Peoria County, Illinois - Chapter 2: French Occupation, 1880

Chapter 2: French Occupation

Nicholas Perrot - LaSalle's Explorations - Indian Against Indian - Great Battle of the Illinois - Frenchmen Driven Away - Inhuman Butchery - Tonti Safe at Green Bay - LaSalle's Return - LaSalle's Assassination - First Settlements - John Law - Bubbles.

The first white man who ever set foot on the soil embraced within the boundary of the present populous State of Illinois was Nicholas Perrot, a Frenchman. He was sent to Chicago in the year 1671 by M. Talon, Intendant of Canada, for the purpose of inviting the Western Indians to a great peace convention to be lield at Green Bay. This convention had for its chief object the promulgation of a plan for the discovery of the Mississippi river. This great river had been discovered by De Soto, the Spanish explorer, nearly one hundred and fifty years previously, but his nation left the country a wilderness, without further exploration or settlement within its borders, in which condition it remained until the river was discovered by Joliet and Marquette in 1673. It was deemed a wise policy to secure, as far as possible, the friendship and co-operation of the Indians, far and near, before venturing upon an enterprise which their hostility might render disastrous. Thus the great convention was called.

Lasalle'S Explorations

The first French occupation of Illinois was effected by LaSalle, in 1680. Having constructed a vessel, the " GriflBn," above the falls of Niagara, he sailed to Green Bay, and passed thence in canoe to the moutli of the St. Joseph river, by which and the Kankakee he reached the Illinois in January, 16S0 ; and on the od he entered the expansion of the river now called Peoria lake. Here, at the lower end of the lake, on its eastern bank, now in Tazewell county, he erected Fort Crevecoeur. The place where this ancient fort stood may still be seen just below the outlet of Peoria lake. It had, however, but a tenoporary existence. From this point LaSalle determined, at that time, to descend the Mississippi to its mouth. This he did not do, however, until two years later. Returning to Fort Frontenac for the purpose of getting material with whicli to rig his vessel, he left the fort at Peoria in charge of his lieutenant, Henri Tonti, an Italian, who had lost one of his hands by the explosion of a grenade in tiie Sicilian wai-s. Tonti had with hira fifteen men, most of wliom disliked LaSalle, and were ripe for a revolt the first opportunity. Two men who had, previous to LaSalle's departure, been sent to look for the " GriflSn," now returned and reported that the vessel was lost, and that Fort Frontenac was in the hands of LaSalle's creditors. This disheartening intelligence had the effect to enkindle a spirit of mutiny among the garrison. Tonti had no sooner left the fort, with a few men, to fortify what was afterward known as Starved Rock, than the garrison at the fort refused longer to submit to authority. They destroyed the fort, seized the ammunition, provisions, and other portables of value, and fled. Onl}' two of their number remained true. These hastened to apprise Tonti of what had occurred. He thereupon sent four of the men with him to inform LaSalle. Thus was Tonti in the midst of treacherous savages, with onl}' five men, two of whom were the friars Ribourde and Membre. With these he immediately returned to the fort, collected what tools had not been destroyed, and conveyed them to the great town of the Illinois Indians. By this voluntary display of confidence he hoped to remove the jealousy created in the minds of the Illinois by the enemies of LaSalle. Here he awaited, unmolested, the return of LaSalle.

Great Battle Of The Illinois

Neither Tonti nor his wild associates suspected that hordes of Iroquois were gathering preparatory to rushing down upon their country and reducing it to an uninluxbited waste. Already these hell-liuunds of the wilderness had destroyed the Hurons, Fries, and other natives of the lakes, and were now directing their attention to the Illinois for new victims. Five hundred Irotjuois warriors set out for the homes of the Illinois. All was fancied security and idle repose in the great town of this tribe, as the enemy stealthily approached. Suddeidy as a clap of thunder from a cloudless sky the listless inhabitants were awakened from their letharg}-. A Shawnee Indian, on Ids return home after a visit to the Illinois, first discovered the invaders. To save his friends from the impending danger, he hurriedly returned and ajipriscd them of the coming enemy. This intelligence spread with liglilning rapidity over the town, and t-aili wigwam disgorged its boisterous and astounded inmates. Women snatciied their children, and in a delirium of fright wandered aimlessly about, rending the air with their screams. Tiie men, more self-possessed, seized their arms ready for the coming fray. Tonti, long an object of suspicion, was soon surrounded by an angry crowd of warriors, who ai'cu.-^ed him of being an emissary of the enemy. His inability to defend himself properly, in consequence of not fully understanding their language, left them still inclined to believe him guilty, and they seized his effects from the fort and threw them into the river. The women and children were sent down the river for safety, and the warriors, not exceeding four hundred, as most of their young men were off hunting, returned to the village. Along the shores of the river they kindled huge bonfires, and spent the entire night in greasing their bodies, jtaintiiig their faces, and performing the war -dance, to inejiare for the a[>pr<iai;liing enemy. At early dawn the scouts who had iiecn sent out returned, closely followed by the Iroquois. The scouts had seen a chief arrayed in French cos- tume, and reported their suspicions tliat LaSalle was in the camp of the enemy, and Tonti again became an object of jealousy. A concourse of wildly gesticulating savages immediately gathered about him, demanding his life, and nothing saved him from their uplifted weapons but a promise that he and his men would go with them to meet the enemy. With their suspicions partly lulled, they hurriedly crossed the river and met the foe, when both commenced firing. Tonti, seeing that the Illinois were outnumbered and likely to be defeated, determined, at the imminent risk of his life, to stay the fight by an attempt at mediation. Presuming on the treaty of peace then existing between the French and Iroquois, he exchanged his gun for a belt of wampum and advanced to meet the savage multitude, attended by three companions, who, being unnecessarily exposed to danger, were dismissed, and he proceeded alone. A short walk brought him in the midst of a pack of yelping devils, writhing and distorted with fiendish rage, and impatient to shed his blood. As the result of iiis swarthy Italian complexion and half- savage costume, he was at first taken for an Indian, and before the mistake was discovered a young warrior approached and stabbed at his heart. Fortunately the blade was turned aside by coming in contact with a rib, yet a large flesh wound was inflicted, which bled profuselj'. At this juncture a chief discovered his true character, and he was led to the rear and efforts were made to" staunch his wound. When sufficiently recovered, he declared the Illinois were under the protection of the French, and demanded, in consideration of the treaty between the latter and the Iroquois, that they should be suffered to remain without further molestation. During this conference a 3'oung warrior snatched Tonti's hat, and, fleeing with it to the front, held it aloft on the end of his gun in view of the Illinois. The latter, judging that Tonti had been killed, renewed the fight with great vigor. Simultaneously, intelligence was brought to the Iroquois that Frenchmen were assisting their enemies in the fight, when the contest over Tonti was renewed with redoubled fury. Some declared that he should be immediately put to death, while others, friendly to LaSalle, with equal earnestness demanded that he should be set at liberty. During their clamorous debate, his hair was several times lifted by a huge savage who stood at his back with a scalping knife ready for execution.

