Macoupin County, Illinois - Chapter 1: Introduction, 1911 (part 2 of 2)

Death Of Lovejoy

In 1837 occurred the tragedy at Alton, resulting in the death of "the first martyr to liberty," Elijah P. Lovejoy. He was born in Albion, Kennebec county, Maine, November 9, 1802. At the age of twenty-one he entered Waterville College, and after graduating removed to St. Louis. 'A year or two later he became editor of the St. Louis Times and advocated the election of Henry Clay for the presidency. In 1833 he issued the first number of the St. Louis Observer, a religious newspaper. In his new labors as editor, he incurred the ill will of the Catholic church by some articles he wrote, opposing the laying of the corner stone of a Catholic church on Sunday. From that expression of opinion regarding what he termed the desecration of the Sabbath with "processions, firing of guns and unseemly displays,"- came the persecutions that afterward followed the man and finally terminated in his death. His opponents characterized him as an abolitionist and charged that all his outspoken expressions regarding the Catholics came from his bitter opposition to slavery. So bitter was the feeling against him in St. Louis that he was compelled to remove his paper and printing establishment to Alton, and it arrived there July 21, 1836. It was on Sunday when the press reached its destination, and Mr. Lovejoy proposed to leave it on the wharf until Monday. That night a mob went to the wharf, broke the press into pieces and threw it into the river. A new press was obtained and for nearly a year he published his paper with varying fortunes, but a mob entered his office, destroyed the press and threw it, with the type, into the river. He had frequently been warned as to what course he should pursue in the publication of his paper but being a free born citizen, contended "free speech" was his natural free born right and continued in his course without the least swerving from the course he had adopted. A new press was ordered but when it arrived it was broken up by the mob and consigned to the river with its predecessors. A fourth press was then ordered and the mob openly defied. The press arrived and was temporarily stored in a stone warehouse and sixty of the citizens of the town volunteered to defend it. November 7, 1837, a demand was made for the press and the demand denied. One of the mob attempted to climb a ladder with a torch to set the roof of the warehouse on fire but was shot by one of the defenders. Soon after, Lovejoy went out of the building to see that no more such attempts were made and was shot by the mob, five bullets entering his body. The guard having lost their leader then surrendered the press and it soon followed its three predecessors into the bed of the Mississippi river. Thus ended the first tragical fight against the institution of slavery, and the first victim to fall was Elijah P. Lovejoy, but he was not the last to fall in the cause, by many thousands.

An act was passed at the same session for a general system of internal improvements. This was such an extravagant measure that Governor Duncan refused to give it his approval but the legislature passed it over his head and it became a law. $10,250,000 was appropriated, all of which ultimately proved a total loss to the state, as not one of the works was ever completed. Among the works projected were nine railroads, while nearly every river of any size in the state was included in the bill to be improved.

Thomas Carlin was inaugurated governor of Illinois in 1838. His policy was to foster internal improvements in every way possible. Bonds to the amount of $12,000,000 had been issued by the state for the improvements voted at the last legislature but as no interest was paid on them, they were soon of little value and the work ordered had been commenced but it was found impossible to carry it on and so it was abandoned. Edward Smith, a member of the house from Wabash, was chairman of the committee on internal improvements and he portrayed in glowing colors the great benefits that would accrue to the state to carry forward the grand system of improvements as begun and contemplated, and such was the hold his report had upon the members that they were ready to vote for any amount required to carry forward every work asked for in the state. The Illinois and Michigan canal was not included in the mad schemes and the work on that proceeded without delay. Mr. Smith died before the next meeting of the legislature and with him died all the grand improvements contemplated by him.

The Mormons

In the year 1839 a sect settled in Hancock county on the east bank of the Mississippi river and started a town, which they named Nauvoo. They called themselves Mormons, or Latter Day Saints. Their leader, Joseph Smith, claimed to have found some golden tablets or plates, with inscriptions upon them; that he was directed by an angel he called Maroni where to find the plates and how to translate the inscriptions. The Mormons first settled in Independence, Iowa, but their conduct there was such that they were driven out by the authorities, when they removed to and settled in Hancock county. Here they soon got into trouble with the Gentiles, as they called all outside of their sect, or church, which soon after culminated in what is known in history as the "Mormon war," and the death of Joseph Smith and his brother Hiram.

In 1840 the legislature granted a charter to Nauvoo, with full powers to organize its militia into a Nauvoo legion, establish courts of justice and elect all necessary officers. Under the charter, Joseph Smith was elected mayor in 1842.

December 8, 1842, Thomas Ford was duly inaugurated governor and his first duties were to look after the Mormons. They had become exceedingly arrogant and offensive to the rest of the people in the county, so much so as to have the citizens call upon the governor to suppress them or drive them from the state. The city council in Nauvoo passed an ordinance that if any person should try to arrest any of its citizens on foreign writs, the offender should be imprisoned for life and should not be pardoned by the governor unless the mayor of Nauvoo consented. The act practically amounted to the setting up of a separate government within the limits of the state. Other acts equally as notorious and illegal were enacted by the council and mayor and were attempted to be enforced.

The governor visited the place, and finding that the affairs of the city were even worse than he had been informed of, he ordered arrests to be made and Joseph Smith and his brother Hiram were arrested and lodged in jail in Carthage, the county seat. After Governor Ford had left, a mob was organized and broke into the jail. Hiram Smith was killed at the first fire and soon after, Joseph, the so-called prophet. Brigham Young was elected as successor to Joseph Smith, and hostilities between the Mormons and Gentiles continued as before. But the governor and the leader of the Mormons entered into an agreement in the winter of 1845. by which they made arrangements to leave and about the middle of May following, sixteen thousand Mormons left Nauvoo for the west and finally settled in the valley of the great Salt Lake, where they have since remained.

The Constitution Of 1848

December 9, 1846, Augustus C. French was elected governor. A proposition had been submitted to the people for a call of a constitutional convention and the vote was largely in favor of such a call. A special. election of delegates was called for the third Monday in April, 1847, and these were to meet at Springfield on the first Monday of June following. The delegates met in convention at the time set by the call and on the 3ist of August of that year, finished its labors. The constitution as made by the convention, was submitted to the people at an election held March 6, 1848, and reinaugurated, January 8, 1849. The population of the state in 1850 was 851,470.

The Illinois Central Railroad

In 1851 the Illinois Central Railroad was incorporated. Congress had the year previous granted lands for the construction of a railroad from Chicago to

Mobile, and the act of the legislature authorized the construction of a road from the southern terminus of the canal at La Salle to a point at the city of Cairo, with branches. The act of congress gave alternate sections of land for six miles in width, upon each side of the road, to aid in the building of it. A company was formed that agreed to build the road within the time limited and agreed to give seven per cent of its gross earnings to the state for the benefit of common schools. The seven hundred miles of road was completed before the close of the year 1856 and thus two and a half million acres of wild land became homes of thousands of actual settlers.

Joel A. Matteson was inaugurated governor in January, 1853. It was during his administration that the great political changes took place, not only in the state but in the country at large. The old whig party ceased to exist at the defeat of General Scott in 1852, and in 1856 the great republican party sprang into existence. It was defeated that year but in 1860 it rallied in its strength and won the battle with a good majority.

The history of the state under the administration of Governor Matteson was that of unexampled prosperity. The financial depressions that had for years hung over it and greatly hindered its development and progress were swept away and the state came to the front as one of the most favored and prosperous of all the great states of the Union.

William H. Bissell succeeded to the office of governor, January 12, 1857. He was a veteran of the Mexican war and a man of integrity and ability. It was during his administration that a new penitentiary was ordered to be built in the northern part of the state. Three commissioners were appointed, one of them being the late Hon. Nelson D. Elwood, of Joliet. These were to select the place for the new prison and take charge of its erection. Joliet was the place selected. Governor Bissell died at Springfield, March 18, 1860, and John Wood, the lieutenant governor, filled out the unexpired term. The population of the state in 1860 was 1,711,951.

Douglas And Lincoln

In 1854 Stephen A. Douglas, then a United States senator from Illinois, advocated and brought about the repeal of the Missouri compromise. This was an act passed by congress in 1820, and was designed to reconcile the pro-slavery and the anti-slavery parties of that day. By this act it was determined that Missouri should be admitted into the Union as a slaveholding state but that slavery should never be established in any state, to be formed in the future, lying north of latitude thirty degrees and thirty minutes. That was the act repealed in 1854, and that left the question open, whether Kansas, which is north of that degree of latitude, should be admitted as a free or slave state.

