands of the canal, which were to be placed in the hands of three trustees, when the loan should be negotiated. In case the bond-holders would not subscribe to the loan, the Governor was empowered to enter into a contrad with them, making no further pledge of the faith of the State than to agree that the canal and its revenues should be placed in their hands, through their chosen trustees. The act also agreed that nothing should be done to interfere with the rights then secured to the holders of canal bonds; provided that $400,000 of the loan should be paid in the first year after the execution of the trust deeds; and authorized the board of trustees to make " such changes and alterations in the original plan of said canal as thev mav deem advisable. Iiaving due regard to economy, etc. In March Governor Ford appointed Michael Ryan and Uiarles Oakley commissioners to negotiate the loan. J hey proceeded at once to New York, where they succeeded in obtaining a subscription to a nor 1

1 ial!' f 'fast' Subsequently they visited London, and bud their plan before prominent European capital WtS, I hey represented that the whole canal debt did n »t exceed $5,000,000. that the work could be completed to r*,. 600000 111 three years; that its income, will, the proceeds derived from the sale of canal lands, would be nor,?, , agreed to advance' their proportion of the loan on one million stock. Although pleading her present inability to meet her del Is the me U of the .merest. They were unwilling to Su£Se ndcr .heprovMonsof the legislative ad. but that it the statements made by the commissioners 5>uM be verihed to the satisfaction of Messrs. Ilaring Ur, thc« & o and Magmac, Jardine Co., banCer*. an? if

SJStanCC of Engineer Gooding, thoroughly examined the condition of the canal work, instituted an examination of the finances of the canal management. Mr. Rvan. the commissioner, Governor Ford and General Fry, the acting commissioner, gave them every possible assistance. As a result Messrs. Swift and Davis in their report to Messrs Baring brothers, et a!., fiscal agents «f the bond-holders, sustained the statements made by Messrs. Ryan and Oakley, commissioners of the State They reported that the canal liabilities were $4,846,756, and that the securities for the redemption of the $1,600.. 000 were satisfactory. Governor Ford then drafted the contract with the bond-holders and trust deed m them, containing the guarantees of the defective legislative ad, and after many trials and tribulations the work of obtaining subscriptions to the loan was finished. The loan was negotiated by \V. H. Swift and David Lcavitt, trustees on the part of the bond-holders, and Jacob Fry. State trustee; and as the reader has been informed, the $1,600,000 was to be expended in prosecuting the "shallow-cut." or cheap plan, the surface waters of the Despiaines and Calumet being relied upon as feeders for the upper end of the canal. Undoubtedly the father of the "shallow-cut" plan was Russd E. Heacock, » pioneer lawyer and an able man. His early residence was near the outlet of the proposed canal, and he had interested himself deeply in the progress of the work ; so that when there seemed a probability that, on account of the expense of the undertaking, the State would abandon the canal altogether, Mr. Heacock threw his energies into the determination to have a canal, even if a (heap one He argued, he pleaded, he talked, he wrote, and at last became known in person as "shallow cut " No doubt, in view of his success in the matter, he was perfec tly willing to have the name attached to him.

But although the Legislature had " authorized " the finishing of the canal on the "shallow-cut" plan, it could not decree that water should run up hill, and it was yet an unsolved problem, notwithstanding all figures ami reports, whether a sufficient supply of water could be obtained to operate the canal on this high level. Experience has shown that, without another " idea," this scheme would have been a failure. During the dry portion of the- season the water from Mud Lake anil the Desplaincs River is inadequate to the demands of navigation at the lower level, where the other feeders are obtained. The happy thought which finally developed into a plan to overcome this objection, came from the practical men connected with the Chicago Mechanics' Institute. In the fall of 1843 a committee from that institution, c-onsisting of |ohn Gage. Ira Miltimore, and H. L. Fulton, prepared a plan for raising water, by steam pumps, from the Chicago River, and supplying it to the canal on the summit level, above the Itesplainc* and other feeders. Governor Ford «ave them little encouragement, but Governor Davis was so impressed with the feasibility of the project that he presented it to the- consideration of his principals, and the plan was finally adopted. The "idea" was conceived by Ira Miltimore, who constructed Chicago's first water works, and was one of her most talented engineers.

By July, 1X4;;. Mr. Gooding, the canal engineer, had perfected his department, with Edward B. Talcott as principal assistant. The force, in addition, consisted of two resident engineers, six assistants, rod men, draughtsmen, etc. Operations on the canal were first begun in September, 1843, but on account of the great prevalence of sickness in the valley of the Illinois, little progress was made until after Engineer Gooding had coin- pleted his first estimate of the cost of the work, in October, 1845. L'p to November 30, 1845, the payments on the subscriptions to the $1,600,000 loan had amounted to $508,000. In April of the next year the European subscribers pawl their first installment upon a basis of thirty-two per Dent The American subscribers had paid on a basis of forty per cent. By a subsequent vote of the board the payments were "equalized, so that, according to the amount subsc ribed, each could register the same percentage of indebtedness against the canal. Previous to this equalization, the total amount subscribed in Illinois was $160,852: from the date of the organization of the canal board in |unc, 1845, to November 30, 1846. Illinois subscribers" paid in $94,810; New York, $273,841: French and English, $721,000, of which the French contributed about onequarter. The total receipts from all sources during that time amounted to $1,105,358. This was a veryimportant year in the history of the canal. There never was more of a certainty that the enterprise would be completed, in one shape or another. .Several points yet remained undecided. Among the most important were those involved in the consideration of the plan submitted by the Mechanics- Institute to pump a water supply into the Desplaines through the Chicago River. The commissioners hrfd deteimi tied that it was necessary to obtain a supply of about six thousand feet per minute more than could be furnished by the Calumet and Desplaines at low water. To accomplish this, two plans had been suggested; one was to construct a feeder, over thirty miles in length, from the Fox River; the other was the plan proposed by the Mechanics' Institute. The pumping plan was adopted, both as the cheapest and most effective. It was during 1845-46, also, that the Illinois \- Michigan Canal was not only criming clearly into light as the foundation of Chicago's prosperity, but it was discovered that the firm establishment of the enterprise saved this city to the State of Illinois. To explain the matter it is necessary to remind the reader that the ordinance of 1 787 authorized the organization of three states south of a line drawn ilue east and west from the most southerly bend of Lake Michigan to the Mississippi River, and two Slates north of such a line might be formed. It is dearly set forth in John Wcntworth's reminiscences that many settlements north of this line were unanimously in favor of being attached to Wisconsin. Within the limits of the disputed tract resided the two Illinois Congressmen, and upon them many c itizens residing north of 42" 30' lavished promise after promise, in case they would support the annexation. Mr. Went worth says;

" The disputed tract had two Congressmen, the linn. T'>srph I'. Iloge. <if Galena, mm- an eminent lawver in San Francisco, and myself. And Wisconsin, offered lo mate us the first two Sen' aliirs. anil also offered to give the disputed trad the first Governor. It was proposed to enact law submitting the binding foree of the ordinance of 1787 to the Supreme Court of the United States. Our J hicago |)cop!e were much divided upon the question, and I really believe serious consequence* would have grown out of it /'tit fir tie emharnissutfaii that MNMVfc (anted h having the //linns eV Michi. g«n C1101/ mmni by txvo states. As nn original question, all the five states being out of the Union, there is no doubt but Congress would hive enforced the provisions of the ordinance, and Illinois Wen cut off from the lakes, and her Legislature saved from the annoyance of Chicago lobbyists. Hut might made right. Wisconsin living out of the l 'nion, she could only come into it with boundaries prescribed by a majority of the states in it, anil T lost the honor of being a Wisconsin United States Senator."

One of the first acts of the board of 1847 was to take the unfinished work on the summit-level of the canal into its own hands, so as to complete the main line by the spring of 1 848. During the year the third European and the fourth American installments on the loan were called in, the receipts, inclusive of November, amounting to $1,577,000, or nearly $400,000 more than the expenditures. Of course there were drawbacks to the progress of the work, and during 1847 and 1848 a feeling of dissatisfaction found expression through Colonel Oakley, the State trustee. He brought grave charges of mismanagement and favoritism against Mr. Gooding, the engineer. Testimony was taken on the charges, which were denied in a very conclusive letter written by that gentleman. Certain i't was that the charges were not proven. Neither were those brought against Messrs. Swift and Leavitt. the bond -holders' trustees, to the effect that they were delaying the completion of the canal, in order that they might retain profitable offices. Notwithstanding an investigation, they retained their offices, and went on vigorously prosecuting the work. The severe sickness experienced in the valley of the Illinois in 1846, the strike of the canal laborers on the summit-level in 1847, and the disagreements between the State trustee, the bondholders" trustees, the engineer, the Governor and the public, no doubt did delay the progress of the work.

By April, 1848, all was ready for the passage of the first boat. On the 10th of that month the "General Fry " arrived from Lockport, and passed over the summit-level to Chicago, being towed by the Propeller " A. Rossiter."