Tonti at length turned the current of the angry controversy in his favor, by stating that the Illinois were 1,"200 strong, and that there were 60 Frenchmen at the village ready to assist them. This statement obtained at least a partial credence, and his tormentors now determined to use him as an instrument to delude the Illinois with a pretended truce. The old warriors, therefore, advanced to the front and ordered the firing to cease, while Tonti, dizzy from the loss of blood, was furnished with an emblem of peace and sent staggering across the plain to rejoin the Illinois. The two friars who had just returned from a distant hut, whither they had repaired for praj'er and meditation, were the first to meet him and bless God for what they regarded as a miraculous deliverance. With the assurance brought by Tonti, the Illinois re-crossed the river to their lodges, followed by the enem}' as far as the opposite bank. Not long after, large numbers of the latter, under the pretext of liunting, also crossed the river and hung in threatening groups about the town. These hostile indications, and the well-known disregard which the Iroquois had always evinced for their pledges, soon convinced the Illinois that their onlj' safety was in flight. With this conviction they set fire to their village, and while the vast volume of flames and smoke diverted the attention of the enemy, they quietly dropped down the river to join their women and children. As soon as the flames would permit, the Iroquois entrenched themselves on the site of the village. Tonti and his men were ordered by the suspicious savages to leave their hut and take up their abode in the fort.

At first the Iroquois were much elated at the discomfiture of tlie Illinois, but when two days afterward they discovered them reconnoitering their intrenchments, their courage greatly subsided. With fear they recalled the exaggerations of Tonti respecting their numbers, and concluded to send Iiim with a hostage to make overtures of peace. He and liis hosta<:je were received witli delight Ijv the Illinois, who readily assented to the proposal which he l)rought, and in turn sent back with him a hostage to the Iroquois. On his return to tlie fort his life was again placed in jeopardy, and the treat}' was with great diflSculty ratified. Tiie young and inexperienced Illinois hostage betrayed to his crafty interviewers the numerical weakness of his tribe, and the savages immediately rushed upon Tonti, and charged him with having deprived them of the spoils and honors of victory. It now required all the tact of wliich he was master to escape. After much diflSculty, however, the treaty w<vs concluded, but the savages, to show their contempt for it, immediately commenced constructing canoes in which to descend the river and attack the Illinois.

Tonti managed to apprise the latter of their designs, and he and Membre were soon after summoned to attend a council of the Iroquois, who still labored under a wholesome fear of Count Frontenac, and disliking to attack the Illinois in the presence of the French, they thought to try to induce them to leave the' country. At the assembling of the council, six packages of beaver skins were introduced, and the savage orator, presenting them separately to Tonti, explained the nature of each. "The fii-st two," said he, " were to declare that the children of Count Frontenac, that is, the Illinois, should not be eaten ; tlie next was a plaster to heal the wounds of Tonti ; the next was oil wherewith to anoint him and Membre, that they might not be fatigued in traveling ; the next proclaimed that the sun was bright ; and the sixth and last required them to decamp and go home."

At the mention of going home, Tonti demanded of them when they intended to set the exami)le by leaving the Illinois in the peaceable possession of their country, wliich they had so unjustly invaded. The council grew boisterous and angry at the idea that they should be demanded to do what they required of the French, and some of its members, forgetting their previous pledge, declared that the}' would " eat Illinois flesh before they departed." Tonti, in imitation of the Indians' manner of expressing scorn, indignantly kicked away the presents of fur, saying, since they intended to devour the children of Frontenac with cannibal ferocity, he would not accept their gifts. This stern rebuke resulted in tlie expulsion of Tonti and his companion from the council, and tiie next day the chiefs ordered them to leave the country.

Tonti had now, at the great peril of his life, tried every expedient to prevent the slaughter of the Illinois. There was little to be accomplished by longer remaining in tlic country, and as longer delay niiglit iini)eril the lives of his own men, he determined to depart, not knowing where or when he would be able to rejoin LaSalle. With this object in view, the party, consisting of six j)ersons, embarked in canoes, which soon proved leaky, and they were compelled to land for the purpose of making repairs. While tlius employed. Father Riiiourde attracted by the beauty of the surrounding landscape, wandered forth among tlie groves for meditation and prayer. Not returning in due time, Tonti l)ecame alarmed, and started with a coiiipanioii to ascertain tlio cause of the long deliiy. They soon discovered tracks of Indians, liy whom it was supposed he iiad been seized, and guns were fired to direct his return, in case he was alive. Seeing nothing of liim during the day, at night they built fires along the bank of the river and retired to the opposite side, to see who might approach them. Near midnight a number of Indians were seen flitting about the light, by whom, no doubt, had been made the tracks seen the previous day. It was afterward learned that they were a bainl of Kiekajioos, who had for several days been hovering about the camp of the Iroquois in (juest of scalps. They had fell in with the inoffensive old friar and scalped him. Thus, in the 65th year of his age, the only heir to a wealthy Burgiindian house perished under the war-club of the savages for whose salvation he had renounced ease and affluence.