The repeal of that act brought Mr. Lincoln into prominence in the political history of the state. He was an able debater, an ardent republican, who was among the first in the organization of the party in its first campaign in 1856. Mr. Douglas' term as senator in congress expired in 1858 and Mr. Lincoln entered the lists as the opponent of Mr. Douglas in his candidacy for reelection. Each had received the nomination of his party and therefore they stood on equal grounds in their contest for the office. Mr. Lincoln challenged Mr. Douglas for a joint debate of the questions involved. Mr. Douglas accepted, and seven places were selected, one in each congressional district in the state, except in two districts where speeches had already been made. In that debate, slavery was the main question to be debated, Douglas contending that every new state, whether north or south of the old compromise line that applied for admission to the Union, should determine for itself whether it should be a slave or a free state, while Mr. Lincoln insisted that slavery should be put in a "course of ultimate distinction." Mr. Douglas won the prize and was the nominee of his party in the campaign of 1860 for the presidency, while Mr. Lincoln was the nominee for the republicans. M_r. Douglas lost through the division of his party, the southern wing having put John C. Breckinridge in nomination against him. Mr. Lincoln was inaugurated president, March 4, 1861. The south seceded and then came four years' Civil war, the emancipation of the slaves, and after a most desperate struggle in which many thousands of lives were sacrificed, the south surrendered and the Union was again restored.

Richard Yates became governor in 1861. He was the war governor, as during his administration the Civil war was fought and won. He was a vigilant, active and patriotic governor, who did not shrink from performing his whole duty in aiding the general government in its life and death struggle in maintaining the Union from secession. 259,092 soldiers were raised in the state for military service in suppressing the rebellion.

Richard J. Oglesby became governor, January 16, 1865. The war had closed but there were grave matters yet to be settled and Illinois must perform its full share. In January, 1867, the fourteenth amendment to the constitution of the United States, conferring citizenship upon persons without regard to color, was ratified by Illinois. Another measure was passed by the same legislature, which was of great interest to the agricultural community, the establishing of an agricultural or industrial college at Urbana, in Iroquois county. Congress had made donations to the several states for the purpose, of which Illinois received nearly half a million acres. A new state house was provided for, to be built at Springfield, the cost of which was not to exceed $3,000,000.

January, i, 1869, John M. Palmer was inaugurated governor. The people of the state had voted to call a constitutional convention to revise the constitution of the state and the delegates met in convention at Springfield, December I3th of that year. The most important change was that making it a fundamental law prohibiting special legislation, that having been the principal business of the legislatures of the state previous to that time. The constitution was ratified by the people, July 2, 1870. The population of the .state that year was 2,539,891.

The Great Chicago Fire

It was late on Sunday evening, October 8, 1871, that a fire was discovered burning in a small stable west of the south branch of the river and about a mile southwest of the business portion of the city. A strong wind was blowing from that direction and soon the fire was communicated to the surrounding buildings and spread rapidly toward the very heart of the city. The fire continued to ad- vance and spread until nearly all of the business portion of the city was destroyed and 100,000 people rendered homeless. The loss by fire was $200,000,000, while a large number of citizens lost their lives in the holocaust. The world at large came at once to the aid of the stricken city in its terrible distress. It was a dire calamity to the young and growing city but its enterprising citizens rallied to the work of restoring it and soon it arose from its ashes, a better and more substantial city than before.

Mr. Oglesby was reelected for a second term and January 13, 1873, was duly inaugurated as governor. The session of the legislature that met that month elected him United States senator, and John L. Beveridge, the lieutenant governor, then became governor. But little of note was done during his administration. The state continued to grow in population, its agricultural and commercial resources were developed and expanded and the people of the state were contented and prosperous.

Shelby M. Cullom was duly elected governor at the November election in 1876, and inaugurated January 8, 1877. It was at that session of the legislature that General John A. Logan became involved in a contest for reelection as United States senator. His opponent was Judge David Davis. Logan was the regular republican candidate, while Davis was a democrat. There were enough independents in the legislature to hold the balance of power and it was not until the fortieth ballot that the long contest was decided in favor of Judge Davis and he became General Logan's successor.

It was during Governor Cullom's term of office that the great railroad strike occurred. It began in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, where the center of the various railroad employes was located, with branches all over the country. Illinois, as a great railroad state and mining center, felt the disturbances which reached every part of the state and especially Chicago, where many of the railroads terminated. Troops M ere called out, the rioting quelled and in a few days order was restored and business began to enter its usual channels. The population of the state in 1880 was 3,077,871.

Mr. Cullom was reelected in 1880 and duly installed into office, January 10, 1881. In his message to the legislature he favored the cession of the canal to the general government but the legislature failed to act on his recommendation at the regular session. A special session for that purpose was called by the governor and among other things, of reapportioning the state into congressional and senatorial districts, and at that session an act was passed ceding it to the general government. The government, however, never accepted the gift nor took any steps whatever toward controlling it, and so the ceding came to naught.

January 16, 1883, the legislature elected Governor Cullom United States senator and it was at that session of that body the so-called Harper high license law was enacted, making the license for dram shops not less than $500. and $150 for the sale of malt and vinous liquors only.

Richard J. Oglesby was elected governor in November, 1884, for the third time and was sworn into office, January 13, 1885. The great riot at Haymarket Square. Chicago, occurred May 4, 1886. A meeting was being held there by the labor element to consider the eight hour question and much noise and confusion took place. The police were called to quell the disturbance and a bomb was thrown among them. Seven of their number were instantly killed and many wounded. Eight of the rioters were arrested for the crime, tried, found guilty, and seven of them sentenced to be hung, while the eighth was sentenced to the penitentiary for fifteen years. One of the prisoners committed suicide while in jail, four were hung, and the sentence of the other two was commuted to imprisonment for life.

January 14, 1889, Joseph W. Fifer was inaugurated as governor and it was at that session of the legislature that the sanitary district of Chicago was created and the construction of the drainage canal ordered.

The great Columbian Exposition was to be held at Chicago in 1893 and the legislature was convened in the summer of 1890, to grant to the government the authority to hold it there and also to grant such other aid as was deemed necessary to hold the celebration and enable it to be devoted to exposition purposes.

John P. Altgeld was elected governor in 1892. He was the first foreign born governor of the state, having been born in Germany in 1848. He was the first democratic governor since the election of Governor Matteson in 1852. About his first act after being installed into office was the pardoning of the Haymarket Square prisoners, then confined in the penitentiary. This act provoked a large amount of criticism from all classes all over the state, and even in other states, and so bitter was the feeling for this act of clemency on the part of the governor that it hopelessly divided his party and he was most overwhelmingly defeated for reelection. During his administration, the World's Columbian Exposition, before alluded to, took place in Chicago. It was opened May ist and closed at the end of October. The exposition was a great success in every particular and reflected much credit upon its managers.

John R. Tanner was the next governor and was inaugurated in January, 1897. The Cuban war, so called, occurred during his administration. It resulted in wrestling that island from Spanish rule and giving it independence, and also the acquisition of Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands to the American government.

The Cuban War

The destruction of the warship Maine while on a friendly visit in Havana liarbor and the great loss of American seamen, was the direct cause for the declaration of war with Spain. The news of the terrible tragedy as it was flashed across the wires, aroused the nation to activity to avenge the insult to the nation's flag, and steps were at once taken to investigate the cause of the destruction of the vessel and the blame was laid upon the Spanish authorities. A demand was made upon Spain for a redress of the wrong. She refused to admit any liability in the catastrophe and the- war was the result. Troops were at once called for by the president and a noble response was made by every state in the Union. Seven regiments was the quota assigned to Illinois and these were quickly

State Historical Society

May 23, 1900, the Illinois State Historical Society was incorporated, with the following object: "To excite and stimulate a general interest in the history of Illinois ; to encourage historical research and investigation and secure its promulgation ; to collect and preserve all forms of historical data in any way connected with Illinois and its people."

Richard Yates was inaugurated as governor of the state in January, 1901. He was the first native born governor, his birth having occurred in Jacksonville, Illinois, December 12, 1860. The legislature that met in January, 1901, reapportioned the state into twenty-five congressional and fifty-one senatorial districts and appropriated $250,000 for the purpose of erecting a building and presenting exhibits of the state at the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, to be held in St. Louis in 1904.

Charles S. Deneen was elected governor in November, 1904, and was duly installed into office in January, 1905. He was the second native born governor, his birth having occurred in Edwardsville, Illinois, May 4, 1863. He is a graduate of McKendree College and the Union College of Law. Governor Deneen is the present incumbent of that office.

Retrospective

In retrospect we will go back to early times and refer to some of the interesting incidents and matters that occurred when the state was young.