As the boat passed through the city it was greeted with cheering, which was renewed at the different bridges. I'pon its entrance into the river. Mayor VVoodworth welcomed the delegation from Lockport, and an eloquent speech was delivered by Charles Walker. The formal opening of the canal, on April 16, was the occasion of a fete, even more enthusiastic than that of [lily 4. 1836. Boats starteil from LaSalle and Chicago at the game moment. That from Chicago, bearing canal officials and prominent citizens, arrived at Lockport, at noon of the fete day. Mayor Woodworth delivered the address of welcome and C>. A. Parks the oration. I'pon the 24th of the month the "General Thornton " arrived at Chicago, from 1-aSalle, laden with sugar and other goods, from New Orleans and en route to Buffalo. The freight was transferred to the steamer " Louisiana," and arrived at Buffalo, April 30, two weeks before the first boat by the Erie Canal had reached that port. The canal was at length completed.

Having thus been able to witness the completion of a work upon which he had been actively engaged for twelve years, Mr. Gooding, soon after the |>assagc of the first boats through the canal, was removed by the Governor, and Edward B. Talcott, his former assistant, was appointed in his place. In October, however, upon the death of Robert Stuart, the secretary of the board, Mr. Gooding, was appointed to that position. During the fall a large sale of lots took place at Chicago, and a dividend of six per cent was authorized on the principal of the $1,600,000 loan. The amount of canal property was now vested in the board of trustees was 224,965 acres of land and 5,027 town lots, appraised at $2,126.- 355. The main canal from Bridgeport to LaSalle, not including the four miles of river from Bridgeport to Chicago harbor, was ninety-six miles in length, sixty feet wide at the surface, thirty-six feet at the bottom, the summit level. Subsequently the Calumet feeder was entirely abandoned The eapaeitv of the works was now forty thousand feet per minute. These works were of »reat utility hereafter, as several dry seasons made the Calumet and Desplaines rivers almost useless as natural feeders. They also were made to serve another purpose. In the summer of 1N62 the authorities of the city of Chicago, to aid them in their sanitary measures, applied to the board of trustees for the use of one of their lifting wheels, lor the purpose of changing the volume of water in the river, and thereby promoting better drainage in the city. As during that season there was a sufficiency of water to supply the (anal, this w is done during certain hours of the dav in May, June and July. The cleansing of Chicago River and the all-important question of sanitary safety finally induced the city to move so decidedly in tlie mailer that the original intention of the management to construct the canal on the deep-cut plan, but which had been abandoned on account of poverty, was carried out.

During the war Chicago made a vigorous attempt to have the nation transform the canal into a national water-way, which might float the largest gunboats on their passage from the Great Lakes to the Mississippi River. Her splendid War Convention held for that purpose, in this city, on June 2, 1 803. was attended by five thousand delegates from the States of the north "

1 here was laid before that assemblage various specific plans for the improvement of the canal The first plan was Executive Committee, second session abandonee line the |)rcscnt , akc Wjt,ti tl)irlv.siv miles from Chicago, to slackwaier the Desplaines to its junction with the Kankakee, forty -four miles from this city. It was then propped to follow down the Illinois to its mouth, a distance tWu |uiruire(| anu twenty miles. It also was the intention to construct the can., from Chicago to tlu- Illinois with a width of one hundred and sixty feet, the sides to be- protected with stone walls ten feet high, and the summit level to bcVut down to the depth of nine and a half to ten feet to pernut the supply ,,t water to be drawn direct from the

The estimate for the cost of this work made hv Messrs. Gooding and Preston, the secretary an, e gn.JeV of the canal, was $l3,34M^. divided as "follows "in cago o lockport, .Hstance twenty-nine mile, no' lock" but the level to be cut down nine ,e,.< -! ' Lockport to LaSal.e. distancTsix t " e c , S dons. etc. $4.0,54.09,; LaSalle to tl e l^.s Ipi Rnje^two hundred and twenty miles. ^sTSU; of trustees, with a view to the speedy accomplishment of the work on the deep-cut plan. It'was further pr.fvided that the canal should not be constructed of less capacity than the plan adopted by the canal commissioners in 1836. To assist the city in their work it was enacted that the board of trustees might open the canal later and close it earlier than usual if they did mi diminish the season of navigation to less than sis months.

Sections four and five were as follows : " The amount expended by the city of Chicago in deepening the .Sumnut Division of the canal according to the plan adopted by the canal commissioners in 1836, shall be a vested hen upon the Illinois & Michigan Canal and its revenues, after the payment of the present canal debt, ami the net revenue of the canal shall alt hereafter he applied to the payment of the principal and interest of the same expended in accomplishing the object of this act. until the whole amount is reimbursed to the city. Provided the cost shall not exceed two and a half million dollars."

"The State of Illinois may at any time relieve this lien upon tlx- canal and revenue by' refunding to the city of Chicago the amount expended in nuking the contemplated improvements and the interest thereon."

In June, 1S65, the common council passed an ordinance adopting the plan of the board of public works for cutting down the summit so as to draw from the lake, at a low stage of water, not less than twenty-four thousand feet of water per minute. The board were authorized to issue $,50,000 in bonds July 1. to aid the work. As a temporary expedient for keeping the South ISranch clean the hydraulic works of Bridge|>ort were to be used. The agreement entered into bv the board of trustees and the city in 1S65 was extended in June. 186.8, for an additional period of three years. There were some difficulties to be overcome, as is evidenced by the billowing extract taken from the report of the canal trustees for the year ending January. i8;o, the language used being that of the general superintendent: " The business of the canal has not suffered as seriously from low water in the Illinois River the past season as for several years preceding. There has been nothing to interrupt navigation of the canal or to complain of, except the gross carelessness or negligence of contractors engaged in deepening the summit level ; a high stage of water has been kept upon this level during the entire season, sufficient for boats to navigate, being four feet six inches* - but obstructions have been placed in the channel of the canal above the present bottom, and have caused considerable damage to boats. Boatmen have been greatly dissatisfied on account of the failure of contractors or the city to adjust these claims. At the present time there is deposited with the board of public works of the city of Chicago quite a number of bills for damages which the contractors refuse to settle, and in fact they have refused to settle any claims which have been presented."

The Common Council having decided to proceed with work under this act, appointed a board of commissioners to superintend it. Hv the plan adopted the length of the work to be done was twenty six miles, and the canal was to be cut down nine and a half or ten feet below ordinary lake level. Operations began at Bridgeport and terminated at Lock No. 2 at the summit. From Chicago westwardly the canal had an inclination downward of one-tenth of one foot per mile

The work was let to various parties on the 36th ol September, 1865. but they having abandoned or forfeited their contracts the work was relet in July. iWj- As bearing "1"'" the increasing usefulness ol the canal the fact should he stated that the Illinois River was being greatly improved in 1X69, for the purposes of navigation, by the Construction of a dam and steamboat lin k at Henry, some forty miles below the western terminus of the canal. It was the design to make good navigation as far down the river as Peoria, and, as the Illinois was one of the most important feeders of the canal, the improvement would very materially increase its receipts.

In May and November, 1870,3 contract was authorized to be entered into with Adam Smith of Chicago, for the least of a portion of the ninety-fool strip of land on both sides of the canal, which, by the act of 18 22, was to be forever reserved from any sale to be made by the United States. The effect of this provision had been to interpose between the margin of the canal and the owners or abuttors thereon this contiguous strip, thereby <rutting off all direct communication with the canal, unless some plan should be adopted by which the difficulty could be obviated. This had been done by teasing the strip, the preference being always given to the owner of the adjoining land. These leases, commencing in 1S48, with the opening of the canal, had been made generally at nominal rates for a period of twenty years, and sometimes with a provision for renewal, the object being to accommodate the lessees and to provide facilities for them in conducting their various pursuits. The lease with Mr. Smith was of a more extensive character than any heretofore given, and also bound him to complete certain improvements. The lease covered the strip for nearly six miles west of the South Branch of the Chicago River, and the contract stipulated that the lessee should widen the canal for this distance, within ten years, to a width of not less than one hundred and forty feet and deepen it ten feet ; substantial docks to be built and the whole work to be finished at the sole cost of the lessee, although executed under the su|iervision of the general superintendent of the canal.

The final report of the Hoard of Trustees was issued for the financial year between December 1. 1870, and the 16th of August, 1871, They reported that the whole amount of money received by the Hoard of Trustees from June 20. 1845, to April 30, 1871, had been Si 1.009,507..)! ; the vouchers audited, $10,915,765.00. leaving a balance in the hands of the treasurer on April {o, of §95,742.41. The canal sales had been very small for many years. The amount of notes remaining unpaid on account of lands anil lots previously sold w is $4,1 55 on the 1st of May, 1871. There remained unsold upon that date fourteen tracts of land amounting in all to only two hundred and sixty-three acres. The whole amount of registered canal bonds paid by the trustees from January, 1854,10 August 16. 1871, principal and interest ana premium on gold, was $4,721,- 950.00.