Inhuman Butchery

During this tragedj- a far more revolting one was being enacted in the great town of Illinois. The Iroquois were tearing ojien the graves of the dead, and wreaking their vengeance upon the bodies made liideous by putrefaction. At this desecration, it is said, tiiey even ate portions of the dead bodies, while subjecting them to every indignity that brutal hate could inflict. Still unsated by their hellish brutalities, and now unrestrained by the presence of the French, tiiej" started in pursuit of the retreating Illinois. Day after day they and the opposing forces moved in compact array down the river, neither being able to gain any advantage over the other. At length the Iroquois obtained by falsehood that which number and prowess denied them. They gave out that their object was to possess the country, not by destroying, but In' driving out its present inhabitants. Deceived Ijy this false statement, the Illinois separated, some descending tlie Mississippi and others crossing to the western shore. The Tamaroas, more credulous than the rest, remained near the mouth of the Illinois, and were suddenly attacked by an overwhelming force of the enemy. The men fled in dismay, and the women and ciiildren, to the number of 700, fell into the hands of the ferocious enemy. Tiien followed the tortures, butclieries and burnings which only tiie infuriated and imbruted Iroquois could perpetrate. LaSalle on his return discovered the half-charred bodies of women and children still bouncf to the stakes where thej' had suffered all the torments hellish hate could devise. In addition to those who had been burnt, the mangled bodies of women and children thickly covered the ground, many of which bore marks of brutality too horrid for record.

After the ravenous horde had sufficiently glutted their greed for carnage, they retired from the country. The^Illinois returned and rebuilt their town.

Tonti Safe At Green Bay

After the death of Ribourde, Tonti and his men again resumed their journe}-. Soon again their craft became disabled, when they abandoned it and started on foot for Lake Michigan. Their sujiply of provisions soon became exhausted, and tiiey were compelled to subsist in a great measure on roots and herbs, (^ne of their comi)anion wandered off in search of game, and lost his way, and several days elapsed before iie rejoined them. In his absence he was williout flints and bullets, yet contiived to shoot some turkej's by using slugs cut from a pewter porringer and a iirebrand to discharge his gun. Tonti fell sick of a fever and greatly retarded the progress of tlie march. Nearing Green Bay, the cold increased and tlie means of subsistence decreased and tiie party would have ]ierisiied liad they not found a few ears of corn and some frozen squashes in tiie fields of a ilescrted village. Near the close of Novemlier tiiey had readied the Pottawatoniies, who warmly greeted them. Tlieir chief was an ardent admirer of the French, ami was accustomed to say: " There were but three great captains in the world, - liimself, Tonti and LaSalle." For the above account of Tonti's encounter with the Iroquois, we are indebted to Davidson and Stuve's History of Illinois.

LaSalle returned to Peoria only to meet the hideous picture of devastation. Tonti had escaped, iiut I^aSalle knew not whither. Passing down the lake in search of him and his men, LaSalle discovered that the fort had been destroyed; but the vessel which he iiad partly constructed was slill on tiie stocks, and but slightly injured. After further fruitless search lie fastened to a tree a painting represeiiliiig liimself and party sitting in a canoe and bearing a pipe of peace, and to the painting attached a letter addressed to Tonti.

General History Op Illinois

LaSalle was born in France in 1643, of wealthy parentage, and educated in a college of the Jesuits, from which he separated and came to Canada, a poor man. in 1666. He was a man of daring genius, and outstripped all his competitors in exploits and travel and commerce with the Indians. He was granted a large tract of land at LaCiiine, where he established himself in the fur trade. In 1669 he visited the headquarters of the great Ii'oquois confederacy, at Onondaga, New York, and, obtaining guides, explored the Ohio river to the falls at Louisville. For many years previous, it must be remembered, missionaries and traders were obliged to make their way to the Nortiiwest tlirough Canada on account of the fierce hostility of the Iroquois along the lower lakes of Niagara river, which entirely closed this latter route to the upper lakes. They carried on their commerce chiefly by canoes, paddling them through Ottawa river to Lake Nipissing, carrying them across the portage to French river, and descending that to Lake Huron. This being the route by which they reached the Northwest, we have an explanation of the fact that all the earliest Jesuit missions were established in the neighborhood of the upper lakes. LaSalle conceived the grand idea of opening the route by Niagara river and the lower lakes to Canada commerce by sail vessels, connecting it with tlie navigation of the Mississippi, and thus opening a magnificent water communication from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to the Gulf of Mexico. This truly grand and comprehensive purpose seems to have animated him in liis wonderful achievements, and the matchless difficulties and hardships he surmounted. As tlie first step in the accomplisliment of this object he established himself on Lake Ontario, and built and garrisoned Fort Frontenac, the site of the present city of Kingston, Canada. Here he obtained a grant of land from the French crown, and a body of troops, by which he repulsed the Iroquois and opened passage to Niagara Falls. Having by this masterly stroke made it safe to attemjjt a hitherto untried expedition, his next step, as we have seen, was to build a ship with which to sail the lakes. He was successful in this undertaking, though his ultimate purpose was defeated by a strange combination of untoward circumstances. The Jesuits evidently hated LaSalle and platted against him, because he had abandoned them and united with a rival order. The fur traders were also jealous of his success in opening new channels of commerce. While they were plodding with their bark canoes through the Ottawa, he was constructing sailing vessels to command the trade of the lakes and the Mississippi. These great plans excited the jealousy and envy of small traders, introduced treason and revolt into the ranks of his men, and finally led to the foul assassination by which his great achievements were permanently ended.