The Visit Of Lafayette

It was in 1825 that the Marquis de LaFayette came to Kaskaskia, while on his tour through the western country. That was one of the great events in the monotony of western life and served the pioneers with food for friendly gossip for years thereafter. The general assembly having learned of his arrival in America, addressed a resolution of welcome to him at its session in December, 1824, in glowing terms of admiration for his patriotic services for the country and earnestly invited him to extend his visit to the western country to Illinois. The address with a personal letter from Governor Coles, who became acquainted with LaFayette in France in 1817, was forwarded to LaFayette on the gth of December, and on the i6th of January, 1825, he expressed his gratification for the honor done him by Illinois and then added: "It has ever been my eager desire and is now my earnest intention to visit the western states, and particularly the state of Illinois. The feelings which your distant welcome could not fail to excite have increased that patriotic eagerness to admire on that blessed spot the happy and rapid results of republican institutions, public and domestic virtues. I shall, after the celebration of the 22d of February, anniversary day, leave this place for the southern states, going from New Orleans to the western states, so as to return to Boston on the I4th of June, when the corner stone of Bunker Hill monument is to be laid - a ceremony sacred to the whole Union, and in which I have been engaged to act a peculiar and honorable part."

The General arrived at St. Louis on the steamboat Natchez, April 28. An immense concourse entered the boat at the landing to greet and honor the patriot and hero. The greeting of the General in St. Louis was a most hearty and loyal one, well worthy of the patriot and his hosts. April 3Oth the Natchez took General LaFayette and a large concourse of distinguished visitors down the river to Kaskaskia, where the entire population assembled to bid him welcome. A dinner was prepared at the hotel, kept by Colonel Sweet, and the entire company of distinguished guests was entertained. In the evening a grand ball was given in his honor at the large and commodious house of William Morrison. At the ball was a squaw whose father had served under General LaFayette in the Revolutionary war. To identify herself she had brought a letter written by the General to her father many years before, and which the father left to the daughter as a precious legacy.

General LaFayette after the ball went to Nashville but returned in a few days to Shawneetown, where he was again greeted with enthusiasm on the part of the citizens that brought tears, and his answer to their address of welcome was given with much emotion. At his departure a salute was fired, after which he returned to the east.

Why Southern Illinois Was Called Egypt

Charles Robertson in the Chicago Journal, under date of February 8, 1872, says that the southern part of the state was called Egypt from the following: "Fifty years ago, or in the summer of 1821, there was not a bushel of corn to be had in all central Illinois. My father settled in that year twenty-three miles west of Springfield. We lived for a time on venison, blackberries and milk,, while the men were gone to Egypt to harvest and procure breadstuffs. The land we improved was surveyed that summer and afterward bought of the government by sending beeswax down the Illinois river to St. Louis in an Indian canoe. Dressed deerskins and tanned hides were then in use and we made one piece of cloth out of nettles instead of flax, cotton material, well for a decade, until the deep snow of 1830."

Thus the southern part of Illinois received the application of "Egypt," as therein indicated, because, being older, better settled and cultivated, it gathered corn as "the salt of the sea," and the settlers in the central part of the state, after the manner of the children of Israel in their wants, "went to Egypt to buy and bring from thence that they might live and not die."

Why all native Illinoisans are called "Suckers" originated at an early date and there are two versions, both of^ which we will give our readers and they can select from the two which to them seems the most probable and correct.

In 1804 Governor Harrison bought of the Sac and Fox tribes a tract of land at the mouth of the Fever river, where Galena is now located, fifteen miles square. It was called "lead lands," for upon the tract in many places lead had been found, and several mines opened, and it is said that the origin of the name "Sucker" as applied to the native miners and the Illinoisans was first heard and used in those mines. George Brunk of Sangamon writes : "Late in the fall of 1826 I was on board a steamboat bound down the river, when a man from Missouri stepped up and asked, 'Boys, where are you going?' The answer was 'Home.' 'Well,' he replied, 'you put me in mind of suckers ; up in the spring, spawn, and all return in the fall.' ' The name stuck to the Illinoisans and when Judge Sawyer came up to the mines on circuit court duty, he was called the "king of Suckers." Those who stayed at the mines over winter - most of them from Wisconsin - were called "Badgers." The next spring the Missourians poured fnto the mining region in great numbers and. the state was said to have taken a "puke," and the offensive appellation of "Pukes" was applied to all the miners from that state.

It was on the occasion of a pleasant entertainment of Judge Douglas at Petersburg, Virginia, that he gave the following humorous account of the term "Suckers," as applied to Illinoisans ; the account is valuable further and confers a proud distinction upon Illinois, in that it clears up all doubts regarding the discovery of that important and inspiring beverage called "mint julep" - a very momentous question that for years has been covered with obscurity and beset with very many doubts, but in the light of the facts then disclosed by the learned judge, happily placed at rest. It is not improbable that a glass of the animating beverage served to quicken the memory of the honorable senator from Illinois on that occasion.

Judge Douglas said : "About the year 1777, George Rogers Clark applied to the governor of Virginia and suggested to him that as peace might be declared at any time between the colonies and Great Britain, it would be well for us to be in possession of the northwest territory, so that when the commissioners came to negotiate a treaty, we might act on the well known principle of law that possession was at least nine parts, each party holding all that they had in possession. He suggested to the governor to permit him to go out to the northwest, conquer the country and hold it until the treaty of peace, when we would become possessed of it.

"The governor consented and sent him across the mountains to Pittsburg. From there he and his companions floated down the Ohio on rafts to the falls, where Louisville now is. After remaining there a short time they again took their new rafts and floated down to the salines, just below the present site of Shawneetown, Illinois. Here they took up their march across the country to Kaskaskia, where the French had an old settlement and by the aid of a guide they reached Oquaw and encamped near Peter Menard's house, some little distance from the town. You see, I am well acquainted with the locality. (Laughter.) Next morning Clark got his little army of ragamuffins together, for they had no army wagons with supplies, no sutler and no stores, and by this time looked ragged enough, and took up his line of march for the little French town of

University Of Illinois

Kaskaskia. It was summer and a very hot day, and as he entered the town and saw the Frenchmen sitting quietly on their little verandas in front of their houses, sucking their juleps through straws, he rushed upon them, crying 'Surrender, you suckers, you.' (Great laughter.) The Frenchmen surrendered, and from that day to this Illinoisans have been known as 'Suckers.' (Applause.)

"That was the origin of our cognomen, and when George Rogers Clark returned to Virginia he introduced the julep here. (Laughter.) Now, I want to give you Virginians fair notice that when they claim the honor of a Jefferson, of a Madison, of a Marshall, and of as many other distinguished sages and patriots as the world ever saw, we yield ; when' you claim the credit of a cession of the northwest territory, that out of it sovereign states might be created, we yield ; when you claim the credit o.f never having polled a vote against the democratic party, we yield ; but when you claim the glory of the mint julep, hands off, Illinois wants that." (Shouts of laughter and applause.) - 111. Reg., September 9, 1860.

Politics And Politicians

The manner of conducting political campaigns in the days of yore was similar in some respects to that of more modern times and yet in other respects radically different. Politics entered into some of the campaigns to a great extent and yet in others they were almost entirely ignored. Governor Ford in his history of Illinois says of those days: "Up to the year 1840, I can say with perfect truth that considerations of mere party, men's condescensions, agreeable carriage and professions of friendship had more influence with the great body of the people than the most important public services." These .considerations have always been of more consequence in a majority of cases than any public services rendered, no matter how valuable those services may have been to the people or country.

There were many adventurers among the old pioneers, with whom governmental affairs had but little thought. When aroused to the exercise of the great privilege of a citizen - the elective franchise - by demagogues interested in some intrigue, no other consideration entered into the act of the voter than to either help a friend or punish an enemy. There were no great political questions to divide the people prior to the early '305. They called themselves whigs and democrats without the least thought or care regarding any of the questions of public policy, tariff or any of the great questions that were brought forward at a later date.

The use of whisky for electioneering purposes was almost universal and the custom of "treating," as it was called, during a. political campaign was indisputable to success. It was a common custom for the candidates to go to the saloons and leave orders to treat free all who came on certain days, called "treating days," at their expense. "Treating days" were usually on Saturday and then the voters for miles around would all congregate at the saloons, many of them get drunk and often engage in rough and tumble fights. The candidates would usually be there, too, and in "some shady grove put forth their claims for office. The favorite platform from which their speeches would be made was the stump of some large tree, and hence the phrase of "stump speech." The vital questions "having been discussed," the meeting would break up and the audience disperse to their homes to sober up and get ready for the next "treating day."

The real pioneers of that day were the leaders in all such meetings and sports. They were in many instances extremely ignorant, governed by passionate prejudices and usually opposed to every public policy which looked to the elevation of society. They arrayed themselves in buckskin breeches, leather moccasins, raccoon caps and red shirts, belted at the waist, and with a large knife in the belt, hence they were called "butcher boys." They would proclaim their great bravery upon every occasion and swear that they were "half horse and half alligator," meaning that they could not be overcome in combat.