The Hoard of 'Trustees therefore, in pursuance of law, on the 1 st of May, 1871, passed over the Illinois vS: Michigan 1 'anal, with all its appurtenances, to the following board of canal commissioners: Joseph I't ley, president ; Virgil llickox, treasurer; and Robert Milne, secretary. No change was made in the general officers of the canal, and the work of cutting down the summit, or deepening the canal, went on. The superintendent of the canal was ordered, in pursuance of a notice given .by the Chicago board of public works that their work was completed, and that they wished to remove the locks, to close the navigation of the canal for one month from the 15th of June. The canal was closed, however, on June 26, and kept closed until July 18. the labor of removing the locks being greater than anticipated. On the morning of the 18th of July the level was full, and the Chicago River with all its filth had taken the place of the heretofore clear water at I.oekport, the people of Chicago rejoicing in the great relict furnished by the deep-cut which caused the South Branch of the Chicago River to run "up stream." Within three or four days the water from Lake Michigan filled the canal at Loekport, and was thrown oil there over the rocks almost as clear and blue as the waters at the Kails of Niagara. Navigation was at once resumed, but as the banks had not been trimmed and refuse was still lying along the edge of the canal and even in its prism, the commissioners finished the work according to contract, and the city paid for it.

On the 16th of August the old Hoard of 'Trustees rendered a supplementary account of over $1,200, being interest received from New York since April 30. 'This brought the total balance up to $97,007. L'pon this day the canal commissioners certified to the correctness of all accounts, and on the 19th of the month the release deed of the canal was transmitted to the Governor.

In May, 1873, there was a change in the board of canal commissioners. Mr. Ctley was re-elected president, but H. C Anderson was chosen treasurer and \V. N. Hrainard, secretary. At the same meeting it was resolved that Joseph Ctley have special charge of the maintenance and repairs of the Illinois iV Michigan Canal and the lock and dam at Henry: that H, G. Anderson have charge of all money* received from tolls, sale of lots, rents, etc.; and that W, N. Hrainard have charge of the general office at Loekport. The board and the duties of its members remained unchanged until May, 1877, when it was organized by the election of J. O. (trover, president; Martin Kingman, treasurer, and 11. V. Shaw, secretary. W illiam Thomas was continued as general superintendent, Daniel C. Jenne as chief engineer, and William Milne as chief clerk.

After reviewing the management of the canal, under the rules of the late board, it was found that some means should be adopted to increase the business. The toll rates were greatly reduced on lumber, salt, iron, etc. with very favorable results.

Previous to the deepening of the Illinois «x; Michigan Canal, Mud Lake comprised several bundled acres of inarshv land. King between the line of the canal and the Desplaines River and extending from Summit eastward, about three miles, nearly to the West Branch of the Chicago River. As it was a little below the level of the old canal it was being constantly supplied with leakage water. When the "deep-cut" was completed the long-cherished enterprise of the owners of this swamp land to reclaim it was made feasible. During the year 1871 the owners of the land along the line of the West Branch of the Chicago River, and westward to the Desplaines. revived an attempt to widen its channel and to dig a canal connecting the two streams. In 1S72 this was accomplished and the waters of the Desplaines were diverted from their natural course, south, into this artificial channel, known as the Ogdcn-Wentworth "ditch." 'The theory of the originators of the "ditch " was that the waters of the Desplaines, especially in times of freshet, would deepen both the canal and the West Branch, and the loosened soil be swept out into Lake Michigan. Dredging was commenced about one mile northeast of Summit and, as completed in 1872, the canal was twenty feet wide at the top. and lay below the bed of the Desplaines River. During the winter and spring of 1872 and 1873, the municipal authorities discovered that the Illinois & Michigan Canal was not cleansing the Chicago River. An investigation was entered into to determine the cause [of this apparent failure, and upon drawing the water from the summit level in November, 1S74, it was found that a large quantity of soft alluvial soil in the canal basin at those points, which had evidently come from the towns of Cicero, Riverside and the Mud Lake section, was being drained into the ditch, and through it into the West Branch of the Chicago River and the canal at Bridgeport, portions of it even passing down to Lnckport and Joliet. The Ogden-U'cutworth canal was furnishing the Illinois & Michigan Canal about all the water it could take away from Bridgeport, to the exclusion of the Chicago River water. Therein" was continued the nuisance of a filthy river, endangering the lives of thousands of people. The conclusion was finally reached that a dam should be constructed across the mouth of the Ogden-Wentworth ditch, shutting out the Desplaines River. William B. Ogden, the owner of the land at this point, agreed with the city, ami in 1877 a

The subject of cleansing the river, however, was continually agitated, ami to settle the matter it was decided by the city to construct pumping works at the junction of the canal and the South Branch.

In March, 1.S80. the Common Council appropriated $100,000 toward their establishment. Bids were opened in October, but they ranged far above the appropriation, and no award was made. In March, 1881, an additional appropriation was made, and the contrai l was awarded in August to W. 1\ Palmer & Co., of New York. The works were completed in August, 1S85, at a total cost of about $270,000. They are located across the old channel of the canal, two hundred and sixty-live feet west of the South Branch. To prevent the water from returning into the river a lock has been constructed

In November. 1S77, tlie improvement of the lock and dam at Copperas Creek in the Illinois River was accepted by the commissioners, its total cost having been $410,000. The revenues of the canal and the Henry lock had been diverted to this object. To complete the improvement of the Illinois River the canal commissioners suggested that three more locks should be constructed at a cost of $1,300,000 - one to be located at Bcardstown or a few miles below, one at or near Bedford, and the other about six miles above the mouth Of the r.ver. As stated by the commissioners, "the two dams and locks now constructed complete good and perfect navigation on the Illinois River for a distance Of ninety miles, and by the construction of the three additional locks and dams one hundred and twenty miles of available water-way will be added, which will complete a perfect water route from the lakes to the -Mississippi River. This would greatly augment the usefulness of the present improvements, which now especially in low stages of water, do not render all the advantages contemplated, and leaves the system of improvements, as at present, in a crude state."

From the last annual report of the canal commissioners it is found that the balance on hand December I. Was $45,045.40; receipts. $117,249.08; disbursements $.,3,071.52. leaving unbalance of $so. 123.06 on December ,, ,882. The following from Will- I '"if "rf ' "J0 8,<"nclal *»Per,ntendent. speaks for property, other than the canal itself, are now in better condition than ever before, and should not again Iw allowed to get down to where they were in 1877. The construction of the Copperas Creek lock and dam, with the diversion of the revenues of the canal between 1S74 and 1877, to the neglect of the necessary repairs on the canal, nearly ruined it for navigation purposes; but I am glad to be able to report symptoms of recovery. Between 1S71 and 1877 more than $648,000 was taken from the revenues of the canal and used for other parposes, notwithstanding its banks were falling down, its prism filling up. its masonry crumbling to pieces, and its general appearance uninviting. Had a portion of this large sum l>een spent in its needed repairs, and the balance been set apart for a reserve fund for its future use. if needed, no begging for conditional appropriations would now be necessary."

The present management of the canal is as follows: Commissioners - Charles Bent, president, Morrison: George F. Brown, secretary, Morris; I). J- Calligan, treasurer. Peoria; William 'Thomas, general superintendent, and William Milne, chief clerk, Lockport. The board of commissioners took charge of the canal in April, 1883. There has been no change of any importance in the officers or employes of the board during the season of 1882-83.