Again visiting the Illinois in the year 1682, LaSalle descended the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. He erected a standard upon which he inscribed the arms of France, and took formal possession of the whole valley of this mighty river in the name of Louis XIV., then reigning, and in honor of whom he named the country Louisiana. LaSalle then returned to France, was appointed Governor, and returned with a fleet of immigrants for the purpose of planting a colony in Illinois. They arrived in due time in the Gulf of Mexico, but failing to find the moutli of the Mississippi, up which tliey intended to sail, his supply ship, with the immigrants, was driven ashore and wrecked on Matagorda Bay. With the fragments of the vessel he constructed rude huts and stockades on the shore for the protection of his followers, calling the post Fort St. Louis. He then made a trip into New Mexico in search of silver mines, but, meeting with disajjpointment, returned to find his colony reduced to forty souls. He then resolved to travel on foot to Illinois. With some twenty of bis men they filed out of their fort on the 12th of January, 1687, and, after the parting - which was one of sighs, of tears, and of embraces, all seeming intuitively to know that they should see each other no more - they started on their disastrous journey. Two of the party, Du Haut and Leotot, when on a hunting expedition in company witli a nephew of LaSalle, assassinated him while asleep. The long absence of his nephew caused LaSalle to go in search of him. On approaching the murderers of his nephew, thej^ fired upon him. killing him instantly. They then despoiled Ihe body of its clothing, and left it to be devoured by the wild beasts of the forest. Thus, at the age of 43, perished one whose exploits have so greatly enriched the history of tlie New World. To estimate aright the marvels of his patient fortitude, one must follow on his track through the vast scene of his interminable journeyings, those thousands of weary miles of forest, marsh, and river, where, again and again, in the bitterness of baffled striving, the untiring pilgrim pushed onward toward the goal he never wa.'^ to attain. America owes him an enduring memorj-; for in this masculine figure, cast in iron, she sees the heroic pioneer who guided her to the possession of her richest heritage.

Tonti, who had been stationed at the fort on the Illinois, learning of LaSalle's unsuccessful voyage, immediately started down the Mississippi to his relief. Reaching the Gulf, he found no traces of the colony. He then returned, leaving some of his men at the mouth of the Arkansas. Tliese were discovered by the remnant of LaSalle's followers, who guided them to the fort on tlie Illinois, where they reported tliat LaSalle was in Mexico. The little band left at Fort St. Louis were finally destroyed by tlie Indians, and the murderers of LaSalle were shot. Thus ends the sad chapter of Robert Cavalier de LaSalle's exploration.

The first mission in Illinois, as we have already seen, was commenced by Marquette in April, 1675. He called the religious society wliich he established the " Mission of the Immaculate Conception," and the town of Kaskaskia. The first military occupation of tlie country was at Fort Crevecceur, erected in 1680 ; but there is no evidence that a settlement was commenced tliere. or at Peoria, on the lake above, at that early date. The first settlement of which there is any authentic account was commenced with the building of Fort St. Louis on the Illinois river in 1682 ; but this was soon abandoned. The oldest permanent settlement, not only in Illinois, but in the valley of the Mississippi, is at Kaskaskia, situated six miles above the mouth of the Kaskaskia river. This was settled in 1690 by the removal of the mission from old Kaskaskia, or Ft. St. Louis, on the Illinois river. Caliokia was settled about tlie same time. Tlie reason for the removal of the old Kaskaskia settlement and mission, was probably because the dangerous and difficult route by Lake Michigan and tlie Ciiicago portage had been almost abandoned, and travelers and traders traveled down and up the Mississipjii by the Fox and Wisconsin rivers. It was removed to the vicinity of the Mississippi in order to be in the line of travel from Canada to Louisiana, that is, the lower part of it, for it was all Louisiana tlien south of the lakes. Illinois came into possession of the French in 1682, and was a dependency of Canada and a part of Louisiana. During the period of French rule in Louisiana, the ijojuilation probably never exceeded ten tiiousand. To the year 1730 the following five distinct settlements were made in the territory of Illinois, numbering, in pf)pulation, 140 French families, about 600 "converted" Indians, and many traders; Cahokia, near the mouth of Cahokia creek and about five miles below the present city of St. Louis; St. Philip, about forty-five miles below Cahokia; Fort Cliartres, twelve miles above Kaskaskia ; Kaskaskia, situated on the Kaskaskia river six miles above its confluence with the Mississippi, and Prairie dii llochcr, near Fort Cliartres. Fort Cliartres was build under the direction of the Mississippi Company in 1718, and was for a time the headfpiarters of the military commandants of the district of Illinois, and the most impregnable fortress in North America. It was also the center of wt';ilth and fashion in the West. Fin- about eighty years the French retained peaceable possession of Illinois. Their amiable disposition and tact of ingratiating themselves with the Indians enabled them to escape almost entirely the broils which weakened and destroyed other colonies. Whether exploring remote rivers or traversing hunting grounds in pursuit of game, in the social circle or as participants in the religious exercises of the church, the red men became their associates and were treated with the kindness and consideration of brothers. For more than a hundred years peace between the white man and the red was unbroken, and when at last this reign of harmony terminated it was not caused by the conciliatory Frenchman, but by the blunt and sturdy Anglo-Saxon. During this century, or until the country was occupied by the English, no regular court was ever held. When, in 1765, the country passed into the liands of the English, many of the French, rather than submit to a change in their institutions, preferred to leave their homes and seek a new abode. There are, however, at the present time a few remnants of the old French stock in the State, who still retain to a great extent the ancient habits and customs of their fathers.

The first settlement by Americans was made by a few families from Virginia, who founded a small colony near Bellefontaine, in Monroe county, in 178-1.