Such to a great extent were a large number of the early settlers of southern Illinois. When in liquor they were veritable demons but at home, when away from the influence of drink, were quiet and peaceable and good neighbors.

Salt Making

The making of salt in the early history of the Illinois country is one of the most interesting subjects of the time. The salt springs, or "salines," as they were called, were located near Equality, in Gallatin county. When discovered, there was every indication that they had been worked by a prehistoric race, long before the whites had penetrated the Illinois wilds. The evaporating kettles used by them were found near Equality and near the Negro Salt Springs. The kettles were between three and four feet in diameter, made of clay and pounded shells, and were molded in a kind of basket work, or cloth, which left the impression upon the outside of the kettle and looked like artistic hand work. Nothing is known as to how long the springs had been worked by the Indians but there was every appearance that they had been used in the process of making salt for ages.

In 1812 congress assumed control of the springs, and on the i2th of February, that year, an act was passed setting apart six square miles of land to support the Equality salines. They were then leased to work, and slaves were employed to perform the work, they having been brought from Kentucky and Tennessee for that purpose. Many of these negroes, by extra work, saved enough money to buy their freedom and from these are descended the large number of those who resided in Gallatin and Saline counties before the Civil war. There was a monopoly in the salt trade after the act of leasing the springs and the common price of it was five dollars a bushel, and even at that price a ready market was always found in all the adjoining country. People would come hundreds of miles and carry it away in sacks on horseback. When Illinois was admitted into the Union, these salines were ceded to the state and thenceforward they were state property and ceased as such, February 23, 1847. By an act of the general assembly, the saline lands were all sold to the school trustees of the township. They have since been very productive, producing when worked to their fullest capacity, 200 barrels of salt per day.

Improvements In Agriculture

The wonderful improvements made for cultivating the soil are most marvelous and are to be seen on every hand. Seventy-five to eighty years ago the plows were made with moldboards of wood and these were sometimes covered with straps of iron to prevent wearing out too rapidly. In those days plows were about the only implement used in stirring the soil. Harrows with wooden teeth were used for covering the grain after sowing but they were poor affairs and easily broken. Corn was planted wholly by hand, the barefooted boys and girls dropping the seed, which was then covered with a hoe. Sickles were about the only implements used in cutting the grain, although grain cradles were introduced about that time. Grass was always cut with a scythe and raked together with the hand rake. Wheat and all kinds of grain were tramped out with horses. The bundles were laid with the heads inward in a circle, the horses were driven around on it until it was trampled out and then the grain winnowed and cleaned in the wind.

But all this has been changed and that, too, for the benefit of the farmer. Gang and sulky plows of steel now turn over the sod and thus increase the capacity for human labor and greatly decrease its severity. Machinery has been utilized to drill in the grain, cut and bind it, thresh and winnow it, and also cut, pitch and load the hay and put it into stacks.

The farmers were at first slow in adopting the machinery for farm work but it gradually gained in favor until now it has almost superseded labor by hand. The farmer guides from his seat behind his team and the machinery performs the labor and that, too, much quicker, far better and more satisfactorily than it could possibly be done by hand.

Progress In The State

Illinois has made wonderful progress as a state in internal improvements, agriculture and commerce. In 1837 the first railroad was built in the state. It was but six miles in length, with small cars drawn by horses or mules ; the rails were but wooden joists, laid on .ties, and upon the joists strap iron was spiked with spikes made by the local blacksmiths. From that small beginning the railroads in the state have been -extended until 1903, when the last report was made and there were 11,502 miles in operation, permeating every part of the state. The mileage of railroads exceeds that of every other state in the Union, the nearest approach to it being the state of Texas, with 11,256 miles. Pennsylvania has 10,784 miles, the Empire state 8,180, while all New England has but 7,609 miles, or only about two-thirds as much mileage as the state of Illinois. In population it ranks as the third state in the Union, while in 1830 it was the twentieth.

In agriculture it has made even greater progress. When the state was admitted into the Union in 1818 it had a population of about 50,000, with some 11,500 farms and 70,000 acres of land under cultivation. In 1820, two years after it was admitted as a state, 260,000 bushels of corn were raised in the whole state, 63,000 bushels of oats, and no broom corn; while by the last census we find there were 398,149,140 bushels of corn, 180,105,630 bushels of oats, and 60,665,560 pounds of broom corn, equalling 3,330 tons. In 1820 there was not a gallon of fermented liquor made in the state, while in 1904 there were 4,632,- 726 barrels of it made, just about a barrel for every man, woman and child in the state. The same year there were 41,787,891 gallons of distilled spirits or liquors made, or about ten gallons for every man, woman and child in the state. This far exceeds any other state, for even Kentucky, which is said to use up all the surplus corn and rye into whisky, only produces 23,114,735 gallons - a little more than one-half of what Illinois produces.

There is another thing in which Illinois exceeds all other states, and that is in the number of war pensioners, there being 71,647 in the state, to whom the government annually' pays more than $10,000,000.

Discovery Of Coal

The first mention made in the history of the state of coal or finding it here, was by Father Hennepin in his journal. It was in 1679, when on a visit to the Illinois country with La Salle's party. He says: "Having arrived in the Miami country and while they were seeking for a portage by which they could reach the Illinois river, La Salle, while exploring the country, became separated from the rest of the party, and, as he did not return, searching parties were sent out after him. When found, his face and hands were black with the coal and the wood that he had lighted during the night, as it was cold."

The Miami country, as then understood, was in the vicinity of the headwaters of the Illinois river, where it is formed by the junction of the Kankakee and Des Plaines. After giving an account of how they reached the Illinois, he says : "There are mines of coal, slate, iron and lumps of pure red copper, which are found in various places, indicating that there are mines and perhaps other metals and minerals, which will one day be discovered."

These references clearly indicate the location of extensive coal mines in Will and Grundy counties, which have furnished such vast quantities of coal to the people of the state.

In 1720 Father Charlevoix arrived at the junction of the headwaters of the Illinois. Lower down the river, at the junction of the Illinois with a river that flows from the Mascoutens, the place is called Charboniere, "because they find many coals there." That was in what is now La Salle county, the river named being the Fox.

-In T773» Kennedy in his journal speaks of being near the site of the old Kaskaskia Indian town at Utica, in La Salle county. He says : "On the northwestern side of this river is a coal mine that extends, for half a mile along the middle bank of the river, which is high."

Beck, in a book issued by him in 1823, says: "Coal is found in great abundance in different parts of the state; it is of good quality and is very valuable on account of the scarcity of timber. Since the time of Father Hennepin's first mention of coal in the state the coal industry has grown and flourished to such extensive proportions that it is now one of our leading industries."

From a summary recently furnished by the secretary of the Illinois Bureau of Labor Statistics it appears that there are now more than 1,000 mines in the state and that nearly 40,000,000 tons of coal are mined annually by 59,230 employes. There are 102 counties in .the state and of these fifty-six have coal mines that contribute to the vast amount of coal consumed by the people of the

Temperance

About the year 1840 a great temperance movement was inaugurated in the east and it soon spread to Illinois. The temperance people called themselves "Washingtonians," and the movement was quite popular in some localities in the east for several years but met with a chilly reception in most places out in southern Illinois among the pioneers. It was all right down there among the women and children but the lords of the soil would have nothing to do with it.

A society was organized in the small village of Troy, Madison county, a few miles south of Edwardsville, and a committee was appointed to go out among the farmers and solicit them to join the society. The chairman or spokesman of the party was the minister of the little church in the village. On one of their trips around the neighboring towns, they came across an old farmer who had taken his whisky straight for many a year. He was informed of the society and its object and very kindly asked to join it. The old fellow was indignant to think they should want him to join such an organization, and would not listen to them but they pleaded with him and told him of the misery and ruin whisky was causing in the country and added that if the men would join the society it would close up the dram shops and then no one could get any liquor. "What," said the old fellow, ''close up the dram shops? I would have you know, sir, that my brother keeps a dram shop up there in Edwardsville, and you want me to help ruin him, do ye? Xo, I'll see you d - d first, and that I won't." And with that the old fellow turned on his heel and left them, boiling with indignation to think they should ask him to do an act that would aid in ruining his brother's business.

Bee Trees

The characteristics of the old pioneers are very forcibly illustrated in an anecdote related by the late Robert S. Blackwell, the author of "Blackwell on Tax Titles." Mr. Blackwell said that "the old pioneers were great bee hunters, and had the custom of appropriating to the finder all bee trees on whose land soever they happened to be growing. When they discovered a bee tree, without leave or license, they entered upon the land, cut it down and made themselves masters of the honey. The owners seldom ventured to complain and when they did, the juries were sure to punish their presumption with costs of suit.