Harbor And Marine Chicago Harbor

Like other works of public utility the improvements and protection of Chicago harbor were accomplished only after many years of experiment ami at great expense. The canal and the harbor were twin enterprises. The former would be almost worthless if there were no clear way of exit into Lake Michigan; and without a good harbor to shelter vessels from the storms which raged over the lake, it was early seen that Chicago could never become a port of entry. Previous to the voyages of Joliet and l.aSalle, the accretions which had fallen to the lake bottom as they rested upon the ice piled up in the river's mouth, added to the natural formations caused by the lake currents, had formed a large sandbar, and, at times, blocked navigation.* LaSalle, from his observations in 1682, fails to see how a shallow cut canal could supply navigable water for the Illinois River during the dry season, or if that should be accomplished, how commerce would be benefited, since even in a rainy reason the surplus water which flowed over the portage from the Desplaines the "Chicago," he calls it , would not cover the sandbar at the mouth of the channel. t It is reasonable to suppose that all the early travelers noticed and commented upon this impediment to navigation, but until Fort Dearborn became one of the most famous of the Government trading-posts no decisive movement was made for the improvement of the river's mouth. In 1805 the agent at the United States Indian Factory, which was established that year, suggested to the Government the necessity of clearing away the obstruction, in a limited way, from the mouth of Chicago River. But his idea of a harbor was just as limited as his dreams of what the location was destined to be. All that was necessary to insure a safe entrance to the river was a narrow ditch, which might permit the easy passage of a Mackinaw boat up to the very door of the trading house : and, this effected, his conception of improvement was fulfilled. In a few years, however, keen observers traveling over the Western country saw the geographical advantages which this muddy point possessed, and realized and prophesied its future importance. The canal enterprise was therefore not only pressed to public notice, but the ideas of the new generation in regard to a harbor expanded prodigiously. In 1816 came Colonel l-ong, ami he had something to say about the canal and the harbor. During the next year Samuel A. Storrow, Judge Advocate, traveled through the West, and like many another enterprising man since then, visited " Chicago" and talked about it. He admired the wonderful portage which separated the waters of the Great Lakes from the waters of the Great River, and said that the canal should be a matter of national concern. The Judge also described the site of Fort Dearborn, and as all observers were beginning to do with unanimity bewailed the fact that "it had no advantage of harbor, the river itself being always choaked, and frequently barred." Then, in 1818, William Darby, a New York author, took a trip through the West, and by him there was further expatiating on the wonderful portage and the importance of the canal. The United States commissioners, with their surveyor, Mr. Sullivan, were then running their lines to mark the lands which hail been ceded by the Indians in 1S16.* A map was therefore made of Chicago and vicinity. The main river flowed northeast and east, for about three-fifths of a mile, to a point nine hundred feet west of the parade ground. From that point it commenced to make a complete bend around Fort Dearborn, and entering upon its direct coarse south. Mowed between the great gand-bank on the east and the marsh on the west, entering the lake when it could , about eight hundred yards south of a line drawn east from the present southwest corner of River Street and Michigan Avenue. Some two hundred and fifty yards from the confluence of the river and the North Branch a small creek entered the main channel from the north, while from the south, at a point north of the present Wabash Avenue, another stream entered the river. Opposite Port Dearborn a small bayou stretched back from the river to the northwest. The entire length of the main river in 1818 was about one and a half miles. No suggestion was made, however, to improve the harbor. It was reserved for H. R. Schoolcraft, secretary of the Indian commission which visited Chicago in 1821, to first call attention to the matter as a measure of general utility and humanity. It is observed that he expressed some doubt as to whether a harbor could ever be formed, but his plan was definite and bordered upon the prophetic:

" We allude," he says. "to the formation ol a harbor on Lake Michigan where vessels may lie in safety while lliey arc discharging the commodities destined for litituiis, or encountering the delays which commerce frequently impose*. It Is well known that after passing the Manilou Islands there is no harbor or shelter foi vessels in the southern part of Lake Michigan, and that every ve-ssel which passes into that lake after the month of September, runs an imminent hazard of shipwreck. Vessel* bound to Chicago come to anchor upon a gravelly bottom in the lake, and, discharging with all possible speed, hasten on their return. The sand which is driven up into the mouth of Chicago C reek will a.lmtt boats only to pass over the bar, though the water is deep enough to allow vessels to lit above. Among the expedients which have been proposed for keeping the mould of the river clear of sand, one rjl the most ingenious, and perhaps practicable, is that of turning the Knnomic (Calumet I. by a canal of sixteen miles, into the Chicago, above the fort, and by the increased body anil pressure of water, drive out the accumulated sands. It is yet somewhat problematical whether a safe and permanent harbor can be constructed by any effort of human ingenuitv, upon the bleak and naked shnres of these lakes, exposed, as thev are. to the must furious tempests. And we are inclined to think it would lie feasible to construct an artificial island off the mouth of the Chicago Creek, which might be connected by a bridge with the main land, with mote permanent benclit to the country at large, if not with less expense, than to keep the Chicago clear of sand. Stone for such a work is abundant near the entrance Into Crcen Itav, and. if built on a scale sufficiently liberal, it would afford convenient sites for all storehouses required."

The Government breakwater, with the sandbars which it has been the means of forming, maybe likened to Schoolcraft's bridge connecting the artificial island

- The m;ip 'if iRtt w** presented in the case «-»f OeorHe C r*A(rs Illinois Central Railmvl Company, before (he United Stales Circuit Court, Northern Plutrirt of Win.*., in October, 105,.

with the main land, ami his storehouses to tin- huge elevator- which now cover those convenient sites, But when Schoolcraft wrote, there was little to be seen but an old stockade fort and John Kinzie's block house : Uld although his general idea of protecting tin- river's mouth seems to have been the correct one, he did not see the necessity of binning an artificial channel, so that the river's course could he made more direct to the lake, and its current thereby strengthened. This idea, however, was left to be clearly brought out bv the engineers who made the survey's for the canal route in iS;o. In February of that year William Howard. V. S. C, R . proposed a plan for "improving the mouth of Chicago River." His idea was to close the original sand and grave! which prevented the river from flowing castwardly, in nearly a direct course, north and south piers were to extend out into the lake, in a direction smith ,,! east; the artificial channel being somewhat over one thousand feet north of the natural outlet .if the river. The map. and a well-corn .rived correspondence between residents of the settlement and influential members of ('.ingress, caused general attenti.ui to l>e called to the improvement of the harbor, in connection with the building of the canal. When in \ugust of this year 1830 the town of Chicago was surveved provision was made for a public levee on the general plan adopted I by Western river villages, and extending along South W Iter .street Hut the system applicable to the river boats was not applicable to the large lake era ft. So the levee plan was abandoned, and the location became a part of the wharfing propcrtv which in later years, gave the corporation so much' trouble' I he continued efforts made to improve Chicago's bar tor bore fn.it ,n .833. For the purpose of Sal, ng »« appropnation, a map was sent to fjongre*. dXSd to show what a growing town Chicago was. |t Indicted the course of the river, the platted sect.ons of the plied chiefly upon the work of extending the north pier : and. as a rule, for several years that structure was kept Ironi two hundred to three hundred feet ahead of the south pier. The most of the stone was taken from the quarry opened up on the South branch. Subsequently ties and timber wcre procured in Wisconsin and Mi. higan. with the exception of a small lot taken from the North ISranch in 103.4-35. The appropriation of 18.55 amounted to S.?..,Soo. and under Lieutenant Allen's energetic management the work progressed most favorably,* liy the 1 lose of the season the north, or weather pier had been extended one thousand two hundred ami sixty feet into the lake, where a depth of twelve feet of water was found, and most of the structure had been ami pleted to its full height of seven feet. The pierhead was not constructed, for the reason that a new bar commenced to form in the spring, at a point on the lake shore about half a mile from the pier, and was now running obliquely, in a direction which threatened to form an obstruction across the harbor entrance, a short distant e from the end of the work. Already the depth of the water on the line of the pier had been reduced from ten and twelve feel to eight. It was therefore resolved to wait until winter was over, when it could be determined whether it would be necessarv to extend the pier across the new sandbar ami shut out the threatened formation from the harbor entrance. It is to be remarked, however, that at the end of the north pier constructed in 1 8 54, and for sixty feet Iteyond. nine feet of sand had been washed away, leaving a clear clay bottom, at a depth of eighteen feet' from the surface. Many vessels had already found shelter there while discharging their cargoes. The south pier, in 1835, was extended live hundred feet, making its total length into the lake seven hundred feet. It will be remembered that during the season of 1833 a portion of it had been constructed across the river and bar. The two piers now enclosed a channel of two hundred feet in breadth, containing from three to seven feet of water, and all was ready for the dredging machines. Cp to that time the current of the river hail made no great impression upon the sand in the channel. Lieutenant Alien noticed that when the season's work was completed $6,900 of the $.52,000 would remain to be applied in 1S.56. and that $6,000 bad l>ecn reserved for dredging purpOMl, Since the opening of navigation until September, two hundred and twelve vessels had arrived and discharged their cargoes at the' harbor. Concerning the effects of the "land craze" upon his workmen he said :

" The great and continued emigration to the town and country has kepi a|| kinu«i of grain and provision* scarce anJ dear, and Often difficult (0 procure at any |Jficc. The vcrv great demand f"r laborers and mechanics on the building* anil improvements of the town has maintained a very high rale of wages for workmen. 1 he influx of this class of emigrants has boEB grcal. luo; hut the apparent facilities offered them of securing valuable portion* ol public land by settling <»n il - and which wcre confirmed to *ctikrN and claimants at the recent land sales here - have encouraged mechanics and laborers on arriving, or soon alter, lo abandon iheir appropriate trades or occupation* for a bright hope of soon making their fortunes tinder the pre-emption laws. Some of my best workmen, and who hail been on the works since their commencement, have, since the sales at this place, refused lo continue at * rate of wages from $1.50 to $2 per day. They have goiir I" Milwaukee and elsewhere to make location's on public lands. The constant changes of workmen thus made has beta ernlurra«:m: and cx|H-nsive lo the work."