The Mississippi Company

During the earliest period of French occupation of this country, M. Tonti, LaSalle's attendant, was commander-in-chief of all the territory embraced between Canada and the Gulf of Mexico, and extending east and west of the Mississippi as far as his ambition or imagination pleased to allow. He spent twenty-one years in establishing forts and organizing the first settlements of Illinois. September 14, 1712, the French government granted a monopoly of all the trade and commerce of the country to M. Crozat, a wealthy merchant of Paris, who established a trading company in Illinois, and it was by this means that the early settlements became permanent and others established. Crozat surrendered his charter in 1717, and tlie Company of the West, better known as the Mississippi Comiaany, was organized, to aid and assist the banking system of John Law, the most famous speculator of modern times, and perhaps at one time the wealthiest private individual the world has ever known ; but his treasure was transitory. Under the Companj^ of the West a branch was organized called the Comjmny of St. Philip's, for the purpose of working the rich silver mines supposed to be in Illinois, and Philip Renault was appointed as its agent. In 1719 he sailed from France with two hundred miners, laborers and mechanics. During 1719 the Company of the West was by royal order united with the Royal Company of the Indies, and had the influence and support of the crown, who was deluded by the belief that immense wealth would flow into the empty treasury of France. This gigantic scheme, one of the most extensive and wonderful bubbles ever blown up to astonish, deceive and ruin thousands of people, was set in operation by the fertile brain of John Law. Law was born in Scotland in 1671, and so rapid had been his career that at the age of twenty-three he was a "bankrupt, an adulterer, a murderer and an exiled outlaw." But he possessed great financial ability, and by liis agreeable and attractive manners, and his enthusiastic advocacy of his schemes, he succeeded in inflaming the imagination of the mercurial Frenchmen, whose greed for gain led them to adopt any plans for obtaining wealth.

Law arrived in Paris with two and a half millions of francs, which he had gained at the gambling table, just at the right time. Louis XIV. had just died and left as a legacy empty coffers and an immense public debt. Every thing and every body was taxed to the last penny to pay even the interest. All the sources of industry were dried up ; the very wind which wafted the barks of commerce seemed to have died away under the pressure of the time ; trade stood still ; the merchant, the trader, the artificer, once flourishing in affluence, were transformed into clamorous beggars. The life-blood that animated the kingdom was stagnated in all its arteries, and the danger of an awful crisis became such that the nation was on the verge of bankruptcy. At this critical juncture

John Law arrived and proposed his grand scheme of the Mississippi Company ; 200,000 shares of stock at 500 livres each were at first issued. This sold readily and great profits were realized. More stock was issued, speculation became rife, the fever seized every body, and the wildest speculatin;^ frenzy pervaded the whole nation. Illinois was thought to contain vast and rich mines of minerals. Kaskaskia, then scal-cely more than the settlement of a few savages, was spoken of as an emporium of the most extensive traflBc, and as rivaling some of the cities of Europe in refinement, fashion and religious culture. Law was in the zenith ot his glory, and the people in the zenith of their infatuation. The high and the low, the rich and the poor, were at once filled with visions of untold wealth, and every age, set, rank and condition were buying and selling stocks. Law issued stock again and again, and readily sold until 2,235,000,000 livres were in circulation, equaling about 8450,000,000. While confidence lasted an impetus wa.s given to trade never before known. An illusory policy everywhere prevailed, and so dazzled the eye that none could see in the horizon the dark cloud announcing the approaching storm. Law at the time was the most influential man in Europe. His house was beset from morning till night with eager applicants for stock. Dukes, marquises and counts, with their wives and daughters, waited for hours in the street below his door. Finding his residence too small, he changed it for the Place Vendome, whither the crowd followed him, and the spacious square had the appearance of a public market. The boulevards and public gardens were forsaken, and the Place Vendome became the most fashionable place in Paris ; and he was unable to wait upon even one-tenth part of his applicants. The bubble burst after a few years, scattering ruin and distress in every direction. Law, a short time previous the most popular man in Europe, fled to Brussels, and in 1729 died in Venice, in obscurity and poverty.

English Rule

First Throes of the American Revolution - More About Gen. Clark - His Cillant Exploits - He Captures Kaskaskia and Vincennes - The County of Illinois Established - Patrick Henry - John Todd - A Civil Government Provided.

As early as 1750 there could be perceived the first throes of the revolution, which gave a new master anil new institutions to Illinois. Franco claimed the whole valley of the Mississip])i, and England the right to extend her possessions westward as far as she mieht desire. Through colonial controversies the two mother countries were precipitated into a blood)- war within the Northwestern Territory, George Washington firing the first gun of the military struggle which resulted in the overthrow of the French not only in Illinois but in North America. The Frencli evinced a determination to retain control of the territory bordering the Ohio and Mississippi from C'anada to the Gulf, and 80 long as the English colonies were confined to the sea-coast there was little reason for controversy. As the English, however, became acquainted with this beautiful and fertile portion of our country, they not only learned the value of the vast territory, but also resolved to set up a counter claim to the soil. The French established numerous military and trading juists fnmi the frontiers of Canada to New Orleans, and in older to establish also their claims to jnrisili(;tion over the country they carved the lilies of France on the forest trees, or sunk plates of metal in the ground. These measures ditl not, however, deter the English from going on with their explorations ; and though neither party resorted to arras, yet the conflict was gathering, and it was only a question of time when the storm should burst upon the frontier settlement. The French based their claims upon discoveries, the English on grants of territory extending from ocean to ocean, but neither party paid the least attention to tlie prior claims of the Indians. From this position of affairs, it was evident tiiat actual collision between the contending parties would not much longer be deferred. The English Government, in anticipation of a war, urged the Governor of Virginia to lose no time in building two forts, which were equipped by arms from England. The French anticipated the English and gathered a considerable force to detend their possessions. The Governor determined to send a messenger to the nearest French post and demand an explanation. This resolution of the Governor brought into tlie history of our country for the first time the man of all others whom America most loves to honor, namely, George Washington. He was chosen, although not yet twentj'- one years of age, as the one to perform this delicate and difficult mission. With five companions he set out on Nov. 10, 1753, and after a perilous journey returned Jan. 6, 1754. The struggle commenced and continued long, and was bloody and fierce ; but on the 10th of October, 1705, the ensign of France was replaced on the ramparts of Fort Cliartres by the flag of Great Britain. This fort was the depot of supplies and the jalace of rendezvous for the united forces of the French. At this time the colonies of the Atlantic seaboard were assembled in preliminary congress at New York, dreaming of liberty and independence for the continent ; and Washington, who led the expedition against the French for the English king, in less than ten years was commanding the forces opposed to the English tyrant. Illinois, besides being constructively a part of Florida for over one hundred years, during which time no Spaniard set foot upon her soil or rested his eyes upon her beautiful plains, for nearly ninety years had been in tlie actual occupation of the French, their puny settlements slumbering quietly in colonial dependence on the distant waters of the Kaskaskia, Illinois and Wabash.