"Well, one of the old settlers to whom I allude came to my office one day and stated that he had felled a bee tree upon his neighbor's land. He alluded to the old custom of conferring title "by discovery, and that suit was threatened, asking my advice in the premises. I replied that he had committed a trespass and advised him to compromise the affair. He left the office in high dungeon, saying as he was departing, 'This country is getting too d - d civilized for me.

The Disappearance Of The Buffalo

When Illinois was first visited by white men, the prairies were one great pasture for countless herds of buffaloes. Father Marquette and his companion, Louis Joliet, when reaching the Illinois country on their voyage down the Mississippi, saw upon the banks of that stream vast herds of the animals. On their return, and while going up the Illinois, the animals were everywhere to be seen, and as one of the father's records, they were so numerous as to be countless.

The flesh of the buffalo furnished the natives with the greater part of their food, their skins with clothing, bedding and tents, their sinews for bows, their bones for implements and ornaments, while their hair they wove into a fabric for dress ; hence, this disappearance of the buffalo from the country. Deprived, then, of the many necessities of life, the exact time when they disappeared or left the country is unknown but from the best accounts that can be obtained it was about 1780 they were seen swimming the Illinois river in vast herds. As late as 1778, but a year or two later, there was a big snow storm that covered the ground to the depth of three feet, and upon the top was a thick crust of ice that would bear a man. The next spring a few buffaloes, poor and emaciated, were seen going westward, but in many places hundreds of carcasses of the dead animals were to be found lying on the prairie. What few were left went across the Mississippi and it was seldom that one was seen east of that river after that time. Forty years afterward the skulls and bones were to be seen in places extending for miles.

Chevalier Henry De Tonty

Few of the writers of the early history of Illinois give much of an account of the life of this most faithful and intrepid companion of La Salle in his early voyages and explorations in the Illinois Territory. When referred to, he is spoken of as the "Faithful Tonty ;" that he was a Frenchman by birth, and had lost a hand in battle. It is our purpose, however, to here give some accounts of his early life and history.

Chevalier Henry De Tonty was born in Naples in 1650. He was a son of Lorenzo Tonty, a banker and prominent man of that city. He received an excellent education for those times and when eighteen years of age he entered the French army and served one year. It was an active one, however, for he was in seven campaigns and although he entered the service as a cadet, yet he was successively promoted as captain, and at Messina, Spain, he was placed in charge of 20,000 men.

During the battle of Libisso, a grenade shot away his right hand and it is told of him that while awaiting the delayed services of the surgeon, he with admirable nerve, amputated the ragged stump with a knife. The lost hand of flesh was replaced by one of iron, on which he usually wore a glove. There is some dispute among historians as to whether the hand that replaced that of flesh was of iron, copper, or silver, but whatever it was it served his purpose well, and in some instances was better than the one he lost. In his dealings with the Indians, it is said if they became disorderly or unruly he used that hand upon the heads of the contumaceous ones, sometimes breaking or knocking out their teeth. They, not knowing the secret of the efficacy of the blow, regarded it as a "medicine of the first order."

He was taken a prisoner at Libisso by the Spaniards and was confined for six months, and his release was effected by exchanging for him the son of the governor of that place. Upon returning to France the king bestowed three hundred livres upon him in recognition of his services.

In 1677 La Salle reached France from Montreal to seek the aid of the court in the prosecution of the vast designs he had formed for exploring the unknown interior of the continent south of the Great Lakes. Upon the recommendation of Prince Conti, whose favor Tonty seems to have won by his valorous conduct in the French wars, La Salle engaged the young man as his lieutenant.

They sailed from Rochelle, July 14, 1678, to Quebec, where after a voyage of two months, they arrived and there La Salle learned to appreciate the many good qualities of heart of which his lieutenant was to give him later on such signal proof. It was there that La Salle formed the only intimate friendship of his life and was rewarded by attaching to himself a man whose loyalty and disinterested devotion ceased only with death.

La Salle had formed a plan to follow up the discoveries of Joliet and Father Marquette in their voyage down the Mississippi, and to ascertain by descending that river to its mouth, whether it emptied into the Gulf of California, the Gulf of Mexico, or was indeed the long sought medium of communication with Japan and China, the Cipangang Cathay of Marco Polo. They had brought over with them all necessary ropes, anchors and other material for building a vessel to navigate the lakes, expert artisans also being brought along, who were skilled in the construction of vessels.

They at once set about the work of preparing for their long and tedious journey. The marvelous energy and fertility of resources displayed by Tonty astonished as well as delighted La Salle. In writing to Prince Conti after landing in Canada, he said : "His honorable character, his amiable disposition, were well known to you but perhaps you would not have thought him capable of doing things for which a strange constitution, an acquaintance with the country, and the full use of both hands seemed absolutely necessary. Nevertheless, his energy and address made him equal to anything and now at a season when everybody is in fear of the ice, he is setting out to begin a new fort two hundred leagues from this place."

In going from Fort Frontenac to Niagara,' on Lake Ontario, Tonty experienced the first evidence of the secret hostility directed against La Salle. The boat in which they came was wrecked through obstinacy of the pilot, who had doubtless been tampered with by the enemies of La Salle. Niagara, a place above the falls, had been selected as the site for the shipyard. It was the dead of winter but the work of building the \essel was begun with great energy. They had brought up the St. Lawrence and along the twelve mile portage trail of the Niagara gorge the anchors and other material necessary for the equipment of the vessel they were to build. La Salle remained long enough to drive the

It was a heavy task that was thus imposed upon Tonty. If he had an iron hand, he had a will of steel. The Senecas, an Indian tribe that was in the vicinity, were not only enemies of La Salle but they were also suspicious that the ribbed structure growing before their eyes meant menace to their fur trade in the west, which they had heretofore monopolized, and threatened to make a bonfire of the vessel. Provisions were scarce, the wrecked boat having contained the needed supply. But two New England Indians that La Salle had attached to the expedition became. his devoted followers and by their prowess saved the thirty men with Tonty and Father Hennepin. It was a long and tedious winter that tried the patience as well as the courage of the ever faithful Tonty to keep the enemies at bay, and at the same time supply his men with food while they pursued their labors on the vessel.

It was under these trying circumstances that the first vessel that ever plied the waters of Lakes Erie, Huron and Michigan was constructed. The Indians were wily as well as treacherous and as the vessel neared completion they constantly menaced the workmen. They, however, completed it, and in May it was ready to be launched. Amid the roar of cannon and the chorus of the "Te Deum" from the bearded workmen, the vessel slid from her docks into the waters of the Niagara river and it was then safe from all harm or molestation from the hostile natives. It was towed out in mid-stream and there anchored as a precaution from any further interference. The five cannon on board peeped through the port holes upon the Indians on the bank, giving them warning of danger should they attempt to make any hostile visits to the vessel.

It was not until summer was well advanced that La Salle joined the party on board the Griffin, as the vessel was christened. It was so named in honor of Count Frontenac, the governor of New France, as Canada was then called, that monster being his heraldic emblem.

Tonty went in a bark canoe ahead of the Griffin up Lake Erie, in order to look up some men and supplies that La Salle had ordered at the straits of Detroit. He reached there all right and found his men and the vessel. They were taken on board and the vessel sailed up the straits toward Lake Huron. Their voyage up that lake was a stormy one. The fall gales that prevailed sent the small craft forward, trembling in every part. But they weathered the gale and on the 27th of August they reached Michilimackinac. the Jesuit stronghold for the whole western country.

Early in September the Griffin sailed into Green Bay, mooring at one of the islands, which is thought to have been Washington Isle, whose astonished inhab'tants gazed in wonder at the "house that walked on the water." La Salle loaded the vessel with beaver skins which had cost 60,000 livres ($12,000). The vessel was never seen again. Whether she foundered in a gale or wa< destroyed by the crew was never known.

La Salle and Tonty then went up Lake Michigan, as before described, and also their going to Peoria lake, erecting the fort, Creve Coeur, fortifying the

Death Of Tonty

Tonty toiled for nearly twenty years to maintain Fort St. Louis on the Rock but was at last compelled to abandon it. It had been the pet scheme of his friend and companion, La Salle, that a fort should be maintained there, as it was known to be impregnable to any assault that then could be made, and so reluctantly he obeyed a royal decree and left it forever. As he floated down the beautiful Illinois river with his few followers, he waved back a sad farewell to the bold, high rock upon whose topmost level he had made his home for so many years. That was in the spring of 1699. He was then on his way south to join the Louisiana colonies at old Biloxi, at the mouth of the Mississippi. The colonists received him with open arms and for four years he shared their varied fortunes, aiding them in every way with his knowledge of woodcraft and savage lore. Through his efforts the neighboring Indians were pacified and many of them became the allies of the colonists in their troubles with other tribes that were hostile to them.