Captain Allen's map, drawn in October, 1837, indicates that, at this time, the south pier had been finished from a point opposite Fort Dearborn, across the old channel of the river, and so on out into the lake, a total distance of one thousand eight hundred and fifty feet. Some live hundred feet uf the lake end with the bulkhead was unfinished or only projected. The shore end of the north pier for seven hundred feet had not been finished, but it had iieen pushed out into the lake for twelve hundred feet, with four hundred feet of pier and bulkhead projected, in order to shut out the outer which now extended beyond the end of this, the weather pier. Of the old sandbar, between the river and the lake, only a small tongue remained, about one hundred and seventy-five by one hundred and twelve feet. Although the eastern bank of the original channel was mostly washed away, its western boundary the swamp east of the fort was visible then. In 1838 §50,000 was appropriated, but it became now evident that the improvement was progressing under a WTpng plan, The prevailing currents of the lake bad been rapidly depositing sediment in the shape of sandbars, which were backing up against the north pier, their general trend being a little more to the north than the old sandbar. Within the outer sandbar, which in 1S37 extended beyond the finished portion of the north pier, hail been formed two bars. By the continued process of deposit these were lifted further and further into view, and the intervening space filled with sand, until the second bar of 1 837 virtually became the shore line of 1838. Since the commencement of improvements in 1833, the shore line had extended seven hundred feet out into the lake along the north pier, and was rapidly pushing farther in that direction. It was only a question of short time before the third sandbar, which hail already been formed beyond the pier, would become a new shore line; and it would seem, unless the direction of the work was changed, that the task of protecting the harbor entrance would be an indefinite contest between the governmental purse and the natural forces of wind, wave and current. As the sandbars and the shore line extended out into the lake, the pier, in order to be of any benefit, would have to keep pac e with its progress. It was therefore decided to change the direction of the pier 25j4c more to the north* but the appropriation of 1838 having been impended in extending the under-work four hundred ami five feet in the new direction and dredging the bar already formed, it was found that this plan was no better than the old. The bar continued to form not only because of the currents of the lake, but the wind blowing from the north across the pier carried the sand from the beach into the harbor itself. Vessels now made the entrance with gre;it difficulty in fair weather, and were entirely excluded from shelter during storms. At the commencement of operations in 1839 it was found that the bar had extended across the entrance to the channel, and four hundred anil fifty yards beyond. In the latter part of March, 1839,' Lieutenant now General A. A. Humphreys, who had succeeded Captain Allen, was relieved, at his own request, by Captain T. J. Cram. l'nder him Captain J. H. Leavenworth acted as agent in charge of the harbor works, the only thing attempted up to 1841 being to preserve the protections already built, l'nder him the superstructure of the pier was extentled in the new direction, and then further appropriations were cut off. In April the ixiard of engineers decided that all expenditures upon the harbor would be for only such work as might be necessary to protect what had been completed up to that date. A few days later, lake captains were notified of the formation of the bar across the harbor's entrance. Under date of September 1. 1839, when work was entirely suspended, Captain Cram reported as still unfinished several hundred feet on the west end and four hundred ami five feet on the east end of the north pier ; also two hundred and fifty feel on the west, and three hundred and eighty feet on tin- east end of the south pier. Repeated but unsuccessful efforts were made by Chicago citizens to obtain appropriations in 1839 and 1840; the apathy of Congress and the evident attempt of that body to ignore the claims of Chicago creating much dissatisfaction, and suggesting the memorial of 1841. This document was signed by Mayor Sherman, the Board of Aldermen and City Clerk Hoyne. It exhibited the commercial importance of Chicago, showing that her average import trade for the past six years had reached §1 .500,000, her export trade $348,362. The progress of work U|>on the harbor was reviewed and the deplorable condition of affairs at that time noticed. Piles and timbers from the upper end of the north pier were being carried away, and the dredging machines and sand scows were going to pieces. Not less than $4,000 would repair the damage already done. The appropriation had run out and a permanent sandbar was rapidly forming. If assistance should not be granted soon, " commerce would be without shelter and human life and property endangered to a lamentable extent." The memorialists not only prayed for " immediate temporary," but for " immediate permanent" relief. Chicago's claims continued to be pressed upon Congress, and the result was that in 1843 an " item " of $25,000 was obtained, to be expended upon the harbor. With this sum a series of rejwirs and some new work was effected, under the superintendence of Captain George B. McClellan. Another appropriation $30,000 was obtained in 1S44, and during that year and the next the height of the north pier was -increased from one to two feet. The appropriation was soon exhausted and Congress was again begged for assistance. Citizens of Chicago poured in upon that body facts and figures, showing her importance as a lake port and the supremacy of the commerce of the Great Lakes in which this city led the way.

Inc luding the appropriation of 1S44 over $247,000 had been expended upon the harbor, with what results the reader is informed. Two years followed, during which the engineers made estimates, and the citizens presented memorials. Even Congressman Wentworth's speech in favor of the river and harbor bill, in February. 1846, did not break the monotony of the "Noappropriation " period. President Jackson, the friend of internal improvement, was dead, and President Polk was his antipode. The estimate of 1846 to provide for the completion of the north pier and for necessary repairs was $24,297. It is well known that in August of that year the river and harbor bill received the presidential veto, which included $12,000 to be expended on Chicago harbor and $15,000 for a steam dredge boat to be used on Lake Michigan. The bill had, through the endeavors of Mr. Wentworth, received the powerful sup|x>rt of Daniel Webster, who addressed an able letter to the convention which met in 1847. This statesman had visited Chicago in 1S37, had a fair knowledge of the lake region, and was thoroughly able to lay before the Senate his reasons for supporting the appropriation. He pictured a terrific storm on Lake Michigan, the despair of the crew, the wreck of the vessel and remarked : "What but a merciful Providence saved me from such a catastrophe when I passed over Lake Michigan in 1837?" Notwithstanding the able support which the bill received, and the decisive majority which it obtained, President Polk vetoed it and the whole Northwest arose against him. The summary action of the Chief Executive attracted the attention of the people, and, within a year, the peat River and Harbor Convention was an accomplished fart.* William M. Hall, agent of the Lake Steamboat Association, with headquarters in St. Louis, is the acknowledged father of this gathering, wherein was assembled much of the political and commercial ability of the country, protesting against the narrow views and action of the President of the United States

At the close of the season Of 1846 Mr. Hall gave an editorial dinner in the citv of St. I .outs, at which the proceedings of the River and Harbor Convention, lately held in Memphis, came up for informal discussion. The conference concluded by Colonel A. II. Chambers, of the Missouri Kepublican.tiirningto Mr. Hall, and suggesting that the latter was the man of all others best tilted to move in the matter of ( ailing a river and liarhor convention, irrespective of party, to urge upon Congress the necessity of improving the water-way of the West Mr. Hall thereupon visited Chicago, where he met R. L. Wilson, Dr. W. B. F.gan, S. I. isle Smith, and others, who approved of the plan, and pledged themselves to support the enterprise. Captain E, It. Ward and < Hiver Newberry, of Detroit, Millard Fillmore and K.C .Spanning of Buffalo - in fact most of the influential commercial and broad-minded men of the lake cities, of Springfield, of Boston and of New York, were as a unit in recognizing the grandeur and the beneficial effects of the movement. Finally, at New York. Mr. Hall met William Duane Wilson, Robert Fergus and a few other Western gentlemen, and made arrangements to hold a meeting, in furtherance of his project, at Rathbun's Hotel. The meeting was quite largely attended, and the committee recommended that a convention be held in Chicago, [one 17. The time was subsequently changed to July 5. The committees on arrangements appointed were as follows : Chicago, William B. Ogdcn, S. I .isle Smith. Ucnrge W. Dole; Milwaukee, Bvron Kilbournc, W. D.Wilson- Detroit Augustus J. Porter; Cleveland, |. W. Allen; Buffalo.' James L. Barton ; St. Louts, David Chambers. The Chicago committee called a meeting in this citv on November 13. It was largely attended, and resulted in the preparation of an address, which so fairly presents the prevailing sentiment and the aims of the ' convention that it is given entire : ' of .^r^rVr^?,H^t;^r|*"C*,ttnlof HanWCo.era.ithough it Ik- in express opposition to the wishes and interests of tlietr constiuient*. Repeated instances of this kind must eventually give this question somewhat of a political cast, which the under signed and all who cooperate with them would seriously regret.