The Northwest Territory was now entirely under English rule, and on the breaking out of the Revolutionary war the British held every post of importance in the West. While the colonists of tlie East were maintaining a fierce struggle with the armies of

England, their western frontiers were ravaged by merciless butcheries of Indian warfare. The jealousy of the savage was aroused to action \>y the rapid extension of American settlement westward and tlu- imiiroper influence exerted Ijy a nunil)er of military posts garrisoned by Britisli troops. To prevent indiscriminate slaughters arising from these causes, Illinois became the theater of some of the most daring exploits connected with American history. The hero of the achievements by which this beautiful land was snatched as a gem from the British crown, was George Rogers Clark, of Virginia. He had closely watched the movements of tlie British throughout the Northwest, and understood their whole plan ; he also knew the Indians were not unanimously in accord with the English, and therefore was convinced that if the British could be defeated and expelled from the Northwest, the natives might be easily awed into neutrality. Having convinced himself that the enterprise against the Illinois settlement might ciisily succeed, he repaired to the capital of Virginia, arriving November .5, 1777. WJiile he was on his way, fortunately, Burgo\-ne was defeated (October 17), and the spirits of the colonists were thereby greatly encouraged. Patrick Henry was Governor of Virginia, and at once entered heartily into Clark's plans. After satisfying tiie Virginia leaders of the feasil)ility of his project, he received two sets of instructions - one secret, the other open. The latter authorized him to enlist seven companies to go to Kentucky, and serve three months after their arrival in the West. The secret order authorized liini to arm these troops, to procure his powder and lead of General Hand at Pittsburg, and to proceed at once to subjugate the country.

He Takes Kaskaskla

With these instructions Col. Clark repaired to Pittsburg, choosing rather to raise his men west of the mountains, as he well knew all were needed in tlie colonies in the conflict tiiere. He sent Col. W. B. Smith to Holstein and Cajitains Helm and Bowman to other localities to enlist men ; but none of them succeeded in raising the required number. The settlers in these parts were afraid to leave their own firesides exposed to a vigilant foe, and but few could be induced to join the expedition. With these companies and several private volunteers Clark commenced his descent of the Ohio, wliioh he navigated as far as the falls, where he took possession of anil fortified Corn Island, a small island between the present cities of Louisville, Ky., and New Albany, Ind. Here, after having completed his arrangements and announced to the men tlieir real destination, he left a small garrison ; and on the 2Uli of June, during a total eclipse of the sun, which to tliem augured no good, they floated down the river. His plan was to go by water as far as Fort Massac, and thence march direct to Kaskaskia. Here he intended to surprise the garrison, and after its capture go to Cahokia, then to Vincennes, and lastly to Detroit. Should lu.' fail, lie intended to inarch directly to the Mississippi river and cross it into the Spanisli country. Before his start he received good items of infornuition ; one that an alliance had been formed between France and the United States, and the other that the Indians throughout the Illinois country and the inhabitants at the various fiontier posts had been led liy the British to believe that the " I/Oiig Knives," or Virginians, were the most fierce, bloodthirsty and cruel savages that ever scalped a foe. With this impression on tiieir minds, Clark saw thai proper management would cause tliein to sulunit at once from fear, if surprised, and then from gratitude would become friendly, if treated with uiu3X|)CCted lenity. The nuirch to Kaskaskia was nnnle through a hot July siui, they arriving on the evening of the 4th of July, 1778. Tiiey captured the fort near the village and soon after the village itself, l)y sur[n'ise, aiul witlnnil the loss of a single man and without killing any of the enemy. After sufficiently working on tiie fears of the natives, C'lark told tlieni the}' were at perfect lilierty to worsliip as they pleased, and to take whichever side of the great conflict they would ; also he would protect them against any barbarity from British or Iiulian foe. Tliis Inul the desired effect ; and the inhabitants,

General History Of Illinois

SO unexpectedly and so gratefully surprised by the unlooked-for turn of affairs, at once swore allegiance to the American arms ; and when Clark desired to go to Caliokia on the 6th of July, they accompanied him, and through their influence the inhabitants of the place surrendered and gladly placed themselves under his protection.

In the person of M. Gibault, priest of Kaskaskia, Clark found a powerful ally and generous friend. Clark saw that, to retain possession of the Northwest and treat successfully with the Indians, he must establish a government for the colonies he had taken. St. Vincent, the post next in importance to Detroit, remained yet to be taken before the Mississippi valley was conquered. M. Gibault told him that. he would alone, by persuasion, lead Vincennes to throw off its connection with England. Clark gladly accepted this offer, and July 14th, in company with a fellow-townsman, Gibault started on his mission of peace. On the 1st of August he returned with the cheerful intelligence that every thing was peaceably adjusted at Vincennes in favor of the Americans. During the interval. Col. Clark established his courts, placed garrisons at Kaskaskia and Cahokia, successfull}' re-enlisted his men, and sent word to have a fort (which proved the germ of Louisville) erected at the falls of the Ohio.