In 1704 a vessel arrived with supplies from Havana, but ere the colonists could rejoice at the acquisition of the stores it was learned that the vessel contained the germs of that terrible scourge, yellow fever. The vessel's crew had been nearly exterminated by it. It spread among the colonists and more than one-half of them lay dead. Tonty nursed the living and helped to bury the dead. But soon he, too, was stricken with the dread disease and in the month of September, 1704, a grave was dug in the soil of old Biloxi and therein was laid one of the most unselfish and loyal, as he was one of the most intrepid of the knightly men who first blazed a path whence civilization entered into what has since become the great empire of the northwest.

In our history of Illinois in this work we have stated that the Indian war chieftain, Pontiac, was assassinated at Cahokia, and we have done so upon what we consider the very best of authorities upon the subject.

Nearly every writer or historian who has alluded to or written of the death of that celebrated chieftain in the several histories of the state, so far as we can learn, with but one exception, all assert that he was assassinated at Cahokia. In fact, there is no mention in any of them that there was any question but that was the place, and they give in detail all the circumstances attending his death. Moses, in his history of Illinois ; Perrin, in his outlines of Illinois history ; Dresbach, in his "Young People's History of Illinois;" and Parish, in his "Historic Illinois," all name Cahokia as the place of his assassination. One of the best authorities on the subject, as we view it, is Osmon's "History of Starved Rock." He not only gives a very clear and comprehensive description of the tragedy, but enters into all the details of the Indian feuds and troubles prior to that time with great exactness.

It is generally conceded by all writers of Illinois history that the Illinois Indians had all left the northern part of the state at the time of Pontiac's last visit to the territory and had gone to Cahokia or near there ; that they had built villages there and were under the protection of the French who had settled there and that Pontiac, learning of the fact that the Illinois Indians had collected at Cahokia, went there, as he said, "to have a big spree," but as it was well thought by the people, to make trouble by inducing the Indians to make war upon the white inhabitants. A barrel of whisky was a big inducement to an Indian and he would doubtless have killed almost any one, even his own squaw or mother, in order to possess it.

On the other hand, Matson, in his "History of Illinois," which is a very good authority on most subjects pertaining to the early history of our state, says Pontiac was assassinated at Joliet Mound, by an Indian named Kineboo, for revenge, Pontiac at some time having done Kineboo a great wrong. Now it is for the reader to judge which of the authorities is the most probably correct. To us, the Cahokia story is altogether the most reasonable and plausible. We are aware that Indian revenge will go a long ways in a red man's makeup but not so far as a barrel of whisky. It was a terrible inducement to an Indian and one that no Indian would refuse.

Black Hawk War

When the United States assumed control of the country by reason of its purchase from France, nearly the whole state was in possession of the Sacs and Foxes, a powerful and warlike nation, who were not disposed to submit without a struggle to what they regarded the encroachment on their rights of the pale faces. Among the most noted chiefs and one whose restlessness and hatred of the whites occasioned more trouble to the government than any other of his tribe, was Black Hawk, who was born at the Sac village, on the Rock river, in 1767. He was simply the chief of his own band of Sac warriors; but by his energy and ambition he became the leading spirit of the united nation of the Sacs and Foxes, and one of the prominent figures in the history of the country from 1804 until his death. In early manhood he attained distinction as a fighting chief, having led campaigns against the Osages and other neighboring tribes. About the beginning of the nineteenth century he began to appear prominent in affairs on the Mississippi. His life was a marvel. He is said by some to have been the victim of a narrow prejudice and bitter ill will against the Americans.

November 3, 1804, a treaty was concluded between William Henry Harrison, then governor of the Indian Territory, on behalf of the United States, and five chiefs of the Sac and Fox nations by which the latter, in consideration of $2,234 >n goods then delivered, and a yearly annuity of $ 1,000 to be paid in goods at just cost, ceded to the United States all that land on the east side of the Missouri extending from' a point opposite the Jefferson, in Missouri, to the Wisconsin river, embracing an area of fifty-one million acres. To this treaty Black Hawk always objected and always refused to consider it binding upon his people. He asserted that the chiefs and braves who made it had no authority to relinquish the title of the nation to any of the lands they held or occupied and. moreover, to get one of their people released, who had been imprisoned at St. Louis for killing a white man.

In 1805 Lieutenant Pike came up the river for the purpose of holding friendly council with the Indians and selecting sites for forts within the territory recently acquired from France by the United States. Lieutenant Pike seems to have been the first American whom Black Hawk had met or had a personal interview with and was very much impressed in his favor. Pike gave a very interesting account of his visit to the noted chief.

Fort Edwards was erected soon after Pike's expedition, at what is now Warsaw, Illinois, also Fort Madison, on the site of the present town of that name, the latter being the first fort erected in Iowa. These movements occasioned great uneasiness among the Indians. When work was commenced on Fort Edwards, a delegation, from the nation, headed by their chiefs, went down to see what the Americans were doing and had an interview with the commander, after which they returned home and were apparently satisfied. In like manner, when Fort Madison was being erected, they sent down another delegation from a council of the nation held at Rock river. According to Black Hawk's account, the American chief told them he was building a house for a trader, who was coming to sell them goods cheap, and that the soldiers were coming to keep him company - a statement which Black Hawk says they distrusted at the time, believing that the fort was an encroachment upon their rights, and designed to aid in getting their lands away from them. It is claimed by good authority that the building of Fort Madison was a violation of the treaty of 1804. By the eleventh article of that treaty the United States had the right to build a fort near the mouth of the Wisconsin river, and by article six they bound themselves "that if any citizen of the United States or any other white person should form a settlement upon their lands such intruder should forthwith be removed." Probably the authorities of the United States did not regard the establishment of military posts as coming properly within the meaning of the term "settlement" as used in the treaty. At all events, they erected Fort Madison within the territory reserved to the Indians, who became very indignant. Very soon after the fort was built, a party led by Black Hawk attempted its destruction. They sent spies to watch the movements of the garrison, who ascertained that the soldiers were in the habit of marching out of the fort every morning and evening for parade and the plan of the party was to conceal themselves near the fort and attack and surprise them when they were outside. On the morning of the proposed day of the attack five soldiers came out and were fired upon by the Indians, two of them being killed. The Indians were too hasty in their movements, for the parade had not commenced. However, they kept up the siege several days, attempting the old strategy of setting fire to the fort with blazing arrows, but finding their efforts unavailing, they desisted and returned to their wigwams on Rock river. In 1812, when war was declared between this country and Great Britain, Black Hawk and his band allied themselves with the British, partly because he was dazzled by their specious promises but more probably because they were deceived by the Americans. Black Hawk himself declared they were forced into the war by having been deceived. He narrates the circumstances as follows : "Several of the head men and chiefs of the Sacs and Foxes were called upon to go to Washington to see their great father. On their return they related what had been said and done.

They said the great father wished them, in the event of war taking place with England, not to interfere on either side but to remain neutral. He did not want our help but wished us to hunt and support our families and live in peace. He said that British traders would not be permitted to come on the Mississippi to furnish us with goods but that we should be supplied by an American trader. Our chiefs then told him that the British traders always gave them credit in the fall for guns, powder and goods, to enable us to hunt and clothe our families. He repeated that the traders at Fort Madison would have plenty of goods ; that we should go there in the fall and he would supply us on credit, as the British traders had done." Black Hawk seems to have accepted the proposition and he and his people were very much pleased. Acting in good faith, they fitted out for their winter's hunt and went to Fort Madison in high spirits to receive from the trader their outfit of supplies ; but after waiting some time they were told by the trader that he would not trust them. In vain they pleaded the promise of their great father at Washington ; the trader was inexorable. Disappointed and crestfallen, the Indians turned sadly to their own village. Says Black Hawk: "Few of us slept that night. All was gloom and discontent. In the morning a canoe was seen ascending the river; it soon arrived bearing an express, who brought intelligence that a British trader had landed at Rock Island with two boats filled with goods, and requested us to come up immediately, because he had good news for us and a variety of presents. The express presented us with pipes, tobacco and wampum. The news ran through our camp like fire on the prairie. Our lodges were soon taken down and all started for Rock Island. Here ended all our hopes of remaining at peace, having been forced into the war by being deceived." He joined the British, who flattered him and styled him ''General Black Hawk," decked him with medals, excited his jealousy against the Americans and armed his band but he met with defeat and disappointment and soon abandoned the service and returned home.