The construction of AtirA-rj upon our northern lakes, « we]| as upon the Atlantic, with the improvement of our great rivers, where commerce is of a national character, necessa.ily involves no questions of parly difference. They are matters that must interest all parties. a« they do all classes, alike, and harbor and river hills have t>een supported by the ablest men of both the great BflMca] parties which divide this country. This subject has never entered into any presidential canvass, since each party has always taken it fur granted that the candidate of the olher was above suspicion upon a matter of such preeminent importance. The firs! congress that ever assembled under the present constitution, many of members helped to frame it. passed a law defraying all exprn»cs which should accrue after the 15th of August, 175.). in the necessity support, maintenance, ami repairs of all light-houses, beacons, buoys, and public piers, erected, placed, or sunk, before the pass. agc*ofthis act. at the entrance of. or within any bay, inlet, Art/Aw. or ports of the 1'nitcd Slates, /.'/ II a^ I on. Ike ttavigalMt thtral COfjr mmd mfe. General Washington signed this bill, ami hills the continuance of such work were also successively signed In presidents the elder Adams. Jefferson, and Madison. The lirsi /,»£,- A.i/A'r bill wa« signed by Mr. Monroe. He never raised the constitutional question, nor do the congressional debates of those days show that any members of either branch of Congress made auv distinction between sit/Grand frah water improvements, or between foreign and domestic commerce. All at that lime were acknowledged alike deserving the filtering care of the General Government, as they also were during the administration* of the younger Adams, (.e'ner.il Jackson and Mr. Van lltiren. Though remarkably scrupuh >n» as to the extent of which the power to coostruct works of internal improvements should be exercised, tieneral Jackson at»d Mr. Van BUNM signed bills for the improvement of rivers and construction of harbors to the amount of $7,5ou,<»*>. and the two bflls signed bv tieneral Jackson in 1S36 contained no less than eighty-nine items, and the bill of 1SJ7 no less than liflynine. \fter thel.cner.il tiovcrnmcnt has expended upward nl seventeen millions of dollars for works of internal improvement, and mostly in the old States, by the consent and support of the very framers of the constitution and their cotemporarics. and by men. too. of all political parlies, there can now be but little consideration due the cry that ' it is unconstitutional,' or the plan of a single political party to extend the advantages of such works to the new Stairs, and to such portions of the old States as have thus far been neglected.

" Thus disposing of the constitutional and political question, the frien.ls of harbor and river improvements arrive at the only MM which can rightfully lie raised, and lha! is merely the question nl necessity. Is II NrXTssAHV to protect our domestic as well as nut foreign commerce? Shall we protect the Usitr and neglect the greater ? Tor the past thee years, petitions have been presented to Congress in vain: Senators ami Representatives in C ongress have spoken in v ain. The present Secretary of War, in his official reports, has recommended in vain; and the whole topographical corps has sysiimatcd in vain: our bill* have invariably been vetoed, and we have U-cn unable to secure two-thirds of the popular branch. Confident that there is wanting .. know ledge of the necessity of thevr improvements among the people or their representatives, since a,l efforts at tUCCC*S have failed, it has been thought that a xrnentl ,v»- nmlren, and consultation, with persona! observation, might <!« much for us. There is not a State in the confederacy but that touches the lakes, the ocean, or the great rivers of the West 1 fir lakes line almost our entire northern frontier, and separate u» fn>m a foreign country: and the rivers, like arteries run thttRigh the whole country, constituting an extent of navigation sufficient to reach round the globe.

" These great waters, for whose safe navigation this Convention is called, are soon to be united bv the completion of the Illinois S Michigan Canal, The commerce of Host on. of Philadelphia, of Baltimore, of New York, of Sew Orleans. Cincinnati, St. l.ouis, and, indeed, of the whole country, thence becomes in a great measure connected. It has a common interest, and no i«lUT) i,m/ti, and the greatest advantages mi-ht rise from a common consultation. It is a notorious fact that statements, during the pendency of harbor and river bills before Congress, are made 011 me highest persona! authority, w hich never would Ik- made if the authors had any pergonal observation of the great inland water* <> this countryi or could realize the necessity of the millions who-e lives and property are jeopardized by them. Delegates in attendance will not only have the advantages of their own observation to UU< back with them, but thev can profit others meeting them here !>> ,1 consultation as to the best means of redressing existini; wrong* Having done this, thev can impart the proper feelings to tnei neighbors, and thus ai.t'in arousing the people to take this MW into their own hands, and sec that their chief interest* are no long"

ACgfecfetfi ft is conlideulfy hoped that a more intimate acquaintance with the claims of these great waters, formed by men congregated for this, special purpose from all parts of the ("niou, will result in sufficiently convicting and awakening the public mind secure the constitutional majority, should a harbor bill ever again be vetoed. Tins Convention is designed to be one of free discussion, and it is hoped thai the tffmmll as well as ihe (Henil of lake and river Improvements will alten.l, and more especially since it is generally believed that they have only to see for themselves in order to be convinced tliat these demands, coming from all our great waters, are founded in justice.

"Although the construction of harbors and the improvement of rivers will be the prominent subject before the Convention vet whatever matter, appertain to the prosperity of the West, and to the dovelopnu-nt of its roources, will come properly before it, and all plans and suggestions will be lively entertained.' The committee invite a general attendance from ait sections of the Union, and tender, in behalf of their fcllow-citizens, the hospitalities of I Incity of Chicago to such, as impelled bv a common interest, sec lit to honor them by their presence on this occasion.

As the date for holding the convention approached, it was obvious that the aim of its originators to avoid making it of any political significance hail been realized. Previous lo'its opening, letters were received from Daniel Webster and Thomas H. Benton, one the leading statesmen of the East, and the other a leading statesman of the West, warmly endorsing the objects of the convention and recognizing its national character.

The first day of the convention was marked by the reception of delegates by Mayor Curtiss. The procession took up the line of march, through the principal streets of the city, to the court-house square. Its order was as follows; Marshal Maxwell; band; Cleveland Light Artillery; Montgomery Guards, under Captain W. B. Snowhook; cavalry' under R. K. Swift; Ship-Convention; Kngineers' Department, under Stephen F. Gale; Kire Department; band; Committee of Reception; Illinois delegation, six hundred strong: other delegations;

Never was the birthday nf our National Independence more hehttingly celebrated than on this day - to give freedom and tone lo the pulse of commerce - to cheer the mariner on his airy shrouds - to brighten the homes and the hopes of thousands. Is there, r.ui there, be a nobler cause under which freemen can rally in behalf of the. State? That vessel with sails all set, and signals -lying to the breeze, drawn by eight horses and manned throughout by sailors, bore a banner eloquent of the object of this Convention. It was a sea roughened by storms that lifted the waves to the very heaven in a distance, but hard by was a Harbor where " the winds and the waves lay together asleep,' and a light-house lifting its star of joy and hope upon the rocky cliffs. Over alt was inscribed the significant words, ' What we want.' Ah! that ship

- Convention ' had B speech and an argument that appealed to the eye and reached even lo the heart; and we are sure that it will not Ik- the fault of the body of delegates now assembled, if many a gallant craft does not plough these inland seas and nobly breast the storm, in the good hope of a light to guide it, and a safe appointed at New York. September ;8, moved that James L, Barton, of Buffalo, be temporarv chairman ; Colonel A. B Chambers, of St. Louis,' and Hans Crocker, of Milwaukee, secretaries. This motion was carried, rules were adopted for governing the proceedings of the convention, and the committee on permanent Officers presented a ticket to the convention, headed by F.dward Bates, of Missouri. A motion made to substitute Thomas Corwin. of Ohio, in place of Mr. Bates, was thwarted by Mr. Corwin himself, who peremptorily declined serving, under the circumstances. Mr. Hates, although he had withdrawn from public life manv vears previously, had been a resident of the West since early manhood and having residcil in St. Louis, was especially interested in all matters connected with the improvement and protection of navigation. While acting as the sole congressional representative of Missouri, in the clays of the elder Adams, Mr. Bates had felt it his dutv to cast the vote of his State for that gentleman. To use a phrase much in vojftie among the politicians, Mr. Bates was therefore " retired " from public life, and had since resided in St. Louis, a respected and distinguished member of the Bar. When called to the chair few members of the convention were aware of his eminent fitness to guide the del da- rat ions of so distinguished an assemblage. It is not within the province of this article to go into details with regard to the proceedings of this convention. Suffice it to sav, that never before had there been a grander gathering of men, so free from political aims ; nor has there been one since where the statesman so predominated over the party politician. The convention was held in an immense lent pitched in the public square. It is estimated that the attendance was fully twentv thousand, of whom one-half were members of the 'convention. Represented in that assemblage were leading men from Massachusetts, New York, Kentucky, Indiana, Missouri, Rhode Island, Iowa, Ohio, Connecticut. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Maine, Illinois, New Jersey and New Hampshire. It was a direct and national protest against the attitude of President Polk toward the improvements of the rivers and harbors of the West, and indicated how weakly he was supported. The sensations of the convention, however, were the wonderfully eloquent speech delivered by Hon. F.dward Bates, chairman of the meeting, and the short, not to say curt, letter of regret, received from Hon. Lewis Cass, of Michigan. Governor Cass evidently forgot the resources of the times, failing to remember that an internal improvement convention of 1847 was not to be conducted upon the basis of 1837. when the wild fever swept over the State of Michigan as well as Illinois. The session lasted three days, and an ex- 1 utive committee, consisting of two members of the convention from each of the eighteen States represented, was appointed to make known to Congress the principles and views of this national gathering. As far as the Chicago harbor is concerned, the convention apparently did not effect it until 1852. In October, 1849, Colonel |. J. Abert made an estimate for necessary improvements np to June 30, 1851 ; hut the matter rested with the estimate ami in furtlii r appropriatio 1 was - bta tied until 1852. Thi> amounted to $20,000 and was expended in improving the inner harbor. Another estimate was made for the year ending June, 185.5, but the subject passed unheeded by Congress and was not reconsidered for the fourteen years intervening between 1852 and 1866. During this period slight improvements continued to be made on the inner harbor, under the act of July 21, 1852. The works of the harbor from 1848 to 1854 were under the superintendence of Lieutenant J. D. Webster, of the Topographical En* gineer Corps. Lieutenant-Colonel J. I>. Graham was in active charge of the harbor improvements from April. 1854, to 1855, and from December n, 1856,10 April 20, 1864. During his term of service the deepening of the river at the cost of the city was effected. He Came tWO years after the appropriation of 1852 was made, and ceased connection with the work two years before the appropriation of 1S66 was granted. The improvements effected during the season of 1854, consisted of the dredging of a shipcanal through the bar which obstructed the direct entrance of vessels to the inner harbor of over seven feet draught, repairing harbor machinery, and preparing for the defense of the piers beyond the line of accretion on the North Side. Work was commenced in May, and the channel was Completed in July.