While the American commander was thus negotiating with the Indians, Hamilton, the British Governor of Detroit, heard of Clark's invasion, and was greatly incensed because the country which he had in charge should be wrested from him by a few ragged militia. He therefore hurriedly collected a force, marched by way of the Wabash, and appeared before the fort at Vincennes. Tiie inhabitants made an effort to defend the town, and when Hamilton's forces arrived. Captain Helm and a man named Henry were the only Americans in tlie fort. These men had been sent by Clark. The latter charged a cannon and placed it in the open gateway, and the Captain stood by it with a lighted match and cried out, as Hamilton came in hailing distance, " Halt ! " The British officer, not knowing the strength of the garrison, stopped, and demanded the surrender of the fort. Helm exclaimed, "No man shall enter here till I know the terms." Hamilton responded, " You shall have the honors of war." The entire garrison consisted of one officer and one private.

Vincennes Captured

On taking Kaskaskia, Clark made a prisoner of Rocheblave, commander of the place, and got possession of all his written instructions for the conduct of the war. From these papers he received important information respecting the plans of Col. Hamilton, Governor at Detroit, who was intending to make a vigorous and concerted attack upon the frontier. After arriving at Vincennes, however, lie gave up his intended campaign for the Winter, and trusting to his distance from danger and to the difficulty of approaching him, sent off his Indian warriors to prevent troops from coming down the Ohio, and to annoy the Americans in all ways. Thus he sat quietly down to pass the Winter with only about eighty soldiers, but secure, as he thought from molestation. But he evidently did not realize the character of the men with whom he was contending. Clark, although he could muster only one hundred and thirty men, determined to take advantage of Hamilton's weakness and security, and attack him as the only means of saving himself; for unless he captured Hamilton, Hamilton would capture him. Accordingly, about the beginning of February, 1779, he dispatched a small galley which he had fitted out, mounted with two four-pounders and four swivels and manned with a companj' of soldiers, and carrying stores for his men, with orders to force her way up the Wabash, to take her station a few miles below Vincennes, and to allow no person to pass her. He himself marched with his little band, and spent sixteen days in traversing the country from Kaskaskia to Vincennes, passing with incredible fatigue through woods and marshes. He was five days in crossing the bottom lands of the Wabash ; and for five miles was frequently up to the breast in water. After overcoming difficulties which liad been thouj,'ht insurmountable, be appeared before the place and oompleteh' surprised it. The inhabitants readily submitted, but Hiimiltoii at first defended himself in the fort. Next day, however, he surrendered himself and his garrison prisoners-of-war. By his activity in encouraging the hostilities of the Indians and by the revolting enormities perpetrated by those savages. Hamilton had rendered himself so obnoxious that he was thrown in prison and put in irons. During his command of the British frontier posts he offered prizes to tlie Indians for all the scalps of the Americans they would bring him, and earned in consequence thereof the title, " Hair-Buyer General," by which he was ever afterward known.

The services of Clark proved of essential advantage to his countrymen. They disconcerted the plans of Hamilton, and not only saved the western frontier from depredations by the savages, but also greatly cooled the ardor of the Indians for carrying on a contest in which they were not likelj" to be the gainers. Had it not been for this small army, a union of all the tribes from Maine to Georgia against the colonies might have been effected, and the whole current of our history changed.

In October, 1778, after the successful campaign of Col. Clark, the Assembly of Virginia erected the conquered country, embracing all the territory northwest of the Ohio river, into the County of Illinois, which was doubtless the largest county in the world, exceeding in its dimensions the whole of Great Britain and Ireland. To speak more definitely, it contained the territory now embraced in the great Stati's of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan. On the 1:2th of December, 177S. .luhn Todd was appointed Lieutenant-Commandant of this county by Patrick Henry, then Governor of Virginia, and ii^eordingly. also, the first fif Illinois County.

Formation Of Illinois Territory

Illinois County remained a part of Virginia until that ."^tate ceded the Northwest Territory to the United States in 1784, as heretofore noted. This cession was really made in 1781, but the deed was not executed until March 1, 1784, hence the condition and government of the country remained the same as if no cession or transfer of domain had ln-en eontemplatcil. Immediately alter the deed of cession. Congress, by ordinance, established a form of government, for the entire region from the (iidf to the Lakes, although the whole of it had not been actiuired, and this form of government for tlie Northwestern Territory continued until the passage of the ordinance of 1787. No one can study the secret history of this ordinance and not feel that Providence wius guiding witli sleepless eye the destinies of these unliorn States, .\meriean legislation has never aclii<;ved any thing more admirable, as an internal government, than this comprehensive ordinance. Its provisions concerning tiie distribution of properly, the principles of civil and religious liberty which it laid at the foundation of the communities since established, and the t^flieient anil simple organization by which it created the first machinery of civil society, are worthy of all the praise thai has ever been given them.

The Ordinance Of 17S7

This ordinance has a marvelous and interesting history-. Considerable controversy has been indulged in as to who is entitled to the credit for framing it. This belongs, undoubtedlj', to Nathan Dane ; and to Rufus King and Timothy Pickering belong the credit for suggesting the proviso contained in it against slavery, and also for aids to religion and knowledge, and for assuring forever the common use, without charge, of the great national highways of the Mississippi, the St. Lawrence and their tributaries to all the citizens of tlie United States. To Thomas Jefferson is also due much credit, as some features of this ordinance were embraced in his ordinance of 1784. But the part taken by each in the long, laborious and eventful struggle which had so glorious a consummation in the ordinance, consecrating forever, by one imprescriptible and unchangeable monument, tlie very heart of our country to Freedom, Knowledge, and Union, will forever honor tlie names of those illustrious statesmen.