There was a portion of the Sacs and Foxes whom Black Hawk, with all his skill and cunning, could not lead into hostilities against the United States. With Keokuk, the "Watchful Fox," at their head, they were disposed to abide by the treaty of 1804 and to cultivate friendly relations with the American people. So when Black Hawk and his band joined the fortunes of Great Britain, the rest of the nation remained neutral and for protection organized with Keokuk for their chief. Thus the nation was divided into the "war party" and "peace party." Keokuk became one of the nation's great chiefs. In person he was tall and of portly bearing. He has been described as an orator, entitled to rank with the most gifted of his race, and through the eloquence of his tongue he prevailed upon a large body of his people to remain friendly to the Americans. As has been said, the treaty of 1804, between the United States and the Sac and Fox nations was never acknowledged by Black Hawk and in 1831 he established himself with a chosen band of warriors upon the disputed territory, ordering the whites to leave the country at once. The settlers complaining. Governor Reynolds of Illinois despatched General Gaines, with a company of regulars and one thousand, five hundred volunteers to the scene of action. Taking the Indians by surprise, the troops burned their village 'and forced them to conclude a

Necessity forced the proud spirit of Black Hawk into submission, which made him more than ever determined to be avenged upon his enemies. Having rallied around him the warlike braves of the Sac and Fox nations, he recrossed the Mississippi in the spring of 1832.

This armed array of savages soon alarmed the settlers and a general panic spread through the whole frontier, from the Mississippi to Lake Michigan. Many settlers in terror abandoned their homes and farms and the Governor decided, on the i6th of April, to call out a large number of volunteers to operate in conjunction with General Atkinson, who was in command of the regular forces at Rock Island. The Governor ordered the troops to rendezvous at Beardstown on the 22d of April. Governor Reynolds' circular which he addressed to the citizen soldiers in the crisis then pending, follows : "To the Militia of the Northwestern Section of the State:

"FELLOW CITIZENS: Your country requires your services. The Indians have assumed hostile attitude, and have invaded the state in violation of the treaty of last summer. The British band of Sacs and other hostile Indians, headed by Hlack Hawk, are in possession of the Rock river country, to the great terror of the frontier inhabitants. I consider the settlers on the frontiers to be in imminent danger. I am in possession of the above information from gentlemen of respectable standing, and also from General Atkinson, whose character stands high with all classes. In possession of the above facts I have hesitated not as to the course I should pursue. No citizen ought to remain inactive when his country is invaded and the helpless part of the community are in danger. I have called out a large detachment of militia to rendezvous at Beardstown on the 22d. Provisions for the men and food for the horses will be furnished in abundance. I hope my countrymen will realize my expectations and offer their services, as heretofore, with promptitude and cheerfulness in defense of their country.

To the stirring appeal of the Governor the patriotic citizens of the state and Macoupin county nobly responded. Many of the best and prominent men of the county enlisted to protect the frontier and preserve the honor of the state and did signal service in the memorable events of the Black Hawk war. Among the citizens of Macoupin county who went out were as follows:

Officers : Captain Harris, afterward better known to the citizens of this county as General Harris, who organized the first company. Captain Bennett Nolan also organized a company. Lieutenant Colonel Powell H. Sharp, then a resident of what is now Scottville township, ranked as lieutenant colonel in this war and is spoken of as a brave man. William Coop, Jefferson Weatherford and the late Judge John Yowell were commissioned lieutenants. The two former were lieutenants in Captain Harris' company and the latter a lieutenant in Captain Nolan's company. Aquilla P. Pepperdine was the orderly sergeant in Captain Harris' company. Thomas McVey and John Lewis were also sergeants in the same company. Captain Harris' company rendezvoused at Beardstown and was mustered at Rock Island under command of Colonel A. B. Duwitt of Jacksonville. William J. Weatherford was lieutenant colonel of the regi- ment. A portion of the Macoupin county men were in the regiment commanded by Colonel James Collins. Lieutenant Colonel Sharp was attached to this regiment. Of the private soldiers from this county may be mentioned the following: George Mathews, Oliver W. Hall, Lewis Solomon, Jr., Theodorus Davis, James Hall, John Bayless, John Coop, Hardin Weatherford, Ransom Coop, a Mr. Powell, Hiram English, Thomas Thurman, Reverdy English, David Rusk, Joshua Martin, Travis Moore, Samuel Cummings, Samuel D. Ray, Wilford Palmer, Larkin Richardson, Samuel McVey, John Chapman, Charles McVey, Mathew Withrow, Aaron Sample, John Ross, Spencer Norville, Charles Lair, William Talkington, James White, Achilles Deatheridge, E. H. Richards, John England, George Sprouse, Harvey McPeters and Zachariah Stewart.

Captain Thomas S. Gelder, then a resident of Greene county, served in the campaign of 1831 and immediately after his return settled with his father on a farm in Chesterfield township.

Among those who enlisted from Macoupin county in Captain Kinkead's company of Greene county were : John Record, Isham Caudle, Isaac McCollum and Isaac Prewitt. There may have been others but these are all the names that we have been able to gather, as no official record has been preserved at Springfield. Few of the hardy soldiers of this war remain with us. Many after the war was ended moved to other sections of the country and many others have passed over the river and are now in the embrace of the silent sleep of death.

The force marched to the mouth of Rock river, where General Atkinson received the volunteers into the United States service and assumed command. Black Hawk and his warriors were still up on Rock river.

The army under Atkinson commenced its march up the river on the gth of May. Governor Reynolds, the gallant "Old Ranger," remained with the army, and the President recognized him as a major general and he was paid accordingly. His presence in the army did much toward harmonizing and conciliating those jealousies which generally exist between volunteers and regular troops. Major John A. Wakefield and Colonel Ewing acted as spies for a time in the campaign of 1832, to discover the location of the enemy if possible. A Mr. Kinney acted as guide for them. He understood the Sac dialect. On the i4th of May, 1832, Major Stillman's command had a sort of running battle with the Indians at or near what is now known as Stillman's run, a small, sluggish stream. In this engagement eleven white men and eight Indians were killed. Black Hawk and warriors fought with the spirit born of desperation. Black Hawk says in his book that he tried at Stillman's run to call back his warriors, as he thought the whites were making a sham retreat in order to draw him into an ambuscade of the whole army under General Whiteside. The hasty retreat and rout of Stillman and his army was in a measure demoralizing to the entire forces. Undoubtedly the cause of the defeat was a lack of discipline. When Governor Reynolds learned of the disaster of Major Stillman, he at once ordered out two thousand additional volunteers. With that promptitude characteristic of the old "War Governor," he wrote out by candle light on the evening of Stillman's defeat, the order for additional troops, and by daylight dispatched John Ewing, Robert Blackwell and John A. Wakefield to distribute the order to the various counties. The volunteers again promptly responded. However, the soldiers from this county did but little fighting. On the loth of July the army disbanded for want of provisions. General Scott arrived soon after with a large force at the post of Chicago, to effect, if possible, a treaty with the Indians. Small detachments of Black Hawk's warriors would persistently hang on the outskirts of the main body of the army, thieve and plunder, and pounce upon and kill the lonely sentinel or straggling soldier. On the I5th of July the soldiers were reviewed and those incapable of duty were discharged and returned home. Poquette, a half breed, and a Winnebago chief, the "White Pawnee," were selected for guides to the camp of Black Hawk and band. Several battles and skirmishes occurred with the enemy, the principal of which was on the banks of the Mississippi, where the warriors fought with great desperation. Over one hundred and fifty were killed in the engagement and large numbers drowned in attempting to swim the river. After the battle the volunteers were marched to Dixon, where they were discharged. This ended the campaign and the Black Hawk war. At the battle of Bad Axe, Black Hawk and some of his warriors escaped the Americans and had gone up the Wisconsin river.

The Winnebagoes, desirous of securing the friendship of the whites, went in pursuit and captured and delivered them to General Street, the United States Indian agent. Among the prisoners were the son of Black Hawk and the prophet of the tribe. These with Black Hawk were taken to Washington, D. C., and soon consigned as prisoners to Fortress Monroe. At the interview Black Hawk had with the president he closed his speech delivered on the occasion in the following words : "We did not expect to conquer the whites. They have too many Rouses, too many men. I took up the hatchet, for my part, to revenge injuries which my people would no longer endure. Had I borne them longer without striking, my people would have said : 'Black Hawk is a woman ; he is too old to be a chief ; he is no Sac.' These reflections caused me to raise the war whoop. I say no more. It is known to you. Keokuk once was here ; yon 'took him by the hand, and when he wished to return to his home, you were willing. Black Hawk expects like Keokuk, he shall be permitted to return, too."