The progress of work since that time forms an important chapter in the history of Chicago and the Northwest, but it is beyond the province of this sketch to follow it in detail. Enough has been shown to prepare the way for a consideration of that kindred topic, transportation by water and rail. First, let us glance at the inception of the

Marine Interests

The pioneer of everything in this country of the Northwest is traced to some one of the French explorers. Thus in 1679. LaSalle built the fir st sailing vessel of the Upper Lakes, and, launching it from Cayuga Creek, a tributary of the Niagara River, departed from -' Buffalo harbor ".for Green Hay. The figure-head of this crude sailing-craft - a "griffin " - indicated its name. The " Griffin " was therefore the father of the numerous progeny which now cover the Great Lakes, and stretch their wings toward Chicago. The next navigating craft which should be dignified by the name of the "marine of the lakes " were suggested bv the requirements of the fur trade, which called for a heavier vessel than the light bark canoe of the carlv explorers and missionaries. The Mackinaw barge therefore appeared upon the lakes and with it the voyagciirs.

These barges and sailors were known at Chicago for many years, but about the year 1830 both boats and voyageurs ceased to visit the settlement, as the sloops and schooners then introduced monopolized the lake trade. As regards local marine interests, thev, of coursecommenced with the arrival of the first vessel at the mouth of Chicago River, after the Government had deermined to establish a post and a fort here. In i7Qc by treaty with the Indians, the Government came into

1803, Captain John Whistler's company was ordered from Detroit to build a fort. While the troops under Lieutenant Swearingen went overland to this point, the schooner "Tracy," under its master. Dorr, was dispatched with supplies, having also on board the family of Whistlers At St. Joseph River they left the vessel and took a row boat to Fort Dearborn. On arriving at Chicago the " Tracy " anchored about hall a mile from the shore, and sent her cargo ashore in boats. A sandbar shut up the mouth of the river, but there is no recollection of a sandy island at the mouth, sometimes spoken of. The schooner remained here four or five days, the stores she brought, which were sufficient to last the garrison a twelvemonth, being placed in tents. The soldiers soon made a stockade to protect the supplies from the Indians. While the vessel was there, sometwo thousand Indians visited the locality, being attracted by so unusual an occurrence as the appearance in these waters < >f "a oig < aiv-c w;th wings " lieutenant Swearingen returned with the " Tracy" to I Detroit. Being the first vessel of any size which visited Chicago, it is not out of place to say that this schooner and a brig were owned by the < lovcrntnent and were the only craft under national control on the lakes. On its return voyage, the " 'Tracy " stopped at Mackinaw. \ boisterous storm nearly destroyed the little schooner, of only about ninety tons burden, but she finally reached Detroit in safety. In 1809 Ramsey Crooks arrived at the fort on board the "Sclina." In 1814 the first merchant brig " Union " was placed on the lakes, but being considered too large 96 tons she was laid up until the growth of trade called her again into service. I -ate in November, 1816. the schooner " Hercules ' was wrecked in the lake between the two Calumet rivers, and all on board perished. The first intelligence of the fatal catastrophe was communicated by finding the wreck of the vessel, and the bodies of the passengers strewed along the shore. Several days, however, had elapsed before this discovery was made, and the bodies were so beaten and bruised by the spars of the wreck, that the deceased could not be recognized by their features. Among these was Lieutenant William S. Evileth, an intelligent and promising young officer of engineers, whose death was much lamented. He had been cmployed in the rebuilding of the fort, and bad embarked the day previous to the shipwreck, at Chicago, to return to his friends, after a summer spent in arduous and useful service When the unfortunate young man was found, his face had been so gnawed by wolves that he could not have been identified had it not been for the militarv buttons of his clothes.

The "marine interests" of Chicago during these early years were centered in the Mackinaw trading-boats, which belonged to the American Fur Company, and an occasional craft which stopped at the fort on Government business. During a few years succeeding the rebuilding of the fort, quite a number of vessels were built for lake service, but thev mostly plied lielow Niagara Falls, In 1817, very soon after' Fort Dearborn had been reconstructed, the schooner "Heartless" arrived off the lake shore. Attempting to run up the river she was beached in the sand. Efforts to float her proved unavailing, and there she remained, a complete wreck, and the first one which occurred within sight Ql Fort Dearborn. A great event in the history of the marine of the upper lakes was the trip made by the nrst steamboat in the fall of 1818. The " Walk-in thewater," built at lilaek Rock, arrived at Detroit on August 27, her general appearance being that of a schooner with an engine and two side-wheels. Her engine was not powerful enough to take her from the wharf at Black Rock up the rapids to the lake; so a dozen yokes or so of oxen were employed to assist. The " Walk-in-the-water " was wrecked in Buffalo Bay November 1, 1821. That boat left Detroit July 31 of this year, and arrived at Green Hay August 5.* Her tonnage was three hundred and forty-two, and her engines were what are known as "low pressure." Some time previous to 1819, a few months before lean Baptiste Beaubien was transferred from the American Fur Company's [H>st at Milwaukee to Chicago, the I'nitcd States revenue cutter "Kairplay" arrived outside the bar. ami then proceeded to enter the river. This task was successfully accomplished, and for the first time a sailing vessel, other than a yawl or Mackinaw boat, was anchored in the river just north of Fort Dearborn. A few years after the "AVa!k-in-the-water " had been wrecked, various schooners, such as the " Chicago Packet " and the "Virginia" plied in these waters. In 1829, an Ohio distiller, who had touched at Mackinaw. Detroit and Milwaukee, in a vain attempt to dispose of a load of whisky, reached Chicago in his boat. After ridding himself of all but ten barrels, he proceeded on his way to Grand River. But it was not this brisk trade of 1829 which gave an impetus to lake interests; the Opening of communication between Lakes Ontario and Krie was what accomplished it. Communication was first established in 1831, via I'ort Robinson and Chippewa, thence via Niagara River to Lake Krie. The first vessels which posited through were the " Krie '* and the "Ontario," two American schooners, followed by the Canadian craft, "Anne and Jane."