Mr. Jefferson had vainly tried to secure a system of government for tlie Northwestern Territor}^ He was an emancipationist and favored the exclusion of slavery from the territor}^ but the South voted him down every time he proposed a measure of this nature. In 1787, as late as July 10, an organizing act without the anti-slavery clause was pending. This concession to the South was expected to carry it. Congress was in session in New York. On July 5, Rev. Manasseh Cutler, of Massachusetts, came into New York to lobby on the Northwestern Territory. Every thing seemed to fall into his hands. Events were ripe. The state of the public credit, the growing of Southern prejudice, the basis of his mission, his personal character, all combined to complete one of those sudden and marvelous revolutions of public sentiment that once in five or ten centuries are seen to sweep over a country like tlie breath of the Almighty.

Cutler was a graduate of Yale. He had studied and taken degrees in the three learned professions, medicine, law, and divinity. He had i^ublished a scientific examination of the plants of New England. As a scientist in America his name stood second only to that of Franklin. He was a courtly gentleman of the old style, a man of commanding presence and of inviting face. The Southern members said they had never seen such a gentleman in the North. He came representing a Massachusetts company" that desired to purchase a tract of land, now included in Ohio, for the purpose of planting a colony. It was a speculation. Government money was worth eighteen cents on the dollar. This company had collected enough to purchase 1,500,000 acres of land. Other sjieculators in New York made Dr. Cutler their agent, which enabled him to represent a demand for 5,500,000 acres. As this would reduce the national debt, and Jefferson's policy was to provide for the public credit, it presented a good opportunity to do something.

Massachusetts then owned the territory of Maine, which she was crowding on the market. She was ojaposed to opening the Northwestern region. This fired the zeal of Vii'ginia. The South caught the inspiration, and all exalted Dr. Cutler. The entire South rallied around him. Massachusetts could not vote against him, because many of the constituents of her members were interested personally in the Western speculation. Thus Cutler, making friends in the South, and doubtless using all the arts of the lobby, was enabled to command the situation. True to deeper convictions, he dictated one of the most compact and finished documents of wise statesmanship that has ever adorned any human law book. He borrowed from Jefferson the term '* Articles of Compact," which, preceding the federal constitution, rose into the most sacred character. He then followed very closely the constitution of Massachusetts, adopted three years before. Its most prominent points were :

2. Provisions for public schools, giving one township for a seniinaiy and every section numbered 16 in each township; that is one thirty-sixth of all the land for public schools.

Be it forever remenihered that this compact declared that religion, morality, and knowledge heing necessary to good government and the happiness of mankind, schools and the means of education shall always be encouraged." Dr. Cutler planted himself on this platform and would not yield. Giving his unqualified declaration that it was that or nothing - that unless they could make the land desirable they did not want it - he took his horse and buggy and started for the constitutional convention at Philadelphia. On July 13, 1787, the bill was put upon its passage, and was unanimously adopted. Thus the great States of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan, and Wisconsin, a vast empire, were consecrated to freedom, intelligence, and morality. Thus the great heart of the nation was prepared to save the union of States, for it was this act that was the salvation of the republic and the destruction of slavery. Soon the South saw their great blunder and tried to have the compact repealed. In 1803 Congress referred it to a committee, of which John Randolph was chairman. He reported that this ordinance was a compact and opposed repeal. Thus it stood, a rock in the way of the on-rushing sea of slavery.

With all this timely aid it was, however, a most desperate and protracted struggle to keep the soil of IlliMois sacred to freedom. It was the natural battle-field for the irrepressible conflict. In the .southern end of the State slavery preceded the compact. It existed among the old French settlei-s, and was hard to eradicate. That portion was also settled from the slave States, and this population broui^-ht their laws, customs, and institutions witli tlieni. A stream of populati<»n from liu- North poured into the n<uthfrn part of the State. These sections misunderstood and iiated i-acli other iierffctly. The Southerners regarded the Yankees as a skinning, tricky, penurious race of peildlers, filling the country with tinware, brass clocks, and wooden nutmegs. The Northerner thought of the Southerner as a lean, lank, lazy creature, burrowing in a hut, and rioting in whisky, dirt, and ignorance. These causes aided in making the struggle long and bitter. So strong was the sympathy with slavery that, in spite of the ordinance of 1787, and in spite of the deed of cession, it was determined to allow the old French settlers to retain their slaves.

Governor St. Clair

October 5, 1778, Congress appointed Maj. Gen. Arthur St. Clair to be Governor of this vast territory. Gov. St. Clair was born in Scotland, and came to America in 1775. He served in the French and English wars, and was a major general in the war of the Revolution. He was elected to Congress in 1786, and was chosen to preside over the deliberations of that body.

Illinois Territory

After the division of the Northwestern Territory, Illinois became one of the counties of Indiana Territory, from which it was separated by an act of Congress approved February 3, 1809, forming the Territory of Illinois, with the capital at Kaskaskia, and a population estimated at 9,000. At the time of separation from Indiana it was made to include the present State of Wisconsin. Under the administration of Gov. St. Clair it had been divided into two counties - St. Clair and Randolph. President Madison first appointed John Boyle, of Kentucky, to be the Governor of the new dependency, but the office was not to his liking, and a change was affected by which Ninian Edwards became the first Governor of Illinois. When the Territory was created, Mr. Edwards was serving as Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, of which Boyle was an associate judge. To suit their respective inclinations thej' exchanged offices, and Mr. Edwards, through the influence of Henry Clay, was appointed to the office declined by Mr. Boyle, and the latter became Chief Justice of Kentucky. Mr. Edwards is remembered as a large, fine looking man, and one who wielded a ready pen and an eloquent tongue. He served as territorial governor with distinction, and after the organization of the State was elected to the same position, being the third governor.