By order of the president, Black Hawk and his companions, who were in confinement at Fortress Monroe, were set free on the 4th day of June, 1833. After their release from prison they were conducted in charge of Major Garland through some of the principal cities that they might witness the power of the United States and learn their own inability to cope with them in war. Great multitudes nocked to see them wherever they were taken and the attention paid them rendered their progress through the country a triumphal procession instead of prisoners transported by an officer. At Rock Island the prisoners were given their liberty amid great and impressive ceremony. In 1838 Black Hawk built him a dwelling near Des Moines, Iowa, and furnished it after the manner of the whites and engaged in agricultural pursuits, together with hunting and fishing. There, with his wife, to whom he was greatly attached, he passed the few remaining days of his life. To his credit it may be said that Black Hawk remained true to his wife and served her with "a devotion uncommon among Indians, living with her upwards of forty years.

At all times when Black Hawk visited the whites he was received with marked attention. He was an honored guest of the old settlers' reunion in Lee county,

Illinois, and received marked tokens of esteem. In September, 1838, while on his way to Rock Island to receive his annuity from the government, he contracted a severe cold, which resulted in an intense attack of bilious fever, and terminated his life October 3d. After his death he was dressed in the uniform presented him by the president while in Washington. He was buried in a grave six feet in depth, situated upon a beautiful eminence. The body was placed in the middle of the grave, in a sitting position upon a seat constructed for the occasion. On his left side the cane given him by Henry Clay was placed upright, with his right hand resting upon it. His remains were afterward stolen and carried away but they were recovered by the governor of Iowa and placed in the museum of the Historical Society, at Burlington, Iowa, where they were finally destroyed by fire.

Fort Armstrong, on Rock Island, was the place appointed where a treaty would be made with the Indians but before it was effected that dreadful scourge, the cholera of 1832, visited not only the regular army, depleting its ranks far more rapidly than the balls of the Indians had done, but it also sought out its many victims in the dusky bands of the Black Hawk tribe.

On the 1 5th of September, 1832, a treaty was made with the Winnebago Indians. They sold out all their lands in Illinois and all south of the Wisconsin river and west of Green Bay and the government gave them a large district of country west of the Mississippi, and $10,000 a year for seven years, besides providing free schools for their children for twenty years, oxen, agricultural implements, etc.

September 21, 1832, a treaty was made with all the Sac and Fox tribes, on which they ceded to the United States the tract of country on which a few years afterward the state of Iowa was formed. In consideration of the above cession of lands, the government gave them an annuity of $20,000 for thirty years, forty kegs of tobacco and forty barrels of salt, more gunsmiths, blacksmith shop, etc., six thousand bushels of corn for immediate support, mostly intended for the Black Hawk band.

The treaties above mentioned terminated favorably and the security resulting therefrom gave a new and rapid impetus to the development of the state, and now enterprising towns and villages and beautiful farms adorn the rich and alluvial prairies that before were only desecrated by the wild bands who inhabited them. Agricultural pursuits, commerce and manufactures, churches and schools, are lending their influence to advance an intelligent and prosperous people.

The Mexican War

In the Mexican war Macoupin county was represented by a number of patriotic men and the part taken by them in that controversy at arms is here presented as related in a former history of the county :

"In the war with Mexico in 1846-7, Illinois furnished six regiments of men, as follows : First regiment, commanded by Colonel John J. Hardin ; Second regiment, commanded by Colonel William H. Bissell ; Third regiment, commanded by Colonel Ferris Forman ; Fourth regiment, commanded by Colonel Edward D. Baker: Fifth regiment, commanded by Colonel James Collins; Sixth regiment

Otep.5Ity Of Illinois

"The First regiment, mustered at Alton, Illinois, one thousand strong, was transported to New Orleans by steamboat in July, 1846, crossed the gulf and disembarked from the vessel at Port Levaca, in Texas, thence by forced march to Camp Crockett, at San Antonia De Baxar, where they became a part of the main army, thence to Persido, thence two hundred and fifty miles to Mount Clover, thence to Paris and from that point made a forced march to Aqua Aneva. This regiment fought bravely at the glorious battles of Buena Vista, fhe city of Mexico and Cerro Gordo. In this regiment enlisted, in Company C, James P. Pearson (better known as Captain Pearson), who was wagon master and musician. He was severely wounded in the ankle at Buena Vista; John and Henry Sharp, James Coen, Thomas Joiner, Isaac Hill, Enoch Witt, Richard Mathew, Jefferson Edwards and Thomas Pettyjohn. In Company E, commanded by Captain Newcomb, were John Vincent, who died in the service; William Davis, Snowden Sawyer, S. B. Sawyer, John H. and William C. Purdy, Reuben Skidmore, John Price, James Linton, Andrew Scroggins, Samuel Crowell and James F. Chapman.

"Ig the Fifth regiment, Colonel Collins, Company C, there were fourteen as follows : B. J. Dorman, William Brown, John Coudel, John Pomeroy, who died in Mexico ; James Raffurty, James Colyer, Jackson Edwards, Theodorus Moore, who died in Mexico; Albert Clark, who also died in Mexico; William Larrimore, James Morgan and John Burgess, all of whom died in Mexico. James Green and Andrew Shaw were also members of Company C. Captain Lee, of Fayette county, commanded the company. Several men from the neighborhood of Staunton, were also members of this regiment. They were : D. W. Henderson, Benjamin Henderson, S. W. Bell, Daniel Grant, who died in service; Drury M. Grant, B. F. Cowell, Thomas Howell, who died in Mexico; James Vincent, who died in Mexico; Jackson Scroggins, who also died in Mexico; Harrison Harrington, Ambrose Dickerson and David R. Sparks.

"They were mustered at Alton in 1846 and were sworn in for duty during the war. Thence they were transported to New Orleans, and from that place were ordered to Tampico, from which place they were transported by vessel to Vera Cruz. They were in Patterson's Division and under General Scott. This regiment participated in several skirmishes but was in no general engagement. They marched to the city of Mexico but after its capture they were mustered out at Alton, Illinois, in August, 1847.

"In the Fourth regiment, commanded by Colonel Baker, there were quite a number of boys from Macoupin county. They enlisted in Company B, Captain Elkin, commander, at Carlinville, in the early part of June, 1846, and the next month, at Alton, were sworn into the service. They were : Fuller Smock, Sebum Gilmore, Rush Guy, Lee Graham, Joseph Graham, Elijah Pulliam, William Dews, Richard Mathews, John Tennis, Marion Wallace, who died at Tampico, Mexico; Jackson Wallace, who enlisted as a private, was promoted to first lieutenant and died at Camargo; Sylvanus Seaman, Wilson Mitchell, Felix Hampton, M. Warmack, discharged at Jefferson Barracks soon after being sworn in, on account of sickness; Alfred and Samuel Hall, both discharged at Matamoras on account of sickness; Felix Hall, discharged at Jefferson Barracks; and John Stockton, also discharged on account of sickness. Also in this regiment were Samuel Cowell and Andrew Scroggins. After being mustered at Alton, the regiment was moved to Jefferson Barracks, where they were drilled -for about a month, then sent to New Orleans, thence to Brazos Santiago, near the mouth of the Rio Grande, thence to Camp Belknap, on the same river, from there to Camargo, where they laid six weeks ; here severe drill was resumed ; they then took a steamer to Matamoras and were placed in Patterson's brigade, General Taylor commanding. They were later transferred to the main army under General Scott. From Matamoras they went to Tampico, where they embarked for Vera Cruz, to which they laid siege, which, after a heavy bombardment, capitulated, surrendering the forts and shipping in the harbor. They then marched to Cerro Gordo, where the Mexicans, under Santa Anna, were defeated. Here General Shields commanded the brigade. They followed the retreating Mexicans to Jalapa, where they camped for three weeks. Their term of service had now expired and they were ordered to Vera Cruz, thence to New Orleans, where in August, 1847, they were discharged and paid their own way home.

"Other soldiers from this county in that war were a part of Captain Little's cavalry. In Colonel Hays' regiment of Texas cavalry the regiment had two companies from Illinois - Little's and Stapp's. Their names were as follows : Thomas Bacon, sergeant, John Murphy, John Guison, Edward Miller, Wyatt R. Hill, William Jones, Josiah Jones, Hiram Wood, James Holley, Peter Kuykentiall, John Wood, William Edwards, Hugh Rice, William F. McWain, Charles Cowden, Thomas Stone and William Hamilton. John Murphy and Thomas Stone were killed in action near Robert's Bridge, Mexico, and William Jones died at Rio Frio, Mexico.

"Others undoubtedly were in the war but their names cannot now be procured. It is pleasing to know that the general assembly of Illinois made an appropriation, in 1878, for the purpose of transcribing the names of Illinois soldiers who were in the Mexican war from the official register at the war department, the same to be placed in the adjutant general's office at Springfield. Governor Cullom appointed Colonel Ferris Forman, of Vandalia, to perform that duty."