During March, 1831, after the United States engineers had suggested a plan for the improvement of the harl>or, an appropriation of §5,000 was obtained lor the erection of a light-house. Before it was fairly completed, however, on October 30 of that year, the structure fell. V few hours before it toppled over, so confident were many there was no danger of its falling, that several went upon the top of it, some of the visitors being women. The walls were three feet thick, and the tower had been raised to a height of fifty feet. Samuel Jackson was the contractor. He claimed that the lighthouse was built on quicksand, which caused the building to settle and fall; others held that the cause was the defective manner in which it was built. Another tower, forty feet high, was begun ami completed by Mr. Jackson in 1832. It boasted of a fourteen-inch rellector. Samuel S. I*asby was the first, and Mark Beaubien the last, keeper of the old light-house. During the year 1831 three vessels arrived in Chicago. The first, which came May 20, took away the troops to dreen Bay, leaving the garrison in charge of Colonel T. J. V. Owen, the Indian Agent. The year 1832, however, may be considered the commencement of the importance of the lake marine. Not only had communication been fairly established between the Upper and the Lower Lakes, but the excitement of the Black Hawk War had caused considerable travel, soldiers coming from the Kast to the scene of the troubles, and fugitives scattering from the western country toward the Kast. This Black Hawk campaign was the occasion of the arrival of Chicago's first steamer, the " Sheldon Thompson," in command of Captain A. Walker. He brought a boat load of General Scott's soldiers July 10, 1832; also the Asiatic cholera, whose ravages are sufficiently detailed in the article on sanitary affairs. At that time there was a fleet of vessels at anchor in the offing. Some eight days after the arrival of the '* Sheldon Thompson " the " William I Vnn " appeared in Chicago harbor, with troops and supplies. From the year 1S32 different Steamboats made occasional trips to Chicago, the '* Daniel Webster " " Monroe," ' Columbus," " Anthony Wayne," '- Bunker Hill," and others. In the year 1833 three brothers, Leonard C, l'etcr D. ami Hiram Hugunin, sailed a yacht, named the "Westward Ho," from Oswego to Chicago. After a voyage of nearly three months, they in August arrived outside the sandbar, went ashore, hired eight yoke of oxen, and hauled their vessel over the barricade into the river. The " Westward Ho " may therefore l>e considered the tirst lake boat, belonging to private parties, to fairly enter the river. The next year, when immigration to Chicago was active, the vessel interests received added impetus. Early in April a schooner arrived from St. Joseph, Mich., and two vessels cleared for that port. Between the 20th and 30th of that month no less than one hundred immigrants arrived by boat in < hit ago. The most unlet! of cariv steamers was the oltl "Michigan," built by Oliver Newberry, of Detroit, who, for many years, was largely engaged in the commerce of the lakes. This was the first steamboat which entered the river below Dearborn Street, arriving in June, 1834. The appearance of the first schooner as it sailed up the river to Wolf Point, was greeted with even more enthusiasm than hailed this craft. The date was July 12, 1834. and about 9 o'clock in the morning, the hearts of Chicago's citizens, in the language of the 1 >einocrat, were gladdened by the appearance of the splendid schooner "Illinois." as she came gliding up the river into the heart of the town, under full sail. She was a vessel of nearly one hundred tons. launched during the spring, at Sackett's Harbor, N. V., and commanded by Captain Pickering. Her topmast was covered with streamers, anil her canvas was spread to invite the gentle breeze, the banks of the river were crowded with a delighted crowd, and as she reached the wharf of Newberrv tV Dole, where she stopped, she was greetetl with loud and repeated cheers. Her decks were immediately crowded by the citizens, all anxious to greet her commander with a warm and hearty welcome. The draw-bridge was soon raised, ami she passed on to the upper end of the town, came to Ingersoll's wharf in front of the Western Stage Company. On her passage up the river more than two hundred visitors were on board. Two davs after the arrival of the " Illinois." came the " Phillip'." In the tall of 1834 the "Illinois" made her return trip from Cleveland, bringing provisions to the settlers at Chicago and Milwaukee. The old steamer " Michigan" made one or more pleasure trips around Lake Michigan, and she, with her veteran commander, Captain Blake, were^reat favorites with the traveling public. In 1834 three steamboats lauded at Chicago and two at Green Bay. Such was the advent of steamers and schooners into Chicago River, and the heart of the growing town was at last connected with the navigable heart of the great Northwest. Soon afterward a largeclass of steamers commenced making regular trips from Buffalo, touching most of the intermediate jwrts. Among the number was the "James Madison." owned by Charles M. Reed, of Krie, and built with particular reference to the upperdake trade. Her capacity for freight and passengers was the largest upon the lake at that time. Still later in 1837 came the steamer "Illinois," owned and built by Oliver Newberry, and designed for the Chicago trade. She combined strength, speed and beauty, and, under Captain Blake, was a favorite for many years. A regular line of steamboats was established' between Chicago and Buffalo in July, 1839, a boat leaving and arriving at Chicago every alternate day during the season of navigation. On the 6th of that month C'.eneral Win field Scott arrived at Chicago on the steamer "Illinois." The "Thomas Jefferson," "James Madison." " Buffalo "and --Illinois" were put upon the route.

Ship building, according to Captain Peter K. Flood, who arrived from Oswego in June, 1835, commenced in Chicago during that year, The " Clarissa " was begun in the spring of 1835. by Nelson K Norton, but was not completed, or launched, until May 18. 1S36. The " Detroit," Captain John Crawford, was built at Milwaukee 1836-37 for the Chicago trade at a cost of $50,000. This vessel was lost off Keno-ha in November, 1837, after only six months' service. About this time 1836 an association of the then young, energetic and enterprising citizens was formed, and they commenced the building of the steamer "James Allen." It was completed in 1838. Captain C. H. Case having charge of its Construction. The boat was built for atcompany comprising George W Pole and J. II Kinzie. Captain Pickering was master of the steamer. The ship-yard was on " (loose Island." The "Allen " was built to be fast, and to run across Fake Michigan from St Joseph to Chicago, in connection with the stage and mail line. Her hull was narrow and sharp in form, and light in material Two powerful, low pressure, horizontal engines were put on the guards, on the main deck. The Ixulers were small, and. on trial, proved to be insufficient. When the "Jim Allen" had steam up ami started on her trial trip for St. Joseph, she went out of Chicago at a speed that pleased, as well as astonished, her owner and designer. The first fourteen miles were run inside of an hour. Then the engines began to " slow up " and the voyage took about ten hours. Every effort was made to keep up the supply of steam to the two large engines, but the result was the same as experienced during the outward trip. To use the expression of her commander, she would run the first thirty minutes "like a skeered dog," 'hen her speed would gradually slacken to about seven mites an hour, and nothing could coax her to do any better. For two seasons, notwithstanding the utmost exertions taken, there was no improvement in the "Allen's " average rate of speed, and she was then sold and taken to the lower lakes.

The "(ieorge W. Dole" was also built by Captain Case, soon after the completion of the "James Allen, and the two run together over the St. Joseph and Michigan City route. The former was sunk at Buffalo, in 1856, having been previously changed into a sailing vessel. These were the first and only steamers built in Chicago previous to 1843. Captain' Case afterward went to St. I. on is.

Among the early ship chandlers were Hugunin & Pierce. Foster & Robb and Dodge & Tucker. George F. Foster came to Chicago in July, 1837, and with his nephew. George A. Robb, opened a sail loft in the attic of a two-and-a-half-story building tin North Water Street. In the spring of 1S39 they bought out the old firm of Hugunin \ Pierce, ship ( handlers and grocers, and established the first sail-making house in the West. His sons still continue in the same business.

William Avery, who built the steamboat "Chicago," arrived at Chicago February 25, 1837. He was a prominent steamboat builder from 1837 up to the time of his death in 1840.

The Railroad System

It took many years for the people of Illinois to decide that the proper highway over which the wealth of the Northwest was to pass, should be a combination of lake and railroad, rather than of lake, canal and river. The river towns had, since the first settlement, enjoyed a monopoly of the public favor, ami even for some time after a few railroads had been chartered, these proposed highways seemed to push towards the river. St. Louis, especially, which had for many vears cujoved a large river trade, was looking ior still greater commercial supremacy, whether the rich State to the east should decide to throw its energies into the improvement of the Illinois & Michigan Canal or into the development fk- 3 Srand railway system. The handiwork of this wealthy Missouri town is early seen in the legislate proceedings of Illinois. The first movement in this State looking toward the construction of a railway was an act passed in Januarv, 1851, authorizing a survey from the bluffs of St. Clair Countv, along the American bottom, to the Mississippi River, near St Louis Commissioners were appointed for this pur- seemed to Ik- naturally tending toward the great river town. Already a State road had been built from Vincennes, I ml., to St. Louis, and was much traveled. In 1S3J the Springfield \ Alton Turnpike road was incorporated, its river terminus to be in St. Clair County, opposite St. Louis. Chicago was. however, early alive to the necessity of constructing a system of railways which should cut the many ties then binding her own legitimate territory to her old rival. There was yet another candidate for commercial supremacy in the field, and the State was, for some time, undetermined as to whether the harbor and the canal of Chicago would tend to develop this city into a greater business center than the lead mines would the village of Galena. As previously remarked, the friends of Chicago saw the necessity of doing something to bring her natural!) triubutarv territory into close communication with herself, and. also, by some system which should not pour a flood of advantages into the rich city which sat by the river, waiting to be made wealthier.' The agitation n a great central railroad through the State therefore commenced, which was to be operated in connection with the Illinois & Michigan Canal, and to strike tlie southern border of Illinois, at or near the junction « the Ohio and Mississippi rivers, there to connect vv.tn the railway system of the South. The Illinois Central

Railroad may be called the first great '"St. Louis cutoff," and as such placed Chicago firmly upon her throne as the magnificent (jueen of the West' The preface to this triumphant undertaking was the introduction of a bill in the state Senate, in 1832, by Lieutenant-Governor A M. Jenkins, for the survey of a central railroad from Cairo to Peru. Hut public opinion hail not yet been molded to see its necessity, and there the project rested. In 1.S34 the Chicago and Vinccnnes Railroad was incorporated, but the work was not commenced for many years thereafter. Interest in the Central road was revived by an enthusiastic letter, which appeared in the public prints, written by Sidney Hreese, Circuit Judge, afterward Judge of the State Supreme Court, and United States Senator. It is as follows j